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Seizing Destiny
Part 11
By Phenyx
10/03/04
-
As the limousine rounded a bend, Jarod ticked off another mile in his head. The countdown had started the moment their party had gathered and began the drive to the Centre. His nervousness grew though the only outward sign of it was in the fierce grip he had on Parker's hand.
"If you squeeze any tighter, you'll break her fingers." Lyle smirked at Jarod from the leather seat opposite him. The three of them were alone. The two Triumvirate-provided sweepers in front were hidden behind the dark glass partition. Two black sedans followed, carrying the rest of their burly entourage.
"Shut up, Lyle," Parker snapped. "I'm fine," she added, turning to Jarod with a reassuring smile. She caressed the side of Jarod's face as she kissed him tenderly. In response, Jarod's eyelids fluttered closed and he sighed with longing.
Lyle watched the scene without comment. He was the only one permitted to see the couple behave this way. In public, Parker and Jarod behaved just as they had before, rarely ever touching one another. But for some reason, Parker seemed to find it necessary to show Lyle that her relationship with her former prey had drastically changed.
Upon further reflection, Lyle realized that his sister's behavior made a strange kind of sense. In staking her claim on Jarod, she had effectively placed herself as the leader of this little group. If Lyle were to oppose her at this point, her influence with Jarod would ensure that the pretender would be on her side.
The most troubling aspect for Lyle was that he wasn't quite sure his sister had planned it this way. One moment Lyle would be absolutely convinced that Parker was manipulating her new lover. But in the next, she would say something or glance Jarod's way in a manner that seemed so sincere Lyle couldn't believe she was acting.
It was this uncertainty about his sister that drove Lyle up a wall. Was she capable of taking the troubled man for a ride? No doubt about it. But was she playing him, or did she truly have feelings for Jarod? Lyle couldn't tell.
Of course, from Lyle's perspective it really didn't matter. Either way, he was the odd man out. Parker was in charge and there wasn't a thing Lyle could do about it. If, by chance, someone should bring harm to Parker, cause something to happen to her, Jarod would wreak vengeance upon that someone to an extreme Lyle didn't care to imagine. If Lyle had learned anything in the last few months, it was that Jarod's temper was not a thing to be toyed with.
Jarod caught the angry looks exchanged between the siblings and his thoughts unknowingly strayed along the same lines Lyle's had lingered only a moment ago. The nearly matching outfits worn by Parker and her brother, as well as the similarly malicious glares they shot at each other, abruptly reminded Jarod that these were the Parker twins he was sitting between.
Jarod fought a wave of panic every time he thought about it. He was literally sleeping with the enemy; fully cognizant of the lengths the Parkers would go to achieve their goals. The path they now walked was the most important and dangerous of their lives. What would Miss Parker do to ensure its success? Jarod knew the answer - anything. Would she go so far as to offer herself to the lab-rat? Jarod swallowed, refusing to answer his own silent question.
Parker gave his hand a gentle squeeze, drawing Jarod's gaze to meet hers. She smiled at him and Jarod did his best to smile back. With a fierce mental shrug, Jarod squashed the fluttery, nauseous fear that clawed at him. Parker's reasons for permitting this intimacy were her own and frankly Jarod didn't want to look at them too closely. The truth of it was, Jarod didn't care why. He knew only that she was there. She was letting him in, allowing a closeness that Jarod had never shared with another human being. Nothing else mattered.
As the limo pulled to a stop in front of the Centre, Jarod turned his thoughts to the events ahead. Parker pulled her pistol from its holster at her back and snapped off the safety. She slid a round into the chamber, preparing for a firefight if necessary.
With a hard look at Jarod she said, "You stay between us. Understood?"
Jarod nodded.
"The walk from the front door to the board room will be the most dangerous," she reiterated. "Let Lyle and me deal with it."
Jarod shot a wary look at Lyle. Parker had no trouble interpreting his thoughts. "If Lyle betrays us," she said icily. "My first shot will be through his brain." Shooting her brother a frosty glare of warning she added, "As will the second."
The limo door opened and Parker looked expectantly at her two companions. "Ready?" With a single curt nod, Lyle and Jarod both followed her from the car.
Their appearance in the Centre's lobby caused quite a stir. Jarod could see surprise ripple through the corridors. He looked straight ahead, keeping his gaze steady. Jarod knew that the positions they had taken as they walked, served to keep others away. With Parker on one side and Lyle on the other, surrounded front and back by Triumvirate sweepers, a casual observer might almost think that Jarod was being escorted back to his prison.
It was an impression that they hoped to encourage for the next few minutes. As the group entered an elevator and the doors slid shut, Jarod inhaled deeply, releasing his breath in a slow hiss. His dark eyes grew hard as he watched the digital readout mark their descent. When the elevator reached SL-20, the doors opened and Jarod stepped into the shadowy bowels of the Centre once again.
-
"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Parker yelled. The two big, black men dragged him through the hallways, ignoring his blustering. "You are both finished here," he told them. "Do you hear me?" Mr. Parker didn't recognize either of the men escorting him, a fact that worried him to some extent.
He was shoved through a door and into a large room. There was one bright light hanging in the middle of the room, casting the edges of the space into shadow. Only the T-shaped table in the middle of the room was lit.
Mr. Parker swallowed. There were others in the room, he knew. He could hear them, shuffling quietly in the darkness. There was a raised platform located in front of the long table. Mr. Parker knew this, not because he could see it, but because he had often been among those sitting on that platform.
"Mr. Parker," a smooth voice said. The heavy Italian accent identified the speaker. "So glad you could join us."
"What is going on?" Mr. Parker said firmly, keeping all traces of fear from his voice.
"All in due time, Mr. Parker," Canossa said.
The door clanged open again as two new sweepers hauled Raines into the room. Half pushed, half carried across the room, Raines was deposited at Mr. Parker's side. The sweepers then backed away, leaving the two older men standing alone at the foot of the table.
For a long moment there was silence. A form shifted in the darkness and stepped forward. Mr. Parker smiled. She was lovely, a vision really. She was every bit as beautiful as her mother but without the same weaknesses.
"Angel," he cooed. Her response was not what he expected.
She turned her head toward the unseen sweepers. "Seal the room." Her voice was as sharp and cold as a knife. There were more shuffling sounds as several people left. The doors seemed to clang shut ominously.
"Angel," Mr. Parker tried again. He brought a scolding tone to his voice, knowing how well he could manipulate her with it. But again, her reaction was not what he had anticipated.
Steely gray eyes bored into him. With her regal bearing and rigid stance, she seemed to look down at him as though he were a distasteful creature crawling across the floor. She crossed her arms and said in that same icy tone, "It's over, Daddy."
"What's over Angel?" He tried a different tactic and did his best to sound warm and affectionate.
"Everything," she said simply.
Canossa's voice echoed from the darkness. "As you may be aware, Mr. Parker," the Italian said. "There has recently been an addition to the Triumvirate board."
Mr. Parker did not respond. Of course he knew about the death of the Frenchwoman. He also knew that there had been an emergency meeting of the Triumvirate. But the results of that meeting had been kept secret and his sources had not been able to discover the identity of the new chair holder.
"May I present our newest member," Canossa said.
No one moved. It took Mr. Parker a moment to realize that Canossa was referring to his adopted daughter. Raines recognized this fact at the same time. A raspy gasp indicated his surprise.
Mr. Parker grinned. A surge of paternal pride rushed through him. His Angel had surpassed his expectations. Not only had she garnered a seat on the Triumvirate, but it was also a seat of the troika. "Well done, Angel," he told her, delight beaming in his voice.
Canossa went on, ignoring Mr. Parker's remark. "These changes in our infrastructure preclude the current status quo within the Centre's management."
Mr. Parker frowned. "Why?" He looked toward the woman he had raised as his daughter. "Angel, you need me here. You need help to run the Centre."
"I have all the help I need, Daddy," she answered.
As if her words had been a signal, another shadow moved from the darkness and stepped into the light. Lyle's smile was smug and full of condemnation. Mr. Parker swallowed his uneasiness. If his daughter and Lyle had formed an alliance, he was indeed in trouble.
But, what happened next caused the blood in Mr. Parker's veins to freeze. Jarod was abruptly there, standing at Lyle's side. He simply appeared as if he had materialized out of thin air. The pretender's dark eyes burned with undisguised hatred. Mr. Parker felt his heart rate quicken as he realized that his life was in jeopardy.
Miss Parker looked meaningfully from Raines to her father. "You're fired," she said. "Call it early retirement if you like. But your services here are no longer required. You will be escorted from the premises. From this day forward, neither of you will be permitted within five miles of this facility."
"We helped to build the Centre," Raines wheezed. "You can't keep us from it."
"Watch me," Miss Parker said in a hard, flat voice.
"We will stop you," Raines argued.
One delicate eyebrow arched. "Really?" she asked in an almost bored tone. "The way you stopped my mother? The way you stopped Jarod's mother?"
Raines eyes flickered nervously toward the tall silent man. Jarod's glare was malevolent and frightening. "I was following orders," Raines stammered, as he realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Yes," Miss Parker replied. "Orders given to you by your brother."
The two older men both flinched.
"You see, Daddy," Miss Parker continued sadly. "I know everything. I know all about the lies." She sighed dramatically and strolled by the head of the t-shaped table, trailing her fingertips across the smooth surface. "I know that together, you and Raines have wrought death and destruction within these walls for decades." When she had crossed the room, Miss Parker straightened and crossed her arms again. Her voice was hard as she spoke. "I know that now it will stop."
Mr. Parker said nothing.
"I have chosen a place for you to retire," Miss Parker said. "It is a lovely island just off the coast of Argentina. You will be given a monthly allowance to spend as you see fit. But you will not be permitted to leave the grounds."
"You can't lock us up like criminals!" Mr. Parker gasped in shock. Jarod snorted rudely, cutting off any further comment.
"Do you really think you can be rid of us so easily?" Raines hissed. "Many have tried, child. But they have all failed."
Miss Parker's small smile was eerily calm. With an offhanded shrug she said, "I did try. I offered you a chance." She glanced over at Lyle and gave him a single nod. As Lyle stepped toward the table, she continued, "Over the years, we've noticed that your influence within the Centre is markedly decreased whenever one or the other of you is not around. Therefore, it has been decided that one of you must be permanently removed from the equation."
The tone of Miss Parker's voice was as casual as if she'd been discussing a dinner menu. "It sparked a rather heated debate between my two companions," she said. "Choosing which of you had to go was easy. But there was quite the argument over who would be allowed the honor."
Mr. Parker swallowed and glanced fearfully at his twin. Which of them was the more hated by the three red files, he wondered.
"In the end, we flipped a coin," Miss Parker added.
Lyle grinned as he pulled his weapon from its holster. It was a nice touch, the bit about the coin toss. Totally untrue, but rather amusing in a way. This was Lyle's forte, the talent he brought to their little trio. He was the knife, the assassin. His blue eyes twinkled as he cocked his revolver.
How many times as a boy had he fantasized about this? How many years had he longed to destroy his tormentor? And with an audience no less, how perfect was that? There were half a dozen Triumvirate board members seated in the darkness of the room, watching. None of them would move to stop what was happening. None of them would repeat a word of what occurred here today.
Pressing the muzzle of his gun against the bald, wrinkled head, Lyle leaned forward and whispered into Raines' ear, "Does this fulfill your expectations, Father? Has your disappointment eased to some extent?"
"I've always known it would come to this," Raines snarled. "I should have smothered you when I had the chance."
"Destiny is no matter of chance," Lyle quoted. He didn't flinch when the gun fired. The shot was very loud in the dark room. It seemed to echo in the enclosed space as Raines' body slid quietly to the ground.
All was silent for a full minute. Finally Miss Parker spoke. "Jarod, make sure."
Kneeling beside the crumpled body, Jarod pressed three fingers to Raines' neck, feeling for the carotid artery. His dark eyes looked up at Parker and he nodded once. Raines was dead. Jarod rose slowly and waited in silence.
"Erase him," Miss Parker demanded. "He never existed."
Jarod nodded again, a curt, obedient tilt of his head.
Miss Parker turned toward the man who had raised her. "Have a nice trip, Daddy," she said. "We won't be seeing each other again." She turned her back on him then, and started toward the door. "This meeting is adjourned."
Mr. Parker moved to follow her. "Angel, wait!"
A firm hand against his chest stopped him. Mr. Parker glared up at the hard, fathomless eyes of the pretender.
"I can erase you too," Jarod spoke for the first time since entering this room. His voice was low, threatening and grim. "It would annoy her. But if you force me to, I'll do it anyway." A shiver of apprehension ran down Mr. Parker's spine. Jarod's words held no warning. He simply stated fact.
"Why don't you do it?" Mr. Parker asked. "Just kill me and be done with it."
Jarod's eyes glittered viciously. "You've lost your family. You've lost your beloved Centre," he said. "Now you will lose your freedom. If you're dead, it ends. This way, you will suffer."
The lights clicked on and the abrupt illumination made Mr. Parker blink in pain. As his escorts returned and grabbed him by the arms, Mr. Parker glanced around quickly, frantic for some hint of support from somewhere. But the room had already emptied. The platform held nothing but several vacant chairs. Even the corpse had vanished.
His part in the Parker legacy was over. A lifetime of work would be eradicated. Mr. Parker knew that these three would sweep through the Centre with a deadly efficiency. All traces of the old regime would be wiped away. The slate would be rubbed clean and a new heritage would spring forth.
As the sweepers shoved him into an elevator, Mr. Parker wondered where he had gone wrong. What had caused the Red file project to end in failure? When the truth dawned on him, he began to laugh. The Red files had not failed. On the contrary, the project had succeeded beyond anyone's imagining. They had become exactly what they had been created to be.
They were the best and the brightest. And now the Centre belonged to them.
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Seizing Destiny
Part 11
By Phenyx
10/03/04
-
As the limousine rounded a bend, Jarod ticked off another mile in his head. The countdown had started the moment their party had gathered and began the drive to the Centre. His nervousness grew though the only outward sign of it was in the fierce grip he had on Parker's hand.
"If you squeeze any tighter, you'll break her fingers." Lyle smirked at Jarod from the leather seat opposite him. The three of them were alone. The two Triumvirate-provided sweepers in front were hidden behind the dark glass partition. Two black sedans followed, carrying the rest of their burly entourage.
"Shut up, Lyle," Parker snapped. "I'm fine," she added, turning to Jarod with a reassuring smile. She caressed the side of Jarod's face as she kissed him tenderly. In response, Jarod's eyelids fluttered closed and he sighed with longing.
Lyle watched the scene without comment. He was the only one permitted to see the couple behave this way. In public, Parker and Jarod behaved just as they had before, rarely ever touching one another. But for some reason, Parker seemed to find it necessary to show Lyle that her relationship with her former prey had drastically changed.
Upon further reflection, Lyle realized that his sister's behavior made a strange kind of sense. In staking her claim on Jarod, she had effectively placed herself as the leader of this little group. If Lyle were to oppose her at this point, her influence with Jarod would ensure that the pretender would be on her side.
The most troubling aspect for Lyle was that he wasn't quite sure his sister had planned it this way. One moment Lyle would be absolutely convinced that Parker was manipulating her new lover. But in the next, she would say something or glance Jarod's way in a manner that seemed so sincere Lyle couldn't believe she was acting.
It was this uncertainty about his sister that drove Lyle up a wall. Was she capable of taking the troubled man for a ride? No doubt about it. But was she playing him, or did she truly have feelings for Jarod? Lyle couldn't tell.
Of course, from Lyle's perspective it really didn't matter. Either way, he was the odd man out. Parker was in charge and there wasn't a thing Lyle could do about it. If, by chance, someone should bring harm to Parker, cause something to happen to her, Jarod would wreak vengeance upon that someone to an extreme Lyle didn't care to imagine. If Lyle had learned anything in the last few months, it was that Jarod's temper was not a thing to be toyed with.
Jarod caught the angry looks exchanged between the siblings and his thoughts unknowingly strayed along the same lines Lyle's had lingered only a moment ago. The nearly matching outfits worn by Parker and her brother, as well as the similarly malicious glares they shot at each other, abruptly reminded Jarod that these were the Parker twins he was sitting between.
Jarod fought a wave of panic every time he thought about it. He was literally sleeping with the enemy; fully cognizant of the lengths the Parkers would go to achieve their goals. The path they now walked was the most important and dangerous of their lives. What would Miss Parker do to ensure its success? Jarod knew the answer - anything. Would she go so far as to offer herself to the lab-rat? Jarod swallowed, refusing to answer his own silent question.
Parker gave his hand a gentle squeeze, drawing Jarod's gaze to meet hers. She smiled at him and Jarod did his best to smile back. With a fierce mental shrug, Jarod squashed the fluttery, nauseous fear that clawed at him. Parker's reasons for permitting this intimacy were her own and frankly Jarod didn't want to look at them too closely. The truth of it was, Jarod didn't care why. He knew only that she was there. She was letting him in, allowing a closeness that Jarod had never shared with another human being. Nothing else mattered.
As the limo pulled to a stop in front of the Centre, Jarod turned his thoughts to the events ahead. Parker pulled her pistol from its holster at her back and snapped off the safety. She slid a round into the chamber, preparing for a firefight if necessary.
With a hard look at Jarod she said, "You stay between us. Understood?"
Jarod nodded.
"The walk from the front door to the board room will be the most dangerous," she reiterated. "Let Lyle and me deal with it."
Jarod shot a wary look at Lyle. Parker had no trouble interpreting his thoughts. "If Lyle betrays us," she said icily. "My first shot will be through his brain." Shooting her brother a frosty glare of warning she added, "As will the second."
The limo door opened and Parker looked expectantly at her two companions. "Ready?" With a single curt nod, Lyle and Jarod both followed her from the car.
Their appearance in the Centre's lobby caused quite a stir. Jarod could see surprise ripple through the corridors. He looked straight ahead, keeping his gaze steady. Jarod knew that the positions they had taken as they walked, served to keep others away. With Parker on one side and Lyle on the other, surrounded front and back by Triumvirate sweepers, a casual observer might almost think that Jarod was being escorted back to his prison.
It was an impression that they hoped to encourage for the next few minutes. As the group entered an elevator and the doors slid shut, Jarod inhaled deeply, releasing his breath in a slow hiss. His dark eyes grew hard as he watched the digital readout mark their descent. When the elevator reached SL-20, the doors opened and Jarod stepped into the shadowy bowels of the Centre once again.
-
"What is the meaning of this?" Mr. Parker yelled. The two big, black men dragged him through the hallways, ignoring his blustering. "You are both finished here," he told them. "Do you hear me?" Mr. Parker didn't recognize either of the men escorting him, a fact that worried him to some extent.
He was shoved through a door and into a large room. There was one bright light hanging in the middle of the room, casting the edges of the space into shadow. Only the T-shaped table in the middle of the room was lit.
Mr. Parker swallowed. There were others in the room, he knew. He could hear them, shuffling quietly in the darkness. There was a raised platform located in front of the long table. Mr. Parker knew this, not because he could see it, but because he had often been among those sitting on that platform.
"Mr. Parker," a smooth voice said. The heavy Italian accent identified the speaker. "So glad you could join us."
"What is going on?" Mr. Parker said firmly, keeping all traces of fear from his voice.
"All in due time, Mr. Parker," Canossa said.
The door clanged open again as two new sweepers hauled Raines into the room. Half pushed, half carried across the room, Raines was deposited at Mr. Parker's side. The sweepers then backed away, leaving the two older men standing alone at the foot of the table.
For a long moment there was silence. A form shifted in the darkness and stepped forward. Mr. Parker smiled. She was lovely, a vision really. She was every bit as beautiful as her mother but without the same weaknesses.
"Angel," he cooed. Her response was not what he expected.
She turned her head toward the unseen sweepers. "Seal the room." Her voice was as sharp and cold as a knife. There were more shuffling sounds as several people left. The doors seemed to clang shut ominously.
"Angel," Mr. Parker tried again. He brought a scolding tone to his voice, knowing how well he could manipulate her with it. But again, her reaction was not what he had anticipated.
Steely gray eyes bored into him. With her regal bearing and rigid stance, she seemed to look down at him as though he were a distasteful creature crawling across the floor. She crossed her arms and said in that same icy tone, "It's over, Daddy."
"What's over Angel?" He tried a different tactic and did his best to sound warm and affectionate.
"Everything," she said simply.
Canossa's voice echoed from the darkness. "As you may be aware, Mr. Parker," the Italian said. "There has recently been an addition to the Triumvirate board."
Mr. Parker did not respond. Of course he knew about the death of the Frenchwoman. He also knew that there had been an emergency meeting of the Triumvirate. But the results of that meeting had been kept secret and his sources had not been able to discover the identity of the new chair holder.
"May I present our newest member," Canossa said.
No one moved. It took Mr. Parker a moment to realize that Canossa was referring to his adopted daughter. Raines recognized this fact at the same time. A raspy gasp indicated his surprise.
Mr. Parker grinned. A surge of paternal pride rushed through him. His Angel had surpassed his expectations. Not only had she garnered a seat on the Triumvirate, but it was also a seat of the troika. "Well done, Angel," he told her, delight beaming in his voice.
Canossa went on, ignoring Mr. Parker's remark. "These changes in our infrastructure preclude the current status quo within the Centre's management."
Mr. Parker frowned. "Why?" He looked toward the woman he had raised as his daughter. "Angel, you need me here. You need help to run the Centre."
"I have all the help I need, Daddy," she answered.
As if her words had been a signal, another shadow moved from the darkness and stepped into the light. Lyle's smile was smug and full of condemnation. Mr. Parker swallowed his uneasiness. If his daughter and Lyle had formed an alliance, he was indeed in trouble.
But, what happened next caused the blood in Mr. Parker's veins to freeze. Jarod was abruptly there, standing at Lyle's side. He simply appeared as if he had materialized out of thin air. The pretender's dark eyes burned with undisguised hatred. Mr. Parker felt his heart rate quicken as he realized that his life was in jeopardy.
Miss Parker looked meaningfully from Raines to her father. "You're fired," she said. "Call it early retirement if you like. But your services here are no longer required. You will be escorted from the premises. From this day forward, neither of you will be permitted within five miles of this facility."
"We helped to build the Centre," Raines wheezed. "You can't keep us from it."
"Watch me," Miss Parker said in a hard, flat voice.
"We will stop you," Raines argued.
One delicate eyebrow arched. "Really?" she asked in an almost bored tone. "The way you stopped my mother? The way you stopped Jarod's mother?"
Raines eyes flickered nervously toward the tall silent man. Jarod's glare was malevolent and frightening. "I was following orders," Raines stammered, as he realized the seriousness of the situation.
"Yes," Miss Parker replied. "Orders given to you by your brother."
The two older men both flinched.
"You see, Daddy," Miss Parker continued sadly. "I know everything. I know all about the lies." She sighed dramatically and strolled by the head of the t-shaped table, trailing her fingertips across the smooth surface. "I know that together, you and Raines have wrought death and destruction within these walls for decades." When she had crossed the room, Miss Parker straightened and crossed her arms again. Her voice was hard as she spoke. "I know that now it will stop."
Mr. Parker said nothing.
"I have chosen a place for you to retire," Miss Parker said. "It is a lovely island just off the coast of Argentina. You will be given a monthly allowance to spend as you see fit. But you will not be permitted to leave the grounds."
"You can't lock us up like criminals!" Mr. Parker gasped in shock. Jarod snorted rudely, cutting off any further comment.
"Do you really think you can be rid of us so easily?" Raines hissed. "Many have tried, child. But they have all failed."
Miss Parker's small smile was eerily calm. With an offhanded shrug she said, "I did try. I offered you a chance." She glanced over at Lyle and gave him a single nod. As Lyle stepped toward the table, she continued, "Over the years, we've noticed that your influence within the Centre is markedly decreased whenever one or the other of you is not around. Therefore, it has been decided that one of you must be permanently removed from the equation."
The tone of Miss Parker's voice was as casual as if she'd been discussing a dinner menu. "It sparked a rather heated debate between my two companions," she said. "Choosing which of you had to go was easy. But there was quite the argument over who would be allowed the honor."
Mr. Parker swallowed and glanced fearfully at his twin. Which of them was the more hated by the three red files, he wondered.
"In the end, we flipped a coin," Miss Parker added.
Lyle grinned as he pulled his weapon from its holster. It was a nice touch, the bit about the coin toss. Totally untrue, but rather amusing in a way. This was Lyle's forte, the talent he brought to their little trio. He was the knife, the assassin. His blue eyes twinkled as he cocked his revolver.
How many times as a boy had he fantasized about this? How many years had he longed to destroy his tormentor? And with an audience no less, how perfect was that? There were half a dozen Triumvirate board members seated in the darkness of the room, watching. None of them would move to stop what was happening. None of them would repeat a word of what occurred here today.
Pressing the muzzle of his gun against the bald, wrinkled head, Lyle leaned forward and whispered into Raines' ear, "Does this fulfill your expectations, Father? Has your disappointment eased to some extent?"
"I've always known it would come to this," Raines snarled. "I should have smothered you when I had the chance."
"Destiny is no matter of chance," Lyle quoted. He didn't flinch when the gun fired. The shot was very loud in the dark room. It seemed to echo in the enclosed space as Raines' body slid quietly to the ground.
All was silent for a full minute. Finally Miss Parker spoke. "Jarod, make sure."
Kneeling beside the crumpled body, Jarod pressed three fingers to Raines' neck, feeling for the carotid artery. His dark eyes looked up at Parker and he nodded once. Raines was dead. Jarod rose slowly and waited in silence.
"Erase him," Miss Parker demanded. "He never existed."
Jarod nodded again, a curt, obedient tilt of his head.
Miss Parker turned toward the man who had raised her. "Have a nice trip, Daddy," she said. "We won't be seeing each other again." She turned her back on him then, and started toward the door. "This meeting is adjourned."
Mr. Parker moved to follow her. "Angel, wait!"
A firm hand against his chest stopped him. Mr. Parker glared up at the hard, fathomless eyes of the pretender.
"I can erase you too," Jarod spoke for the first time since entering this room. His voice was low, threatening and grim. "It would annoy her. But if you force me to, I'll do it anyway." A shiver of apprehension ran down Mr. Parker's spine. Jarod's words held no warning. He simply stated fact.
"Why don't you do it?" Mr. Parker asked. "Just kill me and be done with it."
Jarod's eyes glittered viciously. "You've lost your family. You've lost your beloved Centre," he said. "Now you will lose your freedom. If you're dead, it ends. This way, you will suffer."
The lights clicked on and the abrupt illumination made Mr. Parker blink in pain. As his escorts returned and grabbed him by the arms, Mr. Parker glanced around quickly, frantic for some hint of support from somewhere. But the room had already emptied. The platform held nothing but several vacant chairs. Even the corpse had vanished.
His part in the Parker legacy was over. A lifetime of work would be eradicated. Mr. Parker knew that these three would sweep through the Centre with a deadly efficiency. All traces of the old regime would be wiped away. The slate would be rubbed clean and a new heritage would spring forth.
As the sweepers shoved him into an elevator, Mr. Parker wondered where he had gone wrong. What had caused the Red file project to end in failure? When the truth dawned on him, he began to laugh. The Red files had not failed. On the contrary, the project had succeeded beyond anyone's imagining. They had become exactly what they had been created to be.
They were the best and the brightest. And now the Centre belonged to them.
