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Chapter or Story 
Chapter or Story
Blue Cove, DE
Saturday June 21
Early morning hours
"Jarod, how are you doing?"
Jarod paused before answering, "Happy, overwhelmed, angry, sad, scared. I can't believe I have a son. I'm so scared for him though, I don't know how to tell him, I don't know how I'm going to protect him from the Centre."
Miss Parker walked over to Jarod and placed her hands on his face so that he looked into her face, "Jarod it's going to be okay. We'll get through this… If you'd like I can tell Noah."
"Tell him what Miss Parker? That I'm his father? He's only three years old, he won't understand. Besides I won't be able to keep him with me, it's too dangerous." Jarod paused and looked at Miss Parker. The sadness she saw in his face made her heart break, this was another way in which the Centre had tried to keep him from his family. "Besides it's going to be hard for him to see you and then not see you again for awhile 'til this is all over… It's not fair for him…"
"Jarod what's important is that he will no longer be in the Centre, he will actually have a family that will look after him. He won't be raised in the cold environment of the Centre the way we were, he'll actually have a chance at a normal life. As long as he knows that you love him he'll be fine."
Jarod looked at Miss Parker and considered what she said, another reason why he loved her so much. "He'll also have a mother that loves him very much…"
Miss Parker's eyes widened as he spoke, "What Jarod?" she asked him quietly.
"He already considers you as his mother, and when this is all over I want us to raise him – together. Like a real family."
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly before she tilted her head towards his and kissed him. "Thank you Jarod, I look forward to that time."
------
"Jarod please let me prove myself to you…I have changed!"
Jarod looked at Lyle and saw and heard what he felt to be a genuinely concerned father who wanted nothing more than to see his daughter again. After a long pause of considering Lyle's pleas he answered him, "What do you propose? How would you prove yourself?"
Lyle was shocked at what he heard, he didn't think that Jarod would even consider his allowing to prove himself. "I, uh, could give you any information we find on your family, and keep the Centre away from them. And also from you. I can set it up so that I can lead the search for you. I won't find you. I'll lead the search away from you."
After an even longer pause, Jarod answered Lyle. "Okay. Here's what's going to happen." At hearing Jarod's approval Lyle's eyes and face lit up, he was getting closer to getting his little girl back. "You will find any information you can on my family. You will notify me of anything you find through this website, You will not however ever try to trace that site or find any information on the site or server it is on. I have created a program to detect any traces on that site or any inquiries. If I should ever detect anything of that nature on that site then you will have betrayed me and I will hunt you down, is that clear? And I don't need your help in staying away from the Centre, I've been able to manage that myself for the past five years."
"Okay. When do I get Simone back?"
"When I decide that you deserve to get her back. Once you show me that you have changed." Lyle was about to protest but was stopped by Jarod's stare. "Until then nothing will change."
"All right." Jarod then rose from his seat and started to leave the room, as he neared the door Lyle spoke again. "Thank you Jarod, for giving me this chance. I won't let you down."
Jarod opened the door and turned around and spoke before exiting, "The only persons you have to worry about letting down are yourself and Simone."
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The Centre
Tuesday September 20
"Come on Lyle let's go, now."
Lyle looked up from his desk to see Mr. Cox leaning into his office. Lyle stood up to follow him before asking him what was going on, since the near extermination order he had noticed that Mr. Cox carried a lot more weight around the Centre. Once they were in the hallway he asked Cox what their destination was. "Where are we going?"
Without turning to Lyle as he answered and continuing to lead him to the elevator he answered him, "Dallas. Jarod's sister Emily is there working at a local newspaper. We are going to retrieve her for the Centre. Once we have her Jarod will have no choice but to turn himself in to save her."
Lyle's face remained impassive as he processed what he was hearing. 'Oh my God. What am I going to do? If the Centre captures Emily then I'll never see Simone again. How do I contact Jarod without tipping off Mr. Cox…' He proceeded to silently follow Mr. Cox to the roof where a helicopter was awaiting to take them to the Centre airstrip.
When they landed in Dallas Lyle had no real plan to keep Emily safe from the hands of the Centre. He had not been able to access the site Jarod had told him about on the plane since all communications to and from the plane were on open channels. All he could hope for was that he would find her first and warn her.
-----
Lyle came running around the corner into the alley, just ten feet behind him were Mr. Cox and the three other sweepers they had brought along. When the others had caught up with him he was standing alone in the middle of the alley looking at all the doors, there were ten of them. Mr. Cox was the first to speak, "did you see which door she went into?"
"No. We'll split up and check the different buildings. If anyone sees anything notify the rest of us through your comm-links." They all nodded agreement and split off to check different buildings. Lyle went through the second door on the left side of the alley.
Once inside the building he put his gun away and muted his comm-unit, he didn't want to scare Emily any more than she already was. When he had come around the corner he had seen that door silently close. He hoped that she wasn't to far ahead of him, he had to tell her how to contact Jarod. He didn't have to go far though when he heard the sound of a gun cocking behind him. He froze as soon as he heard the sound, he then slowly raised his hands to his head. He contemplated speaking first but decided against it.
Behind him Emily carefully watched over Lyle and his actions, she was surprised by his quiet surrender and cooperation. She looked around her surroundings; it was too easy. She then slowly walked up behind him, continuing to aim her gun at the back of his head, and then removed his gun from his underarm holster, and also his comm-unit placing the earpiece in her own ear. Throughout this he made no sudden moves or anything, this was becoming too easy, not what she was expecting from the Centre. Without saying anything she led Lyle to the basement and into a storage area. Once there she handed him the scarf she had been wearing and told him to tie it around his eyes.
For the first time since his capture Lyle turned his head to get a look at Emily. "Emily I have to talk to you about-"
"Not now. I told you to blindfold yourself, now do it."
Lyle proceeded to tie the scarf around his eyes and then returned his hands to his head. Emily then led him through a hidden passageway and then through an underground corridor. At the other end of the corridor a door opened and was held open by a burly man who when he saw Lyle quickly grabbed hold of his arms and held them behind him. At the sudden pressure on his arms Lyle began to complain, but was stopped by Emily. After being led to another room the man holding onto Lyle taped his wrists together behind his back and then sat him down in a chair.
After waiting silently for a few minutes Lyle couldn't keep silent anymore. "Emily I need to talk to you about Jarod, you have to contact him." Lyle waited to hear a response but received none. "Are you there? Listen, we have to contact Jarod, we have to let him know that you're okay."
Emily couldn't believe what she was hearing, a Centre operative telling her to contact her brother, it had to be a trap right? She then slowly walked over to Mr. Lyle and removed the blindfold, "Who are you?"
"My name is Carl Lyle," he told her as he decided to use his first name, "I work at the Centre, but I'm also helping Jarod."
"Helping him do what? How?"
"By trying to find you and keep you away from the Centre. I-"
"Come on you expect me to believe that? You and those other Centre goons were chasing after me!"
"No! Well yes, but I had to, to keep up the appearance for them. I didn't know that the Centre had found you 'til I left the Centre for here. I couldn't contact Jarod before I left and that's why you have to do it now, before he finds out why I'm here in Dallas. All you have to do to contact him is go to the website , and send an email telling him that it's you and that you're okay. But you have to do it now, please."
Emily looked at his pleading face and considered what he said. "Why?" she asked him. When all she received in return was a quizzical look she elaborated on her question, "Why are you helping Jarod?"
"Uh, it's complicated." When he realized that she wasn't satisfied with his answer he continued on, "I need his help in finding my daughter." Lyle took great care in his word choice around Emily.
"What happened to her?" At hearing that his daughter was missing Emily was saddened, she hated it when families had been separated, it hit to close to home.
"I made a mistake. Please you have to contact Jarod through that website."
Saturday June 21
Early morning hours
"Jarod, how are you doing?"
Jarod paused before answering, "Happy, overwhelmed, angry, sad, scared. I can't believe I have a son. I'm so scared for him though, I don't know how to tell him, I don't know how I'm going to protect him from the Centre."
Miss Parker walked over to Jarod and placed her hands on his face so that he looked into her face, "Jarod it's going to be okay. We'll get through this… If you'd like I can tell Noah."
"Tell him what Miss Parker? That I'm his father? He's only three years old, he won't understand. Besides I won't be able to keep him with me, it's too dangerous." Jarod paused and looked at Miss Parker. The sadness she saw in his face made her heart break, this was another way in which the Centre had tried to keep him from his family. "Besides it's going to be hard for him to see you and then not see you again for awhile 'til this is all over… It's not fair for him…"
"Jarod what's important is that he will no longer be in the Centre, he will actually have a family that will look after him. He won't be raised in the cold environment of the Centre the way we were, he'll actually have a chance at a normal life. As long as he knows that you love him he'll be fine."
Jarod looked at Miss Parker and considered what she said, another reason why he loved her so much. "He'll also have a mother that loves him very much…"
Miss Parker's eyes widened as he spoke, "What Jarod?" she asked him quietly.
"He already considers you as his mother, and when this is all over I want us to raise him – together. Like a real family."
She wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly before she tilted her head towards his and kissed him. "Thank you Jarod, I look forward to that time."
------
"Jarod please let me prove myself to you…I have changed!"
Jarod looked at Lyle and saw and heard what he felt to be a genuinely concerned father who wanted nothing more than to see his daughter again. After a long pause of considering Lyle's pleas he answered him, "What do you propose? How would you prove yourself?"
Lyle was shocked at what he heard, he didn't think that Jarod would even consider his allowing to prove himself. "I, uh, could give you any information we find on your family, and keep the Centre away from them. And also from you. I can set it up so that I can lead the search for you. I won't find you. I'll lead the search away from you."
After an even longer pause, Jarod answered Lyle. "Okay. Here's what's going to happen." At hearing Jarod's approval Lyle's eyes and face lit up, he was getting closer to getting his little girl back. "You will find any information you can on my family. You will notify me of anything you find through this website, You will not however ever try to trace that site or find any information on the site or server it is on. I have created a program to detect any traces on that site or any inquiries. If I should ever detect anything of that nature on that site then you will have betrayed me and I will hunt you down, is that clear? And I don't need your help in staying away from the Centre, I've been able to manage that myself for the past five years."
"Okay. When do I get Simone back?"
"When I decide that you deserve to get her back. Once you show me that you have changed." Lyle was about to protest but was stopped by Jarod's stare. "Until then nothing will change."
"All right." Jarod then rose from his seat and started to leave the room, as he neared the door Lyle spoke again. "Thank you Jarod, for giving me this chance. I won't let you down."
Jarod opened the door and turned around and spoke before exiting, "The only persons you have to worry about letting down are yourself and Simone."
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The Centre
Tuesday September 20
"Come on Lyle let's go, now."
Lyle looked up from his desk to see Mr. Cox leaning into his office. Lyle stood up to follow him before asking him what was going on, since the near extermination order he had noticed that Mr. Cox carried a lot more weight around the Centre. Once they were in the hallway he asked Cox what their destination was. "Where are we going?"
Without turning to Lyle as he answered and continuing to lead him to the elevator he answered him, "Dallas. Jarod's sister Emily is there working at a local newspaper. We are going to retrieve her for the Centre. Once we have her Jarod will have no choice but to turn himself in to save her."
Lyle's face remained impassive as he processed what he was hearing. 'Oh my God. What am I going to do? If the Centre captures Emily then I'll never see Simone again. How do I contact Jarod without tipping off Mr. Cox…' He proceeded to silently follow Mr. Cox to the roof where a helicopter was awaiting to take them to the Centre airstrip.
When they landed in Dallas Lyle had no real plan to keep Emily safe from the hands of the Centre. He had not been able to access the site Jarod had told him about on the plane since all communications to and from the plane were on open channels. All he could hope for was that he would find her first and warn her.
-----
Lyle came running around the corner into the alley, just ten feet behind him were Mr. Cox and the three other sweepers they had brought along. When the others had caught up with him he was standing alone in the middle of the alley looking at all the doors, there were ten of them. Mr. Cox was the first to speak, "did you see which door she went into?"
"No. We'll split up and check the different buildings. If anyone sees anything notify the rest of us through your comm-links." They all nodded agreement and split off to check different buildings. Lyle went through the second door on the left side of the alley.
Once inside the building he put his gun away and muted his comm-unit, he didn't want to scare Emily any more than she already was. When he had come around the corner he had seen that door silently close. He hoped that she wasn't to far ahead of him, he had to tell her how to contact Jarod. He didn't have to go far though when he heard the sound of a gun cocking behind him. He froze as soon as he heard the sound, he then slowly raised his hands to his head. He contemplated speaking first but decided against it.
Behind him Emily carefully watched over Lyle and his actions, she was surprised by his quiet surrender and cooperation. She looked around her surroundings; it was too easy. She then slowly walked up behind him, continuing to aim her gun at the back of his head, and then removed his gun from his underarm holster, and also his comm-unit placing the earpiece in her own ear. Throughout this he made no sudden moves or anything, this was becoming too easy, not what she was expecting from the Centre. Without saying anything she led Lyle to the basement and into a storage area. Once there she handed him the scarf she had been wearing and told him to tie it around his eyes.
For the first time since his capture Lyle turned his head to get a look at Emily. "Emily I have to talk to you about-"
"Not now. I told you to blindfold yourself, now do it."
Lyle proceeded to tie the scarf around his eyes and then returned his hands to his head. Emily then led him through a hidden passageway and then through an underground corridor. At the other end of the corridor a door opened and was held open by a burly man who when he saw Lyle quickly grabbed hold of his arms and held them behind him. At the sudden pressure on his arms Lyle began to complain, but was stopped by Emily. After being led to another room the man holding onto Lyle taped his wrists together behind his back and then sat him down in a chair.
After waiting silently for a few minutes Lyle couldn't keep silent anymore. "Emily I need to talk to you about Jarod, you have to contact him." Lyle waited to hear a response but received none. "Are you there? Listen, we have to contact Jarod, we have to let him know that you're okay."
Emily couldn't believe what she was hearing, a Centre operative telling her to contact her brother, it had to be a trap right? She then slowly walked over to Mr. Lyle and removed the blindfold, "Who are you?"
"My name is Carl Lyle," he told her as he decided to use his first name, "I work at the Centre, but I'm also helping Jarod."
"Helping him do what? How?"
"By trying to find you and keep you away from the Centre. I-"
"Come on you expect me to believe that? You and those other Centre goons were chasing after me!"
"No! Well yes, but I had to, to keep up the appearance for them. I didn't know that the Centre had found you 'til I left the Centre for here. I couldn't contact Jarod before I left and that's why you have to do it now, before he finds out why I'm here in Dallas. All you have to do to contact him is go to the website , and send an email telling him that it's you and that you're okay. But you have to do it now, please."
Emily looked at his pleading face and considered what he said. "Why?" she asked him. When all she received in return was a quizzical look she elaborated on her question, "Why are you helping Jarod?"
"Uh, it's complicated." When he realized that she wasn't satisfied with his answer he continued on, "I need his help in finding my daughter." Lyle took great care in his word choice around Emily.
"What happened to her?" At hearing that his daughter was missing Emily was saddened, she hated it when families had been separated, it hit to close to home.
"I made a mistake. Please you have to contact Jarod through that website."
