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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
part 1
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"What is it, Sydney?" Miss Parker walked into his office and took a seat opposite the psychiatrist.
"I'm concerned."
"No, really?" Her voice became sarcastic. "I would never have guessed."
He turned away, staring at a point on the wall behind her, and she became more serious. "What about?"
"Jarod." Sydney looked back at her. "Did it occur to you that he actually got hit by that car before he jumped into it? I thought he might at least have called to let us know that he was okay."
"Actually I did think of that. I left Broots running a search of all the hospitals in Blue Cove and the outskirts, just in case."
Sydney nodded. "And you'll let me know...?"
"Don't worry, Syd. You'll be the first person I tell after I drag him back here. I'm sure they'll let you visit him in the infirmary."
He glared at her. "That isn't funny, Parker." After a pause, Sydney changed the subject. "Did you talk to your father?"
She nodded. "He didn't mention the robbery. It's the second time he's done that."
"When was the first?"
"When Jarod broke into his house a few years ago, just before we ended up at the Dover Town Bank together. I'm sure you remember that fun little experience."
Falk, New Jersey
Helen walked over to pick up the phone, her eyes fixed on the sleeping man opposite her. When it was answered she ignored the usual civilities.
"I got what you wanted. Several things, in fact. But the primary article will be the most interesting. I'm sure you can manage to make it here in less than three hours. If not, it might not still be here. Just make sure you come."
She disconnected the call abruptly and walked into the kitchen, pouring the rest of the drink from Jarod's glass into the sink and washing it carefully with detergent and hot water, before draining her own glass. Glancing over her shoulder, able to see him from where she was, Helen chuckled softly. It had been so ridiculously, easy and so unplanned. She was almost positive that it was the right person and everything seemed to confirm it - his name, the pursuit, the bags he carried. It all added up. Walking into the other room, she opened the cupboard and took out a large black bag, carrying it back into the living room and pulling up a small table so that she could sit opposite him. For a moment, Helen stared solemnly at the limp figure before suddenly grinning.
"You made it far too easy, Jarod. For somebody on the run, you really gave a lot away. Maybe next time, if there is a next time, you should be more careful."
She opened the first folder and visually scanned the pages of data it contained. Glancing down at her black attire, Helen got up, going into the other room and opening the cupboard. Pulling out a different outfit, she quickly donned it. Looking in the mirror, she smiled in satisfaction before going back to the living room, where the only sound was the regular breathing of the unconscious figure on the sofa.
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Miss Parker watched the footage from her father's office again, eyes fixed on the figure in black as she confidently made her way across the room. "What else do you think she took?"
Sydney shrugged. "It would be impossible to tell what your father may keep in his office, Parker. But no doubt they were highly confidential documents. I just have to wonder what use they were to her."
"Not to mention who she is." The woman leaned back in her seat. "To change the subject, what did the rental records from that car we saw Jarod leap into show?"
"She gave her name as Helen Barnes, living just outside Blue Cove, but there is no-one of that name at that address. In fact there's no Helen Barnes anywhere in all Delaware, according to what Broots found out."
"And the rental company?"
Lyle leaned forward. "It's genuine. She paid for the car in advance and it's due back tomorrow. I already ordered a sweeper team to watch the place."
"I don't think it'll help."
"Why not?" Miss Parker looked at Sydney sharply.
"Well, considering that she gave a false name and address, not to mention a fake driver's license, I doubt she'd make the mistake of taking the car back in person." He paused. "Especially not after recognizing us."
She sat back, staring at him. "So you think that the woman who hit Jarod and the one who robbed my father were the same?"
He nodded slowly, seeing the skepticism on her face. "I don't know why I think so but I do."
Miss Parker raised an eyebrow. "I think you've been working too hard."
"Call it instinct." Sydney glanced down at the black-clad woman on the screen in front of him. "I’m somehow sure that she's the one who was in your father's office, and that she's probably also the reason he hasn't called."
"You think he's in danger or something? That's laughable, Sydney. The most danger he could be in, in his eyes anyway, is to be brought back here."
"I can think of a number of ways that he could be in danger that don't involve us at all." Sydney glanced up at her. "And if somebody else managed to learn what he was capable of, it might not just be Jarod who could be in trouble."
Miss Parker's eyes narrowed. "Clarify that."
"She could hold the Centre to ransom."
Falk, New Jersey
"Jarod?"
He heard the voice as if from a great distance and struggled to get free of the fog that seemed to be surrounding his mind, making it impossible to move.
"Jarod, it's time to wake up now. Come on."
Feeling a hand gently touch his face, Jarod concentrated on opening his eyes, finally managing to lift the lids that felt so heavy. His blurred vision was able to make out a dark-haired shape in front of him that, as he slowly blinked to clear his sight, formed itself into a familiar figure.
"E...Em...?" The syllables were mouthed but no sound came.
"Yes, Jarod." Emily smiled and gently stroked his cheek. "It's me. Don't try to talk yet. You won't be able to, not for a while longer."
He tried to raise a hand, to touch her and make sure that she was real, but his hand felt weighed down and Jarod had no strength to lift it. His lips moved again, silently, as he tried to shape words that wouldn't come.
"It's okay,” his sister soothed. “Shh. Just relax. You'll be fine soon."
Looking around, Jarod was able to make out the fact that he was still in the same room where he had... What had happened? He began to recall what had occurred and, remembering, he tensed and tried to move again.
"Jarod, relax." Emily placed a gentle hand on his forehead. "Don't worry, you're safe. I'm here and I wouldn't let anything happen to you."
The effect of the drug was gradually wearing off, and he was finally able to move his head on the cushion where it was lying. "What are you...?" The words came out slowly. "How are you...here?"
"I got a call telling me where you were, from a friend of mine."
"Who?"
"Helen. You've met her."
"She's...a friend?"
Emily smiled. "Although it may not have seemed like it, yes she is."
"And…where...?"
"I'm right here, Jarod."
He turned his head to see her standing in the doorway and tensed as he looked up at her. His sister noticed immediately. "It's alright, Jarod. I told you she was a friend and she is. You know you can trust me, don't you?"
Slowly he nodded, feeling some of his strength returning, as he pulled himself into a sitting rather than a prone position. Helen walked over and gave a glass of clear liquid to his sister. Emily put it to his lips, but her brother turned his head away, and she looked at him in concern.
"What? What is it, Jarod?"
"What's in it?"
Helen smiled. "Water. H2O. That's it."
Emily glanced up with a laugh. "He doesn't believe you."
"No, I’ll bet." Helen took the glass out of Emily's hand and tasted it, handing it back and looking at him. "Do you think I would have done that if I'd slipped something into it to knock you out again?"
He shook his head slowly and sipped at the water as Emily held the glass to his lips. Jarod tried to take the tumbler from her but his hand seemed to be clumsy and cumbersome. He glanced at it, only to find that it was now covered in a white cast. The confusion in his eyes was clear as he turned to the two women.
"What...?"
"Don't you remember, Jarod?" Helen sat down on a chair opposite. "You ran into the path of my car and broke your wrist when I hit you."
Glancing at his sister, he raised the hand slightly. "And did you...?"
"No, Helen did. She taped your ribs as well."
He raised an eyebrow. "You told me you were involved in law."
Emily looked at him for a moment, her eyes wide, before rocking back on her heels and staring at her friend, finally breaking into peals of laughter that left her breathless. "You told him that? Oh, Helen, you liar!"
"Well, it's true. I am involved in law." Helen grinned. "Breaking it. That has to be considered as an involvement of sorts, doesn't it?" She glanced at Jarod, trying to hide a grin. "I didn't really answer your question before. I am involved in law, in an indirect sort of way. I'm a professional thief."
"You're a what?" Jarod seized the blanket that was warmly wrapped around his body and pulled it off, swinging his legs down from the sofa and staring at her.
"I got taught some sleight of hand tricks as a little girl but I always found it more fun to put them to other uses. As I grew up, I got much better. Now it's virtually my full-time job."
"And you're a doctor as well?"
"Hey, I have to have a legal profession too, right?"
"And what did you give me, exactly?"
"Something of my own creation. Fast acting sedative that wears off fairly quickly, a long-term pain relief as well as anti-inflammatory. Oh, and no nasty side-effects."
"So you're a chemist as well?"
She smiled but didn't comment.
"And why?"
"Several reasons." Helen relaxed back in her seat and watched Emily sit down next to her brother and taking his left hand in both of hers. "Firstly, I knew that break would need treatment and I was fairly certain, knowing of your stubborn and determined nature, that you wouldn't let me give you anything for the pain before I wrapped it up. Secondly, I got a good idea of who you were as soon as I saw them come out of the alleyway behind you. Everything you said only confirmed it. Maybe you missed the fact that I didn't ask you a single question except for your name during the car trip because I didn't need to. Once you told me that piece of information, I recalled all the other things I've ever heard about you - and by now I think I know just about everything there is to know - and, suspecting that you wouldn't have believed me if I said 'I know your sister', I really drugged you to ensure that you'd still be here when she arrived."
He narrowed his eyes. "That's horribly devious."
She grinned. "It worked though, didn't it?"
"So what were you doing in Blue Cove?"
"Visiting the Centre."
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"Even if she doesn't hold Jarod to ransom, she could always do the same thing to the information that she stole."
"Of what use would information about Jarod's family be to anybody except him or them?"
Sydney shrugged. "I have no idea. But we don't know what else she’s stolen. Without your father ever admitting to it, we probably won't find out either."
"Unless he does tell us." Miss Parker rolled her eyes. "But I'd be willing to bet that he won't."
Sydney changed the subject. "What do you think Lyle meant before by his cryptic little comment?"
"Which one?"
"'Seems like you're not the only one Dad's been keeping secrets from.'"
She stared at him. "I'd forgotten he even said that."
"So what do you think he meant?"
Miss Parker stood up. "Only one way to find out."
Outside Bryson, Delaware
Jarod watched as Helen carefully parked the car and then got out of it, picking up her things and walking over to where he and his sister waited in the doctor's car. As she got into the back seat beside him, Helen peeled off her gloves.
"What's that for?"
"I would expect the Centre to have contacted the rental company and found that the details I gave them were false. That means they'll want to get hold of the car and sweep it to find out who I am. I don't really want them to be able to track me by looking up police records to find my fingerprints. It makes it too easy."
"And who are you?"
"I told you, Jarod." She grinned. "A thief."
He stared in amazement as she pulled a cell phone out of her sleeve and held it up in front of his face. Grabbing it out of her hand, he replaced the device in the pocket of his jacket from whence she had stolen it minutes earlier and glared at her. From the front seat, as she started the engine, Emily laughed.
"Stop showing off, Helen."
"Oh, come on, Em. You enjoy it. Remember how we met?"
As the other woman laughed, Jarod looked over with an expression of curiosity in his eyes. "Well, are you going to tell me?"
"I don't know whether I should. It might shock you."
"I'm hard to shock."
"I'd imagine you're also pretty hard to drug or to steal from, but..."
"Just tell him, Helen. He'll like the story."
"Okay." The woman leaned back against the seat as the car pulled away from the curb. "Despite my bad habits, I was brought up as a good Catholic girl by nuns in a small school in Philadelphia. My parents both died when I was five. After that I lived at the convent until I turned sixteen, when I went away to college. I keep in contact with the some of the nuns and visit them when I'm in the area. I came up for a visit not long after you left to prevent Washington from going 'boom' and, as the nuns were concerned Emily didn't seem to be recovering well, they asked me to take a look at her."
Jarod opened his mouth to speak, but Helen continued quickly.
"Your sister was concerned about her dad, worried about you, and also anxious about Ethan, so I played a few little party tricks to amuse her. As a grand finale, I slipped the photo of your mother out of her pocket, flourished it, looked down at it and nearly passed out."
Jarod's eyes were wide. "Why?"
"In the second year after she and your father separated to keep Emily safe from the Centre, your mom came to Philadelphia to try and earn some money working as a teacher at the convent. She was a great teacher and I really loved her class, so much so that I used to stay around afterwards and talk to her. I was the oldest student there at that time and I didn't go out a lot, so it became a normal thing that I’d go home with her after class and we’d sit and have long discussions about all sorts of subjects."
"What did she teach?"
"Philosophy, of all the bizarre subjects to be taught at a place where religion is the central theme. Still, they wanted us to develop a balanced view of life so that was actually encouraged. Margaret and I discussed virtually everything - including the abduction of her sons and the lifestyle she was forced to lead. Then, one day, I got a note saying they were close and she had to leave. It was a disappointment but we stayed in contact for years." Helen smiled. "Once I knew who Em was, we started to talk. She told me about you and what had happened to the family since I'd last had any contact with your mother, and that was a few years earlier by then."
"And what happened later?" Jarod looked towards the front of the car where his sister had silently listened to the discussion. "I still don't know about that."
"I took Em to the meeting point that your dad suggested to the nuns and we found him there. We promised to keep in touch and we have. I've had a good idea of where they've been and that was what enabled me to call her while you were… uh, napping and tell her where you were."
Emily looked scornfully in the mirror. "You really told me, Helen. A cryptic call that didn't really tell me anything."
"Except that I had something else that you wanted." She laughed. "Come on, Em, if I had told you then you would have broken every road rule on the way here. You've already had one member of your family involved in a car accident today. I didn't want it to happen to two of you."
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"They found the car."
Miss Parker looked up as Lyle stood in the doorway. "And?"
"Very interesting."
"Are you going to tell me, Lyle, or should I choke you here and now?"
Ignoring the question, he sauntered into her room and sat opposite her, placing his feet up on the desk and disregarding the heated glare he received. "It would appear that Sydney's assumption was correct. Under one of the seats was a bundle of files that appear to be the same as the ones stolen from Dad's office."
"They were still there?"
He nodded. "Judging by their condition our little thief got interrupted just as she was about to read through the material she'd purloined. Several the papers had fallen out and others were creased, but when I gave it back to Dad, he gave the impression that everything was there."
"And you believe him?"
Lyle stood. "I'm sure he'd have no reason to lie to me."
As he left the office, Miss Parker looked up at where Sydney was sitting in the corner. "Obviously I wasn't the only one who forgot he said that."
"So you didn't get a chance to ask him before he got the call about the car?"
She shook her head. "And I tried to see Daddy, but was told that he wasn't seeing anyone for the rest of the day." Her eyes narrowed. "Except, it would appear, my brother."
"If Lyle brought back the files, I would imagine your father would be willing to make an exception. That’s assuming Lyle gave Mr. Parker's secretary the chance to stop him from going in."
Miss Parker nodded slowly. "You may have a point there."
Pritt, Pennsylvania
Eyeing the two sleeping people in the back seat, Helen drove the car up the driveway, stopping in front of a large house. Her door was opened and she put a finger to her lips and then allowed the man to pull her into a hug.
"It's great to see you, Helen," he beamed.
"It'll be even greater to see my passengers." She turned with a grin, opening the back door of the car. The sound was enough to rouse Jarod who raised his head, tensing as he found himself in unknown surroundings.
"You still don't trust me, huh?"
He looked at Helen and grinned. "After all the things you've done to me today, I should?"
She laughed and gently shook his sister. "Hey, Em, we're here."
"Where's 'here'?"
"Home." The man came appeared behind Helen and Jarod stared up at him, his face wearing an expression of shock.
"Dad?"
As Emily scrambled out of the car to hug her father, Jarod released the seatbelt and got out also. He turned and stared at Helen. "What on earth...?"
"If you hadn't fallen asleep, I was going to tell you." She shrugged. "You did."
"I wasn't wrong when I called you devious, was I?"
She laughed and opened the front passenger door. "Probably not."
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Sydney walked into the Tech Room to find Broots staring down at the information on the screen in front of him.
"What do you have?"
"Not a lot, that's the problem. In fact, I can't find anything at all. It's almost as if this woman never existed. The car, aside from the folders and a couple of scratches on the bonnet that have been repaired and which, I’ll have to assume, were caused by Jarod, was completely clean - no fibers, no fingerprints."
"In other words, this woman's a professional." Sydney tried to suppress the concern he still felt for his former protégée. "That makes it more difficult."
"I planned to hunt through the FBI's files and see if there was anyone there, but it'll be slow work."
"Why?"
"There's almost four hundred women called 'Helen' on their records - and we're assuming that it’s her real name. I've got to go through them one at a time and hope that there's something we can match with, like the photo."
Sydney gazed thoughtfully at the image of the woman on the screen for a minute before glancing back at the technician. "Before you do, find out if she's ever been inside the Centre before. There have been reports of things missing in the past. After all, she knew what she was doing, where she was going and what she wanted. She didn't even trip any of the sensors so she must have at least some knowledge of the place."
Broots nodded and turned back to the computer.
Pritt, Pennsylvania
"How's the hand, Jarod?"
"It's fine." He rested back in the chair. "But the ribs are starting to remind me that you hit them with your car a few hours ago." A small smile on his face, he rubbed the side of his chest ruefully.
"Why don't you go to bed?" Helen glanced at her watch. "I can't offer you my sofa now, but you’re welcome to sleep in the room I usually take and I'll sleep out here."
"I might just do that." Nodding, he got up, gently hugging his sister before walking to the door.
"Jarod."
"Yeah?" He looked back in time to catch, in his left hand, a box of tablets Helen tossed at him and held it up, an expression of curiosity on his face. "What's this?"
"Something to help with the pain - if you can trust me."
He grinned before following his father down the hall. Helen laughed and turned back to Emily. "Is he gullible or am I persuasive?"
"What did you give him?"
She smiled. "Well, let's just say that, if he takes them, he won't wake up until very late tomorrow morning."
"Helen!"
"What?" She tried to look innocent. "I'm only trying to help!"
Shaking her head, Emily changed the subject. "So what other useful pieces of knowledge did you 'liberate'?"
"I love how you call it that." Helen grinned. "Why not just say 'steal'?"
"Because my word makes it sound legal."
"And my word makes it sound fun and slightly dangerous." She reached into the black bag, taking out a manila folder and handing it to Emily. "These are the final bits of information in Mr. Parker’s files about your family. It's funny how close together it all was. He made it so easy for me."
"And what were the files you were stowing under the front seat of your car when I arrived?"
"Replacements."
"Oh, yes?" Emily raised an eyebrow as she sat back. "In what way?"
"Please, Em, we went through this last time you found me 'liberating' - in your words - things from the Centre about you all."
Emily reached over and hugged her friend. "Do you know how much I appreciate you doing that for us?"
"My pleasure." She smiled. "And it's nice to come up against an organization like the Centre that's actually challenging. Most other places are just a walkover to steal from these days.
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"What did you find?"
"A lot, but there's a problem."
Sydney sat down beside the technician. "And that is?"
"Do you remember a few years ago when Brigitte was trying to kill Mr. Parker and the files related to that had a 'doorbell' on them?"
"These do too?"
"Every one. They were all applied within twenty-four hours of the footage being made. Because I haven't looked, I can't be sure it's her but it does coincide with the discovery, at some time within the next two days, of information - actual sheets of information - being taken. And it's always stuff that, for one reason or another, isn't on the mainframe."
"So what's going to happen when we open them?"
"We'll set off an alarm, alerting her to the fact that we know about them, and also might scramble the information that's inside. The DSA footage might also be damaged."
"Do it anyway, Broots. We don't have a choice."
Pritt, Pennsylvania
Helen opened her computer and then glanced up as her mobile phone started beeping insistently. Activating the message, she read the words that it contained with a small smile. Picking up one of the sheets that had been taken earlier that day, she visually scanned the list and finally, when she was prompted, typed in a word. At once the screen opened and, with only a few more keystrokes, Helen could see the two people in the Tech Room.
"Ah, ah, ah. You naughty little boys, trying to find out information about me." She shook her head and laughingly waved a finger in the direction of the screen. "We can't have that."
Leaning over the keyboard, she began to type, laughing as Broots leaned back in shock when the screen in front of him filled with jargon that she knew had no meaning. It would take them several hours to find that out, though, and by the time they had, she would be there. Helen got up and put on her jacket before picking up a black case.
Opening it, she pulled out a top layer that was filled with vials of all sorts and then looked down to the space beneath. With gentle hands, she picked up a shining silver revolver and softly loaded it, slipping it into a holster that she then did up around her waist. Replacing the top layer, she closed the case and locked it before taking it and the computer and then going to the door.
"Leaving already, Helen?"
With a smile, she turned. "I'm afraid so, Charles. I've got things that need doing."
"Wouldn't have anything to do with the Centre, I suppose?"
"Doesn't it always?" She laughed, rolling her eyes. "But I'll give you a call to let you know how it's going. And you can always call me too, you know."
"Okay." He smiled. "Stay safe."
"You, too."
Opening the door, she walked out into the cool night air and softly closed it behind her. Climbing into the car, she placed the case on the floor of passenger seat, and left the computer on the seat so that she could see and hear what was going on. Starting up the vehicle, she drove it down the street, heading for Delaware.
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
"So what does it mean?"
"No idea." Broots looked up at Sydney. "It looks like it's in various codes and, until we break all of them, we won't know. And that could take hours."
"Will the same thing happen when we open another one?"
"It's possible." He leaned forward. "But that actually opened after I'd opened the file, quite a while after – a few seconds. I don't know whether it was associated with it or just some random thing."
"Random?" Sydney looked skeptical. "How much of this has been random?"
Broots nodded slowly and then, as he was just about to open the second file, glanced at Sydney. "Where's Miss Parker?"
"She and Lyle are in a meeting with their father. She said she'd go home straight after but that we should tell her tomorrow what we find."
He nodded and activated the second file. For a moment, Broots held his breath as he waited for a stream of nonsense to appear on the screen, but an image of a woman, dressed in black, was all that appeared before them.
"Where was that?" the psychiatrist queried.
"Raines' office, four months ago. He came in, the next morning, to find that a number of his DSAs were missing and he put in a report to the Triumvirate."
"So she really does know what she's doing."
Sydney watched the woman go over to a spot on the wall that several seconds later slid back to reveal a hidden space. The woman reached in and, as she had done in Mr. Parker's office, made a swap of papers in her bag for those in the hole. Then she went over to the filing cabinet and slipped several of the folders out.
"Do we know what was on the DSAs?"
"Apparently it was some of the earlier SIMs that Kyle performed." Broots took up a list that he had printed out and ran an eye down the items it contained. "Look at this, Syd. Everything that's been reported as missing always had to do with Jarod or another member of his family."
"So are we looking at a member of his family who's doing it?"
"I don't think so. The woman's too young to be his mother and it doesn't look like the photos of his sister that I could find."
"All right." Sydney sighed wearily. "Let's keep looking."
Blue Cove, Delaware
Helen sat in the driver’s seat of her car before the house, the blackness of the vehicle melting into the shadows. Turning, she pressed the unbreakable glass that separated the front and rear seat, making sure that it was properly in position. She nodded and looked down at the computer in time to see the men close the door behind them as the lights were switched off. Glancing at her watch, Helen estimated that she had about ten minutes before they would arrive, Sydney bringing Broots home so he wouldn't have to ride in the dark.
Lifting the black case onto her lap and opening it she took out a small canister and, going around to the rear of the car, opened the door. With care, she fixed it to the small air vent underneath the back seat, ensuring that the hook for puncturing it was firmly in position. Standing up she looked at the car in satisfaction. She didn't use it often, but on a number of other occasions it had been helpful, and it certainly would be now. The motionless girl already lay in one corner of the rear seat, well wrapped in the blankets that had been on her bed. Her face was flushed with sleep and she hadn't moved as Helen had placed the drug-soaked cloth gently over her mouth and nose to ensure that she wouldn't wake as she was taken downstairs and put into the vehicle.
Slipping cautiously up the drive, Helen drew the gun before covering it with the long sleeve of the black top she was once more wearing. As she withdrew into the shadows, she saw a car turn into the street and pull up in the driveway. Both Sydney and Broots got out and she stepped forward, revealing the gun in her hand.
"Freeze, gentlemen."
They both turned sharply to look at her and she waved the gun slightly to indicate to Sydney that she wanted him to step away from the driver's door, which he did.
"How nice to see you both. I'll have your keys, thank you Sydney."
"Who are you?"
"A thief." She grinned. "But you already knew that." Reaching over, she seized the keys from his hand and slid them into her pocket. "We're going to my car. It's just there." She nodded towards the vehicle that was barely visible.
"What do you want?"
"Oh, it's not so much what I want as what I don't want." She stepped down towards the street and Sydney did the same, his eyes fixed on the gleaming metal. "You see, when people try to find out about me, I get a little nervous and then I try to stop them."
As the three neared the car, she opened the back door, motioning them to get inside it. They both hesitated.
"We're about to be kidnapped?"
"No, Sydney, you are in the process of being kidnapped."
Broots glanced into the car, but the depth of the shadows made its interior as dark as the outside and he could see nothing. Helen took a small flashlight out of her pocket, shining it into the back seat.
"You see? Nothing there except your daughter and she's asleep. There's no reason for you to be nervous." She waved the gun again. "In you get. Now."
Broots gasped and climbed in, taking the limp body of his daughter in his arms and shaking her to try and rouse her.
"Debbie? Debbie, wake up, baby."
He gently patted her face but the girl never moved, eyelashes still on her flushed cheeks and her breath coming softly and evenly through parted lips. Turning, he glared at the woman. "What did you...?"
"She's all right. It's just something to make sure she wouldn't wake up. After all, I wouldn't want her to be left her here without anybody to look after her. She'll be better with you."
"Most kidnappers wouldn't be so considerate," the older man stated quietly.
"I'm a considerate person, Sydney. Get in, please."
He glanced at her and obeyed. She shut the door of the car and walked over to the vehicle in the driveway, shutting the doors and ensuring that it was secure.
Sliding into the driver's seat of her car, she activated the speaker so that she could hear anything said by the people in the back and then started the engine.
"Is Debbie...?"
"Mr. Broots, your daughter will be fine. As I told you, I exposed her to a mild sedative so that she wouldn't wake as I carried her down to the car."
"Your size belies your strength."
"Thank you, Sydney. In my profession, I find strength is a useful attribute."
"Kidnapping?"
"Not always. I'm more of a thief. I only kidnap when I find it necessary."
"So what are you planning to do with us?"
"Oh, nothing very serious. A few days at my house until I'm sure that the Centre will no longer be interested in me and then you can go home."
"Who are you?"
"My name's Helen - but you already knew that."
"And were you the one...?"
"Please, Sydney, I'm not going to tell you everything. At least, not now. Mr. Broots, your daughter should be waking up very shortly."
Even as Helen glanced in the rearview mirror, the girl moved in Broots' arms, and he stroked her hair, shifting her so she lay between him and the car door, her head on his shoulder.
"Debbie?"
She yawned and snuggled against him, turning her face in towards his neck, but without opening her eyes. "Daddy?"
"Yes, baby. It's okay." He felt her relax before looking up at the driver. "Is she...?
"Asleep, yes. But I would suggest it's natural, for the moment anyway."
Sydney looked sharply at the driver as the car turned a corner. "What do you mean by that?"
"You think I'm going to let you see where I'm taking you? No, Sydney. I might be considerate but I'm also a professional."
Reaching over, she pressed a button and saw a small light turn on indicating that the canister, full of highly pressurized gas, had been punctured. A small dial next to the button showed the relative amounts of air and gas that were in the rear of the car. She kept an eye on the level as she drove the car towards the outskirts of Blue Cove.
At the same time, she watched the men in the back seat. Broots rested Debbie's body against the door, one of his arms around her shoulder and the other hand stroking the girl's hair and the side of her face as she slept. Sydney, Helen saw, was looking around the back seat of the car and, as she watched him try to open one of the windows, the woman spoke.
"I'm afraid that’s not going to get you far. The doors can only be opened from the outside and the windows aren't moveable except by me. With the tinted glass, nobody is able to see you either."
"A very complete set-up."
"Quite."
Helen glanced at the dial to see that the levels had passed the point where the gas should have begun to have an effect. She pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned in her seat to see the technician look up at her, blinking drowsily, before he yawned widely and convulsively clutched Debbie tighter. His eyelids closed once, then again, but he forced them up, yawning again as his eyes closed for a third time, and she could see that the drug was taking over as he slumped against the seat. Broots' head drooped, his eyes closed, and finally sank down to rest on that of the unconscious girl in his limp arms. As his head came into contact with that of his daughter, the man surrendered to the drug, lapsing into unconsciousness without a sound.
Sydney, visibly fighting the sedative drug, looked up at her, his voice weak and unsteady.
"I suppose this… is your doing."
"Your assumption is right, Sydney. Just relax and breathe normally. You'll either be unconscious from the gas or else pass out due to lack of oxygen if you try to hold your breath. My way is a lot better for your health."
The man struggled against the urge to yawn, knowing it would only make him absorb more of the medication, and kept himself tense, trying to stay awake. As she watched him, Helen spoke in amused tones.
"Sydney, stop fighting. You can't beat it. It's too strong. It won't do you any harm, but if you don't give in soon, I'll have to give you something else. I'm not letting you see where we're going."
"And… Jarod...?"
"I was wondering when we'd get to him. Yes, he fought against what I gave him, just like you are. It was equally useless."
"Who… are you...?" The man’s words were almost inaudible and his head swayed back and forth as he tried to resist the gas’s soporific effects.
"I'm a thief, Sydney, as I told you before. But don't worry about Jarod. He's quite safe, and so are you, although you may not feel it."
She watched as, despite knowing it was futile, he continued to resist. Shaking his head to try and clear it, Sydney leaned forward, restricted by the seatbelt that he had done up earlier, and tried to compel his eyes to remain open. Reaching out an unsteady hand, he clumsily shook Broots, but the man was heavily sedated and never moved. Looking toward the front of the car, his gaze met that of the woman who silently watched him, and she could see the effort it took for him to focus on her. An expression of sympathy came into her eyes.
"This would be a lot more pleasant for you if you'd give in. Just let yourself imagine this, Sydney." Her voice lowered to a soft, soothing, barely audible murmur. "Peaceful, deep sleep, against the soft seat in this warm car as we travel through the dark, starry night. Don't even try to stay awake, Sydney. It won't do any good at all. Just give up and slide down into that wonderful, soothing blackness I'm providing you with tonight."
Struggling to make his body obey orders that his brain was almost too sedated to send, he leaned forward again, struggling against both the narcotic and the softly spoken words that provided him with such a tempting image.
Finally, with his eyes burning and his head beginning to throb from a lack of air, Sydney permitted himself the luxury of sinking back against the soft car seat, unable to suppress a sigh of relief as he did so. Once and then a second time, his head rolled forward, but both times he brought it upright, defiantly fixing his almost unseeing eyes on the woman watching him.
Overcompensating the second time, however, his head dropped against the back of the seat and his eyes were closed before he could prevent it. Although his eyelids fluttered, the last of his strength was fading away, soothed by the drug that was quickly taking over his body and mind. A few long seconds passed before he finally yielded to the effect of the tranquillizer, unconscious as his head rolled off the headrest and fell against the seat belt, the rest of his body slumping in the same direction. Suppressing her laughter, but feeling, at the same time, a desire to applaud his efforts, Helen turned to the front of the car and restarted the engine.
