Spoilers: Up to IOTH
Summary: Part one of the Labyrinth Series.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.


Complication

By Madame Estrella


Part One


Parker sat on the window seat and gazed absently out the window. It had been a while since her father, if she could call him that, had died. He wasn’t her father, she knew that now. Just as she knew that she was just one more chapter in the legacy of the Parker Curse. Or was she?

Had her father died to take the curse with him? She took a long haul from the bottle of vodka she held in her unsteady grip. She stared hard at the bottle. Was it half empty, or half full? Half empty tonight. Her life had been half empty. Or was it more than half empty?

Was she a Raines? She hated the idea. How could that old wheezing bastard be her father? How could she have come from someone so evil? Had her mother known? She could believe Lyle could be a Raines, but her? Was she innately evil herself?

She thought of her chase. Her pursuit. Her Jarod. No, he was not her Jarod. Was she evil for trying to catch him? For taking part in his unlawful imprisonment? People aren’t supposed to be allowed to do what they did to others. Yet she did these things. She was just as responsible for those unspeakable atrocities.

“Whoever gets there first, lives.” She shuddered at the memory of his words. This was no game. This was a struggle. Two people trying so desperately to save themselves by selling the other out. But they’d seen something in the other’s eyes that night. The night they were so close. The night they were so weak.

What did it all mean? What was the hidden message? What was their purpose in life? To destroy each other? To be alone? To be in pain?

She’d kissed him once before. When they were young and naive. When they could still dream.

Part Two

“I have you now.” She sneered at him, her weapon raised. He stared cooly at her. She knew he hid his fear beneath those hard eyes. The fear of harm, of The Centre. She had power over him as he sat, frightened on his bed.

She chuckled, then she bent over and placed her weapon on the floor. She walked over to his shocked expression.

“I’ve given a lot of thought to what you said.” She smiled as she straddled then sat on his left thigh, gently encircling her arms around his neck. His surprise cracked his fear and his hands caught her around the waist.

They stared into one another’s eyes for a long moment. Then they leaned into one another and kissed. It was a gentle meeting which became harder and more passionate. Their breathing quickened and their tongues met and embraced as they were. He shifted and laid her on the bed beneath him. They tore at each other’s clothes and whispered endearments between kisses and hot breaths.

“Miss Parker?” Sydney tapped her shoulder gently. She woke with a start and tried to regain her breath and composure. She closed her eyes and opened them in slits to address the old man and the tech man.

“What?” She said in a near growl.

“Um, w, we ha, have some news about Jarod.” Broots stammered.

“What is it?” She said, sitting back in her desk chair. She realized she’d had another blackout.

“He sent a package to me.” Broots said, confused.

“What?” Parker cried standing up and slamming her palms on the desk. Jarod was sending packages to Broots. That bastard. No word from him in six months and then he sends a package to Broots.

She nodded absently to his words and dismissed them with her usual orders. She didn’t even have to think about what she said to these people. She could almost leave a tape recorder and a cardboard standup in her office.

Was he going to start calling Broots in the middle of the night now? She shook her head. What? Am I jealous of Broots? He can just take those midnight calls and mocking packages and clues. He can process all that and find Jarod himself.

He could hear Jarod’s voice at night. She closed her eyes and imagined his voice. “Miss Parker, has the green eyed monster caught you?” She sighed heavily and pulled the box Broots had laid on her desk toward her and tipped it to look inside.

A roll of quarters and a travel brochure for the Bahamas. Jarod just wasn’t trying anymore.

A roll of quarters and a vacation. A peaceful, relaxing getaway. Broots would need something like that, as nervous as he was. She needed it too. She was stressed out. Who cared? Did Jarod?

Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares. She picked up the quarter and tapped it on the desk. Why Broots? Broots doesn’t even know Jarod. Broots is just one of those guys she kicked around. Broots wasn’t obvious.

She quickly jumped up and headed out the door. She drove to a convienence store and bought a pack of cigarettes. Then she approached the payphone and dialed the information number on the brochure.

“Atlantis casino and resort, where can I direct your call?” The voice answered.

“Jarod.” Miss Parker stated flatly.

“Why yes, Miss Parker. I see Broots received his package.” She felt that fire inside once more. Why Broots?

“So, you’re a hotel operator? Who are you saving this time?”

“Actually, I was just leaving. I didn’t know if I’d get this call in time.” He replied and then the line went dead. Parker looked at the receiver and slammed it back in it’s cradle. She stalked off to her car and slammed the door behind her as she slipped inside.

She sat there for a moment, hands gripping the wheel. She relaxed and succumbed to that feeling in her stomach. Excitement? Nervousness? What was she, sixteen?

He’d always been an arrogant, annoying man-child sibling to her. Her prey. Her key to freedom. Why now did she get butterflies in her stomach when she heard his voice and jealous when he sent packages to a nobody.

Was he manipulating her? That’s it. Jarod’s game. He’d found a new way to twist the knife. A new way to torment her. A very personal way, and she hated it. What kind of a bastard would use a woman’s feelings against her.

Wait, what feelings? She heaved a heavy sigh and started her car. She drove back to The Centre and her office.

Sydney entered the office and regarded her for a moment. “Did you get in touch with him?” He asked quietly. Miss Parker glared with her icy stare.

“I don’t know what to make of this game anymore.”

“Game?” Sydney replied.

“This last clue doesn’t make any sense. Why is he sending clues to someone else? It’s like he’s tired of playing the game with me, he wants someone new to torment.” Her expression turned to one of surprise. “He’s, moving on.” She sighed.

She absently picked up the Bahamas brochure and glanced at Sydney.

“I need a vacation, Syd.”

“You need a vacation.” He agreed.

Her request went in fifteen minutes later and that evening she was packing for her trip.

Three

He’s pretending. Those were the first words that came into her mind when she had seen him. She had been following him for twenty minutes now. What a coincidence finding him this way.

Miss Parker checked the safety on her gun before she continued her trek through the side street and into the alley. He hadn’t so much as glanced back as he walked towards his destination. He was dressed in black slacks and a white button up shirt beneath a Blue Jays jacket. He wore dark sunglasses and his hair was the same as it had been the last time she saw him on Carthis. He didn’t seem to be worried about being followed, nor aware that he was.

He turned left into an alcove and pressed a button on the wall beside a door. She heard him speak in his barritone voice. “It’s Jarod Foley.” The door opened and he walked inside. Her heart began to beat faster as the door clicked shut. She was too close to lose him now.

She ran to the door, smoothed her hair on either side of her face and smiled up at the eye that she knew was there but couldn’t see. She pressed the button.

“Hi!”

A long pause, then a man’s voice replied.

“Who are you and what is your business here?”

“My name is Morgan Paxton. I’m a friend of Jarod Foley’s from out of town. I just saw him and tried to catch him but he came in here. I don’t know if he can have visitors but I thought I’d give it a shot.” She flashed her friendliest smile to the eye and froze that way. Inside her heart pounded against her chest.

There was a long pause and then the door opened and a cautious looking man in a blue button up shirt and dark blue slacks opened the door.

“I’m not really supposed to let anyone but employees in, Miss.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.” She said, making her most remorseful face. “I probably look really silly busting in to a place of business just to talk to some guy, huh?” She gave him a pleading look. He regarded her with wary green eyes and nodded his head.

“Okay, but I can’t do this again. I was always a sucker for the cuties. Jarod’s probably lucky with such a pretty lady as yourself for a friend.” He smiled and she returned it.

“Oh, you don’t know how lucky.” She smiled.

Richie the doorman led her into the building which looked like any normal office on the inside. There were cubicles filling the large main room and a hallway leading to a row of offices on either end. She was led down the hall to the fourth office on the left.

“I think I can take it from here.” Miss Parker smiled. Richie gave her a once over, twice and smiled and headed back to his desk by the door. A secretary who thinks he has the power of the Great Oz.

She knocked on the door and felt a tickling in her stomach as she heard him call her in.

Four

Jarod tapped in his password on his office PC and sighed as he heard the knock at his door. He’d just gotten there and hadn’t had the chance to open the disk he’d aquired the night before and someone was already interrupting him.

“Come in.” He said as he tossed the red diskette into the long drawer just before him in the desk and closed it. He closed his eyes for a moment after first sight of the apparition standing in his doorway. Yes, an apparition. It couldn’t possibly be Her. He heard the door softly click shut and drew in a deep breath before he opened his eyes again.

It was her.

They stared at one another uncertainly for a few minutes. It was as if they were seeing each other for the first time and were enchanted by the other’s presence.

He blinked and spoke first.

“Where are your buddies?” She opened her mouth and closed it and repeated the process three times before she was able to say a word.

“I’m alone.”

“Sure.”

“It’s true.”

“You find me here and you came alone?”

She shook her head and blinked.

“I’m on vacation.”

Jarod sighed heavily and shook his head.

“I was eating breakfast at the Cafe on Maple and I saw you get off the bus.”

Jarod closed his eyes and squeezed the lids. He thought he’d seen someone who looked like her at that Cafe, but what the hell would Miss Parker be doing eating croissants in Toronto at seven-thirty in the morning. He expected to see her drawn gun when he opened his eyes again.

She was sitting in the chair across from his desk with her hands folded in her lap.

“I saw you too.” He said.

“But you didn’t believe it was me.” She replied. “I followed you here.”

“So you’re going to drag me out of here in cuffs at gunpoint?”

Before she could answer there was a brief knock on the door and it then swung open. A fat man in a well fitting suit with a bald head and smiling face entered the office.

“Jarod, I have some wonderful news. Oh, I didn’t realize you were with someone. A new client?” He beamed at Miss Parker with rosy cheeks. She didn’t trust any of it but smiled back.

“No, Mr. Peterson, an old friend of mine.” Jarod replied.

“From out of town.” She finished. “I saw Jarod by chance and caught up with him here.” What the hell is she doing? “I’m Morgan Paxton.” She said extending a hand. “Donald Peterson.” He returned, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

“Oh.” Mr. Peterson smiled and winked at Jarod as if conspiring with him. “Well, I was just going to ask, Jarod, if you could have a word with me in my office regarding, some buisness matters a little later?”

“Certainly, Mr. Peterson. I don’t imagine that, Morgan will keep me much longer.”

“Good, well I’ll leave you to your business here.” He winked that awful wink at Jarod once more and beamed at Miss Parker. The door couldn’t close after him fast enough.

The two in the room both drew in a deep breath and looked at one another.

“What the hell are we doing?” Miss Parker asked.

“Pretending.” She raised her eyebrows at him.

“So that’s all there is to it? Well, I can’t possibly believe I’ve been chasing you for six years because you’re an accomplished liar.”

“Well, that and other things.” He looked at his desk and couldn’t think of what to say next. He thought of the moment he was almost sure he would kiss her. It felt like that now and he could tell by the look on her face that she felt the same.

“I have to get out of here.” She said standing up. Jarod rose from his own seat and walked over to her.

“I didn’t think this was what would happen once I got in here.” She said.

“What did you think would?” He asked. He felt that dizzying feeling inside him, warm and desiring. She looked up at him with those pale blue eyes and sighed.

“Jarod.” She stopped.

“You’re on vacation.” He replied. His eyes scanned his desk and returned to her face. “Where are you staying?” He asked. She looked puzzled.

“I’m, staying in a cabin a day away from here. I, don’t even know why I came to Toronto in the first place. Let alone why I stopped at that cafe for breakfast.”

It occurred to him then. Her Inner Sense. It had drawn her to him.

“Miss Parker.” He began, she nodded. “I’m going to meet you back at that cafe. If I see anyone else, you won’t see me.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain it all later.” He looked over her shoulder. “I’ll meet you at six.”

She nodded, frowned at him, and then moved to the door. She looked at the knob and left his office without glancing at him again.

Five

Miss Parker anxiously waited for him at the cafe. Just wait here. She couldn’t. She was going crazy inside. She could have taken him then and there and dragged him back to the Centre. But she hadn’t. Why?

Because there was something else going on. This Peterson fellow couldn’t be trusted. No, that wasn’t it. Although playing along with Jarod had been exhilirating. The whole set up had been. Her following him and getting around the door guy and playing the game with his boss.

It was something else though. He looked just like he had on the Island. Not his clothes, his face. His expression. And she had felt like she had by the fire. Oh damn that Island!

Then he was there, sitting down across from her. He ordered a cup of coffee and studied his hands.

“So?” She asked. He looked up at her and smiled nervously.

“I can’t believe I’m here with you right now.” He replied

“Join the club. So what is going on? Why have I been waiting here all day for you.”

“You’ve been waiting here all day?” He asked, that innocent curiosity in his features. She smiled.

“No. I should be closing in on my vacation cabin, it’s six and I don’t have a room and it’s all because of you for some reason.”

She looked at some nearby couple and scowled at them, hushing their observations. Jarod smiled and reached out to touch her hand. She felt something. Energy, electricity, call it what you will. They both did, when he touched her. He pulled back.

“I know where you can stay.” He said. She felt a rush of warmth inside.

Jarod got his coffee and they walked to her car. Jarod drove to an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city. He lead her to the door and she walked into one of Jarod’d lairs for the first time while he still occupied it.

She looked around in a child’s wonderment at the place. He led her up two flights of metal stairs to the loft he occupied. It was spartan. There was a table and two chairs and a full-size mattress on box springs on the floor. The table held Jarod’s laptop and was scattered with DSA’s and papers and news clippings. Beside the table were mail bins stuffed with letters. The mattress had clean linens.

“Nice place.” She said. He pulled out a chair for her and sat in the other once she was seated.

“Mr. Peterson is involved with boiler room trading, money laundering and pyramid schemes.” Jarod explained.

“So where does the working class hero fit in with all of this?” Miss Parker asked, glancing at him.

“He fits in when you follow the money.”

“From the little guy. The sheriff of Nottingham steals from the poor and gives to the...” She held her hand out for him to give the final word.

“Centre.” He said flatly.

The color ran from her face as her jaw dropped looking at him.

“What?”

“Donald Peterson is a ‘fund raiser’ of sorts for the Centre.”

“Oh, God!” Jarod was going to hit the Centre in the pocketbook. “Does he know who you are?” She asked.

“No, he doesn’t know about me, or you.”

She felt Jarod’s hand on hers and looked at his face. His word’s from Scotland echoed in her mind. ‘I hate to see someone miss a turning point when one is staring right in their face.’

“So, what am I supposed to do.” She asked, feeling a deeper meaning than the present situation. ‘Turning points only come when there’s something to turn to‘, she had replied to him in Scotland.

“Nothing. I’m going to make my move tonight. Everything’s set up. But when the Centre and Mr. Peterson’s associates find out what I did...”

“You need to leave town in a hurry then.” She eyed him sarcastically. “And who better to drive the getaway car when you pull a fast one on the Centre than good old Miss Parker?” She took a deep breath and stood facing away from him.

“You’re going to use me.” She said, finally.

“What?”

“You’re just going to use me.”

“No. You didn’t let me finish.”

She turned back at him, eyes blazing.

“You didn’t have to finish.” She snapped. Jarod stood.

“Get out!” He shouted.

“What?!” She was taken aback.

“I said get out! I don’t even know why the hell I brought you here in the first place.” He walked over to one of the large glass windows and looked outside. She stared at his back and walked over a few minutes later. She gingerly put her hand on his shoulder and he glanced at her.

“Come with me.” She said, softly. He drew a deep breath and faced her.

“I don’t want you to get involved.” He said.

“I am involved.”

Jarod walked over to his bag and began pulling his things together. Miss Parker sat down on the mattress and then found herself laying down within a few moments. A few minutes later, she was asleep.

Six

Jarod gently nudged her out of her slumber. When she’d blinked away her sleep she saw it was much later than when she had first lain down.

“Mmmm, what time is it?” She asked, still blinking.

“Five.” Jarod answered. Her eyes flew open.

“Five in the morning?!” He nodded. She sat up and looked around. The place was bare. She looked at him. “Did you do whatever the hell it was?”

“Yeah.” He replied.

“So we need to get out of here?” He nodded and she got to her feet. It was the cold floor on her bare feet which completely woke her. She looked down and found her shoes beside the mattress and pulled them on. ‘He must have taken them off‘, she thought.

Jarod led her outside and they got in the car. Jarod started the car.

“Where are we going?” He asked.

“Northwest of here.” She began.

“You really did go out of your way.” He said and she nodded.

An hour out of Toronto, Jarod let Miss Parker have the wheel and she took them the rest of the way while he slept.

About thirty minutes out from the cabin, she stopped at a grocery store. They both went inside and she stocked up for the next two weeks.

Half and hour later, she checked in and they drove another fifteen minutes to the cabin. It was a little place. There was a porch that wrapped around the cabin. The great room had a fireplace and was furnished with a cozy sofa and a couple of chairs with a coffee table and a television. The kitchen off to the side had a small table and two chairs. The bathroom had a large jacuzzi tub beside a large bay window. There were stairs in the great room that led to the loft where a queen size bed sat with matching tables and lamps on either side.

Jarod put her groceries away while she took her bags upstairs. In minutes, she was filling the bathtub and warning Jarod not to be hanging around the porch on that side of the house.

She slipped into the hot water and let the jets work on her tense muscles. After about half an hour she began smelling something cooking and smiled. It was the least he could do.

She dined with him in her bathrobe and he didn’t seem the least bit phased. It was getting late and she was very tired. She got up and poured herself a glass of scotch and knocked it back before looking at him.

“I’m going to turn in for the night.” She said and studied his face. He nodded and cleared the table and ran some water in the sink. He looked at her as if just realizing she was expecting a response.

“Good night, Miss Parker.” He said. She smiled at him and headed up the stairs. She laid in bed and listened to him moving around for half an hour. What was she expecting? For a man who’d all but expressed his love for her six months before, he didn’t seem to notice she was even there. She fell into a deep sleep before long.

Seven

Jarod sat beside her for a hours while she slept. He’d had tremendous restraint over the last two days. All he wanted to do was climb into the bed with her and... He closed his eyes and held his breath. It had been hell to be away from her so long but yet it seemed worse to be sitting right beside her. He wanted her. More than that, he wanted to take her away from the Centre and keep her with him. But he was afraid of her rejection even more.

He’d slept very badly on the sofa. Until she’d fallen asleep he could have sworn she’d been up here waiting for him. But he was wrong. He popped the occasional Pez into his mouth and watched her. Wondering what she dreamed of.

She began to stir and he realized then how late, early it was. She rolled onto her back and began to blink and slowly open her eyes. He suddenly filled with apprehension. He couldn’t just let her find him sitting there. What would she think? Without thinking he did it.

Eight

Miss Parker awoke from her dreams of ... she sighed heavily. Him. Suddenly an object flew into her view. She jumped a little, startled and focused on the object that hovered inches above her face. A Goofy Pez dispenser. She could have blown it to pieces with one shot.

“What is this?” She said to no one in particular.

“I’m Goofy. I’m here to speak with you on behalf of my friend, Jarod.”

“Huh, well you sound a lot like Jarod.” She said to the Pez dispenser. She was talking to a Pez dispenser! It looked in the direction of the arm holding it and then back at her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Goofy replied. Her face broke into a smile.

“So what have you come to plead on Jarod’s behalf?”

“Well, Jarod told me that his back hurts and he’d like to lay down on the bed. I said that I’d offer you one of my Pez in return for the favor.” This time she laughed out loud and smiled back at the dispenser.

“I accept your offer, Goofy.” She replied. The thumb of the hand came up and pulled Goofy’s head back revealing a Pez. She lifted her head and pulled it out with her teeth and chewed it thoughtfully. “Actually, the Pez was good, but Jarod still can’t lay in the bed.” She grinned. She turned her head to face him and he sat there cracking up himself.

“Then I want my Pez back!” He grinned.

“Tough!” She replied. He sat up on his knees and leaned toward her. He held her face in his hands and kissed her. He pulled back and she stared at him surprised and shocked. His face fell and he stood.

“I’m sorry, Miss Parker.” He said and turned and headed downstairs. She got out of bed, pulled on her robe, and followed him.

He looked at her as she put her hand on his shoulder. She smiled at him.

“Somehow, I think that’s exactly the way I expected you’d eventually kiss me.” She said. He smiled back at her.

“I thought we were supposed to forget about that.” He said, his smile faltering. She drew a deep breath and took her hand off his shoulder.

“Jarod, I can’t forget and I don’t think you want to.” She replied.

“You’re right.” He said. He looked at his bags piled by the door and then at her. She felt a prickling sensation all over.

“You’ve packed.” She said, leveling her eyes with his.

“I’ve found information from the Centre. They found out that you were in the office before I...” He trailed off. She understood.

“So?” She said, feeling herself becoming more rigid.

“So they’re sending a team here to talk to you.” She gasped as the fear overtook her.

“What do we do?” She asked, wide eyed.

“We do nothing. I’m leaving. You just stay here and tell them you don’t know what they’re talking about, you’re on vacation. After all, you gave them a fake name and there are millions of cute brunettes in the world.” He grinned at the last.

“Where will you go?” She asked.

“You’ll know when I send you the next package at your office.” He replied.

“So that’s it!” She threw her hands in the air and let them fall to her sides. “Just like that ‘poof’ you’re gone and we’re back to the chase.”

“You said so yourself back in Scotland.” He said cooly.

“And you said something about turning points!” She shouted. He blinked and cocked his head at her.

“I don’t want you to get deeper in this than you have to.”

“Why?” She snarled.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.” She laughed angrily.

“I’m already hurt. What’s a little more, I am a tough bitch after all!”

“And I’m in love with you.” He said softly. Her mouth dropped open.

“What?”

“I love you. I don’t want anything to happen to you. So just stay here and lie to those bastards and nothing will.”

“Jarod, I...” She began. He turned and grabbed his bags and slung them over his shoulder. He walked back to her and touched her face tenderly.

“I wanted to say those words then, but I knew you would doubt my sincerity. You would have thought I was trying to screw with your head to get away. I wanted to show you how I felt, but you pushed me away. Think about the things I have done for you and given to you over the years. You always said I was playing a game and tormenting you. I think about you every day and want to be with you every moment, but I can’t. That’s the real torment. I can’t be with the woman I love.” His lips trembled momentarily. His gaze was in hers.

“I can protect her though.” His hand fell away from her cheek. “Remember, you don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.” He turned and walked out the door.

She stood there for ten minutes, maybe more, touching her face where he had and thinking about what he’d said. Then her phone rang.

Nine

“What?” She growled into the receiver. She could feel the person on the other end draw away from the phone.

“Miss Parker, I wanted to let you know that I’m on my way with some others.” Sydney replied.

“What for?” She cried. “I’m on vacation! Why the hell are you and whoever else coming here?”

“There has been an, incident, involving Jarod.” Sydney replied.

“So?”

“It occurred in Toronto.”

“Toronto is a long way from here, Syd!”

“We’ll be there in an hour. Mr. Broots and Mr. Lyle are with me.”

Miss Parker hung the phone up without another word. That’s what they would expect from her anyway. She sat down on the sofa and covered her face with her hands and began to sob loudly. Who was there to hear her?

He wasn’t. He was right. He always was.

By the time the black sedans rolled up to the cabin, she’d already cleaned herself up. She stood on the porch rigid and stone faced. Mr. Lyle feigned a smile as he slammed his door and walked up the stairs.

“Nice day, huh sis?” He asked.

“It was until you and your buddies piled out of the clown car.” She growled. He heaved a heavy sigh and followed her into the house.

“Has Jarod contacted you?” He continued.

“No, why would he?”

“He was involved in an incident in Toronto.”

“So Syd said.”

“Are you sure you haven’t been in contact with him?”

She whirled around and glared at him.

“No, Lyle, he’s actually in the bathroom. We were just fucking each other’s brains out until Syd called.” Lyle raised his eyebrows in bemusement. One of the sweepers stifled a chuckle.

“Okay. Well, he was with a woman who was described as being similar to yourself. A...” Lyle turned to the sweeper who finished for him. “Morgan Paxton.”

“Boy, I’m shocked at how much that sounds like Miss Parker.” She said flatly.

“Yeah, I thought so too, but I guess the doorman did describe her as being pleasant and friendly.”

Miss Parker rolled her eyes. “And?”

“Well, there is always the possibility that Jarod could come here for you.”

“And do what?” She narrowed her eyes at him. The sweeper stifled another chuckle at her previous comments. Lyle shot him a glare before returning his gaze to hers.

“Jarod attacked a Centre facility. There is a possibility that he could come up here and do something with you here all alone.”

“I’m touched at your concern, Lyle. What do you mean attacked?”

“He infiltrated and brought down a Center financial resource. It is now being investigated by International authorities.”

“When did this happen?”

“Yesterday. Jarod has disappeared again, of course. But we haven’t received any of his usual calling cards which suggested that this episode might not be over.”

But it was. She sighed. “So, I can’t enjoy my vacation now.”

“Well, you can but you will be doing it here with Sydney and Mr. Broots while you figure out where Jarod is.”

There wasn’t any point in arguing with them. If she had it would have been suspicious. So Sydney and Broots remained after the others had left. Lyle had left after they had thoroughly searched the cabin, of course.

Ten

Lyle slammed his door shut and motioned for the driver to take them back to the airport.

Jarod had been there and sis was lying about it. He knew it. They found no evidence to support this, but he knew it was true.

Eleven

Miss Parker sat on the porch and was mildly started when she heard his voice.

“May I talk with you, Miss Parker?”

“Sure, Syd.” She replied and he sat beside her.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you for some time what occurred on Carthis.”

“I got roughed up by monks, Mr. Parker died, and Jarod got away.”

“So you’ve said, but I don’t believe it.”

“Why would you believe otherwise?”

“Because of this.” Sydney replied holding out his hand. In it was a Goofy Pez dispenser.

“Because of Pez?”

“Because I was able to pick it up out of your bed upstairs before the sweeper spotted it.”

“I gave up smoking and turned to Pez. Big deal.”

“And they would have found Jarod’s fingerprints on it.”

“And if they had?”

“Jarod was here, of that I’m sure. But I don’t believe that you were doing what you said.” She smiled at the thought.

“You’re paranoid, Syd.”

“Miss Parker, you helped Jarod today and that could put you on bad terms with the Centre.”

“I didn’t help him!” She caught herself too late and covered her face with her hands. Sydney clapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Were you and Jarod, together, on Carthis?”

“No.”

“But you were close, I imagine.”

“Syd!”

“You and Jarod have always had a very complicated relationship.”

“He was just trying to get the two of us killed.”

“You don’t believe that, Miss Parker.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Something has been eating away at you since you returned. I believe it has something to do with Jarod.”

“Syd, we had a moment of weakness, that was all. He tried to use it to get away, and I suppose he succeeded.”

“And what about today?”

“I must have found him following my Inner Sense. He took me to his lair and then left and came back and had to leave town like a bat out of Hell. I asked no questions and he gave me no details. We came here, I took a bath, we ate and he left.”

“He left without his Pez dispenser?”

“He always leaves those lying around.”

“In your bed, Miss Parker?”

“It was a peace offering, a Pez in exchange for...” Miss Parker looked at Sydney warily.

“Rest assured, Miss Parker, I have kept secrets from you in the past.”

“I let him go for a fucking Pez, alright?!”

“At least he left you the dispenser.”

“You tell no one, Syd.”

“I’ve done far worse and have never received any Pez for my trouble.”

They returned to the Centre the next day. Miss Parker decided it was a better environment to continue the search for Jarod and sort out the evidence from his last action.

Mostly, it was because she had to distance herself from that place. From the time they had spent together. If she dwelled on it, then it may come to the surface and make her search more difficult. Jarod had been right, they needed to bury those feelings and eliminate one more complication from the list.

To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!

Reprisal

By Madame Estrella

Chameleon


Jarod clicked on his mail and connected with his father via webcam.

“Dad!” Jarod said excitedly.

“Hi son. I have some bad news.”

“What’s wrong, dad?”

“It’s your sister. That chameleon, Alex has kidnapped her.” Jarod pushed his chair back and it landed with a loud crash on the floor.

“Alex! What happened?”

“We were at a gas station, she was filling up the van when a man grabbed her and put her in a car.”

“Do you have any idea where they were headed?”

“No, and now he’s probably doing God knows what to Emily. See what you can find out and we’ll arrange to meet with you.”

“Alright, dad.” Jarod said before cutting the feed.

In Chains

Emily gingerly touched her face where Alex had hit her. She licked her lips and tasted blood and winced at the pain. She slowly looked around from the spot where she crouched to see an old man and an old woman in the room with her as well as three guards.

“Are you alright dear?” The woman asked.

“What do you think?!” The old man shouted and huffed in his seat. She saw they too wore the joined wrist and ankle shackles.

“Who are you?” Emily asked in a near whisper.

“I am Sue Bowman and this is my husband, Lyle.” The woman answered. Emily shook her head to clear it. Why was she here with two elderly people? Why were they in chains?

“Lyle has just escaped from prison, the Topeka Penitentiary.” Sue said as if to answer her unasked question. Emily’s head whipped about to meet the woman’s gaze.

“Lyle?” She asked. She knew only one Lyle.

“My husband.” Sue replied. “What is your name dear?”

“Leave her alone, Sue!” The woman ignored her husband with a click of her tongue.

“Emily Russell.”

“Emily. That’s a lovely name for a lovely young woman.” Sue replied.

“Thank you. Do you have any idea why we’re here?” Emily asked. The others shook their heads and Emily leaned hers against the wall behind her.

Cold

Mr. Lyle slammed his fist onto his desk and then shredded the paper the sweeper handed him. He glowered at the bearer of this news.

“Don’t you have something else to do!” He spat at the others in the room. “Like, maybe find Jarod?!” He stormed out of the Sim Lab and was closely followed by Miss Parker who grabbed his arm in the hallway.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” She yelled. Lyle huffed and wrenched his arm away before disappearing to his office. Miss Parker wheeled on her heels and headed back into the Sim Lab where Sydney and Broots had pieced the message back together. Broots looked sickened by the news as usual.

“What?” Miss Parker snapped impatiently. Broots looked helplessly at Sydney who then delivered the news.

“It says that Lyle and Sue Bowman were both killed yesterday.” Miss Parker’s face fell and she shook her head slowly.

“How?” She asked.

“Lyle Bowman was killed in a prison riot and Sue Bowman died in a fire which consumed the entire Bowman farm.” Sydney and Broots both looked at their hands.

“So Lyle’s adoptive parents are both dead.” She sighed and turned and headed out the door.

Lyle looked at the door curiously when he heard the knock. “Come in?” He said.

Miss Parker walked in and sat in the chair facing him solemnly. “I’m sorry, Lyle.”

“I was dead to them anyway.” Lyle said evenly. He smiled a little. “I guess that’s one more chapter in my life I can close.”

“How can you be so cold?” She asked.

“You tell me, Ice Queen.”

“I came in here to help.”

“And you can do so by leaving now.” Lyle smiled and then let his face drop to an expressionless shell once she had. He picked up his phone and dialed the Centre Operator.

He knew her concern was genuine, but he couldn’t crack his carefully molded facade, Mr. Lyle. They all wore masks at the Centre, but his was the best.

“I need on the next flight to Omaha.” He spoke flatly.

A Whole Lot of Bull

“And that’s why Lyle went to prison.” Sue finished. Emily stared at her open mouthed.

“Lyle killed Bobby and cut off his head?” Emily whispered in disbelief.

“How many time do I have to say it, I didn’t kill the little bastard!” Lyle grumbled. “Anyway, it’s you turn to spill your guts little lady.” Emily nodded.

“My family is on the run from a secret corporation in blue Cove Delaware called The Centre. They kidnapped two of my brothers and cloned one of them and turned the other into a sociopath. I was born while my parents were on the run and have joined them in the search for my brother, Jarod.”

“That sounds like a whole lot of bull to me Missy!” Lyle grumbled.

“I met a nice man named Jarod once. He came to the farm and asked me about Bobby.”

Emily frowned. “This Jarod, was he six foot four and slender and have dark hair and eyes?”

“Why yes, and he had a very nice voice and was very pleasant. He even helped me with some things around the farm before he left. Then some people came by a few weeks later, they also asked a lot of questions about Bobby.”

Emily tensed. “Was the woman named Miss Parker?” She asked. Sue nodded.

“Why yes, she was named Miss Parker.” Emily gasped and Lyle snickered a little.

“I also had a visit from a man named Jarod and a woman named Miss Parker. There was another guy too, an older man.”

“Sydney?” Emily grasped. The older couple both nodded. Emily shook her head.

“Miss Parker and Sydney both work for the Centre. They are chasing my brother Jarod.”

“Is he the sociopath?” Lyle asked.

“No,” Emily sighed, “But Mr. Lyle is.” The others frowned at her.

“Miss Parker has a twin brother named Mr. Lyle. He also works for the Centre. He had one of his thumbs cut off by the Japanese mob and he tried to kill me by pushing me out of a second story window.” Emily trembled at the memory.

“That’s funny.” Sue replied. “Lyle always told Bobby to call him Mister.”

“Alex also was kidnapped by the Centre. He was in the Pretender project with my brother Jarod. They are both Pretenders, they can do or become whatever they want to be. But Alex turned bad and now he‘s after Jarod for revenge.”

Lyle nodded. “So, Alex has you because he wants to hurt your brother. So why in the hell does he have us?” She never got the chance to answer.

The door flung open and a tall man in a black trench coat stepped in and opened fire, shooting and killing the three guards. He then turned the gun on Emily.

Bobby

Lyle looked at the three of them as they stared in disbelief. He’d walked into the room and killed all of the guards in a rapid succession of shots. He motioned to them with his gun. “Move.” He said cooly.

His adoptive parents being there hadn’t surprised him. Emily’s presence had. His cool gaze fell over her face as she passed him. He saw all the bruises and something inside him wished he cold kill those men again. He hated that somehow Alex had known it.

He led them to the black sedan and then took the wheel once they were all seated. He drove in silence as Emily broke into tears and his father made an exasperated groan at her. His mother only said his name. “Bobby.”

A Favor

Lyle paced slowly in the woods behind the cabin he’d taken them to at Possum Kingdom Resort in Texas. He didn’t have a plan and he didn’t know what to do about the situation. Now he had to face the people who had raised him. The father he’d framed for his murder, and the mother who had been driven mad by it. And he had Emily.

He sighed heavily in frustration and panic. He was a planner. He always had a map and now he had none. He pulled his gun out of it’s holster as he sat with his back against the tree. He held it in both of his hands and contemplated it.

He switched the safety off the gun with his remaining thumb and pushed the muzzle into his mouth. It was easier this way. There was nothing in this world for him and there would be many people thankful for this action. He squeezed his eyes closed.

“Lyle!” She shouted. He froze. He heard her steps approach and then felt her yank the gun away from him.

He relaxed further against the tree. He felt her grab his face with her hand and jerk it upward. He slowly opened his eyes.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Emily growled.

“I’m doing you a favor.” He said plainly. She hit him and he rubbed his face in surprise.

“No! I’m not letting you take the easy way out you son of a bitch! You killed my brother and you screwed up the lives of too many others to go so easily! At your own leisure.”

He stood up and was surprised at how shaky his legs felt. She stood with her hands on her hips, glaring up at him. He had to laugh and he did let out a chuckle.

“What’s so funny you stupid bastard?!” She cried. He shook his head and began to laugh harder as his legs gave way and he fell back on the ground.

“This, this is so Goddamned funny!” He felt the tears coming from the corners of his eyes. “Why would you keep a lousy sack of shit like me from killing myself?” He wiped his eyes and she pointed the gun at him, holding it in both hands.

“Stop laughing or I’ll kill you myself.” She yelled. He reached up and pulled the gun away from her with his right hand. She looked at him bewildered as he stopped laughing.

“I have to know, why?” He asked.

“Because you owe them.” She said pointing at the house. “You owe all of us.”

“Why didn’t you just run?”

“I’m tired of running from you.”

“If you leave me alone for a few seconds then you’ll never have to run again.” He said seriously. She sat down in front of him and studied his face for a few minutes.

“What are you afraid of Lyle?” She asked sadly.

“I’m afraid of Lyle.” He replied and then put the safety back on his gun and re-holstered it. “Happy now?” She shook her head.

“I don’t know what would make me happy.” She replied. A couple of tears slid down her cheeks and for some reason Lyle reached forward and wiped them away. Then he knew. He stood and took a few steps toward the house. He stopped and turned toward her.

“Are you coming?” He asked She took his outstretched hand and walked back with him.

Sunday Brunch

“Bobby?” His mother exclaimed as he walked into the lounge room. Lyle looked back and forth between his adoptive parents and sighed heavily.

“I’m sorry.” He said, and choked back a sob none of them saw.

“You’d better be sorry you little bastard!” Lyle Sr. growled standing up. Lyle pulled out his gun and pointed it at him.

“And you’d better sit down you old bastard.” Lyle said in a normal voice. Inside he was screaming.

“Bobby! Don’t you go pointing guns at your father!” Sue cried. Lyle put his gun away and took a step out of Emily’s way as she brought coffee into the room. ‘Why the hell was she serving coffee like it was a Sunday Brunch?’ He thought. Then he realized that this was as normal a family life as he would ever encounter in his sad life and he almost laughed again.

“I’m sure you’ve realized by now that I faked my own death. I’ve done it twice now.” He started. “You may have even realized that I killed my best friend to do it the first time. The second time was just a nobody.”

“Everyone is someone.” Emily snapped glaring at him.

“Not to me.” He replied. “Not anymore.”

“Bobby, we raised you better than that!” Sue cried.

“You showed me it was alright to lock a kid up in a shed and look the other way when all he really needed was a little help!” He shouted. “Now I’m the guy locking people in the shed so I suppose you taught me well.”

The others all shuddered at his remarks. Sue stood and walked over to her son and pulled him into an embrace. He put his gun away and pulled her close and buried his head in his shoulder, once again holding in a sob. He let her go and she looked into his face lovingly.

“I forgive you, Bobby.” She said.

“Well, I sure as hell don’t!” Lyle Sr. grumbled.

“But, Pop, I sent you a letter every month.” Lyle replied with a wry grin. Lyle Sr. leapt to his feet at the realization of where all the padlock cut-outs came from and Emily stood in his way.

“Everyone sit down!” She yelled. They all did.

“The Centre turned me into what I am now. My real father, a man named Mr. Raines, you know him as the counselor who came to see me years ago, trained me to become this.”

“So why did you come back now?” Lyle Sr. snorted.

“Because Alex was going to kill you all if I didn’t stop him. He still might if he ever finds you.” Lyle replied.

“So are you trying to say you love us, son?” Lyle Sr. spat sarcastically.

“No, I only protect my interests.” Lyle said. “You are already dead to the world. Alex made sure everyone else thinks so. I’m going to take you someplace where he won’t find you.”

Level Playing Ground

Lyle sat on the front porch and studied his hands. The others had long since gone to sleep and he still had no idea what he was going to do. He was very good at lying though, and his lies had reassured them.

They would be safe now. Alex would close that avenue. Lyle did anticipate his next move. He would go after the child, Baby Parker. He was going to be returned to the Centre and inevitably that was when Alex would strike. Until then he would remain hidden.

This time he heard her coming and that reassured him somehow. He needed her and Alex knew that. Now that she had an idea of what was happening, maybe she would even help him. She sat down beside him, but not close.

“So where do I fit into all of this, Lyle?” Emily asked. “I’m Jarod’s sister and I know Alex hates him, but why would he take me with your parents?”

“Because you are part of my plan.” He said somberly. She shot him a hateful, distrusting glance. “There is another Pretender.” He finished.

“How many of them do you have up at that fucking place?” She gasped. He looked at her and smiled a little.

“This one is really special. This one you and I are going to save together.” He said. Her face turned white and her mouth hung open in surprise. She quickly blinked away the expression and her face became angry again.

“Do you think I believe that? Why the hell would I help you with anything?”

“Because he’s your nephew. And mine.” He replied. “Alex will go after him and we need to prevent him from taking the child.”

“He’s my nephew?” She gasped. Realization flooded her expression. “Does Jarod know?”

“No, and neither does Miss Parker. As far as they know, the boy is mine and Bridgitt’s.” Lyle said. He read the confusion on her face and continued. “She was Mr. Parker’s second wife. We had an affair, but it was really a cover to implant this fetus. She didn’t know, of course. Mr. Parker did.” Emily tried to mouth something and then shook her head. “It’s sick, I know, but sick is what the Centre does best.”

“So why have I been tapped as the chosen one?” She said wringing her hands.

“Being a Pretender runs in your family. You are not a very good Pretender, but I need one to accomplish this.” He replied. She gave him another nasty glare.

“And what happens to my nephew afterward?” She asked.

“Emily, I don’t even know where I’m going to hide the Bowmans...” He broke off, surprised at himself. He looked at her equally surprised face and then she smiled.

“You really don’t know.” Her face broke into a grin.

“Why is that reassuring to you?” He asked, bewildered.

“Because we are finally on a level playing ground.” She said with a voice full of excitement.

“I suppose we are.” He smiled back at her.

Irony

“Manitoba!” Lyle Sr. cried in dismay. Emily and Lyle looked at one another. It was the first word that had popped into her head.

“Yeah, Alex will never find you up there.” Lyle stated the next morning. He and Emily had been up planning their relocation and hadn’t slept.

“Hell, I don’t know that I could find myself up there! That place really fucked you up, boy if you think I’m going to go there!” Lyle Sr. grumbled.

“The taxi will be here any minute.” Emily stated.

Lyle handed them an envelope of money and plane tickets. He hugged his mother as the taxi arrived and watched the two get in. He couldn’t entirely stop the sob that hit him as the taxi pulled away and Emily looked at him sadly.

“It’s hard, I know.” She said. He looked at her with a stern expression and she merely stepped close and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. He accepted her and wrapped his arms around her waist and she stroked his hair as he cried.

She steered him to the sofa and they sat down and he sobbed into her shoulder. She couldn’t stop herself from crying too. The irony of the whole situation wasn’t lost on either of them at that moment.

Hours later she woke up lying against him on the sofa. He was already awake and smiled at her sadly.

“The last time I was completely out of control was when the Centre handed me over to the Yakuza and they cut off my thumb.” He said. “Everyone has screwed me over from day one.”

“And that’s why you push people like me out of windows?” She asked softly, rising to a sitting position.

“Yes.” He replied.

“That’s a hell of a way to be, Lyle.”

“It’s the way the Centre made me.”

“It’s the way you choose to be.” She said rising to her feet and walking out of the cabin.

Precious

Emily sat on the edge of the dock, dangling her feet in the water. Hours ago Lyle had explained his plan to her and what her role would be once he‘d come up with one. She told him she would have to think about it and now here she was. She’d already accepted it to herself. She wanted him to sweat though. He deserved it. Time was a precious commodity at the moment and it wouldn’t be long before either Lyle had to return to the Centre or Alex tracked them down.

She occasionally passed a glance back to see Lyle on the porch, not looking at her. Of course, not while she looked back. It made sense why he’d asked her. It also made sense why Alex wanted her as well.

She knew what Lyle also knew to be true. Alex would try to take the boy when they did. That made this so much more dangerous and that danger sparked something within her. She knew that her father and brothers viewed her as being weak. She was surprised that Lyle hadn’t thought the same. He wouldn’t ask a weak, unprepared girl to do this. Lyle and his wicked plan. She chuckled to herself and slowly rose and even more slowly walked back to the cabin.

Lyle waited within and looked nervous. She liked that. Lyle, Bobby, was nervous. He was unsure of himself, his plan, and her.

She casually picked up the gun on the table and looked at him with a wry grin. It didn’t look like it would be as heavy as it felt.

“Let’s get to it then.” She said. Lyle nodded and picked up a bag and she followed him into the woods.

Louisiana

“What?” Miss Parker sharply snapped into the phone.

“I was wondering what your brother is up to these days.” Jarod replied. Her face grew worried, there was something about the tone of his voice.

“Lyle is on vacation.”

“On vacation, I imagine he’s off at some cabin by a lake and up to his ‘game’ again.” Jarod replied, sounding angry.

“Actually he received word a few days ago that his adoptive parents were both killed. He returned to Nebraska to make funeral arrangements for them.” She said, tapping a message on her computer to tell Broots and Sydney to come to her office.

Jarod mused a little. “They were both killed at the same time?”

“Yes, why?” Parker replied suddenly feeling suspicious.

“Alex has kidnapped my sister, Emily.”

Miss Parker nearly dropped the handset she remained quiet for a long moment. She began speaking as Broots and Sydney entered the office.

“Alex is dead.” She replied.

“Nobody associated with the Centre seems to die anymore.” Jarod growled.

“Where did he take her from?”

“A gas station.”

“Where?”

“If I tell you, then I’m putting my family at risk.”

“If you don’t tell me, then Alex will kill Emily.”

“Louisiana.”

“I’ll see what I can come up with.” She replied and then hung up on him. She grinned in quiet victory that she had hung up first. Broots and Sydney entered her office then.

“Broots, I want you to find every resort with cabins and a lake within two states of Louisiana.”

“But, Miss Parker! There must be thousands!”

“Then you should get started.” Broots exited the room quickly. Sydney took a seat.

“What is going on, Miss Parker?”

“Alex has kidnapped Jarod’s sister. Jarod thinks that Alex may have played some role in the deaths of Lyle‘s adoptive parents as well.”

“Alex is a cunning man.”

“Alex is an evil sadistic bastard and we‘re going to make sure we find him this time.”

Completely

“Did Miss Parker have any ideas about Emily.” Ethan asked. Jarod turned to him slowly. Ethan and Jordan, Jarod’s clone, both took a step back at his expression.

“She only knew that Lyle was on funeral leave. Both of his adoptive parents were killed in two separate incidents a few days ago. They’re searching for the most likely place Alex would have taken her.”

“Do you trust Miss Parker?” Major Charles asked him grimly. Jarod’s expression lightened a little.

“Completely.” He replied. Major Charles then saw his son for who he know was. Jarod was on the edge. He’d resigned himself to do whatever was necessary to protect his interests. And now the father saw that Miss Parker was one of them.

Sleepwalk

Emily switched on the radio on the fourth night of her training and smiled. She loved this song and it seemed to be programmed to play ad infinitum on the Possum Kingdom closed circuit station.

Sleepwalk. It was a beautiful word and a beautiful instrumental. Peaceful, sultry, romantic.

What they were doing here was in no means romantic. But somehow. She began to sway to the tune and wasn’t embarrassed when she saw Lyle watching her. She beckoned him and he walked over to take her outstretched hand.

He gently spun her and they seemed to move in perfect harmony. Together. She looked into his eyes and grinned devilishly at the thought of what Jarod’s reaction would be if he were to see them at this moment.

The song ended and Lyle took in a deep breath and stepped away.

“It would seriously compromise my reputation should anyone hear about this.” He said seriously. She began to laugh and he couldn’t hold back his own laughter.

“Is dinner ready?” She finally said. Lyle nodded, still laughing and followed her out to the table.

He’d revealed so much to her in the past few days. Not rosy things. Not things you would tell someone to build their confidence in you, or their trust. Yet it all had somehow. Emily was beginning to understand Mr. Lyle. Who he was, and where he came from. He may appear to be a charming business type but that was only a small fraction of his identity.

She was sitting across the table from a sociopath to say the least. A man who’d made his career undermining the basics of humanity. He was a murderer, a serial killer at that, a liar, an all out selfish son of a bitch who had no right to be alive. Yet he was, and not only did she dine with him, but she shared a bed with him as well. A king sized bed, and she huddled on the edge of her side.

He’d been decent. Actually, good company. He’d even been a gentleman. He didn’t try to look at her while she changed or showered and kept his hands off of her, except when she’d invited him to dance. She had thought that anyone else might be terrified of this man. Oddly, she wasn’t.

Spell

Lyle watched Emily as she washed the dishes. He’d looked up from his plans to take in her visage. She’d learned quickly. He’d had expectations of her potential but nothing like this. His memory of her had not done her justice, and now she was all that filled his mind’s eye.

To successfully execute those plan, he would need a pretender, but Jarod and Alex were both out of the question. So was the Centre’s mood ring, Angelo. Emily was never trained, but she was his only option and her willingness was more than he could ever hope for.

She was more than he could ever hope for. She smiled and sung quietly to herself as she dried a plate. He wouldn’t dare allow her to catch him staring. It would only complicate this scenario. He was the bad guy and the heroine couldn’t grow attached to the bad guy.

But he was growing attached to her. He never could have imagined the spell she would cast over him. He almost wanted to tell her to forget everything and send her off to her family. He could walk away and leave her alone, but it would kill him.

She turned around quickly and a smile spread across her lips.

“Caught you.” She chuckled. She had no idea. He looked back at his papers and shuffled through to get to the next step.

Her training was nearly finished and then he would let her go until he needed to call upon her. The one person who shouldn’t trust him had become the only one he could trust.

What would happen afterward? Anything was possible he supposed.

Trouble

“Have you seen either of these two people?” Alex asked an innkeeper. He was dressed as a Texas State Highway Patrol officer.

“No, can’t say that I have. Are they in some sort of trouble?”

“Oh yeah.” Alex beamed. “A real Bonnie and Clyde. They robbed a gas station and killed the attendant. Do me a favor and keep an eye out for them would you?“ He smiled again before stepping out of the office.

Spooky

“You have to throw it back fast and hold your face.” Lyle instructed.

Emily stared at the glass uncertainly and then tossed it back with her head and swallowed. The Scotch ran hot down her throat, like the others. She tried to hold her face straight but lost it when she looked at Lyle’s studious expression. He broke into a laugh as well and poured two more shots into their glasses.

“I’m never going to be able to do this.” Emily laughed as she threw herself back into the couch. Lyle walked over to sit beside her. They were both fairly gone.

Lyle held her glass out and she took it and stared at it again. She tried to focus herself into a cool stare, devoid of emotion, yet with the underlying of sadness, and anger. Just like the face she’d been studying. The face she was trying to become. She threw back the drink and then concentrated her stare on Lyle.

Lyle didn’t grin. He merely stared back at her. “That’s is. You look just like her.” He drew in a heavy breath and drank from his own glass. “You can stop now, that’s really spooky.”

“This is what you wanted.” She said, still holding her hard expression. She slowly let her face fall back to her own, relaxed expression. Lyle smiled gratefully.

“Yes, Emily. You need to practice that. By the time I call on you, you should have it down. I must admit that you’ve come along a lot faster than I’d hoped for.”

She poured two more glasses and held hers up. “Here’s to pretending to be someone you’re not, Bobby.”

He held his glass up and smiled. “Here’s to pretending to be someone you’re not, Emily.”

They drank and she put her glass on the table and sank back into her seat. “I have a feeling that you could have swooped down from the sky at any time and come for me.”

“You’re right.”

“You knew where to find me and my family and yet you never have.”

“Until now.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. Jarod upped the ante on me once before and went to see my mother, adoptive mother, then had Miss Parker and Sydney visit her as well. So I saw his bid and found you. “I’ve been having you watched for years.”

“You were going to get back at Jarod by using me.”

“No, I already did.” He replied grimly. The memory of him pushing her out the window flashed by quickly.

“So you did. And now you want me to do this.”

“You are my only option. I think you realize that even more now than when we started this thing.”

“What are you going to do once we’ve executed this plan?”

“That does remain to be seen.”

She sat up and leaned forward. “Bobby, the Centre ruined you, just like the others. Why didn’t you just leave when they set you up with the Yakuza and had your thumb cut off?”

“Because I want revenge.”

“And this is all for your personal pursuit of revenge.” Emily cocked her head to one side and Lyle sat forward.

“Yes it is.”

“Then why not tell Jarod about this? Why not get him involved and leave the Centre and work with him?”

“I killed your brother.” Emily sighed heavily. Lyle looked at her softly. “Besides, you’ve seen the scenario, this is an inside job and Jarod in on the outside.” Lyle looked at his hands and Emily gently took his left and stroked where his thumb was with her own.

“Bobby.” She said. He lifted his gaze to hers.

“Damn me for saying this, but I think I could fall in love with you, Emily.” He stroked her face with his hand and leaned forward and his mouth joined hers.

The phone rang and Lyle hesitantly pulled himself away from Emily to answer it. His expression changed to anger and he thanked the voice on the other end.

“That was the innkeeper, Alex just left.” Emily’s face fell and she stood, suddenly feeling sober.

“We need to leave now.” She replied. Lyle nodded and they began to quickly pull together their things.

Tether

Lyle brought the car to a stop at the gas station where he’d aquired Emily. He stepped out and began fueling his vehicle. He leaned in and looked at her through his open window.

“You may leave now.” He said. She frowned at him and threw open her door and circled the car to face him.

“I may, huh?”

He stepped to the trunk and grabbed a knapsack. In it he threw a sweater, a cell phone, a pager, an envelope of cash, a couple of files, and a gun. He zipped it closed and handed it to her. She accepted it.

“You may. I’ll call you when the transfer is going to occur.” He stated flatly.

Emily searched his face looking hopeful at first and then her face fell and she turned her gaze downward. Lyle sighed heavily.

“How will we meet?” She asked her shoes.

“I’ll come for you. I have a tracking device in one of the items I’ve given you. Guess which one.”

“It would have to be the adorable sweater.” She replied. Lyle reached out and lifted her chin with his hand.

“Are you alright? I mean you’ll be with your family again in, hours.” He asked. She smiled weakly.

“Goodbye.” She said and she turned to walk away.

“Emily.” He called after her. She stopped and turned her head a little to glimpse at him. “Remember who I am, Emily.”

“Who you are, or who you are pretending to be?” She replied. He sighed again and replaced the fuel nozzle, closed his tank and walked over to her.

“I’m not the kind of person you want to get attached to.” He looked into her eyes.

“Yet I am, by this electronic tether you’ve given me.” She said. He sighed and took her face in his hands.

“I meant what I said, Emily. But, I don’t expect you too.”

“I never said anything.”

“And you’re better off for it, believe me. Go home and enjoy your family. They love you and they’ll always take care of you.”

“Until you call me.”

“Until I call you.”

“Who will you be then? Lyle, or Bobby?”

“I suppose it’ll depend on who is watching.” He smiled and leaned close to kiss her gently. He pulled away and smiled again. “That was my favorite part.”

She smiled back at him. “Goodbye, Bobby.”

“Goodbye, Emily.” He turned and returned to his car and she took a step backward when he started the engine and pulled away. She turned to the gas station and walked inside.

Practiced

“Dad!” Jordan cried out happily. Major Charles came into the living room followed by Jarod and Ethan. Jordan held the door open as the Police Officer entered with Emily. She beamed and hugged Jordan and then the other men in turn as they greeted her.

They all thanked the officer who then left and they sat down together to dote over Emily.

“Are you alright?” Jordan asked.

“Did he hurt you?” Ethan prodded.

“How did you get away?” The darkness in Jarod’s question quieted the rest.

Emily swallowed and then smiled nervously. She and Lyle had practiced this part. Her excuse, her lie.

“Alex was moving me and I escaped out of the car.”

“Did he say anything about a plan?” Jarod asked.

“He said that he killed Lyle’s adoptive parents and that he is going to try to kill Lyle, to replace him at the Centre. Am I being interrogated here?” Jarod looked up and his expression softened.

“No, Em, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to figure out what Alex is going to do. Why he took you. It just doesn’t make sense.”

“How did he know where to find us?” Major Charles interjected.

“I don’t know. I think he was hoping that the Centre and Jarod would get involved. That way he could get both Jarod and Lyle at once. Now, if you boys would all excuse me, I want to take a shower.” She stood and headed out of the room.

She took a long, hot shower, yet it couldn’t wash away the last week. Nothing ever would. It all seemed so surreal now that she was back with her family. Like a bad dream. The lessons, the files, the DSA’s. She knew the worst was yet to come. They were going to rescue the child, but what then? Lyle would work that part out. Whatever the outcome, she would certainly have to leave her family behind.

She ate pizza with the boys and then had silently slipped away and now sipped hot cocoa on the porch alone. It was a little chilly for the south so she wore the ’adorable’ sweater she’d been given for cover. Why had he given her a sweater?

“University of Nebraska.” Jarod said as he joined her. She jumped slightly at his voice and then nodded.

“The guy who picked me up on the side of the road gave it to me. He thought I looked cold I guess.”

“So Alex dragged you all the way up there? Was there anyone else being held with you?”

“No, why?” She said sticking to her story. Part of her secretly wondered how Jarod would react if she told him that Lyle had rescued her and that they had joined forces to rescue the child of Jarod and Miss Parker, that they didn’t know about of course. But, she wasn’t going to ask, just in case he really believed her.

Letter

Miss Parker stalked determinately down the hallway to her brother’s office. She’d received the all clear from Jarod once Emily had returned, but she wasn’t satisfied. She threw open the doors and was met by Lyle’s bemused grin.

“You really don’t know how to knock.” He began.

“Shut up! What the hell are you up to?” She sneered.

Lyle looked down at his pen and then back at her. “I was writing a love letter to my girlfriend?”

“So how was the service?” She asked slyly. She’d had a sweeper there and Lyle had been a no show.

“I don’t know. I never went.” Lyle leveled his gaze with hers.

“Why not?” She pushed.

“I don’t know about you but it probably wouldn’t have sat well for the average Nebraskan if a dead son showed up for his parents funeral.”

Miss Parker nodded silently. “I see your point.” She turned on her heel and spoke once more. “By the way, your buddy Alex was sighted while you were gone.” She then exited his office.

Lyle smiled as the door clicked shut and looked down at the paper he’d been writing on. Paper in a computer age was advantageous in a lot of ways. For him, it got the point across. He read the lines he’d written and hoped that no one else ever would.

My Dearest Emily,

If you’re reading this then my plan did succeed, but I didn’t make it. I’ve left all the further information you’ll need with this letter along with the means to take care of yourself and the boy. I hope you’ll give him a good name and can someday sort out all this family business. I know you’ll love him and take care of him.

I have only one request and that is for you to never reveal who I was to him. He knows me as Mr. Lyle, head Rat at the Cheese factory. If I know you, then you’ll probably gush about how I succumbed to my guilt and helped you rescue him. That is all he ever needs to know about me.

As for you, I think you are the only person who ever saw me for who I am. Not just Mr. Lyle but also what remains of Bobby in me. I never realized that I still had some of him left in me until that week at Possum Kingdom with you. I don’t know why I said the name, since it’s the only time we’ve ever spent together. But I remember the way you laughed at the name every time you saw it. That was the best week of my life. I died a happy man because I was with you, even if it was for such a short time.

I don’t know when, but I did fall in love with you. When I attacked you, which I shouldn’t have and I’m very sorry, it wasn’t out of malice. I was ordered to by my father and you know Mr. Lyle did what he had to in order to secure his position, not to mention his life. However, I always had these pictures of you, not to mention information. I kept something with me, and I never knew why until we were together. I almost backed out, you know, I almost backed out again and again, but you’re determination prevented me.

I would have made love to you that night. That probably more than anything else is why I had to send you away. I was scared of the depth of my feelings for you. I wanted to abandon everything and go with you. But your family never would have understood and mine would have hunted us to the ends of the Earth. And we never would have rescued the boy.

As you said, here’s to pretending to be someone we are not. I hope you think of me as Bobby and bury Mr. Lyle forever. Maybe in the next life we can be together.

Love Always,

Bobby

He folded the letter and placed it in an envelope with her name on the front. Then he looked through the pictures he’d taken of her while he was on “vacation.” There was her sitting on the dock, another of her on the porch. Her in the kitchen and one where she was leaning on a tree in the woods. Then she was lying on the bed, hands folded behind her head as he straddled her and she smiled. He remembered the moment and the restraint to keep himself from pulling off her clothes. Her face in the picture invited exactly that and they had both known it. He smiled and then put all her pictures in an envelope marked Sleepwalk.



To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!

Gambit

by Madame Estrella



“Miss Parker, there’s something you should see in the lobby.” Broots said urgently. Miss Parker looked up at him, slightly annoyed.

“What is it?” She snapped. Broots shifted uneasily on his feet.

“Just come with me, please?” She rose from her seat and followed him to the sweeper filled hallway.

She had a sudden touch of deja vu when she saw some men dragging in another through the front door. Lyle sneered at her and then looked at the captured man with a smug grin. Jarod’s head rose and he made eye contact with Miss Parker as her breath caught in her throat.

Lyle motioned for the sweepers to bring Jarod closer and Jarod shot Lyle a menacing glare. He turned his attention to Miss Parker and then suddenly lunged forward and took her face into his cuffed hands and kissed her voraciously. Miss Parker froze and the sweepers and Lyle tore Jarod away from her.

Lyle shouted for them to take Jarod to SL-18 and they continued to drag him down the hallway. Miss Parker absently touched her lips with her fingers and waved away Sydney’s hands as he touched her shoulders and then marched away.

She hurried down the hallway and into her office, making sure the doors were closed behind her. She then brought her hand to her lips again and took the key out of her mouth and studied it carefully. Her hard expression broke into a smile.

“Jarod, what the hell are you doing now?” She said to herself.

Miss Parker turned around suddenly as Sydney and Broots entered her office. She quickly shoved the key into her pocket.

“Miss Parker, we’ve been summoned to the conference room.” Sydney said as Broots shifted nervously.

“By Raines?” She asked calmly. Somehow the key in her pocket told her that no harm would befall them today.

“Yes.” Sydney replied solemnly. She followed the men out the door and to the conference room. Each step they took she could tell the men became more uneasy. She only felt her confidence grow.

They took seats opposite Lyle, Raines and Amaru, the new Triumvirate watchdog who took the head seat.

“Well, it seems that Lyle has succeeded in returning Jarod to the Centre.” Raines said giving Miss Parker a grim look.

“So now is the time for the public executions?” Miss Parker replied coolly. Broots gulped noisily.

“No. I want you to work with Lyle to search through Jarod’s last lair.”

“Why?” Miss Parker asked, feeling a gush of confidence and smiling slightly.

“Because, the stolen DSA’s weren’t recovered when Jarod was captured.” Raines shot a cold look at Lyle. Miss Parker smiled at Lyle. She now had an idea where the key would lead her.

“Anything you say.” She grinned confidently.

********

Miss Parker, Broots, Sydney, and Lyle dug through Jarod’s lair with the sweeper team.

“So this is what one of Jarod’s active lairs looks like.” Sydney said, almost awed. Lyle nodded his head and Miss Parker and Broots kept to themselves having both been within an active lair themselves.

Jarod was a lot more disorganized while he was working. They were used to seeing the carefully laid out work he left for them when they arrived on his trail.

This place was strewn with candy wrappers and pop-tart boxes along with the packaging of the fad item of the moment, which appeared to be those electronic key chain pets. Miss Parker could only guess what the final result of that would have been.

Miss Parker saw a telephone book lying open to a section on storage. She picked this up and eyed the various advertisements for self-storage facilities. She remembered the key and discarded the book before the others had seen her looking at it.

The key to this mystery was in one of those storage containers. She shuddered at the thought of what had happened the last time that Jarod had led her and Lyle to one of those.

******

Miss Parker arrived at the fifth storage place on her list. She was growing tired of this. Even when he was back in the Centre Jarod still had her running on a wild goose chase.

“Welcome to Weston Storage, ma’am.” The man behind the counter said cheerily.

“Thank you. I have a friend who may have rented a storage container here his name is Jarod.” She said skipping the small talk and getting right to the point. After five times, talking weather with the yokels was getting annoying.

“Jarod?” The man asked, eyeing her curiously.

“Yes, he’s 6’3”, has dark brown hair, brown eyes.” She said.

“Does he have a last name?” The man asked, fidgeting behind the counter.

Miss Parker sighed. Yeah, he has a couple hundred of those. She closed her eyes and hoped for the best.

“Russell.” She said, remembering his parent’s last name.

“Yep! Right here, Jarod Russell. He’s a friendly guy, helped me upright my soda machine after some punk teenagers pushed it over for kicks!” He grinned. Miss Parker smiled with relief.

“He sure is a friendly guy.” She replied.

“His box is S-27. I haven’t got a spare key, though.” The man said.

“That’s okay, he gave me one.” She said holding up the key and trying not to think too hard about how he’d given it to her. “Thank you.” She said, exiting.

She walked down the rows of storage buildings until she faced S-27. A small one, she thought. She opened the lock and pulled the door open. She glanced inside and was taken aback.

A silver case, a brown leather bag, and a black leather jacket were the only objects inside. She crouched on the ground and opened the silver case to find it had a monitor and DSA’s inside.

“My God.” She sighed. “He handed it right to me.”

Why would he give her the key? Why would he turn these things over to her? Why do that when he knew she’d take them back to the Centre and hand them over to Raines?

Because it was Raines she would be giving it to. He was giving her the chance to stick it to both of them. Leave these things here and neither one would ever know what became of them and Lyle would have to answer for not recovering them with Jarod.

She smiled satisfied as she closed the door and relocked the padlock. She put the key in her pocket and headed back to her car.

******

“Why can’t I see him?” Sydney shouted. Lyle stood his ground and smiled.

“Like I said before, it’s not my call. Raines has restricted access to Jarod to anyone but himself and myself.” Lyle replied.

“What are you doing to him?” Sydney seethed with hatred in his eyes.

“Jarod has information that we require. After that he’ll be reeducated and returned to your care.” Lyle said.

“I know him! I should be talking to him!” Sydney shouted again. Lyle rolled his eyes; he wasn’t getting anywhere with the old man.

“The Triumvirate is still wary of you, Sydney. They have suspicions that you’ve been helping Jarod all these years. They think so, and so do Raines and I.” Lyle said turning on his heel. “Allowing you access to Jarod would be a huge liability and very bad for you should he escape again.” Lyle called over his shoulder as he disappeared around the corner.

He could imagine Sydney standing there and saying awful things about him, but then didn’t they all? He’d finally caught Jarod and he wasn’t about to let him escape again. Turn him over to the “Dream Team” and Jarod would be out in a half-hour.

Lyle asked his secretary to bring him coffee and then went into his office and took a seat at his desk. He reached into a drawer and pulled out a file on Jarod’s reeducation, and something that had attached itself to it slipped out and onto the floor.

He reached over and picked it up and saw what it was. An envelope marked Sleepwalk. He opened this and pulled out the photographs and looked over each one.

God would she be pissed if she knew what was going on here. Lyle traced the outline of the woman’s face with his finger. He hoped she wouldn’t find out about this before he needed to call on her. He could live with her anger, but he still needed her to be in if this plan were to succeed.

He sighed and put the photos back into the envelope and dropped it back into the drawer. Just as he was closing it, Miss Parker came crashing through the doors.

“What the hell are you doing, Lyle?” She shouted.

“You’ve obviously talked with Sydney.” He replied, not bothering to reprimand her on her manners.

“Yeah I talked with Sydney! I want you to allow access to Jarod for him right now!” She fumed. But that wasn’t all. He knew it wasn’t. She’d been keeping something from him.

She and Jarod had secrets they kept between them, and he didn’t like that. He knew that they had some sort of secret alliance between them. He wasn’t surprised, but he didn’t like it. He knew that she knew more about what was going on with the missing DSA’s as well. It wasn’t just because she’d slipped off and back to Jarod’s last lair today, but also because he could feel it.

“Then he told you that I have no say in the matter.” Lyle replied matter of factly.

“If you did anything...” She began and he cut her off.

“Then what, sis? Are you going to crawl down the air vents to cuddle your little Pretender and kiss his wounds to make them better?” Lyle snapped. He did it partly because he wanted to see the look on her face, but also because he knew that’s what she had been thinking.

“He must have gotten you really hot and bothered the other day in the lobby when we brought him in. You must just be itching to get down there and see him.” He finished, leveling his icy stare with hers.

“Sydney has a connection with Jarod.” She said after a long pause. “If anyone should be taking care of Jarod’s reeducation in the Centre, it’s Sydney.”

“But this little visit isn’t about Sydney and you and I both know it.” Lyle replied.

Lyle’s secretary interrupted them as she brought his coffee in to him. He accepted it graciously and watched Miss Parker leave soundlessly. This was far from over, and he knew it would be a struggle the whole way.

*****

“Broots!” Miss Parker shouted as she entered the sim lab. Broots nearly jumped out of his skin and Sydney only eyed her cautiously.

“Ye-yes, Miss Parker?” Broots stammered and then looked for something to shield himself with.

“I want you to find out who Lyle’s new girlfriend is.” She hissed. The two men regarded her curiously.

“What, Miss Parker?” Sydney asked.

“Lyle has a new squeeze and I want to know not only who she is but everything else about her as well.”

“But why?” Broots asked.

“Don’t ask why?! I have my reasons! This is the Centre and things aren’t so great since Mr. Parker kicked so we all have to find a new way to survive.” She said glaring at the tech. Sydney looked at her taken aback.

“You’re not going to hurt the poor woman, are you?” Broots asked.

“Ha!” Miss Parker snorted. “Any woman who gets involved with Lyle is not to be pitied in my book, or did you forget about Bridgitt?” She growled and then left the sim lab.

“Lyle must have really pissed her off.” Broots sighed and then started hammering away at his keyboard as Sydney watched over his shoulder.

******

“Why do you do this?” Jarod seethed, staring up at Lyle from the concrete floor. Lyle adjusted the jumper cable on the sponge and was getting ready to hook up the leads to the battery.

“Because the Centre can’t afford to let those DSA’s fall into the wrong hands.” Lyle stated plainly, in his businesslike manner.

“Whose hands are those?” Jarod said sarcastically. “The police, the FBI?“ Lyle merely shook his head at him.

“Do you seriously believe that the Centre is the only game in town?” Lyle replied. “There are other organizations just like the Centre, only some of them are much worse.”

“That would be hard to imagine.” Jarod snapped.

“No, not really.” Lyle replied. He finished hooking the leads up to the battery and turned to Jarod. The door opened and Raines walked in.

“I’ll take it from here, Lyle.” The old mad wheezed. Lyle nodded and held out the cables in his gloved left hand.

“What? Are you working in shifts now?” Jarod growled. Raines took the cables and turned his gaze toward Jarod.

“You will tell us where the DSA’s are, Jarod.” Raines smiled as he approached the man lying on the floor.

******

“Found anything on Lyle‘s woman yet, Broots?” Miss Parker demanded as she walked back into the lab. Broots looked at her nervously.

“Nothing, Miss Parker. Are you sure he has a girlfriend?” He replied cringing.

“Oh, I know.” Miss Parker said. “I can feel it.”

“Your inner sense tells you so?” Sydney asked.

“Yeah, I guess it may be that. I just got this feeling when I was in Lyle’s office a month ago. He was writing a letter and he said sarcastically that it was to his girlfriend. But, something inside told me it wasn’t sarcasm. He really felt something for someone other than himself and that took me for surprise.”

“Then why don’t you ask him about her?” Broots asked. Miss Parker glared at him.

“What?” She snapped.

“Well, he is your twin brother. Maybe you could invite him and his lady to dinner with you?” Broots said. “But perhaps that would be too easy.” He finished upon seeing her disapproving glare.

“Or perhaps you can go into his office and find that letter.” She snapped and then turned on her heel and left the room. Broots sighed and looked at Sydney.

“You know, sometimes I just wish that I’d stuck with my paper route.” Broots said as he stood and left the room.

******

The phone rang in Lyle’s office and he picked up the receiver.

“This is Lyle.” He said.

“Hello, Lyle.” The voice said. Lyle’s face registered his surprise, but he kept his voice even.

“What do you want?” Lyle replied.

“I want your help. You owe me, Lyle.” The voice replied.

“Yes, I suppose I do. This is probably not a good time.” Lyle said.

“No, I suppose you’re right. Just know I’m going to be calling in some hefty favors soon.” The voice answered and then the line went dead. Lyle placed the receiver back into its cradle and rose from his seat. He turned off the lights as he left the office.

Five minutes later, Broots entered the room. He crouched at any noise and finally ended up nervously crawling on the floor to Lyle’s desk.

He carefully opened drawers and examined their contents. After he’d looked through each one, and turned up nothing, he slowly crept away from the desk in defeat.

He finally stood and was walking toward the door when he heard a hissing sound. He threw himself to the ground and then slowly rose when he realized the hiss sounded like a voice in the vent.

He approached the vent and looked at it curiously.

“Hello?” He whispered.

“I have something for Miss Parker.” Angelo’s voice replied. Broots knelt in front of the vent and took the object that was pushed through. It was an envelope.

Broots opened the envelope and found that it contained a few DSA’s. He looked back up.

“Thank you, Angelo.” Broots whispered.

“Yes, thank you, Angelo.” Lyle said. Broots whipped his head about to meet Lyle’s angry gaze. “You have something for me?” Lyle said, extending his hand. Broots handed him the envelope and DSA’s and sulked out of Lyle’s office.

Lyle went to his desk and sat in his chair. He opened the DSA player and dropped the disc in and the screen jumped to life. Now he had something on Miss Parker. Some of the secret information that Angelo was passing on to her stooge squad and Jarod.

The images that came on the screen would haunt him for the rest of his life.

The bottom left corner of the screen read Bobby and then for Centre use only.

******

“Well?” Miss Parker asked impatiently. It was the following morning and Broots couldn’t help but notice that both the Parker twins looked worse with each passing day.

“I’ve found something, but it’s not about a girlfriend.” Broots replied.

“What is it then?” Miss Parker snapped.

“Angelo tried to give me some DSA’s, but Lyle took them.” He stammered.

Miss Parker slammed her fist on her desk.

“Well, take them back!” She snapped.

“It’s not that easy. I left the office and then I heard Lyle shouting something inside.”

“What was he shouting?” Miss Parker said each word slowly, angrily.

“I didn’t really catch all of it. Something about damn Raines, damn the Centre.” Broots said with the puzzled look from the previous evening returning to his face. Miss Parker’s expression became questioning.

“Where is my baby brother?” She asked with a saccharine sweetness.

******

Miss Parker entered the Blue Moon Tavern and approached Lyle at his table. He looked up at her from over his glass as he traced its rim with his finger. She took a seat across from him.

“I didn’t know you liked to drink, baby brother. Maybe we could have been fast friends over a bottle of whiskey at lunch. Oh, that’s what we’re doing right now.” She grinned and gave the waitress her drink order.

“What do you want?” He grumbled. Miss Parker was taken aback. She’d never seen her brother drunk before and found it surprising that he was so similar to her when she was.

“A truce. Broots told me you came onto some disturbing information last night.” She smiled. Lyle sighed and gave a short laugh.

“I should have known that little yes-man of yours was still cowering outside my office.” Lyle said.

“That’s what cowering little yes men of mine do. So, what did Angelo show you?” She asked.

Lyle glared at her and rose from his seat. He threw a few bills on the table and looked down at her.

“You should thank your God that you haven’t seen the things I have and know the things I know.” He growled. “Enjoy your lunch.” With that said, he left the bar.

Miss Parker accepted her drink and fumed at Lyle, the Centre, and Jarod. Jarod, even back in the Centre he still made her ulcer ache. She’d gone back and forth on the issue of turning over his belongings for days now. Why hadn’t she?

For that matter, why hadn’t he told them? Surely they must be doing terrible things to him. Yet, he hadn’t pointed a finger or said her name. Loyalty. That’s what it came down to. Loyalty ... and Love. He’d told her that he loved her that day. He’d actually said the words.

Something she couldn’t do. If she said those words, allowed herself to feel the way he wanted her to ... the way she wanted to. No, those feelings were too dangerous. She would just have to go on refilling the Goofy Pez dispenser she secretly kept in her desk and doing just as he’d said.

******

Lyle had looked on for a week as they tortured him. Raines was in charge, of course, asking the questions and then prompting the sweeper to administer the blows. It didn’t matter what they did to him Jarod wasn’t giving up.

Lyle heard that rhyme in his sleep now. Cree Craw, Toads Foot, Geese Walk Barefoot. He woke in the middle of the night drenched in sweat saying those words.

He didn’t understand why Miss Parker didn’t stop it. Wouldn’t stop it. She had the key, he knew that now. He’d seen it in his dreams, as clear as a memory he’d never had.

“Hey, ease up a little, we don’t want to kill the guy.” Lyle said to Willie. The sweeper looked at him in disgust and then at Raines. Raines only nodded and said the words in his wheezing, raspy voice.

“Clean him up.” Raines barely gave Jarod a passing glance as he wheeled his oxygen tank out the door.

Lyle heard that too in his dreams. Squealing wheels and Jarod’s screams. He didn’t want this. He remembered all too clearly being the one locked away, screaming. He shook his head.

Jarod looked up at him with hate in his eyes. All Lyle could think was, ‘I’m in love with his sister‘. He gave Jarod a sinister grin, as the man would be expecting, and walked out of his cell.

Once they’d broken Jarod, they would reeducate him. Reeducate. The images on those DSA’s flashed through Lyle’s mind like lightning. He hadn’t been able to escape them. He could only imagine what would have happened if Miss Parker had actually seen them.

Lyle began to walk to his office. The Centre already had too many monsters.

*****

Emily jumped as she felt the buzzing. She gathered her wits and realized it was the pager she wore. The pager that only one person knew the number to.

“Not now!” She whispered to herself. “I’m not ready to do this yet!”

She looked at the pager and dialed the number into the cell phone he’d given her.

“Hello?” Came his voice.

“Um, hi.” She said, not sure what she was supposed to say. “You paged me?”

“Yes, Emily.” He said and she heard him draw a long breath. “I’ve captured Jarod.”

“You what?” She asked and then became immediately enraged. “What did you do to him, you bastard?”

“He’s being held on SL-18 in cell 18-A15. Are you getting this?” He asked. She grabbed a pen and paper.

“SL-18, cell 18-A15.” She repeated as she wrote it down.

“The security relays for that sublevel are turned off for maintenance on Sundays from 2015 to 2055. There is adequate ventilation to the cell. There are three sweepers in the area at all times.”

She scribbled on the pad madly.

“Okay.” She said finally. She heard the line go dead and felt slightly put off. She sighed and tried to absorb the information and decide what she would say before giving the information to her father.

She decided that she would send him an anonymous email. Otherwise she had no idea how she would explain how she’d gotten the information in the first place.

*****

“Dad! You got a message!” Jordan called from the living room. Major Charles entered the room and looked at the laptop screen.

“Refuge.” Major Charles said, reading the subject line.

“Isn’t that the code that Jarod and Sydney use?” Jordan asked. Major Charles nodded. He opened the file.

“My God!” Major Charles gasped. “They have him.” He read the information about the security and location.

“Are we going to get him out?” Jordan asked.

“You’re damn right we are.” Major Charles replied grimly.

*****

Miss Parker peeked around the corner and watched the sweepers. Go, go, she thought. They finally moved down the hall to patrol and she ran to the door. She punched in the access code she’d found in her office that afternoon. The door opened and she walked inside.

“Jarod.” She sighed as she saw him curled up on the bunk. She numbly walked over to him and sat on the bunk beside him. “What did they do to you?”

He looked up at her once he’d realized she was there. He was covered in bruises, scratches, and cuts. He leaned up a little but she placed a hand on his chest and gently pushed him down.

“Don’t try to move. Oh my God, I can’t believe they did this to you.” She breathed.

“I can.” He whispered. “This is what they did to me last time.” He looked at her sadly. She thought for a moment and remembered when they’d held him at the Centre after he’d been captured saving her. They’d purposely kept her away.

“Do you still have it?” He said. She nodded her head and he smiled a little. “They don’t know, not even suspect it?” He asked.

“No.” She said. It was a lie. Lyle had accused her of keeping information from him, but she didn’t see the need to place any more worry on Jarod. She moved closer to him and stroked his hair and face gently.

“I’m trying to get Sydney in here.” She said. He looked at her curiously.

“How did you get in?” He asked.

“I found the access code and snuck in.” She said, smiling a little. Here she was again, sneaking around in the Centre to steal time with Jarod. He smiled back.

“Just like the good old days.” He said and grimaced a little. He reached over and took one of her hands in his. “I’m glad you came.”

She held his face in her hand and leaned toward him and kissed him gently. She pulled back and looked in his eyes. He pulled her back with his free hand and they began kissing.

“Get him ready for the treatment.” A voice commanded in the hallway. They both looked toward the door.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Miss Parker snapped. She looked back at Jarod.

“You need to get out of here, Marion.” Jarod said. Her eyes widened at the sound of her name and she sat up.

“Relax, I’ve got this one down.” She said getting off the bunk and pulling herself beneath it. He felt the bunk lower slightly as she lifted herself off the floor and against the mattress.

The door opened and she sweepers came in and grabbed him. They tore him from the bunk and dragged him from the room. Miss Parker sighed heavily as she pulled herself from under the bunk. She was going to make Lyle and Raines pay for this.

*****

Lyle watched Miss Parker emerge from the cell on the security monitor. She looked around and quickly moved off screen.

“Like a moth to the flame.” He said to himself.

He looked back at his DSA player and scrolled through the images on the DSA once again. It never got easier to see.

He could imagine what Jarod thought as he went through his archives. But Jarod had known about them. He probably remembered everything that had happened to him before he’d watched the DSA’s. They must be like home movies.

Lyle pulled the disc from the player and put it in his pocket before he left his office. He would observe once again.

******

Emily stopped the van a quarter mile from the Centre. She watched absently as Major Charles and Ethan grabbed a bag and pulled ski masks on. Jordan opened his laptop and pulled up the screen to the Centre monitors he’d hacked into.

She was to sit and wait with Jordan while they retrieved Jarod. It ate at her. They didn’t think she was strong enough, good enough to help in any way but driving the getaway car.

She could have gone into the Centre and brought Jarod out by herself. She could have done it without ever telling the Russell men what she was doing. But there would have been questions that she wouldn’t have wanted to answer.

For whatever reasons Lyle had told her how to rescue Jarod. She had to hope that one of those reasons was that he was changing. But he’d captured Jarod to begin with. Why would he go to the trouble of bringing Jarod in, and then letting him go?

She knew the reason for that. He’d meant to bring Jarod back. Self-preservation was always at the top of Lyle’s list. He brought Jarod back to fulfill the Centre agenda. He probably even meant to keep Jarod there.

So what made him let Jarod go? Something had to have happened. The Centre was probably doing something to Jarod that Lyle disagreed with. That was, after all, why he’d asked her to help him rescue the child.

“We’ll be back soon.” Major Charles said, interrupting her thoughts. She nodded and Ethan and Charles hopped out of the van and closed the door. Now she waited.

******

Jarod lay on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. A million thoughts raced in his mind. A central one came back to the key. He would get out of here, somehow. But how would he retrieve the key from Miss Parker?

He decided to think about simple things, like his escape. He had to work on the timing. He’d figured out the schedule of the sweepers when they patrolled and changed shifts. He’d even figured out the schedule of Raines’ ‘interrogations.’ They were all meant to be random, but people were creatures of habit and no where was that more evident than at the Centre.

He heard a sound in the vent and looked at it curiously. Then he saw something move.

“Angelo?” He whispered. He heard someone clear his throat.

“Um, no, son. It’s your father, and Ethan.” Major Charles whispered back. Jarod’s expression became one of pure jubilation.

“Dad! How did you know?” He whispered excitedly. He looked at the door and then back up at his father, who with Ethan’s help was opening the grate.

“No time to talk son, we have to get you out of here.” Major Charles replied. Jarod waited until the guards had moved a few meters from the door before he stood on the bunk and jumped up toward the grate. He caught the edge and pulled himself up with his father and Ethan’s help.

Once he was inside the space, they closed the cover and hurried off toward the exit. Major Charles radioed Jordan that all was clear about five minutes before the alarms started going off.

The scrambled out of the vent opening outside the Centre and quickly replaced the hood. Then they ran toward the van.

Just as they reached the van and Jordan opened the doors; they heard shouts behind them.

“Stop right there, Jarod!” Willie cried. Jarod whirled around to see the sweeper pointing his weapon at him. Jarod waved his hands.

“No!” He cried. “Just let them go! I’ll come back with you!” He pleaded.

Then the shots rang out. Willie fell to his knees and dropped his gun. He looked about dazed as more shots were fired, disorienting the other sweepers. Jarod turned back and dove inside the van. Ethan slammed the door once he was inside and Emily sped off.

******

Emily applied the ointment to her brother’s wounds and then bandaged them. Jarod sat, wincing as she worked, and looking very morose. Emily hugged him when she was done and smiled at him lovingly.

“It’s okay now, Jarod.” She said softly. He shook his head.

“No, this isn’t over yet.” He replied gloomily. He rose from his seat and pulled on his shirt. He walked out on the room leaving Emily staring after him.

Jarod grabbed a cellular phone off the kitchen counter and punched in the familiar digits. He walked outside before he heard her voice.

“What?” Miss Parker snapped.

“You have something of mine.” Jarod replied solemnly. Miss Parker was silent for a few moments and then chuckled darkly.

“So I have. You put on a hell of a show, Wonderboy.” She replied. “So, how did it feel to gun down a sweeper?”

“I didn’t shoot Willie; neither did anyone I’m with.” He replied. “The shots came from the woods nearby.”

“The bullets aren’t traceable to anyone at the Centre.” She replied. “So who fired them?”

“Who indeed.” Jarod said. “That doesn’t change the fact that you have something of mine.”

“Correction, all that you have.” She replied. Jarod nodded to himself.

“So, have you turned it over to the Centre?” He asked.

“No, it’s right where you left it.” She replied.

“Can I trust you to return the key?” He asked. Again, she was silent for a long pause.

“Maybe.” She replied teasingly.

******

Miss Parker paced in front of S-27. He wasn’t coming, she knew it. She was just wasting her time while Ratboy was off somewhere laughing at her. Then she heard someone walking up behind her. She spun around to see him.

Jarod smiled as he saw her face. She couldn’t suppress a smile as he stopped in front of her. Somehow, she liked seeing him out in the open a lot more than in the depths of the Centre.

Jarod held out his hand and she pulled the key out of her pocket and dropped it into his hand.

“Don’t even think I was going to return it in the way I received it.” She said sternly, but then broke into a smile. He returned the smile.

“Well, a guy could always dream.“ He replied.

He opened the lock and rolled the door open. He pulled out his jacket and put it on before grabbing his bag and the silver case. He looked back at her.

“Back to the chase.” He said solemnly. She looked at her feet and was going to reply when she heard a shout from behind her.

She whirled around to see Lyle approaching with two sweepers. She turned back to Jarod who had started taking steps in the opposite direction. She thought fast and pulled out her gun.

“Stop or I’ll shoot, Jarod!” She cried out. Jarod broke into a run and a sweeper ran past her and around the corner Jarod had turned.

They ran around the storage yard and finally came up empty handed.

******

“Lyle said he saw you handing Jarod something before he opened the storage locker. What was it?” Raines hissed across the T-board. Miss Parker wrung her fingers and looked back at him coolly.

“I don’t remember.” She snapped. Raines and Lyle looked at one another and then back at her.

“Was it a key?” Lyle shouted. She winced a little. Lyle stood and pointed to a monitor.

On the screen they watched images of Jarod kissing Miss Parker in the lobby. Then, Miss Parker was looking through the storage locker by herself. Then it was her with Jarod in his cell and then just her leaving the cell. Then, her and Jarod as she handed him the key.

The room was silent and all eyes were upon her. Finally she spoke.

“The evidence is pretty damning and speaks for itself.” She said and then said nothing more.

******

They kept her in the holding cell adjacent to the T-board for nine more hours before Lyle stepped in.

He held out a sealed bottle of water and Miss Parker took it gratefully. She snapped it open and swallowed a few gulps of the cool liquid before returning her gaze to Lyle’s.

“So, are you going to kill me now?” She asked quietly. Lyle shook his head and sat down beside her. He took one of her hands and looked at her with concern she’d never seen in his eyes before.

She felt it then. She felt warmth coming from Lyle, a tender feeling. She never knew that he really cared about her until then.

“You have a chance to prove your loyalty to the Centre, but your not going to like it.” Lyle replied. She swallowed hard and looked deeper into her twin’s eyes.

“What is it?” She asked, nervously. Lyle sighed heavily.

“Amaru wants a bride.” He said plainly.

Her eyes widened.

Category: JMPLA
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up to IOTH
Summary: Part four of the Labyrinth Series.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.


Broken

by Madame Estrella



Menacing Bridal Photos

Miss Parker’s stomach turned at the thought. How in the fuck could the Centre ever expect her to do this? She shook her head. Imagine! Her, a mail order bride? She would blow up the Center before she would marry a member of the Triumvirate to benefit it.

At least that was how she’d felt when she was initially told her next assignment. Even now, over a month later, the words still tasted sour in her mouth. But what could she do? Nothing. Her father, who she thought was her father, was dead and no one could protect her. Her choices were to marry someone she didn’t know but still despised, or something far more sinister.

She wiped her cheek as Debbie came in the room. She’d grown into a beautiful young woman and looked very lovely in the lilac dress she wore. She wasn’t old enough to sign the papers but Miss Parker had insisted she be her maid of honor. Debbie sat beside her and Miss Parker carefully put some of her stray hairs into place. Miss Parker saw a lot of herself in Debbie and hoped that she would never have any of the rest.

Her wedding day. Somehow she never thought it would be like this. She’d been allowed to plan it, it was all she had to do after she was taken off the hunt for Jarod. That had stung hard as well.

She’d always thought that she would marry a handsome man she’d fallen madly in love with and who would whisk her away from her life at The Center. She’d even thought that perhaps Thomas would be that man. That was never going to happen.

And on top of it all, Jarod hadn’t even taunted her about any of it. She hadn’t had one clue, one phone call, or one package from him. Nothing. He’d disappeared off of the face of the Earth and her world. Perhaps it was for the best. She’d been removed from the hunt after that and anything from him would have made the whole situation that much more unbearable.

And it wasn’t because she cared.

Lyle peeked into the room and then stepped in and closed the door behind him. He approached Miss Parker’s sneer and grinned.

“Yeah, that’s the look you want in all of these pictures.” He said smiling. She fought it, but then ended up laughing at the thought of the menacing Bridal photos.

“Are you ready?” He asked. She rolled her eyes and thought of the conversation she’d had with her mother. ‘I hope someday I’ll meet a man I’ll love as much as you and daddy.’ Not for her.

“I’ll go back out. Sydney and everyone from The Centre came.” He said excitedly as he closed the door behind him. At least they would all have a good time at her wedding. She looked in the mirror and straightened her veil.

One last chance. You have one last chance to come and rescue me Prince Charming. She sighed at the thought. There was no Prince Charming in the cards for her.

She hugged Debbie and they gathered their flowers and their nerves and headed out the dressing room door. They were walking down the corridor when she remembered that she’d forgotten her something old, something from her mother. She quickly returned to the dressing room.

“Miss Parker!” Debbie cried as she followed her back into the room. Miss Parker held up her mother’s lace handkerchief, which she tucked into her bodice. She took Debbie’s hand and they walked out once more.

Miss Parker forced a grin as she passed the groups of happy-looking people. Caterers, florists, etc. Then she saw him. He wore a tux and his hair in his eyes. Their eyes met and she stopped walking.

“Jarod.” She said in a near whisper. She read the alarm on his face but did not hear what he shouted. She saw him start to run toward her and felt someone take hold of her free hand. She looked toward the person holding her arm and Jarod’s words began to register.

“Run, Miss Parker, run!” He cried as he reached her and lunged upon the man who pulled her down with him. Jarod swung and hit the man’s face and looked up at her, breathing hard.

“Go! Get out of here!” He said and saw she didn’t understand. He grabbed her and pulled her to her feet and began to run with her. Debbie ran with them, holding Miss Parker’s hand.

They ran out of the corridor and outside the chapel. They took off into the grass and rounded the corner. Miss Parker heard people cry out behind them and shouting.

“Jarod!” She yelled, tugging her hand away from him. He stopped and looked at her, his expression was desperate.

“I have to get you out of here, it isn’t safe.” She looked at him with a wry and worried expression.

“I’m getting married.”

”No you’re not! They’re going to take you!”

“Who?”

Their pursuers caught up with them. Jarod grabbed her hand and started to run again but she was pulled away by two large men. He whirled around and saw the two men and another grab Debbie and shove them into a limousine that had driven up the grass behind them.

“Jarod!” Miss Parker screamed. Jarod looked at her, defeat on his face and began to run until the sweepers caught him.

Taunting Message

“How could this have happened?” Johansen Amaru hissed at the room of people. He was tall, deathly pale and threatening as he leveled his cold blue eyes at the others. “I want her found, alive! I want the people responsible brought to me, alive!”

He dismissed the roomful of Sweepers and Centre Operatives with an exaggerated swing of his arm. His gaze fell upon Lyle and Raines, the only others left in the room. They all still wore their tuxedos.

“Jarod’s behind this, I know it!” Raines hissed.

“I’m not so sure. It doesn’t seem like his style.” Lyle replied.

“His style?” Amaru said cocking an eyebrow.

“Jarod is the type who leaves a taunting message, not a ransom note.”

“Ah, if I might interject...” Sydney said, walking into the room in his tux as well.

“What?” Raines growled. For a moment Sydney smiled at the thought that Miss Parker had acquired that trait from her natural father.

“I don’t believe Jarod is responsible either. He also wouldn’t hurt Miss Parker.” They had found her blood at the scene of her abduction with the ransom note. “If you remember, Jarod was once caught trying to aid Miss Parker after she was shot.” Sydney finished shooting a glance at Lyle. “He was caught again trying to run off with her today.”

“Okay, suppose Jarod wasn’t involved. Then who was?” Amaru growled.

“I have no idea, but we’ll find out!” Lyle back-pedaled.

“I want you to work with Sydney and Mr. Broots on this. Find Miss Parker.” Sydney made a face at Amaru’s remarks. Work with Lyle? This was only going to further complicate the matter.

I Know I Couldn’t Stop It

Sydney and Broots walked into the small, dark cell on SL-23. Jarod glanced up at them. He was sitting on the bunk with his hands drawn around his knees and resting his head on them. Sydney studied Jarod’s face. He looked profoundly saddened under a hard expression. His long hair hung in his eyes and he brushed it away.

“What do you want?” He asked in a near growl.

“I, we wanted to talk to you, Jarod.” Sydney said carefully looking toward Broots. Broots face was drawn long and saddened as well.

“Why? So I can help you find Miss Parker.”

“And my Debbie.” Broots blurted out then backed away.

“So you know about her abduction?” Sydney feigned ignorance.

“I know I couldn’t stop it.” Jarod said looking between them.

“Sydney!” The man behind him cried. They both looked at him in horror. Lyle had stepped into the cell.

“Jarod is going to help us find Miss Parker!” Sydney cried out. He turned to Jarod. “Right?”

“I don’t have her!” Jarod snarled.

“I guessed as much. Help us find her and I’ll let you walk, this time.” Lyle said.

“I’m sure; right until she’s in your hands and then you double cross me.”

“I can understand your mistrust, but I want to see my sister safe at home again.”

“Not to mention save your own sorry ass from the wrath of the Triumvirate. I’m sure they weren’t happy that Amaru’s bride was so easily taken from under the noses of her own people.”

“That too.” Lyle said calmly. “Please, Jarod.” Lyle got to his knees. “Help me find my sister.”

“Your laying it on pretty thick.” Jarod sneered at him.

“Please Jarod.” Sydney said with a begging expression. Broots nodded. Debbie had been an innocent bystander who’d been dragged into the mess. Jarod looked between the three men for a few long moments before agreeing.

“On my terms.” He said.

This Is Good Stuff

“He’s playing right into our hands.” Amaru smiled. Sydney frowned at him and Lyle.

“He’s going to help us find her only if we’re not working against him. He’ll disappear if he suspects you’re working against him.” Sydney said.

“He won’t walk away until he knows Miss Parker and Debbie are safe.” Lyle grinned and clicked a button and an image projected onto the screen. “We had security cameras installed everywhere the last time we caught Jarod on Carthis. Look what we caught on candid camera.”

The screen displayed Jarod and Miss Parker in the backseat of the Centre transport car. They were discussing something. Jarod reached out with his manacled hands and took her hand in his. They looked deeply at one another and then Miss Parker shook her head and pulled her hand away. The screen changed to the Centre lobby two months before where upon his capture, Jarod lunged on Miss Parker and kissed her.

“I’m no shrink, but if I had to guess I’d say Jarod has a crush on Miss Parker.” Lyle grinned as he surveyed Amaru, Raines, Sydney and Broots’ grim expressions. “What? This is good stuff.”

“I have some work to do.” Sydney said as he rose. Broots followed him out the door but not before flashing a glare at Lyle, Raines and Amaru.

Prince Charming

Miss Parker sat on the rollaway bed against the concrete wall with her arms wrapped around her legs. She rested her chin on her knees and felt her surroundings. She was in a room a little bigger than a walk in closet with no windows, still wearing her bloodstained wedding gown. Her captors had given her a couple of wet-naps to clean up, but that was all. She was occasionally escorted to a bathroom where big men in ski masks watched her.

Her captors had separated Debbie from her. She didn’t know where she was or if she was okay or alive. She’d wept for the first few nights about Debbie. She was too young and innocent and it was her fault she’d been dragged into this.

“They’re going to take you.” Jarod’s voice and face still as clear in her mind as they were to her that day. He’d known. He’d come to rescue her. Prince Charming.

In here alone though her mind could soar. Concrete and steel could not repress her Inner Sense and she knew he was coming for her. She’d known on that day three weeks before, but hadn‘t known why. She’d stopped fighting long ago and now ate their prison food and focused her mind. She would bring them, him to her. The words to a song rang in her head. ‘If I go, I don’t want to go alone.’

Psychobabble

“Oh with you, I could never be alone.” Lyle said to himself quietly. Broots and Jarod looked at him curiously.

“What did you say?” Jarod asked.

“Nothing.” Lyle said shaking his head. He rose from his seat and stepped over to a bookcase and pretended to find something very interesting.

“Lyle?” Sydney asked, but he knew the answer.

“I have these dreams. I don’t know what they mean.” Lyle said quietly.

“Of what?” Sydney asked.

“I see Miss Parker sitting in this small, dark room on a tiny bed.” Lyle replied.

“Miss Parker has the Inner Sense. She may be trying to help us find her.” Lyle looked at him.

“What, Inner Sense?” Lyle asked looking at them.

“This is harder on her than it is for us. If she is using her Inner Sense then it could help us tremendously.” Sydney persisted.

“Can you just stop with the psychobabble for five minutes!” Lyle shouted.

“Maybe we should consider all avenues if we’re going to find her.” Jarod snapped.

“I don’t have visions or hear voices.” Lyle stammered. “I’m not any crazier than anyone else is here.”

“I could argue against that.” Jarod sneered.

“There is a connection between twins. Maybe Lyle is just experiencing what Miss Parker is because of their connection.” Sydney said.

“It’s funny that she's trying to connect with me now.” Lyle sighed.

“Especially since you’re not the kind of person anyone should have connections with.” Jarod said before he stalked back to his desk and sat back down in front of his laptop. Back in his old room at the Center again.

“I know how you feel.” Lyle said.

“What the hell does that mean?” Jarod said glaring at Lyle.

“About Miss Parker, you know.”

“What?”

“You’re in love with her.” Lyle said pointedly.

Jarod looked at him furiously.

“What?” He stood.

“I know what happened in the car when we were bringing you back from Scotland.” Lyle teased. Jarod narrowed his eyes at him. “I even know about the time that she spent with you the last time we had you here.”

“What’s wrong, Jarod. Did you make an advance on the Ice Queen and get shot down? Is that why you were at the wedding? Trying to talk her out of marrying the wrong man?” Lyle continued. Jarod lunged at him and swung. He connected with Lyle’s jaw sending him to the floor. Sydney and Broots grabbed Jarod and Lyle rubbed his jaw and got up.

“That’s a good swing you’ve got there. Too bad you couldn’t save your sweetheart with it.” Lyle taunted before leaving the room. Sydney and Broots let Jarod go and he slumped on his bed. He looked up at the two men.

“Could you leave me alone please?” The two men exited.

Something Had Changed

“I don’t see the point of upsetting Jarod like that.” Sydney pleaded to Raines who’d listened to the three men describe the incident with raised eyebrows.

“Neither do I.” Broots said sternly. “My daughter’s life is in the balance here.”

“As is mine.” Raines glared at Broots who took a couple steps back. “I knew it was a mistake to ever let them meet.” Raines sighed heavily.

Raines remembered the DSA of Jarod kissing his daughter all those years ago. It had all led to this. He’d always wondered if Miss Parker’s feelings had gotten in the way of bringing Jarod back to the Centre. Yet it was those very feelings he’d used when he and the Triumvirate had set up the ruse of the wedding to catch Jarod. He’d seen the way they looked at each other in Scotland. He knew something had changed between them.

That was why he’d taken Miss Parker off the search for Jarod. He couldn’t expect his daughter to catch and bring the man she’d possibly slept with back to the Centre. He’d hated the notion, the very possibility that Jarod had defiled his daughter the way that carpenter had.

The ruse had backfired; someone had used it to abduct his daughter. Only he and the Triumvirate knew this of course. Now, who were they and what would it take to get Miss Parker back.

“Have we received the ransom request yet?” Raines wheezed.

“Nothing since the first note three weeks ago.” The note had said the ransom request would be made in a later contact. It had been dripped with Miss Parker’s blood and stabbed into the ground by the very knife used to let it in the limousine before it had sped off that day.

“Find her. The longer it takes, the less likely she, they will be unharmed.”

I’ll find you

Jarod was standing in the Chapel. It was empty and he smelled the scent of the flowers from the wedding on the soft breeze.

“Jarod.” The soft voice behind him spoke. He turned to see Miss Parker dressed in her wedding gown. It was bloodstained and tattered. Her hair was down and unkempt as if she combed it with her fingers. She wore no makeup and looked very plain and sad. Her blue eyes shone in his dark ones. He wore black from head to toe.

He reached out to her and she looked at his hands before taking them in hers and looking into his eyes again.

“Jarod, I don’t know where Debbie is.” She said, tears welling in her eyes. Jarod brushed them away and held her face in his hands.

“Marion, where are you?” She shook her head in his hands.

“I don’t know.” Jarod rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. He felt her arms slide around his waist and up his back. He leaned down and kissed her gently then felt he was being pulled back.

“I’ll find you.”

“I know.” She whispered.

A Ruse

The news they were waiting for arrived. A ransom. The box had arrived at the Centre that morning. Jarod opened it with Lyle and pulled out the wedding gown. It was damp and smelled of seawater. On it in indelible ink was written...

One life for two. Jarod. Baltimore.

Jarod sank into a chair and he looked up at the others.

“If it’s me they want then why the hell didn’t they take me in the first place!” He yelled at no one in particular.

“They wouldn’t have gotten you at the wedding.” Raines wheezed.

“Why not?”

“Because it was all a set-up and they knew it. The wedding was a ruse to catch you, Jarod.” Lyle admitted.

Jarod stared at him blankly then stood in anger.

“You mean you made all that up and now Miss Parker and Debbie’s lives are in danger for it?”

“For you, Jarod.” Amaru smiled. “Unfortunately, I will not be here to watch the rest of this...” he paused “drama? I have business to attend to back in Africa.”

Jarod looked and felt visibly relieved as Amaru then headed toward the door.

“Thank God.“ Lyle’s whispered response came beside him.

Matched

Lyle looked over the dress and the note from the kidnappers. He ran his fingers over the words. He recognized the handwriting.

He pulled the note he’d received a few months ago out of his pocket and unfolded it. The one about his parents that Broots and Sydney had pieced back together. He held it beside the kidnapper note and saw the writing matched exactly.

He knew then who’d sent it. He wasn’t surprised that it was him. He was surprised that Jarod didn’t know.

Jarod had known about the abduction plans though.

Naked In The Sand

A few hours later they received a videotape. The men sat in stone silence as they watched the horror unfold.

Miss Parker’s image came on the screen. The camera panned back and she was on a vacant beach. A gun was shoved into her back and she lifted the front of her wedding dress as she walked into the water and was pulled into the boat by masked men.

The boat was steered into open sea and when they were far off the shore one of the men grabbed Miss Parker by the hair and shoved her over the side. He held her hair and they saw her splashing and screaming in the North Atlantic water. The man held her head under and they could see her thrash about under water. He pulled her up for air and then pushed her back under about fifteen or twenty times. The man pulled her hair and another grabbed her arms and dragged her back into the boat.

When they were back to the shore the men drug her out of the boat, through the water and dumped her on the sand. They cut the gown off of her up the back and pulled her clothes away. The last shot before the screen went black was of Miss Parker lying shivering and naked in the sand. The camera panned in on her face as she cried.

Revenge

Jarod stalked down the hallways followed by the sweepers with a piece of Miss Parker’s dress in his hand. He stormed into the room occupied by Angelo and thrust the fabric into his hand.

“Where is she?”

Angelo contorted and cried at the touch of the fabric, feeling Miss Parker’s terror and pain. He cried and mumbled as he drew pictures of places he saw in the memories of the dress.

Jarod snatched them up and stormed out of the room and back to his own.

Angelo blinked after him.

“Jarod wants revenge.” Angelo said quietly to himself.

Jarod turned a corner and ran into Lyle. The two jumped back from each other and leveled their gazes.

“We’ve received another package from the kidnappers.” Lyle said. Jarod only nodded and followed him back to the sim lab.

Despite Herself

Miss Parker pulled the sheets around her tightly. She’d seen Debbie before, before... Debbie was all right. She was safe. There wasn’t a scratch on her and Miss Parker would take all the abuse to protect her. Not that it was her choice. She thought she would die in the ocean. Thought that the last time she would ever see Jarod was at her wedding when he came to save her.

He was always saving someone and now he would save her. Unless the Centre had him. She shuddered at the thought. If the Centre had him, they may never even bother to look for her. And he couldn’t look for her.

She thought about when it had all changed. It wasn’t by the warm glow of Ocee’s fire. It had been long before. When she’d seen his image in a photograph for the first time since they were children. The image she showed to people in her search for him.

He’d grown into a very handsome man. She’d been surprised by his appearance. Tall, dark and handsome. The kind of man any woman would pursue, but by her in particular. And he was such a wonderful man. He’s a genius. He cares about people. Altruistic. He cared about her. She’d had to show a tough face but she knew that he knew his gestures of kindness to her had hit home over the years. He loves her.

She brushed away the tears that started down her cheeks. The only person alive who really loves her despite herself.

Madman

Three days after the beach, the door to Miss Parker’s prison opened and a man stepped inside. He was tall and Miss Parker recognized him immediately.

“Alex.” She breathed.

“Your memory is sharp, Miss Parker.” He sneered. He was dead once. A dead Pretender. Nobody at the Centre stayed dead; she should know this by now.

The door closed behind him and he sat down on the bed beside her. He reached out and stroked her face and ran his fingers through her hair as she pulled away. He snickered and grabbed her and kissed her as if he were grinding his face into hers. He slapped her when she only cried out and wouldn’t accept him. She touched her face where it began to darken.

“Bitch! You always were such a tease!” He sneered.

“What do you want?” She cried. She’d given up the Ice Queen long ago.

“I want to destroy Jarod. You are the best possible way.”

“Why?”

“Don’t you know by now? He LOVES you! You are the Center of his Universe! If I destroy you, then I destroy Jarod!”

Tears streamed down her face at his madness. It wasn’t until that moment that she was certain that she would die there. At the hands of this madman.

“Don’t.” She shook her head and whimpered. “Please don’t.”

“I wonder what they would all think of you at this moment. A broken woman, a mere ghost of the Ice Queen. Weak. Helpless.” She sobbed harder at each word. He turned his head and spoke as if someone was standing behind him.

“You’ll never see her alive again, Jarod.”

Surprised

The second tape arrived with the exchange location. The Baltimore Aquarium at midnight. The men watched this tape in growing dismay. Jarod only glared at the screen. He and Lyle were the only ones who didn’t look surprised. Lyle turned to him when it was over.

“Angelo told you it was him, didn‘t he?”

Jarod closed his eyes and clenched his hands together. He was shocked at the feelings within him. He had never so wanted to hurt someone in his life. To murder someone. Regardless of the outcome, Jarod promised himself that Alex would perish.

Sweet Oblivion

Miss Parker walked up to the pane of glass that stretched from wall to wall, floor to ceiling. A six-foot by six feet by six foot cell with a view. She could see Alex sitting in a chair, smiling smugly at her. She barely noticed how cold she felt. How naked she was. At the end did it matter? When she was dead, no one would ever hurt her again.

She would drown. Alex had chuckled before locking her in the display. A new exhibit, something he had seen in a movie. She also knew that Jarod would arrive in time to see her die. To watch helplessly as she thrashed and convulsed as her body stopped working. As she passed into sweet oblivion. And she wouldn’t see him.

Cooperate

Lyle stared at the road and suddenly the windshield glass seemed to distort to that of a curved surface. He felt cold. He saw two hands touch the glass from the other side and saw the pale lifeless stare of his sister.

“Stop the car!” Lyle suddenly cried out. Willie, Raine’s prized sweeper did as he was told and the car lurched to a screeching halt.

“What’s wrong?” Willie asked. Lyle grinned as his hand came down on Willie’s head, smashing his temple with the butt of his gun.

Broots gasped in the back seat and Jarod merely grunted as Sam’s mouth dropped open in dismay. Lyle tossed a set of keys and a gun back to Sam.

“Un-cuff Jarod and give him this.” He ordered. Broots and Sam exchanged open-mouthed expressions before returning their gazes to Lyle. “He’ll cooperate.” Lyle nodded at Jarod who merely leveled his gaze at the man.

Sam did as he was told and Lyle ordered Broots out of the car. The tech reluctantly aided him in dragging Willie out of the vehicle and depositing him in the trunk.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be all right.” Lyle grinned at Broots before they climbed back into the car, Lyle at the wheel.

“We’ll go forward with the plan, except for Willie.”

In The End

The icy water was about her chest. The cold was penetrating and she was losing the struggle against shivering. She saw Debbie sitting beside Alex, she was crying. Miss Parker once again placed her hand against the glass and smiled at her. She would die, but the girl would be safe of this she was certain. Jarod would make sure she got out of this and back to her daddy all right. She would remember though.

She hoped that Jarod would help Broots and Sydney escape the Centre. He probably had it all worked out. She thought back to him at the cabin in Canada. Thought of Goofy and how he’d kissed her. She should have accepted the offer and let him lie with her before he’d disappeared.

He’d told her that he was in love with her and she wished she had told him the same. She’d convinced herself that it was as he’d said sweet talk to get away. That was the only way she’d gotten past the feelings of loneliness and abandonment.

Now he would watch her die. Probably with Broots and Lyle with him. She doubted they would bring Sydney. She wished she could take it all back, but then again, didn’t they all in the end.

At Gunpoint

“Oh my God.” Lyle whispered as they stared through the opening at the scene, which lay before them. They had looked over the building plans of the aquarium and Jarod had figured out where Alex would be holding Debbie and Miss Parker. What he hadn’t figured out was how they would be holding them.

Lyle looked over at Jarod and for a moment was locked on his eyes. So many emotions played out there. Fear, love, hatred, revenge, misery. Then they all disappeared and his face set into a hard expression. He looked back at Lyle.

“Go.” He whispered. The four of them briefly wished they had brought more people maybe even Willie. Then Lyle stepped into the room with Jarod being led at gunpoint behind him in cuffs.

Great Beyond

“Hello, old friend.” Lyle grinned and Alex returned his smile. Alex stood and glanced over Lyle’s shoulder at Jarod, who stood staring at Miss Parker.

He could only imagine what Jarod was thinking. What he was feeling. He glanced at Miss Parker who was clawing at the ceiling of the cell and kicking furiously to breathe every last ounce of air before there would be no more. He could barely hear Debbie crying beside him as he held her hand.

“Now, Alex. I thought the agreement was one life for two?” Lyle held his sternest poker face but he was actually screaming inside. He could feel her fear and desperation. He was dying with her.

“So how are you going to kill me?” Jarod spoke flatly. All eyes were upon him as he took his from Miss Parker.

“He’s good!” Alex laughed. “Of course Jarod reaches the correct conclusion when it’s too late. I’ll give you Debbie, unharmed of course.” He wrenched his hand away from Debbie and she ran to Broots and grasped him around the waist and he collapsed to the floor holding her and they both cried.

Jarod walked to the tank and stood beside the glass. He put his hands against it and stared up at Miss Parker. Alex wondered if she could actually see his soulful expression.

Alex returned his attention to Lyle and the sweeper.

“I gave you what you wanted. You may leave now.” He said sweetly.

“I can’t let you have Jarod.” Lyle replied calmly.

“Don’t worry. I’ll send him back to the Centre with Miss Parker. After I’ve reunited them in the Great Beyond.”

Suddenly two shots rang out and Jarod jumped back from the tank, his free hand holding a gun. Alex looked toward him in shock as another shot rang out from Lyle’s gun. Alex looked at Lyle, dismayed as he stepped forward and fired two more shots.

Jarod fired three shots and there was a loud scratching sound as the glass began to give way. Sam and Lyle returned fire to Alex’s henchmen and the ones who weren’t cut down were knocked off their feet when the glass shattered and spilled its contents.

Jarod was washed aside by the freezing water and sloshed back to his feet to find Miss Parker lying on the floor. He rushed to her and turned her on her side and held open her mouth before placing her on her back. He leaned over and held his fingers to her throat and his ear to her mouth. She still had a pulse. He held her face and pressed his mouth to hers and breathed into her lungs.

Lyle and Sam killed the few of Alex’s men who hadn’t run off. They then joined Broots and Debbie beside Miss Parker and Jarod. Miss Parker started coughing and Jarod rolled her to her side where she vomited and coughed up ice water.

Jarod glanced up at Lyle who knelt beside him. Lyle smiled at him and looked around and then at Sam.

“Where is Alex?” Lyle asked. They all looked over to where he had stood and saw nothing. Jarod returned his attention to Miss Parker.

“Let them be.” Lyle ordered. He stood and began to walk toward the door.

“What?” Sam asked bewildered.

“You heard what I said.” Lyle looked at Jarod. “Take care of her.”

“I will.” Jarod said as he pulled off his leather jacket and slid one of Miss Parker’s arms through it noting the broken glass on the ground.

Sam, not fully grasping what was happening followed Broots and Debbie. The four began their exit as Jarod zipped Miss Parker into his jacket and lifted her from the ground.

Now He Waited

Jarod touched her face lightly. He could feel her drawing on his energy in this dark fifteen dollars an hour room. A dark place where no one gives a second glance to someone carrying in a scantly clad, unconscious woman.

He’d taken supplies from an ambulance. Just what he’d need to help her. Now he waited, and held her in this tiny bed. What would she think when she awoke and found them like this?

Relentless Creature

In his office, Lyle sat at his desk and thought of that evening a week before. Being dressed down by Raines and the Triumvirate hurt right up there with getting his thumb sliced off by the Yakuza. But somehow he really hadn’t minded.

No one but the five of them really knew what had happened that night. Sam would want to protect his job. Broots would want to protect himself and Debbie, and Jarod was free. Lyle smiled to himself at the last. He’d upheld his agreement that Jarod had thought was a lie.

He wondered how Miss Parker was. Jarod had heroically whisked his sister off to an undisclosed location. Sweeper teams had been dispatched however no one had noticed a man of Jarod’s description with a woman like Miss Parker. Nor of Alex’s description.

Sydney and Miss Parker had both spoken of the final straw that would finally make Jarod break his ties with the Centre and disappear forever. However, he didn’t believe that this was the one. He wasn’t the type who would so carelessly run away with a ladylove, riding off into the sunset.

Lyle had seen it before, but never so clearly as that night in his eyes. Jarod had changed. It had been gradual, but he was far from the innocent avenging angel he was when he had first escaped the Centre. He had become a relentless creature. One who preyed upon the truth with each pretend and unsatisfied returned to his lair to wait for his next opportunity.

Jarod had become someone who Lyle understood very well. The others hadn’t seen it. But he knew, and so did Jarod.

Absence

When Miss Parker regained consciousness nearly a week and a half after Jarod had rescued her from the aquarium, he knew something was still very wrong. He saw it in the blankness of her stare, the look of absence.

“You’re awake.” He said, trying to sound cheerful. She shook her head and shied back, pulling the covers up around her.

“Who are you?” She asked timidly. Jarod’s face fell and he felt as if all his strength had drained from him.

“You really don’t know.” He stated. He found the seat before he fell onto the floor. He sighed as if all his breath was escaping him.

“My name is Jarod; I’m here to help you.”

Category: JMPAR
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up to IOTH
Summary: Part five of the Labyrinth Series.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.


Memento

by Madame Estrella


Miss Parker sat on the bed in a Bellagio penthouse suite and gazed out the window at the Las Vegas Strip. This man she only knew as Jarod had brought her here the day after she awoke from what she could only call the world’s worst nightmare.

A fidgety character named Argyle had met them, after a birthmark he’d insisted on showing her, and his companion a dog named Dog. She hadn’t known what to make of either Jarod or Argyle and was equally perplexed as to how these men were going to help her.

Jarod had told her that her name was Miss Parker. She’d asked what her first name was, and he only said that she’d shoot him if he said it. A very strange person with an equally bizarre fetish for Pez.

The two of them had gone somewhere, leaving her to her own devices in this top floor suite of a casino hotel. She’d watched television for a while and was now getting nervous that neither of them had returned yet.

Jarod had told her that she could order whatever she desired from room service and now she was contemplating giving that a try. She knew that she was supposed to be resting, recovering from some severe injuries she hadn’t remembered receiving.

She had amnesia. And she hated it. She could do almost anything except for remember who she was and anyone else she supposedly knew. Like Jarod. He’d said that they’d grown up together yet she had no recollection. She didn’t know where she was from, what she did whom her friends and family was or anything else about herself. Jarod had told her that she know knew how he felt. That was reassuring, one amnesiac taking care of another.

Just before she picked up the phone to see how much trouble she could get into with Jarod’s hospitality, he entered the room and smiled when he saw her.

“Hello Miss Parker. I’m glad to see you’re up and about.” He said cheerfully.

“A few more minutes and I would have been out the door.” She grinned. Jarod’s face fell.

“You shouldn’t leave the suite, Miss Parker.”

“Why on earth not?” She cried dismayed.

“Well, for one you only have the clothes on your back.” Jarod said nodding to the effect that all she had in this world was the plain sundress and shoes she was wearing.

“Of course.” She replied. “I assume that there are places out there when I can get more clothes if only I could leave this...” She gestured about the room “palace.” She finished sarcastically. “Or prison.”

“It’s not a prison.” Jarod replied walking over to the desk and pulling a red notebook out of his jacket and laying it on the desk. The red notebook he’d been studying for the last two days.

“What is that anyway?” She asked pointing at the notebook. Jarod shook his head.

“It’s nothing.”

“The hell it isn’t! You’ve been reading that thing since I woke up. Does that have anything to do why I can’t remember anything?”

“No, its something else altogether.” He replied, pulling the notebook closer to him on the desk as if he were going to grab it if she went for it.

“So what am I supposed to do? Sit here until I die of boredom?” She wailed.

“No, you’re supposed to stay here and get better.” She rolled her eyes at his remark. There was something very annoying to her about his smugness.

“Get better.” She sighed. “If there’s something wrong with me then shouldn’t I be in a hospital?”

“I couldn’t take you there. They’d ask too many questions. It’s complicated.”

“Why? Did you kidnap me or something?”

“If I’d kidnapped you, would I leave you alone?”

“But if I can’t remember anything maybe you wouldn’t have to watch me.”

“No, Miss Parker, I did not kidnap you. I just want to make sure you get better before I take you home.”

“Couldn’t my family do that?” She asked. Jarod’s face fell.

“No.” Jarod replied sadly. Miss Parker tilted her head and looked up at him.

“What’s going on here?”

“You’ll remember.” He stated and then walked over to the wet bar taking the notebook with him.

“Bastard.” She hissed. She walked into the ladies bathroom and dramatically slammed the door behind her.

???

Miss Parker soaked in the steaming water. She tried not to think of the argument that she’d had with Jarod. She wasn’t his prisoner. She didn’t have to follow his orders. He was just a guy who was putting her up in a hotel suite on the other side of the country from where she’d come from.

She hadn’t remembered anything. She was beginning to get frustrated by this.

She held her breath and slid down into the water until she was submersed. Some water flowed into her nose and ears and her eyes opened wide.

Floating. She was floating in freezing water and she was naked. She gasped and water filled her lungs and she choked. She began to thrash about and tried to cry out from her smothered lungs.

She felt strong hands on her shoulders pulling her up. Jarod maneuvered himself to pull her out of the water as she choked for air. She coughed and gasped as Jarod sat her down on the chaise lounge. He sat down beside her and held her face in his hands.

“Miss Parker, are you all right?” He cried, his eyes searching her face. She regained a heavy breath and nodded. Then tears fell from her eyes and Jarod grabbed a large towel and wrapped her in it. He pulled her into his arms and rocked her gently.

He soon rose and handed her the robe hanging on the back of the door and left the room. She pulled the robe on and joined him in the lounge room where he handed her a glass of scotch. She sniffed it and looked at it puzzled, and then at him.

“Straight scotch?” She asked. Jarod shrugged.

“It’s your favorite.” He replied. She took a sip and made a sour face. Jarod laughed and took a seat. She scowled at him, he was clearly enjoying this and she hated not knowing why.

“I drink scotch straight and my name is Miss Parker. Other than that, you haven’t told me anything else about myself.”

“You don’t remember anything?” He asked, raising his eyebrows. “What about in there?” He nodded to the bathroom. Miss Parker felt a shiver go down her spine and swallowed the remaining scotch to warm herself.

“I had a feeling.” She said. “It was like I was floating in ice cold water and I was drowning. It doesn’t make any sense except for being naked. I mean, the water was steaming hot.”

“It makes perfect sense to me.” Jarod sighed. He avoided her gaze. “I can not tell you outright, Sydney said it would be damaging to your psyche.”

“Who is Sydney?” She asked. Jarod looked back at her.

“He’s a friend of both of ours.”

“And how, exactly, do I know you?”

“We grew up together. In a place called the Centre in Blue Cove, Delaware.” He searched her face for recognition and found none. “We’ve known each other since we were very young.”

“So what are we, related?”

“No. We’re just ... friends.” Jarod said once he’d found the word. This was going to be very difficult.

“What’s your last name?”

“Russell.”

“What’s my first name?”

“I told you that already.”

“No, you said that I would shoot you if you said it.” She grinned and then saw the seriousness in his expression. “From the look on your face I suppose I’m some sort of stone cold bitch.”

“Not always.” Jarod grinned. She noticed a glint in his eyes and was somewhat comforted by it, enough that she even laughed at his remark.

She paced around the room and waved the empty glass in the air. “So, I’m Miss Parker, a stone cold bitch from the Centre in Blue Cove, Delaware and I have a friend named Sydney who is a friend of a man that I have known all my life named Jarod Russell who hesitantly calls me his friend.” She looked at him. “And I still don’t remember any of it.”

“Sydney said that a trauma victim would block out painful memories to retain their sanity. You successfully blocked out all of yours.”

“So what, my whole life has been traumatic?”

“I’d say.”

“Hmmph, so that explains why I’m a stone cold bitch then.”

“I said not always.” Jarod replied defensively.

“Exactly what kind of ‘friends’ are we, Jarod?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because I think it’s important. Something about the way you look at me tells me so.”

“And how do I look at you?”

“Like you’re in love with me.”

Jarod drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he rung his hands.

“Yes, I suppose that is fair. Yes, Miss Parker, I am in love with you, but I’ve already told you that. Rest assured nothing in our ‘relationship’ has progressed beyond my declaration of love for you.” He said, looking away from her at the last.

“I shot you down.” She said and then grinned at his nervous expression.

“Not exactly.”

“Oh now what in the hell does that mean? We’re not lovers.”

“It’s complicated. You’ll understand when you get your memory back.”

“So I shouldn’t sleep with you?” She asked, Jarod looked surprised at the suggestion.

“I think that you’d regret it once you’ve regained your memory and that you’d be pissed off at me for a long time afterward for taking advantage of you.”

“So not only are you my friend, you’re also a decent human being.”

“I try my best.” He said. She walked over and took a seat beside him.

“Jarod, what happened to me?”

“I told you I couldn’t say. I don’t even want to remember it.” He said looking away from her.

“It must have been terrible.” She replied. He looked back at her and took her hand in his.

“It was probably the worst moment in our lives.” He replied.

“Did you try to drown me?” She asked. He drew away from her in disgust.

“No! I would never dream of hurting you.” He said standing up. They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Jarod checked the peephole and then let Argyle in.

Argyle was carrying a couple bags of Chinese takeout and a six-pack of soda. Jarod helped him with the food and they set it up on the table in the lounge room. Argyle kept looking at Miss Parker nervously.

“What’s the matter, Argyle?”

“No-Nothing except I always thought that you were supposed to be chasing my buddy Ja-Rod here.” He grinned nervously and then looked at his feet once he’d caught Jarod’s menacing glance. Miss Parker raised her eyebrows and picked up a carton of fried rice and some shop sticks.

“Oh, and why am I always chasing him?” She pried further.

“Be-because he’s real smart.” Argyle said but didn’t go on. Jarod grabbed another carton and stabbed at his food angrily with the chopsticks. Miss Parker chose not to pry any further but decided to keep in mind that Argyle had a loose tongue.

???

After Jarod had left, Miss Parker rose from her fake slumber. She carefully crept over to Jarod’s belongings and went through them. The brown leather bag contained a Mr. Potato Head, Magic 8-ball, Pez dispensers of course, two framed photographs of a man and a woman, a Flying Cross Medal, and about two hundred ID cards and tags.

She thumbed through the ID’s. Jarod the roach exterminator. Jarod the F.B.I. agent. Jarod the doctor. Jarod the nuclear physicist. Jarod the professor. Each one had a different last name but all had the same first name and similar photographs. Jarod the con man was what popped into her head.

She turned her attention to the silver case and pulled it open. Inside were a monitor, keyboard, and several hundred tiny discs. She instinctively dropped one into the slot and turned on the switch. How did she know how to do this?

The image that appeared on the screen was that of a young boy with electrodes on his head and chest. The bottom left side of the screen read a date and Jarod: for Centre use only. A man appeared and the boy addressed him as Sydney. Then a girl came forth and the boy placed his hand on the glass dividing them. The girl looked off to a figure cast in shadow that nodded and she placed her hand on the glass.

“You’re a ... girl.” The boy said hesitantly. The girl nodded.

“What’s your name?” The boy asked. The figure instructed her not to answer and the two were parted. Later on the two met once more in a lab with rabbits. The boy let the girl hold one and it was revealed that she was Miss Parker.

“My God.” Miss Parker sighed.

She watched the discs for hours. She was so deeply engrossed that she didn’t even hear Jarod’s return.

“What are you doing?” He asked, sounding very upset. She looked up at him from where she sat on the bed.

“Watching the sickest home movies ever.” She stated flatly. “Jarod, I don’t remember any of this, yet there I am.” She said nodding toward the screen. “I think you were more insightful when you were eleven.”

Jarod walked over and snapped the case closed and then stashed it in a closet. He turned back to her looking very upset.

“At first when I saw all the ID’s I thought you were a con artist. Now, I don’t know what you are.” She said blankly. “Is that why Argyle said I was chasing you?”

Jarod nodded his head and sat down beside her.

“Did they do any of those, experiments, on me too?” She asked quietly.

“Simulations.” Jarod replied. “Only the one where they introduced us, Miss Parker. And I think they regret that one to this day.”

She smiled and he smiled back at her.

“I’m in quite a few of those discs.” She said. “Including the one where a woman, my mother I suppose, was killed.” She mused quietly. “I don’t remember any of it.”

“They’ve been telling you lies for years. I suppose it’s a good thing that you finally saw the truth.” Jarod replied.

“You mean I never saw those before?”

“Not those. You’ve seen others before, that’s why you could operate it. DSA’s, they record everything from the Centre surveillance system.”

“The Centre’s greatest hits on DSA.” She smiled thinking of the television ads. Jarod smiled.

“I guess you could call it that.”

“So if I’m chasing you, that means I work for the Centre now. And that means that you escaped.” She said. Jarod nodded. “Why would I hunt down someone who I obviously cared for very strongly growing up?” She asked.

“I’ve been wondering that myself for years now.” Jarod replied. “You used to go away for school; I suppose we just drifted apart.”

“Or, I was made to sever my connection with you.” She said. “It didn’t appear that many people at the Centre were happy that we were friends. You said years, how long have I been chasing you?”

“Almost six years.” He replied. She raised her eyebrows.

“That’s a long time. And now you willingly take me to this place to help me recover from some trauma?”

“I’ve always helped you through difficult times.” Jarod replied. She nodded her head.

“Yes, something inside me tells me you have.”

Argyle entered the room and looked at them shyly.

“Ah, I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” He grinned. Miss Parker flashed him a cool glance that Jarod snickered at.

“No, Argyle. What did you find out?” Jarod replied.

“Ah, well, the pit bosses don’t remember anything unusual, even after I greased their palms.” Argyle replied. Jarod sighed. Miss Parker stood and walked between the two.

“Is either of you going to tell me what’s going on here?” She asked impatiently. “You guys have been taking off for hours at a time and haven’t told me anything.” Jarod stood and waved a red notebook in his hand.

“I’m on a pretend. As you saw in the DSA’s I did simulations for the Centre, out in the world I do pretends. I can become anyone I want to be and I use that ability to help people in bad situations.”

“And you work with this guy?” She pointed at Argyle.

“Rarely.” Jarod shot a glance at Argyle. “When my friend gets himself into scrapes he calls on me to help him, and I really wish he’d stop.” Jarod said with annoyance in his tone.

“So what’s this pretend?” She asked.

“You need to rest and try to remember ... anything.” He replied. She stared at him coolly and took a step forward and poked him in the chest with her index finger.

“You need to stop telling me what to do and keeping me in this damn room.” She hissed. “Don’t you think it would help me to get out and interact with people?”

“Not if you don’t know who you are.” Jarod replied.

“I don’t care Jarod. The minute you leave I’ll walk right out that door and you can’t stop me.”

“I could ...” He began.

“What? Restrain me? Hold me captive? I’m sure that Freud would approve of that kind of therapy.”

“Ja-Rod, maybe she’d right. I, I mean maybe we could take her out and show her a good time or I could.” Argyle grinned at her. She rolled her eyes at him and leveled her gaze with Jarod’s.

“At least let me go buy some clothes.” She said. Jarod heaved a heavy sigh and looked at Argyle.

“I’ll meet you down at the tables.” He said and Argyle couldn’t get out of the room fast enough. He returned his gaze to hers.

“You were in Vegas before; I suppose that may help jog a memory or two, but don’t get angry with me when you do.” He said.

“Why would I get angry with you?” She smirked.

???

Miss Parker combed her hair and turned to Jarod’s voice in the hall.

“Are you coming?” He called. For a guy who hadn’t wanted her to leave the suite, he wasn’t very patient once he finally wanted her to go. She snickered a little at the thought and turned back to the mirror and gasped. Her brush clattered at it hit the floor.

It was her, but not her. She wore a suit jacket and a short skirt and was pointing a gun at herself through the mirror.

“Time to go home.” The reflection snarled and then grinned malevolently. She took a step back from the mirror and shook her head, her mouth moving but no sound emerging. She felt hands on her shoulders as Jarod snapped her back into reality once again.

“Miss Parker.” Jarod said softly. When she turned to him, tears stung her eyes.

“She can’t be me.” She whispered.

“Who can’t be you?” Jarod asked, his reflection looking confused.

“Her.” She replied weakly. “I saw her, wearing a suit and holding a gun. She was, hateful.” She said as a tear fell from one eye. She turned to Jarod and he held her in his arms only imagining what she’d seen. A vision of her he’d seen many times before.

“It’s okay.” He replied. She leaned her head against his chest as he stroked her hair as something occurred to her. He loved that woman. He loved her even though she could see the cruelty in her eyes and she couldn’t understand why.

???

Once she’d regained her composure she’d convinced Jarod that she was okay to leave the suite. He’d agreed again, reluctantly and given her a key card and some money. She’d agreed that she wouldn’t leave the hotel, and since it was one of the big ones she was assured many stores she could buy something to wear in.

She walked by one of the chapels and paused as a wedding party emerged. She smiled at the people who were celebrating the occasion. She took a step forward and then froze as the bride turned and faced her.

It was her. She looked at herself in the bridal gown and saw a profound misery on the face of the woman up there.

The bride returned her gaze and then turned her back and tossed the bouquet over her head. It landed at Miss Parker’s feet on the sidewalk. She breathlessly retrieved it and then looked up to meet the bride’s smiling face. It wasn’t her.

Am I married? She thought touching the flowers. She smelled them, gardenias, her favorite. She shook her head. Gardenias are her favorite flowers. She smiled, as she knew this to be true and waved at the happy couple as they headed off.

She went into a couple of the boutiques and purchased some clothes and returned to their suite. There she pulled on the black silk dress, some dark hose, and high heels. She let her hair fall around her shoulders and turned to leave the room again.

She spotted the Pez dispenser lying on the bar and another memory flooded her mind. She was sitting on the porch of a cabin in the woods with an old man.

“I let him go for a fucking Pez, all right?”

“At least he left you the dispenser.”

“You tell no one, Syd.”

“I’ve done far worse and have never received any Pez for my trouble.”

She picked up the Pez dispenser and thumbed the head back and pulled out one of the candies with her teeth and then sucked on it, savoring the sweet flavor.

She placed it back on the bar and grabbed the handbag she’d purchased and stuffed it with cash before heading back downstairs.

???

Jarod sat at the table and tried to read the other player’s faces. Particularly Don Ricardo’s. He could tell that Don was nervous and he should be for what Jarod had in store for him.

Don Ricardo, high roller extraordinaire. He read the lines of a few articles focusing on the man of the hour. A stock broker and gambler. He supposed the two went hand in hand. He owned the biggest stock firm in Nevada.

He was also a loan shark which was what brought Argyle into the picture. Jarod had decided to be a little more creative this time and help collect the money Argyle needed directly out of Ricardo’s pocket.

Don looked up at Jarod and smiled and twitched his eyebrows. Jarod frowned at him and nearly jumped when he felt the hands on his shoulders. He held his breath when he turned around and saw her. She was stunning. He glanced over her and smiled at her beaming expression. She laughed a little and he turned his attention back to the table and picked up his three new cards. He was still smiling as she placed her hands back on his shoulders.

He remembered the phrase, Luck be a Lady tonight, and suddenly realized what it had meant. She gently kneaded his shoulders as he laid down his Royal Flush and watched Don’s face fall and flash with anger. To lose 400 G’s on one hand, them’s the breaks they say in High Stakes Poker.

He asked for another Dr. Pepper when the waitress returned and Miss Parker asked for a scotch. Jarod wanted to take her aside and see if she’d remembered anything, but knew it would be a while before he could walk away from the table.

He was happy she was there, though. He smiled a little at the thought as he picked up his next hand and looked at the cards, he knew sending false signals to the other players. It felt good to have her near him, when he knew she wasn’t trying to drag him off to the Centre.

The Centre and the fairy tale ends. She would have to return. She would insist on it once she regained her memory. He tried to shake the thought away, but it still lingered in the back of his mind along with the rest of his unanswered questions.

They were together now, though. And things may be better between them in the future if he didn’t mess up and do something stupid. “So I shouldn’t sleep with you?” She’d asked. Exactly.

A few hours later, Jarod left the table after cleaning out many of the other players, particularly Don Ricardo. He held out his arm to Miss Parker, who had been more than a little affectionate with him during the games, and she accepted it, walking beside him.

???

Back in the suite, Miss Parker settled on the couch next to Jarod. She smiled at him seductively.

“I remembered some things.” Miss Parker said slyly.

“What things?” Jarod asked, excitedly.

“I remembered a conversation with Sydney. And, Jarod was I married?” Miss Parker asked, holding his gaze with her own.

“No, you were nearly married, but you never made it to the altar.” He replied.

“Nearly married?” She said. “What happened?”

“That’s up to you to remember.” Jarod said after a long pause. Miss Parker looked away. She considered this for a few minutes before she spoke again.

“Why can’t you tell me?” She asked.

“Because, Sydney said it would be best for you to remember on your own. Also, I wasn’t there. I have no idea what happened while you were...” He stopped talking and she regarded him curiously.

“Kidnapped.” She said remembering his reaction to the word a day ago. “I was kidnapped on my wedding day and you found me somehow and that was when I woke up with this amnesia.” She thought for a moment.

“I want to talk to Sydney.” She said.

“I don’t know how to reach him.” He lied. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“You talk to him all the time, Jarod; I’m not stupid.”

“No, you’re not stupid and neither am I.” Jarod replied. “If you call him...”

“Then they would find you.” She finished his sentence.

???

Miss Parker walked into the restaurant with Argyle. They were seated and ordered their drinks. She smiled as she took in their surroundings. At least Jarod hadn’t been keeping her in a seedy hotel somewhere. Then she decided it was time to pump Argyle for information.

“What are you and Jarod doing here, Argyle?” She smiled. He shifted about nervously.

“I, uh, got into a little financial trouble. Jarod’s helping me out of it.” He replied nervously.

“How did you and Jarod meet?” She asked sweetly.

“Well, I was at home and heard Dog barking outside. He sounded really upset, you know, for a dog so I came outside. When I got there I saw Jarod laying in an alley all busted up. I guess that someone hit him with a tire iron or something and he was out cold. So, I took him in my place and nursed him back to health.”

She smiled at him and couldn’t help but feel something familiar about the story.

“Then, I uh, kinda used Jarod’s phone to call a guy named Sydney. As far as I knew Sydney was like his dad or something, from those movies Jarod has. And I got this woman named Bridgitt. She sounded sweet. I’m a man of opportunity and I knew Jarod was special, so I kind of made a deal with Bridgitt.”

“Then what happened?” She asked.

“He tried to sell me to the Centre for 10 thousand dollars.” Jarod said, sitting down and giving Argyle a dark look. Miss Parker raised her eyebrows.

“You mean he tried to sell you to the Centre and now you’re helping him?” She asked. Jarod nodded and she burst out laughing. She noticed the looks people around were giving her and stopped and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Yes, and he’s been nothing but trouble since.” Jarod replied. The waiter returned and they ordered their meals.

???

Miss Parker changed into a silk nightgown. She checked her appearance in the mirror before walking into the bedroom. She could hear Jarod working on something in the lounge room.

She moved close to the door and cleared her throat.

“Jarod, could you come in here?” She asked. She heard him approach.

“Is something wrong?” Jarod asked walking into the room. She quickly closed the door and stood in front of it. He turned around and looked at her puzzled.

“Miss Parker?” He asked. She walked up to him and slid her hands p his chest and then her arms around his neck. She pulled him close and kissed him deeply.

His hands slid around her waist and after a few moments he gently pushed her away.

“What’s wrong, Jarod?” She asked.

“I, we can’t.” He stammered. She smiled. She could really fluster this man.

“Why not, Jarod?” She said seductively and stepping forward and kissing him again.

He took two steps backward and wound up against the edge of the bed. She moved in quickly and shoved him backward and climbed on top of him, kissing him. He gently pushed her away again and tried to sit up.

“No.” He said quietly. She looked in his eyes and then rolled onto her side. She watched him get up and leave the room and waited a few minutes before following him.

“A few days ago you seemed hurt that ‘our relationship’ hadn’t progressed beyond your declaration of love to me and now you push me away when I finally act upon it?” She said hurt as she entered the lounge room. Jarod looked at her from the couch.

“You don’t remember who you are.” He said. “You don’t even remember who I am.”

“I’m still Miss Parker!” She cried. He shook his head.

“No, you’re not.” He replied. “Not in the way that counts.”

Her mouth dropped open and she felt hot tears fall down her cheeks. Jarod stood and moved toward her and she stepped away.

“I thought you loved me.” She sniffed.

“I do love you.” He said. “But this isn’t right.”

She wiped her wet cheeks and glared at him.

“I don’t understand how you could want that cruel, untrusting witch.” She said. “I can’t believe that with all that gone, you can’t accept me for who I am now.”

He walked up to her and pulled her into his arms. He stroked her hair. “When you remember, you’ll thank me for this.” He whispered.

???

Miss Parker flipped through the channels. She was mad as hell that Jarod wouldn’t let her in on his pretend. She was even angrier that he continued to reject her.

She stopped on the Disney channel and watched the fairy tale play out. Her life had become a fairy tale, an evil twisted one. This was just one more twist in the story and she hated that she couldn’t remember the rest.

Snow White was laid out in the glass coffin so the Dwarves could preserve her and her beauty. The fairest of all. Was she the fairest of all at the Centre? Would her prince come to her someday?

“Prince Charming.” She scoffed.

Then all her memories flooded her mind. She gasped and cried out and then pulled herself in a fetal position on the bed as the flood of her life overwhelmed her. They left her disoriented and crying.

It was hours before Jarod returned. Hours that she spent curled up in the dry bathtub making sense of all the information. Making sense of it all, alone.

“Why should now be any different?” She said to no one.

When she heard someone at the door of the suite, she quickly took off her clothes and turned on the water to the shower.

???

Jarod heard the shower running when he entered the hotel suite. He smiled at the thought of her. He wanted to poke in the bathroom and talk to her. She’d been remembering more and more in the past few days, as well as become more difficult. She demanded him to let her be involved in his pretend and he knew he couldn’t allow it.

She’d tried to seduce him. Many times. A part of him kicked himself every time he rejected her advances. He knew what the consequences would be after she regained her memory if he had accepted her. Her shooting him would be the very least of his worries.

He loved her. She was the most important part of his life and he couldn’t risk losing her. He couldn’t face his life without her in it. She was his obsession.

When the time came, if the time came, when she would love him, then he would do anything she asked of him. Now he only did what was right, his flaw as many had told him in the past couple of years.

He’d been with a couple other women before. That had made Miss Parker’s temptation even harder to deny. But they hadn’t been her. They had been Nia and Zoe and now neither of them were part of his life any longer. They had been hard to leave, but it was the right thing to do.

He looked at the bathroom door when he heard the water turn off and eagerly anticipated Miss Parker’s entrance. He’d finally decided that he would help her regain her memories, despite what Sydney had said. He couldn’t bear to watch her suffer any longer and didn’t want her to face her memories alone.

???

Miss Parker dried herself and pulled on her clothes. Her hair was a mess, but she didn’t care. The way she felt now she couldn’t care less about such superficial nonsense.

She threw open the bathroom door and walked into the living room. She saw Jarod smile and stand and approach her. She met him half way and let him have it. He recoiled and touched his face where she’d hit him as she relaxed her fist.

“There’s more where that came from Frankenboy.” She hissed. The look on his face told her all she needed to know. He knew the Ice Queen had returned.

???

Miss Parker had stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door after she’d hit him. She looked at her fist and shook her head incredulously, not really believing that she had.

“God, I’ve wanted to do that for years.” She said to herself. She’d then been flooded by mixed emotions as usual. She threw open the door and walked back out into the lounge room.

“How did you know about the kidnapping plot?” Miss Parker asked.

“Alex made sure I found out.” Jarod replied, rubbing his face.

“Did you know it was him all along?”

“Not until we got the dress.” His gaze drifted far away.

“You’re not telling me everything.” She said accusingly.

“It’s too soon for that.” He replied.

“Bullshit! You didn’t live it!” Jarod gave her a sympathetic smile.

“He sent us videotapes.” She shivered at the thought of them watching her as vulnerable as she had been.

“Is he dead?”

“No.”

“I have to return to the Centre.” She said. She saw the look on his face.

“Don’t give me that look. Did you think I would suddenly become Emma Peel?” She snapped.

“Emma who?’ Jarod asked.

“She was one of the Avengers. It was a television show.”

“The Avengers. I’ll have to research this.” Jarod said thoughtfully. Miss Parker had the sudden image of the Sim Lab filled with umbrellas and boulder hats and began laughing. She then smiled thoughtfully of how Jarod’s care was much more preferable to the Centre renewal wing.

“I knew you’d come for me.” She said trying not to sound like the little girl with the crush who lived within her.

“Lyle held me up a little.” He said, turning away from her expression.

It always came back to these moments between them. The ones that were slowly killing him inside. The ones that said they should be working together. Be together. He shook his head. Not until they had all the answers and she left the Centre which would never happen.

“How did you escape with me?” She asked, challenging him. He hadn’t wanted to ever tell her.

“Lyle let me go.” He said with no emotion and a straight face.

Her hand went to her face and her mouth dropped open. When the color returned to her face, it was red. The Centre and Lyle had been accusing her of helping Jarod for years and then Lyle just lets Jarod go?

“Lyle!” She hissed as she sat on the couch.

“He made a deal with me. If I got you back, he would let me go.”

“And you believed him?” She scowled.

“Not until he did. Sam looked so confused when Lyle gave him the order.” Jarod chuckled a little. You can laugh at the strangest things, later. “They probably told the Centre that I’m the one responsible for it all. They’re going to be in enough trouble since they didn’t bring Alex back.”

“Or me. That’s why I have to go back.” She said deep in thought. “What keeps you from disappearing forever?” She asked. He turned and was caught with her penetrating blue eyes.

“As much as I would love to entertain the idea, Miss Parker, I never could.”

“Why?” Her eyes burned into his. He knew the right answer, in her mind.

“The Centre owns me.” She blinked and looked away. The wrong answer to her. She felt sick inside and pulled her legs up on the couch and turned away from him as she lay down.

“If you’re going to give me a stupid answer, it should at least be a creative one.” She replied.

He turned and looked out the window.

“Why are you always so distant when you’re standing beside me? Why now? Why be so compassionate when you’re on the phone and never in person?” She sighed.

“I was a few times and it never got me anywhere.” He replied. He waited for her sobs. They would break his resolve. Why was he fighting her? Why fight something so natural? “I told you once that sometimes the destination wasn’t as important as the journey to get there.”

“You should write fortune cookies.” She sighed. “So the destination of my awareness is more important than the change it has made in me?”

“The destination hasn’t been reached yet.” He replied. She sat up and faced him as he stared outside. “There is still a long way to go, Miss Parker, and I can’t risk losing you on the way.”

“Well, I’d hate to break the news, but you almost did.” She replied smugly. “A couple of times.”

“And I’ve helped you each time.” He replied.

“How many psychiatrists does it take to screw in a light bulb?” She asked as she made her way to the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Jarod turned around when he heard the lock click.

???

“This is Sydney.” The old man said as he answered the phone. He was sitting at his desk and sifting through some documents.

“How many psychiatrists does it take to screw in a light bulb, Sydney?” Sydney smiled.

“Jarod, I was beginning to worry about you. I guess you’ve spoken with Miss Parker?”

“What’s the answer, Syd?” Sydney frowned, Jarod sounded desperate.

“Just one, but it’s the light bulb that has to change. What is going on, Jarod.”

Jarod was silent for a few moments and then chuckled.

“It’s a joke.” Jarod replied. Sydney frowned.

“Are you all right? Is Miss Parker all right?”

“We’re fine, Syd. Miss Parker should be returning shortly. How is Debbie?”

“She is very quiet. I’ve talked with her a few times and I think she would benefit with Miss Parker’s return.” Sydney could only imagine what had been going on with Jarod and Miss Parker since the aquarium rescue mission he’d been ordered to sit out on.

“Promise me you’ll take care of her, Syd.” Sydney looked amused.

“We’re not talking about Debbie, are we?”

“I’m concerned the Centre will harm her when she returns.”

“As far as the Centre is concerned, you are currently holding her hostage and they are searching for you.”

“But when she returns...”

“I won’t let anything happen to her, Jarod.” Sydney listened as Jarod sighed. “What is happening between you?”

“Nothing, Syd. Nothing can.”

“I’ve always suspected that you are in love with her.”

“That’s what the Centre experiment was about when we were introduced.”

“I can only advise, but I think you should take what time is left to talk to her. Not play games, just talk to her.” Sydney heard the click and put his phone down.

???

Miss Parker pulled the covers about her more tightly. It had been seven hours since she’d heard the outer door slam and came out of the bathroom only to discover Jarod was gone. Not just out to the casino. Gone. He’d taken his things and vanished.

She’d found some money, enough to get her by until she returned to the Centre. She’d been frightened and then furious. He’d left without a single word. Some bodyguard. Then again, had she really expected that of him?

She’s waited for the phone to ring and it never did. So she resolved herself to a nights rest and she would decide in the morning whether to stay another day or leave.

She wasn’t going to sleep. She was going to lie awake the whole night, analyzing and reanalyzing every word, tone and gesture of their last exchange.

Another three hours passed before she heard someone at the door. She was suddenly very frightened. She didn’t even have her gun. She pulled her body close, tight.

Her invader walked into the room and softly closed the door. She clamped her eyes shut and prayed they would just take the money and pills and leave.

She heard the person put down something and walk over to her. She felt them pull the covers down to expose her face and then she heard a voice.

“Miss Parker, you’re a lousy actress.” Her eyes flew open and she swung out and he caught her hand and then held her steady. She stared at him in fear and breathed heavily until she steadied herself. His expression changed to shock and sadness in the dim light and he let her go. She hit him anyway.

“You fucking bastard!” She cried. Jarod rubbed his cheek and looked at her hurt. “I thought you were someone breaking in here, you Son of a Bitch!”

“What did you want me to do? Throw the door open and cry, ‘Lucy, I’m home!’” She smiled a little and punched him in the arm. He could take it; she’d seen him take worse. “I’m sorry.” He said.

“You should be, taking off like that!”

“I came back!”

“Yes, but you still took off! You left me here without saying a God damned thing and then think it’ll be all right if you come back in the middle of the night and scare the crap out of me!”

Jarod sighed heavily. “You’re right.”

“I know I am.”

Jarod looked at his hands. “Do you love me?”

“What?”

“Do you love me?”

“Is that why you came back?”

Jarod stood and walked over to the window again. She was really beginning to hate that.

“I do Jarod. I love you.”

“And if the Centre finds out, they will use it against you. They know I love you, Miss Parker. They can never know you feel the same.”

“But you wanted to know.”

“I needed to know.” He said. “Now it’s time to run again.” He sighed and then walked out of the room. She pulled the covers over her head when she heard the outer door close.

???

Miss Parker sat on her couch, three weeks after her return to the Centre. She’d flown back from Vegas. She’d been checked over by the Centre doctors in the renewal wing. Thoroughly checked over. She knew what they’d been looking for, and she knew they wouldn’t find it. You had to wear your strictest poker face with an opponent like the Centre.

She’d lost Jarod, of course. Raines had been disappointed. All the brass had been. But what could she do? These were the people responsible for putting her in the dangerous situation that Jarod had rescued her from. They had this coming.

She poured another glass of scotch and set the bottle down just as her phone rang. She let it ring several times before she picked it up.

“Hello Jarod.” She said quietly.

“How did you know?” Jarod’s voice replied.

“No one else has ever called me at two thirty in the morning.” She replied. She heard him laugh a little.

“Are you all right?” He asked.

“I’m fine.” She replied. “Did you finish your business in Vegas?”

“Yes.” He said and then was quiet for a long time. “I hope you understand.” He said finally.

“Perfectly.” She replied. “You have a fear of intimacy.”

“Hey!” Jarod cried.

“Oh yeah.” She said. “Only when it comes to me.” And then she disconnected the line and put the phone down on the coffee table. She finished her drink and turned off the lights before heading to her bedroom.

She sat on her bed and opened the drawer of her nightstand. From it she pulled her Goofy Pez dispenser. She flipped the head back and pulled one out with her teeth and savored the candy.

“May I have one of those?” Jarod said, emerging from the shadows. She jumped and then put one of her hands on her chest.

“Bastard!” She hissed. He gave her a hurt look and then sat down on the bed beside her.

“You can have one, but you have to answer some questions.” She said. He nodded his head and she handed him the dispenser.

“Why didn’t you call me after we returned from Carthis? Or when I was ordered to marry Amaru? And why in the hell did you wait so long this time?” She said with a stern expression. He smiled.

“Did you miss me?” He asked.

“No.” She said, looking at her feet.

“This.” He said waving his hand. “Is not a normal relationship.” He replied. She looked at him.

“Really?” She said sarcastically.

“Besides, you hurt me.” He said.

“What?”

“I run, you chase. That decision was made for us a long time ago. Does that ring a bell?” He said. She looked back at her feet. “A guy can only handle so much rejection before he stops even trying.”

“Well, I suppose we could run off to Vegas and get married.” She said. He looked at her.

“I tried that too.” He said.

“Please, you fought me off with a stick!” She laughed. He frowned.

“I didn’t use a stick.” He said. “Besides, what would you have thought of me now?”

“Why are you here?” She asked.

“Because someone said I had a fear of intimacy.”

“And you were hiding in my room when I said it!”

“Do you forgive me, Marion?” He asked. Her expression grew dark.

“Now I have to shoot you.” She said, reaching under her pillow. Jarod stood and took a step away and she grinned.

“You put the idea in my head.” She said pulling her empty hand out. She stood and walked over to him. She kissed him gently and then looked up at him.

“You had better get going before I call the sweeper team.” She said. He kissed her again and pressed the Pez dispenser back into her hand before he walked away.



To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!

Category: All/Drama
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up to IOTH
Summary: Part six of the Labyrinth Series.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.

Note: Includes lyrics of the song “Never My Love” by the Association.
" When you come to a fork in the road....Take it " -Yogi Berra
"The future ain't what it used to be " -Yogi Berra



Association

by Madame Estrella


Jarod slowly walked to his car. He was half hoping that Miss Parker would have a change of heart and call him back and half hoping that she hadn’t already called the sweepers.

He knew she didn’t buy his excuse for his absences. He didn’t know that he really expected her to. That was part of the game. They could tell when they weren’t being completely honest with one another and accepted it. He got into his car and began to drive.

He’d spent the better part of the year designing his systematic plan of ruin for the Centre. He’d been watching Centre business to get an idea of how things worked to keep the organization running.

In the beginning, he’d only known about the pretender project. That he was very familiar with. It was a matter of finding out about the rest of the Centre projects.

He had dealt a financial blow to the Centre’s project pocketbook. He’d managed to successfully close down one facet of business in Toronto. Donald Peterson had been in charge of the boiler room trading, money laundering and pyramid schemes. Just a fraction of the criminal activities the Centre involved itself in.

Jarod had exposed Peterson and his colleagues to the International authorities as well as refunded as much of the money he could to the honest people it was taken from.

And Miss Parker had shown up. That could have been very bad for his plans. It was only a mere complication that the Centre suspected her involvement, but wasn’t able to prove it.

Jarod wondered what the hell she’d been doing coming into the office and playing ‘Morgan Paxton’ the morning he was going to set his plan in place. She couldn’t have picked a worse time.

He’d had to change his escape plans so that he could remove her from the scene. He had managed to get the security tapes with her on it in time, but hadn’t gotten to the doorman, Richie or Donald Peterson. Short of hypnosis, he didn’t know how he could have gotten them to be quiet about her.

What would he have said? That woman you saw yesterday, just pretend you never saw her. That wouldn’t have happened. After she’d left she had been all the men talked about the rest of the morning. Not that Jarod could blame them.

His infatuation with her was dangerous enough. He had to distance himself from her to think clearly. She was his obsession. It always came back to that. That was why he hung around her place. Why he pushed the odds and broke into her house at night to watch her. Why he hung around at the end of his pretends to watch her go into his lairs.

Miss Parker would lead to his ruin. He knew that. He’d been caught before because he couldn’t walk away. She wouldn’t understand this though.

Jarod had begun organizing the second part of his plan for the Centre when Alex had resurfaced. Alex, the one person who probably hated Jarod more than any other he’d encountered, had kidnapped his sister. Alex, the man Jarod thought he’d killed twice.

Not only had Alex kidnapped his sister but he’d also murdered Lyle’s adoptive parents. And then he’d gone after Miss Parker.

Alex confused Jarod. At first, Jarod had merely taken Alex to be a wild card. He thought Alex was a madman who was out to destroy the two people he’d blamed for destroying his own life, Jarod and Lyle. Now he wasn’t so sure.

Alex had known about the Centre’s plan to recapture Jarod by staging a wedding. Although Jarod had been infuriated by the whole ordeal, he still hadn’t planned to do anything about it. That was, until he received the messages and photographs.

What would he have done? It wasn’t like one of those movies where the good guy walks in and shouts ‘stop the wedding, he’s not right for her!’ If he’d done that, a hundred sweepers would have pummeled him. Although Raines and Lyle may believe the whole wedding was a scheme to capture Jarod, Jarod knew it was meant to hurt him.

He despised Johansen Amaru. He’d had the displeasure of meeting him when Lyle had dragged him back to the Centre. That had been a blow to Jarod’s spirit. He’d fallen into Lyle’s trap so easily he might as well had been a four-year-old accepting candy from a madman.

Lyle had set up a trail for Jarod to follow, thinking he was going after Alex. Once again, Jarod had paid for underestimating Lyle. After all, Lyle had been one of the red files as well. He might not have been brought up in the Centre, but he was as good as any other pretender who had been. Luckily, Jarod had the opportunity to hide what was important before Lyle had captured him.

And then he’d met Johansen Amaru. Mutumbo and Adama were nice guys in comparison. Amaru was half Dutch half Zulu. He stood as Jarod’s height and had light skin and blue eyes. He was strong and formidable.

He’d come to Jarod’s cell many times. He had a different strategy to try and break Jarod than Raines or Lyle. He used Miss Parker.

“She’s a lovely woman, wouldn’t you say?” Amaru had asked the first time he’d come to see him. Jarod had glared at him from the darkness.

“I understand the two of you know one another quite well.” Amaru had smiled. “And judging from the way you kissed her up there today, you must be very close as well.”

The worst of it was that Amaru really was attracted to Miss Parker. He would come into Jarod’s cell and tell him about how Miss Parker looked that day. He would tell him how concerned Miss Parker was about Jarod and would laugh about it.

“Silly woman. She really doesn’t know her place. Like mother like daughter I suppose.” He’d said followed by his sinister chuckle.

Amaru liked Miss Parker the way Mr. Parker had loved Catherine. He regarded her as a trophy, but one he would use for his own purposes. Jarod knew Miss Parker’s fate would have been similar to Catherine’s. Miss Parker would have been trapped with a monster.

Jarod had been relieved that Amaru had been called back to Africa just after his recapture at the wedding. But he knew he wasn’t the only one.

“Thank God.” He’d heard Lyle mutter under his breath when Amaru had announced his departure. His gaze had met Jarod’s and then he’d left the room himself.

Lyle confused him now as well. He seemed to know what was going on with Miss Parker’s abduction before the rest of them had. Jarod could sense it in his knowing gaze. And then Lyle had allowed him to walk away.

@@@@@

Lyle gazed lazily at his desk as he traced the pattern on the paper with his closed pen. Winding and meandering back and forth. His pen reached the center and then he slowly began to trace the pen back to the beginning.

It was the same pattern, which graced the garden at the Triumvirate. He’d drawn it from memory. The labyrinth. Within the Labyrinth one wanders through twists and turns toward the goal. Once the goal is met, one must return to where it all began. The Labyrinth is a path to be followed however long and complex, to reach the goal, the object of the quest, at the Centre. He’d walked it many times and still had yet to achieve his balance.

He found himself wondering why he’d place himself in this situation to begin with. Why he’d volunteered to come to the Centre and watch the people there. The Triumvirate hadn’t been happy that Jarod had escaped and that Miss Parker continually failed to retrieve him. They also weren’t happy with how Mr. Parker and Raines were handling the situation. Someone had to go; regretfully he’d insisted it be he.

The powers that be in the Centre hadn’t been happy with his presence and had done all they could to get rid of him. They were foolish in thinking it would be easy to get rid of him. The more complex their schemes became, the easier it was for him to find who’d come up with the ideas. They’d caught him off guard once with the Yakuza, and he’d punished them for it.

The truth was that short of killing him, they would never be rid of him. He wasn’t an easy man to displace and he had more tricks than they would ever know. He’d thought that Jarod was his only problem, now he had another contender to deal with.

The doors of his office were thrown open and he knew who his visitor was without looking up. He’d known she was coming, he’d felt it.

“It’s a shame that you’ve never mastered the simple act of the knock.” Lyle said, beating her to the punch. Miss Parker walked up to his desk and slammed her hands down on it across from him.

“A little bird told me that you let Jarod go.” She smiled. He didn’t bother to look up, but merely began to trace the labyrinth again.

“Excuse me!” She said grabbing his pen. He looked up at her annoyed.

“What would you do if I stormed into your office like that every day?” He smirked. He would have to try that someday. She took a step back and glared at him.

“It is good to have you back though.” Lyle said picking up the paper before having it snatched away from him by his sister.

“What is this?” She asked.

“A labyrinth.” Lyle replied. She regarded him curiously.

“It’s a meditation tool. I’m surprised at you, Marion.” Lyle smirked at her shocked expression.

“What did you call me?” She snapped.

“A little bird told me.” Lyle smiled mischievously. He remembered Jarod mumbling her name in his sleep.

“I’m going to crush your little bird.” She hissed and then turned on her heel and exited his office. Lyle sat back and watched his doors close.

He was disappointed. It was the third time she’d walked in with that accusation and the third time she‘d lost focus and walked out. She wasn’t the same, she‘d lost her edge. He looked back down at the labyrinth that she’d tossed back on his desk and shook his head.

He couldn’t fathom what had happened to her in her absence. Jarod had kept her away as long as he had for a reason. Lyle knew he could have found them, easily. But, that wouldn’t have been very sportsman like. Lyle chuckled to himself.

The pursuit of Jarod had acquired a strange etiquette. Probably as strange as Miss Parker’s inability to grasp that it would be polite to knock on his door at least once in a while. He was her brother after all.

‘Crush my little bird.’ Lyle chuckled at the thought. She’d been doing that for years.

Lucy walked into the room.

“Mr. Lyle, this just came for you.” She said smiling.

“Thank you.” Lyle said, taking the envelope and glancing over the secretary as she exited.

He opened the envelope and found a map of a maze with a red line drawn from the entrance to a spot somewhere in the middle. He turned the map over and found a message scrawled in a familiar hand.

We have to meet. Tomorrow, 12 o’clock.

Lyle picked up the envelope the read the address. It was time to see his old acquaintance.

@@@@@

Miss Parker sank into her desk chair and stared at the telephone. Should she call Broots and send him off on some trivial pursuit? Should she call Broots and Sydney in and yell at them about not finding anything on Jarod? Should she storm into the hallway and rail at some unsuspecting passerby?

These were all qualities of her persona that she’d shrank back from once she’d seen them from the outside. That was the hell of it all. She’d been someone else for awhile and found that she’d liked being that person.

Marion Parker was nice and funny. She had actually sung and danced on a karaoke stage. Miss Parker wouldn’t. She liked who she had been then; she hated who she was now.

Part of her almost wished she hadn’t regained her memory. Or that she had gone along with having amnesia once she had. She was happier then. She was free.

She’d had a taste of what life was like without the Centre and she wanted more. What life and she might have been like if her mother had succeeded in taking her away from the Centre when she was a little girl.

Her mother’s plan. She hadn’t searched for that DSA in some time. Raines had probably already found it by now. But if he hadn’t...

She picked up the phone and quickly punched in the familiar numbers.

“Broots! I want you to look for something for me.” She called over the line.

@@@@@

Jordan looked up from his bowl of cereal to see Emily heading to the front door. He ate cereal all the time. Corn Pops were his favorite. One of the many things he loved about being out of the Centre and with his ‘family.’

Jordan wasn’t really sure how to feel about them. They were nice people and they treated him well, but there was so much division.

Like with Emily. He had heard so much about her before they met, after Mr. Lyle pushed her out of a window. She’d been standoffish at first and then had lightened up with time.

Emily had changed altogether after Alex had abducted her from the gas station. She’d become very quiet and had kept mostly to herself. She also took long strolls into the woods where she would be for hours before she returned.

Jordan had thought about going with her, or even following her. But after spending most of his life under a camera he’d decided against it. He decided that when she was ready, then she would open up to them.

He hadn’t met ‘mom’ yet. Major Charles had left three weeks before to look for her. The Russell family matriarch was the biggest mystery to him.

Ethan had been using his Inner Sense to find possible locations for Margaret Russell for over a year. They had come close many times only to be disappointed and leave empty handed.

Ethan had come up with three solid leads this time, all very close in area. Charles had opted to go alone to spare his children the let down and long ride home that would follow.

Instead, the three of them had to stay here alone, together until Jarod or Major Charles returned. Jordan was frustrated with the waiting. He wanted to get out and see more of this world he’d been kept from. But he also understood the risks of travel.

The Centre was still looking for them. The thought of returning to the Centre kept him awake some nights. And on some of those nights he could hear Emily crying.

@@@@@

Lyle entered the hedge maze and wandered through the corridors of foliage, following the map, which had been sent to him the previous day. On the back of the map had been the urgent request for this meeting.

Games, they always played games. Lyle had been anticipating this meeting for some time. He’d gone over in his mind what he’d do, what he’d say. So much had gone wrong, which was par for the course for the Centre.

It was the fault of the other. The other who had made things so complicated. The other who had crossed too many lines and had gone too far. Someone had once said that two could keep a secret of one of them was dead, Lyle agreed.

He checked the safety on his gun once more and then looked at the map. Close, he should be close to the other by now.

“You didn’t tell me she was cute.” The familiar voice called behind him in its sing song manner. Lyle whirled around when he knew the other was close and slugged him in the face as hard as he could.

Alex held the side of his face as he stumbled backward into the hedges. He looked up at Lyle angrily.

“Do that again and I’ll tear off your other thumb!” Alex seethed. Lyle took a step back and pulled out his gun. He aimed it at Alex’s angry come surprised expression.

“Why Lyle, surely you won’t shoot me with so many people around?” Alex tried his singsong voice again. Lyle cocked the gun and stared at the other man icily.

“It never stopped me before.” Lyle said and then smiled at him. Alex straightened and leaned against the hedges.

“Why kill me now and not back in Baltimore?” Alex tried to smile confidently and failed. Lyle took a step closer and glared into the other man’s eyes. He put the gun away and watched Alex’s face become instantly relieved.

“You scared me for a moment there.” Alex said.

“Good.” Lyle said. “I’m not the type of guy who cares to be taken lightly.” And then he grabbed Alex’s arm and wrestled it back as the other man tried to hit him. He grabbed Alex’s hand and broke his little finger.

Alex stifled a cry and shrank back, holding his broken digit gingerly with his good hand. He winced and looked back at Lyle’s face.

“You’re only alive because I need you, remember that.” Lyle said. Alex nodded and stood tall again, still holding his injured hand with his good one.

“Why?” Alex said.

“Because you hurt them.” Lyle replied. He remembered Emily and Miss Parker’s bruised faces. “Because you screwed up the plan.” He seethed.

“I embellished the plan.” Alex grinned and his face fell, as Lyle’s expression grew darker.

“You took unnecessary risks. You...” Lyle stopped, unable to find the words. “You didn’t have to take them and hurt them.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet that it almost makes me nauseous.” Alex grinned at him. “You care so much for them that you pushed Emily out of a window and sent Miss Parker into a building that was going to explode.”

Lyle shook his head and stepped away from the center of the path to allow a young family to pass them. He took a long look at the little boy who so much resembled the kid. He returned his cool gaze to Alex.

“I need some ice for this.” Alex said. The two men began for the exit.

@@@@@

Emily aimed the gun at the tree. She steadied her hand and stared at it. Her had wavered and she steadied it once more. She hated this. She would never be good at this. She had to do this.

Because next time there might not be someone else there to pull the trigger for her. She shook her head to rid herself of the thought. She wouldn’t be alone in this venture, whenever it should be.

She kept the pager on her all the time now. She’d just had it as a fluke the first time Lyle had called on her. When he told her how to rescue Jarod from the Centre. She thought of how his voice had sounded then. He was angry and upset. There was something else going on that she was not privy to.

But that pager could go off at any minute and that was what she had to concern herself with. That and being able to shoot the broadside of a tree. If she couldn’t hit a stationary object of that size, what would she do when they were moving and shooting back? People not the trees she thought.

Shoot with your hand, not your head. Or was it shoot with your head and not your hand? She was never going to get this right. A noise behind her startled her and she quickly tucked the gun beneath her University of Nebraska sweater.

She saw Jarod approach. He was smiling and she waved back nervously. Had he seen it?

“Emily, here you are.” Jarod chimed. She supposed he’d just come back from wherever he’d gone.

“Jarod!” She smiled. “Where were you?”

“Around.” He said. She approached him and they walked back to the house. “Ethan said you’d be out here. Actually, he said that you’d spent a lot of time out here.”

“I like it.” She said, looking at her feet. “It’s pretty. And quiet.” She looked up to see Jarod nodding. “Where have you been for the past month?”

“I was helping some friends.” Jarod replied solemnly.

“On a pretend?” She asked.

“Kind of. They were in trouble.” He said and picked up his pace.

“And Jarod saved the day as usual.” Emily grinned. He smiled down at her.

“Not always, unfortunately.” Jarod replied. “So what do you do out here?”

“I think.” She said.

“Your thinking sounds a lot like gunshots.” Jarod replied. She stopped in mid stride and stiffened. How long had he been watching her?

“How long were you watching me?” She asked.

“A while.” Jarod replied. “When did you get it?”

“After Alex kidnapped me.” She replied. “With all that has happened I feel safer with it.” She said thinking of the most legitimate answer he would buy.

Why not come out and say it? Lyle gave it to me. He told me to practice until I was good enough to hold my own when we storm the Triumvirate and rescue the child you don’t know you have.

“You should be careful with that.” Jarod said pointing at the bulge in her sweater and recalling her from her thoughts. “Do they know you have it?”

“No, it’s a surprise.” She said sarcastically, but meaning every word. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable with them knowing. You know how they think of me as a defenseless little thing.”

“I won’t tell them if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s probably a good idea for you to have one and be able to use it.” Jarod replied. He waved at Jordan up on the porch and they soon joined him and the others inside.

@@@@@

“Who’s cute?” Lyle said not looking up from his plate. The two men sat in a little diner where Alex had wrapped his broken finger in a napkin with ice. Only in one of those places would nobody bother to ask why.

“What are you talking about?” Alex replied.

“When I came up on you in the maze, you said...”

“Oh, oh, yeah that!” Alex grinned. “Emily. You never told me how cute she is.” Lyle hunched down in his seat immediately regretting bringing up the subject of Emily.

“And I also never told you to get her either.” Lyle said. Alex looked bemused.

“I was trying to get a dig in at Jarod.” Alex replied. “And if you’re still pissed off that I hit her then you should have seen the shiner the little bitch gave me.” Lyle looked up at him angrily and then back at his plate. He heard Alex chuckle.

“Oh, I see.” Alex said, Lyle could feel him leering at him. “Did you fuck her?” Lyle slammed his fork on the table and looked at him annoyed.

“No.” Lyle replied.

“But you wanted to, I bet. I know I wanted to.” Alex grinned and chuckled a little. “Holy shit, you do have a thing for her. My God!” Alex began laughing hard until Lyle mashed his broken finger. Alex then curled inward and made a loud groan.

“How’s the finger?” Lyle smiled at him.

“You bastard.” Alex said. He picked up his own fork and Lyle frowned at him.

“Don’t even try it.” Lyle warned. “I can always even the score.”

“I would ask you where I could find a new finger but it’s obvious that you don’t know yourself.” Alex smirked.

“Enough with the small talk explain.” Lyle replied.

“Oh, I have to explain.” Alex said in a strained manner. “Well, I thought it might help your cause if Emily thought that I was a more evil bastard than you are. And to my surprise, it worked.” Alex beamed; Lyle shook his head at him.

“Come on, you got to come in and save the day just like Jarod, except he wouldn’t have killed everyone else.” Alex prodded.

“You didn’t need to do all of that.” Lyle said.

“Plus, I gave you an out, I mean I ‘killed your parents’ giving you reason to hate me and thus making us look like enemies.”

“We are enemies.” Lyle said.

“Yeah, and you have a thing for your enemies sisters.” Alex leered and Lyle glared at him.

“I didn’t know that Brigitte...” Lyle began, but Alex cut him off.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard all that before. But you know that Emily is Jarod’s sister so that’s inexcusable. Although I’d love to see the look on his face when he finds out that you’re fucking her.” Alex grinned and chuckled at Lyle. Lyle only shook his head.

“So when are we going to pick up my little nephew?” Alex asked.

“First you have to explain...” Lyle began and Alex cut him off once again.

“I wanted to break the Ice Queen. I also wanted to get even with Jarod and Amaru, that’s why I took Miss Parker.”

“Mission accomplished.” Lyle replied. “But still completely unnecessary.”

“I wasn’t going to let her die Lyle.” Alex said. “It would totally defeated the purpose, plus I would have had you on my ass along with Jarod, which judging by that look on your face is still the case.”

“You were going to kill her.” Lyle stated.

“Yeah.” Alex said. “I get carried away sometimes.”

“You’re a sick bastard.” Lyle said digging into his food.

“I’m a sick bastard? How many Chinese prostitutes did you bury this week?” Alex grinned only to be disappointed by Lyle’s even expression.

“That’s my business.” Lyle replied.

@@@@@

“Why does the Centre want you back so badly?” Emily said after a long silence at lunch. Jarod looked over at her and smile weakly.

“I don’t know.” He replied. He looked among his siblings.

“It seems like they have so much going on that I can’t believe the Pretender project is so paramount that it overshadows everything else.” Emily said. Jarod nodded.

“After all the digging I’ve done it surprises me as well that they’d spend so much time and effort trying to drag me back since they’ve eliminated most of the rest of the Pretenders.” Jarod sighed.

“Eliminated? You mean they killed them all?” Jordan gasped.

“Most of them.” Jarod replied. “And it seems that Raines wants to start up the project again.”

“It just seems strange to me that they would spend all that time and effort to find pretenders and take them from their families and raise them only to kill them.” Emily said.

“Most of the ones that were killed were either rescued by Catherine Parker or defied the Centre on their own.” Jarod replied.

“So we’re all targets now.” Jordan said. They all looked at him and Jarod nodded.

“It would seem that is the case.” Jarod replied. “Although they want me back in the worst way and I don’t know why.”

“Does it have something to do with the Triumvirate?” Ethan asked.

“I can’t answer that. I know they are going to take me to the Triumvirate if they recapture me. They were going to take Jordan there.” Jarod replied.

“Is the Triumvirate going to sell you?” Emily asked.

“Who is the Triumvirate anyway?” Ethan asked.

“I know Mutumbo and Adama and Johansen Amaru were all part of the Triumvirate, but Mutumbo and Adama are both dead now.” Jarod replied.

“That leaves this Amaru guy.” Emily said, remembering the name. Lyle had seemed to really hate Amaru for some reason. “But the Triumvirate is three, right? Who else is running the show now that Mutumbo and Adama are dead?”

“I honestly don’t know.“ Jarod replied shaking his head.

@@@@@

Raines jumped a little as Johansen Amaru entered his office. The tall man walked up to his desk and grinned his jesters leer at the older man.

“Where is Lyle?” Amaru asked. Raines shook his head slowly.

“I don’t know. He’s probably off attending to some Centre business.” Raines replied.

“Ah, I’m sure he is. Lyle is such a loyal, devoted employee.” Amaru said, picking a letter opener up from Raines desk and he began to pace while twirling it in his fingers.

“Lyle does what he’s told. He is quick and efficient, except for when it comes to Jarod it would seem.” Amaru said. He shot a raised eyebrow at Raines. “I wonder why that would be.”

“Jarod had eluded our best people for years. He is very clever and devious.” Raines wheezed.

“So none of your people can match Jarod’s ability?” Amaru asked.

“If I might interject, the Triumvirate sent Lyle.” Raines replied angrily.

“Yes he was, but he has been at the Centre for a long time. Perhaps there is something about this environment that dulls your peoples senses. I, however, believe there is much more to this than the foul air that is recycled through this place.”

“What would that be?” Raines replied his tone becoming curter and his breath heavier.

“Lyle is up to something; he has his own agenda. I want you to find out what that is and put an end to it.” Amaru said, stopping in front of Raines desk and looking down at him.

“Have Miss Parker look into it. She was able to uncover his dealings with the chip a few years ago and catch up with Lyle. I want to know what he’s up to and who everyone else that is involved is.”

“And after that?” Raines said.

“I know he’s your son, but I know you’ve always done what was in the best interests of the Centre.” Amaru said. Raines nodded.

“Good.” Amaru said placing the letter opener back on Raines desk. “I wish you a quick resolution, for all our sakes.” Amaru smiled and then exited the office.

Raines pushed a button on his phone.

“Have Miss Parker sent to my office immediately.” Raines wheezed.

@@@@@

“You know who would have been better for this?” Alex asked. Lyle shook his head.

“Enlighten me.” Lyle replied.

“Kyle. Oh yeah, you kind of screwed that one for the old team, didn’t you?” Alex grinned.

“No, Kyle screwed that one.” Lyle replied, remembering how Kyle had dived in front of Jarod and taken the bullet that was meant for his older brother.

“Kyle knew how to take care of business. This girl, I dunno. She was such a damn sissy.” Alex said, clearly enjoying Lyle’s reaction.

“She knows what she needs to do.” Lyle replied. “She’s more like Kyle than she is like Jarod.”

“So what’s the plan?” Alex said, picking up his drink and taking a sip.

“The plan is that we’ll get Parker when he’s returned to the Centre.” Lyle replied. “You’ll ambush the party on the airstrip and take the boy to the prearranged meeting place.” Lyle said, watching the liquid swirl in his glass as he shook it.

“And what to do about the witnesses.” Alex smiled. Lyle glanced up at him momentarily.

“Witnesses?” He said absently.

“They’ll all have to die.” Alex said. He seemed to grow agitated and pulled Lyle’s glass away from him. Lyle glared at the other man.

“Not all of them have to die.” Lyle replied. “We’ll need someone to tell the story.”

“You can do that.” Alex said. Lyle raised an eyebrow at him.

“After my last encounter with you, my credibility has come into question.” Lyle replied and looked at his watch. “What do you know, I must be heading back.”

“How do we set up the airstrip ambush?” Alex asked.

“You’re good at improvising.” Lyle said as he threw some bills on the table and stood. “Until next time.” He said smiling grimly at Alex before he turned away and left.

“Adios, Chum.” Alex called after him.

Alex pulled an ice cube out of his glass and rubbed it on his throbbing finger. ‘Until next time.’ Lyle might as well have said ‘Happy trials partner.’ Lyle’s judgment had become clouded. Alex would have to make the difficult decisions now. Although killing Lyle and his toy wouldn’t be all that difficult.

@@@@@

Miss Parker walked into Raines office and stared at him coolly.

“What do you want?” She hissed.

“I want you to check up on your brother. I want to know everything he does and says and who he does and says it to.” Raines replied his breathing labored.

“Hmm, I thought I was supposed to be tracking Jarod.” She replied, glaring down at the old man. “Now you want me tracking Lyle?”

“I have a directive from the Triumvirate.” Raines wheezed. Miss Parker raised her eyebrows.

“What did Lyle do this time?” She grinned. “Botch another deal with the Yakuza? Clean out another Centre office and steal some more information?”

“That is for you to find out, Miss Parker.” Raines replied.

“I’ll get right on it.” She smiled slyly and then exited the office. She headed down to the sim lab and startled the nervous tech as he searched his screen.

“M-Miss Parker.” He said and smiled sheepishly.

“Forget about that.” She said nodding at the screen. “Where is my baby brother?”

“M-Mr. Lyle? Uh, he left earlier today.” He replied.

“Where did he go?” She said. Broots turned to his screen and began typing.

“He’s right here.” Lyle said walking into the room. Broots jumped and Miss Parker whirled around and smiled at him.

“Well, little brother. What have you been up to?” She asked slyly.

“More importantly, have you found anything on Jarod?” Lyle replied.

Broots and Miss Parker looked at each other and Lyle sighed impatiently.

“One would think that your priorities would lie with what Jarod is up to and not where I take lunch.” Lyle said walking over to try and peer at Broots’ screen.

Sydney entered the room and looked between the three of them.

“We’re being called to Raines’ office.” Sydney said.

“Jesus, you’d think Raines would move his office down here as much as he’s summoning people these days.” Miss Parker huffed, heading for the door. Broots and Lyle both followed.

@@@@@

“You ask me if there'll come a time. When I'll grow tired of you. Never my love. Never my love.” The radio played as Emily sat on the porch. She looked up as Jarod walked out and sat beside her.

“Nice night.” Jarod said.

“Sure is.” Emily replied.

“You wonder if this heart of mine. Will lose its desire for you. Never my love. Never my love”

“So where were you really, Jarod.” Emily said, looking at him from her dreamlike gaze.

“I was helping Miss Parker.” Jarod replied. Emily frowned and looked back out at the sky.

“I don’t know why.” Emily said quietly.

“What makes you think love will end. When you know that my whole life depends on you. On you. Never my love. Never my love.”

“Alex was going to kill her.” Jarod replied. “The Centre captured me and in exchange for recovering Miss Parker, Lyle let me go.” Jarod said, nearly choking on Lyle’s name. Emily looked up at him.

“Lyle helped you?” She asked, puzzled.

“Yeah. But I have a feeling he was more involved in the whole mess than he’d let the rest of us believe.” Jarod replied.

“How so?” Emily asked.

“I think he and Alex may be working together.” Jarod said. Emily’s jaw dropped.

“Them? Working together? To kill Lyle’s sister?” Emily said.

“It wouldn’t surprise me. Lyle was Alex’s handler at the Triumvirate. For all I know, Lyle has been working with Alex the whole time, playing both ends against the middle.” Jarod said.

“You say you fear I'll change my mind. I won't require you. Never my love. Never my love.”

“What makes you think that?” Emily asked quietly.

“Lyle didn’t kill him.” Jarod replied. “He was standing right in front of him and managed to not hit Alex with any of the shots he fired. Lyle is the best shot I’ve ever seen. If he let me walk, then he let Alex walk as well.”

“How can you think love will end. When I've asked you to spend your whole life, with me. With me. With me.”

“So they’re working together.” Emily said looking at her hands.

“Never my love. Never my love.”

“I think so. And in that case they’re an even bigger threat.” Jarod replied.

“Never my love. Never my love.”

Emily remembered how Alex had grabbed her by the hair and dragged her into his car before speeding away. She’s tried to fight him and get out, but he kept belting her across the face with punishing blows until she’d finally subsided. He’d laughed the whole time he was beating her.

Then there had been Lyle. That first night they spent in the kitchen deciding what to do about his parents. She’d been writing notes on the cabin stationery and finally looked up to see him staring at her face.

“Are you all right?” He’d asked.

She had noted the concern in his expression and wasn’t sure whether or not it had been genuine. Until he’d gotten up and brought back ice and painkillers, and a first aid kit. He’d sat closer to her and had gently cleaned up and ministered to her wounds.

“I’m sorry he did this to you.” He’d said. At the time she thought it had been an empathetic expression, now she wondered.

The scars were barely noticeable now. She rubbed her arms in the cool night air and stood.

“I’m going to go see what Ethan and Jordan are up to.” Emily said. Jarod rose and followed her.

@@@@@

“As many of you may know, Baby Parker was taken to the Triumvirate following his recovery from his lung condition.” Raines wheezed. “We are making arrangements for his return to the Centre.”

“Now?” Miss Parker asked.

“In the near future.” Raines replied.

“But Mr. Parker and Brigitte are both deceased.” Sydney replied. “Who will care for him here?”

“Baby Parker will remain at the Centre under Cox’s care upon his return.” Raines said.

“Why?” Miss Parker snapped.

“I have my reasons.” Raines replied. “I am the legal custodian I have the final say in Baby Parker’s best interests.”

“We’re talking about a two and a half-year-old kid.” Lyle said. “What best interests could he have other than eating, sleeping and playing with his teddy bear?” Lyle said, sneering at Raines. Broots stifled a chuckle.

“Do you think this is funny, Mr. Broots?” Raines said glaring at him.

“Uh, hum no sir.” Broots said sheepishly.

“I guess with Cox running the show that the kid’s bear might have even been real once.” Lyle said to no one in particular. Miss Parker eyed him warily.

“So what is the problem?” Miss Parker asked.

“With Alex’s reappearance, the Triumvirate as well as myself are concerned that there will be difficulties with the transfer.” Raines replied. “I want my top people working to make sure it goes smoothly.”

“Are you sure you want to divert resources from the search for Jarod to such a routine task?” Lyle said haughtily.

“It is exactly that attitude that has caused us so many problems in the past.” Raines hissed. Miss Parker looked between Lyle and Raines in their tense exchange and sat back with a pleased expression.

“Lyle will be in charge, but Miss Parker will be on hand to make sure there are no problems.” Raines continued. “Is that clear?”

“Crystal.” Lyle said with disdain.

@@@@@

Ethan talked excitedly on the phone. He waved for the others to come closer and beamed at them.

“Dad found Mom!” He said with a huge grin. He passed the phone off to Jarod and then hugged Emily.

“When are you coming back?” Jarod said into the phone. He turned to the others. “He says in a week.”

“Can’t they get here any sooner?” Emily exclaimed.

“Afraid not.” Jarod replied. “They’re playing it safe.”

They each talked to their parents before reluctantly hanging up. Then they all sat in the living room and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Now they would all be together again.



To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!

Category: L/E/Drama
Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Up to IOTH

Summary: Part seven of the Labyrinth Series.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.

Note: Includes lyrics of the song “Lil Red Riding Hood” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.

“Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not. Time takes it all, time bears it away, and in the end there is only darkness. Sometimes we find others in that darkness, and sometimes we lose them there again.” - Stephen King, “The Green Mile” In Loneliness

"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." - Buddha


Time

by Madame Estrella


Sydney turned the DSAs over in his hands. He looked up at the apparition and she smiled back at him.

“He’s my son.” She said. Sydney looked at the clock and then back at her.

“It’s very late.” He replied.

“I want you to see them with him. I want you to see him. If it affects him, then you may be able to help him.”

He looked at the DSA’s. He had walked into his office that afternoon just before he left and had seen the envelope with his name on it lying on his desk. He’d recognized the hand as Angelo’s and opened the envelope to find the tiny discs. He’d wanted to watch them then, but something had stopped him.

Then she’d come to him in the night and he knew then that these DSA’s contained the same images that had so upset Lyle a few months before.

“It’s still early.” Sydney replied.

“He’ll be awake.” She said.

@@@@@

Miss Parker grasped blindly for the telephone. She grabbed the receiver and growled her usual response as she checked the clock, 3 AM.

“Good morning.” Jarod replied. From his voice she could tell he actually enjoyed doing this to her.

“What do you want?” She grunted as she rolled onto her back.

“What do you think your dear brother is up to?” He replied.

“I see you get the Centre newsletter.” She replied.

“Obviously I’m not the only one who finds Lyle’s behavior to be suspect lately.” He said.

“What do you know?” She sighed.

“I know as much as you do.” He said.

“And that’s not getting us anywhere.” She replied. “As far as I know, Lyle spends all day in his office solving mazes.”

“Mazes?” Jarod asked.

“Yeah, these circular, oh labyrinths.” She corrected herself.

“Labyrinths.” Jarod said. “Labyrinths aren’t puzzles and they don’t have solutions.”

“They just go round and round and then back again.” She said. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temple. “Just like everything else at the Centre.” Jarod chuckled on his end.

“I suppose that is so.” He said.

“Can’t you call some other time of day?” She groaned. “All I want is a decent nights sleep.”

“So do I.” He replied. “But if I’m not sleeping...”

“You’re going to find someone else to keep up all night. You’re a real bastard.” She growled and slammed down the phone.

@@@@@

Lyle tossed another shovel full of dirt aside, sank the shovel blade into the earth and leaned against the handle. He looked at the form lying on the ground, wrapped in the plastic sheet.

She’d been dead before he’d realized it. He’d grasped her throat in his hands long after she’d stopped struggling. Her cold eyes stared up at him from the opening in the sheet. He leaned over and pulled it closed again.

He stooped over and lifted the cold body in his arms and dropped it into the hole. The body twisted as it fell, coming to rest in an unnatural position. He gazed at it for a moment and then poured the lime over the body until it was covered and then began to shovel the dirt back into the hole.

He patted the dirt down for some time until the ground looked about how it had when he’d come. He kicked some rocks and sticks over the shallow grave. He then dragged a log partially over the middle and kicked the dirt with his foot to obscure the drag marks.

He wiped his hands and then picked up the shovel and headed back to his car.

When he took his seat behind the wheel a voice called out and a hand touched his shoulder.

“You don’t want to keep living this nightmare, Bobby.” She said. Lyle turned toward the passenger seat and looked at Catherine.

“My whole life is a nightmare.” He replied.

“It doesn’t have to be.” She said. “You can stop.”

He looked toward the grave and saw that the ground had returned to its original state but with the woman lying on her back on the ground. She slowly rose and began to walk away, casting a sad glance back toward him.

“This may not have been real.” Lyle said. “But they’re not all going to get up and walk away.”

“That’s true.” Catherine replied. “But no more have to die either.”

“I decide who lives or dies.” Lyle said quietly. He felt the hand on his shoulder again and when he turned he saw Kyle standing beside him. He looked around and found they were in the Bowman tool shed.

“That’s what they told us, anyway.” Kyle replied. His face was set hard and his eyes bore into Lyles. “If you don’t change then they’ll all die.”

Lyle looked down at his stomach to see three diagonal lines of blood seeping through his shirt. He looked back at Kyle and saw he was holding the blade once again.

“It only took three last time.” Kyle said and then lunged for him.

Lyle sat up in his bed and looked at his side. His fingers brushed over the scars he found there and he saw there was no blood. He shook his head and looked at the clock. It was four in the morning.

He rose and walked out to the living room and switched on the television. He sat down after pulling a bottle of beer out of the fridge and opened it as he heard the knock on the door.

He looked at the door for a couple minutes as the knocking continued. He shook his head and decided that if it were another dream then they would have already come through the door for him.

He walked to the door and opened it a little. His expression became confused as he opened the door wider to allow Sydney to enter.

“What are you doing here at this hour?” Lyle asked as he closed the door.

Sydney turned to him and held out his hand in which he held a few DSA’s. Lyle looked at them and then Sydney’s face.

“The first three weren’t the only ones.” Sydney said. “I received these tonight.”

“And what is on them?” Lyle asked warily.

“Would you like to see for yourself?” Sydney replied. Lyle nodded and pulled out a DSA player and began to pace. Sydney placed one of the DSA’s into the player and the screen jumped to life.

On it was a young doctor who identified himself as Varian Sarff, a tall thin man of German descent who wore wire thin glasses. With him, was a boy they immediately recognized as being a younger Lyle. The bottom of the screen read: Bobby - for Centre use only.

@@@@@

Emily walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. She saw Jarod standing outside, talking on his cell phone. He was talking to her again. She shook her head and filled a kettle with water and set it on the stove.

Jarod walked into the kitchen and looked surprised to see her.

“Couldn’t sleep?” She asked him.

“No.” He replied.

“So you make long distance calls to wake other people up in the middle of the night. If that’s not passive aggressive, I don’t know what is.” Emily said as she pulled out a mug. She glanced at her brother. “You want some?” She asked.

“Sure.” Jarod replied. They both looked up to see Jordan and Ethan enter the room.

Emily pulled down three more mugs and set them on the table. She looked at her brothers’ sleepless expressions and knew they were all awake for the same reason she was. Their mother was returning to them that evening.

Emily dropped a few tea bags into the cups and a few minutes later poured the hot liquid over them to steep while they talked. It was awkward. None of them could talk about their childhood together, or the happy family memories of holidays and birthdays past. Only what things may be like when they were all together for the first time.

Then Emily would be leaving them. That was the thought that kept her up at night. Lyle would call and she would have to go with him. It was for a good reason, but that didn’t help her now. Especially when she didn’t know what would happen once they had the child.

Emily stirred sugar into her tea and laughed at her brother’s jokes and enjoyed what time she had left with them.

@@@@@

Lyle sat on the couch and watched Sydney’s face as he finished watching the last DSA. Lyle sighed heavily.

“Well?” Lyle asked impatiently.

Sydney blinked at the man in disbelief. He hadn’t looked at the DSA’s before he’d come. His inner sense had told him to come here to see them and he now realized why.

He shouldn’t have been surprised. Raines had done it before with Kyle. Raines had wanted to see what would happen if you shredded all morality from a pretender. Varian Sarff had surpassed Raines ‘accomplishment‘ with Kyle by leaps and bounds.

He understood why Varian had taken his experiments with Bobby so much further. He could. He had a pretender completely removed from the confines of the Centre where his work could go unmonitored. He had a pretender who had spent fifteen years in the real world and had an understanding of how things really worked.

Varian had taken young Bobby and created Mr. Lyle. Everything from appearing like the Jimmy Stewart type on the outside but with a dark, murderous interior. He’d even created Lyle’s passion for serial killings. He’d programmed Lyle to become involved in criminal activities, to murder those women, to undermine humanity and morality.

Sydney had no words for Lyle. He merely stared back at the man who’d always seemed so confident and self-assured, but who now looked like the frightened fifteen year old who’d just realized what his life had become.

“I don’t remember any of it.” Lyle said.

“I’m sorry, Lyle.” Sydney finally said. Lyle stared at him in disbelief.

“Is that what you tell Jarod?” Lyle growled.

“Yes it is. But you must understand that your situation is very different from his.” Sydney replied.

“Is it really?” Lyle said as he snatched up the DSA’s. He glared at the older man.

Sydney thought for a moment and realized he’d been wrong. Lyle had been taken from his family at birth and placed in a controlled environment where he could he molded into what he was. Only he’d been used differently than Jarod.

“You tell anyone you saw these and you’ll never say another word.” Lyle said. “Why did you come here, Sydney?”

“Your mother sent me.” Sydney replied in a serious tone. Lyle’s expression softened and he studied his hands.

“My mother doesn’t, didn’t even know I am alive.” Lyle replied.

“Don’t play games, Lyle. You have the inner sense. I’m sure your mother talks to you.” Sydney said.

“It’s late.” Lyle said. “I’m sorry, very early. Don’t you have to be at the Centre in the morning to catch Jarod?”

Sydney sighed heavily. He would find a way to help this man.

@@@@@

“You look tired.” Miss Parker said as she walked into the sim lab and caught sight of Sydney. He nodded and smiled a little.

“I was up late, working on a few things.” Sydney replied.

“I hope it was finding Jarod.” She replied. Broots walked in and nervously set his things on his bench.

“I, I’m sorry that I’m late.” Broots stammered. “I slept late.”

“Sounds like nobody around here got any sleep last night.” Miss Parker replied. “Did you find anything?”

“No.” Broots replied.

“Nothing? Nothing about Jarod or Lyle? By the way, where is that little snake? He’s usually in by now to make some smart comment.” Miss Parker said checking her watch.

“Oh, he’s off today.” Broots replied. Miss Parker frowned at him.

“He’s what?” She snapped.

“His secretary caught me in the hall and said he won’t be in. He said he had a meeting somewhere.” Broots replied. Miss Parker and Sydney exchanged looks.

“I thought baby brother was joining us on our trip to Africa tomorrow night.” Miss Parker said. “Why is he going off on some business venture at the eleventh hour?”

“Um, I don’t know. Some last minute strings to tie up?” Broots replied.

“Strings I want unraveled.” Miss Parker said slyly as she left the lab.

@@@@@

Early that evening, Emily and her brothers all stood outside on the front porch of Ben’s Inn in Maine. They all watched anxiously as the cab pulled up and stopped. They all descended the stairs to greet Charles and Margaret Russell as they exited the vehicle.

Margaret was smothered in hugs and kisses before the boys went to get her bags out of the cab’s trunk. Emily took her hand and led the bewildered woman into the house.

Once they’d settled Margaret into the room with her husband, they all gathered in the living room where Ben served them hot tea and they began to all talk at once.

Emily thought it was her buzzing with excitement, and then quickly realized it was the pager she wore, concealed, at all times. Her face fell momentarily as the meaning sunk in. She quickly regained her composure and hugged her mom and walked upstairs to her bedroom. She pulled the cell phone out of her underwear drawer and dialed the number on the pager. What would she say?

“This is Emily.” Her voice shook a little.

“It’s time.” His voice said through the receiver. She sighed heavily.

“This is a really bad time.” She replied.

“It’s now or never, Emily. You know how important this is.”

“When and where should I meet you?”

“At midnight, look out your window.” She walked to the window and saw a man step out from behind the tool shed and wave to her. She gave a faint wave in reply.

“So you know my mother is here.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Emily, but it can’t be helped. Bad timing sucks but you have to play the cards you’re dealt.”

“Midnight.” She said softly and hung up the phone. She turned and her heart leapt into her throat. “Jordan.” She gasped.

“What’s going on?” The boy asked.

“Nothing.”

“Who are you meeting at midnight?”

“Just some guy. You wouldn’t understand yet.” She gave a sly smile. Jordan gasped and grinned ear to ear.

“Oh, a boyfriend. You’re gonna sneak off and...”

“Uh, huh.” She smiled. It couldn’t be further than the truth, but if she could shut him up it was worth it. “Don’t tell anyone, though. He’s not the kind of guy mom and dad would approve of.”

“Okay.” He smiled. “What’s his name?”

“Bobby.“ She replied and put the phone in the drawer before following him back downstairs.

@@@@@

Emily washed dishes in the kitchen and looked up at the clock about every minute. Midnight was approaching and she would have to leave her family and go on this crazy mission with the man no one trusted. She’d made a deal with the Devil and he was holding her to it. Margaret entered the room and picked up a dish towel. She began drying a plate.

“Emily, you’ve been very distant tonight. Is something wrong?” Emily looked at her mother sadly.

“Mom, you’ve had to make a lot of hard decisions in your life. How do you decide what the right thing is?” Margaret looked at Emily surprised and thought for a moment.

“Well, I always look at the end result. Is it in my own and my family’s best interest to do what I must?”

“I weigh my decisions like that too, mom.”

“What is it that you are deciding, dear?” Emily drew in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly.

“There’s something I have to do mom. I have to do it alone and I can’t bring anyone else into it.” Margaret looked at her puzzled and Emily laughed and switched on the radio on the windowsill. Sleepwalk began to play and she chuckled again and wiped away a tear. “The last time I heard that song was six months ago and strangely, it’s what all this is about.” They listened to the music and Margaret touched Emily’s shoulder.

“It’s beautiful, yet sad.” Emily finally said. “Although six months ago I said it was peaceful, sultry, and romantic.”

“It is all of those things, Emily.” Margaret replied. Emily smiled and looked down at the pan.

“Mom, it’s going to be hard for me to do this...”

“Sleepwalk.” Margaret said.

“Yeah. It’s kind of a joke; I should be able to do this in my sleep. I’ve been waiting for a long time and it’s, now. I want you to understand that I am doing this for all the right reasons, and I can’t tell you what any of them are right now.” Emily looked at her mother forlornly. Margaret smiled sadly and nodded in understanding.

“Be careful. I have faith in you, dear.”

“I have a plan mom.” Emily said sadly.

“And I’m sure it’s a good one. But be careful.” Margaret and Emily hugged each other tightly and Margaret kissed her daughter lightly on the forehead. The two women met the men in the living room and Emily enjoyed her last few hours with her family.

@@@@@

Margaret studied Emily’s tortured expression and perfectly understood her daughters concerns. Although she didn’t like it herself, she knew that what Emily, what they were doing was the right thing.

“You know who I am then.” The young man had said as he had approached Margaret a few weeks earlier. She glanced down and noticed that he was, in fact, missing his left thumb.

“Yes. You’re the man who killed my son and tried to murder my daughter.” She had replied. She’d wrung her fingers nervously and wondered why she’d ever agreed to meet with this third party set up by their mutual contact.

“He sent you?” She’d said, distress filled her voice.

“He sent me.” Lyle nodded. He looked about the dank setting and then back at her.

“Margaret, I’m not here to hurt you.” Lyle said. She wrung her fingers nervously.

“You’re Mr. Lyle.” She said. “How am I supposed to believe you won’t?”

“Because I am also Catherine Jameson Parker’s son.” He said. She cocked her head at him.

“What? Catherine’s son died at birth.”

“That is what the Centre wanted her and Mr. Parker to believe.” He said. “I was raised by an adoptive family and when I was fifteen the Triumvirate sent someone to...” He paused and took a breath. “Reeducate me.”

“Who was it?” She asked.

“Varian Sarff.” He replied. She nodded in understanding.

“So why are you here?” She asked.

“Our contact asked me to be here.” He replied, taking a seat on the sofa and looking up at the woman as she paced about nervously. She finally stood before him.

“I have absolutely no reason to trust you.” She said.

“No, you certainly don’t. Just as I have no reason to trust you or our friend.” Lyle replied. “We can go on with this argument forever and get nowhere, Margaret.” She nodded.

“So what does he have in mind?” She asked.

“It doesn’t matter.” He replied.

“What?” She asked, taking a step back.

“He forfeited his say the minute he decided to skip this meeting.” Lyle replied. “What do you say?”

“I need to think.” Margaret said. Lyle heaved an impatient sigh and walked outside.

Margaret watched him pace outside the window and realized how impatient the young man was. She looked down at the briefcase he’d left and opened it. Inside were a DSA player, DSA’s and a few folders and envelopes.

She opened one and gasped just as Lyle reentered the room.

“What?” She shrieked. Lyle shook his head and didn’t bother to admonish her for looking through his papers.

“What are you doing with these?” She said angrily as she held up a photograph of her daughter. Lyle shrugged.

“It’s all part of the plan.” Lyle replied. Margaret walked over to him and poked a finger into his chest.

“No!” She shouted. “You are not going to take any more of my children! You are not going to hurt any more of them!”

He took her hand in his, gently, and pulled it away from his chest.

“She is going to help me rescue your grandchild.” He replied. Margaret shook her head and looked up at him.

“What?” She finally managed to say.

“It’s all part of my mother’s plan.” Lyle said.

He walked past her to the case and pulled out a DSA and held it up to her. He then inserted it into the DSA player and turned it on. They both watched in silence as Catherine appeared on the screen and began to speak.

@@@@@

Emily walked down the narrow path to the shed. She walked around back and gasped in disbelief. “He’s not here.” She said to herself.

She heard a whistle and saw him leaning against a tree, lighting a cigarette. She walked over to him and he shook out the match and tossed it aside. She stood before him and could smell the smoke.

“I thought I was going to have to go in there and drag you out.” Lyle grinned. He looked her over in the dim light. “Are you ready to go, Emily?” She sighed heavily.

“The bus is leaving; I saved you a seat.” She said contemptuously. It wasn’t hard for her tonight.

She followed him to the car and took her seat on the passenger side. Lyle got behind the wheel and drove away.

“The plan has changed since we last met.” Lyle said. Emily stiffened in her seat.

“How so?” She asked, glaring at him.

“You will be pretending to be a sweeper.” He replied, avoiding her gaze. “So, what are we going to call you?” Lyle asked. She thought for a few minutes.

“Aisling.” She finally said icily. Lyle frowned.

“Aisling?” He replied.

“You have a problem with it?”

“No.” He glanced at her for a moment and then back at the road.

“I’m sorry but we have to do this now. They picked the time. I had nothing to do with it.”

“If they are going to take Jarod to the Triumvirate then why are they bringing the boy back to the Centre?”

“Because Raines has some plans for him. We groom the Pretenders at the Centre and they are transferred back once they...”

“Have maximized their potential?” Emily snapped.

“Exactly. Look, we are on our way to stop this, don’t be so bitchy.” Lyle sighed. Emily hit him and he swerved a little and took in a deep breath.

“That one’s free, Emily. The next one is going to cost you. You know what I am and I am not above hitting a woman.” He said calmly.

Emily clasped her hands in her lap. It was going to be a long drive to Blue Cove.

“Don’t you people ever listen to the radio?” She sighed, settling back into her seat.

“What?” Lyle asked.

“In all the time I’ve spent with you in a car, you’ve never once played the radio. Not that your company isn’t enthralling, but a long drive like this one is almost painful when it’s silent.”

“You find me enthralling?” Lyle smiled a little. Emily shook her head and snapped on the radio.

Owoooooooo! Who's that I see walkin' in these woods? Why, it's Little Red Riding Hood.

Emily grinned and turned up the volume and started singing along with the radio.

Hey there Little Red Riding Hood, You sure are looking good. You're everything a big bad wolf could want. Listen to me.

Little Red Riding Hood I don't think little big girls should Go walking in these spooky old woods alone. Owoooooooo!

What big eyes you have, The kind of eyes that drive wolves mad. So just to see that you don't get chased I think I ought to walk with you for a ways.

What full lips you have. They're sure to lure someone bad. So until you get to grandma's place I think you ought to walk with me and be safe.

I'm gonna keep my sheep suit on Until I'm sure that you've been shown That I can be trusted walking with you alone. Owoooooooo!

Little Red Riding Hood I'd like to hold you if I could But you might think I'm a big bad wolf so I won't. Owoooooooo!

What a big heart I have-the better to love you with. Little Red Riding Hood Even bad wolves can be good. I'll try to be satisfied just to walk close by your side. Maybe you'll see things my way before we get to grandma's place.

Hey there Little Red Riding Hood You sure are looking good You're everything that a big bad wolf could want. Owoooooooo! I mean baaaaaa! Baaa?

“Sounds like you.” Emily said smiling and detached as she watched the signs pass.

A long silence passed between them. Her exhaustion combined with the drone of the engine and the radio playing softly lulled her to sleep.

@@@@@

Lyle stopped the car and looked over at his sleeping companion. They’d arrived at the small cabin in Rising Sun, Delaware. Lyle grabbed her bags out of the trunk and glanced at Emily before walking inside the cabin.

It was a small, rustic little place with two bedrooms a bathroom, a living room and a kitchen. It was furnished in hunter green and plaid checks.

Lyle walked into the bedroom where he sat her bags down. He walked over to the bed and pulled the sheets back on one side. He then headed back to the car and opened the passenger side door.

He unlatched her seatbelt and picked her up, kicking the door closed. He carried her into the house and to the master bedroom. He laid her down on the bed and then pulled off her shoes and coat. He set the shoes by the door and hung the coat up. He walked back over to her and pulled the sheets over her, tucking her in.

He sat in a chair and watched her. There was something in the way she’d looked at him. Distrust? It went deeper than that. Undoubtedly Jarod had told her about his treatment when he had taken Jarod back to the Centre.

It was more than that though. Contempt. Hatred. He’d felt those things from her glares. He’d heard them in her voice.

She lay peacefully now. He’d never seen anyone so undisturbed in their slumber. She’d been that way in Texas as well.

He checked his watch, ten thirty in the morning. He watched her for a few more minutes and then he walked back into the living room. He pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and stretched out on it.

He’d missed her. He hadn’t realized just how much until he’d seen her standing on the porch at Ben Miller’s Inn. He supposed that he shouldn’t have been surprised when she hadn’t reciprocated those feelings. He was the bad guy after all.

“Something bothering you, luv?” The familiar voice called. He didn’t bother looking up this time as she walked around from behind him and took a seat on the edge of the couch.

“No.” He replied softly. Brigitte cocked her head and twirled her sucker in her mouth. Then she reached down and stroked his cheek.

“You aren’t thinking of replacing me, are you luv?” She grinned. He blinked and stared at the apparition.

“Why are you here?” He asked quietly.

“Because you want me here. Because you can’t let go.” She smiled and leaned down to kiss him. She sat up straight and smiled devilishly.

“We had a good plan, Lyle.” She said.

“Until you went out on your own.” He replied.

“Yes, but you got me back, didn’t you love?” She sneered and held up both her hands, which were covered with blood. He shook his head.

“I didn’t know.” He said.

“There’s a lot you don’t know, luv.” She said and then laughed and stood up. She was joined by Jimmy Radloff, Che Ling and Kyle. He’d lived this nightmare before, but he still hated it.

“You’re going to kill her, Lyle.” Kyle said. “Just like you killed the rest of us.”

@@@@@

“Emily’s gone!” Ethan cried as he came down the stairs. The others all looked up at him in shock.

“What do you mean gone?” Charles exclaimed.

“I mean she’s gone. Her bed hasn’t been slept in and her bedroom window is open.” Ethan replied. Charles slammed his fist on the breakfast table. Margaret looked at him worriedly and Jarod snickered. Everyone looked at him.

“It’s just a typical morning at the Russell house.” Jarod sighed and poked at his eggs on his plate.

“Well, she was meeting that guy; maybe she’s just not home yet.” Jordan said before stuffing some pancakes into his mouth.

“What guy?” The others all seemed to say in unison.

“She was talking to a guy on the phone yesterday. She said she was meeting him at midnight. She said he was her boyfriend and that you guys wouldn’t approve of him.” Jordan replied around another mouthful of pancakes.

“What’s his name?” Jarod asked.

“Bobby.” Jordan replied.

“Jordan may be right. You boys did say she likes to go out by herself for long periods of time.” Margaret added.

Jarod frowned and shook his head. He rose from the table and headed up to Emily’s room followed by the others.

Jordan pulled open the drawer he’d seen Emily go into for the phone and found nothing. The others all began to look through her drawers and closet and under the bed and found the same. Emily had packed up and left without a trace.

@@@@@

Emily woke and found herself in bed in a cabin. She sat straight up and looked about. She saw her bags next to the wall with her shoes and her coat was hung up. She looked at the other side of the bed and found it was empty. Then she inspected herself and found she was still clothed and in one piece.

She slowly stood and stretched. Then she walked to the door and down the hall and into the living room. She saw him laying on the couch in a fitful sleep. She walked over to Lyle and touched his arm. He shot up and breathed hard, looking about. His gaze fell on hers and he rubbed his face.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” She said quietly.

“I don’t sleep well.” He replied groggily.

“Nice place.” She grunted.

He looked up at her from where he sat and then looked around the room himself.

“This is where we’ll be bringing the kid.” He said. “I left some clothes for you in your room.”

She headed to the bathroom to take a shower. She then walked back to the bedroom and grabbed the suit Lyle had for her and closed the door to change into it.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Aisling. She was to become Aisling, the serious sweeper. Her face broke into a grin and she thought for the millionth time that Lyle had picked the worst person for the job. She’d grown up in seclusion, afraid of her own shadow.

She headed back to the living room where Lyle entered, fresh from the shower himself.

“You clean up well.” Lyle grinned. She swallowed and looked at the floor. He walked over to stand beside her.

“You’re going to do this.” He said. She still looked at her feet and he grabbed her chin and pulled her face up to meet his gaze.

“You’re going to do this.” He repeated. She shook her head.

“I, I don’t know if I can.” She stammered. He sighed, visibly annoyed and flopped down on the sofa. He made an impatient gesture for her to join him. She reluctantly did.

“Have you been practicing?” He asked.

“Now’s a bad time to be asking that.” She replied. She saw his face and nodded.

“You’ll be fine.” He said. She shook her head and a tear rolled down her cheek. He stared at her, his blue eyes almost seeing through her.

They were the same ones that had looked at her that morning in her office in Philadelphia.

“Emily Russell?” He had asked. She’d looked up at him from her papers. She’d smiled at him. He’d smiled back and she’d wondered why this handsome man was in her office that early in the morning.

And then he’d grabbed her and threw her against the wall while he opened the window. He’d leveled his gaze with hers and smiled as he’d pushed her out of her office window.

She’d seen that cold gaze again when he’d walked into the room where she was being held with Lyle and Martha Sue Bowman and had shot their captors without breaking his stride.

Then again, when he’d looked at her before walking into the woods beside her van outside of the Centre. Jordan hadn’t seen him since he’d been watching his screen and the field outside so intently.

At the wheel her mind had wandered and she’d seen him approach. A chill had run up her spine and then he’d merely given her a half-hearted wave and disappeared in the woods. She’d known why when she’d heard the shots ring out and cut down the sweepers pursuing her father and brothers.

“How do you know I can do this when I don’t?” She finally asked. “How in the hell do you do it for that matter?”

“You have to find that place in your mind, Emily. Remember what I told you.” He replied.

“Yes Master Yoda.” She said sarcastically. “What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” He looked at his watch and back at her.

“We don’t have much time.” He said. She wrung her fingers in her lap. “I can’t have you lose your nerve now.”

She stood and paced slowly. He stood and grabbed her by the shoulders and stopped her in mid stride.

“If you screw this up, I’ll kill you.” He said quietly before releasing her shoulders and walking toward the door. She was suddenly filled with rage.

“Lyle!” She snarled. He stopped walking and looked at her.

“What is it?” He asked, impatiently. She pulled her gun and pointed it at him.

“Kill me?” She snapped. Lyle frowned and looked at her gun and then her face.

“We’re wasting time.” He said.

“Are you working with Alex?” She said, narrowing her eyes. A surprised look came over his face and he coughed to clear his throat.

“What?” He said. His eyes searched hers and then he took a seat. She moved in front of him.

“You heard me.” She said. He put his hand on the gun barrel and gently pushed it toward the floor.

“Where did you hear that?” He asked.

“Jarod has his suspicions.” She replied. He sighed heavily and rubbed his palms together.

“I’m working with a lot of people.” He said. He looked at her angry face. “Yes. I am working with Alex.”

Emily’s mouth dropped open and she walked over to the window and angrily wiped at the tears she didn’t understand shedding. Lyle came up behind her.

“Emily.” He said. “I had nothing to do with what he did to you.” She whirled about and glared at him, but her face broke and she began to sob.

“How can I believe you?” She cried. He reached out to touch her arm but she pulled away and stormed over to the couch and sat down on it, holding her face in her hands. He slowly walked over to her.

“I can’t answer that.” He replied. “In all rights you shouldn’t. What is important, Emily, is that we get the kid away from these people.”

She looked up at him and shook her head.

“If I go with you, you’ll just turn me over to them and use me to capture Jarod!” She cried. He reached down and grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet. He leaned his face close to hers.

“I have tortured and murdered people.” He said icily. “I never want that kid to know how that feels.” He released her arms and took a step back. She wiped her face.

“Alex has his own agenda. I didn’t tell Alex to go after you or Miss Parker. I didn’t even know he’s gotten you involved until I saw you in that room. I didn’t know he’d taken Miss Parker until I saw his handwriting on the ransom notes.“ He said.

“What did Alex do to Miss Parker?” She asked quietly. Lyle lowered his gaze and then returned it to hers.

“Worse things than he did to you.” He replied.

“And you still didn’t kill him?” She asked.

“I only want him in this scenario to give us an explanation for why the kid is going to disappear. Whether or not you believe me is immaterial. What is important is that we get the kid. Are you coming, or not?” He asked and then walked out the door. She stood, her gaze fixed on the spot where he had stood until she heard him start the engine of the car.

@@@@@

Jordan sat on the back porch and wiped away at his tears. He’d seen how strangely Emily had been acting the past few months and he hadn’t said or done anything about it.

He’d been close by both times she’d made phone calls to this “Bobby” guy and had only stepped up to ask at the last moment. By then she’d already finalized her plans with her mysterious friend and disappeared hours later.

He’d even seen him. Well, seen his figure obscured in shadow. He’d seen Emily talking to someone out by the shed where Jarod and Ethan were looking now. He’d seen the man lighting a cigarette.

He’d also been baffled by Margaret’s reaction to the situation. She’d been the only one who’d remained calm. He thought of the previous evening when she’d been talking to Emily in the kitchen alone. Perhaps Emily had told her something then. But why didn’t she say anything about it to the rest of them?

Jordan watched as Major Charles joined his brother’s investigation of the shed. They weren’t going to find anything. Especially if it wasn’t a trick of the light and Jordan had really seen who he’d thought was standing there.

It wasn’t though. Emily may have changed since Alex had kidnapped her, but she hadn’t lost her mind altogether.

@@@@@

Once they’d arrived at the Centre, she drew in a deep breath before stepping over the threshold after Lyle. He greeted people as they passed and was stopped in his tracks by a woman escorted by two men. Emily stood behind Lyle and to his right.

She recognized these people from the DSA’s Lyle had shown her in Texas. Miss Parker, Sydney, and the nervous tech Broots.

“What have you been up to, Lyle?” Miss Parker breathed with an angry smile.

“I guess it wasn’t your turn to watch me.” Lyle shot back, grinning. Miss Parker huffed impatiently.

“We’re supposed to leave for Africa in a few hours, and for a moment, I thought you might actually miss the trip.” Miss Parker feigned disappointment.

She was cool and confident with herself, but also very suspicious Emily decided. As if reading her mind Miss Parker turned her attention to Emily. Emily felt the fear rise within her.

“Who is this?” Miss Parker asked, moving closer to Emily and sizing her up.

“She’s my new sweeper, her name is Aisling.” Lyle answered. Miss Parker shot him a cold glare.

“I wasn’t asking you.” She hissed. She returned her attention to Emily.

“Aisling. What kind of a name is that?”

“A Gaelic one.” Emily replied. Miss Parker raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She turned sharply back to Lyle. “You’re bringing a new sweeper with us to meet the Triumvirate?”

“Do you have a problem with that?” Lyle replied.

“I suppose it’s not my choice.” She turned back to Emily. “The Triumvirate are an intense crowd, Aisling. See you on the plane.” She turned to leave and the other two followed.

Emily followed Lyle to his office and made sure the doors were closed before rushing up to him and grabbing his arm.

“What the hell is going on?” She whispered. Lyle sighed.

“Miss Parker is joining us for the trip.” Lyle replied.

“Oh, and in all that time you neglected to mention that to me?” Emily glared at him.

“It’s best to see how you would deal with pressure, Em, Aisling. Besides, you’ve seen the genuine article in action now. Although I hate to admit it, she was the best sweeper and cleaner the Centre ever had” Lyle grinned.

Emily turned as the door opened and Mr. Raines entered followed by two sweepers. He walked right past Emily and over to Lyle.

“Is everything set for the transfer?” Raines wheezed.

“Of course.” Lyle handed Raines a file which Raines thumbed through.

“There hasn’t been any sign of Jarod? Do you think he will give us any problems this time?”

“No, since we’ve involved Miss Parker this time there haven’t been any leaks or mysterious activity.”

“So Miss Parker has been helping him.” Raines wheezed angrily.

“I don’t think it’s that. I think she hasn’t delved beneath the surface and unearthed any, questionable activity. It’s usually after she begins snooping that Jarod has a way of finding out information.”

“Good, let’s keep it that way. What about Alex?”

“There hasn’t been any sign of Alex in some time.” Lyle sighed. “You’re very paranoid today, Dad.”

“Of course I am. Every time I’ve tried to continue this project Jarod has interfered and taken my subjects. If anything happens this time, then I wouldn’t be the one who should be feeling paranoid, Lyle.” Raines turned to exit and his gaze fell upon Emily. “Who is this?”

“A new sweeper, Aisling.” Lyle replied. Raines gave Lyle a disapproving glance and nodded at her as he and the other sweepers headed out the door.

Emily sighed heavily and glared at Lyle upon their exit.

“I can’t just stand here, Lyle. What the hell do sweepers do around here anyway? Is there some sweeper break room I can go to until its time to leave?” Emily huffed, folding her arms across her chest. Lyle grinned.

“Yeah, there’s a place on SL-5. That would be a good way for you to study how to act.”

“Fine.” She said and then headed out of the office herself. Lyle gave her a once over before she’d disappeared from view.

@@@@@

“I think she’s okay.” Ethan said to Jordan.

Major Charles and Jarod had left for town to visit the places Emily frequented to find out more about Bobby. Maybe they would find her as well.

“Does your inner sense tell you that?” Jordan asked.

“Yeah.” Ethan replied. “I can’t figure out where she is or what she’s doing though. She’s nervous, maybe a little scared, but she’s alright.”

“Do you think Bobby kidnapped her?” Jordan asked.

“No. I think she trusts him. Whoever he is. He’s a lifeline to her. I somehow have the feeling that it’s the guy who may have even rescued her from Alex.” Ethan replied.

“But Emily escaped on her own.” Jordan said.

“That may have been what she said, but something tells me that she wasn’t being completely honest with us. She’s been lying to us since she came back. Jarod said he found her in the woods shooting at trees a little while back.” Ethan said.

“Shooting!” Jordan exclaimed.

“Yeah, I don’t know how she got a gun without us knowing. I don‘t know a lot of things about that girl. Neither does anyone else apparently. Even Margaret, mom, said that she‘s changed considerably from before they all split up.” Ethan said.

“So do you really think Bobby is a local?” Jordan asked.

“I believe that about as far as I could throw the guy. Jarod thinks the Centre may be involved and I’m inclined to agree with him. When they return we’re going to take a closer look at that theory.” Ethan replied.

“Why would Emily be involved with the Centre?” Jordan asked.

“That’s a damn good question.” Ethan replied.

@@@@@

And then she was lost. Somewhere between the top and bottom floor of this crazy maze. She tried to look for signs or stairwells or an elevator. As she was rounding a corner she ran right into someone, spilling his coffee on him.

Emily gasped. “Oh my goodness! I’m so sorry! Here, let me help you with that.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and looked into the confused face of Broots and the bemused face of Sydney.

“Gee, I’ve never been apologized to by a sweeper before.” Broots smiled. Emily broke into a nervous smile as she wiped at his shirt.

“This is a mess. I was on my way to the sweeper break room and I wasn’t looking where I was going.” She babbled and then looked up at their faces. They were on the verge of laughter. “What?” She asked.

“You really are new here.” Broots smiled.

“There has never been a sweeper break room, Miss...” Sydney began.

“E-Aisling.” She replied. Why in the hell had she chosen that name? It couldn’t be easy like, Jane. She was being difficult for Lyle and had made things difficult for herself. How many times had she started to say Emily? She did have a thing for Gaelic names though.

Just then, Miss Parker rounded the corner and stopped at the sight of the three of them.

“Syd, why is Lyle’s new sweeper here?” She said sharply, approaching them and giving Emily a hateful look.

“She was just looking for the,” Sydney cleared his throat for effect, “sweeper break room.” Miss Parker looked between the two and then couldn’t suppress a laugh.

“The sweeper break room?” She burst out laughing and then regained her composure and tilted her head at Emily. “You really are new here.”

“That’s what they tell me. Excuse me.” Emily said and then stepped into an elevator. The doors closed behind her and Miss Parker turned to Broots.

“What have you found out about Aisling?” Miss Parker asked Broots.

“Only that she’s cute.” He replied and at seeing she wasn’t amused continued. “She went through training for the last six months and has been assigned to Lyle.”

“Is that all?” Miss Parker raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, that’s all.” Miss Parker sighed.

“There has to be more to it than that. Keep digging. I’m off to Africa.” She turned on her heel and stepped into the next elevator.

@@@@@

“You’re a real asshole.” Emily said when she walked up to Lyle outside the Centre private jet. A couple other sweepers looked at her shocked and then at Lyle. Lyle shook his head and glared at her.

“We’ll have to talk about subordination later, Aisling.” He replied.

“And then maybe you could show me how to use a shovel with one thumb.” She snapped.

The other sweepers looked back and forth between them, certain Lyle was going to shoot her.

“Listen for the pop.” Lyle replied. Emily frowned at him. “It’ll be the sound of your head coming out of your ass.” Lyle finished flashing an angry look at her and then turned toward the jet.

Lyle boarded the plane followed by Emily, Miss Parker, Sam and a few other sweepers. Lyle and Miss Parker took seats well apart from one another and the other sweepers all smirked and suppressed chuckles as they passed Emily. Word traveled fast at the Centre.

Emily looked at Lyle uncertainly and he smiled and spoke quietly through clenched teeth.

“It’s time, don’t blow this.” He said.

Emily sighed heavily at the words of encouragement and stared straight ahead.



To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!

Category: ALL/Drama
Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Up to IOTH

Summary: Part eight of the Labyrinth Series.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.

“I don't know whether the world is full of smart men bluffing or imbeciles who mean it.” - Morrie Brickman

“All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the morning to find that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people, for they dream their dreams with open eyes, and make them come true.” - T.E. Lawrence (AKA Lawrence of Arabia)

“Forgiveness is me giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me.” - Anonymous



Sleepwalk

by Madame Estrella



Their arrival had been anticlimactic. The plane landed and Emily found her legs were still beneath her. She rose from her seat, her hands shaking slightly. She turned and looked at Lyle who sighed impatiently at the fact that she was still in his way.

She walked to the doors with Willie and Sam and they carefully inspected the outside of the plane. When they saw nothing suspicious they called for the vehicles and inspected the arriving cars and drivers. After all was clear and accounted for the others exited the plane and joined them in the vehicles.

They drove from the airstrip to the Triumvirate headquarters. Emily had half expected to see a fortress rise from the jungle, and saw the Triumvirate headquarters only appeared as a sprawling estate.

The main building was a large, marble house in Greek style. Four large pillars lined up along the large entrance and were flanked by two wings of rooms. The well-manicured gardens and foliage neatly lined the driveway and artfully decorated the vast front lawn.

They got out of the cars and entered the front doors of the Triumvirate. Emily looked about the large atrium and noticed a pattern on the floor at her feet. It was a large circle that looked like a maze with a winding path and a hole in the center.

The others all began walking and she kept up with them.

@@@@@

“There’s my little brother.” Miss Parker smiled and crouched down to see the little boy who’d been taken there after Mr. Parker had jumped into the Atlantic.

The two and a half-year-old smiled up at her as she scooped him up and hugged him. At least they hadn’t trained him to be emotionless she thought. She closed her eyes and remembered Jarod when he was young and then Gemini. Gemini? They had to have some name for him by now.

A better name than Parker, which was what the Centre and Triumvirate referred to this boy as. She opened her eyes and turned to face Lyle and Aisling. Why was she here, always hovering around Lyle when she wasn’t on some trivial pursuit?

“He’s gotten bigger.” Lyle remarked. The boy shied away from him and snuggled tighter to Miss Parker. She could hardly blame him.

Aisling stepped forward and smiled brightly at the toddler.

“Hello there, Parker.” She said sweetly. The little boy looked at her and beamed, his blue eyes gleaming.

“Hello. What’s your name?” He asked.

“My name is Aisling.”

“Icing?” He asked and she smiled wider and chuckled.

“Yeah.” She replied. Lyle cleared his throat and she looked at him and immediately straightened and returned her serious expression. Lyle turned to Miss Parker.

“We’ll leave you two to your blocks.” Lyle said. Miss Parker glared at him as he exited with Emily behind him. The door closed and Miss Parker put Parker down and smiled at him.

“Those two are strange huh?” She asked.

“Miss Icing is nice.” He replied cheerfully. Miss Parker couldn’t hold back a chuckle. Sydney had said once that children have good instincts, or insights in other’s behavior and personality. Particularly gifted ones.

“Maybe she’s not so bad after all.” Miss Parker replied.

@@@@@

“What was that?” Lyle snapped at Emily in an office. She narrowed his eyes at him.

“I was trying to make a good impression on the little boy. I want him to trust me. He didn’t seem to like you much.” She snapped. Lyle sighed and picked up a folder and flipped it open.

“You are supposed to be a sweeper. Sweepers only make one impression on people.” Lyle shot back. Emily glared at him.

“Well, if this is going to work, we need to get the kid to trust us.” She replied. Lyle shook his head.

“Making yourself at home?” She asked nodding at the folder in his hands. He gave her a menacing look and she took a step back.

“If this is going to work we don’t need to attract attention to ourselves. Go join the other sweepers and try not to blow this.” He said.

“Oh, do I get to play with them on the sweeper jungle gym?”

“That’s not funny, and sweepers aren’t supposed to be.”

“It’s a little hard for me, Lyle. Being a bastard isn’t part of my make-up.” She snapped.

“No, but you have being a bitch down to a science.” Lyle said. Emily glared at him and then hit him with an open handed slap across the face. He narrowed his eyes and raised his fist.

“Excuse me, Mr. Lyle.” Willie said as he entered the room.

“What is it?” Lyle cried angrily. Willie took a step back. Lyle relaxed his fist and lowered his hand to his side.

“Cox wanted to see you.” He said opening the door and letting Cox in. Cox smiled grimly at Emily as he stepped into the office and she curled up inside herself. Zoe had told her things about Cox. That was before she’d left the Russell family and gone back to her own.

“Hello, Mr. Lyle. Ah, this must be Aisling. I’ve heard much about you.” He said in his haunting voice. A shiver ran through her and she nodded professionally and looked at Lyle.

“Yes, and she was just leaving. Willie.” Lyle said. Willie nodded and Emily followed him out of the office.

@@@@@

“This is Sydney.“ Sydney said answering the phone in his office.

“Sydney, I have a problem.” Jarod replied. Sydney’s face became concerned.

“Yes, Jarod, what is it?”

“My sister is missing.” Jarod replied.

“Missing? Do you think Alex took her again?” Sydney asked.

“Someone overheard her talking with someone on the phone yesterday. Someone named Bobby.” Jarod replied. Sydney sat up in his seat. He then thought of the mysterious young woman who bothered Miss Parker so much.

“Is this Bobby her boyfriend?” Sydney replied.

“She told Jordan that he was, but I’m not so sure.” Jarod replied.

“Jordan?” Sydney asked.

“Genesis.” Jarod replied. “That’s what we call him.”

“Do you think this Bobby is involved with the Centre?” Sydney asked.

“I know the Centre is tied in with this somehow. Emily has changed since Alex kidnapped her six months ago.” Jarod replied.

Six months ago. Broots had said that the Centre hired Aisling six months ago. Sydney shook his head. Lyle had been gone for over a week six months ago, presumably to bury his adoptive parents.

“I'll see if I can find out anything about this Bobby fellow and your sister.” Sydney said.

“Thank you, Syd.” Jarod replied sounding a little relieved as he hung up the phone. Sydney placed his receiver in its cradle and folded his hands.

‘What are you up to Lyle? ‘, He thought.

@@@@@

“Hello, Miss Parker.” Johansen Amaru said as he entered Miss Parker’s guestroom. She turned around and forced a smile.

“Hello, Mr. Amaru.” She replied.

“Please call me Johansen.” He said and moved closer to her. “I’m very sorry that this is the earliest we’ve met since, the incident.” She raised her eyebrows.

“Oh, do you mean when Alex kidnapped me from our wedding and tortured me before trying to kill me? That was nothing.” She said icily.

“I was called away for some business.” He replied.

“Even Lyle gave me flowers after he ignored me while I was at death‘s door.” She snapped. “I’m sorry if I expected more from the man who was going to force me to marry him. Although I suppose that was all just an elaborate scheme to catch Jarod now, wasn’t it?” She hissed.

He approached her and she backed up into the wall. He smiled as he pressed against her and moved his face close to hers.

“I think we could be very happy together.” He said and then pinned her in a kiss. She pulled her face away until he broke his kiss and then punched him in the face, breaking his nose.

Amaru stepped back and held his bleeding nose with his hand and glaring at her.

“If you try that again, I’ll break more than just your nose.” Miss Parker hissed. “Now get out!” She yelled pointing at the door.

Amaru stared at her for a moment longer and then abided her wishes.

@@@@@

“I can’t believe you hit him.” Willie said quietly after the elevator doors had closed.

“I think a lot of people would give their left thumb to hit him.” She said with a smirk but shuddered inside as she remembered Lyle raising his fist.

“Mr. Lyle is a madman. He probably would have done more than just hit you.” Willie replied as the elevator doors opened.

“Where are we going?” Emily asked as she followed Willie out of the elevator. They walked down the hallway and he opened a door and stood looking at her as he held the door.

“What is this?” She asked hesitantly.

“The sweepers break room.” Willie said in his humorless tone. He motioned for her to go inside and she reluctantly followed his direction.

Inside was a large room with a few couches and tables. There were a couple bookshelves and a refrigerator and kitchenette. She almost burst out laughing.

Sam and a couple of other sweepers were sitting on chairs and reading books and two others were playing pool. These two looked up at Emily and Willie as they entered.

“That’s her.” One of the men said chalking his cue. “She’s the one who was giving Lyle hell at the Centre.”

“Did you really ask him how to use a shovel with one thumb?” Another asked looking up from his book.

Emily looked at the men around her and realized she’d landed herself in the gossip corner. She smiled a little and shook her head.

“I thought there wasn’t a sweeper break room. Miss Parker and the others all laughed at me when I asked. Since Miss Parker was a sweeper or cleaner I thought she‘d know.” She said.

“Miss Parker is the Chairman’s daughter.” Sam said. “Do you really think we’d let the brass know about these places?”

“Where is the room at the Centre?” She asked.

“On SL-5.” Another man replied. She shook her head.

“I was all over that place and couldn’t find it. How do you keep them secret?” She asked and the others all laughed at her.

“Keeping secrets is what this place is all about.” Willie replied.

She shrugged off their jibes and took a seat on one of the sofas. Sam brought her a drink and she was inducted into the fraternal order of the sweepers.

@@@@@

“Who was that lovely young woman?” Cox asked taking a seat in the office. Lyle sat down behind the desk and opened a drawer and shuffled about its contents.

“Aisling? She’s a sweeper.” Lyle replied absently trying to ignore the soreness of his face.

“Yes I gathered that much. She’s new as well. Why would you bring a new sweeper here?” Cox asked.

“Why not?” Lyle replied.

“Because a more disciplined, experienced sweeper probably wouldn’t have hit you. By the way, do you need some ice for that?” Cox asked unable to suppress an amused grin.

“I’m fine.” Lyle replied. “Perhaps we should focus on the matter at hand.”

“The transfer.” Cox said. “Parker has learned quite a bit and his skills are exemplary.”

“Go ahead and pat yourself on the back, Cox. I’m certainly not going to stop you.” Lyle sighed.

“It’s a shame Brigitte couldn’t be here to see it, she would be proud.” Cox prodded. Lyle looked up at Cox from the drawer.

“Probably.” He replied. “You know how she was.”

“Love them and leave them?” Cox said, his amused expression resurfacing. “I think she would have felt differently about her son.”

“She was only concerned with what was in her own best interests.” Lyle replied.

“Not unlike someone else I know.” Cox said. “You’re worried about Alex, aren’t you?” Cox smiled knowingly.

“He’s concerned with his own best interests as well.” Lyle replied.

@@@@@

Jarod sat on his sister’s bed and looked at folded hands and his feet on the floor. He had to sim this.

He stood and carefully walked to the window and quietly opened it. He reached for the bag under the window and held it out the window. He hesitated for a few minutes and then let it drop. He nodded his head when he saw it fall into the impression he’d seen on the ground.

He moved through the window to the outside and carefully moved along the ledge to the ladder propped against the kitchen roof. The ladder Ben had placed so he could fix some loose shingles. He climbed down the ladder and looked about.

It was a good location. The lights inside would have been on making it even more difficult to see this obscured nook. He walked over to the bag, which he picked up and carefully walked to the corner of the shed.

He looked around for a few minutes, trying to get a sense of what Emily had been thinking and feeling. Then he saw the little object lying in the grass. He moved closer and saw it was a matchbook with Possum Kingdom on the cover. He pulled out a plastic sandwich bag and carefully put the match inside before sealing it.

He walked over to where the tire marks were and where Emily’s trail ended. Emily’s trail. It hit him then. He rushed off into the woods, quickly at first, and then slower to look at things a little more closely.

He found the spot where Emily had stood and shot at the tree. He found numerous bullet casings and put them all into plastic bags.

@@@@@

Miss Parker sat in her room and looked at herself in the mirror as she brushed her hair. She thought of her mother and remembered her mother brushing her hair and smiled sadly.

Then she blinked as she saw her mother appear in the mirror. She replaced Miss Parker’s reflection and smiled sweetly at her daughter.

“Hello dear.” Catherine said.

“Mom.” Miss Parker gasped. She put the brush down and leaned closer to the glass.

“You’ve changed.” Catherine said. “You’ve seen yourself through different eyes.” Miss Parker nodded.

“Yes, mom.” She replied. “I can’t find your plan, mom. I’ve tried using my inner sense and I’ve searched and I can’t find any trace of it.”

“Someone else already has.” Catherine replied. Miss Parker’s face fell and she sat back.

“And they probably destroyed it.” She said.

“No, darling.” Catherine said. “You are not the only one who has changed.”

“What?” Miss Parker asked. “Mommy, who has the DSA?” She said frantically but her mothers smiling image only faded until she was looking at her own saddened expression.

@@@@@

Margaret watched the men look over the objects Jarod had retrieved.

“They’re from a 9-millimeter handgun, Centre standard issue.” Jarod said turning a bullet casing over in his fingers.

“Why would Emily have a Centre standard issue gun?” Jordan asked.

“Couldn’t it be just a coincidence?” Margaret asked. “Is every 9-millimeter handgun registered to someone at the Centre?”

“Yeah.” Jordan said. “Why would Emily be associated with the Centre anyway? We’ve been on the run from the Centre, why would she all of a sudden start working for them?”

“That’s a good question.” Jarod said, picking up the matchbook.

“This is all assuming that Emily would be crazy enough to associate herself with the Centre, which she never would.” Charles said. “She knows how dangerous the Centre is. After all, she did meet with Mr. Lyle once. It may be something else that we’re overlooking all together.”

“Emily had a hard time sleeping.” Jordan said. “I used to hear her up at night.” Jarod shook his head.

“This has to mean something more than this.” Jarod said looking at the matchbook.

“Jarod. Maybe she just ran away.” Margaret said.

“Why? Why would she just run away without leaving any trace?” Jarod cried.

“Maybe it has something to do with Alex.” Ethan said. “She did start changing when she came back after he kidnapped her.”

“We need to find this Bobby person if we’re going to find Emily.“ Charles said. Jarod nodded silently.

@@@@@

Emily walked down a hallway and entered a large room. At one end sat a large table with three seats on one side. The Triumvirate meeting room, she decided.

She walked over to the table and touched the pattern in the center. It was made of gold and was the same as the one in the atrium. She ran her finger into the opening in the outside of the circle and traced her finger along the narrow path that wound and twisted toward the center.

“It is a labyrinth.” A voice said behind her, pronouncing the words carefully. She jumped a little and turned around to face the tall man with the piercing blue eyes who’d crept up right behind her. He smiled at her; she shrank back a little. He looked like a twisted jester. She couldn’t help but notice his nose was swollen and red.

“A labyrinth is an important symbol. Some cultures used it for protection, others for salvation. Some were used for suitors to find their loves, others to connect with the earth. But in every respect, the labyrinth tells one that the destination isn’t as important as the path that is taken to reach it.” He said. She stared at him, unable to speak.

“You are Aisling?” He asked. She nodded her head dumbly. “Cox told me about you.”

“He did?” She finally managed to say.

“Yes.” He smiled. “He mentioned how lovely you were, but his words did no justice to your visage.”

“Um, thank you.” She said quietly and nervously brushing her hair behind her ears.

“I am Johansen Amaru.” He said, gently taking her hand and kissing the back of it. She stared at his eyes, transfixed. He smiled at her and gently touched her face. “If there is anything that would make your stay here more pleasant, don’t hesitate to ask me personally.”

“I won’t.” She said absently. He glanced over her and she looked toward the door to see Lyle and Cox enter. Amaru looked over at them as well. He straightened and smiled at them.

“Hello gentlemen.” He said and then turned to her. “My associates have arrived.” He said to her. “I’m afraid I’ll have to ask for some privacy for our meeting.”

She nodded at him and began to walk toward the door, pausing only momentarily to glare at Lyle. Why hadn’t he told her this?

@@@@@

Amaru took his seat at the table and was joined by Lyle and Cox. Amaru turned to Lyle and smiled at him.

“Well, you do have excellent taste in personnel.” Amaru said. Lyle eyed him warily.

“And I thought you had a thing for my sister.” Lyle replied, enjoying the reaction he elicited.

“I’m obviously unattached, thanks to a number of pretenders who continually elude your grasp.” Amaru shot back.

“It’s not a matter of my grasp.” Lyle replied. “It’s the...”

“Centre. Yes, yes and Miss Parkers and Raines inability. I’ve heard that version time and time again.” Amaru replied.

“There are those within the Centre who I believe don’t want Jarod to be returned.” Lyle replied.

“And who may they be?” Amaru asked. Lyle glared at the man and sighed. “Come on, Lyle. Don’t tell us that you’re now protecting the very people you so valiantly sought out in the first place.”

“I have no direct proof to confirm my allegations.” Lyle replied. “Jarod has eluded Cox Brigitte and myself without any outside help.”

“Well, we can’t have him running around forever.” Amaru replied.

“What do you suggest we do then?” Lyle asked.

“We will find his family.” Amaru replied. “Then he will come to us.”

“We’ve already tried that.” Cox interjected. “Jarod knows the Centre like the back of his hand, he’ll try to rescue them and probably succeed.”

“Not all of them.” Amaru replied with a sick grin.

“I hate to ask, but what the Hell does that mean?” Lyle asked.

“We would only need the women for one purpose.” Amaru replied.

@@@@@

Miss Parker slammed down her phone after Broots told her he’d learned nothing else about Aisling. This mystery woman bothered her. She was a nice woman, friendly and good with kids. She was not the type of person who makes it this far in the Centre.

However, Sam had told her that Willie had overheard her arguing with Lyle. All signs pointed to Lyle bringing this woman into the Centre, and he barely got along with her. Something was up. There had to be some reason for all of this.

Her cell phone rang and she snapped it open.

“What?” She growled.

“Well, well, it sounds like you’re back to your old self.” Jarod chimed on the other line.

“What do you want, Jarod?“ She snapped impatiently.

“I’m looking for answers.” Jarod replied.

“Who isn’t?” She huffed.

“Maybe I could help you with an answer and you could help me with mine.” Jarod replied.

“Fine.” She snapped. “Then maybe you could tell me about Lyle’s new squeeze.”

“Who?” Jarod replied sounding confused.

“He has a new sweeper. Her name is Aisling. What, you didn’t read about it in your Centre newsletter?” Miss Parker said sarcastically.

“Apparently not.” Jarod said after a long pause. The line went dead and Miss Parker looked at the phone in distaste.

“Bastard!” She hissed and then hung up her receiver.

@@@@@

Emily sat down to dinner with the other sweepers in a small dining room while Lyle sat with Miss Parker, Amaru, Cox, and many others in the upper echelon of the Triumvirate in the formal dining room.

“Cox is a ghost.” One of the sweepers, Elliott, said. “He has the voice and if there ever was a face for one.” He continued and the others chuckled.

“Him or Miss Parker.” John replied.

“Miss Parker is more of a banshee, I’d say.” Mark said, taking a bite. “You know as much as she likes to talk, she’s never killed anyone.”

“She killed Mr. Lyle.” Willie chuckled and the others began to laugh as well.

“She did?” Emily asked, taking a sip of her iced tea.

“What do you think Aisling? If she’d done a better job maybe she would have finished him off.” Elliott said.

“Lyle wanted her to shoot him. It was a setup! He was looking for an out to fake his death, again.” John said.

“I don’t know why they sent Miss Parker in the first place.” Elliott said.

“Because Mr. Parker was in on everything with Lyle the whole time.” Willie said. “He knew what Miss Parker was capable of, and so did Lyle.”

“It’s a wonder the Centre lets her do anything at all. I mean, she’s intimidating as Hell, but she has nothing to back that up with. Lyle does. And Lyle actually caught Jarod!” John replied.

“Until the family came to the rescue.” Sam added. “Jarod has a few aces up his sleeve. It’s a wonder he hasn’t killed Lyle.”

“If he did, then the Centre wouldn’t have a chance of catching him.” Jon said.

“Lyle would just crawl out of his grave and go right back at it.” Mark said. “That man is driven. If anyone cut my thumb off, I sure as Hell wouldn’t walk right back to them.”

“The Yakuza cut off Lyle’s thumb.” Sam clarified.

“But the Centre made sure they did.” Willie said. “Mr. Parker and Raines wanted him out of the way, so they gave him a warning shot. Only after that they found out that Lyle was Mr. Parker, well, Raines son.”

“Raines would have set Lyle up even if he’d known the man was his son then. That’s just the kind of person Raines is.” John replied.

“More like creature.” Elliott said.

“So what do you think Lyle’s up to, Willie?” Mark asked. They all looked at him. “The Centre did issue that order on him.”

“Why are you asking me?” Willie replied.

“Because some strange things have happened with you.” Mark replied. “Some unseen enemy shot you and then you were the only one injured when you went up against Alex.”

“Knocked out from behind by one of Alex’s guys.” Willie said nodding at the memory. “But what does that have to do with Lyle?”

Mark sat forward and looked at them in confidence. They all sat forward as well as the man began to speak.

“I think Lyle let Jarod go. That‘s why Jarod doesn‘t kill him. They‘re working together.” Mark whispered. They looked at him in disbelief and a couple of them chuckled.

“Why would Lyle do that?” Willie asked. “Besides that, Sam was there at the Aquarium and Lyle didn’t let him go then.”

“Jarod just took Miss Parker and slipped off while we were fighting with Alex and his people.” Sam said.

“Where is Alex getting his people and his resources?” Emily said. The others looked at her as if they’d forgotten she was there. She shook her head. “It just seems strange that Alex can put together these crews and Jarod is able to handle things on his own.”

She looked at their puzzled stares and wondered if she’d tipped her hand. She waited for them to jump on her.

“That’s a good question.” Elliott finally said.

@@@@@

“Johansen Amaru and the counsel of doom.” Lyle said quietly from the edge of the balcony where he stood by Miss Parker. As much as the Parker twins disliked one another, they still preferred the other’s company when surrounded by those that they now were. She looked at him quizzically and chuckled.

“Where is Lyle?” She asked.

“I left him in the other suit.” Lyle replied. She smiled and looked over at Amaru who stood with the other Triumvirate members.

Amaru began tapping on his wineglass to call everyone else’s attention.

“I would like to give a toast.” He said. “Here’s to a new age of success and prosperity in the Centre and Triumvirate.” He then took a drink.

“Choke on it.” Lyle said quietly with a smile on his face. Miss Parker nearly choked on her wine and then looked up at him and began to chuckle.

“Where is all this animosity coming from today, baby brother?” She smiled. She was drunk. “It’s not like you were the one they were going to force to marry him.”

“What a family picture that would have been.” Lyle said with a grimace.

“Unfortunately you’d have to use scissors and tape to put the whole Parker clan together.” Miss Parker said sadly. She eyed him warily then.

“Where did Aisling come from?” Miss Parker asked. Lyle looked at her quietly for a moment, his expression growing serious.

“Possum Kingdom, Texas.” He replied. She frowned.

“Possum Kingdom?” She said and chuckled a little.

“Yeah, she can’t say the name with a straight face either.” He replied thinking of how funny Emily thought it was. “I haven’t even seen a possum here!”

“That’s really the name of a town?” Miss Parker asked smiling.

“It’s not much of a town.” He replied.

“You’ve been there?” She asked.

“Once.” He replied. “It’s one of those little places built up around resorts. They play the same songs on the radio all the time; the things tourists like to listen to.”

“Sounds boring.” She said and then downed the rest of her wine. She deftly placed it on a tray and picked up another as a waiter passed by. Lyle merely nodded.

@@@@@

Lyle walked into his office and slammed the door behind him. He wanted to kill Amaru. Never mind that they didn’t have a ready replacement for Amaru. Never mind that the sister of the next in line was the very person Amaru wanted...

He then caught the glance of the rooms other occupant.

“Aisling?” Lyle said as he approached her where she sat behind the desk. She glanced up at him from the file she was reading.

“Yes?” She asked in a bored tone.

“What are you doing in here?” He asked, sounding annoyed as he walked over to the desk and snatched the file away from her.

“I’m going through your stuff.” She replied, sitting back in the seat. “Why didn’t you tell me you were part of the Triumvirate?” She asked.

“Is it important?” He asked.

“I would think so.” She replied.

“No one knows.” He said. “I came to the Centre as a liaison to the Triumvirate, which is what they are to believe. What else did Amaru tell you?”

“He didn’t tell me that.” She said. “That’s right, I figured it out all by myself, the dumb country girl I am.”

“When I came in.” Lyle nodded.

“He did tell me I was beautiful.” She said. He frowned.

“I’d be careful with him.” He said.

“I should be careful with you.” She replied. “Why do you hate him so much?” Why indeed.

“When the Yakuza cut my thumb off, Amaru kept it.” He told her the easy answer and then held up his thumb less hand for effect. She looked at it and them him in horror.

“You people are sick.” She said.

“Yeah, and what’s worse is that we continually try to show each other up.” Lyle replied. “He said you were beautiful?”

“He said that Cox’s description of me didn’t do justice to my visage, or something like that.” She said, trying to recite Amaru’s words. Lyle looked at her for a moment. Her face lit up at his expression.

“You’re jealous.” She chuckled.

“What?“ He gasped.

“You are jealous. I saw that look on your face when you walked into that room and saw me with him.“ She smiled. “I think that is so cute.” She said in a low voice and then laughed.

“Why are you here?” He asked.

“Because you dragged me halfway around the world on some crazy mission.” She replied. He shook his head.

“No, Emily. Why are you here right now?” He asked.

“I’m trying to figure out when we became enemies.” She replied.

“What are you talking about?”

“You don’t trust me. You insisted that I leave my family and my so-called life to join you on this pursuit and you don’t even trust me enough to tell me that you are one of the Triumvirate! Like I wasn’t going to figure that out! You’ve neglected to fill me in on quite a few pertinent details and it’s really getting on my nerves.” She said.

“I thought we were working together here for some greater good. Now, I’m wondering when you’re going to double cross me and drag me into some Centre torture dungeon and use me for bait to catch Jarod!” She challenged and then stared at him coolly.

“I’ve told you what you needed to know.” Lyle replied.

“You’ve told me nothing!” She snapped standing and leaning forward over the desk.

“You’ve been deceiving me from the very beginning. You and Alex were working together, and still are! I don’t know what the Hell the two of you have cooked up but if you’re planning on killing me, you’d better do it now!” She spat.

“Or what?” He asked calmly. She blinked and drew her gun.

“Or I’ll end this little saga right now.” She said leveling her aim and gaze at him.

“This from the woman who was bawling at the idea of having to fire a gun yesterday?” He laughed. She held her aim and narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t care what happens to me now.” She said coldly. “At least my family will have the satisfaction that one of us took care of you.” He looked at the gun and then back into her gaze.

“Emily, you don’t want to know the things I know.” He replied.

“Oh, you’re wrong there, Mr. Lyle. I would very much like to know the things you do.” She smiled.

“I told you about Alex already.” He said.

“As far as I know.” She replied. “Tell me why after working so hard to track Jarod down that you let him go, twice?” She asked. “For that matter, why the Hell do you and the rest of the Triumvirate want him so badly in the first place? After all even you’re a damn pretender” She sneered.

“Yes.” He said. “And the Triumvirate wouldn’t be very effective if everyone always agreed.” He finished and her eyes grew wide in realization. She lowered her gun and placed it on the desk before sitting down and looking at a mask hanging on the wall.

“Oh God!” She cried and covered her face before bursting out into loud cackles. She leaned forward and folded her arms over her knees and resting her head on them. Her body shuddered in her laughter. Lyle glanced down at her and then circled the desk to crouch before her.

She looked up at him and brushed her hair back over her ears. Her face was bright red and he shook his when he saw hers.

“It wasn’t that funny.” He said.

“Oh yes it was, and more.” She replied. “No wonder everyone around this place is so damn crazy! So, you want to put Jarod in charge of the loony bin? I’m sorry, he gets one-third of the power, right?” He looked away from her gaze and sighed.

“Not exactly.” He replied.

“Now what does that mean?” She snapped.

“It means that this is a lot more confusing than I have the patience to explain right now.” He said. “Happy now?”

“No.” She said. “Far from it.”

“What do you want?” He sighed impatiently.

“I want to know everything.” She replied. “I want you to show me an iota of the trust that I’ve shown you.”

“Everyone I’ve ever trusted has betrayed and screwed me.” He said.

“Poor Lyle!“ She said sarcastically. “Have I done either? I’ve admittedly made a few sophomore mistakes. I have to trust you, because as screwed up as it is, you are my only connection to real life.” She said. “And I know that you’re going to be my only connection to real life for some time to come.” She said looking at him sadly.

She picked up her gun and holstered it before standing and straightening her jacket. Lyle now stood in front of her and she looked at him seriously.

“Not to mention that you lied to me about what we were really doing here. You told me Parker was my nephew when in fact he really is your son.” She said pointing at the file he’d taken from her.

“If you happen to see Bobby, tell him I miss him.” She said and then walked out of the office without looking back. Lyle looked after her and then hesitantly took a seat in the chair she had vacated.

@@@@@

Emily lay awake in her bed long after her confrontation with Lyle. She rolled onto her side and looked at the moonlight play on the furniture.

It was all for the little boy she’d so briefly met earlier that day. The boy they called Parker. Parker! What kind of name what that? He was friendly and had a happy, yet serene smile. He also had his father’s eyes.

She wondered what they were thinking, what they were doing. She’d wanted to leave them some sort of message. But what would she say? Gone off to the Triumvirate, see you on the flip side! I’m running away with Mr. Lyle and you can‘t stop me! Now she wished she had.

What had she gotten herself into? She’d alienated her entire family and had dove headfirst into the pit of evil. They were probably scared. She was definitely scared.

@@@@@

Miss Parker carefully crept through the halls so not to be seen. When she reached the door she wanted she quickly entered and quietly closed the door behind her. She moved closer to the bed. The figure within noticed her presence and jumped, startled, into a sitting position.

“What do you want?” She cried out. Miss Parker walked over to stand before the woman.

“What are you and Lyle up to, Aisling?” Miss Parker hissed.

“We’re here to transfer Parker back to the Centre.” The other woman said. Now she stood and approached Miss Parker.

“Who the Hell are you to break into someone’s bedroom in the middle of the night and ask insane questions?” Aisling spat back at her.

“And who the Hell are you period?” Miss Parker snapped. Aisling shook her head and cocked her head.

“I’m a sweeper. I work for the Centre.” Aisling replied. Her eyes narrowed and she smiled slyly. “Aren’t you going to be late for your call?”

“What the Hell are you talking about?” Miss Parker snapped.

“Your late night call from your quarry.” Aisling grinned. “The Centre knows everything, Miss Parker. From your late night conversations with your little pretender to the little karaoke bar where you sang ‘can’t take my eyes off of you’ in Vegas.”

Miss Parker’s jaw dropped and then she fumed with anger. She took a step forward and pointed at Aisling.

“I’m going to find out what the two of you are up to.” She hissed.

“Obviously it’s not getting ripped and singing show tunes.” Lyle said behind her. She whirled around and glared at Lyle.

“Is there anyone else waiting to come in, because I’d really like to get some sleep tonight?” Aisling said sarcastically. The Parker twins both looked at her and Miss Parker bitterly stormed off.

“Nice.” Lyle said sitting down beside her. Emily looked at him and shook her head.

“What?” She asked.

“How you handled that situation.” He replied.

“So, why are you in here?” She asked angrily.

“I just wanted to see my favorite sweeper.” He replied.

“Do you ever tell the truth?” She said.

“Sometimes.” He said and moved close to her. She looked at him warily and drew back.

“I’m here to help with the kid.” She said.

“I’m ready to tell you now.” He said. She frowned.

“Tell me what?” She asked.

“Everything.” He replied.

@@@@@

Jarod folded his arms and shook his head at the image. The others gathered about him and looked similarly dismayed at the shot from Centre security.

“It’s Emily.” Jarod said quietly.

“It sure is.” Ethan said, sounding bewildered.

On the screen Emily stood behind Lyle and faced Miss Parker, Broots and Sydney in the Centre main lobby. She was dressed as a sweeper and looked intently at the others in front of her.

“It’s him.” Jordan said pointing at the screen. “He’s the guy she called Bobby. The one who was standing behind the shed waiting for her.” Jarod shook his head.

“This is worse than I could possibly have imagined.” He said quietly.

@@@@@

Lyle watched her sleep. He’d completely opened up, and he’d talked her to sleep. He’d lain beside her and had fallen asleep himself. A sleep devoid of nightmares and visions which had plagued him for years. He always slept better with her.

He heard someone cough and looked up at the figure standing over them. Lyle sat up and glared at Cox as he stood there smirking at him.

“What are you doing in here?” Lyle said crossly. Cox looked amused and rose a finger to his lips and pointed at Emily.

“We wouldn’t want to wake her now, would we?” Cox asked quietly in his peculiar voice.

“An earthquake couldn’t wake her.” Lyle said standing up. He looked back down and confirmed that they indeed hadn’t disturbed her.

Lyle followed him into the hall and was unsettled by the look of pure amusement on Cox’s face.

“What the hell is so funny?” Lyle finally barked.

“I didn’t realize she was spoken for.” Cox replied. “I also didn’t realize you were the jealous type.”

“What?” Lyle snapped, rounding the corner and nodding to someone who’d said good morning.

“At the meeting yesterday you all but bit Amaru’s head off for his admiration of your sweeper. I see now that she’s not just your sweeper.” Cox replied stifling a chuckle.

“I have a hard time believing Amaru would admire anything outside of a mirror.” Lyle said, stopping as he reached his door. “Now, may I change in privacy or do you want to watch that too?”

@@@@@

Parker arranged the blocks on the small table. He looked like a child playing with his toys instead of a young genius solving a mathematical equation. His blue eyes searched over the numbers and symbols as he carefully arranged them.

Once the child was satisfied he looked up at the adults who surrounded him and smiled.

“I done.” He said and then giggled. Miss Parker’s heart broke. She looked at her twin who seemed similarly dismayed, but his face became expressionless once he caught her gaze.

“So you are.” Cox said and crouched beside Parker at the table and looked over his blocks. He smiled up at the others and patted the boy on the back approvingly.

“I’d say he’s ready to be transferred.” Cox said to the others. Amaru and Lyle nodded and Miss Parker huffed in disapproval.

“Just like that!” She snapped. “Raines is so desperate for another pretender that he’ll take a child that is barely three and start training him to be a robot!” She said icily.

“It is in the best interests of the Centre and the Triumvirate that we begin the Pretender project once again.” Amaru stated in a demeaning tone.

“So are you going to have Lyle steal children out of their beds in the middle of the night?” She hissed.

“If the situation calls for it.” Amaru smiled grimly at her.

She crouched down and hugged the child who now stood beside her. Cox then escorted the young man out of the room and was followed by Amaru. Miss Parker stood and wiped away the tears that had fallen as the door had closed.

She looked at Lyle in disdain.

“I hate you.” She hissed.

“Do you think this is my idea?” Lyle asked angrily.

“I think you’ll do anything they order your sorry ass to do!” She snapped.

“We are all products of the Centre.” Lyle replied and then exited the room without giving her the chance to respond.

“Yeah, but we don’t have to be that way.” She said quietly.

@@@@@

“We’re leaving tonight.” Lyle said as he came up on Emily who was standing in the vast garden that lay behind the main building of the Triumvirate.

“It’s lovely.” She replied. “I was looking at this place from that balcony.” She said pointing up at the large white marble balcony on which Lyle had stood with his sister the night before.

“The view pales in comparison to actually being down here with the flowers and the smells.” She said and then finally met his gaze. “What time?” She asked.

“Later.” He said seemingly mesmerized by her gaze. She smiled and waved her hand in front of his face. “You’re out of character Mr. Lyle. You’re supposed to be yelling at me or something.”

“I don’t yell.” He replied. He looked back in the direction she had been when he’d arrived. The labyrinth lay before them.

“It really is something.” She said looking at the winding path in the bushes and flowers. “It must take a lot of work to maintain. Amaru was saying something about it being a very powerful symbol.”

“It’s a meditation device.” Lyle replied. “Walking the labyrinth is supposed to balance the left and right sides of your brain, and induce a centered and calm state of being.”

“Well then, I’m going to spend the rest of the day in that thing.” Emily said as she began walking toward the entrance. Lyle followed.

They entered the mouth of the labyrinth and walked along the meandering path in silence. All they heard were the quiet sounds of their footfalls in the soft soil and the light rustling of the wind in the bushes. The sweet aroma of the flowers filled their noses as their thoughts were silenced.

They were barely aware of the others presence until they’d reached the center of the labyrinth. There were a couple marble benches within the incomplete circle and Emily sat on one. She patted the smooth surface beside her and Lyle took his seat there.

“Think anyone is watching us?” Emily said smiling up at him.

“No, why?” He replied brushing her hair away from her face and holding her chin in his hand.

“What happens after?” She asked.

“One thing at a time.” He replied staring into her eyes. His hand slid down to her neck and he held it gently as he leaned forward. She smiled a little as he kissed her.

@@@@@

Miss Parker’s eyes went wide as she saw Lyle kissing Aisling. She’d been on her way out to find him to yell at him for something that now escaped her.

“They were lover’s quarrels.” She whispered to herself as the pieces came into place.

In the back of her mind she’d always had creeping suspicions about Lyle and Brigitte and Baby Parker. She’d kept them to herself so she wouldn’t upset Daddy. Well, Mr. Parker. But they hadn’t subsided.

She decided to have Broots run DNA tests on Baby Parker and Lyle and Brigitte once they’d returned to the Centre. Mr. Parker was infertile, she knew that now.

If this child is really Lyle’s then bringing him back to the Centre made sense. Her mother’s words made sense. As difficult as it was to imagine, Lyle had changed and wanted to be with his son. She remembered his reaction when Raines had told them they were bringing Parker back to the Centre. Lyle wasn’t going to let them make Parker into a pretender.

Aisling would be the ideal candidate for a stepmother. That was why she was in the picture now.

She watched as Lyle and Aisling ended their kiss and he gently squeezed her hand before they rose and began to walk in her direction. Lyle saw her first.

“Is there something you need, sis?” Lyle glared at her, obviously suspecting that she was spying on them.

“No, nothing at all.” She replied before quickly heading away in the other direction.

@@@@@

“Why didn’t you tell me that Emily was at the Centre?” Jarod asked angrily over the phone. Sydney shook his head.

“I had to be sure myself, Jarod.” He replied. “There is a lot happening at the Centre right now and I didn’t want to call any more attention to Aisling than there already is. Miss Parker, Raines, and Amaru are all trying to trace her past. If her identity was revealed, it could put her into a very dangerous situation.”

“She’s already in a dangerous situation.” Jarod growled. “She’s at the Triumvirate headquarters with the man who killed our brother!”

“Lyle has obviously gone to great lengths to protect Aisling’s identity.” Sydney replied.

“And that is supposed to reassure me?” Jarod spat. “Lyle could turn on her at a moment’s notice.”

“Yes, so the question is, why is he protecting her now?” Sydney asked. Jarod fell silent for a few moments.

“When are they returning to the Centre?” Jarod finally asked.

@@@@@

“Take off your clothes.” Lyle said absently as he closed the door to Emily’s room behind him.

“What, not even dinner first?” Emily said seriously. Lyle looked at her just as seriously and she burst into a chuckle. He held up a bulletproof jacket and she regained her composure.

“Oh.” She said and then pulled off her suit jacket. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Are you going to just stand there and watch?”

Lyle sighed and set the jacket down and turned his back and folded his arms across his chest. She unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it on the bed. Then she unzipped her pants and pushed the waist down slightly.

She picked up the jacket and looked at it for a moment. It was heavier than it looked. She unfastened the Velcro straps and pulled it over her head. She twisted about and tried to grab the straps to close them and grunted in frustration.

“Need a hand?” Lyle asked impatiently.

“You just want to look at me in my unmentionables.” She grunted and then uttered a frustrated cry as another strap escaped her. “Fine!” She cried.

Lyle turned around and she felt his gaze was less than innocent as it passed over her body. He walked over to her and gently pulled the jacket in place and fastened the straps.

She felt his hands move over her sides and her shoulders and she closed her eyes. She’d been teasing him earlier. Now... She sighed a little. Close your eyes and pretend he’s not a sociopath.

“All finished.” He said and took a step away from her. She opened her eyes and fastened her zipper and then grabbed her shirt off the bed.

“So, do I get to help put yours on?” She’d said breathily as she buttoned her shirt.

“I already have one on.” He replied. “By the way, it seems we’ve gotten a turn on the gossip wheel.”

“From what?” She asked raising her eyebrows.

“From this afternoon.” He replied. She smiled and shook her head.

“Your sister does like to talk.” She replied.

“We’d better go.” Lyle said stonily. She nodded and pulled on her suit jacket as she followed him out the door.

@@@@@

The curious glances were no stranger to them throughout the flight. Even from the ghoulish Cox. She’d even gotten catcalls from a couple of the other sweepers as they cleared the plane before the others boarded.

She wondered if Lyle and Miss Parker had any idea as to how Centre sweepers really acted beyond the gaze of their bosses. From the past couple of days she’d learned that they gossip more than an old ladies bridge club does.

Despite that, she couldn’t break the growing unease and nervousness as they approached Blue Cove. The bulletproof jacket was the physical manifestation of the weight on her heart and spirit. It was all for Parker she told herself over and over again.

Lyle gently squeezed her hand as they landed and taxied to a stop. Inside she was crying out for the others to stay under cover, but she knew she couldn’t say anything. When the door opened, she knew all hell would break loose.

It was cold in Blue Cove so they all wore their long overcoats, which made Emily thankful since it, gave her some warmth from the cold inside and out. The door was opened and she’d walked outside with Willie and Sam.

They surveyed the area and Willie called the cars to come. Lyle and Miss Parker exited with Cox and Parker in tow followed by the other sweepers. The cars pulled up and Elliott the sweeper opened the back seat door of one.

Emily froze as the shot rang out. Her head whipped around and she drew her gun as she watched Elliott’s lifeless body fall to the ground with a bullet in his head. The others drew their guns and Emily ran to Parker.

Shots rang out from the cars as Alex’s men emerged from them. Emily crouched over Parker and felt his back and chest and found her was wearing a bulletproof jacket as well. All part of Lyle’s plan.

She took his hand and moved with her behind him, telling him to come with her. She ran behind one of the wheels of the plane and watched in horror as Alex’s crew cut down a couple other sweepers. Some of Alex’s men fell from Centre shots.

“Thank you, Emily.” She heard the voice say as a gun pressed against the back of her head.

“Alex!” She screamed and saw that she’d gotten Lyle’s attention. He ran toward her and took aim.

“Back off, Alex!” He yelled. Miss Parker whirled around and then turned back to the gunfire from the cars.

“I’ll kill her.” Alex snarled. He had the boy’s hand in one of his and his gun in the other.

“Do it!” Lyle sneered. Emily blinked at him in disbelief. A shot rang out from Lyle’s gun and she heard it whistle past her. She felt Alex’s gun hit her shoulder as he fell on his wounded leg.

She looked up at Lyle and he fell forward and grabbed his midsection. She saw blood start to form a circle on his shirt and knew that he’d lied to her. He wasn’t wearing a jacket.

He regained his stance and fired at Alex again. He then aimed his weapon at her. “Get him out of here.” He yelled. She grabbed Parker’s arm and yanked him as she started running only vaguely aware that he was crying.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lyle go down as he was hit again and Alex rise and start limping toward her. She headed for the water by the small, private airstrip. She heard Alex screaming at her and knew she was lucky each time he fired and missed or hit her jacket.

She reached the car beside a couple of trees and fumbled with the keys she took from her pocket. She shoved Parker in the car and locked the door behind him as she felt the punishing blow that came from behind. She fell to her knees and pulled her gun out again.

She ducked another blow and turned to shoot Alex in the side. He howled in pain and fell to the ground. She kicked his gun from his hand and shot him twice more before she pushed him over the embankment and into the water. She pitched the gun in after him. She then took off her overcoat and shoes and threw them in as well.

Then she walked around the car, holding herself up with it and got to the driver’s side. She looked down and saw Parker had unlocked her door from the inside and was looking up at her. She pulled the door open and fell into the seat fumbling the keys into the ignition and then driving away.

@@@@@

Miss Parker sat in her office rolling a cigarette around in her fingers. It had been a week since the attack at the airstrip.

The official report stated that they had been ambushed by Alex and some of his cohorts who were trying to kidnap Parker. Lyle had been seriously injured and was in a coma. Four sweepers, including Aisling were killed. The others had injuries, some minor, and some worse.

Alex and Parker were simply missing. Alex had killed Aisling and pushed her body into the river and had then taken Parker. There was a lot of blood on the ground by the river embankment and evidence that a nearby car had driven away. The Centre had dredged the river and found Aisling’s coat and shoes tangled in some submerged foliage.

Miss Parker remembered hearing the three shots fired behind the trees followed by splashes and hearing a car start and drive away. She’d been crouching next to Lyle on the ground when he’d passed out cold once he heard the shots fired and subsequently fallen into his coma.

There would be no easy answers, and she supposed that she should get used to that. There never was when the Centre was involved.

To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!

Category: ALL/Drama
Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Up to IOTH

Summary: Part nine of the Labyrinth Series.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.

“Sometimes to realize you were well, someone must come along and hurt you.” - Perry Farrell, In Sadness



Respite

by Madame Estrella


Thunder rumbled as lighting tore through the night sky. Rain hammered against the wooden roof and windows of the small cabin in Rising Sun, Delaware. Emily glanced at the window as it was illuminated by another strike and the boy huddled closer to her.

“Em-lee!” He whimpered. She shushed him and gently stroked his hair.

“It’ll be all right.” She said quietly. “It’s only a storm and it will pass, Aidan.”

The little boy swallowed hard and looked at her face. She smiled at him lovingly. The boy looked more like his father every day.

He wasn’t coming, she’d decided that morning. She’d waited with the boy for a week, and he still hadn’t come. She’d held out hope, lit a candle in the window, and tied a yellow ribbon around the old oak tree. But she knew he wasn’t coming.

He’d fallen on the airstrip. He’d provided them the opportunity of escape but had not done so himself. He couldn’t have.

That night Emily had carried the boy into the cabin and kicked the door shut behind them. She’d put him down and then quickly locked the door and closed the curtains and paced for a moment before remembering him. She’d knelt on the floor and held his shoulders gently. He looked up at her with a tear stained face.

“Miss Icing?” He’d asked. She’d smiled lovingly at him.

“No, my name is Emily and I’ll be taking care of you.” Her words a mere reflection of those Sydney had said to Jarod years before.

“Are we going home?” He’d asked.

“No, we are home.” She’d smiled and picked him up and carried him to the smaller bedroom and helped him change his clothes into fresh ones that had been set there before. Before.

Things had gone so badly at the end. They knew Alex would be there when they returned to the Centre and they knew there would be a lot of trouble, guns fired... She shook her head and winced at the memory of Lyle aiming the gun at her.

“Get him out of here.” It was more of a threat than an order. If she hadn’t gotten the boy out as planned then he would have killed her, even though he’d already been shot himself.

She’d paced the small cabin the entire night they’d arrived. With each step she’d grown angrier with him. He’d lied to her about everything else, why should she be surprised that he’d lied about wearing a bulletproof vest as well.

But why hadn’t he? When she’d spied the envelope on the kitchen table marked Sleepwalk she had torn it open. Inside had been her answer.

There were a couple pictures of her from Possum Kingdom and some others taken before then, but she wasn’t sure when. Then she opened the letter and began to read. She was crying long before the Love Always, Bobby. The letter fell out of her hands and she covered her face and sank into the chair and sobbed loudly.

He knew he wasn’t going to make it. He knew that the only good thing left to show of him, or the only one rather was his son. And he’d trusted his son to her. She sobbed harder as all the pieces fell into place.

When it was written she did not know. Before they’d even left was what she knew. He’d only sealed his fate by not protecting himself the way he had them. He’d effectively committed suicide. An act she’d personally prevented delayed six months before.

‘I’m doing you a favor.’ He’d said.

Now what? How in the Hell would she explain this to her family? She was now the legal parent of a child she rescued from the Centre. Not only that, but he was the son of the man who killed her brother. But she couldn’t tell the boy. How the Hell could she make this work?

She’d felt him tug at her sleeve and looked down and smiled as she’d lifted him into her lap. He smiled a little and she pulled him into a hug and he hugged her around the neck.

“Little boy,” she said softly, “I’m going to call you Aidan.”

A week later the same boy fell into a restless sleep in her arms, as she lies awake in the storm.

*~*~*~*~*

Margaret watched silently through the doorway as Jarod packed his bags. He had been inconsolable since the news from the Centre had proclaimed that Aisling, Emily was dead.

He looked at her sadly as he slung a bag over his shoulder. She moved to fill the doorway and folded her arms across her chest.

“Leaving won’t make anything better.” She said. He frowned.

“I have to find answers.” He replied.

“And in the search for those answers you’ve already lost two siblings. I can’t lose another child, Jarod.” She said.

“If I don’t keep searching then they will have died in vain.” He grumbled.

“And if you continue this search the Centre will catch you, Jarod.” She said. “They have before and will again. It’s only a matter of time.”

Jarod moved closer to her and she took a more rigid stance.

“Mom, I going one way or another.” He said. Margaret looked at her son solemnly.

“Come home soon, Jarod.” She said with exasperation.

He hugged her and she reluctantly released him and then followed him to the living room where she sat down, unable to watch her son’s departure. She sniffed and wiped a tear as she heard the engine start.

She remembered Emily’s face the night she left. Her expression had been the same one Jarod had worn just moments before.

“Nothing is going to happen to her.” Lyle had said. She shook her head. Lyle would say anything he needed to in order to make things go the way he wanted. Now he had taken another child from her. She should have known better than to trust him.

*~*~*~*~*

Miss Parker stood in the sim lab, looking over a map of the airstrip and the surrounding area. She hadn’t slept well the past week and for once it wasn’t due to late night interference.

The pretender had been silent since she’d last spoken with him on the phone when she was in Africa. But his absence was not the cause of her lack of sleep. Alex, Lyle and Aisling were.

She’d been suspicious before, but now she was certain that they had been up to no good. Her suspicions had been confirmed once she’d laid out the positions of everyone on this map.

Alex had come in one of the Centre cars. So how would he have known that there was one hidden by the river? Because the three of them had engineered the attack and kidnapping of Parker of course.

They had seemed so genuine at the airstrip. As if they were actually afraid that Alex would kill them. Lyle had even taken a bullet for the cause. Now he lay in a coma in the renewal wing and she was going to be there when he woke up.

She wondered if Aisling was really dead, or if she and Alex were laughing it up somewhere while their partner lay in critical condition. She also wondered what they wanted with Parker.

Parker had shown extraordinary ability at such a young age. Maybe they were planning on exploiting the young boys’ skills as the Centre only wished they could. Making Parker a new pretender was something she had wanted to stop; now it was probably inevitable.

She wondered about Parker as well. Had Raines and the Centre played God once again and created a new clone, or a super pretender from some strange genetic blend?

“Miss Parker.” A voice called behind her. She winced as she recognized it. She turned and faced one of the men she loathed the most in the world.

“Hello Amaru. Shouldn’t you be running things in Africa?” She spat. An amused expression came over his face and he approached her.

“I’m here to find out what happened last week.” He replied. He looked her over in a way Lyle never had, and she felt a chill.

“It looks like we have found a traitor in the Centre after all.” She replied. Amaru nodded solemnly and then gestured for another man to step forward from the door.

The man was very old and wore round wire rimmed spectacles over his gray eyes. He was slightly taller than Miss Parker and had many years on his face. He held out a thin, wrinkled hand and she looked at it in disgust.

“Who is this?” She snapped. Amaru looked between them and smiled.

“This is Dr. Varian Sarff.” Amaru replied. “From now on, he’ll be in charge of your brothers’ care.”

Miss Parker sized up the old man and nodded. “Nice to meet you.” She said.

“The pleasure is all mine.” Varian Sarff replied in a thick German accent.

“We must be getting along, to go visit your dear brother.” Amaru said, putting a long arm around the old mans shoulders and steering him out of the sim lab. They squeezed past Broots and Sydney as they entered. Sydney threw a suspicious glance at the old man and then hurried to Miss Parker.

“Wow, who was that creepy old guy?” Broots said.

“His name is Dr. Varian Sarff.” Miss Parker replied rolling her eyes. Her eyes then met Sydney’s dismayed expression. “What is it Syd?”

Sydney shook his head and sighed heavily. The others looked at him with noted concern.

“No good could come from that man’s presence.” Sydney said cryptically.

“Why is that, Syd?” Miss Parker said curiously.

“I have a feeling, is all.” The older man replied. Miss Parker shook her head and looked at Broots.

“Did you find out anything else about Aisling?” She demanded.

“Nothing.” Broots replied. Miss Parker angrily folded her arms and glared at Broots.

“Well, I suppose I’m off to Possum Hole then.” She snapped. “The moment anything happens with Lyle, I want to know!”

“S-sure, Miss Parker.” Broots replied. She began to walk toward the door and then stopped and looked at Broots.

“And another thing, Broots. I want you to search Lyle’s house for anything that may shed some light on what is going on here.” She demanded.

“B-but Miss Parker!” He exclaimed. She glared at the tech.

“B-but nothing, Broots! The last time I checked the boogeyman was in a coma.” She then whirled about and left the lab.

Broots sighed heavily and threw a defeated glance at Sydney.

“Sometimes, I really hate this job.” Broots said. Sydney nodded.

“Oh, Broots.” Sydney said. Broots looked at the man and frowned. “See if you can find any information about Varian Sarff, if you would.” Sydney grinned. Broots shook his head.

“Sometime, I have to show you guys how to work a computer.” Broots sighed.

*~*~*~*~*

Emily looked through the boxes Lyle had left. She closed her eyes and could feel him all around her. His clothes were in the closet and his personal effects had been situated long before their arrival.

She had spent the better half of the day taking an inventory of the cabin. Aidan played in his room and she looked in on him occasionally.

She’d finally walked away from Lyle’s belongings and had begun looking through the boxes and files he’d left detailing his plans. She’d begun to ache inside. She never would have guessed what a profound effect his absence would make.

She opened her eyes and pulled another file out of a box. She looked at the label. Another blueprint. This one was for a place called Donoterase. This was the eighth one.

Lyle had been planning something specifically for each of these locations. Each folder contained blueprints and pages of notes. Security system codes. Guard positions and staff shift schedules. He also had written rough ideas and made sketches of his plans. She shook her head. She couldn’t do any of this.

Folder number nine was the Centre. This one was thick. She smiled Lyle had something big set aside for the old homestead. She flipped through this and then set it aside in the growing pile. He would hate that. He was always so neat and organized.

She pulled open another box and found it was full of wires and electronic devices. She picked them up and looked at each one, flipping switches and pushing buttons. She set each of these aside as she went on to the next.

She was going to need more information if she was going to be able to do anything with what he left her. Lyle had left instructions for what was next and supplies in the cabin, but none of the important stuff like how to do it. She supposed that his inner optimist must have thought he’d be there with them instead of...

She stood and found herself in the middle of a huge ring of stuff. She looked around for a narrowing and carefully stepped outside of the circle. She sighed as she flopped onto her back on the couch.

She reached for the envelope on the coffee table and spilled the contents onto her stomach. She picked up the photographs and looked at each one before looking at the letter again and smiling wanly.

“I wish you were here.” She said softly.

*~*~*~*~*

Amaru entered the renewal wing room followed by Varian. Cox looked up from where he stood beside Lyle’s bed as the two men approached. He grimaced slightly as Varian clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“Hello, so nice to see you once again. It has been a very long time.” Varian smiled at the younger man who gazed at him neutrally.

“It has been a long time.” Cox replied and looked back at Lyle.

Lyle’s face was pale and his eyelids had a faint gray tint to them. He looked like he was dead, but they all knew otherwise. All those in that room were familiar with death.

“How is his condition?” Amaru asked.

“He is stable, but still in a coma. I’m sure you already knew that.” Cox replied with a hint of sarcasm. Amaru glared at Cox and was about to speak but Varian raised a hand to silence him.

“Johan! Boys, I taught you better than to bicker amongst yourselves.” Varian said. “You all have made me too proud to waste it in pettiness.”

Amaru shook his head and wandered over to watch the monitors with his back turned to the others. Varian picked up the chart that hung at the foot of Lyle’s bed and glanced over the pages.

“Ah. I think I know just the thing.” He said and then looked at the two men who avoided the gaze of the other. “I will have Lyle awake soon enough and then my boys can go back to the Triumvirate and put this all behind them.”

Varian nodded confidently and then exited the room. Cox and Amaru looked at one another briefly and then back at Lyle. They stood in a silent stalemate with the beeping of the monitors, waiting for the other to break the silence.

“He deserves this. This is his entire fault.” Amaru finally said. Cox glared at him silently. “What?” Amaru said in protest.

“You never did like him.” Cox said.

“I never liked either of you.” Amaru spat. “But Varian decided that the two of you were among his ‘Golden Boys’ so I have no choice but to put up with you.”

“Ah, until you have us killed that is.” Cox said and then narrowed his eyes at the other man. Amaru glared at him.

“Exactly what are you saying?” Amaru demanded. Cox smiled at him and Amaru shook his head in disgust.

“I’m not going to let you kill him on my watch.” Cox said.

“Ah, like Tom and Huck. I really am touched.” Amaru said smirking as he left the room.

*~*~*~*~*

Aidan stacked the blocks in his room. He sat back on his crossed legs and sized up his creation. Then he reached forward and switched a couple blocks around. He felt a cool breeze and looked behind him curiously.

A little girl with long brown hair and a white dress and holding a doll stood behind him. He jumped a little, startled and then frowned at her puzzled.

“Who are you?” He asked quietly. The little girl smiled and stepped forward and sat down in front of him.

“My name is Angel.” She giggled. “What’s yours?”

He thought for a moment and then answered confidently. “Aidan.”

“Hi, Aidan.” She said. “Do you want to play?” He nodded wordlessly and she moved over to his structure.

“This needs to be over here.” Angel said moving a piece. Aidan scrutinized her move and then nodded with acceptance.

“Are your mom and dad with Em-lee?” He asked. Angel shook her head.

“My mom and dad are with your mom.” She replied. Aidan nodded in understanding.

“Did they tell you about her?” Angel asked pointing at his head. Aidan nodded.

“Em-lee’s my mommy now.” He replied. “She’s nice.” Angel nodded in approval.

“Yes, she is.” She replied.

“My daddy’s not.” Aidan said. “He’s a bad man. He’s sleep.”

Angel studied his face and touched his hand gently.

“Maybe Emily will fix him.” She said hopefully. Aidan put a few more blocks in place and sat back once again.

“Not when he’s there.” He said darkly.

“Aidan?” Emily called from the doorway. He looked up at her, startled.

“Yes Em-lee?” He said. She walked in and looked around the room.

“I thought I heard someone talking in here.” She said. “Who were you talking to?“

“Angel.“ Aidan said and looked beside him and pointed at the girl happily.

Emily looked at the space beside him and looked at him curiously. “Ah hum.“ She nodded with slight concern. Her expression drew into shock when she looked at his building.

“My God.” She said quietly and then shook her head. “Aidan, do you want a sandwich?”

Aidan smiled and nodded his head as he jumped to his feet. He ran out the door past her and she reluctantly drew her eyes from the Centre to go and make him his sandwich.

*~*~*~*~*

Jordan paced the room before stopping again to look at Ethan. Ethan sighed as he anticipated the next wave of teen angst from the young man.

“You have that, inner sense, right?” Jordan prodded. Ethan nodded.

“Well, you can find Jarod with that and we can help him.” Jordan said. Ethan shook his head.

“No, we should stay with Margaret and Charles.” Ethan said. Jordan let out a frustrated cry and glared at him.

“They killed Emily! They’ll lock Jarod up if they catch him and you’re just going to sit back and let it all happen!” Jordan wailed.

“Keep your voice down.” Ethan warned. Margaret and Charles were upstairs fighting for a few hours rest.

“I don’t think Jarod is in any danger right now.” Ethan said. “And besides that, I don’t even think that Emily is dead.”

“What? She is Ethan! The Centre report...”

“The Centre also knew that Lyle, Raines and Alex were dead too.” Ethan reminded him. Jordan shook his head.

“Think about it, Jordan. Emily was kidnapped by Alex and then somehow ended up with Lyle. Maybe she picked something up from them. After all we’re all pretenders, right?” Ethan said.

“I guess.” Jordan replied.

“What do you think Emily was doing all that time she went off on her own? Besides that, they tell me she’s not dead.” Ethan said making a brief gesture toward his head.

“Well if she’s not dead, then where is she?” Jordan said.

“I don’t know? They’re voices, not a GPS coordinator!” Ethan said. He rose and straightened his shirt. “I’m going to try and get some rest.”

“Good, when you wake up then maybe your head will be clear enough to find them!” Jordan called after him. Ethan shook his head as he headed up the stairs.

*~*~*~*~*

Amaru walked into the doctor’s on-call room at St. Mercy’s hospital. He grabbed a lab coat off of a hangar and clipped on an ID badge. He then headed out to the main corridor and then to the Intensive Care Unit.

He approached the nurse’s station and asked to see the chart of the John Doe brought in a few days earlier. The redheaded nurse handed him the chart and he smiled kindly at her and then walked to number 9.

“Multiple gunshot wounds and concussion.” Amaru said aloud as he reached the patient’s bedside. “Patient is in stable, but serious condition. Alex, what would we have done if they’d actually killed you?” Amaru grinned.

Alex grimaced as he moved the bed up and glared at Amaru.

“Have you ever been shot?” Alex growled.

“No, I actually like to steer myself away from the dangerous activities that you and Lyle seem drawn to.” Amaru said closing the chart. “So are you going to tell me what that little stunt was all about, or are you taking the truth to the grave with you?”

“Lyle and that little witch took the kid and I couldn’t stop them.” Alex grumbled. “Lyle has his own agenda now that he’s gotten mixed up with that girl.”

“That little witch shot you three times and pushed you into the river.” Amaru replied.

“Yeah, I’m aware of that.” Alex replied. “Her and her brother both.”

“Brother?” Amaru asked.

“Yeah, she’s Emily. Jarod’s sister?” Alex beamed at having the upper hand. “You didn’t know, huh?”

“So Jarod is involved in this as well?” Amaru asked angrily. Alex shook his head.

“I think Jarod would die if he knew about Lyle and Emily.” Alex grinned. “She’s a real doll-baby. What are you doing here anyway? I thought you hated being out ‘in the field.’”

“I’m afraid that your and Lyle’s actions made my presence necessary.” Amaru snapped. “I’m taking you back to the Triumvirate.”

Alex raised his eyebrows and sighed. “I wouldn’t know how to be administrative anymore.”

“You’ll just have to get used to it.” Amaru replied.

“Is Lyle dead?” Alex asked.

“Not yet.” Amaru replied smiling slightly.

*~*~*~*~*

Broots entered the dark house and fidgeted with his flashlight for a few moments before successfully switching it on. He looked about and noted that the place had already been turned over probably by sweepers as he walked down the hallway. He carefully looked inside each room before finding Lyle’s home office.

He crept into the room and looked around for a moment from where he stood. He saw bookshelves lined with various titles, texts and instruction manuals. The office had similar décor to the rest of Lyle’s rooms. He focused on the desk and took a step forward.

The light in the room came on and Broots froze. He stiffened when he felt the muzzle of a gun pressed to the back of his head.

“What are you doing here?” A woman’s angry voice asked behind him.

“I, uh, well, I um, someone asked me to come here and get a few of Lyle’s things.” He stammered as he felt his palms sweat.

“Who?” The voice demanded.

“Um, M-Miss Parker.” Broots replied.

“Where is Lyle?” The voice growled. Broots turned around slowly, a bold move for the man, but he was determined to see his assailant before he died. The woman took a step back and allowed him to face her, but kept her weapon raised.

“Aisling?” Broots gasped.

“That’s not what I asked.” She said coldly. “Where is Lyle?”

“H-He is in the renewal wing.” Broots said and looked at the woman nervously. Her expression softened a little.

“The renewal wing?” She asked.

“He’s in a coma.” Broots replied. Aisling took a deep breath and lowered her weapon to her side.

“But he’s alive.” She said more to herself. Broots nodded frantically.

“Yes, yes he’s alive.” He said. She looked at him and then over at the desk.

“What were you looking for, Broots?” She asked. Before he could respond she looked back at him. “She sent you here to find out what he was doing.” She said.

“Yeah.” Broots replied.

Aisling holstered her gun and walked over to the desk. She sat in the chair and smiled at him.

“You’re not going to find anything here.” She said. “He was very careful about that.”

“What are you doing?” Broots asked cautiously. “I mean, I thought you were dead and now you’re here and I’m here and…”

“You shouldn’t talk when you don’t know what you’re going to say Broots.” She replied. “For what it’s worth, we’re doing the right thing.”

“The right thing?” Broots asked.

“Yes.” She replied. “And if you go back to that place and tell them that you saw me they’ll kill him and come after me. Then I would have to kill you.” She said. Broots eyes grew wide and his face paled.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone, Broots. Hell, I never even fired a gun until six months ago. From what my brother says, you’re one of the good guys and I hope that I can trust you.” She said.

“Your brother? Lyle?” He asked bewildered.

“No.” Aisling replied. “My name is Emily.” Broots was silent for a few minutes while he processed what she’d told him.

“My God.” He finally said. “Lyle really is working with Jarod!”

“Not Jarod.” She said. “Just me. As far as I know, Jarod doesn’t know anything about this.”

“S-so what are you doing?” Broots prodded. Emily stood and walked over to the bookcase and pulled a couple books off the shelf.

“I am just getting a few things.” She replied. She looked at him questioningly. “I can trust you?”

“Yeah.” Broots nodded. “Just one thing, what happened to little, Parker?”

“Alex took him.” She replied. “I have to find a way to get him back, obviously without Lyle.”

“W-we, um, Miss Parker and I and uh, Sydney could help.” He stammered. Emily shook her head.

“No, I have to do this alone. Remember that you never saw me.” She replied and then walked out the door.

Broots looked at his flashlight and then around the room for a few minutes before leaving as well.

*~*~*~*~*

Miss Parker showed the innkeeper the pictures of Lyle and Aisling. He looked hard at them and then nodded his head.

“Yeah, I remember those two. Bonnie and Clyde.” He said and then glanced at Miss Parker who looked at him annoyed.

“Bonnie and Clyde?” She asked.

“Yeah, that’s what the other fella called them when he was looking for them a while back. While they was still here.” The man replied.

“What did this man look like?” She asked.

“He was kinda stocky and had blondish hair. He was wearin a Statie uniform. Clyde said his name would be Alex.” He said.

“Did Alex join them?” She asked leaning on the counter.

“No, Clyde, uh, Bobby said he wanted to know if this Alex guy came around lookin for them and when he did they cleared out right away. It wasn’t fifteen minutes after Alex came and I called them that they were turning in their keys. I guess he must’ve been trouble for them.”

“Can I see where they stayed?” She asked.

“Been a while, but I don’t see why not.” The innkeeper said and then handed her a key.

Miss Parker drove out to the secluded cabin and parked her rental. She walked up the front porch stairs and turned around to face the lake. It was very quiet and the sunrays reflected from the water’s glassy surface.

Lyle had come here six months ago with Aisling when he was supposed to be burying his adoptive parents. It was Lyle’s MO, bring a pretty girl out to a secluded cabin. But he didn’t kill this one.

Miss Parker walked to the door and unlocked it before heading inside. She looked around at the drab furniture in the living room and kitchen. She was tired of coming to these places only to find that most of the evidence was gone, or led her on some wild goose chase.

A noise from the back room caught her attention and she drew her gun and cautiously walked toward the bedroom. She peered through the crack of the door before calling out.

“Whoever is in there better come out before I come in shooting!” She shouted.

She waited a few moments before the door slowly creaked all the way open and revealed the person within.

“Jarod! Why should I be surprised?” She growled.

“Maybe you should put that down?” Jarod replied pointing at her gun.

She holstered her weapon and walked inside. Jarod sat on the bed and rubbed his face and then looked at the floor. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping at all, with dark circles around his eyes and the overall appearance of exhaustion.

“I know why I’m here, what’s your story genius?” She asked. He looked up at her.

“I’m looking for the same thing you are.” He replied. “I’m trying to figure out why your brother came here with my sister.” Miss Parker’s eyes grew wide and she gasped slightly.

“Your...” She began and coughed. “Aisling is your sister?”

“Emily.” Jarod replied. “Lyle brought her here after Alex kidnapped her. She told me that she’d escaped out of Alex’s car and someone gave her a ride. I guess that someone was Lyle.” Jarod looked at her and she shook her head.

“The innkeeper said that someone called Alex was after whom he called Bonnie and Clyde.” Miss Parker replied. Jarod nodded.

“Then Lyle was protecting her from Alex.” He said. “Lyle gave her a gun also. All this time we thought she was learning how to protect herself when she was really training for this.”

“And what is This?” Miss Parker hissed.

“I can only guess that she and Lyle were trying to stop Alex from taking Parker.” Jarod replied. “I don’t know. She disappeared in the middle of the night and was at the Centre the following morning.”

“With Lyle.” Miss Parker nodded. “He said that she was from this place.” She gestured about the room. “I think that she and Lyle were trying to take Parker from the Centre. I thought Alex was involved too. We won’t know anything until Lyle wakes up.”

“If Lyle wakes up.” Jarod replied solemnly.

“What does that mean?” She asked.

“There is a termination order out for Lyle.” Jarod said. Miss Parker drew in a breath.

“So when they find out where Aisling is they’re going to kill him.” She said. Jarod frowned.

“Aisling, Emily is dead.” He said.

“I don’t think so.” Miss Parker replied. “According to what information we have on Aisling, her blood type is AB negative. The blood by the river was B positive, which is Alex’s blood type and makes sense since Lyle had shot him before he chased Aisling and Parker to the river.”

“So Emily shot him and set it up to look like she was killed.” Jarod said and then chuckled darkly. “I suppose she learned well from your brother.”

“I’ll say she’s learned a few things from him.” She said slyly, remembering what she saw at Triumvirate Station.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Jarod asked. She enjoyed the anxious look on his face. She took a deep breath before she began.

*~*~*~*~*

Emily stood at the counter of the little hamburger stand. She looked down at Aidan, who searched the place with a wondrous expression. She smiled and decided that she should have taken him outside sooner. The boy had been cooped up at the Centre and Triumvirate Station his entire life.

She thanked the teen that handed her their food and looked around for a place to sit. She spotted a table and was heading toward it when she heard her voice.

“Emily?” The woman asked. Emily froze as she recognized it. She turned around to face the smiling redhead.

“Zoe?” Emily asked cautiously. Zoe approached her and beamed.

“It is you! How are you? Who’s the kid?” Zoe chimed. Her expression grew curious, as Emily’s became startled.

“He’s uh, I’m babysitting.” Emily stammered in response. “I’d love to talk, Zoe, but we really must be going.” Emily forced a smile and called for Aidan to follow her to the car.

Emily helped Aidan into the car and handed him the bag and then got in herself and pulled away. Zoe! Exactly what she didn’t need was to run into someone she knew. Someone who could get back to her family.

At the hamburger stand Zoe eyed her chilidog and then tossed it into the trash as she went to her red convertible.

*~*~*~*~*

Sydney walked into the dark room in the renewal wing. He saw the man lying on the bed and glanced at the monitors that recorded his every heartbeat, breath, and brain activity. He had come down there quite a few times in the past week.

He walked over to Lyle and studied the man’s face, wondering what was going on in the younger man’s mind. Lyle had been so guarded that no one could have predicted the recent events. No one also knew what the Centre had done with him, what Varian Sarff had done to him.

Varian’s appearance unsettled Sydney. He’d seen the DSA’s of Varian’s “work” with young Bobby and the results of those experiments once Bobby had grown up. Now the man was back, presumably to “fix” whatever had gone wrong with Lyle. He was there to reeducate him.

Sydney had heard the murmurings of a termination order on Lyle and had dismissed them once Varian had appeared. He decided that the so-called order was a ruse to bring Lyle’s co-conspirators out of the woodwork.

He’d promised himself not two weeks ago that he would find a way to help this man. Now he lay in their hands with the man who had destroyed him waiting for him to awaken.

Sydney had been optimistic in that he could begin working with Lyle once he came around, to reverse some of the damage Varian had caused. But the Centre obviously had different plans for Lyle.

Sydney had taken matters into his own hands many times before. He had decided when to step in and what actions to take to prevent the Centre from committing any more atrocities that he were aware of. This was just one more of those times.

Sydney walked over to the cabinet and selected a vial. He picked up a syringe and carefully drew the solution into the chamber. He tapped the syringe to bring the bubbles to the top and pressed the plunger to make a nice small drop.

Sydney walked back to Lyle’s bedside and carefully inserted the syringe needle into Lyle’s IV. A hand clamped down on his wrist and yanked it away. Sydney gasped and looked at the man beside him.

“What were you going to do that for, Sydney?” Cox said, his face awash in anger.

“I.” Sydney said and then didn’t continue. He took a step back and watched Cox pull the syringe from the IV and dispense its solution into the sink before throwing it away. He glared at Sydney.

“Of all the people, Amaru sent you.” Cox said.

“Amaru?” Sydney said and shook his head. “No one sent me.”

“You were just going to kill him of your own accord?” Cox asked.

“I was trying to end all of this! The Centre has been manipulating and destroying people for far too long and I am not going to stand back and watch anymore!” Sydney shouted.

“So you kick a man when he’s down?” Cox asked.

“I was helping him!” Sydney seethed. “If you knew the things they’ve done...” Sydney said and Cox waved a hand at him to stop.

“The things Varian has done to him.” Cox said absently. He eyed Sydney warily. “How do you know about that?”

“I saw the DSA’s of Lyle’s training.” Sydney said. Cox nodded.

“So you know.” Cox said. “I want to help him too, Sydney, but this is not the way.”

*~*~*~*~*

“So where do you think he’s hiding them?” Jarod asked. He was slightly paled after Miss Parker had laid out all the details for him. Miss Parker smiled slightly at his unease.

“If I knew that, then there wouldn’t be a problem.” She replied. Jarod shook his head again, as he had during her story.

“I can’t,” Jarod said and then sighed. “I can’t see them, together.” He finished. Miss Parker nodded.

“Well, it was a shock for me and I didn’t even know she was your sister.” She said and then chuckled. “So you told her all about Vegas, huh?”

“What?“ Jarod asked looking up at her confused.

“She mentioned a few details about Vegas that only you could have dispensed.” Miss Parker replied. “Only she attributed it to Centre surveillance.”

“Yet her vast knowledge of the Centre didn’t tell her where the break room is.“ Jarod chuckled a little. “Don’t go back.” He said quietly.

“What?” She asked.

“I’ll find Emily.” He said. “I’m sure she’s taking care of Parker and won’t hurt him. Then maybe we can disappear.”

Miss Parker raised her eyebrows. “You think it’s that easy?” She sneered. “It is their intention to make Parker into another pretender! After all the trouble they went into with this one, I don’t think they’ll just let him go!”

“I wonder what he told her.” Jarod said. “I wonder how he got her to participate in this. We were all there, he could have called a sweeper team to come for all of us.” Miss Parker frowned.

“Lyle gave up a chance to haul all of you back?” She shook her head. “And then he gets shot giving her the chance to get away.”

“And she tried to keep us from looking for her.” Jarod said. Miss Parker looked at him.

“What?” She asked. Jarod shook his head.

“Mom.” He said. “She told us not to worry about Emily.”

“You think your mother was in on this?” She asked in disbelief.

“She knew about Carthis.” Jarod replied. “She tried to keep me from coming here.” Miss Parker sat down beside him.

“You don’t think that Parker may be...” She said and then looked at him. He nodded.

“I think that exactly.” He replied.

*~*~*~*~*

Emily looked at the drawing in the book and then at the device she was working on. She thought of Lyle lying in a coma in the depths of the Centre.

It was only fitting that he was there trapped in the same desolate void where her brothers had been kept for most of their lives. God she could use Ethan now, he knew how to make these things.

The next part of the plan was to take out Pakor Frozen Foods. Why Lyle wanted to shut down a grocer she didn’t know. She decided that since it was only her, she should probably use a bomb. So she’d had to go to Lyle’s house for the instruction manuals and find herself face to face with Broots.

How long would it be before he went to Miss Parker and the Centre came looking for her? Her ruse had apparently worked, for the meantime.

She wondered if Jarod knew about Aisling and thought that she may be dead. The thought hurt her, that her family may be mourning her loss while she sat here building bombs per a madman’s instructions.

She froze and dropped her tools when she heard the knock. She slowly turned toward the door.

In her dreams it was Lyle. He would walk in and make some smart-ass excuse for being so late and she’d say something nasty in response. Then, she’d kiss him and the following was the stuff Harlequin spat out for the masses.

She guessed that this wasn’t going to be one of those moments.

Emily pulled out her gun and quietly walked to the door. She hesitated in front of it and drew a deep breath before throwing the door open and ramming her gun into the woman’s chest.

“Emily!” The woman screamed. Emily blinked and then lowered her weapon.

“Zoe?” Emily asked. Zoe nodded slowly and open-mouthed. She drew a deep breath and relaxed her stance a little.

“What’s going on?” Zoe asked. Emily shook her head and motioned for Zoe to step inside.

“It’s a long and very complicated story. I don’t know if I should even tell you, Zoe. It’s dangerous.” Emily said closing the door.

“Babysitting isn’t all that dangerous.” Zoe said trying to make a joke. The ghost of a smile passed over Emily’s face. “Does it involve the Centre?”

“Oh yeah.” Emily said putting the gun down. She looked down at Aidan who grabbed her hand in concern. Emily bent down and picked the boy up.

“What’s his name?” Zoe asked.

“Aidan.” Emily replied.

“Is he another pretender?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah.” Emily said.

“Like, Jordan?” Zoe asked hesitantly.

“No.” Emily replied. “His parents actually had something to do with him.” She said stroking the boy’s hair out of his eyes. “I’m going to put him to bed.”

Emily left Zoe in the living room and carried Aidan to his bedroom. She tucked the little boy into his bed and turned off the light. She left the door open a crack before she joined Zoe.

Zoe was studying the device Emily was working on and looked up as she entered the room.

“So, what are we gonna blow up?” Zoe asked with a devilish grin.

*~*~*~*~*

The following morning, Ethan came down the stairs and walked to the kitchen. He pulled a bowl and a box of cereal out of a cabinet and got a spoon and milk. He sat down at the table and fixed his breakfast. He dug his spoon into the cereal and was about to take a bite when Jordan caught his eye.

“Well?” Jordan asked expectantly.

“Well what? I haven’t tasted it yet.” Ethan replied. Jordan shifted his weight to his other foot and sighed impatiently.

“Have they told you anything?” Jordan asked.

“Who? Margaret and Charles? They’re out back.” Ethan said motioning to the kitchen window.

“No.” Jordan said frustrated. “I’m talking about the voices Ethan! You know the dogs or whatever that talks to you.”

“Dogs?” Ethan said and chuckled. “Like the Son of Sam, right?”

“We have to help them.” Jordan said stubbornly.

“I’ll tell you what.” Ethan said. “I’m going to eat my breakfast and then I’ll think about it. If we haven’t done anything about it yet and everything is all right then nothing is going to change in the next twenty minutes or so.”

Ethan dug his spoon into the cereal again and waited for Jordan’s retort. Instead, his ears filled with the sounds of beeping instruments and his vision grew blurry. He blinked and shook his head. When he blinked again the room had changed.

He was lying on a bed in a dark room. He looked about and saw a heart monitor and a couple other monitors. He heard the hissing of a respirator and felt the stinging for the first time. The sting became sharp pain and it hurt more when he drew a breath.

He blinked again and saw them for the first time. He knew one of the faces very well. Raines, Cox and another older man stood beside him. Looking down on him. He felt frightened at the unknown man’s presence. The fear grew and he shook his head.

“No!” Ethan yelled and then jumped when Jordan touched his shoulder. He looked up at the teen that eyed him with concern.

“What’s wrong?” Jordan asked. “You just spaced out.” Ethan shook his head to clear the images.

“I think.” Ethan said and made a sour expression. “I think Lyle’s the one who needs help.”

*~*~*~*~*

“Lyle’s awake and nobody called me!” Miss Parker snapped at the two men as she entered the Sim lab. Broots jumped with a start and Sydney simply nodded.

“We’ve only just heard ourselves and knew you were already on the way in.” Sydney replied. “Did you discover anything at Possum Kingdom?”

“Only that Alex was after Lyle and Em, Aisling.” She said. Broots and Sydney looked at her curiously.

“Emily.” Sydney corrected her. Miss Parker sighed.

“I don’t suppose I have to ask why you knew that before me and didn’t say anything.” She snapped. “But I could tell you that she is probably alive.”

Broots and Sydney exchanged glances and Miss Parker sighed heavily and placed her hands on her hips.

“Yes?” She snapped.

“I, uh, I kind of ran into her at Lyle’s place, sort of.” Broots stammered.

“And you didn’t call the sweepers because?” She demanded.

“She said she would kill me.” Broots said, looking pale. Miss Parker shook her head.

“I suppose she’s not there anymore.” She said.

“No, no.” Broots replied.

“Well, Broots, did she happen to reveal what in the Hell is going on?” Miss Parker asked impatiently.

“No, she only said that they were doing what they are for the right reasons.” Broots replied. “I, uh, did find this in Lyle’s office at the Centre.” He said holding up an envelope.

Miss Parker snatched it from him and looked at the front.

“James.” She snapped. “Who the Hell is that?”

“I don’t know, Miss Parker.” Broots replied.

“That would be I.” A voice called from behind them. They turned to see Cox approach them.

“James Cox.” Miss Parker said and chuckled. He plucked the envelope from her hand. “And how long were you standing there listening?”

“Long enough.” He said and winked at her. She made a sour face. “Are you planning on visiting your brother?” He asked.

“I was just on my way.” She said.

“I’ll save you a trip.” Cox replied. “Raines has restricted access to Lyle to himself and Dr. Sarff. They have concerns that Lyle’s life may be in danger.”

“This is the Centre; everyone’s life is in danger!” Miss Parker snapped. Cox smiled and left the room. She turned to Broots.

“Did you read it?” She asked.

“No.” Broots replied.

“Damn it!” Miss Parker cried in frustration and stormed out of the room.

Broots sighed in relief and looked at Sydney.

“I thought she was going to shoot me.” Broots said. Sydney smiled.

“The day is young, Mr. Broots.” Sydney replied.

*~*~*~*~*

Emily closed the case of her device and studied it in her hands. She could hear Aidan playing in his room, talking to his imaginary friend. Angel, they needed one.

Emily carefully placed the bomb on the table as Zoe walked through the front door. Zoe dropped her bags on the floor and carelessly kicked them aside.

“That it?” Zoe asked nodding at the bomb.

“Yeah.” Emily said, staring at it, contemplating it. Would it go off? It was worth a shot. Zoe took a seat beside her and touched her hand gently.

“Are you thinking about Bobby?” Zoe asked. Emily had filled her in on the situation through the night. Almost everything, except for the fact that Lyle was Bobby. She would deal with that when the time came. For now she needed someone, a friend, someone to be there, that she could trust.

“Yeah.” Emily said. She looked off toward Aidan’s room, Zoe followed her stare.

“He’s a sweet boy.” Zoe said. “I guess that’s the important part because despite what happens, he’s out of that place and away from those people. That’s probably what Bobby wanted, a better life for his son.”

“He wanted more than that.” Emily said looking at the device on the table. Will it work?

*~*~*~*~*

Margaret continued stirring her tea in the kitchen. She heard her older son in the living room. He had returned to them, as she feared he might not. His father and ‘brothers were interrogating him.’ She already knew the answers and she knew that he would come for them, sooner then later.

“Mom.” She heard him finally say. She looked up and nodded at him. He came to sit beside her at the table and she took a sip of her tea. The story would come easily; getting started was where the difficulty lay.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Jarod.” She replied and looked at his face. He was trying to suppress his anger, his desire for the truth. “Emily knew what she was getting herself into. She knew what the risks were and whom she was dealing with.”

“Emily is alive.” Jarod said softly. Margaret sighed in relief.

“Did you see her?” She asked.

“No.” He replied. “A source informed me.”

“What else did Miss Parker tell you?” She asked. She saw the surprise register in his expression. “In this war, the lines are blurred. It’s every man and woman for himself or herself. You can form alliances and hope they hold out as long as you need them to. What nobody realizes is that they’re all fighting for the same thing.”

“What is that?” Jarod asked. She took another sip.

“You need to rest, Jarod. We all do. Consider this a respite. The sides are divided, confused. Allow yourself some peace in all this confusion, before everyone regroups and the next campaign begins.”

“Or we could seize the opportunity to deal a blow when the wool is still over their eyes.” Jarod replied.

“A cheap shot.” Margaret replied. “Rest Jarod, the war will still be there in the morning and maybe then I could tell you more.”

*~*~*~*~*

Emily ran toward the fence. She heard someone shouting behind her and kept going. Someone had seen her heading out of the building and she’d started in a dead run.

She grabbed the fence and hoisted herself over as the voices drew nearer. The car swung around and Emily dropped over the other side, landing on her feet and grabbed the fence to keep her balance.

She looked back and saw them getting close. She bolted the last couple of feet and tore open the door of the car. She climbed in and started yelling for Zoe to drive before she’d even closed the door.

They got about two hundred yards away when they heard it. Emily turned around and saw Aidan peeking up over the back dashboard.

“Aidan, get back in your seat!” Emily cried as she saw the flames leap from the building. She reached back and pulled his seat belt back together and buckled it before sitting back in her seat and fastening her own seatbelt.

She looked at Zoe who tried to remain focused on the road.

“I guess it worked.” Emily said. Zoe nodded.

*~*~*~*~*

Raines dragged his oxygen tank over debris as he emerged from his sedan at Pakor. He surveyed the mess as a couple sweepers ran to meet him.

“They got away?” Raines hissed. The sweepers nodded solemnly. Raines shook his head.

“Do you have an ID on the bomber?” Raines wheezed.

“Yes, the video feed shows a woman run into the lab and set the bomb and leave.” One of the men replied.

“Who was it?” Raines demanded. The two men looked at one another.

“Aisling.” One of them finally said.

“Aisling!” Raines cried. He shook his head angrily. “I want the entire area searched. I want her found and brought back to the Centre!”

*~*~*~*~*

Zoe pulled into the driveway and stopped the engine. She looked at Emily and the two women grinned and high-fived each other.

“Yeah!” Zoe cried.

“We did it!” Emily beamed. She got out of the car and pulled open Aidan’s door. She unbuckled his belt and picked him up. She followed Zoe up the stairs and walked through the door that Zoe held open.

She stopped after a couple of steps. Zoe stopped beside her and the two of them stared at the man standing before them. Aidan looked at him and struggled with Emily. Emily set Aidan down and drew her gun.

“James!” Aidan chimed as he ran to the man.

“Aidan!” Emily cried, but Aidan had already been swept into the man’s arms. He smiled at her.

“Hello, Emily.” Cox grinned.



To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!

Category: E/Drama

Rating: PG-13 Spoilers: Up to IOTH Summary: Part ten of the Labyrinth Series. Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.

"Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly." ~Author Unknown

"But me & Cinderella, we put it all together, we can drive it home, with one headlight." - Wallflowers, One Headlight


Joyride

by Madame Estrella


“I just wanted to see my favorite sweeper.” Lyle had said before he’d told her everything, but not quite.

He hadn’t said anything about Cox, and now he stood before them, holding Aidan in his arms.

Emily trained her weapon on the man. A clean shot in the head would bring him down and Aidan; the resilient toddler would have a bump or two. Well worth the risk in her mind.

“Put him down.” Emily growled. Cox smiled at her and then gently set the boy on his feet. He straightened and held his hands out at his sides.

“I’m not here to hurt anyone.” He said.

“Shoot him, Emily!” Zoe called out beside her.

Emily looked over at her and in that instant Cox rushed her. He grabbed her gun and they wrestled for it momentarily before he yanked it from her hands. He took a couple steps back and Emily glared at him.

“Well, you people certainly don’t waste any time.” Emily said placing her hands on her hips defiantly.

“Waste any time with what?” Cox asked with an amused expression. Emily and Zoe exchanged glances.

“After we blew up that frozen food place.” Zoe snapped at him. Cox raised his eyebrows and chuckled.

“Well, I didn’t know about that.” He said. Emily motioned for Aidan to come to her and he ran to her side.

“Then why in the hell are you here?” Emily demanded.

“A mutual friend gave me strict instructions to escort you from the premises.” He replied. She frowned at him.

“And to the Centre, right?” She challenged.

“No, quite the contrary.” He said. Zoe grabbed Emily’s arm and Emily turned to face her.

“No, don’t listen to him, Emily. He’s one of the bad guys; he’ll kill all of us!” Zoe said, wide-eyed and frightened. Emily turned back to him.

“If he were going to take us to the Centre, this place would be crawling with sweepers.” Emily replied. She took a couple steps toward Cox and then stopped, holding out her hand. He placed the gun back into it and she nodded.

“So, where are we supposed to go?” She asked.

“I can only get you started.” He replied.

“Are you serious?” Zoe shrieked. Emily turned back to Zoe and nodded. Her eyes scanned the room. It was then that she noticed.

The disarray they’d left the place in earlier had been picked up and everything Emily had scattered about the Cabin had vanished. Her eyes widened and she gaped at Cox who merely smiled, amused by her confusion.

“Where is it?” She asked.

“Where is what?” Cox replied.

“All the stuff!” Emily said taking a few steps around the room in amazement. “All our plans! Cox, what have you done with it?” She demanded. It was his turn to look confused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied. Zoe started looking around then too.

“Yeah! There had to have been ten boxes of stuff!” Zoe shrieked. She walked over to Cox and grabbed his jacket in her fists. “What’s going on? Where is everything?” He shook his head and took a step away from her.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He replied his tone was unchanged with their excitement. “This is how the place was when I arrived.” He said. “The door was open.”

Emily looked around once more and then walked over to the door. She noticed that the lock had been broken. Someone else had been there and had whisked away all trace that Lyle had been involved, not to mention took all their plans with them.

“Let’s get our things together, we have to leave.” Emily said to Zoe.

*~*~*~*~*

Emily slammed the trunk closed on Zoe’s red convertible and then caught the glance of the woman who eyed her warily.

“It’ll be all right, Zoe.” She said. Zoe shook her head and looked up into the night sky. A full moon and heavily overcast. The air smelled like rain.

“We should probably get on.” Cox called. “The Centre has undoubtedly widened their search by now.” Emily nodded and headed toward Cox’s dark blue pickup truck.

“Em?” Zoe called after her. Emily turned back.

“I should probably ride with him. That way I’ll know if he’s up to something and be able to stop it.” Emily replied. “Go ahead and take Aidan with you. If anything weird happens in the truck, keep on going.”

Zoe reluctantly nodded and buckled Aidan into his seat before hopping into hers and starting the car and waiting.

*~*~*~*~*

Emily slid into the passenger seat of the truck where Cox waited behind the wheel. He grinned and she grimaced and shook her head as she snapped her seatbelt closed and sat back.

“Why did he send you?” She asked once he started the engine and began to pull away.

“Lyle and I go way back.” Cox smiled.

“Oh.” Emily said passively. She looked at the rearview mirror and saw Zoe following them in her convertible. In a few minutes the other car, the one Lyle had left at the airstrip, would explode.

“How long have you known?” She asked.

“Not until I found the message he left me at the Centre.” He replied. He turned to her and smiled again. “If I’d known, things may have turned out differently.”

“Yeah, right.” Emily replied. “You and Lyle being the tight buddies you are you’d think he wouldn’t have been shot then, huh?”

“I think Lyle wanted to be shot.” Cox replied. Emily looked at him cautiously.

“Yeah, me too.” She said quietly.

“What has he told you?” He asked.

“What he said was everything.” She replied.

“Everything.” Cox mused.

“So, who are you, Mr. Cox?” Emily asked, looking at him from the corners of her eyes.

He drew a deep breath and began a story.

*~*~*~*~*

Jimmy Radloff came into the hunting shack where Bobby had been waiting. Bobby stood in anticipation of his friend’s arrival.

“Hey, what took you so long?” Bobby asked. The boys were dressed in jeans and white T-shirts with flannel shirts over them and each carried a knapsack.

“What’s your hurry? I got held up. Hey, I swiped these from my dad’s dresser.” Jimmy said grinning devilishly as he dug a pack of Marlboros out of his pocket. Bobby looked at it warily.

“Mister Lyle would be so mad if he smelled that on me.” Bobby replied. Jimmy shrugged his shoulders and pulled out a cigarette and clumsily lit it. He drew in a deep drag and came up coughing and gagging.

“Damn, dad never does that!” Jimmy choked. Bobby laughed at him and Jimmy eyed him warily.

“Here, you try it, or are you some kind of momma’s boy?” Jimmy smirked. Bobby gazed his friend coldly, his expression momentarily drawing a shadow of the man he would become.

“Momma’s boy.” Bobby snorted as he took the cigarette from his best friend and drew a drag himself. He held his composure for a few moments before succumbing to a convulsion of coughs himself.

The two teenagers laughed at each other as they finished their first cigarette and then headed off along the path they had worn.

Deep in the woods, Bobby studied the compass as Jimmy stood beside him impatiently.

“Admit it, we’re lost!” Jimmy sighed in frustration. Bobby looked at him and shook his head quietly. Jimmy shrugged and grunted. “You are so damn stubborn, Bobby!”

“It’s getting late; we should probably just set up here.” Bobby replied calmly. Jimmy reluctantly agreed and the two kicked rocks aside on the ground and unrolled their beds. They collected some wood and built a small fire.

They ate their dinner out of cans and Jimmy pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

“I suppose that is courtesy of your dad too.” Bobby said as Jimmy held the bottle out to him. Bobby accepted it and took a swig. He made a sour face as he returned the bottle to Jimmy.

“Where do you go?” Jimmy asked.

“What do you mean?” Bobby replied quietly.

“I mean, when you go off on your own for days at a time. Mister Lyle and Martha say that you just go off and come back when you please.” Jimmy prodded.

“Do you really want to know?” Bobby replied sullenly.

“Yeah. I’m your best friend. If you can’t trust me, who can you trust?” Jimmy said. Bobby sighed and looked at his friend sadly.

“Mister Lyle locks me in the shed.” He replied. Jimmy raised his eyebrows as his eyes widened.

“He locks you in the shed?” Jimmy said in disbelief. Bobby only nodded and took another drink.

“Did you tell Varian?” Jimmy asked. Bobby nodded to this as well.

“He told me to ‘embrace’ my anger.” Bobby replied and chuckled darkly. Jimmy shook his head.

“He always says stuff like that. What are you going to do?” Jimmy asked. Bobby looked at him sullenly.

“I have a plan, but I’m going to need your help.” Bobby replied.

*~*~*~*~*

The windshield wipers swung hypnotically across the windshield as Emily gazed at him skeptically.

“And then Lyle killed Jimmy. I know that, he told me all about it.” Emily said.

Cox smiled confidently.

“Oh, I’m sure he told you everything.” He replied.

*~*~*~*~*

Bobby stood over the body, staring at it in disbelief. He looked at his hands, which were covered in blood and then back at the body. He didn’t even start when the hand clapped down on his shoulder from behind.

“Are you okay?” Jimmy asked. Bobby hesitantly turned from the body to look at his friend. Jimmy was as pale as Bobby was. Jimmy had been the first to throw up, once he saw the man lying on the ground, twitching in death.

Bobby had only stared until the man stopped moving. Now he turned around and fell to his knees. He was sick. Sick with anger, shock and horror. Jimmy crouched beside Bobby as he threw up and patted him on the shoulder. Jimmy couldn’t even bring himself to look back at the body.

“Jesus, Bobby.” Jimmy said breathlessly. Bobby looked at his friend and then embraced him. The two boys held onto each other, realizing the depth of their actions. There was no turning back for them as they had now applied what they had been taught.

They finally looked back at the man who lay in the middle of the floor of the hunting shack. The vagrant they had led there under false pretenses.

“So, now what? We take him out in the woods, right?” Bobby said. Jimmy looked at him wide eyed.

“Yeah, uh. Yeah, that’s what we planned to do.” Jimmy replied. “Then I’m going to Arlen and I’ll come back to...” Jimmy stopped and looked at Bobby. “Do we even know what his name was?” Jimmy asked in disbelief.

“No.” Bobby said shaking his head. He walked over to the body and dug through the pockets until he found a wallet. He flipped it open and found a long-expired driver’s license. He handed it over his shoulder to Jimmy.

“Dolan Cox.” Jimmy said quietly.

*~*~*~*~*

“My God.” Emily gasped.

Cox chuckled slightly and stared at the road before them. Emily looked at him for a moment longer and then turned to stare out the window and the rain that fell in sheets.

“Well, you two certainly can keep a secret.” Emily said after a while.

“Besides us, only you know.” Cox replied.

“Is that a threat?” She replied.

“It’s an iota of trust.” Cox replied. Emily’s head whipped back toward him.

“You were listening!” She snapped. “So you lied about not knowing.”

“I didn’t realize what you were talking about until after, the airstrip.” He replied.

Emily lowered her head and studied her hands. She hadn’t asked him the one question that had been nagging at her since she’d arrived at the cabin a week before.

“Is, Lyle, all right?” She asked hesitantly.

“He is awake now.” Cox said grimly. Emily looked at him expectantly and he shook his head. “That is why you must leave.”

“Why?” She asked.

“Because when they, reeducate him, they will use his knowledge against you. You can’t go on with his plans or go anywhere he told you about or set up. He will definitely find you there.” Cox replied.

Emily shook her head in denial and squeezed her eyes closed. She squeezed the bridge of her nose to try and avert the headache that was forming.

“Here’s to pretending to be someone you’re not, Bobby.” She’d said.

He’d held his glass up and smiled. “Here’s to pretending to be someone you’re not, Emily.”

Then the toast had seemed so trite, even funny. She still didn’t know what to think of him. She was certain about everything but him. He was complicated. She was drawn to him.

“Damn me for saying this, but I think I could fall in love with you, Emily.”

“You never gave me the reason you’re doing all of this.” Emily said quietly. Cox was silent, thoughtful.

“I owe it to him.” He replied.

*~*~*~*~*

Cox pulled open the door to find a frightened and bleeding Lyle on the other side. His mouth was agape as he ushered in his childhood friend and led him to the bathroom.

“What the hell happened?” Cox cried. Lyle sat on the toilet lid and gripped his left hand in his right.

“They did this to me.” Lyle growled in anger and pain.

Cox pulled Lyle’s hand away to reveal the bleeding stump where his left thumb was. Cox winced at the gore and pulled a wash cloth out and soaked it in hot water. He placed it around the stump and Lyle howled in pain and grabbed Cox’s wrist in a harsh grip.

“If you want me to help you, you’re going to have to trust me.” Cox said calmly. Lyle looked at him with wild eyes and then nodded for him to continue.

Cox washed the stump as Lyle clenched his teeth and winced every time Cox touched him. Cox secured a tourniquet around Lyle’s left arm and instructed Lyle to hold the cloth over his hand.

Cox went to his office and retrieved a bag. He returned to Lyle and began pulling out instruments that he washed with alcohol. He pulled out a needle and surgical thread and then began to carefully stitch the open wound closed.

Once he’d finished his stitching, he pulled out gauze pads and antibiotic cream. He rubbed the cream into the wound and covered it with gauze.

When he’d finished Lyle stood and looked at his old friend.

“Thanks.” Lyle said and tried to push past him to walk out the door. Cox caught the man’s good arm.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Cox asked in amazement. Lyle pulled out his gun.

“I’m going to kill them.” Lyle replied. Cox shook his head and tightened his grip on Lyle’s arm.

“I think you should stay here for awhile.” Cox said sternly. Lyle met his gaze with an angry, stubborn one, but then relented.

Lyle walked past Cox and into the kitchen where he pulled a bottle of vodka from the freezer and pulled off the cap. He downed a few gulps from the bottle and then looked at Cox from where he watched leaning against the doorjamb.

“How did it happen?” Cox asked.

“I was set up.” Lyle replied. “The Triumvirate...” he began and then paused “Amaru wanted to make a deal with the Yakuza so I was drafted to make sure it went down smoothly.”

“I suppose things did not go according to plan.” Cox said.

“Thank you Captain Obvious.” Lyle said sarcastically. “The plan was to prevent a witness from testifying in Tony Tanaka’s trial. We used one of Jarod’s old simulations to secure the witness. Jarod realizing this made it his crusade to stop it and the Centre helped him.”

“The Centre?” Cox asked with raised eyebrows. “Who specifically?”

“That I can’t say for sure. I suspect Miss Parker had a hand in it and that could mean Mr. Parker and Raines as well. They probably came up with the set up themselves.” Lyle replied.

“And they assumed that Jarod would take care of the rest for them.” Cox said nodding.

“So, the Yakuza came to collect and that they did.” Lyle said holding up his wounded hand.

*~*~*~*~*

“Lyle told me that Amaru kept his thumb.” Emily said. Cox nodded.

“That he did.” Cox replied. “Amaru was with Tommy Tanaka when they claimed their prize so to speak.”

“So how did Amaru end up with it if the Yakuza keep the digits so to speak?” Emily asked.

“He bought off Lyle’s debt.” Cox replied. Emily shook her head.

“You people are terrible.” She said quietly.

“I had nothing to do with it. I wasn’t even a part of the Triumvirate at the time. Then it was Mutumbo, Lyle and Amaru.”

“Where did Adama come in?” Emily asked.

“Part of the price Lyle paid was that he was exiled from the Triumvirate and Adama took his place.” Cox replied.

“How did he get back in?” Emily asked.

“With a little help.” Cox replied.

*~*~*~*~*

“I’m going to punish them all.” Lyle said. Cox shook his head, for a week he’d listened to his childhood friends’ insane ranting.

“Where do we start?” Alex beamed from his seat. Cox dismissed the even more insane man who’d joined them two days before.

“You should be carrying out your Triumvirate directive, lest you fall victim to Amaru yourself.” Cox said.

“Screw Amaru! We need to take care of these traitors.” Brigitte snapped.

“And turn traitor ourselves.” Cox replied.

“We’re hardly betraying the people who took us from our homes to use for their own designs.” Brigitte bit back and then twirled her sucker in her mouth.

“You’re all starting to sound like Jarod.” Cox said.

“Maybe Jarod is right.” Alex replied. “But he has no idea what he could have if and when he comes back.”

“And probably never will.” Lyle said sitting on the couch beside Brigitte. Brigitte scooted closer to him and slid her arm though his and leaned against him. Alex shook his head in disgust.

“So when does Che Ling arrive?” Alex asked. Brigitte frowned at Alex.

“Next week.” Lyle replied. I’ll be meeting her in Vegas.

“I think you’re making a mistake.” Cox said. Lyle glared at him.

“I’m not the one who made the mistake.” Lyle replied holding up his hand with the missing digit.

“I just don’t think you should do any more to incite the wrath of the Yakuza than you already have.” Cox replied.

“All right, Cox, you can sit here and make cupcakes and crochet blankets while the rest of us do the dirty work.” Alex prodded. Cox merely shook his head.

“I’ll just be waiting for when you show up in the middle of the night in need of my assistance.” Cox replied. Alex rolled his eyes at him.

“So, first we kill Mr. Parker, right?” Kyle asked from the back of the room.

*~*~*~*~*

Emily gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. She looked at Cox with abject disbelief.

“Kyle?” She asked in a small, surprised voice. “Kyle was working with you?” Cox nodded.

“Yes, he and Brigitte were the key players in the assassination attempt on Mr. Parker, only he wasn’t caught.”

“Kyle.“ Emily whispered and then shook her head.

“I’m sure Jarod told you only rosy things about Kyle, but there is a lot he didn’t know about him.” Cox replied. “He was one of the most dangerous pretenders.”

“I don’t believe you.” She said. “Why would Kyle help you if he tried to stop Lyle?”

“We had ... leverage.” Cox replied. He smiled at her and she looked away from him.

She blinked her eyes and cleared her throat. “What did Che Ling have to do with the Yakuza?” She asked.

“Everything.” Cox replied. “Her name was Che Ling Tanaka.”

*~*~*~*~*

Lyle wrung his hands nervously, avoiding his healing wound as he waited at the airport. Alex sat on a bench ten feet away and snickered at Lyle as Cox shook his head beside him.

Che Ling appeared at the entrance to the jet-way and Lyle approached her anxiously.

“Hi.” He said. She smiled at him.

“He-lo.” She replied beaming up at him. Cox held his head in his hands for the millionth time and then stood and straightened. Alex stood beside him and grinned, slapping him on the back.

“Let the games begin my friend.” Alex chuckled as they followed the couple to the baggage claim.

*~*~*~*~*

“I was only there for the wedding and dinner.” Cox said. “Alex remained in Vegas, in the spare bedroom as the roommate.”

“Roommate?” Emily asked raising her eyebrows.

“So they could work on their plans, of course. I returned to the Los Angeles Triumvirate office.”

“What about Kyle and Brigitte?” Emily asked.

“They returned to Delaware a few days before Che Ling arrived to work on their objectives there. Honestly, I know it was out of jealousy on Brigitte‘s part. Lyle did indeed fall for Che Ling and Brigitte hated her for it. She and Lyle fought constantly over Che Ling which, consequently, was at the root of her demise.” Cox replied.

“Brigitte killed her?” Emily gasped.

“No, Alex did.” Cox replied.

“Why?” Emily gasped in shock.

“Because Alex and Brigitte were brother and sister.” Cox replied. Emily sat back in her seat and thought for a few minutes.

“That’s why he wants Aidan.” Emily said. “Aidan is his nephew.”

“Now you’re catching on.” Cox chuckled.

*~*~*~*~*

“She what?” Lyle gasped in horror.

“Yeah, I was surprised myself. I guess she’d been seeing this guy for awhile.” Alex said shaking his head.

Lyle sighed and slumped down into a chair, deflated. “I thought she was happy.”

“Yeah, she must have been really taken by the guy, although I can’t explain why.” Alex replied.

“As long as the Yakuza knows that’s what happened.” Lyle said.

“I’ve already taken the liberty.” Alex replied. Lyle eyed him warily. “Well, I didn’t think you’d want to face them after your wife ran off with some drifter.”

Lyle buried his face in his hands.

*~*~*~*~*

“What about the others?” Emily asked. “Those other women?”

“They all had ties to the Yakuza as well. Part of the work Varian did...” Cox stopped and looked at Emily “he did tell you about Varian?”

“The German guy who ‘counseled’ him.” Emily said making quotation marks with her hands. “He mentioned it, and I saw the DSA’s. I suppose you’re referring to the one where he had him Sim serial killers?” She asked.

“Not just Sim, become. It was part of his training, part of him. It only needed a switch and Alex turned it on.” Cox replied.

“So he started killing women who were like Che Ling.” Emily replied.

“And with Yakuza ties.” Cox added.

“God.” Emily sighed and held her face in her hands. “And I could imagine who was there to take his mind off of her.” She shook her head.

“I never did like that woman.” Cox nodded. Emily looked at him.

“After the assassination attempt failed Lyle decided that they would deal a blow to the Centre by stealing a semi-conductor panel and chip from a Centre blue box. These contained valuable information that they were going to sell to the Centre’s competition. It was also a way to draw out Miss Parker into the open.”

“Why?” Emily asked. Cox gave her a sideward glance. “He was going to kill her? But she’s his twin sister!”

“He wasn’t aware of that at the time.” Cox replied. “He only knew that she was instrumental in his betrayal. He was also trying to catch Jarod, which he succeeded in doing.” Emily nodded.

“And then he killed Kyle.” She said softly.

“Only Miss Parker was supposed to die.” Cox replied.

“If Kyle was working with you, then why did he try to stop Lyle?” She asked, puzzled.

“Kyle was complicated.” Cox replied. “Once he felt he had the upper hand, he turned on us.”

*~*~*~*~*

“Unfortunately, our plans have failed thus far.” Lyle said to the small group gathered in Cox’s apartment. “The chip ruse was a failure, Brigitte’s assassination attempt was a bust...” Lyle continued but Alex cut him off.

“And, you killed Kyle and let Jarod get away.” Alex sneered.

“At least Brigitte got back into the Centre.” Lyle said dismissing him. “And I will be rejoining their ranks before long.”

“How?” Alex asked.

“As it turns out...” Lyle began “I have family in the Centre.” He turned to Brigitte who plucked the sucker from her mouth.

“I uncovered the Red Files from the Pretender project. It turns out that Miss Parker has a twin.” Brigitte smiled at Lyle. Alex and Cox’s jaws dropped.

“No!” Alex said. Lyle nodded and Alex burst into laughter. Lyle glared at him and Alex tried to speak between gasps.

“Are you going to start dressing like her now?” Alex leaned back and heaved more laughter.

*~*~*~*~*

Cox turned to glance at Emily. “I think Alex would have been an asshole even if the Centre hadn’t gotten a hold of him.” He deadpanned. Emily snorted and then started laughing.

“So, Brigitte married Mr. Parker and Lyle helped her get pregnant since Mr. Parker was infertile.” Cox said.

“Why did Lyle do that if Mr. Parker knew he was infertile?” Emily asked.

“Because they didn’t know.” Cox replied. “Of course Mr. Parker was overjoyed to have another pretender on the way, one they could raise unquestioned.”

“Unquestioned?” Emily asked. “If it was unquestioned then why is Aidan riding in the car behind us?”

“Because Lyle didn’t know about Mr. Parker’s plans until it was too late.” He replied.

“What about Brigitte? Didn’t she know what Mr. Parker was planning?” Emily asked.

“She knew all right.” Cox grimaced. “She was going to hand the child over, did hand the child over to the Centre.”

“Oh, that bitch.” Emily hissed.

“Lyle didn’t see her for what she was until it was too late.” Cox replied.

“That’s why he brought you in, to take care of Aidan.” She said. She rubbed her temples with her fingers and then her forehead. “Why was Alex so upset about Kyle’s death?”

“Alex fancied Kyle and himself to be kindred spirits. He was convinced that with Kyle back out, they would be able to take control of things together. Only that wasn’t Kyle’s agenda. Kyle wanted only revenge.” Cox said.

“Alex liked Kyle.” Emily chuckled. “Why on Earth would he like Kyle out of all of them?”

“Because, Kyle had what it took to do whatever he wanted. He was limitless, which is what made him so dangerous. He was completely shred of all morality. The perfect sociopath. Alex admired him. Alex wanted to be like him.” Cox replied. Emily sighed and rubbed her eyes.

“Alex is pretending to be Kyle.” She said in a small voice. She looked out the window once again at the dark shadowy objects, which almost seemed to pass them by.

“You let him play.” She said while watching another Interstate sign fly by. He nodded. “Isn’t that against the regulations?” She asked.

“I set the regulations for Parker since I am the project coordinator.” He replied.

“Very cold.” She replied. “Aidan.” She looked over at him and caught his glance.

“Aidan, I stand corrected.” He replied. “I met with a lot of opposition with this project. I told them it would be wise to raise Aidan with the trappings a regular child would have. That way, he would be less likely to leave if presented with the option like Gemini did.”

“Jordan.” Emily said. Cox looked at her curiously. “His name is Jordan, not Gemini.”

“I stand corrected once again.” He replied.

“You wanted Aidan to grow up like a normal kid. When were you going to try and change him?” She asked angrily.

“Raines was going to take care of that.” Cox replied. “Once Aidan was transferred to the Centre I was to be replaced by him.”

“And how did that make you feel?” Emily asked sarcastically. Cox flashed her a glare.

“I have been taking care of that child since the night he was born.” He shouted. Emily was taken aback.

“You really do care about the little guy.” She said quietly.

“So do you.” He replied. She nodded.

“I love him.” She said. “I love him like he was my own and I’ve only known him for a little over a week.”

“Lyle knew you would.” He replied.

“I know.” She whispered. “So how did he end up back in the Triumvirate?”

“Mutumbo was assassinated and Amaru assumed the seat of power. A replacement was needed so they went through the candidates and Lyle was the one at the top. Mr. Parker pulled a lot of strings to have Lyle reinstated to his former position once he found Lyle was his ‘son.’ Little did he realize that put him back on the Triumvirate roster.”

“But Lyle knew.” Emily said and chuckled. “And you were in the second slot so when Adama was assassinated, you hopped into the vacant seat. So, who killed Mutumbo? I know Lyle killed Adama.”

“Brigitte took the fall for Mutumbo’s death. Too bad the poor thing had already expired herself.” Cox said sarcastically.

“But who killed Mutumbo?” Emily pressed.

“That I don’t know. I was given the weapon and instructions to set up Brigitte, but not the killer’s identity.” Cox replied.

“Does anyone know?” She asked sarcastically.

“I’m sure the killer knows.” Cox replied wryly. Emily shook her head.

“So who’s in line if one of you dies?” She asked and grinned at him. Cox stared ahead.

“That is for the remaining members to decide.” He replied. Her smile faded.

“They’re going to kill Lyle, aren’t they?” She asked.

“That is a distinct possibility.” He said.

*~*~*~*~*

Zoe blinked her eyes again and then trained her gaze at the taillights of the pick-up truck ahead of her. Aidan was curled up asleep on the backseat as Zoe strained to keep her own eyes open.

Despite everything else, she was tired. They had blown up a random frozen food place, come face to face with the enemy who was now carting them off to some unknown location, and she was tired. But sleep was not an option until they knew; she knew what the hell was going on.

She switched on the a/c to blow in her face and turned on the radio. She smiled at the song that reminded her of Jarod. Then she sighed heavily and her face fell.

If she’d never met Jarod, then she wouldn’t be following this bastard and Jarod’s sister who’s sanity Zoe had been questioning seriously since this odyssey had begun. She glanced toward the little boy in the back seat once again and then back at the taillights.

“Well, Zoe, what would you be doing otherwise?” She asked aloud.

*~*~*~*~*

Down the road, after a long silence, the cars pulled to a stop near the intersection of I-95 and I-40. Cox and Emily got out of the truck and walked back to the convertible where Emil got into the passenger side and buckled herself in.

Zoe wound the window down and Cox leaned toward the occupants.

“This is where I leave you.” He said.

“At the crossroads.” Zoe grunted and yawned.

“Yes.” He replied. “Have a safe trip, wherever the road leads you.” He said and walked back to his truck.

“Yeah, and screw you, Cox.” Zoe muttered as she rolled her window back up. She caught Emily’s amused expression. “What?” She barked.

“If I didn’t know better...” Emily started and trailed off. She looked at Aidan who was stirring in the backseat.

“Do you think he bugged us, or something?” Zoe asked as Cox’s truck pulled away before them. “Or is he going to follow us, or have someone else follow us?”

“I think that for whatever the Hell those guys are planning that it’s in their best interests to get us and Aidan as far from the Centre as possible, and way below the radar.” Emily replied. “It’s just a feeling I have.” She smiled at Zoe. “So, you want me to drive for a while?”

“Sure.” Zoe said and the two women got out and exchanged places.

Emily adjusted the seat and mirrors and placed her palms against the wheel before slowly curling her fingers around it. She stared out at the expanse of road ahead of them and the lightening of the sky to the left. It would be dawn soon.

“So, where to lady and kid?” Emily asked looking at Zoe and then Aidan’s sleep heavy eyes, which he rubbed with his tiny hands.

“Floor-duh.” Aidan said behind her in a yawn. Emily smiled and chuckled.

“Floor-duh, huh?” She grinned. “You mean Florida?” Aidan nodded.

“Floor-duh.” He said. “Angel says we got to go to Floor-duh.”

“Your little pal is kinda bossy, huh?” Zoe laughed. “High maintenance for an invisible friend.”

Aidan looked between the two of them and yawned again.

“We got to go to Floor-duh.” He said.

“Uh huh.” Emily said and turned to the wheel. “We’re off to the land of Mickey Mouse!” She chimed and laughed as she put the car in gear.



To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!

Category: MP/C, Centre/Drama
Rating: PG-13

Spoilers: Up to IOTH

Summary: Part eleven of the Labyrinth Series.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters and am just playing around with them.

“Shortest Day and Longest Night, Winter Coldness Penetrates All” - Madame Estrella

Beta Read by Maestra

Special thanks to Maestra, Riven Rebel Poet, and Bec-Bec!


Solstice

by Madame Estrella



Morning

Miss Parker directed the sweepers to search the other rooms of the small cabin. Broots had discovered the rustic home in the woods of nearby Rising Sun, Delaware while he was watching the evening news in the tech room.

The story was about a car fire and the disappearance of a woman and her young son, whose remains or any other trace of their presence had not been found. Police had told the news that the woman’s name was Emily and were seeking members of her family.

Miss Parker had thought to admonish Broots for watching TV on the job, but this habit of his had led to other significant leads in their past pursuits. After all, they had discovered Kyle when Broots was watching cartoons and now they had discovered the whereabouts of the long dead pretender’s sister.

Or, at least where she had been hiding out. The property’s owner said he hadn’t seen the woman since the car fire had happened and that had been nearly a week before. Aisling / Emily was long gone and so was Parker.

“Did she have anyone else with her, besides the boy?” Miss Parker asked Ralph Owens, the middle-aged man with more than a few pizzas’ on his physique.

“Well, first there was that Bobby fellow, but I didn’t see him after she moved in. She had a lady friend with her the last day she was here.” Ralph replied.

“What did this lady friend look like?” Miss Parker asked narrowing her eyes.

“Kinda thin, had red hair, and a great smile.” Ralph replied. Miss Parker nodded.

“Thank you, Ralph. Would you mind stepping out so that my people can finish processing the scene?” She asked politely, but with a look that said she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“Sure thing, Agent Parker, anything for the FBI.” He said and took a few steps back to the door before turning back. “Funny thing is, she seemed like such a nice girl.” He said.

“They always do.” Miss Parker said and then turned back to the hallway to examine the bedroom.

*~*~*~*~*

At the Davidson Psychiatric Hospital, Dannie Minor glanced up from his seat by the window as the door opened. He pulled his robe close over his pajamas and peered at the approaching figure from the corners of his hazel eyes.

The woman stopped before him and held out a large paper bag. She was a doctor, though from his vantage point he couldn’t make out her ID. She was slender, with long, curly red hair. She smiled at the man who hesitantly took the bag and peered at its contents. He looked back at her and her green eyes flashed with conspiracy.

“I’m here to get you out of here.” She said in a low New England drawl. “I’m having you discharged as we speak.”

“Who are you?” He asked suspiciously. She smiled back.

“That’s not important.” She replied. She glanced back at the door then back at him. “Do you want to make Mr. Raines pay for what he did to you?” She asked.

Dannie narrowed his eyes as images flashed in his head of the evil man and thoughts of his other self.

“Yes.” He said in a near growl. The woman smiled at him.

“Then you’ll need to change.” She replied.

Dannie stood and looked back at his visitor and then grabbed the bag and headed into the room’s small bathroom before closing the door behind him.

*~*~*~*~*

On SL-23 Raines, Varian Sarff and Johansen Amaru watched through the observation window of the sim lab. This sim lab had been constructed following the destruction of the one on SL-27 and was one of the Centre's best kept secrets.

Within the room, Lyle stood over a young girl. She uneasily fitted the pieces of a physiological abstract together. Once she was finished she glanced up at Lyle, a look of infinite sadness on her face. She was no more than four years old and had shoulder length red hair and blue eyes which looked bright against her fair complexion.

“Where are my mom and my dad?” She asked in a faint voice. Lyle smirked, but drew his facade back to a placid one.

“They are no longer with us, Rowena. I am Lyle, and I will be taking care of you for a while.” He replied.

Within the observation room Raines looked at Amaru and Sarff questioningly.

“Are you sure this is wise?” The old man wheezed. Sarff chuckled and clapped Raines on the shoulder.

“He has been reeducated successfully.” Sarff boasted in his thick German accent, his eyes twinkled behind his round spectacles. “Not to worry, Raines, he is one of my boys.”

Raines shrugged off Sarff’s hand and glanced once more at Lyle and the girl and then back at the two men before he dragged his ever-squealing oxygen tank behind him as he left the room.

“He’s spending too much time with this one; there are other subjects to attend to.” Sarff stated. “An orientation should last no longer than a few minutes.”

Amaru nodded. There were many more indeed that needed to be attended to.

*~*~*~*~*

Miss Parker and Broots looked over what they’d found at the cabin in Rising Sun. It didn’t take them very long, they hadn’t found much.

“The car could have been the one that Emily used to drive away from the airstrip.” Broots said. Miss Parker frowned.

“So they walked out of there, right?” Miss Parker said and then grunted a laugh. “The vehicle model and paint color matches the one that was caught on surveillance at Pakor.”

“The owner of the cabin said she had another woman with her.” Broots said. “She probably had a car.”

Miss Parker rose and looked over surveillance photos taken at the Centre, Triumvirate Station, and at Pakor. She thumbed to the pictures of the car outside the secret facility and shook her head.

“A woman. Well, that shoots our theory that it was Alex.” Miss Parker said somberly. She sighed and set the photos back on her desk and looked at Broots wearily. “It couldn’t have been her mother; Owens described her as being young.”

“Someone else from the Centre perhaps?” Broots asked. Miss Parker nodded.

“Yes, I want all the files of young female redhead staff at the Centre and other Centre facilities.” Miss Parker said as she headed toward the door and looked back at Broots. “And Broots, I wanted them yesterday.”

Broots sighed heavily and then began typing commands on his computer.

Afternoon

A deliveryman strode through the front doors and placed a box addressed to Johansen Amaru on the receptionists’ desk.

She politely signed for the box and thanked the man who then strode out the doors whence he came.

The box was delivered to Johansen and he eyed it suspiciously.

‘A package from Jarod?' He wondered and opened the box the plain brown box. Within the box, covered with ice packs, was a smaller one with a Pakor label. Amaru dug this box out and cut through the tape with a letter opener and slowly opened the lid.

A half-hour later all top-level personnel were called to the boardroom. An ashen Amaru entered the boardroom carrying the box. He set it down before him and met eyes with each of those gathered.

"It seems someone chose to return Triumvirate property this afternoon." Amaru said weakly.

He tilted the box so its contents could be seen by the gathered assemblage.

A pair of brown eyes stared back at them.

Amaru picked up a small card and read its inscription.

"I am watching you, always." He read and then his eyes met with Raines. “I can only assume that these belong to Mutumbo.”

“That’s impossible!” Raines protested. “Brigitte killed Mutumbo.”

“Apparently we were mistaken.” Amaru replied. Miss Parker fidgeted in her seat and glared across the table at Cox.

“Not mistaken, just mislead.” Miss Parker hissed. “The gun used to kill Mutumbo was placed on Brigitte’s person after her death.”

“Is that so?” Amaru asked, agitated. “And just why are you revealing this now?” Miss Parker drew a breath.

“I believe Mr. Parker was involved in a conspiracy to kill Mutumbo and frame Brigitte for the murder. I was a suspect, so I thought it wise to not be the one to reveal this, lest someone plant a murder weapon on my own body.” Miss Parker replied.

*~*~*~*~*

After a lengthy shouting match, the occupants of the boardroom spilled out of the room to their designated tasks. Amaru held Miss Parker behind by grabbing her arm.

“What?” She snapped. He glared at her and held her arm more tightly.

“I am reinstating you to head of Centre security.” He replied. She frowned.

“What?” She snapped again in disbelief.

“I want the best person for the job back on the job.” He replied firmly.

“Don’t you need Raines’ approval?” She asked.

“I am the Triumvirate!” He growled. “Your first order of business is to find who sent this package.”

She looked at the grisly remains and sighed before looking back up at Amaru.

“I suppose I have no choice.” She replied.

He released her arm and she carefully picked up the box and closed the lid. He moved behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and slid them down her arms.

“I know I can count on you, Miss Parker.” He said quietly. She moved away and slid out of his grasp before turning to face him.

“I’m going to find this sick son of a bitch.” She hissed and walked out of the room.

*~*~*~*~*

“Broots!” Miss Parker said as she walked into the Sim Lab.

“Glad to see you made it back in one piece, Miss Parker.” The tech joked before he saw the look on her face. He then averted his eyes from her gaze. She thrust the box into his hands and he nearly dropped it once he saw what was inside.

“Oh my God! Are those real?” He gasped. Miss Parker nodded and Sydney peered into the box as well. She handed Broots the card.

“Mine, Amaru’s and your fingerprints are on that card. I want you to find out who else’s are on it as well.” She said. “I also want DNA tests run on those eyes. I want to make sure they are Mutumbo’s.”

“Mutumbo’s?“ Broots gasped looking at her stunned.

“Is that what the meeting was about?” Sydney asked. Miss Parker nodded.

“As of this afternoon, we are off the search for Jarod. The Centre priority is to find whoever sent this because we believe that they are responsible for Mutumbo’s death. I have been reassigned as head of Centre security.” Miss Parker replied.

“They don’t think Jarod sent this?” Broots asked.

“I don’t think Jarod could have done something like assassinate Mutumbo.” Sydney replied. Miss Parker nodded.

“Me either.” She said. “I also want you to look at the security footage from the lobby. We need to see if we can recall the deliveryman. I also want to interview any witnesses.”

She leveled her gaze with theirs.

“The Centre has a new enemy; it’s our top priority to find out who it is.” She said coldly.

*~*~*~*~*

Alex smelled the perfume before he felt the breath against his cheek.

“Alex.” A woman’s voice whispered. Alex’s eyelids flicked open and he looked at her face.

The red haired woman in the white doctor’s lab coat looked down at him, her green eyes bored into his. She studied him with an expressionless facade and he tried to shift on his bed.

At the tugging he jerked his head up and saw that his wrists and ankles were restrained against the bed rails. He pulled and kicked against them to no avail. He returned his gaze to her and an evil smile spread across her lips. She chuckled at his grunts of frustration as he fought the restraints again.

“What are you doing here?” He yelled as he gave up the fight. She smiled and brushed her hair back over her ears with both hands and breathed like she was holding back a sob.

“You already know why I’m here!” She yelled back at him. Her face twisted in an angry glare and her lips trembled as she squeezed them together.

He shook his head dumbfounded as she lifted her right hand into view. In it was a syringe. With a long practiced pull she filled the syringe with air and then plunged the needle into his arm.

“No!” He cried and tried to pull his arm away. She laughed at him.

“No? It would be a shame if that was your last word.” She replied. She stared at him coldly.

“Why are you doing this?” He cried. “I haven’t done anything to you! We‘re even now!”

“Oh, is that so?” She said and then placed her thumb over the end of the syringe. Alex calmed himself and narrowed his eyes at her.

“You can’t do this. You don’t have it in you. This is murder and you are a doctor. You‘ve never have been one to play God.” He said. A tear rolled down the woman’s expressionless face.

“I once heard that Mother is the word for God on the lips of children.” She said coldly.

*~*~*~*~*

Cox walked into his office and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the old freezer and pulled it open to retrieve a bottle of vodka. He slammed the freezer closed and then slumped into his chair while he unscrewed the cap. He took a long haul from the bottle and set it on the desk before rubbing his forehead.

The long week had taken its toll.

The Centre was still examining evidence from Pakor. He’d heard rumbling that his involvement was suspected. Not that he could blame them after his sudden disappearance after the event.

He’d returned to the Centre the day after he’d parted ways with Emily, Zoe, and Aidan. He’d hoped that he wouldn’t be missed in all the confusion, but Amaru had sought him out.

Amaru had denied him access to Lyle. They were doing God knew what to Lyle, trying to figure out what he was up to and where Aidan had been taken.

He’d done the minimum in dispatching Emily and Aidan. The less he knew, the less they could beat out of him when the time came.

Now someone had Fed-Exed Mutumbo’s eyes back to them with an ominous message. He chuckled to himself. What other player had emerged in their game? Who else hated the Centre as much as they did? More than they did.

Since his ascension to the Triumvirate he’d become keener to those noises in the background. The steps being taken behind him. The breaths being drawn around him.

They had framed Brigitte for the assassination. But only because they were sent the murder weapon. The gun at the least. Not the knife used to cut out the eyes.

They had assumed it had been Alex. However, time and placement had later shown them otherwise and they had only angered the pretender more by having his sister take the posthumous fall.

Alex had reciprocated their actions soon after. Part of him had wished that Alex had died when he fell from that crane into the river. Alex was unpredictable. Alex had always had another agenda. Despite this, they had embraced him in their brotherhood. Him and Kyle, and then they had both turned on them.

He remembered Alex’s rage the night Kyle had died. When he had inexplicably appeared in that hospital in Dry River, Arizona.

“I’m learning to make coffee.” He’d joked. His jocularity had turned quickly as he told him how he’d seen Kyle’s body.

Alex and Kyle had shared the same bond that he and Lyle did. They were brothers borne of the Centre and their training by their respective mentors. When Kyle died, Alex had been enraged, when Brigitte died; he’d gone over the edge.

He wasn’t surprised that Lyle had been trying to hide Aidan away. Alex would surely want to get rid of his last tie to the Centre. Not to mention how important Aidan was to Prodigy. Alex would be completely un-tethered and he could hurt the Centre in the process.

Cox took another drink.

*~*~*~*~*

Amaru walked down the corridor of St. Mercy’s hospital toward Alex’s room. He glanced at a woman walking in his direction. Another doctor, but a lovely one with flaming red hair and eyes of jade. Her eyes met his and they stared at one another until she walked past him.

Amaru reached Alex’s door and hesitated. The woman’s face, her eyes still held him. He turned to look down the corridor, but did not see her. He paused for a moment, his feet telling him to follow her. He grasped the handle to Alex’s room and opened the door.

He found Alex sitting up on the bed. He wrapped his arms around him and was whispering something to himself.

“Alex?” Amaru said and Alex looked up at him and stopped whispering.

“You’re late.” Alex replied and relaxed his arms.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Amaru said. Alex flashed a glare at him and climbed out of the bed and stood beside it.

“Are we leaving? Do you have some clothes?” The agitated pretender demanded as the color returned to his face.

“What happened to you, Alex?” Amaru asked, handing Alex a bag with clothes in it.

“I had a nightmare.” He replied and chuckled darkly as he opened the bag. Amaru looked at him puzzled as Alex pulled the curtain closed between them.

“When are we returning to the Triumvirate?” Alex asked through the thin sheet. Amaru sighed and took a moment to collect his thoughts.

“We have another problem. Someone has returned Mutumbo’s eyes to the Centre.” Amaru said quietly. Alex pulled the curtain open and looked at him, stunned.

“Say that again.” Alex replied in disbelief.

“Mutumbo’s assassin cut out his eyes. They arrived at the Centre via courier this afternoon.” Amaru stated.

“I thought Brigitte killed Mutumbo.” Alex said quietly.

“We all did.” Amaru said nodding. “Apparently we were mistaken.”

*~*~*~*~*

Miss Parker threw open the door to Cox’s office only to catch him hanging from the business end of a bottle of vodka. She stood in stunned fascination as the door clicked shut behind her.

“Drinking on the clock, Cox?” She snapped and walked over to his desk. He set the bottle down and glared at her.

“Your brother is right, you did miss some social graces in charm school.” He replied coldly.

“My brother.” She said closing her eyes and shaking her head. “My brother is a psychopath. So, where have you been lately?” She asked suspiciously.

“Out.” He said curtly. “I suppose you weren’t following me?”

“No, I was trying to find Aisling. You remember her; the sweeper who kidnapped little Parker and who also blew up Pakor last week.” She replied.

“And?” He asked impatiently, brushing the bottle with his fingertips.

“She had an accomplice, a getaway driver.” She said.

“Who do you think it was?” He replied eyeing her suspiciously.

“Well, she was presumably working with Alex.” She replied. Cox burst out laughing and she folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t see the humor in this, Cox.” She hissed.

“If it were Alex, she would have been the one left sitting in the car.” He replied with an amused smile. He then dropped the smile to a cold expression. “Get to the point, Miss Parker. You think it was me, I’m curious to know why.”

She looked momentarily unsettled. She cleared her throat and glared at him.

“Well, you did receive a message from Lyle hours before the bombing and were no where to be found after.” She said icily.

“I was out for a drive.” Cox replied.

“Where did you go?” She hissed.

“Nowhere in particular.” He replied. “I suppose you’re disappointed that you couldn’t watch.”

“What did Lyle say in that message?” She shouted. He glared at her.

“Nothing in particular.” He said.

“You’re lying.” She spat.

“Prove it.” He challenged.

Miss Parker pressed her lips together and shot an icy glare at him. “Okay.” She said quietly.

“First Lyle and Brigitte appeared and then you materialized. Now, there is someone else in the picture. A woman with red hair. Is she one of yours?” Miss Parker asked. Cox frowned back at her.

“I don’t know anyone who matches that description.” Cox replied.

She reached for the bottle and he caught her wrist in a quick motion and squeezed it tightly in his hand. “Are you thirsty, Miss Parker?” He asked.

She tried to pull her hand away and he held her wrist steady. He smirked at her before letting it go and she recoiled and rubbed her wrist with her other hand. He picked the bottle up and held it out to her. She glanced at it and then at him before cautiously accepting it.

“I need this more than you do.” She grumbled before taking a drink.

“Is that a fact?” He asked coldly. She narrowed her eyes at him before taking another drink and nodded.

“You don’t have Amaru breathing down your neck.” She snapped. He looked amused and stood. He walked around the desk and stepped behind her as she took another drink.

Her eyes widened and she started a little as she felt his hands on the back of her neck. The fingers worked into her tensed muscles and she closed her eyes before taking another drink.

“Do you really think I drove that getaway car, Miss Parker?” He said close to her ear. She shook her head.

“I don’t know what to think of anything anymore.” She sighed not quite sure why she‘d said it.

“I assure you I did not.” He said. She nodded a little.

“Works for me.” She said. She stepped out of his grasp and turned around to face him. She sized him up and took another drink before setting the bottle on the desk. “I suppose you’re as good as any.” She said before stepping forward.

She slid her arms around his neck and pulled close to him. He tilted his head back and looked at her.

“Miss Parker?” He asked in amused confusion. She shook her head.

“Shut up James.” She whispered as she closed the gap.

Early Evening

Miss Parker walked into her office and closed the door and leaned against it. She looked down and noticed that her shirt had been buttoned with some of the wrong holes. She pulled the badly tucked shirt out of her skirt and unbuttoned and then re-buttoned it.

She tucked her shirt back in and walked over to her desk and slumped into the seat. She booted her computer and stared blankly at the desktop.

What had she done? She blinked and pulled a pencil out of the cup on her desk and rolled it in her fingers. What had she done, with him? She broke the pencil in half and then each half into halves, one of her nervous habits.

She didn’t know anything about Cox. But yet she’d, been with him in the same room where she’d had her tonsils had taken out as a little girl. That little girl would have been horrified to know what she would do in there as an adult. With that man.

The door to her office opened and she jumped as Broots and Sydney entered. She steeled herself in her seat and glared at the two men.

“Yes?” She hissed.

Broots and Sydney exchanged glances and Broots stepped forward and held a DSA out to Miss Parker. She snatched the disk from his hand and placed it into the DSA player.

“Security footage from the lobby?” Miss Parker asked watching the screen jump to life and the man walk across the lobby.

“Uh, yeah.” Broots replied. “The deliveryman never looks at the camera. He doesn’t even look up.”

“I see that.” Miss Parker seethed. “What about the routing bar codes on the package?”

“Um, there were none.” Broots replied. Miss Parker looked up from the repeating images and stared at him coldly.

“What? Every package delivered by any courier service has a routing bar code and the name of the shipping company.” She said. Broots nodded.

“Yes and this package didn’t have any markings except for the name Johansen Amaru.” Broots replied.

Miss Parker looked back at the screen and the man who would not look at the camera. Delivery people usually fidget about as they’re waiting for their receipts to be signed. This man only stared straight ahead, his face obscured by his uniform hat and turning his head from the camera.

“Because he knew it would be there.” She said as if awakening from a trance. She looked up at Broots and Sydney.

“He didn’t look at the camera because he knew there would be one.” She said, almost astonished. Broots and Sydney’s expressions turned to those of surprise.

“Oh my God!” Broots said in amazement. “This man knows about the Centre surveillance. And since the package didn’t have any markings, Miss Parker!” He said as a look of horror washed over his face.

“I am watching you, always.” Miss Parker spoke the message he‘d given them. “This man assassinated Mutumbo.” Miss Parker stated flatly as she looked at the screen.

*~*~*~*~*

Amaru put the car into gear and began to pull away from St. Mercy’s hospital once his passenger was secured in his seat. Alex looked out the window and watched the hospital disappear from view in the rearview mirror.

“And you have Miss Parker working on our assassin.” Alex said.

“Yes.” Amaru replied.

“Well, I hope she doesn’t fall in love with him like she did Jarod.” Alex said dismissively. No reply came from Amaru, and that was just as well for Alex. He wasn’t in a particularly chatty mood.

He glanced at the bruising on his left arm where the woman had brutally inserted her needle. She had done it to hurt him. He knew that after years of practice she could have killed him in his sleep and no one would have been the wiser.

It had been in her eyes that afternoon. The anger and determination was there and so was the grief. He couldn‘t blame her. Part of him wished that his own mother had shown that effort when he was taken himself.

*~*~*~*~*

Miss Parker walked to the elevator. As the doors began to close a hand caught them and they opened again to allow Cox to walk in. He stood beside Miss Parker and silently pushed the button for SL-5.

Miss Parker glanced at him and then returned her gaze to the doors. She glanced at his unchanging expression several times. Finally she clenched her fists and looked at him.

"Don't tell anyone!" She hissed angrily. Cox turned to her.

"About what?" He asked with a bemused expression. Her eyes widened.

“About what indeed!” She scoffed. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember.” She said stepping closer to him. She stood, her face mere inches from his neutral expression when the doors opened again.

Miss Parker stood back and clenched her hands together defensively as a one armed dwarf walked into the elevator. He looked up at each of them and smiled and winked at Miss Parker. She looked away from him as the elevator began to descend once more.

Miss Parker shot quick glares at Cox who never looked back at her. Then she looked down and saw the dwarf was angling his glance to get a look up her short skirt.

Miss Parker made a disgusted face and stepped back, smoothing her skirt closer to her legs. Cox snickered and she caught the side-glance smirk he gave her.

The elevator stopped and Miss Parker stormed out of the elevator and down the hall. Cox slowly stepped from the elevator and stopped. He turned back to the dwarf and glared at him.

"She's out of your league. Forget it." He said and then walked down the hall. The doors of the elevator closed upon the dwarf’s confused expression.

Miss Parker was halfway to the accounting department when she stopped. She clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes closed. She turned back around and headed back toward Cox.

She grabbed his arm and threw open the door to the nearby supply closet and looked at Cox, who didn’t look up from the file he glanced over as he entered the room. She huffed and walked inside and closed the door behind her.

"What is wrong with you?" She demanded. When he didn’t look at her she began to pace in the small space.

“Any man here would die to have even a glimpse of...” she stopped pacing and yanked the file from his hand. She stepped close to him and narrowed her eyes.

“Are you even listening to me?” She hissed. He looked at the file in her hand and took it back. His gaze met hers.

"Discretion, my dear." He said. He set the file down and placed his hands on her hips. She slid her arms around his neck and lunged into a kiss.

*~*~*~*~*

Broots frowned as the bulb of his desk lamp burned out. He sighed heavily and dug some change out of his desk drawer. If he was going down to the office supply closet, then he was going to pick up another bag of Funyuns on the way.

He walked down the dim corridor to the closet. He grasped the handle and pulled the door open and then absently flipped on the light inside. He froze in mid step when he saw the two people before him.

Cox and Miss Parker broke from a kiss and looked at him, both still in the others arms. Broots gasped and Miss Parker glared at him.

"Broots, I'm in the middle of a very important meeting...wait outside in the hall." Miss Parker snapped.

Cox shrugged and began to kiss Miss Parker again. Broots, hyperventilating, stepped out into the hall and let the door close before him.

He tore open the bag of Funyuns and spilled its contents on the floor. He seated the bag over his nose and mouth and breathed into it until his breathing had nearly returned to normal.

The door opened and Miss Parker stepped out. She leaned in close to Broots and looked at him angrily.

“You saw nothing!” She snapped. Broots moved his mouth like a goldfish before he managed to say anything.

“Bu bu bu bu but Miss Parker!” He stammered. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him close.

“Not one word, not one bu but Broots!” She hissed. She released his shirt and stormed away.

The door opened again and Cox stepped out. He straightened his tie and glanced at Broots with a faint smile as he turned and headed down the hall in the opposite direction of Miss Parker.

Broots gaped after him and a one armed dwarf walking toward him stopped. He looked back toward Cox and then around Broots toward Miss Parker. He then glanced up at Broots.

"She's out of your league buddy. Forget it." The dwarf said. Broots looked down at the man, astonished.

“Huh, why is she out of my league?” Broots asked in disbelief.

The dwarf looked up at Broots shrugged his shoulders and then walked off in the direction he’d been headed. Broots made one more glance in either direction before he cautiously entered the supply closet again.

*~*~*~*~*

Broots walked into Sydney’s office in time to see the older man hang up his phone and sigh heavily. He looked at Broots bleakly and sat in his chair.

“Uh, oh, what’s wrong Syd?” Broots asked, lowering the folder he was carrying to his side.

“It appears that Dannie Minor has escaped from the hospital where he was being treated.” Sydney said.

“Einnad!” Broots exclaimed as the memory of Einnad / Dannie attacking Miss Parker in his lair came back to him.

“Yes. I am going to have to go to the hospital to find more information.” Sydney replied.

“More information about what?” Miss Parker snapped as she walked into the room. “Did Jarod call again to send us off on another boondoggle?” She glanced at Broots who quickly averted his gaze from the woman‘s.

“I have just received word that Einnad has escaped from the hospital I had him taken to following his, episode, Miss Parker.” Sydney replied. Miss Parker stared at him for a moment and then shook her head.

“When did this happen?” Miss Parker asked.

“This morning.” Sydney replied. Miss Parker paced a little and stopped and looked at each man.

“Does anyone else have a feeling that everything that has happened today is related?” She asked. The other two nodded. “Grab your coats, gentlemen, we’re going up to Davidson.”

*~*~*~*~*

“Doctor Danielle Mac Kenzie released Dannie Minor from the hospital at about ten this morning.” Doctor Bullick said reading from Dannie’s chart.

“Is Doctor Mac Kenzie still here?” Miss Parker said as Broots popped in a surveillance tape from that morning into the small office’s TV/VCR combo.

“As a matter of fact, she is.” Doctor Bullick replied.

“Well, we would like to speak with her.” Miss Parker said impatiently.

“Yes, it will be a few minutes.“ The short balding man replied as he stood and left the room to retrieve the other doctor.

“Hey, look at this.“ Broots said as he paused the tape. On the screen was the image of a thin woman in doctor’s garb with long red hair escorting Dannie from his room and down the corridor.

“Our mysterious redhead?” Miss Parker asked as she studied the woman on the screen. The door opened and Doctor Bullick entered with a tall, African American woman in a white lab coat.

“This is Doctor Mac Kenzie.” Doctor Bullick said introducing them and then left the room. Miss Parker was speechless as she looked between the woman in the room and the one on the tape.

“You had a question?” Doctor Mac Kenzie asked in agitated politeness.

“Yes, did you discharge Dannie Minor this morning?” Sydney asked. She frowned back at him.

“Mr. Minor was not one of my patients and no, I did not discharge anyone this morning.” She replied.

The other three looked spellbound, but the ringing of Miss Parker’s cell phone broke the mood. The normally graceful woman clambered gracelessly to retrieve her phone and answered it. She glanced at Broots and Sydney.

“We have to go back now.” She said hanging up without uttering a goodbye. “Thank you for your time, Doctor Mac Kenzie.”

Night

Miss Parker opened the doors to the boardroom and entered with Broots and Sydney close behind. They were late; the Centre had been paging her for hours while they were investigating Einnad’s escape.

Miss Parker glanced at those who were already seated at the table and stopped in her tracks. She looked between Lyle and Alex and drew a breath.

“What the Hell is this?” She cried, mystified as Lyle regarded her blankly and Alex grinned and chuckled under his breath. Broots and Sydney stopped behind her and also looked at the men, similarly in dismay.

Amaru stood and walked around the table to three empty seats. He pulled one away from the table and motioned toward it.

“Please have a seat, Miss Parker; we have been waiting for your team.” Amaru said quietly.

“What are They doing here?” She exclaimed, approaching the chair, looking between Lyle and Alex.

“They work here.” Amaru said dismissively. He looked between Miss Parker, Broots and Sydney for a long quiet moment. “I suppose your tardiness has something to do with this investigation?” He asked moving to his seat and sitting down.

“Yes, it does.” Miss Parker snapped.

“We are all anxiously awaiting your summation.” Amaru said gesturing to the others in the room. Miss Parker glanced at Lyle’s unchanged expression and then at Alex, who’s lips spread into a wide grin when their eye met.

“Broots.” Miss Parker said in a firm voice. The tech balked and nervously shuffled his papers, trying to avoid all eye contact with the others.

“Aisling’s bomb didn’t blow up Pakor.” Broots said, reading from the file. “Her bomb didn’t even go off. It was found intact where the guard said he saw her place it.”

“So what destroyed Pakor then?” Amaru demanded impatiently. Broots shifted in his seat and continued.

“There was another bomb with a remote trigger.” Broots replied. “The device was detonated after Aisling and her partner fled the scene.”

“So she set two bombs.” Raines grumbled. Broots shook his head.

“A call was placed to the night security post a minute before the bomb went off. The guard said it was a man’s voice on the other end and said that there was a bomb in the building. It was traced to a cellular phone in a location about 300 yards west of where Aisling and her accomplice fled the scene.” Broots replied and cringed at the looks he was given.

“We found the phone, but it was wiped clean of any prints and the only stored numbers were those of Pakor and the cellular service company.” He said.

“Who was the phone registered to?” Miss Parker asked. Broots coughed and looked at the folder.

“Jimmy Radloff.” Broots replied.

“What?” Miss Parker and Lyle cried in unison. Lyle glanced at Cox who merely frowned. Lyle shook his head.

“That’s impossible.” He said and looked at Broots. “Are you sure, Broots?”

“It really is registered to Jimmy Radloff.” He replied. “Cellular service was activated two weeks ago for this number in Omaha Nebraska.”

“What else?” Amaru demanded twirling his right index and middle finger as if to say keep it going.

“Dannie Minor escaped from the psychiatric hospital where he was being treated this morning.” Sydney stated. Alex looked at him and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Einnad is on the loose?” Alex asked. He chuckled to himself. “Exactly how did he get out?”

“A woman, presumably a doctor, who used a false name to sign him out, released him.” Sydney replied. Amaru cleared his throat.

“What else? Have you found where Aisling took Parker?” Amaru asked.

“Actually, we did.” Miss Parker replied. “We also found the car that she presumably used to take him from the airstrip and at Pakor. It was torched outside a small cabin in Rising Sun Delaware. The cabin was registered to Bobby Bowman.” Miss Parker said shooting an icy glare at her twin.

Lyle nodded. “Yes, I rented the cabin several weeks ago.” He sat up in his seat. “Aisling and I were having an affair. We wanted to keep it quiet. However, I was indisposed when Aisling took off with Parker and was unable to relay the location where we met.” He glared back across the table at Miss Parker, almost daring her to say the worst.

“Why on Earth would Aisling want to take Parker in the first place?” Amaru asked, dismayed.

“Things went sour toward the end.” Lyle replied. “I think she did it to get back at me.” Miss Parker rolled her eyes.

“Anyway, it seems that Aisling had an accomplice. A woman with red hair. Coincidently, the woman who released Dannie from the hospital also had red hair.” Miss Parker said and pulled a picture taken from the surveillance video and passed it across the table to Amaru.

Amaru picked up the photo and glanced at it. He glanced at Alex before he passed the photo on to Raines.

“Also, there were no markings on the package that was received this afternoon. No return address or any sort of tracking. That package was not sent to us, rather it was delivered by the very person we may be looking for.” Miss Parker said.

“But a man, not a woman with red hair, delivered it.” Amaru replied. Miss Parker nodded.

“Also, we have not found any surveillance records that show the man’s face. He deliberately avoided showing his face to any camera. It’s as if he knew their locations. Also, no fingerprints were found on either the package or the note except for Amaru’s Broots’ and mine.” Miss Parker continued.

“Well, ghosts seldom leave fingerprints and their images don’t show up on film.” Alex said and chuckled to himself. Miss Parker shot an icy glare at the man.

“You would know all about that, wouldn’t you, Alex?” She hissed.

“Back to the matter at hand, Miss Parker.” Amaru demanded. She sighed.

“I believe that all these occurrences are linked.” Miss Parker said. “I think whoever these people are, they are all working together, and it seems that they are recruiting. This is only the beginning.”

“But who are they?” Amaru asked.

“Pretenders.” Cox replied.

“What?” Amaru asked looking at Cox.

“When Jarod escaped, Mr. Parker and Raines took it upon themselves to find all the Pretenders who had either been released, escaped, or who Catherine Parker rescued and either retrieve and reeducate them or eliminate them. They were unsuccessful in locating all of them and there are still more Pretenders out there.” Cox replied.

“How many Pretenders did the Centre have?” Miss Parker asked in surprise. “I thought there were only eight red files.”

“There were only eight red files.” Raines grumbled. “But there were many more Pretenders and other subjects the Centre had.”

“Pretenders have a different way of looking at things than other people. Mutumbo was shot in his heart twice and his eyes were cut out. Miss Parker once remarked that it might be because Mutumbo saw something he shouldn’t have.” Cox said.

“So why return Mutumbo’s eyes now?” Amaru asked.

“Because he wants us to see that he sees. Like the note says, ‘I am watching you always.’ Our surveillance is watching us always. This man had already shown us he knows about our surveillance and it’s shortcomings. After all he did walk right in and out of here and no one can describe him. But, he knows what’s going on in here. I’m sure he’s getting a kick out of the trouble he’s stirred up.” Cox replied.

“Why do you just say he?” Amaru asked.

“Because the note was written as one person and a man who we can’t identify delivered it. I think that the woman and Einnad are merely a distraction, a red herring to distract attention from the man behind it.” Cox replied.

“Do you think that Jarod is involved?” Raines wheezed. Sydney shook his head.

“Jarod wouldn’t go to these extremes.” Sydney replied. “I also don’t believe that he would associate himself with those who would.”

“If Jarod were involved, we would know it by now.” Miss Parker said. “He enjoys rubbing these things in our faces.”

“If this man is indeed a pretender, we’re going to need one to help us catch him.” Amaru said. He looked at Miss Parker. “As much as Alex’s presence displeases you, it is necessary. He will be working with you in finding Mutumbo’s assassin.”

Miss Parker went to speak, but closed her mouth and drew a deep breath as she glared at Alex.

“Expedience in this case is the key. The faster we find who is really behind this, then the quicker the Centre can return to it’s ordinary affairs, and Mutumbo’s son can lay his father’s memory to rest for good.” Amaru said.

Those gathered in the boardroom looked somber for a few moments when the doors to the boardroom burst open and Willie rushed in. He hurried over to Raines. Amaru glared at the intruder.

“This had better be good.” Amaru said. Willie said something to Raines quietly and then Raines nodded for the sweeper to address the others.

“Donoterase was just destroyed.” Willie said hesitantly.



To Be Continued …

Feedback is Welcome!