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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.
Sydney entered the building. The Centre was the last place he wanted to see again today. It was nearly midnight and the long dark corridors were nearly empty with only a few security guards doing their patrols. As he approached the elevator the doors slid open. He had let Broots talk him into coming back against his better judgment. All he wanted was to sit at home staring
into the flames of his fireplace and trying to analyze where things had started to go so wrong. He’d already done just that for several hours without coming up with an answer. Perhaps that was why he’d let Broots talk him into this midnight expedition.
He had always feared that Jarod would have a nervous breakdown. He had spent so much of his life in this place that Sydney had never been able to believe he could live successfully outside of them. Jarod was brilliant, but emotionally unstable, he needed to have a fixed point in his life in order to survive all of his pretends over the years. He had always wondered how Jarod had managed without his emotional anchor, but now Sydney knew he hadn’t. His fixed point had been Miss Parker. Whether or not Jarod understood this wasn’t important.
Sydney felt like slapping himself. How could he have been so blind? (We see what we want to see,) a little voice in his head mocked. Was it really true, he wondered. Had he not wanted to see the truth? Had he deceived himself into believing he was the only reason Jarod stayed in contact with the Centre?
Sooner or later the Centre destroyed everybody, he mused. His eyes traveled over the inner walls of the elevator, finally coming to rest on the bullet hole in one corner. If you needed proof of how sick this place was, one quick look at the hole was enough. Who else would let such a reminder stay. He normally avoided looking at that morbid reminder, but he was always aware of it. It always made him feel uneasy and gave him a faintly sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had often wondered if the little girl had died with her mother here in this elevator. Soon after her mother was shot Miss Parker had been sent away to a boarding school and after that he only caught the occasional glimpse of her, sometimes not even that for a year or two.
When she was 19 and came back to work for the Centre’s security the happy little girl was completely gone. She looked exactly like Catherine, except for her eyes. The eyes are the widow to the soul, after all, and she had locked her soul up during her years away.
Sydney had been shocked when the Chairman had proudly told him that his daughter was about to join the Centre’s security team. He remembered praying that she would fail her tests, but she had passed every one with flying colors. From time to time Jarod had asked if she was still there, but she never came down to the sim labs. Once Sydney had spoken to her as they passed each other in the halls. They had talked about the old times and during their short talk he mentioned that Jarod still asked him about her. She had totally ignored the statement, and after a bit more small talk, she had excused herself and simply walked away.
The elevator finally reached his destination. Sydney walked down the corridor to his office he hoped that Broots had a good reason to drag him back. The last few days had been too much for him. He briefly wondered if Jarod would ever call him again or if he would now simply disappear. Before he could follow this train of thought he reached his office. Broots sat behind his desk and his laptop sat on top of it. The face of the younger man relaxed visibly as soon as he recognized Sydney and he waved him over.
"You won’t believe what I found!" Broots stated. He eagerly typed into the laptop. "You remember the gloating grin Lyle had this afternoon? Well, I had the a really bad feeling about it, so I sneaked into the mainframe." Grinning, he looked at the surprised and now curious expression of the man who leaned over his shoulder.
"You did." Sydney stated rather than asked. Broots nodded his had in agreement.
"I know now why he was so happy!" He continued his explanation. "Miss Parker handed the Triumvirate a sample of fetal tissue because Lyle demanded proof of the abortion and to give them some new cloning material. This was the reason they gave her the Gemini Project." Broots was too excited about his news to notice the older man’s expression of shock and revulsion. Sydney straightened up and took a step back. He felt like he was going to throw up. He was concentrating so completely on taking slow, even breaths to control his rebellious stomach that he only faintly heard "Set-up" and "Lyle". Sydney realized that Broots had never stopped talking.
"Could you repeat that, please?" Sydney asked, even though he wasn’t sure he really wanted to hear it.
"Sure" the technician answered a bit confused about Sydney’s request. "I had a feeling that something was going on here that nobody wanted us to know, but I was sure we needed to know." Broots explained again.
"After I saw Lyle’s smile I was sure it was vital that we find out what’s happening. So I searched for all the medical data relating to Miss Parker and Gemini. I came across a report abut the fetal tissue. I read it over and over again. It seemed legitimate, but something about it disturbed me. Then I found it! There was a backup file. I opened it and saw that it was another version of the same test. This was easy to find; too easy. Everything else is perfect, and this is a mistake nobody who could set up something like this would make. It makes sense only if this mistake was planned." Broots looked expectantly at the man behind him, but after he only received a shrug he turned back to the computer and continued.
"So I searched deeper. I came up with a document signed by Miss Parker and the Triumvirate. The Triumvirate knows that the test is a fake. In other words, it’s a set up!" Triumphant, he turned around again. Sydney couldn’t seem to process this new information. He opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it without making any comment.
"Yep", Broots said, "I felt exactly the same." Once again he leaned over the small computer. After a few seconds of work he spoke again.
"Lyle has no access to any genuine Gemini data, so if he tries to use this information to turn the Triumvirate against Miss Parker, he will fail. Not that he came up with wrong information, but he violated a direct order and I have a feeling that the Triumvirate won’t take that lightly."
"But... ," Sydney finally found his voice again, "But what about the baby?"
"That is the question." Broots answered. "I’m working on it now. I’ve found yet another file with data about a different sample of fetal tissue, and it seems to be the real thing this time." He added sadly.
*******
Lyle was walking around in his apartment. He still could not believe that his sister had made such a big mistake. He was really lucky. She had told him never to underestimate her or Jarod again, but then she foolishly underestimated him.
He was excited, thinking about tomorrow when he would claim what was his. He was in charge and nobody else. The odds were good that he’d get Gemini *and* his sister. She would soon be completely at his mercy! He would control her; do whatever he wanted with her. She was beautiful; wasted, really, on the Lab-rat, but it had been for a higher good. Soon, however, she would belong only to him.
He stopped walking and imagined how he would touch her. He could almost smell her fear. He could feel his heart beating faster, his blood rushing through his veins. He closed his eyes and let her image rise up in his mind. He saw her creamy white skin and he wanted to touch her, to kiss her, to... he let out a deep growl. His eyes snapped open and he realized he was turned on too much to even think about sleep. He grabbed his coat end left his apartment, looking for someone to vent his raging hormones with. It wouldn’t be the same as toying with his lovely sister, but soon, very soon…
into the flames of his fireplace and trying to analyze where things had started to go so wrong. He’d already done just that for several hours without coming up with an answer. Perhaps that was why he’d let Broots talk him into this midnight expedition.
He had always feared that Jarod would have a nervous breakdown. He had spent so much of his life in this place that Sydney had never been able to believe he could live successfully outside of them. Jarod was brilliant, but emotionally unstable, he needed to have a fixed point in his life in order to survive all of his pretends over the years. He had always wondered how Jarod had managed without his emotional anchor, but now Sydney knew he hadn’t. His fixed point had been Miss Parker. Whether or not Jarod understood this wasn’t important.
Sydney felt like slapping himself. How could he have been so blind? (We see what we want to see,) a little voice in his head mocked. Was it really true, he wondered. Had he not wanted to see the truth? Had he deceived himself into believing he was the only reason Jarod stayed in contact with the Centre?
Sooner or later the Centre destroyed everybody, he mused. His eyes traveled over the inner walls of the elevator, finally coming to rest on the bullet hole in one corner. If you needed proof of how sick this place was, one quick look at the hole was enough. Who else would let such a reminder stay. He normally avoided looking at that morbid reminder, but he was always aware of it. It always made him feel uneasy and gave him a faintly sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had often wondered if the little girl had died with her mother here in this elevator. Soon after her mother was shot Miss Parker had been sent away to a boarding school and after that he only caught the occasional glimpse of her, sometimes not even that for a year or two.
When she was 19 and came back to work for the Centre’s security the happy little girl was completely gone. She looked exactly like Catherine, except for her eyes. The eyes are the widow to the soul, after all, and she had locked her soul up during her years away.
Sydney had been shocked when the Chairman had proudly told him that his daughter was about to join the Centre’s security team. He remembered praying that she would fail her tests, but she had passed every one with flying colors. From time to time Jarod had asked if she was still there, but she never came down to the sim labs. Once Sydney had spoken to her as they passed each other in the halls. They had talked about the old times and during their short talk he mentioned that Jarod still asked him about her. She had totally ignored the statement, and after a bit more small talk, she had excused herself and simply walked away.
The elevator finally reached his destination. Sydney walked down the corridor to his office he hoped that Broots had a good reason to drag him back. The last few days had been too much for him. He briefly wondered if Jarod would ever call him again or if he would now simply disappear. Before he could follow this train of thought he reached his office. Broots sat behind his desk and his laptop sat on top of it. The face of the younger man relaxed visibly as soon as he recognized Sydney and he waved him over.
"You won’t believe what I found!" Broots stated. He eagerly typed into the laptop. "You remember the gloating grin Lyle had this afternoon? Well, I had the a really bad feeling about it, so I sneaked into the mainframe." Grinning, he looked at the surprised and now curious expression of the man who leaned over his shoulder.
"You did." Sydney stated rather than asked. Broots nodded his had in agreement.
"I know now why he was so happy!" He continued his explanation. "Miss Parker handed the Triumvirate a sample of fetal tissue because Lyle demanded proof of the abortion and to give them some new cloning material. This was the reason they gave her the Gemini Project." Broots was too excited about his news to notice the older man’s expression of shock and revulsion. Sydney straightened up and took a step back. He felt like he was going to throw up. He was concentrating so completely on taking slow, even breaths to control his rebellious stomach that he only faintly heard "Set-up" and "Lyle". Sydney realized that Broots had never stopped talking.
"Could you repeat that, please?" Sydney asked, even though he wasn’t sure he really wanted to hear it.
"Sure" the technician answered a bit confused about Sydney’s request. "I had a feeling that something was going on here that nobody wanted us to know, but I was sure we needed to know." Broots explained again.
"After I saw Lyle’s smile I was sure it was vital that we find out what’s happening. So I searched for all the medical data relating to Miss Parker and Gemini. I came across a report abut the fetal tissue. I read it over and over again. It seemed legitimate, but something about it disturbed me. Then I found it! There was a backup file. I opened it and saw that it was another version of the same test. This was easy to find; too easy. Everything else is perfect, and this is a mistake nobody who could set up something like this would make. It makes sense only if this mistake was planned." Broots looked expectantly at the man behind him, but after he only received a shrug he turned back to the computer and continued.
"So I searched deeper. I came up with a document signed by Miss Parker and the Triumvirate. The Triumvirate knows that the test is a fake. In other words, it’s a set up!" Triumphant, he turned around again. Sydney couldn’t seem to process this new information. He opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it without making any comment.
"Yep", Broots said, "I felt exactly the same." Once again he leaned over the small computer. After a few seconds of work he spoke again.
"Lyle has no access to any genuine Gemini data, so if he tries to use this information to turn the Triumvirate against Miss Parker, he will fail. Not that he came up with wrong information, but he violated a direct order and I have a feeling that the Triumvirate won’t take that lightly."
"But... ," Sydney finally found his voice again, "But what about the baby?"
"That is the question." Broots answered. "I’m working on it now. I’ve found yet another file with data about a different sample of fetal tissue, and it seems to be the real thing this time." He added sadly.
*******
Lyle was walking around in his apartment. He still could not believe that his sister had made such a big mistake. He was really lucky. She had told him never to underestimate her or Jarod again, but then she foolishly underestimated him.
He was excited, thinking about tomorrow when he would claim what was his. He was in charge and nobody else. The odds were good that he’d get Gemini *and* his sister. She would soon be completely at his mercy! He would control her; do whatever he wanted with her. She was beautiful; wasted, really, on the Lab-rat, but it had been for a higher good. Soon, however, she would belong only to him.
He stopped walking and imagined how he would touch her. He could almost smell her fear. He could feel his heart beating faster, his blood rushing through his veins. He closed his eyes and let her image rise up in his mind. He saw her creamy white skin and he wanted to touch her, to kiss her, to... he let out a deep growl. His eyes snapped open and he realized he was turned on too much to even think about sleep. He grabbed his coat end left his apartment, looking for someone to vent his raging hormones with. It wouldn’t be the same as toying with his lovely sister, but soon, very soon…
