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Vanished.

Simply vanished.

Jarod hadn't inconvenienced himself with goodbye- there'd been no goodbyes to Parker nor to Sydney, and while the former was somewhat chagrined by the absence of bread crumbs and what it meant to her career goals and corporate ladder climbing (or the lack thereof considering she was perpetually stalled out mid-rung) the latter was quite pleased, relieved.

Sydney had molded, shaped the eager mind, honed the younger man's skills; Jarod had risen to brilliance under the psychiatrist's tutelage, could literally be anything he wanted to be, and what Jarod wanted more than anything, apparently, was to be left alone.

The psychiatrist harbored no ill will towards the Pretender. In fact, he could finally breathe easier knowing Jarod was no longer hemmed in by emotional abstractions, tied to Blue Cove, to the Centre, to his captor. Sydney had hoped Jarod would make a life for himself.

The old man had forced himself during hundreds of conversations to detach, to hide his true feelings, to stifle any lingering paternal sentiment. He wanted Jarod to be free. He loved him enough to set him free, and he became more elated with each day that passed, each day without a clue or call.

"Smile while you can, Dr. Levin", Parker hissed her her disgust approximately one year after Carthis when it had become clear that Jarod had tired of the games and dropped from the Centre's all seeing eye.

Sydney had erroneously assumed that his colleague would be pleased. Her telephone had been strangely quiet for at least eleven months, days of jet leg and nights of disturbed sleep were mere memories; nevertheless, the woman was on the warpath.

He winced as she meted out the harsh epithet. Aubrey Levin. Good God! Surely I was never cruel. Not that cruel. Was I?

Her serrated-edged tongue was a dagger to his soul; she rarely failed to draw blood. "I will find your little labrat." She vowed through clenched teeth, thrusting a finger right in his face as she issued the declaration. "Maybe not today, maybe not this year, but on his grave, I will find and return Jarod to the Centre." And then, as an afterthought. "If I don't kill him first!"

"Why are you directing this hostility towards Jarod? Why won't you let him be? Jarod deserves a life, Parker."

"What about me, Sydney? Don't I deserve a life?"

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