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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. Hi Rebeckah great to work with you!!!!
Groaning, Miss Parker opened her eyes. The first light of the morning slowly pushed the dark shadows of the night away. She stretched out her right arm, searching for the clock on her night stand. Finally she found it an brought it in front of her eyes... barely past 6 AM. She lowered her arm and let the clock fall down on the carpeted floor with a low thud, but still loud enough to make her head pound even more. She tried to remember the events of the last day and night.
Yesterday everything had been so clear, but than her beloved mutant twin brother had caught Emily. God she would never forget the look in Sydney’s and Broots eyes when she told them she was taking over Gemini and Emily. The hurt and the betrayal all mixed up with disgust. Disgust for her and what she had done during the last days.
Now everything was going wrong! Why in Gods name had Jarod hacked into that damn mainframe and found her medical report? *He’s always worrying about you*, a small voice in her head answered her silent question. *No, better change that to, he always did*. She knew she should be really happy that he wasn’t a violent man, but she still could feel the chill of fear running down her spine when she remembered the look he had given her in that damn alley. She knew it had taken him all of his willpower not to hit her.
With another groan she dragged herself to her feet and headed to the bathroom.
She flicked on the lights in the room and looked at her refection in the mirror above the sink. She looked like hell. She had dark circles under her eyes and her skin was so white it was nearly transparent. It would take a lot of makeup to cover the signs of another sleepless night. She had no idea how much her body could take, although from the way she looked this morning she knew it couldn’t be much more. Her whole body was on fire, her back ached more than the last 6 weeks, felt like she could sleep for a week straight, and a faint nausea accompanied the pounding in her head.
She had nearly died from blood loss after Willie had shot her, but she had been able to heel quickly. She had an unpleasant feeling that this damage was going to take much longer to heal, if it ever did.
There had never been a time she had not missed her mother, but now she felt like she couldn’t survive without her. Sydney had always been a refuge for Jarod, an anchor of sanity in the craziness of the Centre, but for her there was no one. Since her mother’s death she’d had no hiding place, no sanctuary where she could stop and let herself relax and regain her strength.
Everything has a price; it’s only a question of whether you’re willing to pay it. She had paid, and she would pay for this for a long time. Miss Parker stared at the pale woman looking out of the mirror at her. What would her mother have done in her situation? *Oh Momma, why aren’t you here? I really need you*. Silent tears ran down her cheeks.
With a small sob she turned to take a shower. A nice warm shower to wash away the tension in her body. *A hot shower and some fresh air and I’ll feel much better*.
*****
"Good morning Syd, Broots", Lyle greeted the 2 men in the office with overdone cheer. He hated to being trapped like this. His damn sister had made a smarter move than he had ever dreamed she would. He had underestimated her daring.
He went over his plan again as he made his way over to his desk, trying one more time to figure out where he’d gone wrong.
His plan had been completely perfect. Her weak spot had been always her family and her friends. Damn it! It had been perfect! Everything had worked out fine. She had returned to the Centre and it had been no problem to exchange the painkillers for his drug. It had taken several days to get everything flawlessly set up, but then It had been even easier than he had ever dared to hope.
He silently grinned. Jarod was a Pretender, a smart man, Lyle sneered mentally at this. ‘Wonderboy’, this name reminded him always at the comics he had loved so much as a child and he was never allowed to read. He still remembered one day when his father caught him secretly reading one of them, he could still hear the crack when his rib broke under the powerful blow from his father that had sent him crashing against the wall. He shook his head to clear his mind. He would not go back there, that was his past now; that was all that mattered.
Anyway, if he had ever the slightest doubt about the feelings the Pretender had for his sister, his actions on the airfield had given him away. A really stupid move for such a smart man. All he needed was to make a apparently accidental comment about his sister working too much and too late after she had been wounded so recently. Sure enough Jarod ‘sneaked’ out his cell to check on her. Look who’s smart now, Lyle thought smugly.
At that point everything had been fine; which was good since Jarod’s real escape 3 days later had definitely not been part of the plan. He silently congratulated himself for the bomb, though. It had been a master stroke on his part. Either Jarod rescued his sister, and then she would be more receptive to further advances from him later, should that be necessary, or he wouldn’t, and the biggest obstacle to his advancement in the Centre and in his family would be gone. No matter what happened, he won.
The morning before they had been trapped in that container she had been in a bad mood. He had offered her some breakfast and she had looked at him like she was going to throw up all over him. He’d noticed that every morning her face was a faintly green, which he’d taken as a good sign. He’d continued to keep a close eye on her the whole time while they where locked in that miserable box. In a way he’d been grateful to Jarod for giving him so much time with his sister to observe her without raising her suspicion.
By the time they’d arrived back at the Centre he had been convinced that his plan had worked out. He had nearly danced with joy when she visited a doctor on her own initiative. He hadn’t dared to hope that he’d have that much luck. But that was the end of things working out the way he had planed them.
Lyle could still not believe that she simply walked out and had a abortion. He’d never have believed his soft, sentimental sister could do such a thing, at least not without a lot of soul searching first. Then, for her to provide the Centre with the fetal tissue to clone, he still couldn’t believe it! He was even more shocked when she handed everything over to the Triumvirate! And for her to then claim that now that they were using her genetic material as well that they should give her the project! Well, that was simply too much. Lyle could feel the anger rising again about the entire situation.
But it was her next demand that nearly knocked him out. He had caught Emily and he was coming out ahead in the meeting, but she destroyed it in an instant. After the Triumvirate had agreed to give her Gemini, she had demanded Emily for research. Before he could protest he saw the satisfied look on Mutumbo’s face and his nod of agreement. He had flexed his hands longingly, dreaming of wrapping them around the neck of his sister, who was giving him an acid smile of triumph.
He tried to protest, only to have Mutumbo warn him that the Centre was not a democracy. He’d only dared to ask what his role in the Centre would be from now on. Of course, Daddy’s "Angel" already had a *wonderful* idea. They still had a Pretender on the run and Lyle had always claimed to be the better choice to hunt him, now was his chance to prove it. She had cheerfully suggested that he work with Sydney and Broots, and oh, Angelo too, to recapture Jarod. That damn Freak.
There was no logical reason he could find to refuse this job, so, silently cursing, he agreed. On top of everything else, now they had blocked his access to all of Project Gemini’s data.
While was lost in his thoughts he searched in the data base, not really knowing what he was looking for. He didn’t care that he was venturing into forbidden files. After all, if he found a proof that she had betrayed the Centre it wouldn’t matter that he’d disobeyed orders.
He was about to open the next file when something caught his eye. It was the findings of the initial tests on the fetal tissue Parker had provided. He exulted as he realized that the data had been altered, and the Rhesus Factor had been changed from positive into negative. This file was the automatic backup and it showed the original findings. He was positive that Parker had done this. No one else would have anything to gain from it and he was sure if Broots had somehow been convinced to do it for his sister he would never have made such a big mistake-----not that he would help her anymore anyway. Lyle grinned, sure now of victory.
Time to show his dear sister where her place in Life was. After the Triumvirate saw this report his position and authority would be returned and Parker would----well, maybe he could arrange a nice cell in Donoterase for her, next to Emily. At this thought his smile grew even wider.
He never noticed the uneasy looks Sydney and Broots exchanged as they secretly observed him the whole time. They knew him well enough by now to know that his smile did not promise anything good.
Yesterday everything had been so clear, but than her beloved mutant twin brother had caught Emily. God she would never forget the look in Sydney’s and Broots eyes when she told them she was taking over Gemini and Emily. The hurt and the betrayal all mixed up with disgust. Disgust for her and what she had done during the last days.
Now everything was going wrong! Why in Gods name had Jarod hacked into that damn mainframe and found her medical report? *He’s always worrying about you*, a small voice in her head answered her silent question. *No, better change that to, he always did*. She knew she should be really happy that he wasn’t a violent man, but she still could feel the chill of fear running down her spine when she remembered the look he had given her in that damn alley. She knew it had taken him all of his willpower not to hit her.
With another groan she dragged herself to her feet and headed to the bathroom.
She flicked on the lights in the room and looked at her refection in the mirror above the sink. She looked like hell. She had dark circles under her eyes and her skin was so white it was nearly transparent. It would take a lot of makeup to cover the signs of another sleepless night. She had no idea how much her body could take, although from the way she looked this morning she knew it couldn’t be much more. Her whole body was on fire, her back ached more than the last 6 weeks, felt like she could sleep for a week straight, and a faint nausea accompanied the pounding in her head.
She had nearly died from blood loss after Willie had shot her, but she had been able to heel quickly. She had an unpleasant feeling that this damage was going to take much longer to heal, if it ever did.
There had never been a time she had not missed her mother, but now she felt like she couldn’t survive without her. Sydney had always been a refuge for Jarod, an anchor of sanity in the craziness of the Centre, but for her there was no one. Since her mother’s death she’d had no hiding place, no sanctuary where she could stop and let herself relax and regain her strength.
Everything has a price; it’s only a question of whether you’re willing to pay it. She had paid, and she would pay for this for a long time. Miss Parker stared at the pale woman looking out of the mirror at her. What would her mother have done in her situation? *Oh Momma, why aren’t you here? I really need you*. Silent tears ran down her cheeks.
With a small sob she turned to take a shower. A nice warm shower to wash away the tension in her body. *A hot shower and some fresh air and I’ll feel much better*.
*****
"Good morning Syd, Broots", Lyle greeted the 2 men in the office with overdone cheer. He hated to being trapped like this. His damn sister had made a smarter move than he had ever dreamed she would. He had underestimated her daring.
He went over his plan again as he made his way over to his desk, trying one more time to figure out where he’d gone wrong.
His plan had been completely perfect. Her weak spot had been always her family and her friends. Damn it! It had been perfect! Everything had worked out fine. She had returned to the Centre and it had been no problem to exchange the painkillers for his drug. It had taken several days to get everything flawlessly set up, but then It had been even easier than he had ever dared to hope.
He silently grinned. Jarod was a Pretender, a smart man, Lyle sneered mentally at this. ‘Wonderboy’, this name reminded him always at the comics he had loved so much as a child and he was never allowed to read. He still remembered one day when his father caught him secretly reading one of them, he could still hear the crack when his rib broke under the powerful blow from his father that had sent him crashing against the wall. He shook his head to clear his mind. He would not go back there, that was his past now; that was all that mattered.
Anyway, if he had ever the slightest doubt about the feelings the Pretender had for his sister, his actions on the airfield had given him away. A really stupid move for such a smart man. All he needed was to make a apparently accidental comment about his sister working too much and too late after she had been wounded so recently. Sure enough Jarod ‘sneaked’ out his cell to check on her. Look who’s smart now, Lyle thought smugly.
At that point everything had been fine; which was good since Jarod’s real escape 3 days later had definitely not been part of the plan. He silently congratulated himself for the bomb, though. It had been a master stroke on his part. Either Jarod rescued his sister, and then she would be more receptive to further advances from him later, should that be necessary, or he wouldn’t, and the biggest obstacle to his advancement in the Centre and in his family would be gone. No matter what happened, he won.
The morning before they had been trapped in that container she had been in a bad mood. He had offered her some breakfast and she had looked at him like she was going to throw up all over him. He’d noticed that every morning her face was a faintly green, which he’d taken as a good sign. He’d continued to keep a close eye on her the whole time while they where locked in that miserable box. In a way he’d been grateful to Jarod for giving him so much time with his sister to observe her without raising her suspicion.
By the time they’d arrived back at the Centre he had been convinced that his plan had worked out. He had nearly danced with joy when she visited a doctor on her own initiative. He hadn’t dared to hope that he’d have that much luck. But that was the end of things working out the way he had planed them.
Lyle could still not believe that she simply walked out and had a abortion. He’d never have believed his soft, sentimental sister could do such a thing, at least not without a lot of soul searching first. Then, for her to provide the Centre with the fetal tissue to clone, he still couldn’t believe it! He was even more shocked when she handed everything over to the Triumvirate! And for her to then claim that now that they were using her genetic material as well that they should give her the project! Well, that was simply too much. Lyle could feel the anger rising again about the entire situation.
But it was her next demand that nearly knocked him out. He had caught Emily and he was coming out ahead in the meeting, but she destroyed it in an instant. After the Triumvirate had agreed to give her Gemini, she had demanded Emily for research. Before he could protest he saw the satisfied look on Mutumbo’s face and his nod of agreement. He had flexed his hands longingly, dreaming of wrapping them around the neck of his sister, who was giving him an acid smile of triumph.
He tried to protest, only to have Mutumbo warn him that the Centre was not a democracy. He’d only dared to ask what his role in the Centre would be from now on. Of course, Daddy’s "Angel" already had a *wonderful* idea. They still had a Pretender on the run and Lyle had always claimed to be the better choice to hunt him, now was his chance to prove it. She had cheerfully suggested that he work with Sydney and Broots, and oh, Angelo too, to recapture Jarod. That damn Freak.
There was no logical reason he could find to refuse this job, so, silently cursing, he agreed. On top of everything else, now they had blocked his access to all of Project Gemini’s data.
While was lost in his thoughts he searched in the data base, not really knowing what he was looking for. He didn’t care that he was venturing into forbidden files. After all, if he found a proof that she had betrayed the Centre it wouldn’t matter that he’d disobeyed orders.
He was about to open the next file when something caught his eye. It was the findings of the initial tests on the fetal tissue Parker had provided. He exulted as he realized that the data had been altered, and the Rhesus Factor had been changed from positive into negative. This file was the automatic backup and it showed the original findings. He was positive that Parker had done this. No one else would have anything to gain from it and he was sure if Broots had somehow been convinced to do it for his sister he would never have made such a big mistake-----not that he would help her anymore anyway. Lyle grinned, sure now of victory.
Time to show his dear sister where her place in Life was. After the Triumvirate saw this report his position and authority would be returned and Parker would----well, maybe he could arrange a nice cell in Donoterase for her, next to Emily. At this thought his smile grew even wider.
He never noticed the uneasy looks Sydney and Broots exchanged as they secretly observed him the whole time. They knew him well enough by now to know that his smile did not promise anything good.
