Diclaimer: Pretender characters property of TNT and Fox. I don't own them. I do own Miss Powers and others that aren't in the show.

Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender
By RaajmdTMP



Part 1



Jarod had just arrived at the site of his latest pretend. He was just outside of Blue Cove but he wasn't worried. He knew Miss Parker would be investigating his last lair and would be trying to decipher the meaning of his breadcrumb clues to his whereabouts. He was confident he would be finished with this pretend before he saw his old friend again. Little did he know it would bring them closer than he had believed possible. Jarod was investigating the mysterious disappearance of a volunteer Marine. Richard F. Patten had been an English teacher at a local Junior High school. He was in the USMC reserves. Patten left school early on November 4th complaining of stomach pains. It was later discovered that his branch of the Marines was called to help at the headquarters and his excuse was a cover up. Most of the branch returned the next day from their "TOP SECRET" projects but Patten did not. The students and faculty of the school began to wonder what had happened to him. They were told he was severely sick and would not return any time soon.

Jarod came up to a door marked "Colonel McDowall". He had been told to meet with Colonel McDowall. He knocked on the door. A deep female voice answered "Come in." Jarod was caught a little off guard. The voice reminded him of someone. He regained his composer and opened the door.

"Colonel McDowall?" asked Jarod.

"I take it you're new here. No, the Colonel is out now. I'm Miss Powers, his 'temporary' secretary." the young woman answered.

Miss Powers had icy blue eyes and dark brown hair. Jarod was a little distracted. This girl could have been Miss Parker's twin sister, if it weren't for the age difference. She noticed him staring at her. There was another way she was like Parker; she had the same temper.

"What are you looking at, buddy?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to stare. You just remind me of someone I know." Jarod quickly recovered. "I'm Jarod Camello. I was told to speak to the Colonel about the case of the missing Private Patten. He disappeared around two weeks ago."

Jarod noticed that Miss Powers was a bit uneasy at his last statement about Patten. He knew there was more to this girl than she let him see and he intended to find out what she was hiding. Even with his abilities, he couldn't tell she was thinking the same thing about him.

---

Author's note: Some characters in the first and upcoming parts are based on real people. I have given them their real names and tried to recreate their personalities. The English teacher, Richard Patten is my real life English teacher and this story is dedicated to him. He and the Pretender episode Survival inspired this story. If you ever read this Mr. Patten, thanks for a great year. Okay I have said too much, onto the story



Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender
By RaajmdTMP







Part 2
Miss Parker's House

Miss Parker returned from Jarod's lair and was a little depressed. She was still quite upset over her latest discoveries at the Centre. She wasn't sure if things could get much worse. She had to correct her thinking, this was the Centre, it was sure to get worse.

Jarod's clues didn't help her at all today, not that they usually did. He had sent her on another wild goose chase and she was glad to be home. She had a very tiring drive home.

Miss Parker had been forced to stop at a gas station full of rowdy teenagers. They were blocking the pumps. A few pimple-faced teenage boys were trying to talk to her. She was keeping her cool as well as she could. One boy was roughly pulled away from the pump by a dark-haired teenage girl. She was the boy's girlfriend. The angry girl began to walk over to Miss Parker only to stop dead in her tracks. Parker was stunned as well. It was as if they were looking into a mirror. The only difference was the girl had dark brown eyes and glasses.

They stood there until one of the workers came out and asked Miss Parkerif she needed anything. She told him to fill the tank and she left quickly.

All Miss Parker wanted to do now was take a warm shower, lay down in her comfortable bed and go to sleep. She was heading into the bathroom when her cell phone rang.

"This better be good." she said to herself.

"What!"

"Sorry to disturb you Miss Parker."

"What is it, Syd?"

"Jarod sent me a picture of a young woman. He asked me to have Broots run a search on it in the mainframe."

"And that was important, why?" Miss Parker questioned.20

"Her name is Miss Powers. You would have to see the picture to know why I called." Sydney explained.

"So you're telling me to come to the Centre, am I right?" she asked.

"It would be most helpful."

With that, Parker hung up the phone and headed for the shower. She would go back to the Centre, but not before she relaxed a little.

~*****************~

---

Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender
By RaajmdTMP


Part 3



The Centre

Broots walked into Sydney's office. He noticed that the older man was searching for something in his rarely used computer. The last time he remembered him using it was back when Raines was working on Project Gemini. He knew that whatever Sydney had called him down for had to be big.

"Hi, Syd. What was so important?"

"Oh Broots, I didn't hear you come in," Sydney said while quickly shutting off the computer. He was hiding something and Broots wanted to find out what it was.

***

Miss Parker's House

Miss Parker was getting dressed for her trip back to the Centre. She knew she could be on her feet for a while, so she wore her comfortable shoes, two-inch heels as opposed to four inch ones.

She was wondering what was so important about the picture of the girl Jarod sent Sydney. She was going through all of the different possibilities for Jarod to want help, from Broots of all people, in running a search on someone.
Miss Parker was in her car when her phone rang again.

"I'm on my way Syd. I'll be there in five minutes!" she yelled into the cell phone before hanging up.

*******

On the other end of the line, a stunned Jarod stared at the phone in his hand.

"Sydney told her," he said to himself. "I told him to let me do that. It's only a theory! It's probably just a coincidence."

Jarod had been doing some research on the young woman who called herself Miss Powers. He had searched her file at the Marine headquarters. He could tell it was a fake, but that was only because he had a lot of experience in both finding and making them. It was well made, that explains why no one else knew it wasn't real. All he knew right now was that Miss Powers was not who she said she was. The Centre might know something about her, so he decided to have Broots check her out. He had to rule out everything else while Broots searched.

Jarod had focused on Miss Powers since he met her but he did not forget about his original mission. He had some information on Patten from his file, but not enough to run a Sim. He decided the only way to find out what he was like was to spend time with the people who knew him best, his students.

Jarod made plans to be Mr. Patten's substitute teacher for the coming week. Although he didn't expect to learn Patten's whereabouts, the students could tell him how he acted and felt about different things. He may later be able to do a Simulation with the new information on Patten's personality and find out where he was. This visit could help in the long run.

***

Monday Morning

Stanton Junior High

Jarod looked up at the large school building. It was built in 1932 according to the Roman numerals above the front door. He walked up the stairs past the groups of students, briefcase in hand. He took a deep breath before going in.

Jarod was halfway up the staircase when the morning bell rang. He was soon caught in a stampede of 900 students racing to their lockers. Quickly running into the main office, he escaped being trampled. Being in the office, and not knowing where Mr. Patten's room was, he decided to ask for directions.

The secretary instructed Jarod to go to room 312, gave him the key, and told him to watch out for the students.

" They have a way of not listening to the substitutes," the secretary warned.

"Thank you very much, ma'am. I'll do my best," Jarod said with a smile on his face.

Jarod took a right out of the main office and walked to the end of the hallway. He saw a short flight of stairs leading to a bridge. He thought he might as well try going that way. The secretary had only told him the room number.

Once across the bridge, a middle-aged blonde teacher interrupted his search.

"Excuse me, you're not supposed to be here. You're trespassing!" the woman said, speaking through her nose.

"I'm sorry. I was looking for…" Jarod began but was cut off when another teacher interrupted.

"Judy, leave him alone. He's not causing any trouble," the older woman said.

"Well excuse me for doing my job!" Judy mumbled under her breath while walking away.

"That's Judy McCarthy. She's the head teacher here on 6B. She has quite a temper, but she's not so bad," the older teacher explained.

"I'm Jarod Garland. I'll be substituting Richard Patten's class this week," Jarod said, relieved to find someone nice to talk to. He was glad she got rid of Ms. McCarthy.

"I'm Jessie McNulty. Pleased to meet you. Just remember, if you need help finding anything just ask me," Mrs. McNulty said with a warm smile on her face.

"Thank you. I do need some help. Where would I find Mr. Patten's room?" Jarod asked hoping she would give better directions than the secretary.

---

Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender
By RaajmdTMP


Part 4

Jarod found his classroom without any trouble this time. Mrs. McNulty had told him to go to the third floor. Once he was there he couldn't miss it; there was a large group of students waiting outside the locked door. He made his way through the crowd to unlock the door. Next, he had to take the attendance. He used this time to learn some of the teens' names. For the next five it was a normal school day. He didn't know what was in store for the next period.

****

The Centre

Miss Parker had come and gone. She didn't seem too interested in the picture. She announced that she would take a couple of weeks off. She needed a break from the Centre. Now Broots and Sydney were left alone to find the information Jarod wanted.

****

Stanton High School
Resource Center
(Library)

Miss Powers was typing on one of the forty new, blueberry I Macs used by the students there. She was researching Jarod's file on a computer away from all other eyes. She believed it would be safer to search there because Jarod couldn't find out.

While in his she saw nothing out of the ordinary. But that was just it, the file was perfect. While making the file, Jarod had neglected to add even one black mark. The man never missed a day of work. She used this fact to prove, at least to herself, that Jarod wasn't really Jarod Camello but someone else. Who, she didn't know at the moment. She just found him way too interested in Private Patten's case.

The bell rang and Miss Powers hurriedly left the Resource Center. She crossed the bridge and made her way through the crowded halls with ease. It wasn't entirely new to her. In fact, she was quite used to it. She ducked into the girl's bathroom, just avoiding being flattened against the wall. While in the bathroom, she quickly did her hair, took out her contacts, and put on her glasses. She left the bathroom, crossed the now empty hallway, and came up to a classroom just in time to have the door slam shut in her face.

****

Stanton Junior High
Room 312

"Palesa!" someone screamed from outside the classroom door.

"Miss Allen, please open the door and sit down," Jarod said to a now red faced girl who had a reputation for slamming the classroom doors.

"Whatever," mumbled Palesa as she reluctantly opened the door.

****

Miss Parker's House

Miss Parker was packing her suitcases. She reserved a room in a small inn just outside of Blue Cove. She thought it would be good to get away from the Centre, no matter how far away she was. She needed a break.

Being the expert that she was at hiding her emotions, no one knew how much the picture of Miss Powers disturbed her. Not only had it looked like her, but also the girl looked like the teen she had run into on her way home the other night.

***

Miss Parker's Car

Miss Parker stuffed her suitcases into her trunk. Three weeks away from the Centre. She was looking forward to this. Even though she lived around here all of her life she didn't know it too well, with the exception of the streets to the Centre and a few others. She had never paid much attention to the scenery. She could use this time to learn more about the town she's always lived in. Maybe she could even make a friend or two.

***

Stanton Junior High
Room 312

"Thanks, Palesa," the girl said sarcastically.

Jarod looked up as the girl walked by his desk and nearly choked on his coffee. The girl, now at her desk, turned around to face Jarod and dropped her binder in shock. The sound of it hitting the floor brought her back to reality. They were both visibly shaken but went on with their business, leaving the rest of the students to wonder what had just happened.

****

Beliveau Inn

Miss Parker was settling in to her room. Her window looked out over a beautiful pond. She sat in the comfortable chair under the window for fifteen minutes just enjoying the view. She was lost in her memories of playing near the pond growing up. Across the pond was the junior high school she had attended for the sixth and seventh grades. She wasn't the one to be sentimental, but looking at her former school she had a strange feeling that made her want to visit it. She doubted that any of her old teachers were still there, but it would be fun to see how the school changed.

She decided to walk a round the pond instead of taking her car. As she left, she waved goodbye to the innkeeper Steve Beliveau. They had been friends in school. Seeing him again reminded her of the good times she had in school, even though it was a tough time in her life.

***

Stanton Junior High
Room 312

Most of the kids had forgotten that anything strange happened. Miss Powers, as Jarod knew her, was trying her best to concentrate on her work. Her friend, Melissa, was curious about what was wrong.

"Fi, what just happened?" she asked, puzzled.

"Don't worry about it, Melissa. I was just surprised to see him," Fiona said, motioning towards Jarod.

"Mr. Garland? Do you know him or something?"

"Or something," replied Fiona, not wanting to explain, even to one of her best friends.

Jarod was listening to their conversation. He was trying to find out why she was either pretending to be thirteen years old or a Private in the Marines. She sure knew how to trick people into thinking she was someone else. The strange thing was, Jarod thought, that both places he had seen her had something to do with Richard Patten. Either she was trying to find the truth, like him, or she had something to do with the disappearance. She seemed to have some sort of Pretender training, maybe even self-taught, though Jarod suspected the Centre.

"Miss," Jarod hesitated while looking at the seating chart. "O'Leary, I would like to see you after class."

"What did she do?" asked Jason, a rather loud kid in the back row. Fiona wasn't usually in trouble for anything.

"She was late to class," Jarod stated, having already come up with an excuse. He wasn't sure what he could get her to tell him. It probably wouldn't be much, especially if the Centre was involved.

****

Stanton Junior High
Room 315

Miss Parker came up to the door as the bell rang. Room 315, Mr. Holden's room, her seventh grade homeroom. As the students left the classroom she had a strange feeling that something was wrong. Something unexpected was going to happen soon, she just wished she knew what it was.

Mr. Holden followed his students out the door and did a double take when he saw Miss Parker; as if he had to make sure she was really there.

"Miss Parker?"

"Mr. Holden, nice to see you again. Please, call me Parker.

Mr. Holden had white hair and a goatee. He was just how Parker remembered him, only thirty years older. He was the best science teacher she had, with the exception of sixth grade, Mrs. McNulty.

"You know, Parker, it's strange you should come here now."

"Why do you say that?" Parker said, wondering if this was what the feeling she had earlier was about.

"I guess it's not that important. It's just that you were one of our smartest students. After nearly thirty years, your test scores hadn't been matched, let alone beaten. This year there is a student that reminds me of you very much. Not only does she look like you but she scored higher than you on our tests." Mr. Holden informed her. He had been thinking about her since he met Fiona.

Miss Parker's thoughts suddenly flashed to the meeting at the gas station. This could be the girl he was talking about. She was about the right age and definitely had the looks.

"Oh, really. I ran into a girl the other day that looked like me," Parker said, trying to sound like this sort of thing was a regular occurrence. "What else can you tell me about this 'child prodigy'?"

"You could always ask her yourself. She's down the hall now, talking with Mr. Patten's substitute teacher," he said while gesturing down the hall.

Miss Parker didn't look down the hall but questioned Mr. Holden about Mr. Patten. He was once her favorite teacher and, he being older than Mr. Holden, she felt worried about him.

"He's been out sick for a while now. All we were told is that he has some sort of stomach problem."

At that point Parker glanced down the hall to see none other than Jarod talking with the girl from the gas station.

"Jarod?" she said quietly but Mr. Holden overheard.

"You know Mr. Garland?"

"You could say that," Parker stated. 'I've only known him longer than I've known you,' she thought.

"I'll call them over. He might want to say hi."

"No, you don't have to do that," Parker tried not to sound nervous but couldn't help it when Jarod looked up when his name was called. She wasn't supposed to be here yet.

Jarod looked up to see Miss Parker with Mr. Holden. His first instinct was to run the other way, but something seemed odd. Normally, Parker would have a few sweepers after him, but she was just standing at the end of the hall. She looked as surprised to see him, as he was to see her. He decided to act natural and find out why she was here alone.

"Come with me, Fiona. I'd like you to meet someone," Jarod said, hoping that Parker wouldn't bring him in.

'Act natural,' Parker kept saying over and over to herself.

'Tell him the truth, that you're not here for him. If he's still here he can't be finished, yet. What he's doing must be important, you have to let him finish.' Parker heard this wondering where it came from.

'Maybe I should try my hand at Pretending and give Jarod a little surprise,' she thought while quickly coming up with a plan.

"So nice to see you again, Miss Parker."

"Nice to see you too, Jarod."

She then almost gave Jarod a heart attack when she hugged him. She tried hard to hide the smile on her face when he gave her a 'what-was-that' look.

'Okay, I'll play along but I'm still going to find out why you're here,' Jarod thought.

Fiona was confused for a minute but once she figured out what was going on she almost burst out laughing. She decided that if they started talking she could get away without having to answer any of Jarod's questions.

"So Parker, how long have you known Jarod?" Mr. Holden questioned.

"Longer than you'd think," was her only answer.

"Parker, where are Sydney and Mr. Broots? Wherever you are, they aren't usually far behind," Jarod asked, trying to get his answers.

"They don't usually go on vacation with me, though," Parker answered.

"You're on vacation?"

"Three relaxing weeks."

"Well, then, why are you here?" Jarod asked, confused.

"Disappointed I'm not her because of you?"

"No, I'm just curious."

"I'll tell you later."

"Okay. Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. I'd like you to meet someone. Parker, this is Fiona…" Jarod and Parker turned around to see no one.

"Now you know how I feel," Parker teased.

"Where did she go?" Jarod asked, ignoring her comment.

"Oh, don't worry Jarod. You'll find her. Anyway, we've already met," Parker stated. Jarod was a little surprised.

"Sorry guys," Mr. Holden said looking at his watch. "I have to go. I'll tell you if I see Fiona." He went back in his classroom.

Parker and Jarod said goodbye and walked down the hallway together, keeping with the Pretend. Once they were out of earshot Jarod questioned Parker.

"What was that all about?"

"I just wanted to give you a little taste of your own medicine. I see why you like it so much. It was kind of fun."

"Aren't we in a playful mood today?"

"I didn't want him or you asking too many questions, that's all," Parker explained. "Do you need any help looking for Fiona?"

"I could use it," Jarod paused. "I have two questions for you."

"Shoot."

"How do you know Fiona?"

"I never said I knew her. I said we've met. I ran into her the other night at the gas station when I was coming home from one of your wild goose chases."

"I'm sorry."

"What was your other question?" she said, ignoring his apology.

"Ah, OK, who are you and what have you done with Miss Parker?"

"Very funny, Jarod. I'm just having a little fun. So, do you know what's wrong with Mr. Patten?" she asked, changing the subject.

Jarod paused for a second collecting his thoughts and looking around.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but not here. We have to find somewhere we know is safe to talk."

"What about Fiona?"

"She'll be back. If she's really interested in Mr. Patten she'll be here tomorrow."

"What does she have to do with Mr. Patten?"

"I don't know. I don't know much about him, yet, either. That's why I'm here, to find out more."

"I take it you don't believe he's sick."

"I'll tell you what I know. Meet me at the bridge by the pond in an hour, OK?"

"Okay, bye."

"Oh, and Parker,"

"Yeah?"

"No sweepers, please."

"I'm on vacation Jarod. I wouldn't call them if you paid me."

"Thanks."

Jarod walked into his classroom to get his things. Tomorrow was the last full day of school before Thanksgiving vacation. The English students had a test tomorrow. He had to get the papers he needed and go meet Parker. He was a teacher a few other times but it was hard to get used to. 'It's probably easier if you actually went to school,' he thought as he took off the glasses he usually wore when he was a teacher.

---

Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender
By RaajmdTMP


Part 5

The Bridge
Ell Pond

Miss Parker had nothing else to do so she went to the bridge early. She was thinking about what was going on.

'What am I doing!? I should just bring him in and be done with it.'

'You don't really want to do that, do you?'

"What was that?"

"What was what?" Jarod said, almost making her jump into the pond.

"Don't do that to me! You know I've been jumpy since the train crash."

"I'm sorry I scared you. I have a question, if you don't mind me asking."

"No, go ahead," she said, her heart rate returning to normal.

"Why did you go back? I mean, you had the perfect chance to leave and…"

"Jarod, we've been through this already, I still need some answers."

"I still need answers, too, but you don't see me in that place."

"I'm not like you, Jarod. I can't just hack into the Centre mainframe and not get caught. Besides I'm not ready for life on the run. Can we just talk about what we came here to talk about?"

"Of course. What do you want to know?"

"What happened to Mr. Patten?"

"He supposedly left school early on the fourth with stomach pains. That was only a cover up for a secret training mission in his branch of the Marines. Not many at the school know that was the real reason he left."

"What's the big deal about that?"

"That isn't a big deal and for all I know he actually came home that night, but I haven't had the time to speak with his wife. The mystery begins the next morning."

"What happened then?

"He didn't come to school. I was speaking with a girl at lunch today about the whole incident. She told me that his truck wasn't there when she left school on the fourth but it was there the next morning…"

"And he wasn't," she finished his sentence for him. "Which would mean he had to have disappeared between the time he parked his truck in the morning and the time he should have been in his classroom."

Parker and Jarod were unaware of the eyes that were watching them… or the ears that were listening. They also didn't know how well the closed YMCA pool acted as a hiding place. Unfortunately for them, Fiona did. She now knew Jarod was trying to help. She felt she could trust him. She also felt a sense of relief that she didn't have to do this alone.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day. She was going to tell Jarod only the basic information.

'I wonder why Mr. Patten is so important to him?' she thought.

Fiona, as well as Parker, had a strange feeling something weird was going to happen. Both of their "inner senses" combined couldn't predict what it was. Parker had just found out the truth about her mother. Soon Fiona was going to find out the truth about Mr. Patten… and her parents.

Parker and Jarod's conversation was interrupted by a loud thud and the clanging of a chain-link fence. They both jumped and turned around to see… nothing. Fiona had climbed and jumped down from the fence surrounding the pool. She was now running to where she had called home for the past year to get ready for tomorrow.

Jarod and Parker shook off the noise and resumed their conversation. Jarod got a strange idea. Sure, it was a long shot, but…

"Parker, if you don't mind me asking, where are you staying?"

"Oh, it's just a little inn on the other side of the pond."

Jarod laughed, "The Beliveau Inn?"

"Yeah, what's so funny abut that?"

"What room are you in?"

"Seven, why?"

"I'm in room eight."

"Oh, I should have known."

"Do you want to walk back with me?"

"Sure, why not?"

***

60 Herrick Court
Outside Blue Cove, DE

Fiona watched from an open window as Jarod and Parker walked by. She overheard them talking.

"Are you hungry, Parker?" Jarod asked as his stomach growled.

"A little. What do you have in mind?"

"There's a little pizza place down the street. I think it's called Caruso's. Want to join me?" he asked.

"It will give us more time to talk about Mr. Patten. I might as well," she replied.

"Frances, I need to go out for a little while. I'll be back in time to do my homework," Fiona yelled over the sound of the vacuum.

"Okay, dear. Just be careful," said the older woman. It was the sixth time she vacuumed this week but she needed something to get her mind off of what was happening.

"Oh, Richie, where are you?" she said out loud when Fiona left.

Fiona took the shortcut to Caruso's. She arrived just after Parker and Jarod. She took the booth behind them and sat with her back towards them. She listened carefully. She couldn't afford to miss a word they said.

"So what do you think is good?" Parker asked, scanning the menu.

"Anything without anchovies. I tried them last year. I can't figure out why anyone would want to put small, canned fish on a pizza."

"I've never figured that one out myself," Parker said, almost laughing at how serious his last statement was.

'I guess I won't be trying anchovy pizza. Thanks Jarod, if that is your real name,' Fiona thought. 'Maybe pepperoni is good.'

"Parker how's Sydney? I haven't talked to him in a while."

"Oh, he's as good as he possibly could be, I guess," she paused. "You miss him, don't you?"

"In some ways, I guess," he replied.

They were quiet for a while, not knowing what to say. Fiona listened, hoping they knew something she didn't.

"Fiona, this is Dr. Wolfman."

"Hello, Dr. Wolfman," Fiona greeted the young doctor, her dark brown eyes fixed on the doctor's eyes.

"Nice to meet you, Fiona. I would like you to do something for me." The doctor handed the six-year-old a piece of paper.

"Can you solve this problem for me?"

"Can you take me higher? To the place where blind men see," Fiona's radio alarm clock blared.

Fiona jumped out of bed and turned off the alarm. She didn't mind that it woke her in the middle of her dream. She knew how it ended.

It was 4:30 AM. Even after a year she was still used to getting up now. It didn't matter, though. It gave her some time to think without being interrupted.

She gathered all of the things she would need for school that day. She planned on asking Jarod for help finding Mr. Patten. She wasn't getting too far on her own.

***

Stanton Junior High
Room 312
7:35 AM

"Jarod, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean I'm not exactly good with kids and…"

"Parker! Parker, calm down. It's no big deal. All you have to do is sit down, watch and listen. Just stick to the plan and you'll be fine," Jarod said while watching a very nervous Parker play with the visitor pin on her jacket.

The morning bell rang. All you could hear was the drone of kids talking and locker doors slamming shut. The homeroom students came in the door, one by one.

"Good morning class. Please take your seats. We have a visitor. Her name is Miss Parker. She'll be with us until vacation," Jarod explained.

"Why is she here?" someone in the second row asked, a little rudely.

"She…"

"I can speak for myself, thank you very much," Parker interrupted. She wasn't nervous anymore. "I'm a teacher from another part of the country and I am going to be teaching in Delaware. I wanted to see how things are done here," she explained, making it up as she went along.

"She's better at this than I thought," Jarod said under his breath.

"What was that, Jarod?"

"Nothing."

"It better have been nothing."

The class laughed at that statement.

"Good morning. Would all students please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance?" Mr. Brow, the principal, said over the loudspeaker like on any other school day. "Please remain standing for a moment of silence," he paused. "Thank you, please be seated."

***

Stanton Junior High
Room 312
First Period

"Jarod, I've been meaning to ask you. What's with the glasses?"

"I usually wear glasses when a teacher. I've heard they make you look smart," Jarod answered sarcastically.

***

Stanton Junior High
Room 312
Third Period

Miss Parker came in the classroom after the students. Jarod was still in the hall. He was right. Fiona was sitting in her seat just like he said she would be. She was going through her binder in search of something. She pulled out a compositions notebook and walked up to Miss Parker.

"You're Miss Parker, right?"

She nodded.

"And you're with Jarod?"

"Yes, we…"

"I need to talk to you guys." She looked around the classroom. "Alone," she added, teeth clenched.

Jarod walked in the door. Miss Parker walked up to him, spun him around, and almost pushed him out the door. Fiona followed and shut the door behind them.

"What?" Jarod asked.

"Fiona said she needed to talk to us," she told him.

"Oh she did, did she? So Fiona, would you mind telling me why you ran away yesterday?"

"Yes, actually I would mind."

"Fiona, you do know that Mr. Garland can arrange to keep you after school for the rest of the school year."

"Mr. Garland can't do anything to me. He doesn't really exist. Isn't that right, Private Camello?"

"Well, I, ah…"

"Now you've done it. He's speechless," Parker joked.

"Look, I need your help. I've tried everything I can think of and I can't find Mr. Patten. I didn't think I would have to tell you my life story to get you to help me."

"We don't know much, Fiona."

"Almost nothing if Jarod really told me everything."

"Why do you care so much about Mr. Patten?" Fiona asked both of them. She had her reasons; she just wanted to know theirs.

"You don't get that much, do you, Jarod?"

"There's a first time for everything."

"Hey! Would you two just cut it out!"

"What do you mean by that?" Parker asked.

"Never mind. I thought you wanted to find Mr. Patten. Why?"

"Jarod likes to help people. He's kind of a… knight in shining armor."

"And what about you?"

'And I chase Jarod,' she thought.

"Mr. Patten was my teacher when I was in seventh grade."

"Great! I need help and all I get is a guy who thinks he's a superhero and a forty year old teacher's pet."

"Hey! Mr. Patten is a great man! He helped me through a tough time. He was one of the few people who would actually talk to me after my mother's death," she said. She didn't even notice she had told some thirteen year old that her mother died.

"Your mother died when you were little?"

Parker seemed to have involuntarily gotten through to Fiona.

"Yes. Yes she did. Did you lose someone, too?"

"Yeah, I- Wait a minute! Why am I telling you this?"

"We're just here to help," Jarod said.

"Nothing more, nothing less," Parker added.

"Okay. This is what I have on Mr. Patten. We have to get back to the class before they decide to take over the school. Miss Parker, can you sit in the back with me? I'll explain what I have written," she said, referring to the notebook she handed Parker.

"That can be arranged," Jarod answered.

They walked back in the classroom. The other students looked up. They all wanted to know what happened but they didn't want to get Fiona or Parker started. They had had a taste of both.
Fiona took her seat in the back row and Parker followed. It was otherwise empty today. Parker started to read the notebook.

"How do you know he gets up at 4:30?"

"I have my sources."

"Okay. So he gets up at 4:30, gets ready and is out of the house by quarter of seven. He gets in his red Chevy truck and drives to school. He parks in spot 100 and walks to his classroom. If I didn't know any better I'd say you had been stalking him."

"Well I wasn't so…"

"Relax, it was just a joke. Do you always have to be so defensive?"

"Look who's talking."

---

Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender
By RaajmdTMP

Part 6

"Do you mean to tell me that you still haven't questioned Mrs. Patten about his disappearance?" Fiona asked, faking surprise. She knew very well they hadn't questioned her. She also knew that she wouldn't be much help.

"No we haven't questioned her yet. We were going today after school."

They were talking at Fiona's locker.

"Well you two go ahead. I need to get home early today," Fiona said.

~*********~

`KNOCK, KNOCK`

The door opened revealing a middle-aged woman.

"Hello. Can I help you?"

"Yes," he paused, looking at the file in his hand. "Frances Patten. We would like to ask you a few questions about your husband. I'm Detective Jarod Pike and this is my partner, Detective Parker," Jarod explained flashing his badge.

"Of course, come right in. You can look around the house if you like."

Mrs. Patten showed them around the house. Jarod looked carefully for anything that might be useful.

"What's in that room?" Parker asked, actually enjoying this.

"Oh, that's just one of the kids' rooms. You won't find anything in there."

"Do you mind if we have a look?"

"Okay, but it's kind of a mess."

Mrs. Patten walked into the other room to get the key. She neglected to tell her visitors the door was locked. Jarod tried the door. It wouldn't budge.

"The door doesn't seem to want to open," Jarod said while pushing it with his shoulder.

"Here, let me help," Parker said.

"Okay, on three. 1, 2, 3!"

Then they both pushed the door at the same time. It flew open as if it had been unlocked. Parker caught herself on the doorframe but Jarod landed on his knees. Parker helped him up.

"I could have unlocked that for you," Mrs. Patten said holding up the key.

"That's all right. No harm done," Jarod said.

"To the door," Parker added. Jarod blushed as he continued to rub his sore knee.

Parker looked around the room. There was a small bed against the left wall and a desk next to it. There was a laptop computer on the desk. The burrow in the corner was covered with stuffed animals. It looked like a normal kid's room. There was one problem, though. All of the Patten children were now adults. None of them lived there anymore. They both brush it off. Maybe it's one of the grandkids' rooms.

"Well, thank you very much for your help and cooperation. We promise you that we are doing all we possibly can to find your husband," Jarod said.

"You're welcome. Anything to get him back faster."

Jarod walked out the bedroom door after Mrs. Patten. Parker looked around the room one more time and something caught her eye. There was a small piece of paper tacked up on a bulletin board. There were ten numbers on it.

12-072463-01

She could have sworn she had seen those numbers before. There was some significance to them. She just couldn't put her finger on it.

'Oh, well. It's probably some winning lottery numbers from a year ago,' she thought.

***

"Dr. Wolfman, where are you taking me?" a very confused twelve-year-old Fiona asked.

"It's okay Fiona, don't worry. You'll be safe where we're going," the doctor explained.

"Refuge?"

"Yes, Fiona, refuge."

Fiona tossed and turned in her bed.

The car screeched to a stop in front of the pond.

"Fiona you have to get out here."

"You're not coming with me?" Fiona asked a little worried and scared.

"No, I can't, I'm sorry. I have to try to come up with an excuse for how you 'ran away'. You'll be safe here. Do you see that building over there?"

"Yes, but…" she said looking at the school.

"No, listen… You have to go there. The door in the back will be open. Go up to the third floor, room 312. In the morning the teacher, Richard Patten, will come in. He'll be expecting you."

"What is he going to do?"

"He's going to take care of you. He'll let you do what other kids do."

"What do other kids do?"

"You'll find out soon enough," she said with a smile. "You better get going. Here are a few things you'll need," she handed Fiona a backpack. "And here," she gave her a piece of paper.

"12-072463-01, what does it mean?"

"I don't know. All I know is that it's part of your past."

"My past?"

"Yes. Now go, and remember, never stop searching for your past."

"I won't and I'll never forget you, Dr. Wolfman."

Fiona gave her a quick hug and ran through the woods to the school. After she left her sight, Dr. Wolfman drove back to try to cover up what happened.

Fiona woke up with a start. She was sick and tired of reliving that. It was the past and it should stay that way. Right now she was too worried about the present.

She looked at the clock. 2:00am She still had a good two and a half hours of sleep left. Fiona heard the vacuum turn on for what seemed to be the thousandth time this week. She moaned and pulled her pillow over her head.

***

Stanton Junior High
Room 315
8:30am

Fiona sat at her normal seat in science. Mr. Holden was feeding the turtles frozen fish when Mr. Brow came over the loudspeaker like he did every day.

"All teachers, at the next bell, please bring your class down to the auditorium."

The kids looked at each other, confused. The last time they were called down unexpectedly it was because someone died. The bell rang and Fiona was the first to the door. With a shaky hand she opened it. Once she realized she was shaking she did everything in her power to calm down. She stepped to the side and let some of the class pass her while she relaxed. When she started walking again she heard some of the kids joking about what the assembly was for.

"Hey, at least we miss some class time."

"I wonder why."

"Mr. Patten probably died," a kid named Nick said. He instantly regretted it when Fiona slammed him against the wall.

Jarod, whose class had been following, literally had to pull her off of him. She was stronger than he thought. She realized what she did and felt embarrassed she hadn't been able to control her temper.

"I'm sorry Nick. I didn't mean to do that. I really lost my temper. I'm just not having a good day."

"It's okay. No harm done. I should have known better. I know your whole deal with Mr. Patten. I'm sorry. He'll be fine."

"I know he will. Thanks."

"Miss O'Leary, Miss Parker and I want to talk to you about something," Jarod interrupted.

"Yeah, okay but I want to see what the assembly is for."

"It won't take long."

***

Stanton Junior High
Room 312
9:00am

"What did he mean about 'your whole deal' with Mr. Patten?"

"If you haven't checked my record in school yet, then I'm not going to tell you."

"I would have to have a computer to do that, wouldn't I?" Parker stated more than asked.

"You're welcome to use my computer," Fiona said wanting the truth to come out. She had to tell someone. She just couldn't say the words. She couldn't explain it, but somehow it seemed as though they would understand.

"You wouldn't happen to have it with you, would you?" Jarod asked.

"Sure, she carries a computer everywhere with her," Parker said sarcastically.

"Actually, I do," Fiona said unzipping her backpack and taking out a laptop.

"I wasn't serious," Parker said surprised.

"I was," she paused starring at Miss Parker. She shook herself out of it, "Here Jarod."

He opened the laptop and plugged it into the phone jack. He typed quickly with Parker looking over his shoulder.

"Here it is."

"I wonder what's so…oh!" Parker said while reading the file.

STUDENT #: 190
NAME: FIONA O'LEARY
BORN: 10/03/87
GRADE: 7 TEAM: C
PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN: RICHARD F. PATTEN
ADDRESS: 60 HERRICK CT
BLUE COVE, DE
19703

"Mr. Patten is your legal guardian?"

"Yeah, he took me in when my parents died," she lied. "I didn't have any family."

"When were you planning on telling us that?"

"I don't know. I just didn't think it would make a difference."

"Oh, yeah right. You are trying to find Mr. Patten and from what this says you have a very good reason to. We seem to be your only real hope of finding him and you just happen to leave out what is most likely the biggest piece of information we could possibly have."

"You would, too, if you were in my place!" She was starting to get upset.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to go back!" she yelled.

They looked at her, stunned.

"Go back where?" they asked at the same time.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Believe me, we'll understand."

Fiona looked at their eyes. She knew she could trust them. It was what you would call a 'gut feeling.' She sighed.

"I grew up in facility that took care of children."

"An orphanage?"

"No, not an orphanage, somewhere that I wouldn't wish my worst enemies to be sent. I didn't realize then what I had been missing, but it wasn't as if I had a choice in the matter. I lived there all my life. I never knew anything else.

There were no windows, no doors. There was no light, no hope. They had eyes in every ceiling, every wall. They never blinked. Now I realize how special it is to just be able to sit on a park bench and the autumn leaves. Those simple things people take for granted I had never experienced. I didn't know what normal life was. I didn't know mine wasn't," she stopped when she looked at their faces.

Fiona had described the Centre exactly. What Jarod thought was even weirder was the fact that she had used the exact words he used to explain it to Dr. Goetz. Parker recovered first.

"This facility that you are talking about, they didn't happen to have an interest in your intelligence, did they?"

Fiona looked at her with her right eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I don't think you'd be too happy if you knew the reason," Parker said.

Her eyes widened, "You work for them! This is just a trick to get me back!"

She started to run for the door. Jarod grabbed her.

"Let me go!" she yelled.

"No, not until you hear my story!"

Miss Parker took Jarod's DSA case from under his desk. She opened it up and scanned through them. She turned it on and slid a disc into the slot.

"Jarod it is your job, it is your duty to save your crew!"

"Wait a minute! I can use the gravitational pull of the moon to get us back!"

"They're trying to hurt her!"

`BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG`

Parker flinched at each shot.

"Keep her back, keep her back!"

"Mamma!"

The screen faded to black. Fiona's jaw dropped. She looked back and forth between the two. She was speechless.

"You…you were both at the Centre. You grew up there, both of you. You grew up together. Then Jarod escaped. You were forced to bring him back, dead or alive."

"You got all of that from one DSA?" Parker asked.

"It's not like I've never done a Sim before," she paused. "But I still can't figure out why you're working together."

"I'm on vacation. Let's leave it at that."

"How did you escape, Fiona?" Jarod asked.

"I had help."

"From who?"

"Let's just say it was my 'Sydney.'


TBC

---

Author's Note: This is a repost. I removed a paragraph that I felt uncomfortable having up after the events of September 11, 2001 at Logan Airport. If you have read this before you know what I have chosen to remove. You can find the full version at www.the-pretender.de.

Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender

By RaajmdTMP

Part 7

"I can't believe they did it again! It was right under my nose, too!" Parker yelled. It was her turn to be upset.

"Parker, this wasn't your fault," Jarod said trying to calm her.

"I was head of Centre security for years, Jarod. I should have known about this," she said as she stormed out the door. Jarod ran after her. The bell rang.

'That went by fast!' Fiona thought.

It was a half-day. She went out in the hall and asked Melissa what the assembly was for.

"It was just about the magazine drive. Basically, it was boring."

Fiona went back in the classroom. She might as well wait for Jarod and Miss Parker there.

Outside Stanton Junior High

"Parker, wait a minute," Jarod said trying to catch up.

"I'm just taking a little walk, Jarod. Don't worry, I'm a big girl," Parker replied.

She needed a little time alone. All this was too much for her. It brought back too many memories she didn't know how to deal with.

"Parker, I…"

"Jarod, please," Parker interrupted.

"Parker, just let me say this," he waited to see if she would let him continue. When she didn't say anything he proceeded.

"I know this is bothering you but you really couldn't have done anything. You didn't even know about SL 27. How were supposed to find out about this?"

Miss Parker hesitated for a minute. She knew he was right but she couldn't help but feel responsible.

"Sydney feels the same way I do. We know in our hearts we really couldn't do anything about it, but we still feel responsible. That's why he tried to blow up SL 27 and why I tried to help your clone escape."

Jarod smiled. He got an idea and grabbed Parker's hand. He dragged her towards the annex building of the junior high.

"Hey, Jarod. Do you think it would be too much trouble to tell me where you're dragging me to in such a hurry?"

"I'm taking you to see an old friend."

When they got to the classroom, Parker was hesitant to go in. It had been too long.

"Go on. You can do it," Jarod encouraged her.

If anyone could help Parker it was her. Parker needed someone she knew she could trust, someone from her past.
Miss Parker knocked softly on the door and peaked inside.

"Mrs. McNulty?"

She looked up from the papers she was correcting.

"Miss Parker?"

"Yeah, I just came to…" she was interrupted when Mrs. McNulty hugged her.

"It's so nice to see you again, Parker. How are you doing?"

"Okay I guess. I've been going through a lot lately."

"If you want to talk, I'm here."

"Thank you. I could use someone to talk to."

Jarod was standing in the hall trying to mind his own business when he remembered Fiona. He had left her in such a hurry to catch Parker.

"Excuse me ladies, sorry to disturb you. I need to have a word with Miss Parker."

"Anything you want to say to me you can say in front of her, Jarod."

"Okay, well, I just wanted to let you know I was going to check on Fiona."

"Think I can't handle the walk back alone, Jarod?"

"No, but I know how angry you can get when I disappear on you," Jarod teased.

"You're right, I do. Too bad you didn't always ask my permission before leaving."

"Ha ha, very funny," he said as he walked out the door."

Mrs. McNulty looked at Miss Parker, confused.

"What?" Miss Parker said, almost laughing. "Too much for you?"

Before she could answer there was another knock on the door.

"Mrs. McNulty?"

"Good afternoon, Tiana. I haven't seen you all year."

"Well, we're pretty isolated up on the fourth floor. I got my report card today."

"How'd you do?"

"Really well."

"Let me see," she took the report card from Tiana's hand. "Five A+'s and three A's. This is good. Come over here."

She walked over to her desk and took out a bag of candy.

"Take some for your brother, too."

"Thanks Mrs. McNulty."

"Come visit again soon."

"I will."

Miss Parker smiled. She had come back to visit Mrs. McNulty when she was in seventh grade. She still had the same following.
"Do you still have a big group of girls gathered around you during lunch?" Parker asked. The more time she spent in this school the more good things she remembered growing up.

"Every day," she paused. "I've known Tiana for eight years. I taught elementary school for a while and I had her in first grade. Back then the kids were always racing to hold my hand as we walked down the halls."

"You've always been a great teacher. I'm sure that none of your students will ever forget you. I know I haven't."

"Thank you, Miss Parker."

"Coming from her, that's quite a compliment."

"Jarod!" Miss Parker said like an annoyed teenager. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Just long enough to hear you pour your heart out to Jessie."

"That's funny, I've known her for thirty years and I still call her Mrs. McNulty."

"You've known me for thirty years and you still call me Jarod."

"What else am I supposed to call you?"

"Good point."

"Jarod, will you get on with it? I thought you were going to see Fiona."

"I did. I came to get you. We have to get moving if we're going to catch the plane to Boston."

"To where!?" she asked confused.

"Boston, Massachusetts," he said matter of factly.

"I know where Boston is. What's the rush?"

"We have to meet an old friend."

"Another one?"

"Yeah and Fiona is anxious to see him again," he hinted.

"Oh, okay," she turned to Mrs. McNulty. "I do have to go. We've been waiting to hear from our friend for a while. I'll come and visit again when we get back."

"Okay, Parker. Be safe."

"I will."

Once Jarod and Miss Parker were down the hall she decided to find out how Jarod suddenly knew Patten was in Boston.

"How'd you know he was in Boston?"

"He's not in Boston; he's in Gloucester."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I simmed him. Actually Fiona simmed him."

"Why hadn't she done that already?"

"She told me that she had never simmed anyone so close to her. She felt uncomfortable."

"Do you know why he's in Gloucester?"

"He was kidnapped, probably by someone he knew. Gloucester is his hometown so all signs point to the fact that he knew this person for a while."

Logan Airport
Boston, Massachusetts
4:00pm

Jarod, Parker and Fiona stepped off the plane. They walked around looking for where they could get their luggage.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Ah, yes," Jarod paused looking at her nametag. "Jo-Ann. We can't seem to find our luggage. Could you point us in the right direction?"

"Yeah, sure. It's right over there."

"Thanks. Oh, there's one more thing. We're new around here. Can you tell us the fastest way to Gloucester?"
"Yeah, actually you could rent a car and follow me. My shift's over in a few minutes and I live up in Rockport."

"You don't have to…"

"It's no trouble. You can rent a car over there. I'll meet you at the entrance in fifteen minutes."

The Crow's Nest
Main Street
Gloucester, Massachusetts
5:00pm

"Jarod, you're sure that staying here is going to help find Mr. Patten?" Miss Parker asked standing outside the building. "Because if you're not, I can think of a few other places I'd rather stay."

"Parker, I assure you it will help. We shouldn't be here too long anyway and you can't come to Gloucester without seeing this place. It's a landmark," Jarod explained.

"Yeah, Mr. Patten always talks about it up here. It's kind of amazing. I've never seen anything like Gloucester before. After we get settled, would you mind if I take a look around?" Fiona asked.

"There's no reason why you shouldn't."

"Thanks," Fiona said as she ran into the building.

Jarod followed her in and got the last available rooms. Parker and Fiona would have to share a room. Fiona volunteered to sleep on the couch. Jarod brought the luggage in from their rented car. Fiona intercepted him in the hallway and grabbed her backpack. She ran into the room that Parker was inspecting and unzipped her backpack. Parker looked up just in time to see about 200 pens pour out of the bag.

"Need a pen?" Miss Parker asked sarcastically.

Fiona blushed, "I collect them. I was just looking for my copy of The Perfect Storm. I want to visit the places in the pictures."

"Well, you can go as long as you clean that up when you come back."

"Yes! Thanks, Parker." Fiona ran for the door.

"Be back in a half hour. We'll look at more places tomorrow!" she called after her. "And take Jarod with you!"

There was a definite change in Miss Parker over the past couple of days. She didn't notice it. Neither did Jarod. She was acting more and more like her mother's daughter. Perhaps they were both just so comfortable with the new, or should I say old, her that they didn't see it. She was still far from losing the "Parker" edge. So was someone else.

Fisherman's Memorial
Stacy Boulevard
Gloucester, MA

Jarod and Fiona stood by the railing overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The wind was blowing lightly and the sea air was something strange to both of them.

"It's really nice here," Fiona said enjoying the breeze and spray from the water. "If I could, I would…" she stopped in mid sentence as a Coast Guard ship came into view.

*****

"Alton, there's a man off the coast of Sable Island that needs help. He may loose his hand. You up for it?"

"Yeah sure. The weather's fine. It's not gonna be too hard. You comin' with us tonight, Richie?"

"No, I'm stuck here. It's my shift for answering calls."

"Well, I'd better go get my crew. See you when we get back."

Alton started down the hall only to bump into one of his crew.

"Bobby, we got a call off Sable Island. You up for it, little brother?"

"How many times have I told you? Don't call me little brother. You're all of five minutes older than me."

"Okay, okay. Well are you?"

"As always."

*****

"Fiona? Fi, are you okay?" Jarod asked.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," she said distracted. She stood there for a few seconds before running as fast as she could in the direction of the Crow's Nest.

"Hey! Where are you going? What's wrong?" Jarod yelled as he ran after her.

She was back at the Crow's Nest in five minutes with Jarod a few feet behind. She ran upstairs almost knocking over a few tables in the process.
Fiona burst in the room and ran for her computer bag. She quickly plugged in the modem and went online.

"Fiona, what was that?"

"Shh!" Parker stopped him.

"Why is this thing so slow?" Fi mumbled under her breath.

"Yes! I found it."

"Found what?" the both asked at the same time.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I kind of went into my own little world for a second there. This is a local newspaper article from the mid 70's. It may just be the key to finding Mr. Patten."

---

Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender

By RaajmdTMP

Part 8

FOUR LOST IN COAST GUARD ACCIDENT

A COAST GUARD HELICOPTER CRASHED OFF THE COAST OF SABLE ISLAND YESTERDAY. THERE WAS ONE SURVIVOR. LOCAL MAN, ROBERT BROWN, LOST HIS BROTHER ALTON. ALTON WAS THE PILOT OF THE DOOMED AIRCRAFT. MECHANICAL FAILURE IS SUSPECTED.

"How does this help us?"

"Guess who sent them to Sable Island."

"Mr. Patten," Jarod said understanding finally.

"How did you know about this?" asked Miss Parker.

"I'm not sure, it just sort of came to me. It used to happen a lot at the Centre. When we were down at the Memorial a Coast Guard ship went by. I guess it just triggered something."

"So what does this mean to us?"

"I would guess that if we find Robert Brown, we find Mr. Patten."

"Why do you say that?"

Fiona clicked "FIND RELATED ARTICLES." She scrolled through the results.

LOCAL MAN SENTENCED TO 15 YEARS FOR ATTEMPTED KIDNAPPING

"It looks as if our Mr. Brown has tried this before. The dates also show something significant. They match the time Mr. Patten moved to Blue Cove permanently."

"Brown must blame Mr. Patten for his brother's death," Parker said.

"Now you got it!"

The Centre
Blue Cove, DE

Broots rushed into Sydney's office carrying a folder.

"Syd, I was searching for Miss Powers in the mainframe. I didn't mean run into this. I probably typed in the wrong thing. But I found it and…"

"Calm down Broots. What did you find?"

"Um, it's an old project from the 80's. The rumor was that it was never successful but this says otherwise. There are no details. It just says it worked."

"What's it called, Broots?"

"It's… it's called RFG2. It's a branch of the Pretender Project."

"It's the second generation of Red Files."

"What?" Broots asked confused.

"I thought you said you knew about this."

"I only know it was an extension of the Pretender Project that supposedly failed."

"You didn't know what they were attempting to do?"

"No, I didn't. What were they doing?"

"You already know all that you should know about it, Broots. I was never sure it was successful. I always hoped it wasn't. All I can say is I'm glad Miss Parker is not here to find out about it."

~*****~

"There are at least half a dozen Robert Browns in the Gloucester phone book," Parker said holding a large telephone directory.

"Don't worry about that, Parker. I can find anything on this. The Internet can be a wonderful thing."

Fiona went into a people search and immediately came up with a match.

"Mr. Robert A. Brown. Born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1942. His address is right here. I'm gonna go check it out," Fiona said while getting up and shutting off the computer. Unfortunately, Miss Parker didn't see the address.

"Oh no, you're not. A thirteen-year-old girl is not going out in a strange city at 8:00pm to go investigate a potential kidnapper's house. No way," Parker said.

"Oh, come on. I may be thirteen years old but I can take care of myself. And besides, I've been a private in the Marines and about 20 other things since the Centre. I'll be all right. Trust me."

"Trust can kill you."

"Or set you free," Fiona added.

Parker was stunned by Fiona's comment. She hardly noticed Fiona bolt out the door. When she did it was too late. Fiona was gone. Miss Parker had no chance of catching her and she knew it. She had no idea where she was going. She ran to Jarod's room to talk to him.

"Jarod, Fiona just ran off to investigate Brown's house. I tried to stop her but…"

She couldn't say any more. She couldn't figure out what was bothering her so much. This was the first time she noticed the change in herself.

"Parker, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm sure the Centre taught her well. She is smart enough not to get into trouble," Jarod comforted her. It wasn't working.

"Jarod, you've seen a hint of what she can be like if she loses her temper."

"Yeah, I have. She's just like you. But you have to remember. Whenever you lost your temper you might have wanted to do something but rarely went through with it, for one reason or another. Like the time you thought my father killed your mother. You ran down there with every intention to kill him but you didn't."

Parker started to calm down. Jarod could tell she was still upset. He sat down next to her.

"I could go look for her if it would make you feel better."

Parker smiled a rare smile.

"Thank you, Jarod. I haven't really been myself lately. For some reason, I feel some sort of connection with Fiona."

"I do, too. Maybe it's because she grew up in the Centre."

Jarod was probably right but Miss Parker had a nagging suspicion that it went deeper than that.

"I better get going now." He started for the door.

"Jarod, be careful."

"I will. And I'll be back with Fiona."

Jarod ran to Parker's room and quickly found the address on Fi's computer. He decided to walk because he would have a better chance of finding Fiona. When he got there he walked quietly around the house. Someone tapped him on the back.

"Fiona, don't do that!"

"Funny seeing you here, Jarod."

"I could say the same thing about you. While we're up here we are responsible for you. We can't have you running off. Things like that can get you killed."

"I'm fine."

"That's not the point."

"Jarod, can we please stop with the lectures? Bob Brown isn't home now but I have reason to believe someone is. Come over here."

They walked over to a small window near the foundation.

"I can't see anything."

"That's the point, the windows are covered up."

"I'll check it out. You wait here."

"No, I'm coming, too."

"You're not going to change you're mind, are you?"

"No."

"Okay, come on."

They opened up the bulkhead in the backyard, went in and closed it behind them. Jarod picked the lock. He opened the door. There was a strong smell of aftershave lotion coming from the open door. Jarod didn't know what it was; Fiona did.
They walked into a basement filled with junk. There was a curtain in the corner. Fiona walked slowly over to it and pulled it aside. There was a small bed behind it.

"Mr. Patten!" Fiona whispered.

The sixty year old stirred in his sleep, his handcuffs clanging on the metal bed. He was considerably thinner than he was the last time Fi saw him. The fact that he had already been thin made this worse. He had a large scrape on his forehead covered with dried blood as if he had been hit hard over the head and it hadn't had a chance to heal yet. The sight of him in this condition made Fiona's eyes well up with tears.

"Wake up, Mr. Patten!" she said nudging his shoulder. "Jarod, get over here!"

He ran over and unlocked the handcuffs.

"What's going on?" Mr. Patten asked still half asleep. It took a little while for his eyes to focus.

"Fiona! What in the world are you doing here?"

"Duh! What does it look like? We're taking you home."

"Fiona, you shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous."

"Oh, come on, Mr. Patten. You must know what she is."

"Of course I know what she is, Jarod. How else would I be able to protect her?"

"How do you know who I am?" Jarod asked while taking a step back in shock.

"Let's just say a friend told me."

"Okay, we'll catch up on everything later. Right now we have to get you out of here," Fiona said, helping Patten up.

The Crow's Nest

Parker was pacing the room by now. She heard something out in the hall and ran to open the door. She was startled by what she saw. She had expected Fiona and Jarod but not Mr. Patten.

"Jarod, how in the world did you find him so easily?"

"I give all the credit to Fiona."

"Miss Parker? I thought your job was to catch Jarod. What are you doing here?"

"How do you know about Jarod?"

"Yeah and I would like a better explanation than 'a friend told me,'" Jarod added.

"Well, I guess you do need to hear the truth once in a while," He said sitting on the edge of the bed. "I've been helping the good people at the Centre for some time. I've known about Jarod for years. When Dr. Wolfman, the person who raised Fiona, told me you had escaped a few years back she knew she had to get Fi out as fast as possible. She helped her escape a little over a year ago. I've helped Fiona keep a low profile ever since."

"How much do you know about the Centre?"

"Only what is needed. I know that Fiona's special, even for a Pretender, but I don't know why. I know she was in that place most, if not all, of her life. I've tried to help her find her family but we don't have much to go on."

"I'll be glad to help you search," Jarod offered. Fiona's eyes lit up.

"You would? I don't know how to repay you, Jarod. For that and helping me find the only family I've ever known."

"You don't have to, Fiona. Just knowing you're free from that place is payment enough."

Robert Brown's House
3 Friend Street
Gloucester, MA
The next day

"Richie, I'm back," Brown said while walking down the stairs to the basement. He went over to the curtain and pulled it back.

"What the…?"

He turned around and knocked himself out banging into something hanging suspiciously low from the ceiling.

"Mr. Brown? Oh, Mr. Brown? Wake up!"

Brown woke up with a start when a bucket of water was dumped on his head.

"Ahhh! Who did this? Patten, if that's you, I'm gonna…"

"Um, I don't think so, Mr. Brown. You're not in any position to be making threats. You see, Richard Patten isn't here right now. But I am."

"Let me out of here!"

"You really would like that, wouldn't you? Well, okay I guess I, um, no. That wouldn't be fair. After all, you kept Richard Patten here for, let's see, three weeks. I have to keep you here at least that long to…"

"You're crazy! Let me go!"

"I'm crazy? I believe that is what you are. After all, you did kidnap a man that had absolutely nothing to do with your brother's death."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, come now, Bob. 20 years ago a Coast Guard helicopter crashes off the coast of Sable Island, one survivor. Does that ring a bell?"

"Yeah, so what? It's ancient history."

"Oh, it is. Okay, well what about the time you tried to kidnap good old Mr. Patten. That wasn't successful, though. Someone found out, you went to jail and Patten moved away."

"Okay, so I did. So what? People can change."

"But you didn't, did you? You waited fifteen years so you could get out of jail and try again. Patten was gone when you got out so you had to track him down. When you did, you ripped him from his family. Do you know how that feels? Never knowing if they're okay, if you'll ever see them again?"

"I do know what it feels like. My brother was killed in that crash and Richard Patten sent us there. He might as well have shot him in the back. Patten deserved what he got."

"It wasn't Patten's fault that your brother died. It's no one's. Your brother could have turned down the assignment if he didn't think it could be done. Don't argue with me about that. It's Coast Guard fact."

"You believe whatever you want. I'll admit it. I kidnapped him. It doesn't matter though. You can't prove anything. Now, let me out of here!" he yelled banging his handcuffs on the bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry but I can't do that. If I let you go now, no one be here to greet the police when they arrive. They'll be very eager to see you again after they here this."

'You believe whatever you want. I'll admit it. I kidnapped him. It doesn't matter though. You can't prove anything.'

"Apparently I can. Tape recorders, one of the many advantages to living in a technologically advanced society such as ours. I'd better be going now. Have fun… rotting in prison."

"Hey you, don't leave! Come back here!"

"Hey you! My name is Fiona and don't you ever forget it! You took away the only family I ever knew and you will pay for that, by spending the rest of your miserable life in prison. And the next time you think you can get away with messing with Richard Patten, or anyone else for that matter, you better think again. I'll be watching you; I'll always be watching you."

Fiona came out of the shadows for the first time. Robert Brown all but burst out laughing when he saw her.

"I was caught by a teenager? Oh, great, wait till the boys here about this one. I'll never live it down."

"Don't underestimate the mind of a teenager and don't underestimate me."

She walked up the stairs and slammed the door behind her.

---

Once a Pretender, Always a Pretender

By RaajmdTMP

Part 9

"I told you I could handle it. Here's the tape."

"I'm impressed, Fiona. From what I've heard, Jarod couldn't even top that sting."

"Thanks a lot, Parker," Jarod teased.

"I was just joking."

"Oh, I know. I was just giving you a hard time. Fiona, you did really well."

"Thank you, Jarod."

"Well, I better bring this down to the police. Parker, do you want the car?"

"Yeah, I'm way too tired to walk."

"I told you, you could of stayed in the room. You didn't sleep last night."

"I know you did. I came partly because I never saw a sting before and partly because I didn't want you and Fiona to disappear on me."

"We wouldn't leave you here."

"I wouldn't put it past you. You've done it before, you could have done it again."

"This is about that time in the Keys, isn't it?" Jarod asked jokingly.

"Now, where have I heard that before?"

Jarod laughed and tossed her the car keys. Fiona ran to the car ahead of Parker and waited impatiently for her to reach it. Once Parker put the keys in the ignition Fiona turned on the radio.

"Oh, I love this song! Listen to it, Parker."

"I'm listening, I'm listening."

When dreaming I'm guided through another world
Time and time again
At sunrise I fight to stay asleep
'Cause I don't want to leave the comfort of this place
'Cause there's a hunger, a longing to escape
From the life I live when I'm awake
So let's go there
Let's make our escape
Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?
Can you take me higher?
To the place where blind men see
Can you take me higher?
To the place with golden streets
Although I would like our world to change
It helps me to appreciate
Those nights and those dreams
But, my friend, I'd sacrifice all those nights
If I could make the Earth and my dreams the same
The only difference is
To let love replace all our hate
So let's go there
Let's make our escape
Come on, let's go there
Let's ask can we stay?
Up high I feel like I'm alive for the very first time
Up high I'm strong enough to take these dreams
And make them mine

"I like that. What's the band called?"

"Creed."

"Oh," Parker said trying to concentrate on the road. She could still hear one line from the song.

'Let's make our escape.'

It got her thinking, really thinking. About her life at the Centre. About Fiona and Jarod. She began to question why she stayed at the Centre. She knew who killed her mother. There was no real reason to be there anymore. Her "father" had hardly ever told her the truth. Make that never. Maybe she should start to listen to Jarod.

'Trust Jarod.'

"What did you say, Fiona?"

"I didn't say anything."

"Oh, okay."
"Miss Parker, are you all right?"

Parker yawned, "I'm fine. I just need to get some rest. I haven't had a good night sleep in a week."

They pulled up outside the Crow's Nest and got out.

"I didn't get much sleep either. I should rest, too."

When they were settled, they fell asleep fast. Jarod returned shortly after.

"The police were really thankful for…"

He saw that they were asleep, quietly left and went into his room.

"Hey, Jarod! How'd it go?"

"Great. Fiona got him to confess. The police should be there soon."

"It's really over?"

"Yes, but I think we should drive back, just to be safe. It's too risky for any of us to take a plane. Once the Centre finds out about this they'll be suspicious. They will be watching your house round the clock to see if there is any trace of me there. This whole situation seems like something I'd be involved in. Don't be surprised if a group of men in dark suits show up and start asking questions. They can't find out about Fiona. That's why I can't afford to leave any breadcrumbs this time."

"You don't have to anyway. The person you enjoy tormenting most is helping you. That should make your life a little easier."

"For a while, at least. The wisest thing to do for the time being would be to let Fiona stay with us at the inn. Since the Centre doesn't seem to be actively pursuing her she should be safe."

"Are you sure?" Mr. Patten questioned.

"Don't worry Mr. Patten. Miss Parker would never let anything happen to her."

Miss Parker lay tossing and turning in bed. She was having strange dreams.

~*****~

Fiona was in her bed resting. She was waiting for Dr. Wolfman to bring her her next Simulation. There was a noise behind her desk; something like metal clanging. She got up and walked over to it slowly. She bent down and saw two blue eyes staring back at her through the vent. She opened her mouth to scream but didn't because something caught her eye. The red light on the camera in her room had stopped blinking. It faded to black. She turned to the stranger.

"Did you do that?" she asked nervously.

He nodded excitedly, answering her question.

"Who are you?"

"Angelo."

"What do you want?"

Fiona was having trouble understanding why a grown man was crawling through the air ducts.

"To help."

"To help with what, Angelo?"

"Help Fiona find parents."

"You must not know much about me, Angelo. My parents are dead. That's why…"

"Not dead."

"What do you mean they're not dead? Where…"

"Not dead!" he repeated as he crawled away through the vents.
~*****~

Miss Parker woke up with a start.

'That was a strange dream!' she thought.

She tried to shake off the weird feeling the dream had left her with but couldn't. Her inner sense was at it again. This time it was giving her more information than she cared to know. Yet another Centre mystery. This time it was a young girl taken from her family. This girl knew even less about her family than Jarod.

Something strange certainly happened over the past week. She took a vacation to get away from it all. She visited her old school only to run into the very person she was trying to avoid… Jarod. She joined forces with him to find a teacher she had thirty years before and ended up finding another runaway Pretender with a story all her own. They would go back to Blue Cove soon but their lives had changed forever because of the discovery and it's not over yet.

"Are you okay, Miss Parker?" Fiona asked sleepily.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just had a weird dream."

"Can I ask you something, Parker?"

"What about?"

"My parents. Do you think Jarod can find them?"

Miss Parker looked at her, a little shock visible on her face. It was as if Fiona knew about the dream.

"I don't know, Fiona. I hope so."

"Thank you."

"What for?"

"Everything. You helped me find Mr. Patten. You helped me to realize that I'm not alone. There are others like me."

"Well, you're welcome, but there was no reason to thank me. You deserve to have a normal life, to do what other kids do."

"That's what Dr. Wolfman told me."

There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Oh, good, you're up. We have to leave soon."

"Okay, we'll start packing."

"Need any help?"

"I'm fine but Fiona may need help with all those pens."

"So I have a lot of pens. Jarod has a lot of PEZ and no one bothers him."

"That's not to say I haven't in the past. His discoveries can be… interesting subjects to talk about. Besides, I haven't seen Broots in a week and I need someone to pick on."

"Who's Broots?"

"He's one of the people who are in charge of bringing Jarod back to the Centre."

"Has he done as lovely a job as you have, Parker?" Fiona asked sarcastically.

"Fi, I'll get the pens. Mr. Patten wants to talk to you," Jarod said when he realized Parker was uncomfortable because of Fiona's question. Fiona walked out the door twirling a pen in her hand.

"Thanks, Jarod. I never thought it was possible to care for someone so much that you just met. I feel this strange link between us. It sometimes makes me uncomfortable that she seems to know things that there is no way she could find out about," she paused, thinking. "What are the odds that we run into someone like her? Someone like us?"

"I don't know. It's funny how everything leads back to the Centre."

"I'm surprised she has been so open with us."

"She understands us and she knows we understand her. She trusts us. Trust is the most valuable thing you'll ever earn."

"Yeah, especially from someone who's been through what she has. Jarod, I know it's probably a stupid question but, do you trust me?"

"You know, you'd think I wouldn't. I mean, we play this game of cat and mouse for five years but, for some strange reason, I do trust you."

"Why would you? After all I've done…"

"I guess it's something that survived from childhood. Do you still trust me?"

"I trusted you to take me traipsing across the country looking for Mr. Patten," she said, trying to be sarcastic. It wasn't working.

"Who am I kidding? Of course I trust you. The Centre may have tried to erase all we had growing up but they seemed to have failed. How else would you explain why I'm here?"

"Yeah, I'd like to see the look on your father's face if he found out you were vacationing in Gloucester with his favorite lab rat."

They laughed at the thought.

"For all they know I'm relaxing in my room at the lovely Beliveau Inn. No wonder we haven't caught you. You could really disappear. They have no clue where I am or who I'm with."

"Doesn't it feel comforting to know you're not being watched?"

"Oh, let's not start that again. I'll leave when I'm good and ready."

Jarod frowned.

"Come on, you know that when I do leave you'll be part of it."

"I will?"

"Of course. I may be the master of the hunt but I need help from the master if disguise."

Stanton Junior High
Third Floor Hall
Wednesday, November 29, 2000

Fiona was a little late for school. Blame Jarod. For once in his life he slept in. He was more comfortable than usual because he knew Parker wasn't chasing him. When Fi was at her locker her friend, Michelle, came to talk to her.

"Fi, where have you been? You missed the field trip on Monday."

"I had family obligations," Fiona said.

"But you live with Mr. P., don't you?"

"Exactly."

"Hurry up! Get to class!"

Michelle turned around at the familiar voice, "Hey, Mr. Patten, you're back! How're you doing?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm glad you're all right. A lot of us were worried about you."

Miss Parker and Jarod were watching the conversation from down the hall.

"It looks like things are back to normal around here," Jarod said. He never really had someone to talk to about his Pretends.

"That depends on what you consider normal."

"That's very true."

"I wonder what they call Fiona."

"That was random. You wonder what who calls Fiona?"

"The Centre, who else? We're Red Files, what is she?"

"I'll have to get back to you on that."

"Do you really believe you can find her parents?"

"If they're alive, I'll find them."

"They're alive."

"You sound very sure of yourself."

"I am. I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that they're close by."

Continued in 'In a Heartbeat'

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