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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: see Chapter sixteen
~~~~~~~
To End The Evil
Part 44
Meetings
"So?"
"Nothing. There is nothing in her house that could tell us 'anything' about their whereabouts,“ Lyle growled.
"There… hhh… has to… hhh… be something,“ Raines wheezed back.
"Then go on searching yourself. I've been through Parker's house with a toothbrush and there is 'nothing',“ Lyle snapped.
"What about… hhh… the Broots place… hhh… or Sydney's?"
"Nothing,“ Lyle shrugged. "Face it. We won't find them."
"Unacceptable!" Raines barked.
"I don't care if it is acceptable or not. We can't do anything against it. The only thing left for us to do right now is prepare ourselves for what it is they will bring over the Centre,“ Lyle replied and then turned around.
He left Raines sitting in his office without another glance.
~~~~~~~
"Hey, how long until we finally get there?" Emily asked from the backseat where she had dozed for some time.
Jay looked at his watch. "About an hour till we get to the point Ethan wanted us to meet him,“ he replied tensely. He had been tense before Ethan had called and the call had made his suspicion only creep onto higher levels. He didn't like this whole thing. It was not that he suspected a trap or anything like that. It was something entirely different; something that he couldn't explain but he knew that something had happened; something that involved Jarod.
Emily nodded curtly.
Major Charles was busy driving. He had a reserved expression on his face. Ethan's departure had left him angry and the fact that his son hadn't told him a thing over the phone as to why he had hastily left the clan didn't stick good, as well.
The family had left their last lair shortly after Ethan's call.
They had moved to a small airport from where they had flown to Canada. The airport where they landed was quite far away from the spot where they had agreed to meet Ethan but it had to do.
They had been driving the rest of the night, each of the family members taking turns on the wheel.
Though these kind of 'trips' were not uncommon for the Major's family, all of them would be glad when they finally got out of the car and when they could stay on some piece of land for more than a couple of hours.
~~~~~~~
"Dad, how long till we get there?" Debbie whined.
"A little more over an hour, Debbie,“ Sydney answered patiently.
The little group had been on the road the last thirty-something hours. Getting further away from Blue Cove first and then going on by plane to Canada had been the first steps.
After that quite a lot of time went by with driving, driving and nothing but driving.
They were all tired.
For the last few hours everybody had been lost in his own thoughts.
Broots and Debbie worried mostly about Miss Parker. Broots had been irritated when he got the dreaded call but it was not Miss Parker talking to him but Jarod.
Though Jarod had told him that Miss Parker was fine he was still worried for her.
Sydney on the other hand worried not only for Parker but mostly for Jarod.
He knew Jarod better than most people. The line had been unstable when Jarod had called but he had heard his soft moan nonetheless.
It was not only that but also the slight nuances in Jarod's voice.
He had been afraid; afraid and hurt. But Jarod had ended the conversation before Sydney had had the time to get through to him.
Right now they had no means to contact either Parker or Jarod.
The agreement had been that they would make their way up to Canada the moment they got the call.
They would meet Parker or Jarod, or both of them two days after the call at the meeting point they had agreed upon.
Now all that was left for them was to get there in one piece and hope that Jarod and Parker had been equally lucky and gotten away from the Centre's grip.
It was the wait that was the worst, but it would be over in about an hour and they would finally know what had happened and where they stood.
~~~~~~~
"Look, there is the restaurant,“ Jay called and pointed out of the car window.
Major Charles nodded and pulled the car on the parking lot in front of the small restaurant.
There were only two other cars parked on that spot.
The moment they pulled into the parking lot the door of the car close to the restaurants entrance opened and Ethan got out.
Parker and he had agreed that it would be best if Ethan went to pick their guests up alone. One of them needed to stay with Jarod and Parker's going to fetch the Major and the others was not an option.
"Ethan,“ Emily cried out and jumped out of the car. She ran up to him and hugged him. Ethan gently returned the hug. "You all right?" she asked silently.
"Of course I am,“ he grinned and held her away from him to get a better look.
"Ethan. We were worried about you,“ Major Charles grumbled accusingly from behind when he approached his son.
Ethan nodded sadly. "I know and I'm sorry."
"Well, now that we are finally here, you could tell us what all this is about,“ the Major said sternly.
"Or better yet, you could take us to your place and tell us everything there so that we get out of the cold,“ Emily shivered. Though it was end of June, it was chilly due to the wind that blew from the near lake.
"Yeah, I would love to do both but we have to wait for some more time before we can leave,“ Ethan said.
The rest of the family looked puzzled.
"We are still waiting for someone,“ Ethan explained.
"Aha, and who might that be?" The Major asked.
"Friends,“ Ethan stated with emphasis. Before he could go any further into the details of whom they were waiting for, another car pulled into the parking lot.
Ethan smiled and went toward the new car.
The door opened and the driver got out. He turned and looked around. Ethan could hear a collective gasp from his family when they saw the driver's face.
Ethan turned back to his father. The Major was about to usher Emily and Jay back into the car. "Dad. Stop!" Ethan called.
The Major halted in his movements. "Ethan, are you dumb. These people are dangerous. They are the ones that are after us,“ he shouted.
Ethan turned and walked back toward his family. "No, Dad. They are 'friends'. They are here to help and they are fugitives from the Centre,“ Ethan explained.
The Major shook his head doubtfully.
"Dad, trust me. We don't have to be afraid of them,“ Ethan urged, looking his father directly into the eye.
Major Charles returned Ethan's stare and finally relented. "Ok,“ he scoffed silently.
Ethan nodded curtly and then turned again to walk over to the newcomers.
The Major still stood protectively in front of the rest of his family when Ethan looked back over his shoulder.
Ethan walked up to the car and looked at the newcomers. "Please excuse my family's reaction. They just arrived themselves and so I had no chance to fill them in,“ Ethan said and extended his hand to Sydney.
Sydney shook the offered hand and looked at the man in front of him. "It's no problem. The reaction was not half as explosive as I would have anticipated had I known they were here,“ he replied friendly.
Ethan smiled back and turned toward Broots and his daughter. "Mr. Broots and...,“ he paused to look at Debbie and smiled. "...and you must be Debbie,“ he extended his hand to them both, who shook it.
"I'm sorry, Ethan. We don't want to interrupt the family reunion,“ Sydney said.
"No, Sydney, you are not interrupting anything. Well, not to my mind anyway,“ he grinned.
"Ethan?" Jay asked who had come up behind his half-brother.
"Yes, Jay?" Ethan turned toward him.
"Hello Sydney,“ Jay now addressed to his brother's mentor who had been his own for a short time.
"It is a pleasure to see you again... Jay,“ Sydney said while quirking an eyebrow and extended his hand toward the young pretender.
Jay grinned and shook Sydney's hand. "Ethan, can we go to your place now,“ Jay now turned back to Ethan, trying to get back to the topic as to why they were here.
Ethan winced slightly. "Sorry, I forgot. Of course we can,“ he said. "You can follow me with your cars."
"Ethan, before we go… why are 'you' here to pick us up? Is everything alright?" Broots asked directly.
"Well, I better tell you before we get home,“ Ethan sighed.
"Tell us what, Ethan?" Emily asked who had come up together with her father.
"Is Miss Parker all right?" Debbie questioned.
"Miss Parker? She is here, too?" The Major winced and looked around again.
"Yeah, she is here but she is not a threat for us. She is my sister, remember? She won't harm any of us. And yeah, Debbie, Miss Parker is alright. It's Jarod we are worried about,“ Ethan explained.
"Jarod?" Jay grimaced and quickly composed himself before the others could catch his reaction. So he had been right. Jarod was involved in this and obviously not everything was ok.
"Jarod? Why are you worried about him?" Sydney asked anxiously at the same time as Jay.
"Two days ago, he has been shot."
Jay balled his hands into fists and barely suppressed a growl.
When he saw the frightful faces, Ethan quickly went on, "he was shot in the shoulder. The wound got inflamed and he's got a fever."
"Damn, I knew that there was something in his voice when he called to tell us that we had to get away from Blue Cove,“ Sydney grumbled.
"He called you to tell you to get away from Blue Cove? Will somebody please tell us the whole story,“ Emily requested impatiently.
"We don't have time for the whole story now. I promise that we will tell you everything as soon as we can but right now I would prefer getting back to Jarod and Parker,“ Ethan said and then addressed to Jarod's clone, "Jay, we will most certainly need your help."
"Didn't pay attention to the doctor movies in TV, big bro?" Jay teased, trying to cover his uneasiness and fear for his older self.
"No, Jarod might need some of your blood,“ Ethan went on without commenting on Jay's remark.
"Is it that bad?" The Major wanted to know.
Ethan grimaced slightly. "Well, he's lost quite a lot of blood about a week before,“ Ethan explained and seeing the questions in his audience's faces he went on: "From what Parker told me, he was shot back then, too. That wound is pretty much healed but the doubled loss of blood is not all that healthy."
"Got damn it, what is he into that he was shot twice in the course of one week?" Emily cried, clearly frustrated.
"That's a story too long to tell right away. As I said we will tell it but we have to head back first,“ Ethan said firmly.
When everyone nodded, Ethan started to turn around toward Jarod's car, "Then follow me."
To be continued…
~~~~~~~
Part 44
Meetings
"So?"
"Nothing. There is nothing in her house that could tell us 'anything' about their whereabouts,“ Lyle growled.
"There… hhh… has to… hhh… be something,“ Raines wheezed back.
"Then go on searching yourself. I've been through Parker's house with a toothbrush and there is 'nothing',“ Lyle snapped.
"What about… hhh… the Broots place… hhh… or Sydney's?"
"Nothing,“ Lyle shrugged. "Face it. We won't find them."
"Unacceptable!" Raines barked.
"I don't care if it is acceptable or not. We can't do anything against it. The only thing left for us to do right now is prepare ourselves for what it is they will bring over the Centre,“ Lyle replied and then turned around.
He left Raines sitting in his office without another glance.
~~~~~~~
"Hey, how long until we finally get there?" Emily asked from the backseat where she had dozed for some time.
Jay looked at his watch. "About an hour till we get to the point Ethan wanted us to meet him,“ he replied tensely. He had been tense before Ethan had called and the call had made his suspicion only creep onto higher levels. He didn't like this whole thing. It was not that he suspected a trap or anything like that. It was something entirely different; something that he couldn't explain but he knew that something had happened; something that involved Jarod.
Emily nodded curtly.
Major Charles was busy driving. He had a reserved expression on his face. Ethan's departure had left him angry and the fact that his son hadn't told him a thing over the phone as to why he had hastily left the clan didn't stick good, as well.
The family had left their last lair shortly after Ethan's call.
They had moved to a small airport from where they had flown to Canada. The airport where they landed was quite far away from the spot where they had agreed to meet Ethan but it had to do.
They had been driving the rest of the night, each of the family members taking turns on the wheel.
Though these kind of 'trips' were not uncommon for the Major's family, all of them would be glad when they finally got out of the car and when they could stay on some piece of land for more than a couple of hours.
~~~~~~~
"Dad, how long till we get there?" Debbie whined.
"A little more over an hour, Debbie,“ Sydney answered patiently.
The little group had been on the road the last thirty-something hours. Getting further away from Blue Cove first and then going on by plane to Canada had been the first steps.
After that quite a lot of time went by with driving, driving and nothing but driving.
They were all tired.
For the last few hours everybody had been lost in his own thoughts.
Broots and Debbie worried mostly about Miss Parker. Broots had been irritated when he got the dreaded call but it was not Miss Parker talking to him but Jarod.
Though Jarod had told him that Miss Parker was fine he was still worried for her.
Sydney on the other hand worried not only for Parker but mostly for Jarod.
He knew Jarod better than most people. The line had been unstable when Jarod had called but he had heard his soft moan nonetheless.
It was not only that but also the slight nuances in Jarod's voice.
He had been afraid; afraid and hurt. But Jarod had ended the conversation before Sydney had had the time to get through to him.
Right now they had no means to contact either Parker or Jarod.
The agreement had been that they would make their way up to Canada the moment they got the call.
They would meet Parker or Jarod, or both of them two days after the call at the meeting point they had agreed upon.
Now all that was left for them was to get there in one piece and hope that Jarod and Parker had been equally lucky and gotten away from the Centre's grip.
It was the wait that was the worst, but it would be over in about an hour and they would finally know what had happened and where they stood.
~~~~~~~
"Look, there is the restaurant,“ Jay called and pointed out of the car window.
Major Charles nodded and pulled the car on the parking lot in front of the small restaurant.
There were only two other cars parked on that spot.
The moment they pulled into the parking lot the door of the car close to the restaurants entrance opened and Ethan got out.
Parker and he had agreed that it would be best if Ethan went to pick their guests up alone. One of them needed to stay with Jarod and Parker's going to fetch the Major and the others was not an option.
"Ethan,“ Emily cried out and jumped out of the car. She ran up to him and hugged him. Ethan gently returned the hug. "You all right?" she asked silently.
"Of course I am,“ he grinned and held her away from him to get a better look.
"Ethan. We were worried about you,“ Major Charles grumbled accusingly from behind when he approached his son.
Ethan nodded sadly. "I know and I'm sorry."
"Well, now that we are finally here, you could tell us what all this is about,“ the Major said sternly.
"Or better yet, you could take us to your place and tell us everything there so that we get out of the cold,“ Emily shivered. Though it was end of June, it was chilly due to the wind that blew from the near lake.
"Yeah, I would love to do both but we have to wait for some more time before we can leave,“ Ethan said.
The rest of the family looked puzzled.
"We are still waiting for someone,“ Ethan explained.
"Aha, and who might that be?" The Major asked.
"Friends,“ Ethan stated with emphasis. Before he could go any further into the details of whom they were waiting for, another car pulled into the parking lot.
Ethan smiled and went toward the new car.
The door opened and the driver got out. He turned and looked around. Ethan could hear a collective gasp from his family when they saw the driver's face.
Ethan turned back to his father. The Major was about to usher Emily and Jay back into the car. "Dad. Stop!" Ethan called.
The Major halted in his movements. "Ethan, are you dumb. These people are dangerous. They are the ones that are after us,“ he shouted.
Ethan turned and walked back toward his family. "No, Dad. They are 'friends'. They are here to help and they are fugitives from the Centre,“ Ethan explained.
The Major shook his head doubtfully.
"Dad, trust me. We don't have to be afraid of them,“ Ethan urged, looking his father directly into the eye.
Major Charles returned Ethan's stare and finally relented. "Ok,“ he scoffed silently.
Ethan nodded curtly and then turned again to walk over to the newcomers.
The Major still stood protectively in front of the rest of his family when Ethan looked back over his shoulder.
Ethan walked up to the car and looked at the newcomers. "Please excuse my family's reaction. They just arrived themselves and so I had no chance to fill them in,“ Ethan said and extended his hand to Sydney.
Sydney shook the offered hand and looked at the man in front of him. "It's no problem. The reaction was not half as explosive as I would have anticipated had I known they were here,“ he replied friendly.
Ethan smiled back and turned toward Broots and his daughter. "Mr. Broots and...,“ he paused to look at Debbie and smiled. "...and you must be Debbie,“ he extended his hand to them both, who shook it.
"I'm sorry, Ethan. We don't want to interrupt the family reunion,“ Sydney said.
"No, Sydney, you are not interrupting anything. Well, not to my mind anyway,“ he grinned.
"Ethan?" Jay asked who had come up behind his half-brother.
"Yes, Jay?" Ethan turned toward him.
"Hello Sydney,“ Jay now addressed to his brother's mentor who had been his own for a short time.
"It is a pleasure to see you again... Jay,“ Sydney said while quirking an eyebrow and extended his hand toward the young pretender.
Jay grinned and shook Sydney's hand. "Ethan, can we go to your place now,“ Jay now turned back to Ethan, trying to get back to the topic as to why they were here.
Ethan winced slightly. "Sorry, I forgot. Of course we can,“ he said. "You can follow me with your cars."
"Ethan, before we go… why are 'you' here to pick us up? Is everything alright?" Broots asked directly.
"Well, I better tell you before we get home,“ Ethan sighed.
"Tell us what, Ethan?" Emily asked who had come up together with her father.
"Is Miss Parker all right?" Debbie questioned.
"Miss Parker? She is here, too?" The Major winced and looked around again.
"Yeah, she is here but she is not a threat for us. She is my sister, remember? She won't harm any of us. And yeah, Debbie, Miss Parker is alright. It's Jarod we are worried about,“ Ethan explained.
"Jarod?" Jay grimaced and quickly composed himself before the others could catch his reaction. So he had been right. Jarod was involved in this and obviously not everything was ok.
"Jarod? Why are you worried about him?" Sydney asked anxiously at the same time as Jay.
"Two days ago, he has been shot."
Jay balled his hands into fists and barely suppressed a growl.
When he saw the frightful faces, Ethan quickly went on, "he was shot in the shoulder. The wound got inflamed and he's got a fever."
"Damn, I knew that there was something in his voice when he called to tell us that we had to get away from Blue Cove,“ Sydney grumbled.
"He called you to tell you to get away from Blue Cove? Will somebody please tell us the whole story,“ Emily requested impatiently.
"We don't have time for the whole story now. I promise that we will tell you everything as soon as we can but right now I would prefer getting back to Jarod and Parker,“ Ethan said and then addressed to Jarod's clone, "Jay, we will most certainly need your help."
"Didn't pay attention to the doctor movies in TV, big bro?" Jay teased, trying to cover his uneasiness and fear for his older self.
"No, Jarod might need some of your blood,“ Ethan went on without commenting on Jay's remark.
"Is it that bad?" The Major wanted to know.
Ethan grimaced slightly. "Well, he's lost quite a lot of blood about a week before,“ Ethan explained and seeing the questions in his audience's faces he went on: "From what Parker told me, he was shot back then, too. That wound is pretty much healed but the doubled loss of blood is not all that healthy."
"Got damn it, what is he into that he was shot twice in the course of one week?" Emily cried, clearly frustrated.
"That's a story too long to tell right away. As I said we will tell it but we have to head back first,“ Ethan said firmly.
When everyone nodded, Ethan started to turn around toward Jarod's car, "Then follow me."
To be continued…
