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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Miss Parker had returned to Blue Cove right after Jarod had left her behind. She had gone through the events again and again while driving down from New York. There had been nothing she could’ve done differently she concluded. It had to be done.
But that didn’t change the fact that she felt awful and even a little scared. If in fact Jarod would stay away from now on – and his recent behavior indicated it – what would become of her? When she had decided that it was absolutely necessary for them to part ways, she had never thought about her own future: her life at the Centre or her life without him in it.
Parker was nevertheless determined to see it through. Whatever they would throw at her, she would withstand it. And she would uncover the truth about her mother’s plan on her own.
She arrived at the Centre late in the afternoon. Parker simply wanted to pick up some files and return home quickly.
When she was just about to leave, Lyle stood in her doorway. Her brother had entered, as usual, without knocking.
"Hey Sis! Can I have a word with you?"
"Make it a one-syllable word. I'm busy."
"Busy. Right. So, what were you doing today? Where have you been?”
“None of your business!” She sat back into her chair and rifled through some papers. Parker deliberately didn’t look up. She hoped her attitude would give that imbecile the hint.
Of course he wouldn’t get it. “Careful Parker. If you’ve got something on Jarod you should share! You know, I was just thinking that..."
Raising her eyebrows, she interrupted him, her voice colored with mock humor. "Thinking? You? Now that's an oxymoron if I ever heard one."
"Listen, that attitude is not helping. You and me, we're both only doing everything in the Centre's best interests, aren't we? So when you have something, you’d better tell us. This would be in YOUR interest. We are all in this together."
“Together, yeah sure. If you have something to say, which I seriously doubt, tell it to someone who gives a rat’s ass. Now, just get lost.” She went back to her paperwork, when she added in a clear ‘you still here?’ attitude: “Oh, and Lyle?"
“What?”
"Don't catch your tail in the door.” Her smile now was almost a real one. Parker had won, it was a small victory but it sure felt sweet. Lyle did not know what to reply, he turned and left rather quickly. His plan to aggravate her, to challenge her, had obviously backfired.
**************
Broots dreaded what was about to come next. Why did he always have to be the one to tell her the bad news?
It had been such a good day, as good as possible at the Centre. No real problems had occurred. Lyle, for once, hadn’t shown up in his tech-room at all. He had shut down his computer and he had looked forward to a nice quiet evening: a game of checkers with Debbie and there was a Star Trek marathon scheduled on NBC. But as always, things would go royally wrong for him.
At his car Broots dropped his keys. When he bent down to retrieve them, he overheard Willie talking into a phone while walking up to his car.
Raines’ personal sweeper was unmistakably talking to Lyle. And what Broots could hear was not good news.
"No Mr. Lyle. ….. Yes, I understand completely….. Yes, Mr. Lyle. …. I tell you, from now on, you’ll know where she goes before even she does."
Willie entered his car and drove off, thankfully without recognizing the eavesdropping Broots, who was still crouched on the floor hiding behind his own vehicle.
With an exasperated sigh Broots returned to the elevator and looked heavenward thinking to himself: 'For a split second I allowed myself to enjoy life. God, you ask me to sit down and then you just yank the chair away, don't ya?'
But the news he just overheard was not good. Miss Parker needed to know that.
***********************
Margaret glanced sidewards once again. Her son was driving and seemed lost in thought. She hadn’t asked him what exactly had happened between him and Parker, but it obviously bothered him deeply. She briefly wondered if he’d ever come to her to talk about it.
The truth was that they barely knew each other. Jarod had told them very little about his past so far, but – aside from Miss Parker – one other name had come up a few times: Sydney -- the man who had taken care of her son for so long. The man Jarod still called to ask about things he had trouble understanding.
As they drove into Connecticut, Margaret watched houses and trees pass by. She silently vowed to herself that things would finally change forever. Jarod had her, a father, a whole family now. He didn’t need anyone associated with the Centre anymore.
She was determined to bring Catherine’s plan into being. And in Margaret’s opinion, it was to their advantage that they didn’t need to rely on anyone in the Centre anymore. Catherine did, but it only had led to her failure and, ultimately, to her death.
The red-headed older woman once again pondered about her own plan. As much as she had liked and admired the late Mrs. Parker, Margaret had thought thirty years about it and had come to the conclusion that it had to be altered.
Catherine had put her faith into two young innocent children and one child not even born. She had believed that a twelve year old boy would be able to rewrite history. And she had trusted two men closely attached to the Centre: Fenigor and Jacob.
None of this mattered anymore. The plan could still work but now they were much better prepared for it. There was her son, a grown man and a fully experienced pretender; there was Ethan, with his unnatural gift and his devotion to his new family. And there were the notes Margaret always carried with her.
The contents of these notes were the result of one of Jarod’s own simulations. He wouldn’t know about it anymore of course. Jacob had been very careful. It had been a simulation Jacob did without the knowledge of the Centre or his own twin for that matter. And Sydney’s brother had been careful enough to suppress Jarod’s memory of doing it.
Tragically, Jacob had paid the price for it with his life, and so of course had Catherine. Unfortunately that could not be undone, but a few other things could, because the plan itself had never been uncovered.
Soon, Margaret thought, soon the truth will come unraveled and her son would finally end what should’ve never started.
They arrived at the rented house near Hartford, Connecticut. As Jarod pulled to a stop, the whole family was already standing on the front porch -- Ethan and Ryan sitting on the steps seemingly engaged in a brotherly argument, his father standing behind them, his left arm loosely around Emily’s waist.
Everybody seemed to talk at the same time about all sorts of things when they all entered the house, but Jarod couldn’t make out any of it. He was sure there were a hundred questions somewhere in the cacophony of voices but he wanted everyone to calm down before they’d get to the point. Somehow, he also enjoyed the rather chaotic reunion. His family was safe and happy, they all wanted to have his attention; he loved it.
Until a voice raised above all the others, loud enough to suddenly quieten everyone. The desperate tone cut right through Jarod like a knife would through butter.
“What about Miss Parker?”
Ethan.
Jarod wasn’t able to say anything at the moment, his mind was racing with emotions. He looked into a pair of questioning, reproachful - and therefore even more familiar looking - blue eyes.
Margaret took in the situation immediately and decided it was time for some explaining.
“Ethan my dear, let’s all sit down and then I’ll tell you all what this is about.”
Jarod’s half brother was about to raise an objection when Margaret put an arm around him and guided him to the living room.
“Don’t you worry about your sister. She is safe. Jarod just decided to change plans slightly. Nothing more.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No. Like I said, we changed plans. And now it’s time for me to tell you all about my – your mother’s plan.”
“I thought my sister is a part of it.”
“Well, she actually never was an ACTIVE part of it. That’s why there’s no need for her to become involved. But, please Ethan, let me tell my story, then you’ll understand.”
When everyone had found a seat, Margaret took a deep breath and looked into each and everyone’s eyes. She saw curiosity in the faces of Ryan and Emily. Charles’ eyes promised nothing but love and support. When her eyes met Jarod’s, she saw a kaleidoscope of indescribable emotions while Ethan’s look was still defiant.
And then she began to tell her story. .
Catherine’s original plan was not only to save all the children; first she wanted to save the most endangered ones -- Angelo, her daughter and Jarod -- with the help of the Major, Fenigor and Jacob.
But the central idea of her plan included Jarod's ability to invent a specific medication to be used on an impregnated woman; a medication that would actually disrupt the genius-sequence in the pretender DNA so there would be no more pretender ‘breeding’.
While Fenigor was lured to the ‘dark side’ via blackmail, Jacob of course was killed.
In between they had found out about some mysterious scrolls. They were both searching for them, but neither Margaret nor Catherine were ready to put everything on that card. Even though both women were faithfully catholic, neither of them was ready to put their faith before the safety of each of their children.
After the Centre had impregnated Catherine with Ethan, she had to change her own plan and side with evil incarnate. She had thought it the only way to get through it. Catherine intended to fake her death and put her life into the hands of the devil to escape hell. She’d wanted to give birth to Ethan and then get her daughter and leave the country for England.
She still wanted Jarod to complete the research and her Inner Sense had told her Miss Parker would be an essential part in it and also in finding and helping Ethan.
Catherine had been six months pregnant when Margaret had last heard from her.
The narrating woman took a break here and, similar to when she and her son had arrived an hour ago, everyone spoke up at the same time. Margaret rose her hands in a sign of defeat.
“Hey you all, quiet! I wasn’t finished yet, ok?” She picked up her purse and produced some neatly folded papers. The woman handed them to Jarod.
“Jarod, Jacob had you do a simulation. You don’t have any memory of it because he used a hypnosis-technique. These are the notes you’ve taken.”
Utterly confused, Jarod interrupted his mother again.
“I did what? When? Why did he suppress that memory?”
Charles had told Margaret that Jarod hated how the Centre had used his ‘gift’. Her son still suffered from the knowledge of how much harm his simulations had caused.
“Catherine, Jacob, none of us wanted to abuse your ability. But we knew you could do it and it was for a good cause. And he had to hide everything from Raines. If you wouldn’t remember it, there was no danger for you to involuntarily tell it to someone. It was a necessity for all of our sakes. Read the notes. I want you to go through it again and finish it. But I also thought you could add a twist.”
Jarod shook his head slightly as if to clear his mind. All this had to be sorted out. Before he could go through the details, his mother’s last words echoed in his mind.
“Mom, what twist? What are you thinking about?”
“As long as you, Emily and Ryan have that pretender gene, we will never be fully free. So I thought that maybe you could alter the interrupting sequence in a way that it would not only work on fetuses but could work on you NOW. You know, suppress the gene INSIDE you today. That way the Centre would have no reason anymore to be after you. We’d be finally free.”
“Mom, I don’t know if…”
“Take a look at them. Jacob believed it would work. I have faith in your ability, Jarod. I know you can do it.”
The others were looking rather flabbergasted at Margaret. Only Emily had a slightly hopeful smile on her face.
Margaret continued to make her case, telling them how excited and hopeful Jacob had been. She talked about them living their lives without the Centre on their heels. It was a beautiful image none of them could resist.
Almost none of them.
Ethan took it all with more than skepticism. He saw how Jarod’s initial resistance fell. Ethan understood very well that his older brother couldn’t really deny any of his mother’s wishes.
But what worried him was that his sister was left out completely here. His own Inner Sense had been rather quiet lately, but for the last two hours he heard it again. Not loud, and not clear, but what he could make of it was that Miss Parker was supposed to be here.
Finally the family had agreed on going to try Margaret’s idea. Jarod would do some more simulations, while the rest of them would be careful to check for any signs of Centre hunters.
Jarod had guessed that he would need a few days to complete the research. He had to get a few things from a lab first, and wanted to do that first thing in the morning.
For the moment, Jarod decided that dinner was in order so he offered to cook. The pretender had never cooked for his family before and looked forward to doing it. Emily as well as Ryan volunteered to help, which he accepted gratefully. It would be fun and talking to them would also keep him from contemplating about the whole day too much.
Charles looked after his three children with delight. He rose, kissed his wife and let her know that he’d be in the studio. It was time for the daily check on the Centre.
Margaret relaxed on the couch with closed eyes. She enjoyed the low voices now coming from the kitchen. She concluded that it was the most beautiful sound in the world.
Suddenly she remembered someone. Opening her eyes she looked around. Sure enough he was still there standing in front of the fireplace with his arms crossed. The reproachful look was something she had almost expected.
“Ethan, my dear, please don’t misunderstand me. I liked your mother, admired her, and I would have followed her through hell and back. But the truth is that she put her trust and the life of the children into the hands of people who did less to deserve it.”
“She was listening to her Inner Sense.” Ethan kept his voice low but his disapproval was palpable.
“Yes, but that gift also had her rather biased in some ways.”
“Biased?”
Margaret had known it would come to this. She had to explain her motives. But his unbelieving eyes made it hard for her. The woman rather unconsciously went into the offensive.
“She wanted to save all the children, yes. But what I see now is that it was HER daughter she wanted safe in the first place. She had planned to take her to England, keep her out of the quagmire. I don’t blame her for that, believe me. But all the while she had made MY son the central figure in the whole plan.”
“Margaret, don’t you see? Jarod was, hell he, well maybe Ryan too, are the last of us who actually aren’t in any life-threatening danger. While they wouldn’t hesitate with any of us, they’d never kill HIM. My mother knew that. She would not endanger him or anyone else knowingly just to save herself or Miss Parker!”
“Oh Ethan! I’m sorry if I sounded revengeful in any way, for I’m not. I only think that Jarod could do it now without any of them. You’ll be safe too from now on.”
The young man wasn’t ready to forget about Parker. “And my sister?”
Margaret emitted a heavy sigh. “Your sister has been in their clutches forever. The way I understand it, she’s had her chances, but she refused to take ‘em. Of course I don’t want her harmed in any way, but she is not an essential part anymore. Actually she has never been. Catherine only wanted to get her safe.”
Ethan interrupted: “My mother wanted her to find me, to tell me about her.”
“Well, she HAS found you, hasn’t she. And she could again. If her mind and heart is into it, she could. Let her decide Ethan. That way you can find out her real intent!”
“She’s my sister, Margaret! Do you really believe I’ll leave her behind or in the dark like that?”
“You’d better Ethan. For now anyway. Don’t make the same mistakes your mother did. Don’t put your trust and faith into people who’ll betray you!”
That was it, Ethan concluded. He wouldn’t allow anyone, not Margaret or anyone else, to even remotely accuse his mother of some wrong doing.
“Oh, but I should believe in you? You of all people! A mother and a father who weren’t even able to protect their own children? Parents who were hiding for thirty years and didn’t know how to rescue their own children?”
Margaret’s jaw dropped and her expression was one of profound misery. Ethan realized just about a second too late what had blurted out of his mouth. He intended to be harsh but never wanted to hurt her.
“I’m sorry. Margaret I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it! I was angry and wanted to lash out. Usually when I get this way I just tear my room into pieces.” In an attempt to lighten the mood, he added with a half-hearted smirk, “Or I get into a fist-fight with Ryan. A few bruises at his expense always seem to do my temper wonders!”
His playful grin indeed did help a bit. Margaret knew that she’d been unfair herself in projecting decade old grudges on the mother of this innocent young man. She shot Ethan a scolding look but added in an almost longing tone.
“You really are your mother’s son, honey! I could never be angry with her either. And you’re also your sister’s brother. You know, I asked Ryan once where the bruises on his arm came from, not to mention his blue eye a few weeks back. Though he didn’t tell me, I had a faint idea. Somehow it seems to be always the same. You and Ryan. Jarod and her.”
Ethan was utterly confused now. “What do you mean?”
“Years before you were born, they met for the first time. Jarod and your sister I mean. And what Catherine had told me, they’d reacted to each other immediately. Depending on circumstances, it would be a reaction like either milk and honey or like oil and fire.”
Anticipating his inquisitive look, Margaret continued. “Your mother told me that those two together were a sight to be seen. It warmed my heart to hear about it. But she also told me that your sister would get angry rather quickly and Jarod would be the first one, most of the time the only one, she could project that anger at. He of course would take it, and they – so Catherine would tell me – would fight. Miss Parker was apparently more than once successful and Jarod would show up with a blue eye or a few bruises. Catherine told me that, the first time she’d seen him with a black eye, she almost went berserk. Of course she had thought he’d been beaten by the Centre ghouls. I never forget the twisted smile on your mother’s face when she told me the truth. That, after interrogating Jarod for hours, her daughter had come forward and told her. It must be in the genes Ethan, the Parkers and the Taylors at each other’s throat.”
Jarod stood in the adjoining door. He had wanted to ask his mother about her likes or dislikes of some spices. Hearing the last few words made his heart heavy. He remembered well those incidents when Miss Parker was fighting with him. But what almost brought him to tears was Catherine’s comparison of their friendship as being like ‘milk and honey’. Yes, Jarod thought, that was it. For him the ‘oil and fire’ part came later, much later.
Because, even when he had returned to his room with a split lip he had enjoyed every minute he had spent with the little girl who was his best friend. Back then the light of his life, well, the honey in his milk.
Jarod closed the door undetected. He didn’t want to talk about it yet to anyone. This was something he had to go through alone for now. But the pretender sure wished he could call Sydney about it. Maybe he should?
But that didn’t change the fact that she felt awful and even a little scared. If in fact Jarod would stay away from now on – and his recent behavior indicated it – what would become of her? When she had decided that it was absolutely necessary for them to part ways, she had never thought about her own future: her life at the Centre or her life without him in it.
Parker was nevertheless determined to see it through. Whatever they would throw at her, she would withstand it. And she would uncover the truth about her mother’s plan on her own.
She arrived at the Centre late in the afternoon. Parker simply wanted to pick up some files and return home quickly.
When she was just about to leave, Lyle stood in her doorway. Her brother had entered, as usual, without knocking.
"Hey Sis! Can I have a word with you?"
"Make it a one-syllable word. I'm busy."
"Busy. Right. So, what were you doing today? Where have you been?”
“None of your business!” She sat back into her chair and rifled through some papers. Parker deliberately didn’t look up. She hoped her attitude would give that imbecile the hint.
Of course he wouldn’t get it. “Careful Parker. If you’ve got something on Jarod you should share! You know, I was just thinking that..."
Raising her eyebrows, she interrupted him, her voice colored with mock humor. "Thinking? You? Now that's an oxymoron if I ever heard one."
"Listen, that attitude is not helping. You and me, we're both only doing everything in the Centre's best interests, aren't we? So when you have something, you’d better tell us. This would be in YOUR interest. We are all in this together."
“Together, yeah sure. If you have something to say, which I seriously doubt, tell it to someone who gives a rat’s ass. Now, just get lost.” She went back to her paperwork, when she added in a clear ‘you still here?’ attitude: “Oh, and Lyle?"
“What?”
"Don't catch your tail in the door.” Her smile now was almost a real one. Parker had won, it was a small victory but it sure felt sweet. Lyle did not know what to reply, he turned and left rather quickly. His plan to aggravate her, to challenge her, had obviously backfired.
**************
Broots dreaded what was about to come next. Why did he always have to be the one to tell her the bad news?
It had been such a good day, as good as possible at the Centre. No real problems had occurred. Lyle, for once, hadn’t shown up in his tech-room at all. He had shut down his computer and he had looked forward to a nice quiet evening: a game of checkers with Debbie and there was a Star Trek marathon scheduled on NBC. But as always, things would go royally wrong for him.
At his car Broots dropped his keys. When he bent down to retrieve them, he overheard Willie talking into a phone while walking up to his car.
Raines’ personal sweeper was unmistakably talking to Lyle. And what Broots could hear was not good news.
"No Mr. Lyle. ….. Yes, I understand completely….. Yes, Mr. Lyle. …. I tell you, from now on, you’ll know where she goes before even she does."
Willie entered his car and drove off, thankfully without recognizing the eavesdropping Broots, who was still crouched on the floor hiding behind his own vehicle.
With an exasperated sigh Broots returned to the elevator and looked heavenward thinking to himself: 'For a split second I allowed myself to enjoy life. God, you ask me to sit down and then you just yank the chair away, don't ya?'
But the news he just overheard was not good. Miss Parker needed to know that.
***********************
Margaret glanced sidewards once again. Her son was driving and seemed lost in thought. She hadn’t asked him what exactly had happened between him and Parker, but it obviously bothered him deeply. She briefly wondered if he’d ever come to her to talk about it.
The truth was that they barely knew each other. Jarod had told them very little about his past so far, but – aside from Miss Parker – one other name had come up a few times: Sydney -- the man who had taken care of her son for so long. The man Jarod still called to ask about things he had trouble understanding.
As they drove into Connecticut, Margaret watched houses and trees pass by. She silently vowed to herself that things would finally change forever. Jarod had her, a father, a whole family now. He didn’t need anyone associated with the Centre anymore.
She was determined to bring Catherine’s plan into being. And in Margaret’s opinion, it was to their advantage that they didn’t need to rely on anyone in the Centre anymore. Catherine did, but it only had led to her failure and, ultimately, to her death.
The red-headed older woman once again pondered about her own plan. As much as she had liked and admired the late Mrs. Parker, Margaret had thought thirty years about it and had come to the conclusion that it had to be altered.
Catherine had put her faith into two young innocent children and one child not even born. She had believed that a twelve year old boy would be able to rewrite history. And she had trusted two men closely attached to the Centre: Fenigor and Jacob.
None of this mattered anymore. The plan could still work but now they were much better prepared for it. There was her son, a grown man and a fully experienced pretender; there was Ethan, with his unnatural gift and his devotion to his new family. And there were the notes Margaret always carried with her.
The contents of these notes were the result of one of Jarod’s own simulations. He wouldn’t know about it anymore of course. Jacob had been very careful. It had been a simulation Jacob did without the knowledge of the Centre or his own twin for that matter. And Sydney’s brother had been careful enough to suppress Jarod’s memory of doing it.
Tragically, Jacob had paid the price for it with his life, and so of course had Catherine. Unfortunately that could not be undone, but a few other things could, because the plan itself had never been uncovered.
Soon, Margaret thought, soon the truth will come unraveled and her son would finally end what should’ve never started.
They arrived at the rented house near Hartford, Connecticut. As Jarod pulled to a stop, the whole family was already standing on the front porch -- Ethan and Ryan sitting on the steps seemingly engaged in a brotherly argument, his father standing behind them, his left arm loosely around Emily’s waist.
Everybody seemed to talk at the same time about all sorts of things when they all entered the house, but Jarod couldn’t make out any of it. He was sure there were a hundred questions somewhere in the cacophony of voices but he wanted everyone to calm down before they’d get to the point. Somehow, he also enjoyed the rather chaotic reunion. His family was safe and happy, they all wanted to have his attention; he loved it.
Until a voice raised above all the others, loud enough to suddenly quieten everyone. The desperate tone cut right through Jarod like a knife would through butter.
“What about Miss Parker?”
Ethan.
Jarod wasn’t able to say anything at the moment, his mind was racing with emotions. He looked into a pair of questioning, reproachful - and therefore even more familiar looking - blue eyes.
Margaret took in the situation immediately and decided it was time for some explaining.
“Ethan my dear, let’s all sit down and then I’ll tell you all what this is about.”
Jarod’s half brother was about to raise an objection when Margaret put an arm around him and guided him to the living room.
“Don’t you worry about your sister. She is safe. Jarod just decided to change plans slightly. Nothing more.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No. Like I said, we changed plans. And now it’s time for me to tell you all about my – your mother’s plan.”
“I thought my sister is a part of it.”
“Well, she actually never was an ACTIVE part of it. That’s why there’s no need for her to become involved. But, please Ethan, let me tell my story, then you’ll understand.”
When everyone had found a seat, Margaret took a deep breath and looked into each and everyone’s eyes. She saw curiosity in the faces of Ryan and Emily. Charles’ eyes promised nothing but love and support. When her eyes met Jarod’s, she saw a kaleidoscope of indescribable emotions while Ethan’s look was still defiant.
And then she began to tell her story. .
Catherine’s original plan was not only to save all the children; first she wanted to save the most endangered ones -- Angelo, her daughter and Jarod -- with the help of the Major, Fenigor and Jacob.
But the central idea of her plan included Jarod's ability to invent a specific medication to be used on an impregnated woman; a medication that would actually disrupt the genius-sequence in the pretender DNA so there would be no more pretender ‘breeding’.
While Fenigor was lured to the ‘dark side’ via blackmail, Jacob of course was killed.
In between they had found out about some mysterious scrolls. They were both searching for them, but neither Margaret nor Catherine were ready to put everything on that card. Even though both women were faithfully catholic, neither of them was ready to put their faith before the safety of each of their children.
After the Centre had impregnated Catherine with Ethan, she had to change her own plan and side with evil incarnate. She had thought it the only way to get through it. Catherine intended to fake her death and put her life into the hands of the devil to escape hell. She’d wanted to give birth to Ethan and then get her daughter and leave the country for England.
She still wanted Jarod to complete the research and her Inner Sense had told her Miss Parker would be an essential part in it and also in finding and helping Ethan.
Catherine had been six months pregnant when Margaret had last heard from her.
The narrating woman took a break here and, similar to when she and her son had arrived an hour ago, everyone spoke up at the same time. Margaret rose her hands in a sign of defeat.
“Hey you all, quiet! I wasn’t finished yet, ok?” She picked up her purse and produced some neatly folded papers. The woman handed them to Jarod.
“Jarod, Jacob had you do a simulation. You don’t have any memory of it because he used a hypnosis-technique. These are the notes you’ve taken.”
Utterly confused, Jarod interrupted his mother again.
“I did what? When? Why did he suppress that memory?”
Charles had told Margaret that Jarod hated how the Centre had used his ‘gift’. Her son still suffered from the knowledge of how much harm his simulations had caused.
“Catherine, Jacob, none of us wanted to abuse your ability. But we knew you could do it and it was for a good cause. And he had to hide everything from Raines. If you wouldn’t remember it, there was no danger for you to involuntarily tell it to someone. It was a necessity for all of our sakes. Read the notes. I want you to go through it again and finish it. But I also thought you could add a twist.”
Jarod shook his head slightly as if to clear his mind. All this had to be sorted out. Before he could go through the details, his mother’s last words echoed in his mind.
“Mom, what twist? What are you thinking about?”
“As long as you, Emily and Ryan have that pretender gene, we will never be fully free. So I thought that maybe you could alter the interrupting sequence in a way that it would not only work on fetuses but could work on you NOW. You know, suppress the gene INSIDE you today. That way the Centre would have no reason anymore to be after you. We’d be finally free.”
“Mom, I don’t know if…”
“Take a look at them. Jacob believed it would work. I have faith in your ability, Jarod. I know you can do it.”
The others were looking rather flabbergasted at Margaret. Only Emily had a slightly hopeful smile on her face.
Margaret continued to make her case, telling them how excited and hopeful Jacob had been. She talked about them living their lives without the Centre on their heels. It was a beautiful image none of them could resist.
Almost none of them.
Ethan took it all with more than skepticism. He saw how Jarod’s initial resistance fell. Ethan understood very well that his older brother couldn’t really deny any of his mother’s wishes.
But what worried him was that his sister was left out completely here. His own Inner Sense had been rather quiet lately, but for the last two hours he heard it again. Not loud, and not clear, but what he could make of it was that Miss Parker was supposed to be here.
Finally the family had agreed on going to try Margaret’s idea. Jarod would do some more simulations, while the rest of them would be careful to check for any signs of Centre hunters.
Jarod had guessed that he would need a few days to complete the research. He had to get a few things from a lab first, and wanted to do that first thing in the morning.
For the moment, Jarod decided that dinner was in order so he offered to cook. The pretender had never cooked for his family before and looked forward to doing it. Emily as well as Ryan volunteered to help, which he accepted gratefully. It would be fun and talking to them would also keep him from contemplating about the whole day too much.
Charles looked after his three children with delight. He rose, kissed his wife and let her know that he’d be in the studio. It was time for the daily check on the Centre.
Margaret relaxed on the couch with closed eyes. She enjoyed the low voices now coming from the kitchen. She concluded that it was the most beautiful sound in the world.
Suddenly she remembered someone. Opening her eyes she looked around. Sure enough he was still there standing in front of the fireplace with his arms crossed. The reproachful look was something she had almost expected.
“Ethan, my dear, please don’t misunderstand me. I liked your mother, admired her, and I would have followed her through hell and back. But the truth is that she put her trust and the life of the children into the hands of people who did less to deserve it.”
“She was listening to her Inner Sense.” Ethan kept his voice low but his disapproval was palpable.
“Yes, but that gift also had her rather biased in some ways.”
“Biased?”
Margaret had known it would come to this. She had to explain her motives. But his unbelieving eyes made it hard for her. The woman rather unconsciously went into the offensive.
“She wanted to save all the children, yes. But what I see now is that it was HER daughter she wanted safe in the first place. She had planned to take her to England, keep her out of the quagmire. I don’t blame her for that, believe me. But all the while she had made MY son the central figure in the whole plan.”
“Margaret, don’t you see? Jarod was, hell he, well maybe Ryan too, are the last of us who actually aren’t in any life-threatening danger. While they wouldn’t hesitate with any of us, they’d never kill HIM. My mother knew that. She would not endanger him or anyone else knowingly just to save herself or Miss Parker!”
“Oh Ethan! I’m sorry if I sounded revengeful in any way, for I’m not. I only think that Jarod could do it now without any of them. You’ll be safe too from now on.”
The young man wasn’t ready to forget about Parker. “And my sister?”
Margaret emitted a heavy sigh. “Your sister has been in their clutches forever. The way I understand it, she’s had her chances, but she refused to take ‘em. Of course I don’t want her harmed in any way, but she is not an essential part anymore. Actually she has never been. Catherine only wanted to get her safe.”
Ethan interrupted: “My mother wanted her to find me, to tell me about her.”
“Well, she HAS found you, hasn’t she. And she could again. If her mind and heart is into it, she could. Let her decide Ethan. That way you can find out her real intent!”
“She’s my sister, Margaret! Do you really believe I’ll leave her behind or in the dark like that?”
“You’d better Ethan. For now anyway. Don’t make the same mistakes your mother did. Don’t put your trust and faith into people who’ll betray you!”
That was it, Ethan concluded. He wouldn’t allow anyone, not Margaret or anyone else, to even remotely accuse his mother of some wrong doing.
“Oh, but I should believe in you? You of all people! A mother and a father who weren’t even able to protect their own children? Parents who were hiding for thirty years and didn’t know how to rescue their own children?”
Margaret’s jaw dropped and her expression was one of profound misery. Ethan realized just about a second too late what had blurted out of his mouth. He intended to be harsh but never wanted to hurt her.
“I’m sorry. Margaret I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean it! I was angry and wanted to lash out. Usually when I get this way I just tear my room into pieces.” In an attempt to lighten the mood, he added with a half-hearted smirk, “Or I get into a fist-fight with Ryan. A few bruises at his expense always seem to do my temper wonders!”
His playful grin indeed did help a bit. Margaret knew that she’d been unfair herself in projecting decade old grudges on the mother of this innocent young man. She shot Ethan a scolding look but added in an almost longing tone.
“You really are your mother’s son, honey! I could never be angry with her either. And you’re also your sister’s brother. You know, I asked Ryan once where the bruises on his arm came from, not to mention his blue eye a few weeks back. Though he didn’t tell me, I had a faint idea. Somehow it seems to be always the same. You and Ryan. Jarod and her.”
Ethan was utterly confused now. “What do you mean?”
“Years before you were born, they met for the first time. Jarod and your sister I mean. And what Catherine had told me, they’d reacted to each other immediately. Depending on circumstances, it would be a reaction like either milk and honey or like oil and fire.”
Anticipating his inquisitive look, Margaret continued. “Your mother told me that those two together were a sight to be seen. It warmed my heart to hear about it. But she also told me that your sister would get angry rather quickly and Jarod would be the first one, most of the time the only one, she could project that anger at. He of course would take it, and they – so Catherine would tell me – would fight. Miss Parker was apparently more than once successful and Jarod would show up with a blue eye or a few bruises. Catherine told me that, the first time she’d seen him with a black eye, she almost went berserk. Of course she had thought he’d been beaten by the Centre ghouls. I never forget the twisted smile on your mother’s face when she told me the truth. That, after interrogating Jarod for hours, her daughter had come forward and told her. It must be in the genes Ethan, the Parkers and the Taylors at each other’s throat.”
Jarod stood in the adjoining door. He had wanted to ask his mother about her likes or dislikes of some spices. Hearing the last few words made his heart heavy. He remembered well those incidents when Miss Parker was fighting with him. But what almost brought him to tears was Catherine’s comparison of their friendship as being like ‘milk and honey’. Yes, Jarod thought, that was it. For him the ‘oil and fire’ part came later, much later.
Because, even when he had returned to his room with a split lip he had enjoyed every minute he had spent with the little girl who was his best friend. Back then the light of his life, well, the honey in his milk.
Jarod closed the door undetected. He didn’t want to talk about it yet to anyone. This was something he had to go through alone for now. But the pretender sure wished he could call Sydney about it. Maybe he should?
