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Disclaimer: The characters Miss Parker, Sydney, Jarod, Broots etc. and the fictional Centre, are all property of MTM and NBC Productions and used without permission. I'm not making any money out of this and no infringement is intended.
"Where is he?" Mutumbo’s voice growled like thunder through the empty halls of the Centre.
All the stories about what happened to messengers who brought bad news made the nameless Centre employee sweat.
It had been a freaky week for all of them. The gossip around the Centre was running wild, nobody was sure anymore what was true or what was false. Nobody was even sure anymore who was the hunter and who was the hunted. It didn’t help matters any that neither Miss Parker or Lyle had showed up here during the last few days. He even had heard rumours that Miss Parker had killed her brother, not that anybody really minded. He only hoped that if it was true that she had survived it. Her absence was not a good sign.
There was even a betting pool gong on about which of them had survived and would come back. He’d placed 20 bucks backing Sydney and Broots, who’d left to help their boss, but now it looked like he wouldn’t survive long enough to find out if he won. He had often heard about how your life was supposed to flash before your eyes just before death, but all he could do is think ridiculous thoughts about money----but maybe that was a good sign; maybe it meant that he was going to survive after all.
"Raines found them and he took the jet to follow them. It seems that the Pagode caught Miss Parker at Sam’s cabin. We are not sure who else might have been with her; the cabin showed signs of a fight and we found an empty gas cartridge in one of the bedrooms, Pagode standard issue. So Raines decided to head towards Berlin as soon as he could to keep up with them." The man reported with much more confidence than he felt.
"I hope for your own sake he succeeds this time. If he fails, his team has failed, understand?" The threat was evident with every word.
With a nod the man fled, glad to have survived, at least this time.
****
Jarod had tried to fill in the gaps from the years Catherine had missed as briefly a possible. She would never have believed these things if anyone else had told her. A matter of hours... curious, she had saved so many children over the years, but failed her own daughter. She glanced over at her daughter’s sleeping form. Catherine prayed the scars weren’t too deep, that she could really heal, but from what Jarod had just told her, she feared it was too late.
Jarod leaned back and watched the two women who had always played such a big part in his life. Even after her death Catherine had affected him, and everyone around him. He had no idea how to deal with Miss Parker at the moment. Everything he tried so far seemed to just make matters worse. He had always refused to believe that she really wanted him to leave when she tried to push him away. But now, without the Centre, it was still the same old story. She still treated him like he was the enemy. Now he wondered if he was right about her, or if he’d just been fooling himself all those years.
He should have known that she was drugged that night six weeks ago. But it hadn’t felt artificial in any way, it was more like she was the way he remembered being in their happier, younger days. She had been warm and caring. She had smiled in the same irresistible way The way he loved so much. She had been exactly what his battered spirit had needed after his time under Lyle’s attentive care.
All he had wanted later was to get out of the Centre and take her with him. But after he had really escaped he had discovered that she was back on his trail, hunting him. He had never felt more betrayed than he had at that moment. Then, after he had finally worked up the courage to call her, she had sounded like she didn’t even remember that night. And now he knew that was exactly the case. Now he finally understood and could forgive, but was it too late.
But the worst thing about this whole thing was the stunt she had pulled with the baby; his baby----their baby. She knew how much family meant to him! Centre or not she should have found a way to tell him. She had made him so angry that he almost slapped her. He could still see the picture in his mind; the alley, the icy glare, and, worst of all, the smile.
It had been the first time he had ever wanted to hit a woman, and he still felt guilty just for thinking it. He was sure she had known what he wanted to do, he was sure that he had even seen a spark of fear in her eyes. But at that moment he had felt like he was being torn apart, everything he had believed in at that moment had vanished in the face of that damn smile.
His thoughts were starting to run in circles; he had no idea what he felt anymore. He loved her, and there was nothing that could ever change that, he was sure, but sometimes he hated her as well. In one way he wanted to take her in her arms to comfort her and promise that everything was going to be OK, but he also wanted her to feel the same pain he did. How it feel to be rejected by somebody you love.
He still marvelled what Catherine had accomplished in getting her to sleep that way, and he still wondered how she’d done it. Parker looked like she was completely relaxed, and he could swear there was even a little smile She looked like an Angel, true to her name, but he was sure as soon as she would wake up the devil would wake up with her.
"Mrs Parker? " he asked quietly, hating to interrupt the woman in front of him. "Please could you exactly tell me what you have done? "
Catherine smiled at the young man, for a moment she considered to tell him the truth, but regarding the situation they where all in at the moment she decided it was better to keep her mouth shut.
"Nothing, you should worry about, it is really a small trick I learned when she was a baby. She was always so active, I could not get her sleeping so.. " she trailed off. From the look she saw that Jarod did not believe, her.
"Tell me, it has to do with her Red File , right? " he demanded. He wanted to take his words back when he saw all the colour leaving her face. Damn he thought she knew.
"I could kill that bastard who claimed to be her father,!" Catherine Parker cursed darkly.
"Mrs. Parker... " Jarod started but he was interrupted by her hand.
"Please don’t call me that, Catherine would be fine, please" she insisted
"Catherine... " Jarod started again, not willing to drop the subject. "You’re saying that Mr. Parker is not her real father, Ben Miller is, right? "
Catherine’s head snapped into his direction again a surprised wide eyed look on her face. "How..?"
Jarod smiled back, pleased with himself. "This was easy from her birthday" he nodded in Miss Parker’s direction, "the weeks you where gone every year.... he trailed of a proud look on his face.
"Not bad Sherlock," Catherine returned with a amused smile, "but also not good enough. Ben is not her father."
Jarod smile faded, and a puzzled look crossed his face. His first thought was to ask why she had called him Sherlock, but then her last words sunk in as well. Ben was not Miss Parker’s father?
"Who then?" was all Jarod could manage.
Before Catharine had a chance to answer the door to the cockpit opened and a young man walked into the cabin.
"We will landing in about 20 minutes, so be ready!" He informed them coldly. He let his gaze wander over the 2 woman, thinking that he had to remember to keep an close eye on them; they could be really dangerous.
All the stories about what happened to messengers who brought bad news made the nameless Centre employee sweat.
It had been a freaky week for all of them. The gossip around the Centre was running wild, nobody was sure anymore what was true or what was false. Nobody was even sure anymore who was the hunter and who was the hunted. It didn’t help matters any that neither Miss Parker or Lyle had showed up here during the last few days. He even had heard rumours that Miss Parker had killed her brother, not that anybody really minded. He only hoped that if it was true that she had survived it. Her absence was not a good sign.
There was even a betting pool gong on about which of them had survived and would come back. He’d placed 20 bucks backing Sydney and Broots, who’d left to help their boss, but now it looked like he wouldn’t survive long enough to find out if he won. He had often heard about how your life was supposed to flash before your eyes just before death, but all he could do is think ridiculous thoughts about money----but maybe that was a good sign; maybe it meant that he was going to survive after all.
"Raines found them and he took the jet to follow them. It seems that the Pagode caught Miss Parker at Sam’s cabin. We are not sure who else might have been with her; the cabin showed signs of a fight and we found an empty gas cartridge in one of the bedrooms, Pagode standard issue. So Raines decided to head towards Berlin as soon as he could to keep up with them." The man reported with much more confidence than he felt.
"I hope for your own sake he succeeds this time. If he fails, his team has failed, understand?" The threat was evident with every word.
With a nod the man fled, glad to have survived, at least this time.
****
Jarod had tried to fill in the gaps from the years Catherine had missed as briefly a possible. She would never have believed these things if anyone else had told her. A matter of hours... curious, she had saved so many children over the years, but failed her own daughter. She glanced over at her daughter’s sleeping form. Catherine prayed the scars weren’t too deep, that she could really heal, but from what Jarod had just told her, she feared it was too late.
Jarod leaned back and watched the two women who had always played such a big part in his life. Even after her death Catherine had affected him, and everyone around him. He had no idea how to deal with Miss Parker at the moment. Everything he tried so far seemed to just make matters worse. He had always refused to believe that she really wanted him to leave when she tried to push him away. But now, without the Centre, it was still the same old story. She still treated him like he was the enemy. Now he wondered if he was right about her, or if he’d just been fooling himself all those years.
He should have known that she was drugged that night six weeks ago. But it hadn’t felt artificial in any way, it was more like she was the way he remembered being in their happier, younger days. She had been warm and caring. She had smiled in the same irresistible way The way he loved so much. She had been exactly what his battered spirit had needed after his time under Lyle’s attentive care.
All he had wanted later was to get out of the Centre and take her with him. But after he had really escaped he had discovered that she was back on his trail, hunting him. He had never felt more betrayed than he had at that moment. Then, after he had finally worked up the courage to call her, she had sounded like she didn’t even remember that night. And now he knew that was exactly the case. Now he finally understood and could forgive, but was it too late.
But the worst thing about this whole thing was the stunt she had pulled with the baby; his baby----their baby. She knew how much family meant to him! Centre or not she should have found a way to tell him. She had made him so angry that he almost slapped her. He could still see the picture in his mind; the alley, the icy glare, and, worst of all, the smile.
It had been the first time he had ever wanted to hit a woman, and he still felt guilty just for thinking it. He was sure she had known what he wanted to do, he was sure that he had even seen a spark of fear in her eyes. But at that moment he had felt like he was being torn apart, everything he had believed in at that moment had vanished in the face of that damn smile.
His thoughts were starting to run in circles; he had no idea what he felt anymore. He loved her, and there was nothing that could ever change that, he was sure, but sometimes he hated her as well. In one way he wanted to take her in her arms to comfort her and promise that everything was going to be OK, but he also wanted her to feel the same pain he did. How it feel to be rejected by somebody you love.
He still marvelled what Catherine had accomplished in getting her to sleep that way, and he still wondered how she’d done it. Parker looked like she was completely relaxed, and he could swear there was even a little smile She looked like an Angel, true to her name, but he was sure as soon as she would wake up the devil would wake up with her.
"Mrs Parker? " he asked quietly, hating to interrupt the woman in front of him. "Please could you exactly tell me what you have done? "
Catherine smiled at the young man, for a moment she considered to tell him the truth, but regarding the situation they where all in at the moment she decided it was better to keep her mouth shut.
"Nothing, you should worry about, it is really a small trick I learned when she was a baby. She was always so active, I could not get her sleeping so.. " she trailed off. From the look she saw that Jarod did not believe, her.
"Tell me, it has to do with her Red File , right? " he demanded. He wanted to take his words back when he saw all the colour leaving her face. Damn he thought she knew.
"I could kill that bastard who claimed to be her father,!" Catherine Parker cursed darkly.
"Mrs. Parker... " Jarod started but he was interrupted by her hand.
"Please don’t call me that, Catherine would be fine, please" she insisted
"Catherine... " Jarod started again, not willing to drop the subject. "You’re saying that Mr. Parker is not her real father, Ben Miller is, right? "
Catherine’s head snapped into his direction again a surprised wide eyed look on her face. "How..?"
Jarod smiled back, pleased with himself. "This was easy from her birthday" he nodded in Miss Parker’s direction, "the weeks you where gone every year.... he trailed of a proud look on his face.
"Not bad Sherlock," Catherine returned with a amused smile, "but also not good enough. Ben is not her father."
Jarod smile faded, and a puzzled look crossed his face. His first thought was to ask why she had called him Sherlock, but then her last words sunk in as well. Ben was not Miss Parker’s father?
"Who then?" was all Jarod could manage.
Before Catharine had a chance to answer the door to the cockpit opened and a young man walked into the cabin.
"We will landing in about 20 minutes, so be ready!" He informed them coldly. He let his gaze wander over the 2 woman, thinking that he had to remember to keep an close eye on them; they could be really dangerous.
