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Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: I just know that they don't belong to me. I can only wish they did. God only knows what I would do with them:)) However, they belong to NBC. Or is it TNT right now? I don't really care as long as they don't sue me. Please don't!!!! I barely have enough money to go to the movies.
Author's note: This is almost the end. It's been really hard to write something in these days, you know. But anyway, I believe I was able to finish this in an acceptable time. Hope you enjoy and, as always, feedback is very much appreciated and will probably make me write faster.
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TIME FOR REUNION
Part 9
by Vania
"Damn it, Jarod! Answer me!"
It was the third time she asked him to tell her what he was reading, but he just wouldn't move! It was like he was hypnotized by what he was reading. It most be bad, if he's like that. Maybe her feeling was right and her father was already using Andrew for their awful experiments. In that case, Miss Parker was getting him out of there. She was already regretting not bringing him home with her tonight. Then, Jarod finally moved.
"Parker..." He quietly called.
"Care to tell me what's happening, wonder-boy?"
"I never thought they would go this far!" Jarod said angrily handing the papers to Parker.
While Miss Parker started to read what she had in her hands, Jarod got up and started pacing the room back and forth, and then started speaking again, this time lower.
"They will pay for this and for everything!"
Miss Parker read the papers as faster as she could, while hearing him in the background. When she finished reading what he already had, she couldn't believe it, and her mind started to digest the contents of the file. Andrew was her son. Jarod's son. Their son.
"And they won't have him." Miss Parker said.
Standing, she moved next to him and they embraced.
Jarod didn't get to leave her house that night.
****
The Centre
The morning after
Carefully, Mr. Cox entered the baby's nursery. After all, he didn't want to wake him up. He always made a fuss and he wasn't in the mood to take care of him. Not today, anyway. This was what he came to do. To take the baby to his purpose.
The results clearly proved that he had the genes. And so, they were going to use him like they planned all along. Jarod was no longer a valuable experiment. He became useless as he discovered the outside world. Jarod was important to other purposes. The perfect pretender would only be perfect, if he remained untouched by the outside. And this was their chance. Andrew was only created with the purpose of being a pretender. That was why Mr. Parker married Brigitte after all. He had known all along that she was conspiring against him. But she was valuable to him alive. Well, as long as she could have a baby. Not hers, or his, by that matter. A project, joining both Miss Parker and Jarod's genes. How Mr. Parker was able to act that cold towards his own daughter had been a mystery to Cox. But it only remained a mystery until the day he discovered that Mr. Parker wasn't Miss Parker's real father. However, he doesn't know, yet, who really is. He would know in due time.
There was only one thing important right now. And that was, taking the baby to Raines' care. That were his orders. And because they were that, Cox took the small child into his arms, carefully not to wake him, and lead him through the dark corridors of The Centre.
****
Miss Parker's house
Briar Road
Same time
Miss Parker slowly started to wake up. She glanced at the clock in the bedside. It was exactly 8 o'clock. Then, she also remembered that she was supposed to have someone sleeping in the other side of the bed. So, she dropped her right arm to her right side and was very surprised to find no one.
Miss Parker got up, putting her robe around her body. After a quick visit to the bathroom, she headed to the living room, getting the same result she got in the previously visited rooms. She had expected that he would at least have waited for her to wake up. Going to the kitchen, her last hope, she noticed that she had her breakfast in the table. Jarod cooked it for her. Replacing her usual black coffee, was an orange juice and some croissants, and next to those was a note. Miss Parker quickly grabbed it. It was the address of a motel and a message "Sorry I missed you this morning. Meet me here after you got everything you need. Love, Jarod." She sighed.
After putting one of her usual suits with trousers and a jacket, Miss Parker left her home, but only after having her breakfast and putting all the important things in a bag. Important meaning, pictures, DSAs and a few other personal objects. She almost didn't pack clothes. Then, after having done all this, Miss Parker went to The Centre, for what would be her last day in Hell.
****
The Centre
15 minutes later
After arriving to The Centre, the first thing Miss Parker had planned, was going to Andrew's nursery. But, of course, not everything always goes as planned, and she found herself in her father's office, hearing to his usual speech. It was funny how, in all these years, she still hasn't heard a word of sympathy towards her. Of course, there were times when he said nice things, but those were so rare, that she had difficult placing them herself.
After leaving that little family reunion, where also her brother was, Miss Parker finally headed to the nursery. When she reached her destination, her heart fell. Andrew wasn't there. But where could he be? Someone got to him before her, because he wasn't obviously going anywhere by himself.
Miss Parker abstracted herself from the rest of the world for a while, just thinking of the places where her son could be, and didn't notice when her brother approached her from behind.
"Parker!" Lyle called.
"Geez! I didn't hear you come in! What do you want? If it has something to do with Jarod and my failure to get him back, spare me the lecture, because I'm really not in a mood for it right now."
"Oh, it is about Jarod. And you're gonna hear me out," he continued.
"What do you want then? You better make it quick!"
"Let's just say I know of your extra curricular activities."
"What extra curricular activities?" Miss Parker asked, although she thought she would already know the answer to that question.
"Come on, Miss Parker! You know what I'm talking about. And if I already know, others should too. And I also know who was with you yesterday."
While Miss Parker registered the information and was thinking of the best excuse she could give him to get him off her back, Lyle continued.
"Listen, I'm not the one you should worry about. Daddy must know it already. You should get out as fast as you can."
"Why should I trust you? You were probably the one who told him about it!"
"I want power! And I want to be in charge of this place, but not like this!"
"Then, how?"
"Like mom should have wanted to," Lyle tried to explain her "I know what they are planning to do to the baby. He is the only thing that matters. Get him! And then get out!"
"Not so fast," Mr. Cox said, holding a gun on Lyle. Two sweepers were standing by his side, and they were also holding their guns on brother and sister.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lyle asked nervously to the man he always secretly feared.
"What do you think I'm doing, Mr. Lyle?"
"I think you're making a very big mistake."
"Is it? Well, it doesn't matter if you think I'm wrong. I'm alive and right! And soon, my friend, you'll be dead."
"Wait! You don't have proofs! You can't do this!"
"Watch me!" Mr. Cox said as he fired two bullets that hit Mr. Lyle right in the chest.
"No!" Miss Parker screamed, rushing to her brother's side.
"And you, Miss Parker, have a lot of explaining to do. But I think that won't save you anyway. Get her!"
After Cox gave the orders, both sweepers grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out of the nursery, while he called a cleaner team to clean up the mess.
"If only Sam was still here," Miss Parker thought to herself, while she was dragged to Renewal Wing. She also thought about her baby, that she wasn't going to be able to rescue from this place. She had to remain strong for him. And she was going to get out of there, even if that had to be the last thing she did.
****
Sim Lab
Same time
Sydney was just arriving to The Centre, when he noticed that there was something terribly wrong. Although, the security in the entrance had told him that Miss Parker was already there, Sydney hadn't meet her yet, and that was usually the first thing she did when he arrived. She would come to the Lab and bug them about Jarod's whereabouts. Then, he noticed something also strange. Broots wasn't at his computer. Mystery solved! He just popped in!
"I was starting to get nervous! Somebody's here, finally! Good morning, Broots!" Sydney greeted, trying to hide is fear.
"Good morning, Syd," the tech took a deep breath and took his place near the computer. He was holding a DSA in his hands and immediately played it.
"I just found this in security! It's not good news," Broots said with a very sad face to the older man next to him.
The screen started to play something and Sydney saw his fears became true. It showed Miss Parker and Lyle in the baby's nursery and then Mr. Cox shooting him and the sweepers dragging Miss Parker out of there.
"We have to do something, Sydney! I mean, we can't just watch!"
"I know, my friend. Do you know where they took her?"
"Not yet, but I'm on it! Give me a few minutes," Broots said, trying to type the instructions to the computer as fast as he could. His friend's life was in danger and he had to help her.
Moments after, the baby came into Sydney's mind. If Miss Parker went to the nursery, then she was going to bring him with her. But, she was stopped, and the DSA didn't show him in his cradle. So, that should mean that someone had already took him when she arrived there.
"The baby, Broots! Try to find him too."
"Sure thing, Syd."
After minutes of more typing, Broots finally got something to work with.
"I've got something!"
"What? Did you find her, Broots?" Sydney asked with genuine concern.
"I think so. According to what I found, she must be in the Renewal Wing," Broots paused and then continued, "As to where the baby is, I don't know. But I found a memo addressed to Mr. Raines, and he is the one in charge of the project."
"What project?"
"Raines is going to take care of the baby, like he did with other children, Sydney."
"Then, I'm going after him," Sydney said, turning to the door.
"Sydney, wait! What about Miss Parker?"
"I'm going to get the baby, and then I'm going to get her! You have to get Debbie and take off while you still can!"
Sydney left and Broots could only think in obey him. Things were starting to get rough and he too had a family to think about. He formatted his computer's hard drive and save all important things to disk. Then, he left The Centre, like it was the most normal thing in the world. When Broots reached the outside, he was surprised to find out that no one followed him. And no one actually did, since he was looking after his shoulder all the way to his house.
****
Highway Motel
Outside Blue Cove
Jarod was just parking in front of the motel where is family was staying. Something in his heart was telling him that something was wrong, very wrong, but he decided to ignore it and talk to his father to see if he found anything on his mother yet.
"Hi there! Anybody here?" Jarod asked when he entered the room and saw no one there.
"Oh, hi Jarod!" Emily greeted him, also giving him a hug.
"Hi, Em! Where are the others?" he said searching around for them.
"They went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. I woke up later, so I lost the bus," Emily joked with her brother, "Now, tell me. Weren't you supposed to have slept here, big bro?" she continued, trying to half-annoy him.
"Something came up, Emily. Listen, I really need to talk to dad. Do you know if he found anything about mom?"
"They were working through the night, but I don't think they got anything we didn't know already. I was tired and went to bed early and, as you know, when I got up they'd already left. So, I'm as left in the woods as you are."
"I'll check the laptop. Maybe I can find something there."
"You go and do that. I'm going to the bathroom. They should be here any second, though."
Emily had just finished saying that, when three men entered the room.
"Speaking of which," Emily announced.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?" Major Charles asked his daughter.
"Yes, dad. Like I haven't in a long time."
"That's good! You brought you something for your breakfast too," he said, giving her the paper package he had in his hands. Then, he saw Jarod and hurried to hug him "Jarod, son! I was beginning to worry about you. Where have you been?"
"I was at a friend's house. I'm just fine. It's mom I'm worried about. Did you find anything, last night?"
"I'm afraid we didn't, son. But we were following a lead and we were going to continue following it now."
"Yeah, that's right, Jarod. Dad here was exhausted last night, so we decided we would continue today," Ethan informed his half-brother.
"You did well. I didn't want you to get sleep deprived," and then Jarod continued to the toughest part, "But there's something I need to talk with you, before this is all over."
"What is it, Jarod?" His sister asked.
"It's something we found out last night, while going through some Centre files."
"Does it have to do with your mother?" the Major asked his son, with evident concern.
"No. It's worse, much worse."
"Jarod, you're starting to scare us."
"The Centre went too far this time," Jarod began, "They created another pretender."
"What?"
"Oh my God!"
"You said created. Do you mean, they didn't steal him?" Jake asked.
"They did steal him. Just not in the way we're used to."
"Then, how?"
"They used a former Centre operative, Brigitte, as a surrogate mother for the baby."
"I remember her! She was the one that went in my car, when I was being transported to Africa."
"Yeah, that's right, Jake. But, anyway, that baby is my son."
"What?" that was the only question spoken by the presents.
"And, not only mine, as you can imagine."
"Whose then?"
"Miss Parker's," Jarod calmly said to them.
"What?"
"I know it's hard to grasp, but right now all that matters is getting him out of that place."
"Sure, Jarod. Count me in," Ethan assured him.
"Thanks, Ethan, but that won't be necessary. Parker is getting him out."
"You talk to her?" His father asked.
"Yes, I did. And, once she's out of there, she will be meeting us here," after a brief pause, seeking for his father's approval, Jarod continued, "Now, we need to find mom. We don't have much time."
"Yeah, let's find her."
Some time after, all the family got a strong lead on Margaret, Jarod and Major Charles were getting ready to follow it.
"Let's go, Dad. The soon we get there, the better our chances are ."
Then, Jarod looked over at Ethan, who was concentrating on the voices, and saw his mood change.
"What is it Ethan? Is something wrong?"
"Miss Parker. I have to help her."
"What's going on, Ethan?"
"The voices are telling me that she's in danger, but that help is on the way."
"What are you going to do, Jarod?" His father asked, when he saw his son grabbing his cell phone.
"Come on, Sydney! Pick up the phone!"
Jarod begged, but after four rings, he was starting to lose hope. Finally, Sydney picked up his cell phone.
"Sydney! What happened?"
"Don't worry, Jarod. Something went wrong, but I have Andrew and I'm getting Parker out now!"
"What went wrong?"
"We can't talk right now. It's not safe. Listen, we'll meet you later, all right?"
"Ok, Sydney. Just, please, be careful."
"I will, Jarod. Take care," Sydney said as he disconnected the phone, holding the baby close.
When Jarod hanged up, there were four concerned faces staring at him, so he decided to share the little he knew.
"Something went wrong at The Centre, but I think Sydney is handling that," Jarod took a deep breath, "I just hope everything is under control as he said."
Then, Jarod and Major Charles left the motel as they were supposed to, and Jarod tried to ignore the side of him that was screaming to help Parker and his son in The Centre, knowing that his friend will be helping them.
****
The Centre
SL-16
Sydney scrolled into The Centre sublevels. Broots traced the baby to SL-16, where Raines was keeping him. He wasn't going to let them take another child and destroy its life, like they did with others, namely Jarod. And even if Sydney didn't want to admit it, he was the one to take Jarod's life.
For 30 years he exploited his genius and made him do things he never should have done. He had been blind with lies. The Centre filled his head with them. Now it was time for some kind of redemption. It didn't make up for the years he stole from Jarod, but it did make up for Miss Parker. Well, kind of. There were still some things she should know. Her terrible family secret. He was right when he told her he didn't know it. But some time passed since that day, and he was able to learn it. Catherine had been right not to tell him, but if he only knew... things would have been different.
Now, he had a task to run. He had to find the baby and get to Parker as soon as possible. God knows what they were thinking of doing to her.
As he reached closer to his destination, he could see Raines near the crib, where Andrew was laying. Raines would certainly be an obstacle to him, but, this time, Sydney would do whatever he had to. Even if that meant killing the wheezing bastard.
Slowly, Sydney reached for the gun, that once was hided in his desk drawer, just to be sure she was still there. Then, he made his presence know to Raines, who looked up from the crib and directly to Sydney's eyes.
"What are you doing here, Sydney?"
"Getting something that doesn't belong to you."
"I believe that 'something' doesn't belong to you either."
"I'm not interested in hearing any of it, Raines," and with this, Sydney grabbed the gun he was hiding and pointed it to him.
"Come on, Sydney. We all know you wouldn't fire that gun. Should I remind you that you tried once... and you failed."
Raines was clearly trying to dissuade Sydney's intent. However, the psychiatrist wasn't having any of it. He had a mission to carry, and he planned on executing it right. Then, he decided to take a different approach.
"You're right, Raines. I wouldn't shoot you," Sydney said, lowering his gun and making his way to the crib. When he was there, and despite Raines' eyes on him all the time, tracing all his moves, he reached for the child.
"I'm warning you, Sydney. Leave the baby alone and go to your office, like nothing happened."
And because Raines was too busy tracking Sydney's movements, he didn't see his hand come to the tubes that assured his breathing.
Sydney pushed the tubes with all his might, what make Raines' breathing become more labored. Then, and to be assured he wouldn't be going anywhere, anytime soon, Sydney cut off the circulation between the tubes and the oxygen tank.
"That should be enough to stop you for a while."
Sydney knew that there were cameras everywhere and that, as soon as they spotted what was going on, sweepers would make their way to help the monster. Besides, how many times did he trick death?
Sydney quickly picked the baby up, and ran as faster as he could to where Miss Parker was being held.
****
Somewhere in Renewal Wing
Miss Parker was nervously pacing her temporary cell. She couldn't help but think about her baby boy, and Jarod, and how she disappointed him. She had already lost track of time a long time ago, but she figured that it probably only passed an hour or so. She heard footsteps and, almost reflexively, she went to the door.
"Cox, you bastard! Let me out of here!" Miss Parker screamed, not really hoping that he would listen to her pleas.
"Shh! Miss Parker, it's me, Sydney."
Promptly, he opened the cell's door with the key he stole from the sweeper in charge. Once, he managed to opened the door, Miss Parker immediately recognized the child in his arms, and Sydney gave him to her.
"Hi baby," she said in a small voice to him, while picking him in her arms.
"Quickly, we've got to get out of here. There's no time."
They walked through some more corridors and were getting closer to the exit by the moment. They were almost leaving, when someone blocked their path.
"Again, not so fast," Mr. Cox said again, this time coming with Mr. Parker.
"You should have known better than to cross us, Sydney."
"Daddy... why are you doing this? I'm your daughter."
Cox let out a devilish laugh and Mr. Parker remained straight faced.
"Give me the baby, angel."
"No, never! He's mine! And I'm leaving."
Mr. Parker drawn his gun and pointed it at Sydney.
"Daddy, don't do this, please!"
"The baby."
Miss Parker would never give him the baby in her free will and Mr. Parker was ready to do what he had to, even if that meant killing the old psychiatrist.
"Do you know he killed Lyle?"
"Lyle betrayed me! That's what happens to people who betray me. Now, angel, I'm counting on that you're smarter than your brother," Mr. Parker tried to convince her.
"Never. I'd rather die than give you my son."
"Then, so be it."
And in that moment, Miss Parker could only hold on to the hope that someone would come down to save them. Her prayers were listened. A shot rang. Two. No, three of them, in fact. The first one was Mr. Parker's. He shot Sydney and he was now lying on the ground, in pain. The second and third ones were Angelo's. He appeared out of the blue and shot both Cox and Mr. Parker. They, too, were lying on the ground. Miss Parker was motionless, but after she captured the whole picture, she grabbed her father's gun that was lying next to him. Then, she turned to help Sydney, but before she could make it, one sweeper appeared and she couldn't.
"Go, Parker! I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," Sydney managed to say, before closing his eyes one last time.
"No!" Parker screamed again. It was the second person she saw being shot today. And it was the second that she was unable to help.
Angelo dragged her and pulled her to a vent, getting her out of there, as well as her son. They wouldn't be able to get them in the vents. Parker looked back one last time, and saw Cox moving, as well as sweepers running to her father's side, but Sydney wasn't moving anymore. Tears were flowing through her eyes now, as she made her way to the outside in the vents, closely followed by Angelo, and keeping her son the closer she could.
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For those who didn't know it already, I'm a huge Lyle fan, and not even I could believe myself when I killed him:( But, other stories will come, and there's always room for revenge. hehehe
Is my writing that bad not to deserve some feedback? Please tell me!
Author's note: This is almost the end. It's been really hard to write something in these days, you know. But anyway, I believe I was able to finish this in an acceptable time. Hope you enjoy and, as always, feedback is very much appreciated and will probably make me write faster.
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Part 9
by Vania
"Damn it, Jarod! Answer me!"
It was the third time she asked him to tell her what he was reading, but he just wouldn't move! It was like he was hypnotized by what he was reading. It most be bad, if he's like that. Maybe her feeling was right and her father was already using Andrew for their awful experiments. In that case, Miss Parker was getting him out of there. She was already regretting not bringing him home with her tonight. Then, Jarod finally moved.
"Parker..." He quietly called.
"Care to tell me what's happening, wonder-boy?"
"I never thought they would go this far!" Jarod said angrily handing the papers to Parker.
While Miss Parker started to read what she had in her hands, Jarod got up and started pacing the room back and forth, and then started speaking again, this time lower.
"They will pay for this and for everything!"
Miss Parker read the papers as faster as she could, while hearing him in the background. When she finished reading what he already had, she couldn't believe it, and her mind started to digest the contents of the file. Andrew was her son. Jarod's son. Their son.
"And they won't have him." Miss Parker said.
Standing, she moved next to him and they embraced.
Jarod didn't get to leave her house that night.
****
The Centre
The morning after
Carefully, Mr. Cox entered the baby's nursery. After all, he didn't want to wake him up. He always made a fuss and he wasn't in the mood to take care of him. Not today, anyway. This was what he came to do. To take the baby to his purpose.
The results clearly proved that he had the genes. And so, they were going to use him like they planned all along. Jarod was no longer a valuable experiment. He became useless as he discovered the outside world. Jarod was important to other purposes. The perfect pretender would only be perfect, if he remained untouched by the outside. And this was their chance. Andrew was only created with the purpose of being a pretender. That was why Mr. Parker married Brigitte after all. He had known all along that she was conspiring against him. But she was valuable to him alive. Well, as long as she could have a baby. Not hers, or his, by that matter. A project, joining both Miss Parker and Jarod's genes. How Mr. Parker was able to act that cold towards his own daughter had been a mystery to Cox. But it only remained a mystery until the day he discovered that Mr. Parker wasn't Miss Parker's real father. However, he doesn't know, yet, who really is. He would know in due time.
There was only one thing important right now. And that was, taking the baby to Raines' care. That were his orders. And because they were that, Cox took the small child into his arms, carefully not to wake him, and lead him through the dark corridors of The Centre.
****
Miss Parker's house
Briar Road
Same time
Miss Parker slowly started to wake up. She glanced at the clock in the bedside. It was exactly 8 o'clock. Then, she also remembered that she was supposed to have someone sleeping in the other side of the bed. So, she dropped her right arm to her right side and was very surprised to find no one.
Miss Parker got up, putting her robe around her body. After a quick visit to the bathroom, she headed to the living room, getting the same result she got in the previously visited rooms. She had expected that he would at least have waited for her to wake up. Going to the kitchen, her last hope, she noticed that she had her breakfast in the table. Jarod cooked it for her. Replacing her usual black coffee, was an orange juice and some croissants, and next to those was a note. Miss Parker quickly grabbed it. It was the address of a motel and a message "Sorry I missed you this morning. Meet me here after you got everything you need. Love, Jarod." She sighed.
After putting one of her usual suits with trousers and a jacket, Miss Parker left her home, but only after having her breakfast and putting all the important things in a bag. Important meaning, pictures, DSAs and a few other personal objects. She almost didn't pack clothes. Then, after having done all this, Miss Parker went to The Centre, for what would be her last day in Hell.
****
The Centre
15 minutes later
After arriving to The Centre, the first thing Miss Parker had planned, was going to Andrew's nursery. But, of course, not everything always goes as planned, and she found herself in her father's office, hearing to his usual speech. It was funny how, in all these years, she still hasn't heard a word of sympathy towards her. Of course, there were times when he said nice things, but those were so rare, that she had difficult placing them herself.
After leaving that little family reunion, where also her brother was, Miss Parker finally headed to the nursery. When she reached her destination, her heart fell. Andrew wasn't there. But where could he be? Someone got to him before her, because he wasn't obviously going anywhere by himself.
Miss Parker abstracted herself from the rest of the world for a while, just thinking of the places where her son could be, and didn't notice when her brother approached her from behind.
"Parker!" Lyle called.
"Geez! I didn't hear you come in! What do you want? If it has something to do with Jarod and my failure to get him back, spare me the lecture, because I'm really not in a mood for it right now."
"Oh, it is about Jarod. And you're gonna hear me out," he continued.
"What do you want then? You better make it quick!"
"Let's just say I know of your extra curricular activities."
"What extra curricular activities?" Miss Parker asked, although she thought she would already know the answer to that question.
"Come on, Miss Parker! You know what I'm talking about. And if I already know, others should too. And I also know who was with you yesterday."
While Miss Parker registered the information and was thinking of the best excuse she could give him to get him off her back, Lyle continued.
"Listen, I'm not the one you should worry about. Daddy must know it already. You should get out as fast as you can."
"Why should I trust you? You were probably the one who told him about it!"
"I want power! And I want to be in charge of this place, but not like this!"
"Then, how?"
"Like mom should have wanted to," Lyle tried to explain her "I know what they are planning to do to the baby. He is the only thing that matters. Get him! And then get out!"
"Not so fast," Mr. Cox said, holding a gun on Lyle. Two sweepers were standing by his side, and they were also holding their guns on brother and sister.
"What do you think you're doing?" Lyle asked nervously to the man he always secretly feared.
"What do you think I'm doing, Mr. Lyle?"
"I think you're making a very big mistake."
"Is it? Well, it doesn't matter if you think I'm wrong. I'm alive and right! And soon, my friend, you'll be dead."
"Wait! You don't have proofs! You can't do this!"
"Watch me!" Mr. Cox said as he fired two bullets that hit Mr. Lyle right in the chest.
"No!" Miss Parker screamed, rushing to her brother's side.
"And you, Miss Parker, have a lot of explaining to do. But I think that won't save you anyway. Get her!"
After Cox gave the orders, both sweepers grabbed her by the arms and dragged her out of the nursery, while he called a cleaner team to clean up the mess.
"If only Sam was still here," Miss Parker thought to herself, while she was dragged to Renewal Wing. She also thought about her baby, that she wasn't going to be able to rescue from this place. She had to remain strong for him. And she was going to get out of there, even if that had to be the last thing she did.
****
Sim Lab
Same time
Sydney was just arriving to The Centre, when he noticed that there was something terribly wrong. Although, the security in the entrance had told him that Miss Parker was already there, Sydney hadn't meet her yet, and that was usually the first thing she did when he arrived. She would come to the Lab and bug them about Jarod's whereabouts. Then, he noticed something also strange. Broots wasn't at his computer. Mystery solved! He just popped in!
"I was starting to get nervous! Somebody's here, finally! Good morning, Broots!" Sydney greeted, trying to hide is fear.
"Good morning, Syd," the tech took a deep breath and took his place near the computer. He was holding a DSA in his hands and immediately played it.
"I just found this in security! It's not good news," Broots said with a very sad face to the older man next to him.
The screen started to play something and Sydney saw his fears became true. It showed Miss Parker and Lyle in the baby's nursery and then Mr. Cox shooting him and the sweepers dragging Miss Parker out of there.
"We have to do something, Sydney! I mean, we can't just watch!"
"I know, my friend. Do you know where they took her?"
"Not yet, but I'm on it! Give me a few minutes," Broots said, trying to type the instructions to the computer as fast as he could. His friend's life was in danger and he had to help her.
Moments after, the baby came into Sydney's mind. If Miss Parker went to the nursery, then she was going to bring him with her. But, she was stopped, and the DSA didn't show him in his cradle. So, that should mean that someone had already took him when she arrived there.
"The baby, Broots! Try to find him too."
"Sure thing, Syd."
After minutes of more typing, Broots finally got something to work with.
"I've got something!"
"What? Did you find her, Broots?" Sydney asked with genuine concern.
"I think so. According to what I found, she must be in the Renewal Wing," Broots paused and then continued, "As to where the baby is, I don't know. But I found a memo addressed to Mr. Raines, and he is the one in charge of the project."
"What project?"
"Raines is going to take care of the baby, like he did with other children, Sydney."
"Then, I'm going after him," Sydney said, turning to the door.
"Sydney, wait! What about Miss Parker?"
"I'm going to get the baby, and then I'm going to get her! You have to get Debbie and take off while you still can!"
Sydney left and Broots could only think in obey him. Things were starting to get rough and he too had a family to think about. He formatted his computer's hard drive and save all important things to disk. Then, he left The Centre, like it was the most normal thing in the world. When Broots reached the outside, he was surprised to find out that no one followed him. And no one actually did, since he was looking after his shoulder all the way to his house.
****
Highway Motel
Outside Blue Cove
Jarod was just parking in front of the motel where is family was staying. Something in his heart was telling him that something was wrong, very wrong, but he decided to ignore it and talk to his father to see if he found anything on his mother yet.
"Hi there! Anybody here?" Jarod asked when he entered the room and saw no one there.
"Oh, hi Jarod!" Emily greeted him, also giving him a hug.
"Hi, Em! Where are the others?" he said searching around for them.
"They went to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. I woke up later, so I lost the bus," Emily joked with her brother, "Now, tell me. Weren't you supposed to have slept here, big bro?" she continued, trying to half-annoy him.
"Something came up, Emily. Listen, I really need to talk to dad. Do you know if he found anything about mom?"
"They were working through the night, but I don't think they got anything we didn't know already. I was tired and went to bed early and, as you know, when I got up they'd already left. So, I'm as left in the woods as you are."
"I'll check the laptop. Maybe I can find something there."
"You go and do that. I'm going to the bathroom. They should be here any second, though."
Emily had just finished saying that, when three men entered the room.
"Speaking of which," Emily announced.
"Good morning, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?" Major Charles asked his daughter.
"Yes, dad. Like I haven't in a long time."
"That's good! You brought you something for your breakfast too," he said, giving her the paper package he had in his hands. Then, he saw Jarod and hurried to hug him "Jarod, son! I was beginning to worry about you. Where have you been?"
"I was at a friend's house. I'm just fine. It's mom I'm worried about. Did you find anything, last night?"
"I'm afraid we didn't, son. But we were following a lead and we were going to continue following it now."
"Yeah, that's right, Jarod. Dad here was exhausted last night, so we decided we would continue today," Ethan informed his half-brother.
"You did well. I didn't want you to get sleep deprived," and then Jarod continued to the toughest part, "But there's something I need to talk with you, before this is all over."
"What is it, Jarod?" His sister asked.
"It's something we found out last night, while going through some Centre files."
"Does it have to do with your mother?" the Major asked his son, with evident concern.
"No. It's worse, much worse."
"Jarod, you're starting to scare us."
"The Centre went too far this time," Jarod began, "They created another pretender."
"What?"
"Oh my God!"
"You said created. Do you mean, they didn't steal him?" Jake asked.
"They did steal him. Just not in the way we're used to."
"Then, how?"
"They used a former Centre operative, Brigitte, as a surrogate mother for the baby."
"I remember her! She was the one that went in my car, when I was being transported to Africa."
"Yeah, that's right, Jake. But, anyway, that baby is my son."
"What?" that was the only question spoken by the presents.
"And, not only mine, as you can imagine."
"Whose then?"
"Miss Parker's," Jarod calmly said to them.
"What?"
"I know it's hard to grasp, but right now all that matters is getting him out of that place."
"Sure, Jarod. Count me in," Ethan assured him.
"Thanks, Ethan, but that won't be necessary. Parker is getting him out."
"You talk to her?" His father asked.
"Yes, I did. And, once she's out of there, she will be meeting us here," after a brief pause, seeking for his father's approval, Jarod continued, "Now, we need to find mom. We don't have much time."
"Yeah, let's find her."
Some time after, all the family got a strong lead on Margaret, Jarod and Major Charles were getting ready to follow it.
"Let's go, Dad. The soon we get there, the better our chances are ."
Then, Jarod looked over at Ethan, who was concentrating on the voices, and saw his mood change.
"What is it Ethan? Is something wrong?"
"Miss Parker. I have to help her."
"What's going on, Ethan?"
"The voices are telling me that she's in danger, but that help is on the way."
"What are you going to do, Jarod?" His father asked, when he saw his son grabbing his cell phone.
"Come on, Sydney! Pick up the phone!"
Jarod begged, but after four rings, he was starting to lose hope. Finally, Sydney picked up his cell phone.
"Sydney! What happened?"
"Don't worry, Jarod. Something went wrong, but I have Andrew and I'm getting Parker out now!"
"What went wrong?"
"We can't talk right now. It's not safe. Listen, we'll meet you later, all right?"
"Ok, Sydney. Just, please, be careful."
"I will, Jarod. Take care," Sydney said as he disconnected the phone, holding the baby close.
When Jarod hanged up, there were four concerned faces staring at him, so he decided to share the little he knew.
"Something went wrong at The Centre, but I think Sydney is handling that," Jarod took a deep breath, "I just hope everything is under control as he said."
Then, Jarod and Major Charles left the motel as they were supposed to, and Jarod tried to ignore the side of him that was screaming to help Parker and his son in The Centre, knowing that his friend will be helping them.
****
The Centre
SL-16
Sydney scrolled into The Centre sublevels. Broots traced the baby to SL-16, where Raines was keeping him. He wasn't going to let them take another child and destroy its life, like they did with others, namely Jarod. And even if Sydney didn't want to admit it, he was the one to take Jarod's life.
For 30 years he exploited his genius and made him do things he never should have done. He had been blind with lies. The Centre filled his head with them. Now it was time for some kind of redemption. It didn't make up for the years he stole from Jarod, but it did make up for Miss Parker. Well, kind of. There were still some things she should know. Her terrible family secret. He was right when he told her he didn't know it. But some time passed since that day, and he was able to learn it. Catherine had been right not to tell him, but if he only knew... things would have been different.
Now, he had a task to run. He had to find the baby and get to Parker as soon as possible. God knows what they were thinking of doing to her.
As he reached closer to his destination, he could see Raines near the crib, where Andrew was laying. Raines would certainly be an obstacle to him, but, this time, Sydney would do whatever he had to. Even if that meant killing the wheezing bastard.
Slowly, Sydney reached for the gun, that once was hided in his desk drawer, just to be sure she was still there. Then, he made his presence know to Raines, who looked up from the crib and directly to Sydney's eyes.
"What are you doing here, Sydney?"
"Getting something that doesn't belong to you."
"I believe that 'something' doesn't belong to you either."
"I'm not interested in hearing any of it, Raines," and with this, Sydney grabbed the gun he was hiding and pointed it to him.
"Come on, Sydney. We all know you wouldn't fire that gun. Should I remind you that you tried once... and you failed."
Raines was clearly trying to dissuade Sydney's intent. However, the psychiatrist wasn't having any of it. He had a mission to carry, and he planned on executing it right. Then, he decided to take a different approach.
"You're right, Raines. I wouldn't shoot you," Sydney said, lowering his gun and making his way to the crib. When he was there, and despite Raines' eyes on him all the time, tracing all his moves, he reached for the child.
"I'm warning you, Sydney. Leave the baby alone and go to your office, like nothing happened."
And because Raines was too busy tracking Sydney's movements, he didn't see his hand come to the tubes that assured his breathing.
Sydney pushed the tubes with all his might, what make Raines' breathing become more labored. Then, and to be assured he wouldn't be going anywhere, anytime soon, Sydney cut off the circulation between the tubes and the oxygen tank.
"That should be enough to stop you for a while."
Sydney knew that there were cameras everywhere and that, as soon as they spotted what was going on, sweepers would make their way to help the monster. Besides, how many times did he trick death?
Sydney quickly picked the baby up, and ran as faster as he could to where Miss Parker was being held.
****
Somewhere in Renewal Wing
Miss Parker was nervously pacing her temporary cell. She couldn't help but think about her baby boy, and Jarod, and how she disappointed him. She had already lost track of time a long time ago, but she figured that it probably only passed an hour or so. She heard footsteps and, almost reflexively, she went to the door.
"Cox, you bastard! Let me out of here!" Miss Parker screamed, not really hoping that he would listen to her pleas.
"Shh! Miss Parker, it's me, Sydney."
Promptly, he opened the cell's door with the key he stole from the sweeper in charge. Once, he managed to opened the door, Miss Parker immediately recognized the child in his arms, and Sydney gave him to her.
"Hi baby," she said in a small voice to him, while picking him in her arms.
"Quickly, we've got to get out of here. There's no time."
They walked through some more corridors and were getting closer to the exit by the moment. They were almost leaving, when someone blocked their path.
"Again, not so fast," Mr. Cox said again, this time coming with Mr. Parker.
"You should have known better than to cross us, Sydney."
"Daddy... why are you doing this? I'm your daughter."
Cox let out a devilish laugh and Mr. Parker remained straight faced.
"Give me the baby, angel."
"No, never! He's mine! And I'm leaving."
Mr. Parker drawn his gun and pointed it at Sydney.
"Daddy, don't do this, please!"
"The baby."
Miss Parker would never give him the baby in her free will and Mr. Parker was ready to do what he had to, even if that meant killing the old psychiatrist.
"Do you know he killed Lyle?"
"Lyle betrayed me! That's what happens to people who betray me. Now, angel, I'm counting on that you're smarter than your brother," Mr. Parker tried to convince her.
"Never. I'd rather die than give you my son."
"Then, so be it."
And in that moment, Miss Parker could only hold on to the hope that someone would come down to save them. Her prayers were listened. A shot rang. Two. No, three of them, in fact. The first one was Mr. Parker's. He shot Sydney and he was now lying on the ground, in pain. The second and third ones were Angelo's. He appeared out of the blue and shot both Cox and Mr. Parker. They, too, were lying on the ground. Miss Parker was motionless, but after she captured the whole picture, she grabbed her father's gun that was lying next to him. Then, she turned to help Sydney, but before she could make it, one sweeper appeared and she couldn't.
"Go, Parker! I'll be fine. Don't worry about me," Sydney managed to say, before closing his eyes one last time.
"No!" Parker screamed again. It was the second person she saw being shot today. And it was the second that she was unable to help.
Angelo dragged her and pulled her to a vent, getting her out of there, as well as her son. They wouldn't be able to get them in the vents. Parker looked back one last time, and saw Cox moving, as well as sweepers running to her father's side, but Sydney wasn't moving anymore. Tears were flowing through her eyes now, as she made her way to the outside in the vents, closely followed by Angelo, and keeping her son the closer she could.
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For those who didn't know it already, I'm a huge Lyle fan, and not even I could believe myself when I killed him:( But, other stories will come, and there's always room for revenge. hehehe
Is my writing that bad not to deserve some feedback? Please tell me!
