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Chapter or Story
Blackout
By Gemini-M
Chapter 2
The meeting
As agreed, Miss Parker had left her office early, pretending she had developed one of her migraines. During her drive home, her mind was flooded with possible motives for Jarod’s mysterious phone calls. She hated to admit it, but she was concerned for the Lab Rat. After speaking with Sydney and perceiving his fears, she began to feel very uneasy. She had ignored the feelings that had come over her when she had talked to Jarod, but now the voices were telling her that something was definitely very wrong. Jarod sounded different, this was not one of his prank calls. Since they had returned from the Island, Jarod’s behavior had change. He was leaving fewer clues for her team to follow and his mischievous pranks and midnight calls were almost non-existent. She now feared that eventually he would disappear forever. Even though she hated herself for having these feelings, she craved for his attention and many nights she stayed awake, waiting for his call. She knew she would never acknowledge these feelings to anyone, but things had changed between Jarod and her. Images of their conversation in the back of the limousine at the airport in Glasgow flashed before her eyes.
“We have been through a lot together you and me, from when we were kids at the Center to the last couple of days. I know that rarely our allegiance is the same, but I have always felt, I’ve always known that there is more to our lives that I ran and you chase.”
“Maybe we do what we have to just to get by in this life Jarod.”
“Maybe we both deserve something more.”
“Just forget what happened on that Island; forget that moment of weakness. Turning points only come when you have something to turn to.”
“Sorry, this isn’t the different ending you were looking for. It is just the way the damn story goes.”
She vividly remembered Jarod reaching out to her and pleading with his eyes to take that turning point. The look of sadness and defeat in Jarod’s face, as she rudely pulled her hands away would always haunt her. She quickly shook her head to bring herself out of her reverie. This was no time to deal with these emotions; she needed a clear mind to find the underlying cause of this puzzling situation.
Finally, she was home; she quickly brought her little sports car to a sudden stop, but not before she had crashed into her garbage can. She shore at the stupid object and ran to her front door with keys ready. As soon as she entered the dimly lid room, she could see in the distance the flashing light of her answering machine. She raced to the machine, pushed the bottom, and said a silent prayer that there would be a message from her friend.
“Hello Miss Parker… there was a long pause. I am sorry I hung up on you earlier; I had problems with my phone. I tried to call Sydney, but... never mind. He sounded exhausted and unfocused. After we got back from the Island, I went back to try to pick up my mother’s trail, but it was too late. With deep sadness in his voice he said, I lost her again…. I just got back a week ago.... I found something that belonged to your mother. There was a long silence again. She could hear him in the background looking for something. I am sorry… I thought I lost it, but here it is. When I went back to Ocee’s cottage looking for some clue about my mother, I found a journal that belonged to your mother. I think my mother gave it to Ocee for safekeeping. Wait a minute. She could hear him coughing in the background. After a few minutes, he was back. He sounded breathless and his voice was almost inaudible. I didn’t want to send it to you at the Centre for obvious reasons. I will try to have a friend take it to you personally… I do not know when. I hope it will tell you something about your mother’s plan. Please let me know if it says anything about my Mom…. Miss Parker... I'm sorry for being such a pain all the time. No matter what happens you will always be my best friend... I... I have to go now.” The call was over.
“Wait, Jarod” Unconsciously Miss Parker called to him, with tears trailing down her checks and a burning sensation in her throat. An alarming feeling had come over her as she listened to the message. Something was very wrong. The idea that he had found her mother’s journal did not seem important now. Something frightened her ; she had an awful feeling that she would never see Jarod again. She quickly looked at her watch. It was 5:30 p.m. Sydney and Broots would be here soon. She wiped the tears from her face and made her way to the kitchen to prepare some sandwiches and salad for her guests. The minutes seemed like hours and Jarod's message kept repeating in her mind.
Finally, she heard a car pull up in her driveway. She ran across the living room and pulled her front door open. As Sydney was approaching the steps to her front porch, Broots was just arriving and parking his little Honda behind Sydney's car. “Hi Sydney; come in please.” Miss Parker led the older man into her house and helped him out of his coat. She moved to the front door again and with an irritated tone in her voice called to Broots, “Would you get your butt up here, we don’t have all night.” Broots, raced up the steps and clumsily tripped on the last step almost crash landing in Miss Parker’s porch. Miss Parker rolled her eyes and uttered with sarcasm, “Haven’t you learned how to walk yet?” “S…sorry Miss Parker, Am I late?. I had to take Debbie over to my brother’s house and the traffic, Oh My God! It was horrible; you know how it is on Fridays, everyone goes nuts and it’s like a zoo out there.” “Come on Broots, get in here, we don’t want the whole world to find out about our little meeting.”
Miss Parker closed the door behind Broots and after hanging Sydney’s coat directed both visitors to the answering machine. “Sydney, Broots, listen to this message from Jarod, I think our Boy Wonder is in trouble.” Both men listened to the message with deep concentration. When it was over, they glanced at each other and at Miss Parker with confusion.
“What should we do Sydney?” Miss Parker and Broots both asked simultaneously. After a few seconds, Miss Parker broke the silence, “Sydney, Jarod said in his message that he tried to reach you. Did you check your e-mail?”
“Yes Miss Parker I checked, but there was nothing from Jarod, and he did not leave any messages at my home either. I do not understand why he said that in his message. Jarod sounded different, almost disoriented.” Sydney hated this feeling of helplessness, but he knew he was not alone. Miss Parker was trying to hide her concern behind her Ice Queen facade, but Sydney knew her very well and could sense that this message from Jarod had affected her deeply.
Sydney began to pace nervously around the room , then suddenly stopped and moved quickly to the answering machine, "Miss Parker what time was the message from Jarod recorded?"
Miss Parker played the message over again, this time making a note of the date and time. "Sydney, the call was made at 1:00 p.m. today."
Sydney looked at his watch and then at Miss Parker and Broots with apprehension. "That was over 5 hours ago. If Jarod is ill or hurt and he has not sought medical attention.... This is not good."
Broots looked at Sydney and Miss Parker and whispered, "Do you think that maybe Mr. Lyle found Jarod?"
Both Sydney and Miss Parker gave him a menacing look. "No Broots, I don't think so; Jarod's call was made around the time I ran into Lyle on my way to the Computer Lab, when I went looking for you. Besides, if Mr. Lyle had found Jarod he would not waste any time in bringing him in to show off his victory." Sydney felt his concern give away to anger.
"O.K., this is not getting us anywhere; We need to find a way to trace this call or go over the latest clues Jarod left behind, and try to get a location." Miss Parker suddenly addressed both men.
"But, but... M Miss Parker, Jarod has not sent us any clues for over a month, and from what he says on the message he just got back from that Island; Is that the Island you both where in together? You never told us what happened there."
Miss Parker suddenly gave Broots a piercing look that made him go pale and speechless. Sydney decided at that precise moment to step in before the techie would lose a limb. "Miss Parker, what if we get Angelo to help us. After all he was the one who first sensed Jarod was in trouble, and as I recall , the last time Jarod was in danger from that guy, Bartlett, he also warned us."
"Yes Sydney, I think that's a good idea, but we need to do this quickly and without Lyle and Raines knowledge. Lyle would do anything to get to Jarod. I just hope we are not too late; Oh My God, with all this talking, I forgot about dinner. Please lets go to the kitchen and we can continue this while we eat something." Miss Parker led both men to the kitchen table, where she had set sandwiches, salad and drinks for all of them.
As they were finishing their dinner, the phone rang. The three occupants at the table looked at each other in shock, and Broots stammered out, " D... do you think is Jarod again? "
Miss Parker jumped out of her chair as if she was on a spring and ran to the phone. "Jarod ?" Her response was almost a plea.
"Well hello Sis; Sorry to disappoint you. Where you expecting a call from JAROD?"
"What the hell do you want Lyle?
"You did not answer my question."
"NO, I WAS NOT, Miss Parker took a deep breath to calm herself down before arousing any suspicion, Somebody is been making prank calls almost every night, and I thought it might be Jarod. NOW, WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"Have you talked to Sydney this evening? I need to talk to him and cannot reach him at his home or cell phone."
"No, I have not seen him since this morning at the Centre; What do you need Sydney for?"
"Well dear sis; It seems that our other Lab Rat has escaped."
"Lyle, What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Angelo; HE'S GONE!"
"WHAT?" Now it was Miss Parker's turn to go pale with shock. At this point Sydney and Broots were both standing at the kitchen entrance, looking at Miss Parker with extreme curiosity.
"Yes, you heard right. Angelo is gone and our father is going ballistic. He wants everyone back here at once to search for the missing rat." With that Lyle disconnected the call.
"GREAT, That's all we need it." Miss Parker shouted and slammed the receiver down.
"Miss Parker, What happened?" Sydney was the first one to approach Parker to inquire about the phone call.
"Well, as if things were not complicated enough, Our friend, Angelo has gone AWOL, and Raines has ordered everyone back ASAP to start the search."
"Miss Parker, What are we going to do now; What about Jarod ?" Miss Parker could see that Broots was deeply concerned about Jarod as well. Even though, Broots didn't know Jarod very well , he had grown to like and respect the wayward pretender, specially after Jarod had helped him in his daughter's custody case. Broots was a good man and a good friend. Miss Parker fondly put her hand on Broots' shoulder to acknowledge his concern.
"Don't worry Broots, we'll think of something, but at the moment we have to get back to the Centre and hope that Angelo is found. We need his help to find Jarod." Miss Parker spoke in a tone that was very different from her usual demeanor. This was not the huntress anymore, this was a concerned friend.
At that exact moment, there was a loud knock at the front door. The three occupants jumped ,and looked at each other as if they had been caught in the middle of a police raid. Broots dropped the can of soda he was holding and ran to the kitchen to hide in the pantry, while Sydney just stood there waving his hands and whispering to Miss Parker, "Where should I hide Parker?" Miss Parker quickly pushed Sydney up the stairs, "Go... hurry Sydney, just go up and hide in my room somewhere."
When the coast was clear, she took a deep breath , straighten her skirt ,combed her hair with her hands and went to answer the door. On the way to the door she told herself," If I live through this night Jarod, you owe my big time."
As she open the door, she was greeted with a hug around her waist that almost squeezed the air out of her. For a moment, she could not find her voice, but finally she screamed, "OH MY GOD, ANGELO! How did you find us.? Come in hurry, everyone at the Centre is looking for you; Sydney, Broots come back. It's Angelo!"
Sydney came running down the stairs and Broots entered the room with a broom in his hand. They both blinked in surprise and Miss Parker could not hold back a chuckle at the look of shock in both their faces. "Well boys, It looks like we're back in business, and Broots what are you planning to do with my broom?" Broots gave her a nervous smile and placed the broom against the wall.
Angelo stood next to Miss Parker holding her hand firmly and scanning the surroundings nervously. When he saw Sydney, he ran to him and began begging uncontrollably, "Sydney REFUGE. Must help Jarod, please."
Sydney placed his arm around Angelo's shoulder and guided him to the nearest couch. "Angelo, don't worry we'll help Jarod: That's why we are here." Angelo finally met Sydney's eyes, and smiled slightly. "Now Angelo, can you help us find Jarod.?" Angelo looked at Miss Parker and then at Sydney and nodded his head slowly.
"Miss Parker do you have anything that belongs to Jarod? We need to use Angelo's empathic abilities, and hope that he can give us some clues on Jarod's whereabouts."
Miss Parker dashed to her room and returned after a few minutes with a sweater in her hands. "This belongs to Jarod, he lent it to me when we were on the Island." Broots looked at Miss Parker with confusion, but Sydney could not erase the smirk off his face. Miss Parker just looked back at them with irritation and shouted, "WHAT?"
"N...Nothing Miss Parker", Broots stuttered and quickly moved next to Sydney and Angelo.
Sydney handed the sweater to Angelo with a silent prayer for Jarod's sake. Angelo held the sweater between his hands quietly for a few minutes and then jolted out of the couch screaming, "No...no, friend wants to leave...Tired, sad, don't want to be alone anymore... It's dark, cold....very cold. Wants to sleep." Angelo choked on a sob, "Sydney hurry, hurry... Friend wants to leave. No more time!"
Sydney blinked back the tears that had formed in his eyes after hearing Angelo's revelation. He was very frightened. What if they were too late? He approached Angelo very slowly and asked him, "Angelo, do you know where Jarod is? Please Angelo, can you find him.?" Angelo was shivering uncontrollably, he looked up at Sydney's face and whispered, "Angelo knows"
Miss Parker let out a sigh of relief, but quickly hid her emotions from the others, "O.K., Sydney you need to go back to the Centre to keep Lyle and Raines off our backs; If they ask you about Broots, tell them that Broots is out of town with his daughter, and you could not reach him. As for me, I'll deal with Lyle and Raines later. Broots; You, Angelo and I will go find Jarod. We will go in your car."
Sydney was not very happy with Miss Parker's orders, he wanted to see for himself that Jarod was alright. "Miss Parker, what are you planning to do once you find Jarod?"
"I'm planning to do my Job Sydney."
"Miss Parker, what if Jarod is hurt bad?, Are you going to bring him in that way?, You know what they'll do to him."; With a heavy heart, Sydney felt as if he was pleading for his son's life.
"Sydney, I know what I'm doing. Just go back to the Centre and I'll keep you informed; Stop being such a mother hen."
Miss Parker looked away from Sydney's pleading eyes; picked up her gun and placed it her holster. Then she grabbed Angelo by one arm and led him out of the house; "Lets go Broots, we don't have all night."
Broots looked back at Sydney with a reassuring smile," Sydney don't worry, Jarod knows how to get out of dangerous situations; Remember, He's very clever."
"I hope you're right Broots"
Sydney just stood on Miss Parker's front porch until Broots' car was out of sight. He felt like he had aged 20 years in the past few hours. Now he had to return to the Centre and wait.
It was almost 9 p.m. and they had been driving for about an hour, heading east outside of Dover. Miss Parker had decided to drive, which had made Broots pale with fright. At first, Angelo was confused and panicky and following his directions had been a challenge. Finally, after many turns and stops, Angelo pointed with certainty to an old Victorian home on Little Creek Rd. The two stories structure looked abandoned and was all boarded up.
When Miss Parker stopped the car, Angelo jumped out and ran to the house. "Wait Angelo!", but the little man had already disappeared in the darkness. Broots was just frozen in the back seat with eyes fixed on the house. Miss Parker turned around and handed him a flashlight, "Lets go Broots, Let's go find our Boy Wonder" Nervously he took the flashlight and followed closely behind Miss Parker. "Man this place is really spooky....It reminds me of that movie, you know the one I'm talking about, the .... The House on Haunted Hill, that's the one. Miss Parker stopped all of the sudden to check for an entrance, and Broots who was distracted talking about scary movies bumped right into her back and knocked her to the ground.
"You idiot, watch where you're going!"
"I... I'm sorry m... Miss Parker, I didn't see you."
"Then what do you have that flashlight for? USE IT!"
"Angelo, Angelo where are you?" Miss Parker whispered his name to avoid alerting Jarod, but there was no sign of the little man anywhere. Finally they found a back door where the boards had been loosened. Miss Parker and Broots entered the house and were shrouded in total darkness.
Slowly they moved through the darkness. The house was enormous; in front of them was a huge kitchen and beyond a set of French doors was an elegant living room with a gigantic crystal chandelier elegantly hanging from the high ceiling. All the furnishings were covered with sheets and the spider webs made the final decor. The whole place had a very haunted atmosphere. Miss Parker immediately noticed the elegant staircase that ascended to the upper level of the house.
"Broots lets check upstairs first."
"OK Miss Parker, Boy this place sure is creepy. I hope we don't have to spend the night here."
"Come down Scooby and watch where you're going, because if you fall and break a leg I'm not carrying you out of here."
As they reached the second floor, there were rooms in both directions. "Broots you check the two rooms on the right and I'll go left."
Broots swallowed hard and whispered, "By myself?"
"Broots, I swear to God if you don't get moving I'll shoot you before the night is over."
Shaking like a leaf, Broots started moving in the direction that Miss Parker had sent him. Slowly he opened the squeaky door to the first room. The room was in total darkness, except for the dim light of a candle on the night table. The room had a large bed, but it was empty. Broots instinctively moved around to the other side of the bed and was frozen in place at the sight before him. "OH MY GOD!"
TBC
By Gemini-M
Chapter 2
The meeting
As agreed, Miss Parker had left her office early, pretending she had developed one of her migraines. During her drive home, her mind was flooded with possible motives for Jarod’s mysterious phone calls. She hated to admit it, but she was concerned for the Lab Rat. After speaking with Sydney and perceiving his fears, she began to feel very uneasy. She had ignored the feelings that had come over her when she had talked to Jarod, but now the voices were telling her that something was definitely very wrong. Jarod sounded different, this was not one of his prank calls. Since they had returned from the Island, Jarod’s behavior had change. He was leaving fewer clues for her team to follow and his mischievous pranks and midnight calls were almost non-existent. She now feared that eventually he would disappear forever. Even though she hated herself for having these feelings, she craved for his attention and many nights she stayed awake, waiting for his call. She knew she would never acknowledge these feelings to anyone, but things had changed between Jarod and her. Images of their conversation in the back of the limousine at the airport in Glasgow flashed before her eyes.
“We have been through a lot together you and me, from when we were kids at the Center to the last couple of days. I know that rarely our allegiance is the same, but I have always felt, I’ve always known that there is more to our lives that I ran and you chase.”
“Maybe we do what we have to just to get by in this life Jarod.”
“Maybe we both deserve something more.”
“Just forget what happened on that Island; forget that moment of weakness. Turning points only come when you have something to turn to.”
“Sorry, this isn’t the different ending you were looking for. It is just the way the damn story goes.”
She vividly remembered Jarod reaching out to her and pleading with his eyes to take that turning point. The look of sadness and defeat in Jarod’s face, as she rudely pulled her hands away would always haunt her. She quickly shook her head to bring herself out of her reverie. This was no time to deal with these emotions; she needed a clear mind to find the underlying cause of this puzzling situation.
Finally, she was home; she quickly brought her little sports car to a sudden stop, but not before she had crashed into her garbage can. She shore at the stupid object and ran to her front door with keys ready. As soon as she entered the dimly lid room, she could see in the distance the flashing light of her answering machine. She raced to the machine, pushed the bottom, and said a silent prayer that there would be a message from her friend.
“Hello Miss Parker… there was a long pause. I am sorry I hung up on you earlier; I had problems with my phone. I tried to call Sydney, but... never mind. He sounded exhausted and unfocused. After we got back from the Island, I went back to try to pick up my mother’s trail, but it was too late. With deep sadness in his voice he said, I lost her again…. I just got back a week ago.... I found something that belonged to your mother. There was a long silence again. She could hear him in the background looking for something. I am sorry… I thought I lost it, but here it is. When I went back to Ocee’s cottage looking for some clue about my mother, I found a journal that belonged to your mother. I think my mother gave it to Ocee for safekeeping. Wait a minute. She could hear him coughing in the background. After a few minutes, he was back. He sounded breathless and his voice was almost inaudible. I didn’t want to send it to you at the Centre for obvious reasons. I will try to have a friend take it to you personally… I do not know when. I hope it will tell you something about your mother’s plan. Please let me know if it says anything about my Mom…. Miss Parker... I'm sorry for being such a pain all the time. No matter what happens you will always be my best friend... I... I have to go now.” The call was over.
“Wait, Jarod” Unconsciously Miss Parker called to him, with tears trailing down her checks and a burning sensation in her throat. An alarming feeling had come over her as she listened to the message. Something was very wrong. The idea that he had found her mother’s journal did not seem important now. Something frightened her ; she had an awful feeling that she would never see Jarod again. She quickly looked at her watch. It was 5:30 p.m. Sydney and Broots would be here soon. She wiped the tears from her face and made her way to the kitchen to prepare some sandwiches and salad for her guests. The minutes seemed like hours and Jarod's message kept repeating in her mind.
Finally, she heard a car pull up in her driveway. She ran across the living room and pulled her front door open. As Sydney was approaching the steps to her front porch, Broots was just arriving and parking his little Honda behind Sydney's car. “Hi Sydney; come in please.” Miss Parker led the older man into her house and helped him out of his coat. She moved to the front door again and with an irritated tone in her voice called to Broots, “Would you get your butt up here, we don’t have all night.” Broots, raced up the steps and clumsily tripped on the last step almost crash landing in Miss Parker’s porch. Miss Parker rolled her eyes and uttered with sarcasm, “Haven’t you learned how to walk yet?” “S…sorry Miss Parker, Am I late?. I had to take Debbie over to my brother’s house and the traffic, Oh My God! It was horrible; you know how it is on Fridays, everyone goes nuts and it’s like a zoo out there.” “Come on Broots, get in here, we don’t want the whole world to find out about our little meeting.”
Miss Parker closed the door behind Broots and after hanging Sydney’s coat directed both visitors to the answering machine. “Sydney, Broots, listen to this message from Jarod, I think our Boy Wonder is in trouble.” Both men listened to the message with deep concentration. When it was over, they glanced at each other and at Miss Parker with confusion.
“What should we do Sydney?” Miss Parker and Broots both asked simultaneously. After a few seconds, Miss Parker broke the silence, “Sydney, Jarod said in his message that he tried to reach you. Did you check your e-mail?”
“Yes Miss Parker I checked, but there was nothing from Jarod, and he did not leave any messages at my home either. I do not understand why he said that in his message. Jarod sounded different, almost disoriented.” Sydney hated this feeling of helplessness, but he knew he was not alone. Miss Parker was trying to hide her concern behind her Ice Queen facade, but Sydney knew her very well and could sense that this message from Jarod had affected her deeply.
Sydney began to pace nervously around the room , then suddenly stopped and moved quickly to the answering machine, "Miss Parker what time was the message from Jarod recorded?"
Miss Parker played the message over again, this time making a note of the date and time. "Sydney, the call was made at 1:00 p.m. today."
Sydney looked at his watch and then at Miss Parker and Broots with apprehension. "That was over 5 hours ago. If Jarod is ill or hurt and he has not sought medical attention.... This is not good."
Broots looked at Sydney and Miss Parker and whispered, "Do you think that maybe Mr. Lyle found Jarod?"
Both Sydney and Miss Parker gave him a menacing look. "No Broots, I don't think so; Jarod's call was made around the time I ran into Lyle on my way to the Computer Lab, when I went looking for you. Besides, if Mr. Lyle had found Jarod he would not waste any time in bringing him in to show off his victory." Sydney felt his concern give away to anger.
"O.K., this is not getting us anywhere; We need to find a way to trace this call or go over the latest clues Jarod left behind, and try to get a location." Miss Parker suddenly addressed both men.
"But, but... M Miss Parker, Jarod has not sent us any clues for over a month, and from what he says on the message he just got back from that Island; Is that the Island you both where in together? You never told us what happened there."
Miss Parker suddenly gave Broots a piercing look that made him go pale and speechless. Sydney decided at that precise moment to step in before the techie would lose a limb. "Miss Parker, what if we get Angelo to help us. After all he was the one who first sensed Jarod was in trouble, and as I recall , the last time Jarod was in danger from that guy, Bartlett, he also warned us."
"Yes Sydney, I think that's a good idea, but we need to do this quickly and without Lyle and Raines knowledge. Lyle would do anything to get to Jarod. I just hope we are not too late; Oh My God, with all this talking, I forgot about dinner. Please lets go to the kitchen and we can continue this while we eat something." Miss Parker led both men to the kitchen table, where she had set sandwiches, salad and drinks for all of them.
As they were finishing their dinner, the phone rang. The three occupants at the table looked at each other in shock, and Broots stammered out, " D... do you think is Jarod again? "
Miss Parker jumped out of her chair as if she was on a spring and ran to the phone. "Jarod ?" Her response was almost a plea.
"Well hello Sis; Sorry to disappoint you. Where you expecting a call from JAROD?"
"What the hell do you want Lyle?
"You did not answer my question."
"NO, I WAS NOT, Miss Parker took a deep breath to calm herself down before arousing any suspicion, Somebody is been making prank calls almost every night, and I thought it might be Jarod. NOW, WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"Have you talked to Sydney this evening? I need to talk to him and cannot reach him at his home or cell phone."
"No, I have not seen him since this morning at the Centre; What do you need Sydney for?"
"Well dear sis; It seems that our other Lab Rat has escaped."
"Lyle, What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Angelo; HE'S GONE!"
"WHAT?" Now it was Miss Parker's turn to go pale with shock. At this point Sydney and Broots were both standing at the kitchen entrance, looking at Miss Parker with extreme curiosity.
"Yes, you heard right. Angelo is gone and our father is going ballistic. He wants everyone back here at once to search for the missing rat." With that Lyle disconnected the call.
"GREAT, That's all we need it." Miss Parker shouted and slammed the receiver down.
"Miss Parker, What happened?" Sydney was the first one to approach Parker to inquire about the phone call.
"Well, as if things were not complicated enough, Our friend, Angelo has gone AWOL, and Raines has ordered everyone back ASAP to start the search."
"Miss Parker, What are we going to do now; What about Jarod ?" Miss Parker could see that Broots was deeply concerned about Jarod as well. Even though, Broots didn't know Jarod very well , he had grown to like and respect the wayward pretender, specially after Jarod had helped him in his daughter's custody case. Broots was a good man and a good friend. Miss Parker fondly put her hand on Broots' shoulder to acknowledge his concern.
"Don't worry Broots, we'll think of something, but at the moment we have to get back to the Centre and hope that Angelo is found. We need his help to find Jarod." Miss Parker spoke in a tone that was very different from her usual demeanor. This was not the huntress anymore, this was a concerned friend.
At that exact moment, there was a loud knock at the front door. The three occupants jumped ,and looked at each other as if they had been caught in the middle of a police raid. Broots dropped the can of soda he was holding and ran to the kitchen to hide in the pantry, while Sydney just stood there waving his hands and whispering to Miss Parker, "Where should I hide Parker?" Miss Parker quickly pushed Sydney up the stairs, "Go... hurry Sydney, just go up and hide in my room somewhere."
When the coast was clear, she took a deep breath , straighten her skirt ,combed her hair with her hands and went to answer the door. On the way to the door she told herself," If I live through this night Jarod, you owe my big time."
As she open the door, she was greeted with a hug around her waist that almost squeezed the air out of her. For a moment, she could not find her voice, but finally she screamed, "OH MY GOD, ANGELO! How did you find us.? Come in hurry, everyone at the Centre is looking for you; Sydney, Broots come back. It's Angelo!"
Sydney came running down the stairs and Broots entered the room with a broom in his hand. They both blinked in surprise and Miss Parker could not hold back a chuckle at the look of shock in both their faces. "Well boys, It looks like we're back in business, and Broots what are you planning to do with my broom?" Broots gave her a nervous smile and placed the broom against the wall.
Angelo stood next to Miss Parker holding her hand firmly and scanning the surroundings nervously. When he saw Sydney, he ran to him and began begging uncontrollably, "Sydney REFUGE. Must help Jarod, please."
Sydney placed his arm around Angelo's shoulder and guided him to the nearest couch. "Angelo, don't worry we'll help Jarod: That's why we are here." Angelo finally met Sydney's eyes, and smiled slightly. "Now Angelo, can you help us find Jarod.?" Angelo looked at Miss Parker and then at Sydney and nodded his head slowly.
"Miss Parker do you have anything that belongs to Jarod? We need to use Angelo's empathic abilities, and hope that he can give us some clues on Jarod's whereabouts."
Miss Parker dashed to her room and returned after a few minutes with a sweater in her hands. "This belongs to Jarod, he lent it to me when we were on the Island." Broots looked at Miss Parker with confusion, but Sydney could not erase the smirk off his face. Miss Parker just looked back at them with irritation and shouted, "WHAT?"
"N...Nothing Miss Parker", Broots stuttered and quickly moved next to Sydney and Angelo.
Sydney handed the sweater to Angelo with a silent prayer for Jarod's sake. Angelo held the sweater between his hands quietly for a few minutes and then jolted out of the couch screaming, "No...no, friend wants to leave...Tired, sad, don't want to be alone anymore... It's dark, cold....very cold. Wants to sleep." Angelo choked on a sob, "Sydney hurry, hurry... Friend wants to leave. No more time!"
Sydney blinked back the tears that had formed in his eyes after hearing Angelo's revelation. He was very frightened. What if they were too late? He approached Angelo very slowly and asked him, "Angelo, do you know where Jarod is? Please Angelo, can you find him.?" Angelo was shivering uncontrollably, he looked up at Sydney's face and whispered, "Angelo knows"
Miss Parker let out a sigh of relief, but quickly hid her emotions from the others, "O.K., Sydney you need to go back to the Centre to keep Lyle and Raines off our backs; If they ask you about Broots, tell them that Broots is out of town with his daughter, and you could not reach him. As for me, I'll deal with Lyle and Raines later. Broots; You, Angelo and I will go find Jarod. We will go in your car."
Sydney was not very happy with Miss Parker's orders, he wanted to see for himself that Jarod was alright. "Miss Parker, what are you planning to do once you find Jarod?"
"I'm planning to do my Job Sydney."
"Miss Parker, what if Jarod is hurt bad?, Are you going to bring him in that way?, You know what they'll do to him."; With a heavy heart, Sydney felt as if he was pleading for his son's life.
"Sydney, I know what I'm doing. Just go back to the Centre and I'll keep you informed; Stop being such a mother hen."
Miss Parker looked away from Sydney's pleading eyes; picked up her gun and placed it her holster. Then she grabbed Angelo by one arm and led him out of the house; "Lets go Broots, we don't have all night."
Broots looked back at Sydney with a reassuring smile," Sydney don't worry, Jarod knows how to get out of dangerous situations; Remember, He's very clever."
"I hope you're right Broots"
Sydney just stood on Miss Parker's front porch until Broots' car was out of sight. He felt like he had aged 20 years in the past few hours. Now he had to return to the Centre and wait.
It was almost 9 p.m. and they had been driving for about an hour, heading east outside of Dover. Miss Parker had decided to drive, which had made Broots pale with fright. At first, Angelo was confused and panicky and following his directions had been a challenge. Finally, after many turns and stops, Angelo pointed with certainty to an old Victorian home on Little Creek Rd. The two stories structure looked abandoned and was all boarded up.
When Miss Parker stopped the car, Angelo jumped out and ran to the house. "Wait Angelo!", but the little man had already disappeared in the darkness. Broots was just frozen in the back seat with eyes fixed on the house. Miss Parker turned around and handed him a flashlight, "Lets go Broots, Let's go find our Boy Wonder" Nervously he took the flashlight and followed closely behind Miss Parker. "Man this place is really spooky....It reminds me of that movie, you know the one I'm talking about, the .... The House on Haunted Hill, that's the one. Miss Parker stopped all of the sudden to check for an entrance, and Broots who was distracted talking about scary movies bumped right into her back and knocked her to the ground.
"You idiot, watch where you're going!"
"I... I'm sorry m... Miss Parker, I didn't see you."
"Then what do you have that flashlight for? USE IT!"
"Angelo, Angelo where are you?" Miss Parker whispered his name to avoid alerting Jarod, but there was no sign of the little man anywhere. Finally they found a back door where the boards had been loosened. Miss Parker and Broots entered the house and were shrouded in total darkness.
Slowly they moved through the darkness. The house was enormous; in front of them was a huge kitchen and beyond a set of French doors was an elegant living room with a gigantic crystal chandelier elegantly hanging from the high ceiling. All the furnishings were covered with sheets and the spider webs made the final decor. The whole place had a very haunted atmosphere. Miss Parker immediately noticed the elegant staircase that ascended to the upper level of the house.
"Broots lets check upstairs first."
"OK Miss Parker, Boy this place sure is creepy. I hope we don't have to spend the night here."
"Come down Scooby and watch where you're going, because if you fall and break a leg I'm not carrying you out of here."
As they reached the second floor, there were rooms in both directions. "Broots you check the two rooms on the right and I'll go left."
Broots swallowed hard and whispered, "By myself?"
"Broots, I swear to God if you don't get moving I'll shoot you before the night is over."
Shaking like a leaf, Broots started moving in the direction that Miss Parker had sent him. Slowly he opened the squeaky door to the first room. The room was in total darkness, except for the dim light of a candle on the night table. The room had a large bed, but it was empty. Broots instinctively moved around to the other side of the bed and was frozen in place at the sight before him. "OH MY GOD!"
TBC
