Vanished

By Gemini-M

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in posting, but I hope this long
chapter will make up for the wait. Thanks to Rev2004, Nans, bloodymary2 and
phi4858 for reading my story and sharing your thoughts and ideas. They are very
important to me and to the development of my story. Writing this story has been
a lot of fun and now is almost done, but there are still a few more surprises
ahead, so read, enjoy and review. Thanks.

"If a thousand old beliefs were ruined in our march to truth we must
still march on." Stopford Brooke

Miss Parker's home12:30a.m.

Parker burst through the kitchen door, making the paranoid techie nearly
jump out of his skin. Trying to remain calm, Broots took a deep breath and
returned to his frenzied typing on the keyboard, while he cautiously eyed the
tall woman, waiting for her angry demands, but they never came. Instead, Parker
walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself another cup of the dark
liquid.

While sipping her coffee, Parker paced around the small kitchen for a few
minutes before she approached the table and sat across from Broots without
saying a word. Broots gave her a quizzical look and asked with concern, "Are
you alright Miss Parker?

"Yes, I'm fine. Have you found anything?"

"Not yet Miss Parker, but I found something very strange."

"What?"

"I can't find anything about this bounty in the Centre's mainframe. I
think that whoever placed this bounty on Jarod did it from outside the Centre
and then erased all his tracks, but I think I can find out the
source."

"How long will it take?" Parker asked impatiently.

"Not very long...I think." Broots replied nervously. "I'm
running a tracking program and it's almost done." Broots paused
momentarilycalculating his next words. "Miss Parker...whoever did this is
very clever and knows his way around the Centre's mainframe and its
firewalls...like Jarod."

Broots and Parker stared at each other momentarily as if reading each
others thoughts, and then said simultaneously, "Alex!"

"Broots, if Alex posted this bounty a few hours ago, he might still be
at that location with Sydney."

"And Jarod." Broots added.

Parker shot Broots a surprised look but quickly averted his eyes to hide
the concern that was so visible in them. She took another long sip of her coffee
then slowly placed the mug back on the table and sighed tiredly. "What's
important right now is that we find Sydney in time, but if we manage to capture
Jarod in the process, that would be a nice bonus." Parker said dryly.
"Plus the Lab Rat owes me a good explanation for stealing my
car."

"Miss Parker, I'm sure Jarod had his reasons." Broots said timidly.
"Miss Parker, Jarod was very concerned about this guy, Alex, coming after
you...us."

"YEAH RIGHT AND HE SHOWS HIS CONCERN BY LYING TO US ABOUT ALEX AND THEN
RUNNING OFF WITH MY CAR." Parker growled. "WHICH I KNOW, HE PROBABLY DID
JUST TO ANNOY ME."

"But Miss Parker..." Broots tried to object.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BROOTS; HERE YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE EXCUSES FOR
HIM AFTER HE PUNCHED YOU!"

"OH NO Miss Parker is just that..." Broots said hesitantly.
"J...Jarod didn't really want...uh..."

"WHAT?" Parker asked with exasperation as her eyes bore daggers at
the suddenly mute Broots.

"MISS PARKER HURRY SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH ANGELO!" Sam's panicked
voice interrupted the tense exchange, making Broots breathe out a sigh of
relief.

Immediately, Parker abandoned her argument with Broots and leapt from her
chair completely ignoring the pain that radiated throughout her bruised body.
The tall woman drew her gun from her holster and dashed towards the family room
with Broots at her heels babbling something about Alex finding them and being
marked for termination.

"WHAT'S WRONG SAM?" Parker asked with concern as her eyes scanned
the family room for signs of the empath or any intruder. "WHAT HAPPENED TO
ANGELO?"

"I don't know Miss Parker. I just walked in and found Angelo sitting by
the front door hugging his knees with a terrified look in his eyes." Sam
explained puzzled. "I called his name, but he didn't react, then all of the
sudden he flipped out. He covered his face with his hands, screamed something
and fell to the ground."

"WHERE IS ANGELO NOW?" Parker asked almost in a panic.

"I don't know Miss Parker. When I reached for the little guy he
panicked and crawled away from me, then he got up and ran towards the bedroom."

"Damn." Miss Parker cursed as she headed toward the bedroom leaving
Sam and Broots staring at each other bewildered and confused.

In a matter of seconds, Parker reached the guest room where Jarod had been
kept. The door was slightly open and the room was in total darkness. When Parker
turned on the lights, the first thing she noticed was Thomas' clothes at the
foot of the bed. As if hypnotized, she approached the bed and gently touched the
nicely folded items. At first she was surprised to find them there, but she knew
that Jarod had sensed how important these items were to her, despite her effort
to hide her pain. Jarod knew her too well and that always bothered her. Parker
snapped out of her trance and refocused her attention on the search for the
distraught little man. She moved away from the bed, returned her gun back to its
holster and continued to scan the room for signs of Angelo. In the far corner of
the room, behind the dresser, Parker found Angelo. The empath was in a crouched
position, hugging his knees close to his chest and rocking back and forth. Very
slowly, Parker approached the terrified little man and kneeled in front of him,
immediately noticing that he was holding something in his hand. When she looked
closer, she recognized the item; it was Jarod's sunglasses. Suddenly, a chilling
sensation traveled down her spine and paralyzed her with fear as she realized
that Angelo's panic reaction might have come from the item he was holding.

"Angelo what's wrong?" Parker whispered, her voiced laced with
fear.

Terror-stricken and with tears streaming down his face, Angelo raised his
head and looked at the woman kneeling in front of him. His eyes reflected so
much pain and fear that it made Parker gasped in shock.

Blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes, Parker insisted,
"Angelo, please tell me what are you sensing?" Parker moved closer and
carefully placed a hand on his arm. "Angelo has something happened to Jarod
or Sydney?"

At that precise moment, Sam and Broots burst into the room in search of
their boss. "Miss Parker...Miss Parker, have you found Angelo?" Shouted
Broots but immediately froze in place when he received one of Parker's icy
glares.

Startled by the men entering the room, the panicked empath shrank away
from Miss Parker and resumed his monotonous rocking and mumbling while leaning
against the wall in the corner.

Frustrated by the interruption, Parker turned around with fury in her eyes
and waved at the two men to leave the room. Realizing their mistake, Broots and
Sam nearly tripped over each other as they scurried out of the room.

Once they were alone again, Parker approached Angelo very slowly and sat
in front of the shy and mysterious little man. Silently she prayed that her
childhood friend would trust her enough to help them find Jarod and Sydney.
Angelo was her only hope to find the two people that meant so much in her life.
It had taken her too long to accept the importance of these two people, now she
hoped that she would not be too late to tell them. Parker was overwhelmed with a
feeling of fear and total helplessness, and even though she had the gift of the
inner sense like her mother, she refused to embrace it for fear of discovering
more lies and betrayal that would send her remaining sanity spiraling into
madness.

Deeply absorbed in her thoughts, Parker didn't notice that Angelo had
stopped rocking and had focused his attention back on her. Suddenly, Angelo
reached forward, grasped her hand firmly and asked, "Daughter afraid?"

Parker gasped in surprise, momentarily unable to answer the question. She
hesitated for an instant then lowering her eyes, she answered softly, "Yes
Angelo, I'm scared for Sydney and...Jarod."

As soon as Jarod's name left her lips, Angelo curled into a tight ball and
covering his face with his hand began to weep.

"Angelo, please tell me what's wrong?" Parker begged. "Did
something happen to..."

"NOOOOOO!...LIES, LIES...PAIN...SAD." Angelo screamed in agony.
"Friend...hurting bad."

"Please Angelo tell me where they are?"

"NO...NO...Friend lost...Pain...Giving up...Giving up." Angelo
continued, his lips trembling with fear. "Can't say...Friend afraid...for
you...and others."

Parker felt completely lost. She just could not reach the terrified
empath. "Maybe it was too late already and once again she had waited too long
to share her feelings with those most important to her." Parker thought to
herself with a heavy heart as she reached up and wiped a stray tear from her
cheek. When she looked down, Parker's eyes rested on Jarod's sunglasses next to
Angelo. Cautiously, as if picking up a delicate flower, Parker gathered the
glasses and looked at her friend with sadness in her eyes.

"Angelo is there anything you can tell me." Parker paused trying to
control her emotions. "I will not hurt Jarod, I promise."

Angelo just shook his head crawled back to the corner and resumed his
rocking.

"Miss Parker...Miss Parker." Broots whispered, peeking into the
room.

"What is it Broots?" Parker asked jumping to her feet and
approaching the man hiding behind the door.

"I KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!" Brootssaid excitedly.

"WHERE?"

"The bounty message was posted from Sydney's computer...his home
computer!"

"THAT BASTARD! He was hiding right under our noses." Parker hissed.
"Broots tell Sam to get the car and I'll bring Angelo out."

"Miss Parker what do you want me to do?" The techie asked
nervously.

"You stay here in case Jarod tries to contacts you." Parker spoke
over her shoulder as she approached the distraught little man and began to speak
to him softly, "Angelo I need you to come with us. Jarod and Sydney might
need your help."

"Find Jarod?" Angelo asked eagerly; his eyes blinking the tears
away.

"I hope so Angelo. Will you help us?"

Angelo nodded and smiled slightly. Without further remark, he stood and
began walking towards the door with Parker at his side.

"Miss Parker, do you think is a good idea to take Angelo with you?...I
mean, he's pretty confused and panicky.

"I have no choice Broots. I might need Angelo's empathic abilities, in
case they're gone when we arrive at Sydney's home."

"Yeah, I guest you're right." Broots agreed as he followed Parker
and Angelo down the hall. "Miss Parker, please call me as soon as you find
them."

"I will Broots."

"Good Luck Miss Parker."

"Thanks Broots." Parker gave him a sad smile and closed the door
behind her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sydney's Home

At the sound of the gun shot, Jarod flinched in sudden panic and sucked in
a sharp breath, expecting it to be his last breath and a quick end to his
miserable life. Then to his surprise, everything went totally silent. The only
sound Jarod could hear was that of his labored breathing and racing heartbeat.
Confused, Jarod wondered if his life was slowly slipping away or was this one of
Alex's sick little games.

Forcing himself to face what had just happened; Jarod opened his eyes and
gasped. A nauseating feeling overtook the pretender as his eyes landed on Alex's
body stretched out on the floor a few inches away from his feet. When Jarod
looked up, his eyes met those of his mentor. Sydney was kneeling by the couch,
still aiming Alex's gun at the dead man, and for the first time since his
arrival, Jarod noticed how terribly pale and fatigued Sydney looked.

"Sydney?" Jarod's concern voice made the psychiatrist look up in
shock, just before exhaustion defeated the old man and he collapsed to the
floor.

While holding his bleeding arm, Jarod leaned heavily against the front
door and pushed himself to his feet. Once on his feet, and still a little
wobbly, Jarod walked over to his mentor as quickly as possible.

"Sydney, let me help you." Jarod carefully helped the old man off
the floor and sat him on the couch. Jarod could see that Sydney needed medical
attention. He didn't appear to have any broken bones, but he had been beaten
pretty badly and had several lacerations and bruises on his face and arms, plus
he was very dehydrated and could be suffering from a concussion.

"Wait here and don't get up." Jarod ordered simply and disappeared
into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Jarod returned holding a glass of water.
"Here, drink some water, slowly."

"Sydney, I need to take you to a hospital. Can you make it to the car?"
Jarod asked distressed.

"NO, I'M NOT GOING TO ANY HOSPITAL!" Sydney protested.

"Sydney, you need medical attention." Jarod argued softly.

"All I need is some rest, besides you look like you're in worse shape
than me." Sydney said staring at his protégé's bleeding arm.

"I've survived worse than this Sydney. You should know of all people."
Jarod said giving the old man an icy glare. The moment the words left his
lips, Jarod felt regret, but the damage was done. The two men stared at each
other silently for a moment then Jarod lowered his eyes and moved away from his
mentor as he continued to apply pressure over the wound in his arm.

"Jarod, you need to take care of your arm." Sydney went on ignoring
the young man's angry words.

"There is no time. We're not safe here." Jarod said
agitated.

"Jarod, at least put a dressing on the wound to stop the bleeding."
Sydney insisted, his voice laced with concern.

"Alright, do you have some bandages?"

"Yes, there is a first aid kit in the bathroom at the end of the hall."
Sydney pointed in the direction of the hall.

Without any remarks, Jarod crossed the room and disappeared into the hall.
Sydney followed his protégé with his eyes and shook his head tiredly. What was
he going to do now to keep Jarod from disappearing forever? In a few minutes,
Alex had destroy what had taken him a lifetime to achieve; Jarod's trust. But
what he feared the most was Jarod's state of mind. Sydney could never forget the
look of despair and pain in Jarod's eyes. The pretender had been shattered by
this revelation and once again Jarod had lost the only family he thought he had.

Completely lost in his thoughts and overcome by exhaustion, Sydney began
to doze off and didn't notice when Jarod re-entered the living room. The
pretender approached the old man and tapped him on the arm. "Sydney
wake-up."

Sydney woke with a start and gazed at his protégé with concern.
"Jarod!...Are you alright?...How's your arm?"

"Fine." Jarod replied dryly. The tall man slowly walked to where
Alex's body laid and picked up his gun from the floor. Jarod looked at the body
of the fallen man and felt pain. He should be glad that Alex was gone, but
instead he felt sadness. Alex might have been evil, but that was not his choice.
The Centre exploited him and had stolen and mangled his life, just like they had
done to him, and so many others. Yes, Alex was just like him, a man without
identity or past; a mere science experiment and property of the Centre. Closing
his eyes, Jarod whispered, "Rest in peace Alex, you're finally
free."

Without a trace of emotion on his face, Jarod walked back to the old man
and said, "Sydney, we have to get moving."

"Okay Jarod, but where are we going?"

"Some place safe but not too far." Jarod said as he started to help
Sydney off the couch.

"We can go to my cabin in White Clouds." Sydney suggested quietly.
"Is less than two hour drive, and Jarod, you're welcome to stay there as long
as you like. You'll be safe there plus you can use the rest as
well."

"NO, I have to get back to the Centre and find Ethan."

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Sydney stopped suddenly and faced the
pretender; his eyes wide with panic. "JAROD, WITH RAINES AND LYLE DEAD, THEY
WILL BE LOOKING FOR YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER. YOU CANNOT GO NEAR THE CENTRE.
THAT'S PLAIN SUICIDE."

"SYDNEY, I HAVE NO CHOICE." Jarod spat back angrily. "Ethan is
my brother...half-brother. I have to stop him before he goes through with Alex's
plan and kills more innocent people and himself."

"Jarod, there must be another way." Sydney begged. "You're in no
condition to..."

"Not now Sydney." Jarod interrupted. "But there is someone who
might be able to help me." Jarod said thoughtfully.

"Who?" Sydney asked carefully.

"Wait here." Jarod released the old man's arm and left him leaning
against the front door. "Where is your computer?"

"It's in the den." Sydney answered with a frown, but chose not to
push the pretender for answers.

Jarod rushed into the den and sat behind the desk panting. After logging
in, he began typing feverishly. Once again he prayed that Angelo could come to
his aid. Right now, the empath was the only person he could trust and the only
one who could locate Ethan in the depths of that catacomb. Angelo had never let
him down and Jarod knew that his friend would do his best to keep Ethan safe
until he could reach the Centre. After sending the message, Jarod silently
thanked Angelo again and left his mentor's peaceful den.

When Jarod returned from the den, Sydney gave him an expectant look,
hoping that the stubborn young man would share his plan, but Jarod ignored his
mentor's silent request and helped him out the door. "Do you need to take
anything with you?" Jarod asked before closing the door.

"No, I have everything I will need at the cabin."

"Good. Wait here, while I get the car." Jarod said and disappeared
in the darkness.

Sydney leaned heavily against the front door and closed his eyes. He could
not believe that his ordeal was over and that he had survived, thanks to Jarod,
but now he was faced with a bigger problem. Jarod was not dealing well with the
shocking truth he had received. The pretender was angry, confused and was
starting to isolate himself. "Catherine, I hope that we can save him this
time." Sydney murmured sadly. Life had never been kind to Jarod and once
again it had delivered another painful blow, but this time he was not going to
cower away or allow the Centre's dark past to destroy this kind and gifted human
being that he had raised and loved as a son.

The sound of the roaring engine and the bright beam of light from the car
moving up the driveway brought the tired old man out of his reverie. Sydney
stared at the little sports car wide-eyed and with mouth agape. Finally when he
found his voice, Sydney frowned at the approaching pretender and asked,
"Jarod, why do you have Miss Parker's car?"

"Necessity." Jarod said simply.

"She's going to be furious." Sydney mumbled under his
breath.

Jarod heard his mentor's comment, but ignored it. Instead the pretender
sighed tiredly and helped the old man into the little car. The sooner they were
away from here the better, in case the authorities had been informed about the
gun shot.

Once on their way, Jarod looked at his watch nervously. It was 12:45a.m
and it had been over an hour since he last spoke to Mr. Broots. He had promised
Broots that he would call him as soon as he had news on Sydney, but right now he
needed to know about Miss Parker's fate. He felt a paralyzing fear taking over
him as Alex's sinister words kept echoing inside his head, "I believe that by
now Miss Parker is probably roasting inside her luxurious Centre town car...Gone
forever."

Trying to repress Alex's torturous words and image from his mind, Jarod
rubbed his eyes tiredly and shot a quick glance at the old man sitting next to
him, but when this one tried to initiate a conversation, Jarod directed his
attention back to the road ahead and on his search for the cell phone. Jarod
reached inside his leather jacket and retrieved the small device. Without any
explanation, Jarod quickly dialed the pre-programmed number for Mr. Broots and
waited for the line to connect.

"He...llo?" A timid voice answered.

"Mr. Broots, I found Sydney."

"JAROD!...IS SYDNEY OKAY?...ARE YOU OKAY?...WHERE ARE YOU?"

"We're fine, Mr. Broots." Jarod said with weariness. "I'm taking
Sydney to a safe place."

"WHAT ABOUT...ALEX?"

"Alex is dead." Jarod said completely detached.

"OH MY GOD!"

"Mr. Broots...is...Miss Parker...alright?" Jarod asked, fear
evident in his voice.

"Jarod, Miss Parker and Sam are on their way to Sydney's home at this
moment. Is that where you are?"

"SHE'S ALRIGHT?" Jarod repeated with shock.

"Yeah...yeah, she's fine. Thanks to Angelo. Man, she was very lucky.
This guy, Alex, is a real PSYCHO, he tried to blow-up..."

"MR. BROOTS, I need to talk to Miss Parker, but she wouldn't answer her
cell phone earlier." Jarod interrupted Broots' ramblings. "Do you have
Sam's cell phone number?"

"That's because she forgot her cell phone at the Centre...Yes, wait a
second. I'll give you Sam's number." Broots put Jarod on hold and quickly
searched his cell phone directory. A few seconds later, he reconnected the call
back and gave Jarod the number.

"Thank you, Mr. Broots."

"JAROD WAIT!" Broots called before the pretender ended the call.
"Miss Parker is really...mad about her car, but she's also very concerned about
the both of you."

"Good-bye, Mr. Broots." Jarod said flatly and disconnected the
call.

Jarod placed his phone down and thanked his friend quietly, "Thank you
Angelo." He was glad that Parker was alive, but the nightmare was far from
over. Now came the hardest part, telling Miss Parker about Ethan's involvement
in Alex's twisted plans and saying good-bye.

Nervously, Jarod raked his hand through his tousled hair, then cautiously
looked over at the old man on the passenger seat, but was relieved to find him
snoring softly. He would wait a few more minutes before placing the call to Miss
Parker. To be on the safe side, he needed to put a little more distance between
them and his relentless huntress.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sydney's Home1:00a.m.

Sam brought the Centre's black sedan to a sudden stop at the end of the
shadowy driveway. The quiet neighborhood was shrouded in darkness and the only
light illuminating their path was that of the faint moonlight peeking through
the heavily clouded sky. The rain had stopped briefly, but the storm was far
from over. Before exiting the car, Miss Parker turned towards the empath in the
back seat and requested softly, "Angelo, you stay here. I'll be right
back."

The strange little man looked at Miss Parker with sadness in his eyes, and
after nodding his agreement he said in a tortured voice, "Jarod gone
forever."

Parker was taken by surprised with Angelo's remark, but pushed it aside in
her mind. Right now her only concern was to save her old friend and stop this
madman. Parker gave Angelo a reassuring smile and stepped out of the car.

"Sam, take the back." Was all Parker said as she stalked towards
the front door with her 9mm ready at her side.

When Parker reached the front door, she tried the door knob and to her
surprise found it unlocked. Preparing herself for a deadly confrontation with
the devil, Parker took a deep breath, pushed the door open and threw herself on
the floor while frantically looking for her target, but instead she found
herself lying a few inches from Alex's body. Terror-stricken, Parker covered her
mouth with her hand to stop her piercing scream and quickly crawled away from
the body, coming to rest against the front door. A few seconds later, Parker
heard Sam's heavy footsteps coming from the hallway. When Sam reached the living
room he immediately aimed his gun at the downed man. Very cautiously, the big
man walked towards the body and checked for a pulse in the man's neck. "He's
dead." Samassured the shaken woman. "Are you alright Miss Parker?"

"Yes... I'm fine...Sam." Parker answered trancelike, her heart
still racing.

"Miss Parker, are you bleeding?" Sam asked concerned.

Not until Sam asked did she notice that her pants were covered with blood.
When Parker looked down, she found herself sitting by another puddle of blood.
"OH MY GOD!" Parker gasped as she jumped to her feet. She quickly closed
the front door and looked around the room in shock. Suddenly, Parker noticed for
the first time all the destruction in the room and a trail of blood across the
floor.

"No Sam, this is not my blood. It must be..." Parker answered, her
voice shaking with fear.

"Jarod's or Sydney's" Sam finished for her. "Miss Parker, this
doesn't look good. Where do you think they went?"

"I don't know Sam." Parker answered, her eyes wondering around the
room nervously before she met the sweeper's questionable gaze.

"Sam, check the other rooms in the house. Maybe they left something
behind that can tell us where they went."

"Yes Ma' am!" Sam replied and quickly disappeared back into the
dark interior of the house.

Still shaken up, Parker lowered herself down into the nearest chair she
found, but her eyes continued to scan the living room, searching for any clue
that could help them locate the wayward pretender and Sydney. When she looked at
the couch across from her, Parker noticed something underneath. Temporarily
ignoring her growing fatigue, Parker rushed over to the couch, kneeled down and
retrieved the mystery item.

"MISS PARKER, I FOUND SOMETHING!" Sam called from the hall.

"Me too Sam." Parker replied, showing the surprised sweeper the gun
as he entered the living room.

"Is that Sydney's gun?"

"I don't know Sam, but I'll find out. What did you find?"

"OH Yes, I found this backpack in one of the bedrooms." Sam said
and handed the backpack to his boss.

Parker moved to the coffee table and emptied the backpack. "This is
weird." Parker saidfrowning. "These are blueprints to the Centre's
sublevels."

"MISS PARKER, LOOK AT THIS!" Sam exclaimed, giving Miss Parker a
file.

"This is very weird. This file is all about Jarod's family; Names,
Dates and locations of latest sightings and current addresses."

"Miss Parker, I don't understand. Jarod has been frantically searching
for this information since he escaped from the Centre and now he leaves it
behind. Why would he do that?" Sam asked puzzled.

"That's a very good question Sam."

Parker didn't like this at all. Something bad must of happened to make
Jarod leave this file behind and, to make matters worse, they still had no clue
about their whereabouts.

The room became eerily silent as Parker and Sam stared at each other
confused and stunned by their discovery. Then at that precise moment, Sam's cell
phone shrieked loudly, interrupting the uneasy silence and startling both
occupants.

"It's probably Broots." Sam said nervously and quickly reached into
his jacket's inner pocket to retrieve the noisy device.

"This is Sam."

"Sam, is Miss Parker with you?" The voice was faint, but Sam
recognized it.

"JAROD?" Sam said alarmed, capturing Miss Parker attention
immediately. The tall woman stared at the sweeper, her icy glare demanding the
small device.

"Sam, let me talk to Miss Parker." Jarod asked simply.

"Yes, she's right here...Wait a second Jarod." Sam replied handling
the phone to his boss.

"IS SYDNEY ALRIGHT?...WHERE HAVE YOU TAKEN HIM?" Parker shouted
into the small phone, her voice laced with concern.

"Miss Parker...Sydney is okay" Jarod said almost inaudibly. "Are
you alright?"

"ALRIGHT?...THAT PSYCHO, ALEX TRIED TO BLOW ME UP! THEN, I FIND OUT
THAT YOU LIED TO ME ABOUT ALEX BEING THE KIDNAPPER, AND ON TOP OF EVERYTHING YOU
PUNCHED BROOTS AND STOLE MY CAR!" Parker screamed angrily. "OH YES I'M
JUST PEACHY, BUT YOU WON'T BE THE NEXT TIME I RUN INTO YOU."

"Miss Parker, not now please...I'll explain later." Jarod's voice
was subdued. "Please listen."

"LISTEN TO WHAT JAROD?...MORE LIES?" Parker snapped at him.

"Miss Parker, I'm sorry I lied to you...I had no choice...Please
listen."

Suddenly, Parker noticed something very strange in Jarod's voice. The
pretender sounded tired and broken. He was apologizing to her and he was not
teasing her or acting in his usual cocky way. This was not the Jarod she knew
and her latent senses were telling her that something was very wrong. Taking
control of her anger, Parker asked in a much calmer voice "Jarod, are you
alright?"

There was total silence on the line and for a moment Parker thought that
Jarod had ended the call again. "Jarod, are you there?"

"Miss Parker, Ethan...is involved." Jarod said, ignoring her
previous question.

"WHAT?...WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S INVOLVED?" The panic was back in her
voice. "DID SOMETHING HAPPEN TO ETHAN?"

"Miss Parker, please listen." Jarod pleaded, his voice filled with
concern. "Alex managed to control Ethan with some kind of hypnosis and...made
him set the explosives in Lyle's apartment and..."

"OH MY GOD!" Parker was now pacing the room like a caged animal.
"JAROD, WHERE IS HE NOW?"

"Miss Parker, I'm afraid that Alex sent Ethan to the Centre
to..."

"BLOW IT UP!" Parker finished for him.

"JAROD, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?"

"Miss Parker, we have to find Ethan and stop him before more people
die." Jarod sounded desperate. "Miss Parker you need to evacuate the
Centre and I'll go after Ethan."

"NO JAROD, YOU CANNOT GO NEAR THE CENTRE!" Parker cried
out.

"WHAT?" Jarod was baffled by Parker's odd request.

"Jarod...There is a Bounty on you for twenty million dollars...Dead or
Alive." The fear in Parker's voice betrayed her ice queen demeanor.

"The Triumvirate?" Jarod said simply.

"That's what we thought, but Broots discovered that the transmission
came from Sydney's home."

"ALEX" Jarod's voice was emotionless.

"JAROD, I'LL FIND ETHAN."

"PARKER, YOU CAN'T..."

"NO JAROD!" Parker interrupted angrily. "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO
LEAVE ME OUT THIS TIME. ETHAN IS ALSO MY BROTHER, AND SO HELP ME GOD, I'LL FIND
HIM AND GET HIM OUT OF THAT HELL ALIVE."

There was another long pause before the pretender spoke again, "Okay
Miss Parker...But try to find Angelo...He will help you search for Ethan."
Jarod finally said defeated.

"Don't worry Jarod; I got Angelo and Sam with me. Together we're an
unstoppable team. Parker said with a smile glancing at her surprised body
guard.

Jarod closed his eyes for a second and sighed relieved. He knew that
Angelo and Sam would protect Miss Parker and would not let any harm come to her.
Now, he prayed that they would find Ethan before it was too late. Jarod glanced
at his mentor fearing that he had heard their exchange or seen his reaction, but
the old man was still dead to the world. Mournfully, Jarod thought about the
last contact he would have with his friends. The pretender knew that when this
nightmare ended, he would go his separate way and never see them again and
strangely that idea weighed heavily in his heart. Even though, Miss Parker and
her team hunted him across the country and made his life a living hell for the
last six years, in a bizarre way, he cared about them. They were the only family
he had ever known, but now he felt completely alone and lost.

"JAROD, HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE TO FIND ETHAN?" Parker's demanding
tone jolted Jarod from his reverie.

"I don't know Miss Parker." Jarod said, but then he remembered
something in Alex's cryptic e-mail. "WAIT, I remember something in Alex's
e-mail. He said that The Centre would not see another sunrise." Jarod was
silent for a moment.

Parker looked at her watch and said nervously, "Jarod...is
1:30a.m."

"Sunrise is at 5:23a.m...Miss Parker, you have less than 4 hours to
find Ethan and get everyone out of the Centre...MISS PARKER, ARE YOU SURE YOU
CAN...?"

"JAROD, YOU JUST TAKE CARE OF SYDNEY, AND I'LL FIND ETHAN AND EVACUATE
THE CENTRE. Parker said with confidence. "JAROD, REMEMBER OUR
TRUCE...DON'T YOU TRUST ME?"

"Yes Miss Parker, I trust you." Jarod said wearily.

"Jarod, can I talk to Sydney?" Parker asked softly, surprising the
tired pretender.

"Sorry Miss Parker, he's asleep at the moment."

"Jarod, where are you taking Sydney?"

"I'm taking him to a safe place...Sorry, but I cannot tell you the
location."

"I THOUGHT YOU TRUSTED ME?" Parker said annoyed.

"I'M THINKING ABOUT SYDNEY'S SAFETY." Jarod spat back frustrated
then exhaled deeply trying to calm himself. "Miss Parker, I don't trust the
safety of this line and I have a strange feeling that Alex was not working
alone."

"Jarod, who else do you think is involved?" Parker
whispered.

"I don't know Miss Parker, but I'll find out."

"Okay Jarod, but promise me you'll call back when Sydney is safe, and
hopefully I'll have news on Ethan by then."

"Alright Miss Parker, I'll contact Mr. Broots." Jarod sighed
tiredly, then after a short pause he spoke again, "Miss Parker, please be
careful."

All of a sudden, Parker felt her stomach twist into knots. Something was
not right and she had a gut feeling that Jarod was hiding something from her.
Overwhelmed by the anxiety, Parker demanded answers; no longer hiding the panic
in her voice, "JAROD WHAT'S WRONG?...YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME
SOMETHING."

"Good bye Miss Parker." Jarod murmured softlyand then the line went
dead.

TBC