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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Disclaimer: The Pretender and its related characters don't belong to me. There is no money involved here and no copyright infringement is intended. This is all just my humble way of paying tribute to a really entertaining show that I miss a great deal. 04/19/03
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Bridge of the Abyss Part 2
Consequences
By Phenyx
"Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad." - Euripedes
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Miss Parker sagged into her chair and leaned her elbows on the desk in exhaustion. The last three days had been grueling. She had kept her promise. The bodies of Ethan and his family had all been closely guarded and the cremations had been carefully supervised. The remains had then been buried in a series of plots at a cemetery not far from the farmhouse where the group had died.
At Parker's insistence, there had been a small service yesterday afternoon. She had been the lone mourner in attendance. It was just as well. Parker hadn't wanted any company. With the arrangements complete and the tombstones ordered, Parker had finally allowed herself to submit to the sorrow she'd been battling in the days since the fire.
Parker had wept for the younger brother she had known so briefly. Then she had cried for the boy who had looked so much like Jarod. Though she had only met Major Charles once, Parker had grieved for him as well. She had even mourned over the deaths of Jarod's mother and sister, neither of whom Parker had ever met.
Parker had sobbed wretchedly before the line of graves. She had wept bitterly for a family she'd barely known. Because Jarod couldn't be there to mourn their loss, Parker did it for him. She alone understood the tragic blow this would be for Jarod.
Having returned to Delaware just before dawn, Parker had taken great care in preparing for work. Not even expertly applied make up could hide the ravages of sorrow and fatigue. Never the less, Parker looked stunning. Her hair was meticulously styled, surrounding her face in a professional fashion. She was dressed in a form fitting black suit. The short skirt and long jacket were tailored to accentuate Parker's physical attributes. Satiny black nylons made her long legs seem even longer.
Submitting to a vanity that wasn't customary for her, Parker slipped a cosmetics case out of her pocket and checked her appearance in the small mirror. She had to face Jarod today. She wanted to look her best.
Parker was frowning at her reflection when Sydney entered her office. Quickly snapping the compact closed and tucking it away, Parker asked without preamble, "Have you seen him?"
Sydney nodded.
"Where are they keeping him?" She demanded.
"Sub-level 22." Sydney replied. With a shake of his head he went on, "Miss Parker, you are exhausted. You need rest. You are unprepared for this encounter, both physically and emotionally."
Parker shrugged. "I will see him today, regardless."
"Miss Parker." Sydney began.
"No!" Parker snapped more loudly than she had intended. She huffed and purposely lowered her voice. "I need to talk to him. Jarod will want to know that the arrangements are finished. He needs to know that his family can't be abused by The Centre any longer."
Sydney sighed. "You can tell him anything you like, Miss Parker. He won't hear you."
Parker frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You'll understand when you see him." was the cryptic response he gave.
Less than an hour later, standing just inside a large cold room on sub- level 22, Parker began to comprehend Sydney's meaning. The room itself was like any other sim lab on this level. One side of the room was flanked with glass-walled offices that opened onto the simulation area. The large open space in the middle of the room was empty except for a barred cell that had been erected in the center.
The cell had a single occupant. Jarod sat cross-legged on the floor in one corner of the otherwise empty cage. His hands were firmly clasped together and buried in his lap. The long brown hair that had tumbled across Jarod's forehead the last few times Parker had seem him was now gone. His hair had been cropped off in a stern institutional fashion.
Dark brown eyes were blank and empty as Jarod rocked methodically back and forth. He showed no reaction as Parker and Sydney stepped into the room.
Parker glanced at Sydney questioningly.
"He's been like this since he arrived." Sydney said softly. "He doesn't speak. He won't eat or sleep. He doesn't react to any stimulus at all. He just sits there and rocks."
"Can't he hear me?" Parker asked.
Sydney shrugged. "I don't know." The psychiatrist said. "He doesn't acknowledge anyone or anything. All indications point to a complete catatonic state."
Parker swallowed. Worrying her lower lip between her teeth, Parker slowly made her way across the room to kneel at the metal bars. Reaching between the iron rods, Parker placed a gentle hand on Jarod's shoulder.
"Jarod?" Parker called softly. "Jarod, it's me." She waited a moment, searching for any sign of recognition. Jarod's metronome-like motion continued without pause.
"I held a service for them yesterday, Jarod." Parker began, speaking as though Jarod could hear her. "It was very nice. I had them all interred in a family plot. They are all together beneath the branches of a huge old willow tree."
There was no response from the pretender.
"The cemetery is in Indiana." Parker continued. "I hope that's okay with you. I didn't think you would want me to bring them back to Delaware. And that seemed as good a place as any." Parker shrugged.
"I thought I would have something planted there. I was considering flowers or a shrub of some sort, perhaps another small tree. What do you think?" Parker asked hopefully.
Jarod's blank gaze stared sightlessly forward.
"You're wasting your time." A sly voice snarled from the doorway.
Parker spun around and stood up quickly. "Lyle." She hissed as her brother entered the room.
Lyle grinned evilly. "You'd have a more interesting conversation with Angelo." He said with a mean chuckle.
Parker glanced down at the pretender. "He might be able to hear me." She said gently.
Strolling up to the barred cell, Lyle reached into his pocket and removed a credit card sized piece of plastic. As Lyle swiped the key card through the slot, the cell door opened with a click. Grinning cruelly, he entered the cage and crouched down in front of Jarod.
Parker rushed in after him and knelt beside the two men.
"The house is dark and there's nobody home." Lyle said as he studied the pretender's face. "He's lost all his marbles."
Placing her hand on Jarod's arm, Parker whispered urgently, "Jarod. Please talk to me."
Lyle laughed. "Save your breath." To prove his point, Lyle pulled a lighter from another pocket and flipped the device with his thumb. Slowly and with great deliberation, Lyle brought the small flickering blaze so close to Jarod's cheek that as the pretender rocked forward, the flame came in contact with his flesh.
The stubble on Jarod's jaw began to singe, filling the air with the distinctive smell of burning hair. The skin on the pretender's face reddened and began to blister as he obliviously rocked into the tiny but destructive fire again and again.
Gasping with shock, Parker lashed out at her brother, knocking him to the ground. "You monster!" She hissed at him. Turning toward Jarod, she gently cupped his good cheek and tilted his head so that she could inspect the small wound Lyle had caused.
"Miss Parker!" Sydney called in warning.
Parker turned just in time to see the blow coming. Lyle backhanded her with such force that Parker was slammed against the bars at the side of cage. Stunned for a moment, Parker blinked up at Lyle in amazed wonder. The grim smile on Lyle's face sent a shiver of apprehension through Parker's body. Lyle took a menacing step toward her and Parker raised her fists in self- defense.
But the impact she was expecting never came. Movement flashed across the corner of Parker's vision, too quick for her to register. In a blur of motion the catatonic pretender shot up from the ground. The door of the cell crashed shut with a bang as Lyle was lifted from the ground by his lapels and rammed against the bars.
Sydney rushed to the edge of the cell and gripped the bars from the outside. Parker and Lyle were now locked inside with Jarod.
To Parker, it looked as though Jarod slapped Lyle violently, but the pretender has his back to her. Jarod's position blocked Lyle from Parker's view completely. Jarod silently raked a clenched fist across Lyle's chest.
As Parker rose from the floor, she could see a startled look of astonishment on Lyle's face. Jarod's arm jerked back across his body again. This time, Parker could see the red droplets that spattered onto the wall.
The moment seemed to freeze in time. Parker could hear a gurgling sound coming from Lyle. As she stepped closer, she could see the jagged tear in her brother's throat and the horrid bubbles of air popping in the liquid. Blood jetted from his jugular vein in a pulsating stream that sprayed over Jarod's clothing. In a matter of seconds, Lyle's neck, face and chest were a torn and shredded mess.
Jarod abruptly released his gasping victim. Lyle, choking on his own blood, fell to his knees in the puddle at Jarod's feet. The pretender turned and looked at Parker with dark, empty eyes that stared at her though a streaked mask of blood.
There was a clattering sound as Jarod dropped something to the floor and Parker stared at the item in sick fascination. It was a spoon. Garishly painted red from Lyle's wound, the spoon had been honed to a razor sharp edge with repeated stokes against a hard surface. With a glance at the spot where Jarod had been sitting, Parker could see the marks on the surface where Jarod had scraped the eating utensil against the concrete. As he had rocked continuously for more than three days, Jarod had ground the innocuous bit of metal into a horrifyingly lethal weapon.
Backing fearfully away, Parker found herself against the bars as Jarod took a step toward her. The main doors to the sim lab suddenly flew open as several sweepers dashed into the room. Their arrival drew Jarod's attention and he glared at them with a cruel smile.
Throwing himself against the bars Jarod grabbed a shaft of iron in each fist and shook them violently, making everyone jump. "RAINES!" Jarod yelled with a snarl. "RAINES!"
The other observers in the room stood dumbfounded. Jarod continued to rage on.
"RAINES!" He screamed again.
The object of Jarod's demands entered the room dragging his ever-present oxygen tank.
Jarod shook the bars again and laughed wildly. "Congratulations, Doctor Raines!" Jarod growled. "You FINALLY have the pretender you've ALWAYS wanted!"
As Jarod doubled over with maniacal laughter, Parker realized that she was screaming.
"Get her out of there." Raines ordered the sweepers. "Lyle too if he's still alive."
"No!" Jarod hissed, glaring angrily at the sweepers. "He's dead." Stalking to the edge of the cell, Jarod grinned madly. "They're all dead. WE are all dead. And this is HELL!"
Parker gasped for air and tried to reign in the panic within her. Her mind raced, frantically searching for a way to escape.
"I'm not dead, Jarod." She whispered tremulously.
The pretender turned toward her. As Jarod approached, Parker fought to hold her ground, denying the inner urge to flee. Jarod leaned in close until they were only inches apart. The smell of blood permeated everything as the pretender spoke in a deadly soft voice.
"We are all dead, Parker." Jarod repeated. He eyes, as empty and blank as a doll's, bore into hers like lasers.
Parker trembled uncontrollably. She had never been so terrified in her life. Her brain just couldn't accept the fact that she could be so afraid of her childhood friend. This thing before her was no longer the Jarod she had always known.
"We are dead, Parker." Jarod shook his head sadly. "That is why we can never free ourselves from the game. The Devil has to have his due." Jarod stroked Parker's cheek tenderly with his fingertips, leaving red streaks on her pale skin.
Parker shivered with revulsion.
There was a low shuffling sound behind them as four sweepers entered the cell. One of the guards was able to grab Lyle's now lifeless body and drag it through the door. Jarod sighed before he turned and faced the remaining men. Glaring down at the guns leveled at his chest, Jarod slowly paced across the width of the cage like a cat.
When he'd reached the corner, Jarod turned in a lightning fast move and surged toward the gunmen. Shots were fired but there were so many armaments in the room that two men went down in the crossfire.
"Hold your fire!" Parker screamed.
But it was too late. Jarod, clutching a rapidly reddening hole in his side, grinned wickedly over the body of a man. The sweeper's neck hand been broken with a violent twist.
In his right hand Jarod now held the dead man's sidearm.
Without batting an eye, Jarod strode through the door of the cell and into the sim lab as the gun in his hand went off with a repeatedly deadly accuracy. Parker was forced to crouch in to a ball on the floor as pandemonium broke out and gunfire zipped back and forth across the room.
Jarod took another hit in the shoulder before he managed to fell the remaining sweepers in the room. Alarm claxons began to blare around them but Jarod seemed oblivious to the noise. When the clip on his gun emptied, he nonchalantly dropped the pistol and calmly retrieved another from one of the dead men.
As the shots ceased, Parker carefully lifted her head to find only Jarod and Mr. Raines standing. She was just in time to see the pretender walk up to Raines, point the gun in his face and hiss, "Check mate."
When Jarod pulled the trigger, the bullet shot from the gun and entered Raines body through his left eye. Blood, brain tissue and bits of fragmented skull smacked on to the cement wall as Raines' life ended abruptly.
The pretender stepped gracefully over the body and strolled into the hallway without looking back.
Parker stood slowly, surveying the carnage around her. She gasped sharply when she saw Sydney against the far wall, gasping as he clutched his abdomen.
"Sydney!" Parker cried as she made her way toward him.
The psychiatrist had been struck in the flurry of bullets during the mayhem. At first glance, the wound didn't seem too bad. But the dark pool growing beneath him told a different tale.
"Sydney." Parker whispered again as she pulled him close.
The older man coughed, bringing bright red droplets to his lips. He struggled for air as his lungs began to fill with blood.
"Parker." He whispered. "You must save him, Parker. Free him from this place."
"Sydney." Parker whimpered as he clawed at the floor in pain.
"Help him." Sydney begged.
Parker could only nod as tears began to slide down her face.
Sydney labored for breath once more. "Forgive me, Jarod." He gasped. Then he was gone.
Forcing aside her grief, Parker stood. Pulling her weapon from her waistband, she left the sim lab and numbly walked down the hallway.
Following Jarod was an easy task. He'd left a trail of blood and destruction in his path.
The corridors of The Centre were in pandemonium. Panic-stricken employees were dashing about, wounded and dying littered the floor. Parker nearly tripped over another discarded gun, still smoking from the recent discharges.
Jarod would have no trouble finding another weapon. Nearly all of the Centre's employees were armed. The pretender could simply take whatever he needed.
As Parker followed Jarod up through the sub-levels, her cell phone began to ring. For several minutes she ignored it but the incessant buzz began to enrage her until she answered with a defeated snarl.
"What?"
"Miss Parker," It was Sam. "The pretender is trying to escape."
Parker nearly laughed at the absurdity of his statement. "Yes I know." She said.
"We are covering all the exits." Sam said rapidly. "But he's armed. He's killed several people."
"Yes, I know." She said softly. "He's gone mad."
"Do we have your permission to use deadly force if necessary?" Sam asked.
Parker gaped silently at the figure of Willy. He was lying in a twisted and broken pile on the landing as Parker climbed the stairwell. The body had evidently been thrown over the railing from several flights up.
"Miss Parker?" Sam's voice called through the phone.
Shaking herself sternly, Parker continued her trek. "Where are you, Sam?" she barked.
"The lobby." The sweeper told her.
"I'm on my way." She said. "I'll need a radio when I get there."
Several minutes later, Parker burst into the lobby. Sam handed her a radio that was crackling with excited voices as Centre security tried to track the pretender.
"I'm hit!" an unidentified voice cried through the speaker. "Send reinforcements! We're on level 10 in the main Tower corridor."
"Level 10?" Sam glanced at Miss Parker in confusion. "Why would he be above us?"
More voices jumbled together on the radio. These communications were punctuated by screams and rapid gunfire. "He's on level 12! He's - -" a voice blurted but was abruptly cut short by a sharp report.
Parker frowned, trying desperately to think.
Sam was equally confused. "He can't escape from the upper levels. There is no way out."
Understanding suddenly slammed into Parker like a fist. "He's not trying to escape." She cried. "He wants to be free."
She started running toward the elevators. "The roof!" Parker yelled. "He's headed for the roof!"
Minutes later, Parker burst through the heavy metal door that led to the roof of the tower with Sam only a few steps behind her. The area was deserted. Jarod was nowhere in sight. Parker panted heavily as she stood near the helipad and a calm breeze blew through her hair. She was still gasping for air when the door opened again and Jarod stepped into the sunshine.
Ignoring both Parker and her sweeper, Jarod gazed up at the bright blue sky and sighed. He walked across the rooftop increasing his speed as he moved until he was running. Discarding the gun in his hand Jarod dashed across the tarred surface and began clawing his way up the chain link fence at the edge of the building.
Parker began to chase after him but Sam reached the pretender first. Just as Jarod grabbed the barbed wire at the top of the fence, the sweeper jumped on his shoulders and dragged him back down to the rooftop, heedless of the wounds that tore into the pretender's palms.
Growling with animalistic rage, Jarod swung a fist at the stocky, shorter man and knocked him to the ground. Turning his back to Parker, Jarod began climbing the fence again. Sam stood and hauled the pretender down for a second time.
Dragging Jarod by the collar of his shirt, Sam pulled the struggling creature several yards and deposited him at Parker's feet. With a wail of outrage, Jarod pounded the concrete beneath him with his fists and then looked up at Parker tearfully.
"Please, Parker." Jarod pleaded. "Don't leave me like this." He gasped. "You know what they will do to me. What they will let me do to others. This is what they've wanted of me all along. Don't let them win."
"Miss Parker?" Sam asked. "Do you want me to call for backup?"
Kneeling before her, Jarod grasped her free hand between his own. "Please." He whispered as he closed his eyes prayerfully. Caressing her other arm with his fingertips, Jarod guided her hand from her side until the muzzle of her gun pressed against his chest. "Help me, Parker. Set me free."
"Miss Parker?" Sam repeated.
In a voice that seemed to come from somewhere else Parker said, "Sam, go watch the door. Don't let anyone else up here."
"But..," Sam started.
Squeezing her eyes shut tightly for a moment she begged him. "Please Sam."
Nodding, Sam obeyed.
When Parker opened her eyes again, Jarod was holding her hand and the gun it held, directly over his heart. Her lower lip began to tremble and her eyes filled with tears.
"I can't." she said sadly, shaking her head.
"Don't condemn me to a life filled with madness. This is the only way, Parker." Jarod gazed up at her with those deep brown eyes and, for a moment, the empty void that had been there disappeared. Parker saw his pain and despair. "Let me go." He urged.
Parker closed her eyes again and her body wilted. She sobbed brokenly as she felt Jarod's thumb close over her fingers and squeeze. Tears flowed down her cheeks unchecked. Even though she'd known it was coming, the gunshot that echoed through the spring morning made her flinch.
Jarod's hands slid away from hers and he crumbled to the ground.
Dropping her gun, Parker opened her eyes and looked down at the man lying there. A dark red stain, barely distinguishable from the rest of the blood of his clothing, was spreading across Jarod's chest. He was gazing up at the sky as he panted in rapid jerks.
Sitting down beside him, Parker rested the pretender's head in her lap.
"Don't cry, Parker." Jarod whispered. "It's finally finished. The pain is gone."
"Oh Jarod." Parker said sadly.
"Strange," Jarod said as a dazed look spread across his face. "I thought the end would hurt. Oh!" He breathed. "Look at that sky. What a beautiful day."
A moment later the brown eyes that gazed upward became vacant as life slipped out of the pretender's body.
Parker took in a ragged breath and screamed her misery at a sparkling blue, cloudless expanse above her.
-
Bridge of the Abyss Part 2
Consequences
By Phenyx
"Those whom God wishes to destroy, he first makes mad." - Euripedes
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Miss Parker sagged into her chair and leaned her elbows on the desk in exhaustion. The last three days had been grueling. She had kept her promise. The bodies of Ethan and his family had all been closely guarded and the cremations had been carefully supervised. The remains had then been buried in a series of plots at a cemetery not far from the farmhouse where the group had died.
At Parker's insistence, there had been a small service yesterday afternoon. She had been the lone mourner in attendance. It was just as well. Parker hadn't wanted any company. With the arrangements complete and the tombstones ordered, Parker had finally allowed herself to submit to the sorrow she'd been battling in the days since the fire.
Parker had wept for the younger brother she had known so briefly. Then she had cried for the boy who had looked so much like Jarod. Though she had only met Major Charles once, Parker had grieved for him as well. She had even mourned over the deaths of Jarod's mother and sister, neither of whom Parker had ever met.
Parker had sobbed wretchedly before the line of graves. She had wept bitterly for a family she'd barely known. Because Jarod couldn't be there to mourn their loss, Parker did it for him. She alone understood the tragic blow this would be for Jarod.
Having returned to Delaware just before dawn, Parker had taken great care in preparing for work. Not even expertly applied make up could hide the ravages of sorrow and fatigue. Never the less, Parker looked stunning. Her hair was meticulously styled, surrounding her face in a professional fashion. She was dressed in a form fitting black suit. The short skirt and long jacket were tailored to accentuate Parker's physical attributes. Satiny black nylons made her long legs seem even longer.
Submitting to a vanity that wasn't customary for her, Parker slipped a cosmetics case out of her pocket and checked her appearance in the small mirror. She had to face Jarod today. She wanted to look her best.
Parker was frowning at her reflection when Sydney entered her office. Quickly snapping the compact closed and tucking it away, Parker asked without preamble, "Have you seen him?"
Sydney nodded.
"Where are they keeping him?" She demanded.
"Sub-level 22." Sydney replied. With a shake of his head he went on, "Miss Parker, you are exhausted. You need rest. You are unprepared for this encounter, both physically and emotionally."
Parker shrugged. "I will see him today, regardless."
"Miss Parker." Sydney began.
"No!" Parker snapped more loudly than she had intended. She huffed and purposely lowered her voice. "I need to talk to him. Jarod will want to know that the arrangements are finished. He needs to know that his family can't be abused by The Centre any longer."
Sydney sighed. "You can tell him anything you like, Miss Parker. He won't hear you."
Parker frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You'll understand when you see him." was the cryptic response he gave.
Less than an hour later, standing just inside a large cold room on sub- level 22, Parker began to comprehend Sydney's meaning. The room itself was like any other sim lab on this level. One side of the room was flanked with glass-walled offices that opened onto the simulation area. The large open space in the middle of the room was empty except for a barred cell that had been erected in the center.
The cell had a single occupant. Jarod sat cross-legged on the floor in one corner of the otherwise empty cage. His hands were firmly clasped together and buried in his lap. The long brown hair that had tumbled across Jarod's forehead the last few times Parker had seem him was now gone. His hair had been cropped off in a stern institutional fashion.
Dark brown eyes were blank and empty as Jarod rocked methodically back and forth. He showed no reaction as Parker and Sydney stepped into the room.
Parker glanced at Sydney questioningly.
"He's been like this since he arrived." Sydney said softly. "He doesn't speak. He won't eat or sleep. He doesn't react to any stimulus at all. He just sits there and rocks."
"Can't he hear me?" Parker asked.
Sydney shrugged. "I don't know." The psychiatrist said. "He doesn't acknowledge anyone or anything. All indications point to a complete catatonic state."
Parker swallowed. Worrying her lower lip between her teeth, Parker slowly made her way across the room to kneel at the metal bars. Reaching between the iron rods, Parker placed a gentle hand on Jarod's shoulder.
"Jarod?" Parker called softly. "Jarod, it's me." She waited a moment, searching for any sign of recognition. Jarod's metronome-like motion continued without pause.
"I held a service for them yesterday, Jarod." Parker began, speaking as though Jarod could hear her. "It was very nice. I had them all interred in a family plot. They are all together beneath the branches of a huge old willow tree."
There was no response from the pretender.
"The cemetery is in Indiana." Parker continued. "I hope that's okay with you. I didn't think you would want me to bring them back to Delaware. And that seemed as good a place as any." Parker shrugged.
"I thought I would have something planted there. I was considering flowers or a shrub of some sort, perhaps another small tree. What do you think?" Parker asked hopefully.
Jarod's blank gaze stared sightlessly forward.
"You're wasting your time." A sly voice snarled from the doorway.
Parker spun around and stood up quickly. "Lyle." She hissed as her brother entered the room.
Lyle grinned evilly. "You'd have a more interesting conversation with Angelo." He said with a mean chuckle.
Parker glanced down at the pretender. "He might be able to hear me." She said gently.
Strolling up to the barred cell, Lyle reached into his pocket and removed a credit card sized piece of plastic. As Lyle swiped the key card through the slot, the cell door opened with a click. Grinning cruelly, he entered the cage and crouched down in front of Jarod.
Parker rushed in after him and knelt beside the two men.
"The house is dark and there's nobody home." Lyle said as he studied the pretender's face. "He's lost all his marbles."
Placing her hand on Jarod's arm, Parker whispered urgently, "Jarod. Please talk to me."
Lyle laughed. "Save your breath." To prove his point, Lyle pulled a lighter from another pocket and flipped the device with his thumb. Slowly and with great deliberation, Lyle brought the small flickering blaze so close to Jarod's cheek that as the pretender rocked forward, the flame came in contact with his flesh.
The stubble on Jarod's jaw began to singe, filling the air with the distinctive smell of burning hair. The skin on the pretender's face reddened and began to blister as he obliviously rocked into the tiny but destructive fire again and again.
Gasping with shock, Parker lashed out at her brother, knocking him to the ground. "You monster!" She hissed at him. Turning toward Jarod, she gently cupped his good cheek and tilted his head so that she could inspect the small wound Lyle had caused.
"Miss Parker!" Sydney called in warning.
Parker turned just in time to see the blow coming. Lyle backhanded her with such force that Parker was slammed against the bars at the side of cage. Stunned for a moment, Parker blinked up at Lyle in amazed wonder. The grim smile on Lyle's face sent a shiver of apprehension through Parker's body. Lyle took a menacing step toward her and Parker raised her fists in self- defense.
But the impact she was expecting never came. Movement flashed across the corner of Parker's vision, too quick for her to register. In a blur of motion the catatonic pretender shot up from the ground. The door of the cell crashed shut with a bang as Lyle was lifted from the ground by his lapels and rammed against the bars.
Sydney rushed to the edge of the cell and gripped the bars from the outside. Parker and Lyle were now locked inside with Jarod.
To Parker, it looked as though Jarod slapped Lyle violently, but the pretender has his back to her. Jarod's position blocked Lyle from Parker's view completely. Jarod silently raked a clenched fist across Lyle's chest.
As Parker rose from the floor, she could see a startled look of astonishment on Lyle's face. Jarod's arm jerked back across his body again. This time, Parker could see the red droplets that spattered onto the wall.
The moment seemed to freeze in time. Parker could hear a gurgling sound coming from Lyle. As she stepped closer, she could see the jagged tear in her brother's throat and the horrid bubbles of air popping in the liquid. Blood jetted from his jugular vein in a pulsating stream that sprayed over Jarod's clothing. In a matter of seconds, Lyle's neck, face and chest were a torn and shredded mess.
Jarod abruptly released his gasping victim. Lyle, choking on his own blood, fell to his knees in the puddle at Jarod's feet. The pretender turned and looked at Parker with dark, empty eyes that stared at her though a streaked mask of blood.
There was a clattering sound as Jarod dropped something to the floor and Parker stared at the item in sick fascination. It was a spoon. Garishly painted red from Lyle's wound, the spoon had been honed to a razor sharp edge with repeated stokes against a hard surface. With a glance at the spot where Jarod had been sitting, Parker could see the marks on the surface where Jarod had scraped the eating utensil against the concrete. As he had rocked continuously for more than three days, Jarod had ground the innocuous bit of metal into a horrifyingly lethal weapon.
Backing fearfully away, Parker found herself against the bars as Jarod took a step toward her. The main doors to the sim lab suddenly flew open as several sweepers dashed into the room. Their arrival drew Jarod's attention and he glared at them with a cruel smile.
Throwing himself against the bars Jarod grabbed a shaft of iron in each fist and shook them violently, making everyone jump. "RAINES!" Jarod yelled with a snarl. "RAINES!"
The other observers in the room stood dumbfounded. Jarod continued to rage on.
"RAINES!" He screamed again.
The object of Jarod's demands entered the room dragging his ever-present oxygen tank.
Jarod shook the bars again and laughed wildly. "Congratulations, Doctor Raines!" Jarod growled. "You FINALLY have the pretender you've ALWAYS wanted!"
As Jarod doubled over with maniacal laughter, Parker realized that she was screaming.
"Get her out of there." Raines ordered the sweepers. "Lyle too if he's still alive."
"No!" Jarod hissed, glaring angrily at the sweepers. "He's dead." Stalking to the edge of the cell, Jarod grinned madly. "They're all dead. WE are all dead. And this is HELL!"
Parker gasped for air and tried to reign in the panic within her. Her mind raced, frantically searching for a way to escape.
"I'm not dead, Jarod." She whispered tremulously.
The pretender turned toward her. As Jarod approached, Parker fought to hold her ground, denying the inner urge to flee. Jarod leaned in close until they were only inches apart. The smell of blood permeated everything as the pretender spoke in a deadly soft voice.
"We are all dead, Parker." Jarod repeated. He eyes, as empty and blank as a doll's, bore into hers like lasers.
Parker trembled uncontrollably. She had never been so terrified in her life. Her brain just couldn't accept the fact that she could be so afraid of her childhood friend. This thing before her was no longer the Jarod she had always known.
"We are dead, Parker." Jarod shook his head sadly. "That is why we can never free ourselves from the game. The Devil has to have his due." Jarod stroked Parker's cheek tenderly with his fingertips, leaving red streaks on her pale skin.
Parker shivered with revulsion.
There was a low shuffling sound behind them as four sweepers entered the cell. One of the guards was able to grab Lyle's now lifeless body and drag it through the door. Jarod sighed before he turned and faced the remaining men. Glaring down at the guns leveled at his chest, Jarod slowly paced across the width of the cage like a cat.
When he'd reached the corner, Jarod turned in a lightning fast move and surged toward the gunmen. Shots were fired but there were so many armaments in the room that two men went down in the crossfire.
"Hold your fire!" Parker screamed.
But it was too late. Jarod, clutching a rapidly reddening hole in his side, grinned wickedly over the body of a man. The sweeper's neck hand been broken with a violent twist.
In his right hand Jarod now held the dead man's sidearm.
Without batting an eye, Jarod strode through the door of the cell and into the sim lab as the gun in his hand went off with a repeatedly deadly accuracy. Parker was forced to crouch in to a ball on the floor as pandemonium broke out and gunfire zipped back and forth across the room.
Jarod took another hit in the shoulder before he managed to fell the remaining sweepers in the room. Alarm claxons began to blare around them but Jarod seemed oblivious to the noise. When the clip on his gun emptied, he nonchalantly dropped the pistol and calmly retrieved another from one of the dead men.
As the shots ceased, Parker carefully lifted her head to find only Jarod and Mr. Raines standing. She was just in time to see the pretender walk up to Raines, point the gun in his face and hiss, "Check mate."
When Jarod pulled the trigger, the bullet shot from the gun and entered Raines body through his left eye. Blood, brain tissue and bits of fragmented skull smacked on to the cement wall as Raines' life ended abruptly.
The pretender stepped gracefully over the body and strolled into the hallway without looking back.
Parker stood slowly, surveying the carnage around her. She gasped sharply when she saw Sydney against the far wall, gasping as he clutched his abdomen.
"Sydney!" Parker cried as she made her way toward him.
The psychiatrist had been struck in the flurry of bullets during the mayhem. At first glance, the wound didn't seem too bad. But the dark pool growing beneath him told a different tale.
"Sydney." Parker whispered again as she pulled him close.
The older man coughed, bringing bright red droplets to his lips. He struggled for air as his lungs began to fill with blood.
"Parker." He whispered. "You must save him, Parker. Free him from this place."
"Sydney." Parker whimpered as he clawed at the floor in pain.
"Help him." Sydney begged.
Parker could only nod as tears began to slide down her face.
Sydney labored for breath once more. "Forgive me, Jarod." He gasped. Then he was gone.
Forcing aside her grief, Parker stood. Pulling her weapon from her waistband, she left the sim lab and numbly walked down the hallway.
Following Jarod was an easy task. He'd left a trail of blood and destruction in his path.
The corridors of The Centre were in pandemonium. Panic-stricken employees were dashing about, wounded and dying littered the floor. Parker nearly tripped over another discarded gun, still smoking from the recent discharges.
Jarod would have no trouble finding another weapon. Nearly all of the Centre's employees were armed. The pretender could simply take whatever he needed.
As Parker followed Jarod up through the sub-levels, her cell phone began to ring. For several minutes she ignored it but the incessant buzz began to enrage her until she answered with a defeated snarl.
"What?"
"Miss Parker," It was Sam. "The pretender is trying to escape."
Parker nearly laughed at the absurdity of his statement. "Yes I know." She said.
"We are covering all the exits." Sam said rapidly. "But he's armed. He's killed several people."
"Yes, I know." She said softly. "He's gone mad."
"Do we have your permission to use deadly force if necessary?" Sam asked.
Parker gaped silently at the figure of Willy. He was lying in a twisted and broken pile on the landing as Parker climbed the stairwell. The body had evidently been thrown over the railing from several flights up.
"Miss Parker?" Sam's voice called through the phone.
Shaking herself sternly, Parker continued her trek. "Where are you, Sam?" she barked.
"The lobby." The sweeper told her.
"I'm on my way." She said. "I'll need a radio when I get there."
Several minutes later, Parker burst into the lobby. Sam handed her a radio that was crackling with excited voices as Centre security tried to track the pretender.
"I'm hit!" an unidentified voice cried through the speaker. "Send reinforcements! We're on level 10 in the main Tower corridor."
"Level 10?" Sam glanced at Miss Parker in confusion. "Why would he be above us?"
More voices jumbled together on the radio. These communications were punctuated by screams and rapid gunfire. "He's on level 12! He's - -" a voice blurted but was abruptly cut short by a sharp report.
Parker frowned, trying desperately to think.
Sam was equally confused. "He can't escape from the upper levels. There is no way out."
Understanding suddenly slammed into Parker like a fist. "He's not trying to escape." She cried. "He wants to be free."
She started running toward the elevators. "The roof!" Parker yelled. "He's headed for the roof!"
Minutes later, Parker burst through the heavy metal door that led to the roof of the tower with Sam only a few steps behind her. The area was deserted. Jarod was nowhere in sight. Parker panted heavily as she stood near the helipad and a calm breeze blew through her hair. She was still gasping for air when the door opened again and Jarod stepped into the sunshine.
Ignoring both Parker and her sweeper, Jarod gazed up at the bright blue sky and sighed. He walked across the rooftop increasing his speed as he moved until he was running. Discarding the gun in his hand Jarod dashed across the tarred surface and began clawing his way up the chain link fence at the edge of the building.
Parker began to chase after him but Sam reached the pretender first. Just as Jarod grabbed the barbed wire at the top of the fence, the sweeper jumped on his shoulders and dragged him back down to the rooftop, heedless of the wounds that tore into the pretender's palms.
Growling with animalistic rage, Jarod swung a fist at the stocky, shorter man and knocked him to the ground. Turning his back to Parker, Jarod began climbing the fence again. Sam stood and hauled the pretender down for a second time.
Dragging Jarod by the collar of his shirt, Sam pulled the struggling creature several yards and deposited him at Parker's feet. With a wail of outrage, Jarod pounded the concrete beneath him with his fists and then looked up at Parker tearfully.
"Please, Parker." Jarod pleaded. "Don't leave me like this." He gasped. "You know what they will do to me. What they will let me do to others. This is what they've wanted of me all along. Don't let them win."
"Miss Parker?" Sam asked. "Do you want me to call for backup?"
Kneeling before her, Jarod grasped her free hand between his own. "Please." He whispered as he closed his eyes prayerfully. Caressing her other arm with his fingertips, Jarod guided her hand from her side until the muzzle of her gun pressed against his chest. "Help me, Parker. Set me free."
"Miss Parker?" Sam repeated.
In a voice that seemed to come from somewhere else Parker said, "Sam, go watch the door. Don't let anyone else up here."
"But..," Sam started.
Squeezing her eyes shut tightly for a moment she begged him. "Please Sam."
Nodding, Sam obeyed.
When Parker opened her eyes again, Jarod was holding her hand and the gun it held, directly over his heart. Her lower lip began to tremble and her eyes filled with tears.
"I can't." she said sadly, shaking her head.
"Don't condemn me to a life filled with madness. This is the only way, Parker." Jarod gazed up at her with those deep brown eyes and, for a moment, the empty void that had been there disappeared. Parker saw his pain and despair. "Let me go." He urged.
Parker closed her eyes again and her body wilted. She sobbed brokenly as she felt Jarod's thumb close over her fingers and squeeze. Tears flowed down her cheeks unchecked. Even though she'd known it was coming, the gunshot that echoed through the spring morning made her flinch.
Jarod's hands slid away from hers and he crumbled to the ground.
Dropping her gun, Parker opened her eyes and looked down at the man lying there. A dark red stain, barely distinguishable from the rest of the blood of his clothing, was spreading across Jarod's chest. He was gazing up at the sky as he panted in rapid jerks.
Sitting down beside him, Parker rested the pretender's head in her lap.
"Don't cry, Parker." Jarod whispered. "It's finally finished. The pain is gone."
"Oh Jarod." Parker said sadly.
"Strange," Jarod said as a dazed look spread across his face. "I thought the end would hurt. Oh!" He breathed. "Look at that sky. What a beautiful day."
A moment later the brown eyes that gazed upward became vacant as life slipped out of the pretender's body.
Parker took in a ragged breath and screamed her misery at a sparkling blue, cloudless expanse above her.
