Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story Microsoft Word Chapter or Story

- Text Size +

Lyrics by David Bowie, Berlin
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“She asked for my love and I gave her a dangerous mind... Now she's stupid in the street and she can't socialize... Well, I love the little girl and I'll love her till the day she dies...

Scary monsters, super creeps... Keep me running, running scared...”


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He was just getting back from a meeting and hoping to catch up on some paperwork, when he heard the phone ringing.

With a somnolent sigh, he trudged over to his desk, barely making it to his chair before collapsing.

The phone shrilly demanded to be dealt with.

“Hello?” He cradled the phone between his cheek and shoulder while rummaging through a file. A smile broke over his tired and worn features.

“Jarod...it’s been awhile.”

Sydney put down the case to better focus in on his call.

“I know,” Jarod replied with a hint of a smile in his voice. “How are you, Sydney?”

“Tired,” was the reluctant admission. “Otherwise, fine. And you?”

There was a pause and the doctor could almost see his friend’s nonchalant shrug.

“As well as I’ve ever been...”

Knowing that Parker would somehow find out about Jarod’s call, Sydney knew he should attempt to find out where the Pretender might be- if only so he could throw her a bone.

“Any luck finding your family?”

The next pause was much longer. Sydney winced, knowing he had hit upon a sensitive subject.

“That’s been put on hold for the time being.”

So Jarod was on a pretend.

“For what reason?” Sydney gently pressed.

The smile returned to the younger man’s voice. “Wouldn’t Miss Parker like to know?"

The corners of Sydney mouth turned up. “I’m sure she would.” He added as an after thought. “You’re not going to tell me are you, Jarod?”

This garnered a chuckle from Jarod. “You’re catching on.”

“So...what is the purpose of your call?”

“Just wanted to see how things were going in the Underworld.”

Sydney had to smile at the reference to the Centre. For Jarod, and many of them, it was the Underworld.

“Actually,” Sydney had debated whether or not to tell Jarod about the Seventh Member Project. He thought that the Pretender might be willing to check into it. “Mr. Parker has assigned Lyle to a rather peculiar case.”

“Oh?” He knew he had captured Jarod’s attention now.

“Yes, it would appear that the Triumvirate has lost something called the Seventh Member and Mr. Parker assigned Lyle to bring her back.”

“Her?”

“Yes. Her name is Amelia.”

“What is the Seventh Member? Another Pretender?”

“It does look that way. Apparently, no one has ever heard about it.” Sydney paused, carefully planning the statement of his request. “Jarod, do you think you could possible look into this matter? Even Broots can’t find any trace of the Seventh Member Project.”

“You want me to help you?” Jarod sounded skeptical to say the least- it sounded like a trap to him.

“You could say that,” Sydney replied cautiously.

“And Parker?”

“At the moment she’s out for blood- Lyle’s.”

“And where is the resident boogeyman, anyway?”

“New York City.”

The doctor didn’t hear his former charge suck in a sharp breath.

“I’ll see what I can do,” he said shortly, and before Sydney could say anything further, Jarod terminated the connection.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was in the wee hours of the morning before Lyle and Mia were able to rest. Though they had no more encounters with the Shadows, Lyle thought it was best to get off the streets. Deeming it unsafe and unwise to revisit the apartment on York Avenue, he returned, instead, to his suite in the Melrose Hotel on East 63rd Street.

It didn’t come as much of a surprise to Mia that Lyle was staying in one of the Tower Suites, some of the most exclusive accommodations in the City. The suite was six hundred square feet of the finest furnishings she had ever seen. She had never been in such a splendid place before, at least as far as she could remember. She caught a glimpse of herself in a hall mirror and shied away from her grimy image that reminded her of Cinderella after the clock struck midnight.

He was halfway across the sitting room before he noticed that she wasn’t with him. Annoyed at having to retrace his steps, he grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her into the lounge. His action turned out rougher than he intended- she cringed from his hold on her. He would not have been so violent had she not been staring at herself in the mirror in that odd way. It disturbed him greatly, though he wasn’t quite sure why.

He was sorry that he had hurt her, but it was not in his nature to apologize so he said nothing.

“Get out of those wet clothes,” he barked, turning his back on her. “You’ll catch cold.”

“And into what?” she retorted. A hand went to her hip and she gave him an exasperated look.

Was that an attitude she just gave me?

He looked back over his shoulder. Instead of being angry, he was rather delighted to see some fire in her.

“Good point,” he conceded briefly. He disappeared into a closet and returned briefly with a posh, snowy spa robe.

“It’s all yours,” he said throwing it at her. “Until we can get you something else.”

Mia retrieved the robe. As she did, Lyle saw that she had his disposed coat.

“What on earth did you bring that for?” he demanded scornfully.

She gave him a sharp look. “What do you care? You didn’t want it.”

He arched an eyebrow and she looked away as her bravado faltered. She didn’t see him smirk appreciatively and nod his approval.

“Get out of those clothes,” he said again.

She didn’t move.

“Well?!”

She just looked at him.

Lyle frowned, angered by her defiance, then it dawned on him why she wasn’t complying.

“Oh, right,” he muttered, walking out of the room. “I’ll be in the shower.”

Half an hour later, he emerged to find her sitting on the floor entranced by the hundred-plus channels offered on the state-of-the-art entertainment system. He tapped her shoulder but she didn’t respond. He had to stand in front of her to get her attention.

She stared up at him with those haunted eyes wide and her mouth slightly opened.

“Shower’s free.”

Without a word, she left the room.

He sank into sofa with fatigued groan. He still wasn’t feeling right and it concerned him. However, there were more pressing matters to attend.

He had already decided that he was not going to hand Mia over to the Centre until he knew what was so special about her. And what those things were that chased them- Lyle was positive that they were a Centre creation. But what were they for?

He reached for his attaché case setting beside the sofa and pulled into his lap. It was expensive, of course, only the finest Italian leather would do for him. After setting the lock to the proper code, the briefcase docilely popped open. Inside was a laptop computer that he didn’t even bother removing. He began a search for anything on the Seventh Member Project- a slow, tedious, frustrating task.

If only Broots would do this for me...

Abruptly, he pushed the thought away, knowing that such a thing would never happen. The Centre’s resident tech wizard had pledged his allegiance to his sister. And no one loyal to her would ever assist him in anything.

Grumbling to himself and hating his sister even more, Lyle sunk into the couch and glared at the computer screen. He wondered what it would be like to have someone that devoted to him. His thoughts drifted to Mia, but he doubted her faithfulness would last long. And his mood darkened considerably.

When Mia returned to the room wrapped tightly in the cozy housecoat she saw him reclining at the glass top desk in the far corner of the room. He was so relaxed in the oversized leather desk chair that he appeared to be on the verge of sliding out of it. Very slowly, he swiveled the seat from side to side with his gaze transfixed on the open briefcase on the desktop.

She moved over to the couch quietly as not to disturb him, still watching him keenly. One hand covered the frown on his mouth, though his furrowed brow told of his dissatisfaction. Once again, she observed, his left hand was concealed in his pocket.

One side of the collar of his white buttoned down shirt was flipped up. She rose suddenly and walked over to him. It wasn’t until he felt a hand on his neck that he became aware of her presence. He looked up at her. The perturbed expression on her face mirrored his own.

“What to we do now?” she asked in that soft, timid voice. She withdrew her hand from him and buried it deep in the folds of the robe.

Lyle sighed. He had no clue, but he wouldn’t allow her to know that.

“Get some sleep,” he said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

A few hours later, when the clock struck 4 am and he closed his briefcase. His head pounded in protest as he stood. He needed sleep. However, the one thing he had failed to do was organize the sleeping arrangements.

Swearing under his breath, he staggered through the living room and as he passed by the couch, he glimpsed Mia’s sleeping form. He stopped and watched the steady rise and fall of her shoulders as she slept. She was beautiful...

He smirked sinisterly and leaned over her...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“I'm alone... Sitting with my empty glass... My four walls follow me through my past.... I was on a Paris train...I emerged in London rain...

“You wanted to see me, Daddy?”

She was not happy and it showed. She had seriously considered making herself unavailable to him and only him. She was not above a little payback.

Miss Parker was still smarting over not being allowed to speak to her father, held at bay by those abhorrent creatures in the black coats, while watching everyone else come and go into his office at liberty. Now he wanted an audience with her.

“Have a seat, Angel,” he smiled, gesturing to a chair close to the desk.

She chose to stand.

Mr. Parker sighed. “Have it your way, Angel.” His eyes closed briefly- he seemed pained. “I just had a rather disturbing conversation with Mr. Raines.”

“Oh?” Parker lifted an eyebrow. “And what did the old wheeze-bag have to say?”

“I really wish you’d sit down.”

She crossed her arms over her stomach.

And you were waiting there swimming through apologies...

“Look, Angel, I know you’re upset with me,” he turned pleading eyes to her. “I know you don’t like that Lyle was assigned to the Retrieval, but I did what I thought was best. For you... This was just too dangerous- I couldn’t risk my little girl.” His voice caught on the words. “I do that enough already.”

For an instant she almost caved- he looked so sad- nearly went to comfort him. But he spoke again too swiftly.

“I asked you here to discuss your brother,” he informed her. “In regards to Raines.”

She bit back a growl and rolled her eyes skyward.

Of course he wanted to discuss Lyle. It’s always about Lyle!

“What.” The word was steeled in ice.

He sighed, and to her he appeared weary, but under the surface he was beginning to get agitated. “Raines wants Lyle off the Retrieval,” he explained after some time.

“So take him off,” she snapped, though she couldn’t have cared less what Raines wanted.

“That would seem to be the solution,” Mr. Parker paused, knowing he had to phrase his words carefully. “But I believe there is more to it. I don’t trust Raines.”

She could barely contain herself.

Any idiot would know better than to trust Raines! she fumed internally. No one needs to tell ME that!

“And,” Mr. Parker continued, unaware of her reaction, “I am concerned about Lyle. I’m afraid that Raines has plans for him that are not...beneficial to the family. It’s important we Parkers stick together....”

Here we go again! Parker ground her teeth together in exasperation.

“Nothing can break the family up!” he was in full throttle speech mode now. “After all, Lyle is the one who will eventually take over the Centre.”

She shook her head in disbelief at his egotism. It was though he was oblivious to the fact that his son would have no qualms overthrowing the family to make it to the top. Parker nearly laughed aloud at the absurdity of her father’s sudden devotion to her brother and concern for him.

What a farce this is!

“We must protect your brother,” Mr. Parker rose and walked over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders to make sure he had her undivided attention. “But,” he gave her a meaningful look, “we must also protect you, Angel.”

Parker’s face remain unchanged from the stony hostility she walked in with.

“That’s why I feel mow would be a good time for you take a bit of a vacation.”

I remember searching for the perfect words. I was hoping you might change your mind... Minutes passed with shallow words- years have passed and still the hurt... I can see you now smiling as I pulled away...

Parker’s mouth fell open and her impassive resolution dissolved. She looked as though he had slapped her.

“What?!” she finally yelped. “Daddy, you can’t be serious!”

He dropped his hands away from her and clasped them behind his back.

“Now, Angel,” a hard tone settled in his voice. He returned to his desk, “There’s no discussing this. I have Sam prepping for your departure as we speak.”

“No!” The word exploded from her- she had had enough.

Mr. Parker stared at her.

“No,” she repeated, her voice low and threatening. “You’re not going to send me away-not now. I want to know what’s going on. I want to know why those gorillas in the trench coats are here. I want to know what Lyle’s really doing. I am not going anywhere!”

He was about to give a rebuttal when a frown began to form on his visage.

“What gorillas in trench coats?”

Parker straightened up, pressing her lips into a tight thin line. She was not about to be dissuaded from the subject. However, the strange look her father gave her stopped her tirade from continuing.

“The goons in the black trench coats. They blocked me from seeing you earlier.” Parker studied the older man carefully. His surprise appeared real.

“What did they look like?” he pressed worriedly, leaning forward on his desk.

Could he really not be aware of this?

Parker explained them as Broots had described them to her, but she left out the boogeymen part.

Mr. Parker said nothing further- not about the “boogeymen” and not a word more to her.

I remember a feeling coming over me...

It was though she were no longer there. She stood there a moment longer before finally leaving the office. Outside, she leaned against the wall, trying to absorb what just occurred.

One thing was certain- she wasn’t going anywhere.

I'm alone... Sitting with my broken glass... My four walls follow me through my past...I was on a Paris train- I emerged in London rain... And you were waiting there swimming through apologies – sorry...

-









You must login (register) to review.