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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
In a Heartbeat
By RaajmdTMP
Part 2
The door to Sydney's office flew open and an out of breath Broots ran in.
"M…Miss Parker left," Broots gasped trying to catch his breath.
"Maybe she had other business to attend to. It's nothing to worry about."
"No, Syd. She really left, for good. She and Jarod called. They said that they were going to live with their daughter. They told me to leave as soon as I could."
"Miss Parker and Jarod? Then it is true. RFG2 was everything people said it was. Listen to them, Broots, get as far away as you can."
"What about you?"
"I'm going, too. Don't worry. Just get what you need and go. If I know Jarod and Miss Parker, they'll get in touch with us somehow and tell us where it's safe."
"But…"
"Go, now!"
Mr. Parker's Office
"What in the world were you thinking, Dad?"
"Calm down, Lyle. You're starting to sound like your sister. She has too much Catherine in her."
"Can you blame me? You used your own daughter for the Pretender Project. Do you know what would happen if she ever found out?"
"You know she has a gift. How could we just sit and let it go to waste?"
"I know where you're coming from, but why like this?"
"We had the opportunity to create a super Pretender and we acted on it."
"A super Pretender?"
"An extraordinary child with the abilities of both her mother and father."
"So you created this child genius but somehow she disappears. Why aren't we pursuing her instead of Jarod? She's worth more."
"And she's ten times harder to catch. We have been chasing Jarod for five years; we'd probably never catch her. We always had a backup plan. We proceeded with it shortly before she escaped. She had started to ask too many questions about her parents. We had to take special measures in case she was harder to keep in the Centre than her father. Hopefully her brother won't be."
"She has a brother?"
"Her brother is the backup plan."
"I don't understand."
"Didn't you pay attention in your eighth grade science class, Lyle?"
"What?"
"Let's just say it's genetically impossible for two blue eyed parents to have a brown eyed baby," Mr. Parker said while glancing through the window to Baby Parker's playroom.
"Now, let's not ask anymore questions about RFG2. We wouldn't want anything to happen to the information, would we?" Parker threatened.
"No, no more questions," Lyle replied, shocked at his discovery and for the first time in his life being afraid of the man he called father. He turned to leave, trying to hide the fact that this was bothering him as much as it was. It wasn't in his character to react to things this way.
"Oh, and Lyle? Your sister better not find out about this, ever."
The Tech Room
SL 5
"Going somewhere, Mr. Broots?"
"M…Mr. Lyle?! No, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just doing some, ah, spring cleaning," Broots lied nervously.
"Well, before you do, I need your help."
"What can I do for you?" Broots replied, silently praying that it wouldn't have anything to do with Jarod or Miss Parker.
"I need you to loop the cameras in Christian Parker's playroom."
"But Mr. Lyle, if someone found out, something like that could get me killed."
"Nobody better find out then."
"Okay, I'll do it, but I can only guarantee you safety for fifteen minutes."
"Good, thank you."
"Mr. Lyle, can I ask why you want me to do this?"
"It's family business."
~*****~
Lyle jogged down the hall. He came to his father's office.
'He's in a meeting, perfect.'
Lyle looked around and slipped into Christian's room.
60 Herrick Court
Blue Cove, DE
Fiona was relaxing in her bed. There was no school that day because of renovations. Mr. and Mrs. Patten were sitting out in the front yard enjoying the nice weather. She decided that she would go out and do the same. She went and sat on the front steps.
Just as she sat down, a car pulled up in front of the house. She recognized the passengers immediately.
"Jarod! Parker! What are you doing here?" Mr. Patten asked as he went to greet them.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Patten. We need to talk to Fiona…"
"About her family," Miss Parker finished Jarod's sentence.
"If you want privacy, you probably want to talk in her room."
"Thanks."
They walked up to Fiona.
"Come on, Fi. We have something we have to tell you."
"You found my parents, didn't you?"
"Just wait until we're in your room."
They reached her room and shut the door behind them.
"What did you find?"
"Fiona, I think you should sit down."
"I'll stand," she said but after she saw the look in their eyes she sat anyway.
"This is big, isn't it?"
"Very big."
"Are my parents all right?" she asked, her voice shaky.
"Oh, they're alive and well, don't worry about that."
"What's wrong, then?"
"This gets very complicated."
"I'll understand."
"We never doubted that, Fiona. We just have to explain it to you, for our benefit," Parker stated.
"It all leads back to the Centre. Your parents, they didn't know about you until yesterday. It's hard to understand, but the Centre created you. They stole you from your parents, but in a different way than I was taken from mine.
You see, Fi, the Centre will do anything for money. Your parents were part of a project called Prodigy, under the heading of Red Files. You are part of the RFG2 project."
"What's RFG2?"
"It's the second generation of Red Files. Each Red File has incredible abilities, such as your ability to Pretend or your Inner Sense. Second Generation Files have abilities that surpass their parents. The Red Files in both projects are known by names and numbers."
"Numbers? Like prisoners?"
"You could say that. They're treated like them. It's a ten digit number. Yours is 16-791215-20."
"Ten digits?"
Fiona could barely believe what she was hearing. When she escaped, Dr. Wolfman had given her a piece of paper with ten numbers on it. She said it was part of her past. Could she have possibly had one of her parents' identities since she escaped?
She got up and walked up to her bulletin board. She took the piece of paper down and walked over to Jarod.
"Like these?"
Jarod looked at the paper.
"Yes."
"Whose numbers are they?"
Jarod took a deep breath. Miss Parker, who had remained silent during this whole explanation, put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She now understood why she recognized those numbers on her previous visit. She remembered them from when she found the original Red Files.
"They're mine," Jarod replied looking up to see if she understood.
"You mean you're my...?"
Her knees began to buckle. This was too much for her. Jarod caught her and helped her on her bed. She tried to keep her mind on what was happening but her head was spinning with ideas and questions.
Jarod was her father? Why hadn't she seen it before? And they thought she was the smart one. Miss Parker seemed to read her thoughts.
"Fi, you can't expect to have realized it sooner. It's not the sort of thing that you normally think of. No one should ever have to."
Fiona looked at Parker. There was only one reason for her to be there with Jarod.
"Miss Parker, are you my mother?"
"Yes, yes I am," she replied with a smile that belonged to Catherine Parker.
"I know that even with your intelligence this is a hard concept to grasp…" Jarod started when he saw the strange look on Fiona's face.
"I can fully grasp the concept, Ja-I mean, Dad. There's just something about knowing who your parents are. It's the strangest feeling. I have a family. I can't even begin to describe how I feel."
"You don't have to, Fiona. We are all feeling the same way."
Fiona started to get up off the bed.
"I guess it's true what they say."
"What?"
"That your whole life can change in a heartbeat," she said as she started for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"We have to tell Richard and Frances."
They walked out the door into the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Patten were sitting on the couch. When they saw them come in they stood up quickly. They looked like they were worried about what the news might be.
"Good news?"
Fiona's face gave nothing away. She walked up to Mr. Patten and hugged him.
"Thank you for rescuing me. And for being the closest thing to a family I ever knew, both of you."
"Fiona, you're making me more worried than I need to be. What's wrong? Did something happen to your parents?"
Fiona smiled a smile he had never seen before. It was like she found something that was always missing in her life. Actually she had.
"Nothing's wrong. I… I have a family, finally."
"You found her parents? How?" Mrs. Patten asked.
"It wasn't that hard, Frances. We didn't have to look that far."
"Where are they?"
"When will you meet them?" both Patten's asked simultaneously.
"I already met them. I've known them since November. I just didn't know they were my parents."
"November? That's when you met Jarod and Parker," Mr. Patten said suspiciously.
They really didn't need to ask any questions. They could see the truth in the eyes of the people in front of them.
"Will the Centre stop at nothing?" Mrs. Patten asked.
"I wouldn't count on it," Mr. Patten said coldly.
"All that matters is that we're together now. I just need to keep our newfound family safe. They may try to hurt us, but they'll never tear our family apart."
Mr. Patten looked at Fiona and her parents.
"Fiona, I'm very happy for you, all of you. I just regret that I won't really be part of your life anymore."
"You'll always be a part of my life, never forget that. I'll call you whenever I can and, even though it's a pain, I'll send you a letter in the mail," Fiona joked.
"Hey, don't blame me. I couldn't use a computer if my life depended on it."
"I'm sorry we have to break this up, but we have to leave before the Centre finds out what's going on."
"I know. Fiona, when you're finished saying goodbye, why don't you get your stuff together with Jarod."
Fiona gave Mr. Patten one more hug and went over to say goodbye to Mrs. Patten. She went to her room to help Jarod pack her stuff. Once she was gone Miss Parker walked over to Mr. Patten. She hugged him, too.
"Thank you for keeping Fiona safe."
Mrs. Patten walked over to her.
"Good luck with your family."
"Thank you."
"I should be thanking you, you saved Richard's life."
"That's not at all necessary."
"Yes it is. If it wasn't for you and your family… I don't even want to think about it."
"It's okay. I know how you feel." Miss Parker looked out the window when she heard a car door slam. "There is one thing you can do for us, though."
"What is it?"
"Help me 'explain' why I'm here to my brother."
By RaajmdTMP
Part 2
The door to Sydney's office flew open and an out of breath Broots ran in.
"M…Miss Parker left," Broots gasped trying to catch his breath.
"Maybe she had other business to attend to. It's nothing to worry about."
"No, Syd. She really left, for good. She and Jarod called. They said that they were going to live with their daughter. They told me to leave as soon as I could."
"Miss Parker and Jarod? Then it is true. RFG2 was everything people said it was. Listen to them, Broots, get as far away as you can."
"What about you?"
"I'm going, too. Don't worry. Just get what you need and go. If I know Jarod and Miss Parker, they'll get in touch with us somehow and tell us where it's safe."
"But…"
"Go, now!"
Mr. Parker's Office
"What in the world were you thinking, Dad?"
"Calm down, Lyle. You're starting to sound like your sister. She has too much Catherine in her."
"Can you blame me? You used your own daughter for the Pretender Project. Do you know what would happen if she ever found out?"
"You know she has a gift. How could we just sit and let it go to waste?"
"I know where you're coming from, but why like this?"
"We had the opportunity to create a super Pretender and we acted on it."
"A super Pretender?"
"An extraordinary child with the abilities of both her mother and father."
"So you created this child genius but somehow she disappears. Why aren't we pursuing her instead of Jarod? She's worth more."
"And she's ten times harder to catch. We have been chasing Jarod for five years; we'd probably never catch her. We always had a backup plan. We proceeded with it shortly before she escaped. She had started to ask too many questions about her parents. We had to take special measures in case she was harder to keep in the Centre than her father. Hopefully her brother won't be."
"She has a brother?"
"Her brother is the backup plan."
"I don't understand."
"Didn't you pay attention in your eighth grade science class, Lyle?"
"What?"
"Let's just say it's genetically impossible for two blue eyed parents to have a brown eyed baby," Mr. Parker said while glancing through the window to Baby Parker's playroom.
"Now, let's not ask anymore questions about RFG2. We wouldn't want anything to happen to the information, would we?" Parker threatened.
"No, no more questions," Lyle replied, shocked at his discovery and for the first time in his life being afraid of the man he called father. He turned to leave, trying to hide the fact that this was bothering him as much as it was. It wasn't in his character to react to things this way.
"Oh, and Lyle? Your sister better not find out about this, ever."
The Tech Room
SL 5
"Going somewhere, Mr. Broots?"
"M…Mr. Lyle?! No, I'm not going anywhere. I'm just doing some, ah, spring cleaning," Broots lied nervously.
"Well, before you do, I need your help."
"What can I do for you?" Broots replied, silently praying that it wouldn't have anything to do with Jarod or Miss Parker.
"I need you to loop the cameras in Christian Parker's playroom."
"But Mr. Lyle, if someone found out, something like that could get me killed."
"Nobody better find out then."
"Okay, I'll do it, but I can only guarantee you safety for fifteen minutes."
"Good, thank you."
"Mr. Lyle, can I ask why you want me to do this?"
"It's family business."
~*****~
Lyle jogged down the hall. He came to his father's office.
'He's in a meeting, perfect.'
Lyle looked around and slipped into Christian's room.
60 Herrick Court
Blue Cove, DE
Fiona was relaxing in her bed. There was no school that day because of renovations. Mr. and Mrs. Patten were sitting out in the front yard enjoying the nice weather. She decided that she would go out and do the same. She went and sat on the front steps.
Just as she sat down, a car pulled up in front of the house. She recognized the passengers immediately.
"Jarod! Parker! What are you doing here?" Mr. Patten asked as he went to greet them.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Patten. We need to talk to Fiona…"
"About her family," Miss Parker finished Jarod's sentence.
"If you want privacy, you probably want to talk in her room."
"Thanks."
They walked up to Fiona.
"Come on, Fi. We have something we have to tell you."
"You found my parents, didn't you?"
"Just wait until we're in your room."
They reached her room and shut the door behind them.
"What did you find?"
"Fiona, I think you should sit down."
"I'll stand," she said but after she saw the look in their eyes she sat anyway.
"This is big, isn't it?"
"Very big."
"Are my parents all right?" she asked, her voice shaky.
"Oh, they're alive and well, don't worry about that."
"What's wrong, then?"
"This gets very complicated."
"I'll understand."
"We never doubted that, Fiona. We just have to explain it to you, for our benefit," Parker stated.
"It all leads back to the Centre. Your parents, they didn't know about you until yesterday. It's hard to understand, but the Centre created you. They stole you from your parents, but in a different way than I was taken from mine.
You see, Fi, the Centre will do anything for money. Your parents were part of a project called Prodigy, under the heading of Red Files. You are part of the RFG2 project."
"What's RFG2?"
"It's the second generation of Red Files. Each Red File has incredible abilities, such as your ability to Pretend or your Inner Sense. Second Generation Files have abilities that surpass their parents. The Red Files in both projects are known by names and numbers."
"Numbers? Like prisoners?"
"You could say that. They're treated like them. It's a ten digit number. Yours is 16-791215-20."
"Ten digits?"
Fiona could barely believe what she was hearing. When she escaped, Dr. Wolfman had given her a piece of paper with ten numbers on it. She said it was part of her past. Could she have possibly had one of her parents' identities since she escaped?
She got up and walked up to her bulletin board. She took the piece of paper down and walked over to Jarod.
"Like these?"
Jarod looked at the paper.
"Yes."
"Whose numbers are they?"
Jarod took a deep breath. Miss Parker, who had remained silent during this whole explanation, put a comforting hand on his shoulder. She now understood why she recognized those numbers on her previous visit. She remembered them from when she found the original Red Files.
"They're mine," Jarod replied looking up to see if she understood.
"You mean you're my...?"
Her knees began to buckle. This was too much for her. Jarod caught her and helped her on her bed. She tried to keep her mind on what was happening but her head was spinning with ideas and questions.
Jarod was her father? Why hadn't she seen it before? And they thought she was the smart one. Miss Parker seemed to read her thoughts.
"Fi, you can't expect to have realized it sooner. It's not the sort of thing that you normally think of. No one should ever have to."
Fiona looked at Parker. There was only one reason for her to be there with Jarod.
"Miss Parker, are you my mother?"
"Yes, yes I am," she replied with a smile that belonged to Catherine Parker.
"I know that even with your intelligence this is a hard concept to grasp…" Jarod started when he saw the strange look on Fiona's face.
"I can fully grasp the concept, Ja-I mean, Dad. There's just something about knowing who your parents are. It's the strangest feeling. I have a family. I can't even begin to describe how I feel."
"You don't have to, Fiona. We are all feeling the same way."
Fiona started to get up off the bed.
"I guess it's true what they say."
"What?"
"That your whole life can change in a heartbeat," she said as she started for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"We have to tell Richard and Frances."
They walked out the door into the living room. Mr. and Mrs. Patten were sitting on the couch. When they saw them come in they stood up quickly. They looked like they were worried about what the news might be.
"Good news?"
Fiona's face gave nothing away. She walked up to Mr. Patten and hugged him.
"Thank you for rescuing me. And for being the closest thing to a family I ever knew, both of you."
"Fiona, you're making me more worried than I need to be. What's wrong? Did something happen to your parents?"
Fiona smiled a smile he had never seen before. It was like she found something that was always missing in her life. Actually she had.
"Nothing's wrong. I… I have a family, finally."
"You found her parents? How?" Mrs. Patten asked.
"It wasn't that hard, Frances. We didn't have to look that far."
"Where are they?"
"When will you meet them?" both Patten's asked simultaneously.
"I already met them. I've known them since November. I just didn't know they were my parents."
"November? That's when you met Jarod and Parker," Mr. Patten said suspiciously.
They really didn't need to ask any questions. They could see the truth in the eyes of the people in front of them.
"Will the Centre stop at nothing?" Mrs. Patten asked.
"I wouldn't count on it," Mr. Patten said coldly.
"All that matters is that we're together now. I just need to keep our newfound family safe. They may try to hurt us, but they'll never tear our family apart."
Mr. Patten looked at Fiona and her parents.
"Fiona, I'm very happy for you, all of you. I just regret that I won't really be part of your life anymore."
"You'll always be a part of my life, never forget that. I'll call you whenever I can and, even though it's a pain, I'll send you a letter in the mail," Fiona joked.
"Hey, don't blame me. I couldn't use a computer if my life depended on it."
"I'm sorry we have to break this up, but we have to leave before the Centre finds out what's going on."
"I know. Fiona, when you're finished saying goodbye, why don't you get your stuff together with Jarod."
Fiona gave Mr. Patten one more hug and went over to say goodbye to Mrs. Patten. She went to her room to help Jarod pack her stuff. Once she was gone Miss Parker walked over to Mr. Patten. She hugged him, too.
"Thank you for keeping Fiona safe."
Mrs. Patten walked over to her.
"Good luck with your family."
"Thank you."
"I should be thanking you, you saved Richard's life."
"That's not at all necessary."
"Yes it is. If it wasn't for you and your family… I don't even want to think about it."
"It's okay. I know how you feel." Miss Parker looked out the window when she heard a car door slam. "There is one thing you can do for us, though."
"What is it?"
"Help me 'explain' why I'm here to my brother."
