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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
In a Heartbeat
By RaajmdTMP
Part 5
The "Mason Family" House
Jarod was on the phone with Broots and Parker was pacing back and forth trying to calm Christian down, who had been crying for longer than she had seen before. Jarod was beginning to lose his patience waiting for Broots to find any trace of Fiona's abduction in the Centre mainframe. He was tempted to search himself, but realized that Broots had created a great deal of the security and would have a better chance at getting past it unnoticed.
The battery on Jarod's cell phone chose this inopportune moment to run out and their connection was cut off. He was about to throw the cell phone out the window in frustration when Miss Parker grabbed his hand to stop him.
"He'll call my phone," she said reassuringly.
Christian had finally calmed down enough for her to put him in his crib. After she did, she led Jarod to the couch to wait for Broots' call. This was an incredibly hard time for both of them. As in the past, they both felt responsible, even though it was the Centre's fault that Fiona was not with them. They sat side by side listening to the soft sound of their son breathing for about ten minutes until Miss Parker's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Miss Parker. How are you holding up?"
"Not too well, Broots. We have to have some good news."
"Well, I'm afraid I can't really give you too much."
"What do you mean?" Broots could almost see her tears; her usual confident voice was fogged with grief.
"I still haven't uncovered any information about Fiona. I can tell you that as of 4pm today, the security precautions against you two have been tightened. It's pretty much shoot first, ask questions later. A man was spotted on Centre grounds earlier today that matched Jarod's description. He was killed the first clear shot the guards had."
"We can't get anywhere near that place without risking our lives, then?"
"You could never get near there without risking your lives. Now, if you go near it, you'll be losing them."
"So you're saying there's nothing we can do? We're just supposed to sit here and pretend this never happened?"
"I would never say that, Miss Parker. We can't do anything from the outside. If there was someone on the inside we could trust, our chances of getting Fi out safely increase significantly."
"But?" Miss Parker asked knowing that there must be more.
"But, I don't know who to trust or how to contact them. For now, we should really get some rest. Maybe in the morning things will all be a little clearer to us. They won't hurt Fiona; she's way too valuable to them. If they planned on hurting her, they wouldn't have gone through the trouble of capturing her."
"You're right, go get some sleep. We'll be fine here," Parker said before hanging up the phone.
"What's the update?" Jarod asked unhappily, having only heard her half of the conversation clearly and both wanting and not wanting to hear the other. He was becoming more and more frustrated with each sentence he heard.
"We can't go anywhere near the Centre. They'll have us killed. They already shot a man they thought was you."
"So we have to sit and wait." He sighed heavily and put his head in his hands. "I've never felt so helpless or alone in my entire life."
"You're not alone and you don't have to deal with this on your own," she comforted while rubbing his back. He looked up at her and gave a weak smile as a tear ran down his cheek. She could tell that he wasn't going to be the strong one this time; he knew what his daughter was feeling, what she was going through. Maybe no one had to be strong, but she was going to try.
She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, whispered that everything would be okay, and kissed him, much in the way she had with his clone when she was attempting to help him escape.
They were both so exhausted from worry that they fell asleep in each other's arms. That's how they awoke the next morning when Christian started to cry.
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
Fiona lay on a bed in a dark room that she had hoped that she would never have the displeasure of setting her eyes on again. The incessant blinking light on the camera was the only illumination in the area. Suddenly, bright, white light filled the room. She felt temporarily blinded, as you would when you walk out of a movie theater.
A man walked into the room. He didn't speak but waited for Fiona's eyes to adjust. When they did, she could see that he was a thin man with dark brown hair and icy blue eyes. Lifeless, uncaring eyes. He had a cold, amused smile on his face and he stared, unblinking, at Fiona.
"So this is the famous Fiona? It's an honor, a real honor to finally meet you," the man said with an unnaturally hollow, calm voice. There was the slightest bit of sarcasm concealed in it. "I've heard you can do some amazing things. I'll be looking forward to working along side someone with such remarkable abilities." His voice sent shivers right down her spine.
"I'll never work beside someone like you, you road kill obsessed sociopath," she snapped.
"Hate to burst your bubble, but you just did." His amusement had spread to his cold eyes.
Fiona realized she had slipped again. She showed her gift for reading people. She had never met the man in her life, but she knew one of his secrets just by looking at him. She would have to learn to control the urge to give snide comebacks if she was going to survive. He came down there for her to do just what she had done, unknowingly show her talents.
The man headed for the door.
"Keep the lights on and lock the door," he told the guard. "Electronically and with a key. She won't be able to get out by 'reading' people alone," he added maliciously.
"Yes, Mr. Cox."
Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Mrs. Wolfman walked into the classroom after her students and could sense immediately that something was very wrong. Fiona wasn't in her seat. She tried to calm herself by saying that she probably had a good reason for not being there and it was nothing to worry about, but she worried nonetheless.
Danny, who was usually a class clown, so to speak, was sitting quietly in his seat. He didn't seem like himself. Another student tapped him on the shoulder to ask if they could borrow a pen and he jumped. Mrs. Wolfman noticed him acting strangely and had a weird feeling it had something to do with Fiona.
At the end of class, Dan put his things away slowly. He got up and walked over to Mrs. Wolfman, who was erasing the blackboard.
"Mrs. Wolfman?"
"Yes, Danny?"
"I need to talk to you."
"What about?"
"Um, Fiona's father, Mr. Mason, wanted me to tell you that he needs to speak with you."
"Is everything all right?"
He looked at her for the first time as she really was.
"No, everything's not okay."
"What's wrong?"
"I know, Mrs. Wolfman."
"You know what?"
"About your past. About Fiona," he looked down at the floor, suddenly interested in the design of the tiles.
"Something happened to Fiona, didn't it?"
"She was taken. We were chased and they got her."
"They took her? I'm sorry, I have to go," she said while grabbing her bag and hurrying out the door. Fiona's house was down the street from the school and Mrs. Wolfman ran to it. She must have looked odd to anyone who might have been passing by at that moment. She came up to the door of the light green house and rang the doorbell repeatedly.
Jarod looked out the window and then opened the door.
"Mrs. Wolfman." He looked pale and shaky like he had when he told Parker they had a child. This was not the same man she talked to the previous Friday.
"If there's anything I can do…"
Jarod considered this. "Come in."
The Centre
"Get away from me, Cox! I refuse to do anything you tell me to. There's no way you'll get my family!"
"We don't need your family anymore, they've served their purpose. We only want you. As long as you stay with us, your family is free to live a normal life. Now, let's get to work."
"Never," Fiona hissed.
"We'll see about that. There are ways of making you cooperate," he said while pressing the button on the projector. The screen filled with the image of her father chained to the ceiling along with Lyle shocking him.
"Well, let's just see about that," Fiona said under her breath.
One Week Later
Lyle walked down the hallway to Mr. Parker's office. He had been called down there for something he hoped he wouldn't be dragged into. Cox hadn't been having much luck with Fiona. Apparently, he hadn't been able to get her to do one Simulation over the past week and Mr. Parker had not given Cox the permission to use extreme measures to make her work.
The office door opened with the familiar hydraulic hiss. Mr. Parker sat behind his desk.
"Ah, Lyle. It's about time."
"You wanted to see me?"
"As you may or may not know, Mr. Cox has not been successful at getting the Pretender to cooperate. You were able to convince Jarod to work with you when he was captured. I was hoping you could use your influence to get his daughter to work with us."
It wasn't a question and as much as Lyle didn't want to, he was going to have to be a part of this.
"I'll try my hardest. She has been out…"
"Don't give me that, Lyle. I don't care if she's been free for a hundred years. Either you succeed at this or you fail. If you succeed, you'll move up a rung on the ladder of success. If you should fall short, you earn yourself a one-way ticket to the Renewal Wing. We don't need another Sydney slowing us down."
The Centre
SL-15
Lyle walked down the long corridor that led to his niece's cell. He came up to a door guarded by a large sweeper and handed him the key.
"What's she doing?" he asked the man.
"We just brought her food," the sweeper answered while unlocking the door. "Watch out. She may be young but she's liable to bite your head off if you give her half a chance."
Lyle entered the dark cell and saw the young woman sitting on her bed. The food tray was off to one side and she was eating an apple. Her bed was against the far wall and she had her feet up on it so her knees were bent. Her back was against the cold concrete behind her. Without looking up, she whipped the apple core at Lyle's head. He tried to move out of the way but it grazed his ear.
"Fiona?"
She looked up at the sound of his unfamiliar voice. He felt as if she was staring into his soul, or what was left of it. He saw her resemblance to both her mother and her father. He never enjoyed having either of them look him in the eye and she was no different.
"Lyle." She knew who he was. That wasn't a surprise to him. He figured Parker told her about him. "Why are you here?" she asked in an uncharacteristically bitter tone. It didn't take a genius to tell she didn't want to be there. He could feel her longing to run past him and out the door. He could also tell that she knew that was impossible with the guard there.
"I believe you already know."
"You're right. You're here to make me cooperate. They saw your so-called success with my father and think you can do it again. Trust me, you can't."
"What makes you think so?"
"Your eyes. You looked at me and saw my parents. You don't want to be a part of this."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied for the camera.
"Whatever you say, Uncle Lyle. Better get to work on a plan on how to get me to do your evil bidding. You're not getting through to me now. Talk to you later, if you're lucky."
Lyle sighed and left the room. He wondered if she was always like that. He didn't know how it was possible for someone who just met their parents to have the same personality as them. She was acting like Parker, but he could see Jarod in her eyes. It was a strange thing to experience.
The Centre
Fiona's Cell
That Night
Fiona again lay on her bed in the dark room staring at the blinking light on the camera on the wall. Suddenly, the light stopped blinking and went out. She heard metal clanging coming from the air ducts.
She walked over to the vent and bent down. Again, the warm, blue eyes stared back at her.
"Nice to see you again, Angelo."
He smiled.
"Why are you here?"
"Angelo help," he said.
"Help?"
"Help escape." He pulled the vent cover off, crawled into the room and motioned for her to go in the duct ahead of him.
"I won't know which way to go if I go first."
Angelo nodded and crawled back in. Fiona put the vent cover back into place behind her and started her journey through the twisting tunnels that made up the Centre's ventilation system.
After about two hours, Angelo motioned for Fiona to go up the ladder at the end of the tunnel they had just entered. She didn't know which direction they were headed or where in the Centre they were but decided to try her luck. She pushed the cover out of the way and carefully peered out the hole. What she saw surprised her. She was outside Centre grounds. She could see the haunting silhouette of the building in the distance. She looked back in the tunnel to thank Angelo, but he was already gone.
Fiona climbed out of the sewer and put the manhole cover back. She didn't know where she should go from here. She looked at her watch, which was the only thing she was wearing that was actually hers. It was 4:30 in the morning. There was one person that she knew would be up at this time. She looked around to get her bearings and then set off to find him.
60 Herrick Court
Blue Cove, DE
Mr. Patten was making breakfast for himself. He found it hard to get used to only making one serving. He was used to Fiona being there to talk to. It had only been a couple of weeks since she left.
There was a knock at the back door. He was confused by this. People knew he was up now, but very few ever woke up that early. He walked over to the door and looked outside. He almost passed out at who he saw standing there.
"Fiona, what on earth are you doing here?"
"I guess my parents didn't tell you."
"Tell me what?" he asked worried because the clothes she was wearing looked like a Centre issued outfit.
"The Centre found me."
"How could they? I thought your father believed they could not."
"That's something we'll have to find out. I have to contact my parents. This is probably tearing them apart."
"Well, you know where the phone is," he said stunned. He sank into his couch and watched her dial the phone.
By RaajmdTMP
Part 5
The "Mason Family" House
Jarod was on the phone with Broots and Parker was pacing back and forth trying to calm Christian down, who had been crying for longer than she had seen before. Jarod was beginning to lose his patience waiting for Broots to find any trace of Fiona's abduction in the Centre mainframe. He was tempted to search himself, but realized that Broots had created a great deal of the security and would have a better chance at getting past it unnoticed.
The battery on Jarod's cell phone chose this inopportune moment to run out and their connection was cut off. He was about to throw the cell phone out the window in frustration when Miss Parker grabbed his hand to stop him.
"He'll call my phone," she said reassuringly.
Christian had finally calmed down enough for her to put him in his crib. After she did, she led Jarod to the couch to wait for Broots' call. This was an incredibly hard time for both of them. As in the past, they both felt responsible, even though it was the Centre's fault that Fiona was not with them. They sat side by side listening to the soft sound of their son breathing for about ten minutes until Miss Parker's phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Miss Parker. How are you holding up?"
"Not too well, Broots. We have to have some good news."
"Well, I'm afraid I can't really give you too much."
"What do you mean?" Broots could almost see her tears; her usual confident voice was fogged with grief.
"I still haven't uncovered any information about Fiona. I can tell you that as of 4pm today, the security precautions against you two have been tightened. It's pretty much shoot first, ask questions later. A man was spotted on Centre grounds earlier today that matched Jarod's description. He was killed the first clear shot the guards had."
"We can't get anywhere near that place without risking our lives, then?"
"You could never get near there without risking your lives. Now, if you go near it, you'll be losing them."
"So you're saying there's nothing we can do? We're just supposed to sit here and pretend this never happened?"
"I would never say that, Miss Parker. We can't do anything from the outside. If there was someone on the inside we could trust, our chances of getting Fi out safely increase significantly."
"But?" Miss Parker asked knowing that there must be more.
"But, I don't know who to trust or how to contact them. For now, we should really get some rest. Maybe in the morning things will all be a little clearer to us. They won't hurt Fiona; she's way too valuable to them. If they planned on hurting her, they wouldn't have gone through the trouble of capturing her."
"You're right, go get some sleep. We'll be fine here," Parker said before hanging up the phone.
"What's the update?" Jarod asked unhappily, having only heard her half of the conversation clearly and both wanting and not wanting to hear the other. He was becoming more and more frustrated with each sentence he heard.
"We can't go anywhere near the Centre. They'll have us killed. They already shot a man they thought was you."
"So we have to sit and wait." He sighed heavily and put his head in his hands. "I've never felt so helpless or alone in my entire life."
"You're not alone and you don't have to deal with this on your own," she comforted while rubbing his back. He looked up at her and gave a weak smile as a tear ran down his cheek. She could tell that he wasn't going to be the strong one this time; he knew what his daughter was feeling, what she was going through. Maybe no one had to be strong, but she was going to try.
She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, whispered that everything would be okay, and kissed him, much in the way she had with his clone when she was attempting to help him escape.
They were both so exhausted from worry that they fell asleep in each other's arms. That's how they awoke the next morning when Christian started to cry.
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
Fiona lay on a bed in a dark room that she had hoped that she would never have the displeasure of setting her eyes on again. The incessant blinking light on the camera was the only illumination in the area. Suddenly, bright, white light filled the room. She felt temporarily blinded, as you would when you walk out of a movie theater.
A man walked into the room. He didn't speak but waited for Fiona's eyes to adjust. When they did, she could see that he was a thin man with dark brown hair and icy blue eyes. Lifeless, uncaring eyes. He had a cold, amused smile on his face and he stared, unblinking, at Fiona.
"So this is the famous Fiona? It's an honor, a real honor to finally meet you," the man said with an unnaturally hollow, calm voice. There was the slightest bit of sarcasm concealed in it. "I've heard you can do some amazing things. I'll be looking forward to working along side someone with such remarkable abilities." His voice sent shivers right down her spine.
"I'll never work beside someone like you, you road kill obsessed sociopath," she snapped.
"Hate to burst your bubble, but you just did." His amusement had spread to his cold eyes.
Fiona realized she had slipped again. She showed her gift for reading people. She had never met the man in her life, but she knew one of his secrets just by looking at him. She would have to learn to control the urge to give snide comebacks if she was going to survive. He came down there for her to do just what she had done, unknowingly show her talents.
The man headed for the door.
"Keep the lights on and lock the door," he told the guard. "Electronically and with a key. She won't be able to get out by 'reading' people alone," he added maliciously.
"Yes, Mr. Cox."
Melrose Veterans Memorial Middle School
Mrs. Wolfman walked into the classroom after her students and could sense immediately that something was very wrong. Fiona wasn't in her seat. She tried to calm herself by saying that she probably had a good reason for not being there and it was nothing to worry about, but she worried nonetheless.
Danny, who was usually a class clown, so to speak, was sitting quietly in his seat. He didn't seem like himself. Another student tapped him on the shoulder to ask if they could borrow a pen and he jumped. Mrs. Wolfman noticed him acting strangely and had a weird feeling it had something to do with Fiona.
At the end of class, Dan put his things away slowly. He got up and walked over to Mrs. Wolfman, who was erasing the blackboard.
"Mrs. Wolfman?"
"Yes, Danny?"
"I need to talk to you."
"What about?"
"Um, Fiona's father, Mr. Mason, wanted me to tell you that he needs to speak with you."
"Is everything all right?"
He looked at her for the first time as she really was.
"No, everything's not okay."
"What's wrong?"
"I know, Mrs. Wolfman."
"You know what?"
"About your past. About Fiona," he looked down at the floor, suddenly interested in the design of the tiles.
"Something happened to Fiona, didn't it?"
"She was taken. We were chased and they got her."
"They took her? I'm sorry, I have to go," she said while grabbing her bag and hurrying out the door. Fiona's house was down the street from the school and Mrs. Wolfman ran to it. She must have looked odd to anyone who might have been passing by at that moment. She came up to the door of the light green house and rang the doorbell repeatedly.
Jarod looked out the window and then opened the door.
"Mrs. Wolfman." He looked pale and shaky like he had when he told Parker they had a child. This was not the same man she talked to the previous Friday.
"If there's anything I can do…"
Jarod considered this. "Come in."
The Centre
"Get away from me, Cox! I refuse to do anything you tell me to. There's no way you'll get my family!"
"We don't need your family anymore, they've served their purpose. We only want you. As long as you stay with us, your family is free to live a normal life. Now, let's get to work."
"Never," Fiona hissed.
"We'll see about that. There are ways of making you cooperate," he said while pressing the button on the projector. The screen filled with the image of her father chained to the ceiling along with Lyle shocking him.
"Well, let's just see about that," Fiona said under her breath.
One Week Later
Lyle walked down the hallway to Mr. Parker's office. He had been called down there for something he hoped he wouldn't be dragged into. Cox hadn't been having much luck with Fiona. Apparently, he hadn't been able to get her to do one Simulation over the past week and Mr. Parker had not given Cox the permission to use extreme measures to make her work.
The office door opened with the familiar hydraulic hiss. Mr. Parker sat behind his desk.
"Ah, Lyle. It's about time."
"You wanted to see me?"
"As you may or may not know, Mr. Cox has not been successful at getting the Pretender to cooperate. You were able to convince Jarod to work with you when he was captured. I was hoping you could use your influence to get his daughter to work with us."
It wasn't a question and as much as Lyle didn't want to, he was going to have to be a part of this.
"I'll try my hardest. She has been out…"
"Don't give me that, Lyle. I don't care if she's been free for a hundred years. Either you succeed at this or you fail. If you succeed, you'll move up a rung on the ladder of success. If you should fall short, you earn yourself a one-way ticket to the Renewal Wing. We don't need another Sydney slowing us down."
The Centre
SL-15
Lyle walked down the long corridor that led to his niece's cell. He came up to a door guarded by a large sweeper and handed him the key.
"What's she doing?" he asked the man.
"We just brought her food," the sweeper answered while unlocking the door. "Watch out. She may be young but she's liable to bite your head off if you give her half a chance."
Lyle entered the dark cell and saw the young woman sitting on her bed. The food tray was off to one side and she was eating an apple. Her bed was against the far wall and she had her feet up on it so her knees were bent. Her back was against the cold concrete behind her. Without looking up, she whipped the apple core at Lyle's head. He tried to move out of the way but it grazed his ear.
"Fiona?"
She looked up at the sound of his unfamiliar voice. He felt as if she was staring into his soul, or what was left of it. He saw her resemblance to both her mother and her father. He never enjoyed having either of them look him in the eye and she was no different.
"Lyle." She knew who he was. That wasn't a surprise to him. He figured Parker told her about him. "Why are you here?" she asked in an uncharacteristically bitter tone. It didn't take a genius to tell she didn't want to be there. He could feel her longing to run past him and out the door. He could also tell that she knew that was impossible with the guard there.
"I believe you already know."
"You're right. You're here to make me cooperate. They saw your so-called success with my father and think you can do it again. Trust me, you can't."
"What makes you think so?"
"Your eyes. You looked at me and saw my parents. You don't want to be a part of this."
"I don't know what you're talking about," he lied for the camera.
"Whatever you say, Uncle Lyle. Better get to work on a plan on how to get me to do your evil bidding. You're not getting through to me now. Talk to you later, if you're lucky."
Lyle sighed and left the room. He wondered if she was always like that. He didn't know how it was possible for someone who just met their parents to have the same personality as them. She was acting like Parker, but he could see Jarod in her eyes. It was a strange thing to experience.
The Centre
Fiona's Cell
That Night
Fiona again lay on her bed in the dark room staring at the blinking light on the camera on the wall. Suddenly, the light stopped blinking and went out. She heard metal clanging coming from the air ducts.
She walked over to the vent and bent down. Again, the warm, blue eyes stared back at her.
"Nice to see you again, Angelo."
He smiled.
"Why are you here?"
"Angelo help," he said.
"Help?"
"Help escape." He pulled the vent cover off, crawled into the room and motioned for her to go in the duct ahead of him.
"I won't know which way to go if I go first."
Angelo nodded and crawled back in. Fiona put the vent cover back into place behind her and started her journey through the twisting tunnels that made up the Centre's ventilation system.
After about two hours, Angelo motioned for Fiona to go up the ladder at the end of the tunnel they had just entered. She didn't know which direction they were headed or where in the Centre they were but decided to try her luck. She pushed the cover out of the way and carefully peered out the hole. What she saw surprised her. She was outside Centre grounds. She could see the haunting silhouette of the building in the distance. She looked back in the tunnel to thank Angelo, but he was already gone.
Fiona climbed out of the sewer and put the manhole cover back. She didn't know where she should go from here. She looked at her watch, which was the only thing she was wearing that was actually hers. It was 4:30 in the morning. There was one person that she knew would be up at this time. She looked around to get her bearings and then set off to find him.
60 Herrick Court
Blue Cove, DE
Mr. Patten was making breakfast for himself. He found it hard to get used to only making one serving. He was used to Fiona being there to talk to. It had only been a couple of weeks since she left.
There was a knock at the back door. He was confused by this. People knew he was up now, but very few ever woke up that early. He walked over to the door and looked outside. He almost passed out at who he saw standing there.
"Fiona, what on earth are you doing here?"
"I guess my parents didn't tell you."
"Tell me what?" he asked worried because the clothes she was wearing looked like a Centre issued outfit.
"The Centre found me."
"How could they? I thought your father believed they could not."
"That's something we'll have to find out. I have to contact my parents. This is probably tearing them apart."
"Well, you know where the phone is," he said stunned. He sank into his couch and watched her dial the phone.
