Major Charles greatest fear was not ever being able to find his family – little by little, he was getting to that –, it concerned whether or not they could overpass the decades of separation and live together as a normal family. A normal family chased by The Centre, he thought. More specifically, he feared if and his wife could go back being a couple again. His love for her was as strong as on the day they started dating; but what about HER feelings? They say time distance only increases the passion, but what about time? Almost twenty years apart. God! He missed her so much!

Fortunately, things were about to change. Soon, he would discover if their relationship was still good. Casually, he checked his watch again. Jason – formerly know as Gemini – noticed the gesture and nudged him.

“Will you relax? You look more nervous than me.”

“I am more nervous than you, “ Major Charles said, while checking his tie on a nearby mirror. “How do I look?”

“You look fine, dad.” Jason sighed and took a look around. “You heard anything from Ethan?”

“Not yet.”

“You think it was safe letting him go to Delaware alone.”

“I’m not one hundred per cent sure myself, but Ethan made it clear to us that his going alone was necessary for his plan to work.”

“I know, but—”

“Don’t worry about Ethan. He knows how to take care of himself.”

For the first time since they arrived, Jason checked his watch. They should here by now. Maybe dad’s right. Maybe they’re taking too much of a risk. The entire Russell family – with the exception of Jarod and Ethan – together at the same place is too tempting for The Centre not to take advantage. Luckily, the restaurant was crowded and the owner was an ex-military that had served with Major Charles in Vietnam. They were safe. Still…

Jason watched his father on his grey suit and knew exactly what he was feeling; he checked his tie on the mirror and felt the same. Formal attire was not his favorite choice of clothing. They looked like businessmen waiting for other businessmen to conduct a business meeting, not two people waiting for their relatives for the first family dinner in decades.

Though Jason kept telling his father to calm down – his face was one of serenity; one that read control – inside, he was terrified. He had already met Emily and got along just fine. But his mother… Could he call her ‘mother’? Would she admit it? Major Charles had taken some time – understandably – to get used to the idea of fathering a clone of his first born. Would she be like that? Would she accept him or reject him? One thing he knew: he had to keep his poker face the whole time, make everyone believe he was in control. It was the only to avoid the pain.

The door of the restaurant opened and two women entered. Major Charles and Jason smiled when they realized how beautiful they looked. They were an hour and a half late but it was worth the waiting. Emily kissed his father and introduced her mother to Jason, before stepping aside, allowing space for her parents to be face to face for the first time in years. The moment was awkward. Each afraid of what the other might think.

It was Emily that solved the problem. “Come on, mom. What’re you waiting for? When I showed you his picture you said he looked as hot as on the day you met.”

Major Charles watched Margaret’s face blushing and smiled. “So, you think I’m hot?”

“Oh, stop it!” Margaret said, trying to appear angry, but failing.

Major Charles took her hand and kissed it gently. “You look beautiful too.”

Their eyes locked. The flame had been reignited. They were together at last. Emily was about to say something when her parents – regardless of their surroundings – began kissing like passionate teenagers. Emily and Jason did not try to hide their embarrassment, because they weren’t embarrassed: they were happy.

Finally, the kiss ended and a waiter came along to show them to their table. They made their orders and, since it was a special occasion, the owner offered them a bottle of his best champagne.

Major Charles made the toast. “To family. Especially to our sons, present and absent, without who we would never be here.”

After drinking her champagne, Margaret put her glass down and turned to Jason, smiling. “So, Jason, I hear you’re a good friend of Jarod.”

Jason felt the color running away from his face. Though he tried to keep his ‘poker face’, Margaret noticed it immediately.

“Are you alright?”

Major Charles turned to Emily as if asking ‘You didn’t tell her?’

Emily took the hint and said. “Mom, there’s something you need to know.

*/*

Although he wanted to be at the restaurant with his family, Ethan had other matters that required his immediate attention. One of which was finding out what happened to Jarod. The Voices had already told him something bad had happened, but one thing they never did – sadly – was being specific. Perhaps they should appoint a spokesman.

Ethan had arrived at Delaware two days ago – too much time to be that close to The Centre – and only half an hour ago had he been able to learn what had happened during the past few days. Someone named Angelo had sent him an e-mail with details about Jarod’s abduction and all that was happening at The Centre.

Though he had never seen him face to face, Ethan knew about Angelo. He was Jarod’s inside man, someone to be taken seriously. According from what he heard, he knew Angelo’s lack of communication skills was his greatest flaw and, similarly, his greatest asset. People often tend not to take people like Angelo seriously. They pity them and lower their defenses, because they believe the threat is minimal or even non-exist.

A trip to The Centre’s mainframe had revealed nothing about Jarod even being at The Centre. Apparently, the ‘retarded’ Angelo – as some of the staff members would consider him – was able of accessing every corner of that place and finding every bit of information available. Angelo was a threat because he knew everything about The Centre. And, being an empath, what he did not know, he could feel.

Reading his e-mail, Ethan thought whether to call Miss Parker or Major Charles. Miss Parker was closer and she would help him after hearing what he had to say. Major Charles, though not that far, was not that close either; however, he needed to know what had happened to his son. He also deserved to have a few moments of happiness. After carefully analyzing his options, Ethan decided to call Emily.

*/*

Major Charles stepped outside and saw his wife sitting at the sidewalk sobbing. He put his hand on her shoulder and sat down next to her. He opened his arms and she accepted his invitation. Embraced after so many years, he decided not to say anything for the moment.

Slowly, the sobs began to soft, turning to hiccups; speech, though trembling, was now possible. “Why did they do it, Charles? Why?”

“They’re monsters, honey. Who knows what their reasons are?”

Margaret sniffed. “It’s not fair.”

“I know. I know. But whatever you’re feeling right, you have to accept the fact that none of it is his fault.”

“I know. He’s just an innocent boy. I could see it in his eyes. He was so afraid. It reminded me of Jarod.” Margaret focused on her husband’s face and smiled. “It reminded me of you when you proposed.”

Major Charles returned the smile.

“It may take a while getting used to the idea, but I’ll manage.”

“Good. Now, while we’re at it, I’d like to tell you about a –“

At that moment, Emily stepped outside holding her cell phone. “Ethan just called, dad. He found Jarod.”

Margaret smiled to her husband, then noticed the look on her daughter’s face and realized she wasn’t bringing them good news.

*/*

Miss Parker and Sydney walked into ‘The Paradiso’ and saw Sam waiting at a table at the corner. They joined him.

“Miss Parker, I wanna apologize for–“

“We’ll discuss that later, Sam. Right now, I need to know what’s going on at The Centre.”

“You want the short or the long version?”

“Be thorough, but be succinct,” was her answer.

Sydney signaled the waitress to bring them some coffee and prepared for what Sam had to say.

“It began on the day you returned to The Centre, Miss Parker. Two prisoners arrived through the White Channel.”

Sydney exchanged a knowing look with Miss Parker. ‘White Channel’ was The Centre’s code for secret retrieval, meaning the mission had not been sanctioned by the Chairman.

“You know who was in charge?”

“Lyle. I heard two sweepers talking about it”

“Go on, Sam.”

“I thought about going to SL-27 to check it out. I feared it might be you. Wouldn’t be surprised if Lyle had finally decided to get rid of you. But I couldn’t just go there without a reason. Luckily my team got called because of a security incident. That’s when I learned who the prisoners were. I didn’t find out the first one’s name, he was about Dr. Sydney’s age, but the other one was Jarod.”

“What happened?” Miss Parker asked.

“No one knows for sure. All that is certain is that Jarod is in a coma and the other man, whoever he was, is now dead.”

“His name was Larry,” Miss Parker cut in.

Sydney turned and asked, “You knew him?”

Miss Parker observed her companion’s faces carefully. They had proved their worth dozens of times in the past, but this was a whole new thing. Going against The Centre was too dangerous. Just how much were they willing to risk? “There’s something I need to tell you before we can proceed.”

Sydney nodded. “Go on.”

“Jarod and I together at a cabin during a blizzard when…” Right then, she noticed a mischievous look on Sydney’s face, “Get your mind out of the gutter, Syd. That’s not what happened. He was my prisoner, okay?”

Sydney concealed his smile. “I’m not saying anything.”

“I was chasing him through the woods when suddenly we got caught by a snow storm. Luckily, we were able to find a cabin. Unfortunately, we were unable to leave until the storm cleared out.”

“And where does this Larry come in?”

“Jarod and I were making casual conversation when we heard someone knocking at the door.” She thought telling Sydney’s the subject of her conversations with Jarod was not necessary. “It was Larry.” Her eyes focused on Sydney. “Sydney, he had the scrolls with him. He knew about The Centre and who we were.”

“Who is he?”

“Was,” Sam corrected.

“How did he get involved with The Centre, Parker?”

“From what he told us, his parents were high ranking members during the Second World War. You see, Larry has a gift too and when The Centre discovered they killed his parents. Fortunately, Larry’s father had taken precautions to protect his son and his uncle took Larry to Europe with him. He spent most of his life not thinking about The Centre, until one of his friends came to work here.”

“Who?”

“Jacob.”

“My God! How did he know my brother?”

“They met at a bookshop by accident and became fishing pals.”

Sydney smiled. “Larry Summerson.”

“Right.”

“I remember. Jacob once told me about him.”

“Larry’s involvement with The Centre doesn’t end there. His wife as killed and his son was captured and brought to The Centre in the late seventies to be the last subject of The Pretender Project.”

“Alex.”

Miss Parker nodded. “Thank God that bastard is dead.”

“Not exactly,” Sam said. “In fact, he’s the one responsible for everything that’s going on at The Centre.”

Miss Parker turned to Sam immediately. “Start talking.”