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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Blue Cove, Delaware
Monday March 18
The clicking of heels hitting the cold hard Centre floor echoed throughout the hallway, warning all that someone was approaching. Most people recognized the clicking and hoped that they were not the intended destination of the pair of heels. Only one man would be the lucky recipient and host of the high stiletto heels.
"Syd! Have you heard anything from our lab rat while I was gone?"
"Good morning to you too Miss Parker. I hope you had a lovely relaxing vacation in Maine," he asked her with a smile on his face.
"Fine Syd, but let's quit with the chitchat shall we…did you hear anything?" she asked him with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.
With the smug look still on his face he continued, "No Miss Parker. We haven't heard from him since Christmas. It seems he really doesn't want to be found this time. We've also had no luck locating Broots or Sam," he told her as he got up and went to his file cabinet.
When Sydney had turned back to his desk with a file in his hand he was shocked to see that Miss Parker had sat down on the couch and shut her eyes. "Miss Parker is everything all right?"
"Sydney do you think Jarod will ever show up again?" she asked him with her eyelids shut.
Proceeding to his desk and taking a seat as well as he answered her, "I hope he does. But I fear that after the betrayal in December he has severed all contact with us and will continue to do so."
Lyle then walked into the office. "Hey sis can I talk to you in your office?"
Miss Parker looked at her brother and then back at Sydney, "Syd I'll stop by later." The siblings then walked out together without exchanging another word.
Once they were in her office and the door had shut behind them Lyle spoke. "So did you find anything out?"
Recalling the conversation she had had with Sydney merely minutes earlier she replied, "Good morning to you too Lyle. I had a lovely vacation thank you."
"Yeah whatever…did you find Simone?"
Miss Parker looked at Lyle and analyzed his face; he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. "No I didn't. You knew the chances were slim before I left. Jarod's going to do everything in his power to keep her hidden from you." 'I don't blame him, you don't deserve her. And I don't care how much you've become obsessed with finding her again.'
"God I really screwed up didn't I?" he asked her as he looked down at his thumbless hand.
"You can bet your ass you did! What the hell were you thinking? God I hate you! Now that Jarod's gone completely underground, I'll be stuck here forever!"
"Look I'm-"
"Don't! Just get out of my face. Go do whatever it is that you do. And you may as well stop trying to find Simone, Jarod won't let you find her! And besides dad's getting frustrated with you."
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"The two of them are becoming expendable and you know it." The weathered voice told the seated gentleman. "Lyle has completely lost his focus – he only obsesses about finding Simone. And it seems that the search for Jarod has turned up nothing in the past three months, Miss Parker is no longer needed for her services."
"I will not let you harm my little Angel! She can't help it that you let Lyle continue with that plan and sent him over the edge."
"That point is regardless. What should we do with them?"
Mr. Parker looked at the frozen image of his daughter yelling at his son. "Nothing for now. Give them another month at least. Before then I don't want to hear any mention of this. Is that understood Mr. Raines?"
"Perfectly Mr. Parker." The wheezing old man then turned around and left the office tugging along at his life source.
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"How's that new tech working out Syd?"
Sydney looked up from the files he was reading. "Fine… but he's nowhere near as good as Broots."
"Great. Sydney would it be possible for Angelo to empath where Jarod is and what he's up to?"
Sydney smiled at the question, "He's not a psychic Miss Parker. He needs to have something to get in touch with what Jarod's feeling and thinking. We have nothing recent. He hasn't sent us or left us anything since Christmas."
The silence between them continued as Miss Parker lied down on the couch in Sydney's office. "Miss Parker are you all right?"
"I'm fine Syd!" she told him with her eyes still closed.
"Come on Parker I've known you since you were a little girl. I can tell when something's upsetting you. Talk to me."
Miss Parker looked over at Sydney. It was then that Sydney saw Miss Parker let her defenses down as he saw the exhaustion in her eyes. "I don't know Syd. It's strange not chasing your lab rat around the country… I know it sounds strange but I miss his taunting… Now there's nothing and as more time goes by I feel that he's gone and he won't come back under any circumstances." Her face saddened as she said the last sentence. 'Not even for me…'
Sydney wanted to question the sadness in her voice, but dared not go there for fear of setting her off. Instead he merely spoke to himself quietly, "I hope he doesn't."
"Me too Syd."
Sydney quickly looked up at Miss Parker, he didn't think he had spoken that loudly. It then dawned on him that she was agreeing with him. "Excuse me Miss Parker, what was that?"
Miss Parker then turned her head and looked at Sydney's eyes. There was a gentleness and sadness in them that Sydney had not seen since she was a child after her mother's death. "You heard me Syd." After looking into his eyes and seeing the shock disappear from his eyes, and an almost satisfied look return to his eyes, she continued on, "Can we talk about something else please?"
"Whatever you want Miss Parker. So how's Ben?"
Their conversation continued in that manner, question and answer. No information was freely divulged between these two individuals who had known each other for over 25 years. It was as if their common bond of the past few years was as good as gone, in actuality it was – Jarod was no longer part of their lives.
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Blue Cove, Delaware
Monday April 15
"Hey sis can I talk with you please."
Sydney and Miss Parker looked up at Lyle with a slight hint of amusement in their eyes. Over the past few months they had seen a remarkable change in Lyle. He was much more subdued and quiet; he was no longer sick and twisted, he was almost human. He had become so obsessed with Simone that he was falling into a deep depression, where he only cared about getting her back, not the Centre. And putting anything or anyone before the Centre was a dangerous thing to do.
"What is it Lyle?" Miss Parker had also changed in her demeanor towards Lyle in the past month. She no longer was revolted by the sight of him, she actually felt bad for him in a way, even though he had it coming to him. But the change in her demeanor was also a result from the fact of her loneliness – four months without a word from Jarod. She was starting to lose her resolve that he would ever show up again.
Lyle looked at Sydney and then back to Miss Parker. "I was wondering if we could have dinner tonight, I wanted to talk to you about some things."
This was the third week in a row in which Lyle had asked her out to dinner to talk about stuff. Mainly he just wanted to share his loss with someone, she didn't mind all that much since she got a nice dinner out of it. "Fine. Do you want to leave after work around 5:30?"
"Sounds good to me. I'll drive."
Miss Parker recalled the last week when he had driven and almost hit a child because he was so unfocused on the road. "Uh, how about I drive."
"Okay. I'll see you later then," and with that Lyle turned and left the room.
After dinner they headed towards her house, "Lyle you know he's not going to let you find her. You used her to try and get to him. You know that the kidnapping of children is a sensitive topic for him. What did you think he would do? He wouldn't have allowed himself to fail when children are involved." 'How many times do I have to tell you this…?'
"Yeah I know but-"
The shrill of Miss Parker's phone interrupted the conversation.
-What?
-You're being followed Miss Parker.
-Jarod?! (She then looked over at Lyle who was just as shocked as she was. Once she realized what he had said she looked into her rearview mirror.) What are you talking about?
-A Centre directive was issued today stating that you were expendable. Now-
-Jarod is this another one of your games?
-Look this isn't a game and you don't have time. Now tell me exactly where you are?
-Uh…I'm heading east and I just crossed the exit for Old Church Road on route 46.
-Okay. Get off at the next exit and turn right at the end of the ramp. Keep going on that road, you'll pass a burned out building on your left. Just past it there's a blind curve to the left. Once the road straightens out there is a small dirt road on the left side that leads up the hill. Take that road up. After a couple of curves there'll be a small inset on the hill, park your car as far into the hill as possible. Then walk north until you find a rocky ledge. You'll see that you can look down on the curve, do it but stay hidden. Got all that?
-Yeah I think so. Jarod what's going on?
-I already told you. I'll call you back in 15 minutes.
Jarod then abruptly hung up with questions racing thru Miss Parker's mind. Lyle just looked over at his sister trying to figure out all he had said and implied.
"Where is he? What did he want?"
Miss Parker looked over at her brother as she processed what he said and got off at the next exit. "Uh, he said that there was a Centre directive issued today stating that I am expendable… That someone is following me and going to try and kill me…"
Ten minutes later the night sky lit up with an orange ball of flame. Miss Parker and Lyle jumped back at the sudden explosion that came from below the curve on the other side of the road. As they watched they heard a car accelerate towards the explosion and stop at the curve. Three men stepped out of the car, two sweepers and Willie. 'Jarod was telling the truth…' Miss Parker thought to herself as she watched on. The two sweepers proceeded down to the burning car while Willie remained above making a call.
Miss Parker and Lyle strained to hear what Willie was saying, only catching snippets of the conversation though.
"…It seems our problem… solved itself… Yes… Mister… Very well… call the cleaners…"
The siblings looked at each other with blank stares, once again they were interrupted by the sound of Miss Parker's phone.
-Jarod?
-Yeah… (his taunting voice wasn't there, but rather sadness)
-How did you know?
-Centre files… Miss Parker I need you to keep on moving though. Keep heading around the hill on foot. Once you're on the other side of the hill walk down the hill. You'll come to a creek and follow that south. You'll want to cross to the other side. Once the creek forks, follow the left branch for about a hundred yards. Just keep looking through the trees on your right and you'll see a little path. Follow that until you reach a cabin. It's a little under two miles from where you are to the cabin. Just go on into the cabin and relax. I left some reading for you to do. I'll come by in a few days to help you out. Until then, just sit tight.
-Jarod… why are you doing this?
-Because I still care.
When Miss Parker heard the click of Jarod hanging up, she closed up her phone and looked over at Lyle.
"Let's go."
Monday March 18
The clicking of heels hitting the cold hard Centre floor echoed throughout the hallway, warning all that someone was approaching. Most people recognized the clicking and hoped that they were not the intended destination of the pair of heels. Only one man would be the lucky recipient and host of the high stiletto heels.
"Syd! Have you heard anything from our lab rat while I was gone?"
"Good morning to you too Miss Parker. I hope you had a lovely relaxing vacation in Maine," he asked her with a smile on his face.
"Fine Syd, but let's quit with the chitchat shall we…did you hear anything?" she asked him with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.
With the smug look still on his face he continued, "No Miss Parker. We haven't heard from him since Christmas. It seems he really doesn't want to be found this time. We've also had no luck locating Broots or Sam," he told her as he got up and went to his file cabinet.
When Sydney had turned back to his desk with a file in his hand he was shocked to see that Miss Parker had sat down on the couch and shut her eyes. "Miss Parker is everything all right?"
"Sydney do you think Jarod will ever show up again?" she asked him with her eyelids shut.
Proceeding to his desk and taking a seat as well as he answered her, "I hope he does. But I fear that after the betrayal in December he has severed all contact with us and will continue to do so."
Lyle then walked into the office. "Hey sis can I talk to you in your office?"
Miss Parker looked at her brother and then back at Sydney, "Syd I'll stop by later." The siblings then walked out together without exchanging another word.
Once they were in her office and the door had shut behind them Lyle spoke. "So did you find anything out?"
Recalling the conversation she had had with Sydney merely minutes earlier she replied, "Good morning to you too Lyle. I had a lovely vacation thank you."
"Yeah whatever…did you find Simone?"
Miss Parker looked at Lyle and analyzed his face; he looked like he hadn't slept in weeks. "No I didn't. You knew the chances were slim before I left. Jarod's going to do everything in his power to keep her hidden from you." 'I don't blame him, you don't deserve her. And I don't care how much you've become obsessed with finding her again.'
"God I really screwed up didn't I?" he asked her as he looked down at his thumbless hand.
"You can bet your ass you did! What the hell were you thinking? God I hate you! Now that Jarod's gone completely underground, I'll be stuck here forever!"
"Look I'm-"
"Don't! Just get out of my face. Go do whatever it is that you do. And you may as well stop trying to find Simone, Jarod won't let you find her! And besides dad's getting frustrated with you."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The two of them are becoming expendable and you know it." The weathered voice told the seated gentleman. "Lyle has completely lost his focus – he only obsesses about finding Simone. And it seems that the search for Jarod has turned up nothing in the past three months, Miss Parker is no longer needed for her services."
"I will not let you harm my little Angel! She can't help it that you let Lyle continue with that plan and sent him over the edge."
"That point is regardless. What should we do with them?"
Mr. Parker looked at the frozen image of his daughter yelling at his son. "Nothing for now. Give them another month at least. Before then I don't want to hear any mention of this. Is that understood Mr. Raines?"
"Perfectly Mr. Parker." The wheezing old man then turned around and left the office tugging along at his life source.
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"How's that new tech working out Syd?"
Sydney looked up from the files he was reading. "Fine… but he's nowhere near as good as Broots."
"Great. Sydney would it be possible for Angelo to empath where Jarod is and what he's up to?"
Sydney smiled at the question, "He's not a psychic Miss Parker. He needs to have something to get in touch with what Jarod's feeling and thinking. We have nothing recent. He hasn't sent us or left us anything since Christmas."
The silence between them continued as Miss Parker lied down on the couch in Sydney's office. "Miss Parker are you all right?"
"I'm fine Syd!" she told him with her eyes still closed.
"Come on Parker I've known you since you were a little girl. I can tell when something's upsetting you. Talk to me."
Miss Parker looked over at Sydney. It was then that Sydney saw Miss Parker let her defenses down as he saw the exhaustion in her eyes. "I don't know Syd. It's strange not chasing your lab rat around the country… I know it sounds strange but I miss his taunting… Now there's nothing and as more time goes by I feel that he's gone and he won't come back under any circumstances." Her face saddened as she said the last sentence. 'Not even for me…'
Sydney wanted to question the sadness in her voice, but dared not go there for fear of setting her off. Instead he merely spoke to himself quietly, "I hope he doesn't."
"Me too Syd."
Sydney quickly looked up at Miss Parker, he didn't think he had spoken that loudly. It then dawned on him that she was agreeing with him. "Excuse me Miss Parker, what was that?"
Miss Parker then turned her head and looked at Sydney's eyes. There was a gentleness and sadness in them that Sydney had not seen since she was a child after her mother's death. "You heard me Syd." After looking into his eyes and seeing the shock disappear from his eyes, and an almost satisfied look return to his eyes, she continued on, "Can we talk about something else please?"
"Whatever you want Miss Parker. So how's Ben?"
Their conversation continued in that manner, question and answer. No information was freely divulged between these two individuals who had known each other for over 25 years. It was as if their common bond of the past few years was as good as gone, in actuality it was – Jarod was no longer part of their lives.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Cove, Delaware
Monday April 15
"Hey sis can I talk with you please."
Sydney and Miss Parker looked up at Lyle with a slight hint of amusement in their eyes. Over the past few months they had seen a remarkable change in Lyle. He was much more subdued and quiet; he was no longer sick and twisted, he was almost human. He had become so obsessed with Simone that he was falling into a deep depression, where he only cared about getting her back, not the Centre. And putting anything or anyone before the Centre was a dangerous thing to do.
"What is it Lyle?" Miss Parker had also changed in her demeanor towards Lyle in the past month. She no longer was revolted by the sight of him, she actually felt bad for him in a way, even though he had it coming to him. But the change in her demeanor was also a result from the fact of her loneliness – four months without a word from Jarod. She was starting to lose her resolve that he would ever show up again.
Lyle looked at Sydney and then back to Miss Parker. "I was wondering if we could have dinner tonight, I wanted to talk to you about some things."
This was the third week in a row in which Lyle had asked her out to dinner to talk about stuff. Mainly he just wanted to share his loss with someone, she didn't mind all that much since she got a nice dinner out of it. "Fine. Do you want to leave after work around 5:30?"
"Sounds good to me. I'll drive."
Miss Parker recalled the last week when he had driven and almost hit a child because he was so unfocused on the road. "Uh, how about I drive."
"Okay. I'll see you later then," and with that Lyle turned and left the room.
After dinner they headed towards her house, "Lyle you know he's not going to let you find her. You used her to try and get to him. You know that the kidnapping of children is a sensitive topic for him. What did you think he would do? He wouldn't have allowed himself to fail when children are involved." 'How many times do I have to tell you this…?'
"Yeah I know but-"
The shrill of Miss Parker's phone interrupted the conversation.
-What?
-You're being followed Miss Parker.
-Jarod?! (She then looked over at Lyle who was just as shocked as she was. Once she realized what he had said she looked into her rearview mirror.) What are you talking about?
-A Centre directive was issued today stating that you were expendable. Now-
-Jarod is this another one of your games?
-Look this isn't a game and you don't have time. Now tell me exactly where you are?
-Uh…I'm heading east and I just crossed the exit for Old Church Road on route 46.
-Okay. Get off at the next exit and turn right at the end of the ramp. Keep going on that road, you'll pass a burned out building on your left. Just past it there's a blind curve to the left. Once the road straightens out there is a small dirt road on the left side that leads up the hill. Take that road up. After a couple of curves there'll be a small inset on the hill, park your car as far into the hill as possible. Then walk north until you find a rocky ledge. You'll see that you can look down on the curve, do it but stay hidden. Got all that?
-Yeah I think so. Jarod what's going on?
-I already told you. I'll call you back in 15 minutes.
Jarod then abruptly hung up with questions racing thru Miss Parker's mind. Lyle just looked over at his sister trying to figure out all he had said and implied.
"Where is he? What did he want?"
Miss Parker looked over at her brother as she processed what he said and got off at the next exit. "Uh, he said that there was a Centre directive issued today stating that I am expendable… That someone is following me and going to try and kill me…"
Ten minutes later the night sky lit up with an orange ball of flame. Miss Parker and Lyle jumped back at the sudden explosion that came from below the curve on the other side of the road. As they watched they heard a car accelerate towards the explosion and stop at the curve. Three men stepped out of the car, two sweepers and Willie. 'Jarod was telling the truth…' Miss Parker thought to herself as she watched on. The two sweepers proceeded down to the burning car while Willie remained above making a call.
Miss Parker and Lyle strained to hear what Willie was saying, only catching snippets of the conversation though.
"…It seems our problem… solved itself… Yes… Mister… Very well… call the cleaners…"
The siblings looked at each other with blank stares, once again they were interrupted by the sound of Miss Parker's phone.
-Jarod?
-Yeah… (his taunting voice wasn't there, but rather sadness)
-How did you know?
-Centre files… Miss Parker I need you to keep on moving though. Keep heading around the hill on foot. Once you're on the other side of the hill walk down the hill. You'll come to a creek and follow that south. You'll want to cross to the other side. Once the creek forks, follow the left branch for about a hundred yards. Just keep looking through the trees on your right and you'll see a little path. Follow that until you reach a cabin. It's a little under two miles from where you are to the cabin. Just go on into the cabin and relax. I left some reading for you to do. I'll come by in a few days to help you out. Until then, just sit tight.
-Jarod… why are you doing this?
-Because I still care.
When Miss Parker heard the click of Jarod hanging up, she closed up her phone and looked over at Lyle.
"Let's go."
