Las Vegas, Nevada February 6 2330 hrs.

A bright, white light blinded Miss Parker until she raised a shielding hand. She found herself in an impossibly white room. The room didn't have any seams; no corners or meeting places. From somewhere nearby Parker heard the sound of a saw buzzing. Looking down, she noticed solid, white restraints on her ankles and across her waist. Struggling, she saw white robed figures coming toward where she pulled at the heavy restraints at her waist.

“Miss Parker, lie still, this won't hurt a bit.” Looking down at her, Parker saw Broots' face above the high robe collar. Stuffy, rubber fumes moved in as the figures surrounded the young woman.

“What are you doing, where am I? Broots stop!” Strong hands forced her shoulders back against the hard surface beneath her. Fear and anger churned inside Parker.

“She has always been stubborn.” Sydney's voice pulled Parker's attention to the side.

“Oh, come on, Miss Parker, let us see if we can find a heart in there.” Jarod's menacing voice spoke from the other side. An evil gleam in his dark eyes frightened Parker. The man she'd been trying to capture for three years lifted a medical saw and gunned the motor.

“Jarod, no, I have a heart, really I do.” A restraint band slid firmly over Parker's neck, cutting off any words she might have used to persuade him.

“Cut deep, this Earth specimen has a particularly thick skin.” Tears spilled when Miss Parker saw her father lean over her. Long, gray fingers waved good-bye as Jarod began to lower the medical saw.

“Daddy, NO!!” Miss Parker tried to scream. Everything in the white room disappeared.

“Miss Parker, wake up.” Broots shook his boss' shoulder. Sydney stood behind him, examining her reaction. Again, Broots gently shook Miss Parker. Suddenly, she snapped awake. Defensive, she pushed the crouching man over backwards. The tech guy hit the floor harmlessly.

“Broots, what were you thinking?” Miss Parker growled. The tech guy picked himself up off the dark brown carpet grumbling about being nice to people.

“You were having a nightmare, Miss Parker.” Sydney sat down across from the woman he'd known all her life. With swift grace she stood and crossed to the small refrigerator looking for something alcoholic. Having an alien probe for a nightmare left her shaken, momentarily.

“Have the security clearances come through yet, Broots?” Miss Parker asked, looking out the jet window at the city lights beyond the air port.

“No, uh, no, Miss Parker, they haven't.” Broots answered hesitantly. He always felt like a rabbit around her, as if Parker were a hound on his trail. She swore to herself.

“I'm more likely to see a UFO than to catch Jarod.” The lament was silently shared by Sydney and Broots as well.

Scene Break

NNL 2330 hrs February 6

Jarod slid a sour Pez from the green alien head dispenser as he hacked into the base's main frame. Ramsey's office lay quiet all around the genius imposter. A large, American flag hung behind the wooden desk. Frustrated, Jarod swore softly, tightening the grip he had on one of the little, red notebooks he always kept handy.

“Ramsey sent those security clearances out already.” Only a momentary hiccup, the Pretender dug deeper into the main frame. If he couldn't stop Miss Parker, he could at least delay her for as long as possible. The Ice Princess going head to head with armed MP's with permission to shoot sounded like just the tactic Jarod needed.

“Enjoy the hospitality, Miss Parker.” Jarod smiled slyly, his face barely visible in the light of the computer screen.

Scene Break

NNL 1000 hrs February 7

“You can use the john when we get through security, Broots, you should have taken care of it before we left.” Miss Parker admonished him. Her ice blue eyes peered at him in the rear view mirror as she drove. Sydney kept silent in the passenger seat, mildly amused at the juvenile argument between the two.

“I did, right before we left the jet.” Broots stated, a hint of a whine to his grumbling voice.

“You and your pea size bladder.” Parker sighed, pushing her sunglasses up again. Miles and miles of desert lay along Highway 375 near the Air Force Base outside Las Vegas. Coyotes in the distance watched the dark Lincoln Town car speed by as if watching television and the show was just for them. Cacti and Joshua trees broke the sight of the rock strewn terrain. Eventually, warning signs in English and repeated in Spanish began to dot the route.

“We should be at the base security gates very soon.” Sydney observed as the red and white signs began to appear more frequently.

“I hope so.” Broots squirmed in his seat uncomfortably.

A matched pair of camo clad guards carrying M4's stood in front of the gates. Their gaze was obscured by darkly tinted aviator sunglasses. Miss Parker pulled up to the gate and shifted the car into park.

“Broots, the security clearances.” she demanded, snapping her fingers nearly in his face. After a moment fumbling in his pocket, the tech genius produced the security clearances.

“Purpose for being here, ma'am and picture ID please.” One guard bent down to look into the car, his fingers laid along the trigger guard of his M4. Cooper, M.L were stitched across the left side of his tan, desert fatigues.

“Talmadge is expecting us.” Parker handed all three clearances to the guard. Dogs sniffed around the car as they used mirrors to inspect the under carriage. Cooper took the passes back to the guard house for further inspection. A few moments went by as the guard read the computer screen. Broots began to feel apprehensive, well, more so than usual.

“I think we're in trouble, Miss Parker, the guards are eying us.” A million thoughts cluttered the timorous man's mind as he watched two guards double time to meet five more pouring from the guard house.

“You'll need to step out of the car, ma'am.” Cooper's gruff voice brooked no argument, but Miss Parker did anyway. Guards opened the doors and forced Sydney and Broots to step out. Miss Parker had to see the business end of an M4 before she'd get out.

“This is ridiculous, I'll have your head on a platter when I speak to your superior officer.” Roughly, the Centre operatives were frisked. Cooper took care of Miss Parker himself. He had her stand with her hands on the piping hot roof of the Lincoln, her feet set widely apart. The ranking officer liked the fighting spirit he saw in the slim, silk clad woman cursing and quarreling every breath. Shouldering his weapon, Cooper began at her shoulders, Miss Parker's dark hair felt soft against his calloused hands. It didn't take long to find the holster in the small of her back holding her .9mm handgun. After checking the safety, Cooper slid the gun into his waist band. His subordinates watched with passive interest as he drew the search out, just to piss off the obviously high maintenance woman even further. His hands grazed her hips and slid gently down the outside of her thighs, down to the high boot tops.

“Ma'am, I'll have to take these off.” His southern accent drawling as he looked up at her from a squatted position.

“You must be joking,” Miss Parker stated, not really believing that the uniformed military man was going to remove her dress boots. When Cooper began to unzip the knee high footwear he nearly received a backward mule kick.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you, Ma'am, assault charges will be brought.” Cooper's left hand squeezed her kneed cap with vice like grip. Miss Parker gritted her teeth and didn't let on. Down to her thin, cotton boot socks, Parker stood tip toe on the boiling pavement.

“Well, look what I found.” Cooper held up a butterfly knife he'd found in the hollowed out block of a thing she called a boot heel, fastened in place with a magnetic strip. The guard grinned as he pocketed the weapon. He'd begun to admire the classily dressed, young woman. Sydney and Broots looked at each other, knowing they were pretty much up the creek without a paddle. Miss Parker pounded a balled fist on the hood of the car.

“Jarod is behind this.” Miss Parker realized as the guard hand cuffed her wrists behind her. An amused smile spread across Sydney's face. The Pretender had always had a sneaky, mischievous sense of humor. Being free for three years had only added to his bag of tricks. It didn't help that Miss Parker was such an easy target. Jarod knew just how to get under her skin.

A Humvee came barreling toward the guard house, dust flying up behind it in a choking cloud. More MP's filed out with M4's at the ready. Still fuming, Miss Parker and the others were escorted toward the tank like vehicle. Seemingly out of nowhere, a large shadow blotted out the sun overhead. Everyone froze in their tracks, staring at two, huge Huey helicopters. What looked like two, large car speakers lowered from beneath the hovering craft. The size of military foot lockers, the speakers began to produce a pulsating wave of sound. A voice came over the speakers, the sound wave still pulsating.

“Do not think yourselves safe, the wave of sound you hear is being heard over every military base in north and south America as well as ruling seats of government. No one is coming to your rescue. You will submit to our plan of action willingly or face the consequences.” A third speaker descended from the helicopter. No one knew its purpose until the guard dogs slumped to the ground, dead.

“The frequency used has also been modified to destroy human life.” The male voice went on to give a list of demands. Everyone below stood in shock at the bold demands. All guards looked to Cooper for instructions. When the Huey began to pull away the guards closed ranks, sweeping Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots into the Humvee.

“Do you think the people behind the helicopter will do what they're threatening?” Broots asked in general.

“Is it even possible to kill someone with sound waves?” Miss Parker added, strongly suspecting it was possible. The emphatic nod Sydney gave his colleagues confirmed her fears.

“Jarod hypothesized that if a sound wave could be both amplified and compressed enough at the same time, then it would, in theory, interrupt the electronic impulses within the body. It was rumored to have been tested on death row inmates.” Broots looked fascinated. Miss Parker shook her head.

“Wonderful, another one escapes from the Island of Dr. Moreau. How many more of Jarod's theories are we going to meet before total annihilation?” She had a way of stabbing and turning the knife.

“A theory is only a tool, Miss Parker, it is how that theory is used that is either good or evil. Besides, when Jarod sees this he will automatically recognize its origin.” The old doctor left the rest unsaid. They all knew Jarod would be outraged, and with good reason.

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