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Note: This is the third of a series. Read 'The Not so Wonderful Life''cd crack f r battlefield 2 and 'A Special Valentine', first!
'Embers' is the next
WARNING: R for violence MAJOR character deaths and serious angst... read at your own risk and you encouraged to have tissue around for the ending. This is super long, which was not planned, but I hope you won't feel you've wasted the time. There will be an epilogue to follow. Also two other less harsh warnings: 1) if you really like Rachel from the Profiler and the idea of her and Jarod being together, you might want to skip this, and 2) if you haven't read The Not So Wonderful Life and Special Valentine, this won't make much sense.
Disclaimer is I don't own 'em and don't pretend to, so don't sue me.
Afterglow
by N.R. Levy
She had always hated holidays, but now she dreaded them. She was plagued with a horrible, gnawing sense of fear growing in her stomach as each one approached because each one was marked by a bloody reminder of how the terrible, twisted monster that her brother had become.
Parker shuddered as she thought about the death and destruction Lyle was reeking, and all to get her attention. It made her feel sick to her stomach to think about what he had done. It had begun with Cassidy Tyler on Valentine's Day. Then there was Angela Hartner on St. Patrick's Day – he had sent her heart with a shamrock resting on top. Easter had brought Christina Minell's life to an end. Even Memorial Day was not exempt from Lyle's hideous distortion. That was the day that he had ripped Serena Reynolds away from her three children forever.
Now July Fourth was only five days away.
The only thing that had kept her sane throughout the past six months had been sharing the burden with Jarod. He was working so hard to try and find Lyle, and though it had slowed their operation against the Centre significantly, it was worth it to try and stop him.
The problem was that Lyle had a lifetime of experience at disappearing. He even rivaled Jarod with his ability to vanish and reappear as someone new at a moments notice. That's what had happened in New York. Jarod had nearly caught up with her wayward brother at the low-rent hotel he'd been hiding in, but Lyle had slipped away just before Jarod's arrival, and then just three hours later Serena Reynolds had died.
They had become so desperate to find Lyle before he could claim another victim that Jarod had convinced her to do something that went totally against her natural instincts – he had involved the authorities. Apparently during his many pretends he had begun a relationship with a man named Bailey Malone. Malone was the head of the Violent Crimes Task Force of the FBI. His unit specialized in tracking down serial killers, and once Jarod had shown him Lyle's profile, Malone was ready to come on board.
Lyle had made it more difficult for them to catch him by changing his targets. He no longer isolated his killing to Asian females; instead he was selecting targets at random. The first woman had looked like Parker, and she and Jarod had initially believed that Lyle would target more women who bore a resemblance to her, but that had not been the case. The victims were clearly now being selected for convenience rather than any motive that propelled Lyle before.
They had just left a meeting with Malone and another agent named Rachel Burke. Parker had disliked the woman instantly, especially when she'd seen the welcoming smile on Burke's face when Jarod walked in the room. Jarod had nearly frozen when the woman approached him and offered a hug. Parker's feelings turned from dislike to hatred then, and she had done little more than glare at the FBI agent through the rest of the meeting.
Now they were in her Porsche on the way back to Blue Cove. Their meetings were held in a small inn up the coast of Delaware. It made it easy for Parker and Jarod to get there quickly since Jarod had been a mere 30 miles from the Centre for most of the last six months. Right under their noses, she thought, and they still can't find him.
She glanced over at him from the passenger seat, for once glad that she was not behind the wheel. Jarod usually insisted on driving when they were together. If he didn't, he complained the whole time about how fast she drove, and it would remind her of the days when she'd wanted to do nothing more than shoot him in the knee cap and toss him back in his cell. Still, those days were long behind them now.
His eyes were fixed on the road, but she could see the wheels turning in his mind. He felt responsible for Lyle's growing list of victims, guilty that he hadn't been able to stop her brother before he killed more innocents. She understood. She felt the same way, and she knew that she couldn't let him dwell on it too much. Besides, there was something else she wanted to know.
"So, Jarod, how well do you know Rachel Burke?"
She watched his jaw tighten and his hands gripped the wheel a little tighter. Then he forced himself to relax. He did not turn to face her.
"We worked together."
"Uh-huh. Worked together. Worked on what, Jarod?"
He cleared his throat and sat up straighter in his seat. Parker fought back a smile – the first smile she'd let surface in weeks.
"We worked together, Parker, and maybe we had dinner once or twice."
"Dinner?" She raised her eyebrow and now Jarod glanced nervously over at her.
"Parker, what do you want?"
"Nothing. I was just curious." With that said, Parker turned her face back to the window and watched the trees slide by in the night.
"Just curious?" Now it was Jarod's turn to enjoy a private smile. "You sounded more than curious to me."
"Whatever."
Now Jarod let himself smile wide. Despite everything that they had endured the past few months, hell, the past few years, the end result had been he and Parker growing closer and closer. Their friendship was stronger now than it had even been during the best of their times together as children, and he cherished that.
Yet the thought also made his mood grow dark almost immediately. She meant so much to him, too much to him to let her get hurt again, and still he continued to fail in his hunt for Lyle. It had become such an obsession that he had put his plans for the Centre on the back burner. Though he occasionally put into play wrinkles that were softening up the Centre for the final blow, he was well behind schedule on the takedown.
He stole a quick glance at Parker as they turned off onto the back road that led not only to her house, but also to the house a mile up the road that Thomas had restored. It was where Jarod now lived. He loved being in that house. He didn't know what it was – the good memories of his friend, the knowledge of what the man had meant to Parker, but since he'd moved in he had slept, really slept, for the first time in his life. He felt at peace there, and it helped that he was close enough to get to Parker if she needed him. And during the last few months, she had needed him a great deal. He knew that she counted on him to keep her steady in the face of Lyle's cruel torture, and he was almost afraid to admit what it meant to him that it was him she was leaning on.
They remained silent while Jarod pulled the car up to the edge of the woods, just behind his house. From here, Parker could go back down to the main road and turn off onto Briar without anyone knowing he had been with her. He knew the Centre was still watching her. He'd found two bugs in her house yesterday. He checked it every day now. They couldn't afford to get caught in a Centre trap, not until Lyle was out of the game for good.
'Embers' is the next
WARNING: R for violence MAJOR character deaths and serious angst... read at your own risk and you encouraged to have tissue around for the ending. This is super long, which was not planned, but I hope you won't feel you've wasted the time. There will be an epilogue to follow. Also two other less harsh warnings: 1) if you really like Rachel from the Profiler and the idea of her and Jarod being together, you might want to skip this, and 2) if you haven't read The Not So Wonderful Life and Special Valentine, this won't make much sense.
Disclaimer is I don't own 'em and don't pretend to, so don't sue me.
Afterglow
by N.R. Levy
She had always hated holidays, but now she dreaded them. She was plagued with a horrible, gnawing sense of fear growing in her stomach as each one approached because each one was marked by a bloody reminder of how the terrible, twisted monster that her brother had become.
Parker shuddered as she thought about the death and destruction Lyle was reeking, and all to get her attention. It made her feel sick to her stomach to think about what he had done. It had begun with Cassidy Tyler on Valentine's Day. Then there was Angela Hartner on St. Patrick's Day – he had sent her heart with a shamrock resting on top. Easter had brought Christina Minell's life to an end. Even Memorial Day was not exempt from Lyle's hideous distortion. That was the day that he had ripped Serena Reynolds away from her three children forever.
Now July Fourth was only five days away.
The only thing that had kept her sane throughout the past six months had been sharing the burden with Jarod. He was working so hard to try and find Lyle, and though it had slowed their operation against the Centre significantly, it was worth it to try and stop him.
The problem was that Lyle had a lifetime of experience at disappearing. He even rivaled Jarod with his ability to vanish and reappear as someone new at a moments notice. That's what had happened in New York. Jarod had nearly caught up with her wayward brother at the low-rent hotel he'd been hiding in, but Lyle had slipped away just before Jarod's arrival, and then just three hours later Serena Reynolds had died.
They had become so desperate to find Lyle before he could claim another victim that Jarod had convinced her to do something that went totally against her natural instincts – he had involved the authorities. Apparently during his many pretends he had begun a relationship with a man named Bailey Malone. Malone was the head of the Violent Crimes Task Force of the FBI. His unit specialized in tracking down serial killers, and once Jarod had shown him Lyle's profile, Malone was ready to come on board.
Lyle had made it more difficult for them to catch him by changing his targets. He no longer isolated his killing to Asian females; instead he was selecting targets at random. The first woman had looked like Parker, and she and Jarod had initially believed that Lyle would target more women who bore a resemblance to her, but that had not been the case. The victims were clearly now being selected for convenience rather than any motive that propelled Lyle before.
They had just left a meeting with Malone and another agent named Rachel Burke. Parker had disliked the woman instantly, especially when she'd seen the welcoming smile on Burke's face when Jarod walked in the room. Jarod had nearly frozen when the woman approached him and offered a hug. Parker's feelings turned from dislike to hatred then, and she had done little more than glare at the FBI agent through the rest of the meeting.
Now they were in her Porsche on the way back to Blue Cove. Their meetings were held in a small inn up the coast of Delaware. It made it easy for Parker and Jarod to get there quickly since Jarod had been a mere 30 miles from the Centre for most of the last six months. Right under their noses, she thought, and they still can't find him.
She glanced over at him from the passenger seat, for once glad that she was not behind the wheel. Jarod usually insisted on driving when they were together. If he didn't, he complained the whole time about how fast she drove, and it would remind her of the days when she'd wanted to do nothing more than shoot him in the knee cap and toss him back in his cell. Still, those days were long behind them now.
His eyes were fixed on the road, but she could see the wheels turning in his mind. He felt responsible for Lyle's growing list of victims, guilty that he hadn't been able to stop her brother before he killed more innocents. She understood. She felt the same way, and she knew that she couldn't let him dwell on it too much. Besides, there was something else she wanted to know.
"So, Jarod, how well do you know Rachel Burke?"
She watched his jaw tighten and his hands gripped the wheel a little tighter. Then he forced himself to relax. He did not turn to face her.
"We worked together."
"Uh-huh. Worked together. Worked on what, Jarod?"
He cleared his throat and sat up straighter in his seat. Parker fought back a smile – the first smile she'd let surface in weeks.
"We worked together, Parker, and maybe we had dinner once or twice."
"Dinner?" She raised her eyebrow and now Jarod glanced nervously over at her.
"Parker, what do you want?"
"Nothing. I was just curious." With that said, Parker turned her face back to the window and watched the trees slide by in the night.
"Just curious?" Now it was Jarod's turn to enjoy a private smile. "You sounded more than curious to me."
"Whatever."
Now Jarod let himself smile wide. Despite everything that they had endured the past few months, hell, the past few years, the end result had been he and Parker growing closer and closer. Their friendship was stronger now than it had even been during the best of their times together as children, and he cherished that.
Yet the thought also made his mood grow dark almost immediately. She meant so much to him, too much to him to let her get hurt again, and still he continued to fail in his hunt for Lyle. It had become such an obsession that he had put his plans for the Centre on the back burner. Though he occasionally put into play wrinkles that were softening up the Centre for the final blow, he was well behind schedule on the takedown.
He stole a quick glance at Parker as they turned off onto the back road that led not only to her house, but also to the house a mile up the road that Thomas had restored. It was where Jarod now lived. He loved being in that house. He didn't know what it was – the good memories of his friend, the knowledge of what the man had meant to Parker, but since he'd moved in he had slept, really slept, for the first time in his life. He felt at peace there, and it helped that he was close enough to get to Parker if she needed him. And during the last few months, she had needed him a great deal. He knew that she counted on him to keep her steady in the face of Lyle's cruel torture, and he was almost afraid to admit what it meant to him that it was him she was leaning on.
They remained silent while Jarod pulled the car up to the edge of the woods, just behind his house. From here, Parker could go back down to the main road and turn off onto Briar without anyone knowing he had been with her. He knew the Centre was still watching her. He'd found two bugs in her house yesterday. He checked it every day now. They couldn't afford to get caught in a Centre trap, not until Lyle was out of the game for good.
