Jarod was staring at his children entering Ben Miller’s house. Ethan had a Spider-Man rucksack on his back, it contained a few videogames and books, including the novel he loved the most, Asimov’s “The Caves of Steel”. The boy intended to read it to spend the spare time at Old Ben’s, in hopes of taking his mind off the anxiety due to his father absence.

Katie, instead, held her favorite stuffed animal while she walked hand in hand with Ben and looked back to take a glimpse of Jarod’s face for the last time before he left.

The pretender was no fool: he knew that his absence would indelibly affect the relationship he shared with his daughter. Katie would problably make him feel guilty for leaving and abandon them exactly when she was feeling such an evident danger ahead and she was having these ominous dreams that scared her to death.

Jarod waved his hand to say goodbye and gave her a hint of a not-so-convinced smile; Katie replied with a nod, her eyes glistening with tears. 

While Katie entered the house with Ben, Parker was coming out, letting the door slowly shut behind her.

Jarod took advantage of those seconds to let out a long sigh of resignation, he closed his eyes and smelled the air around him.

He loved that place, he wanted to stay with his family.

But he couldn’t. He had Gabriel to deal with.

“Suitcases are unloaded, Ben will help the children to settle down in their bedrooms.”

“What about your luggage?”

“If you’re talking about my gun, I have one hidden in my mother’s old bedroom.”

“Parker…”

“I hope I won’t need to use it. But if the time comes, my old Smith & Wesson will be ready. And so will I.”

Jarod sighed again, “I better be going. I left a message for my mother to let her know you are here, I didn’t elaborate about the reasons of my trip.”

“She will understand that something’s going on. It’s the first time you leave the children behind since Katie was born.”

“I don’t want mom and dad to be involved in no way. With Emily’s wedding to organise and Jeremy’s degree so close, I don’t want to trouble them.”

“Talking of which, you remember that you are your sister’s best man, don’t you? Don’t mess with her and don’t spoil her big day.”  

Jarod smiled, “Is this a gentle way to remind me to be careful and that you’ll miss me?”

Parker gently hit his stomach, touching the exact point that she knew would bother Jarod,  then she dragged the pretender to her and kissed him.

“Please, be careful Pezhead.”

“Don’t worry, Parker. I entrust you with taking care of our children. Keep them safe.”

“Always.”

Jarod briefly kissed her one last time, then he moved rapidly towards his car without watching back. He feared that he might change his mind, should he wait a little longer.

He only peeked once from the rearview mirror while he left in direction of their home.

Parker had never seemed so far like in that moment.

---

THE KEYS – BROOTS AND SYDNEY’S REFUGE

Sydney was finishing to pack a few last things in his bag. Broots stared at him pretrified, he was still too much astonished for the decision taken by his lifetime friend.

“Are you really sure?”

“We already talked about this, Broots. I won’t allow Jarod to risk his life without nobody there to help him. He’s already suffered too much because of me. If Gabriel is as dangerous as Angelo confirms, maybe Jarod is going to need my help to face him.”

“And what are you planning to do? Pretending to come to the Centre after ten years only to have the chance to work with Gabriel?”

“Precisely.”

Angelo sighed in concern from his position at the foot of the bed.

“Your plan really sucks, Sydney.” Broots confessed. “Lyle will make the sweepers shoot at you as soon as the new biometric detection system will recognize your face.”

“I’m too old to fear death, Broots.”

“But too young to leave Michelle, your son and your grand-son!”

Sydney sighed slowly, “Broots, I love Michelle and Nicholas. But after everything I’ve done during my years spent at the Centre, if anything happened to Jarod because of me…”

Broots ruefully looked at him, noticing that Sydney was gazing at Angelo. The man understood his old friend’s feeelings.

“Promise me we’ll be in touch.”

Sydney nodded.

“Use our safe mobile, I’ll check on the Centre movements, as for as I can.”

“Thank you Broots.”

Angelo held Sydney’s hand before he could leave the bedroom, “Sydney…Danger.”

“Don’t worry for me, Angelo.” Sydney caressed his head tenderly, “If I don’t come back, just know that…”

“Angelo knows.” The empath hushed him.

Sydney smiled and walked to the other room. He knew that saying goodbye to Michelle would be even more heartrending. But he had no other choice: he had to come back to Blue Cove.

---

THE CENTRE - LYLE’S OFFICE

Lyle was still thinking about the conversation with his sister of a few hours before.

He hadn’t seen her for ten years and now, all of a sudden, she showed up twice in a couple of days. And all of this now that he was getting married.

Well, Miss Parker had never been very good in timing.

And yet, Lyle had been very pleased to have her around, like it happened in old days, those few – rare, times that he felt affection for his sister. Probably it was because of the common bloodlines, or maybe because of that damned inner sense that he neglected so much.

He had lied to Parker, since there have been circumstances in which his inner sense had even saved his life. Like when they were in Hillman Marine: He had tried to hurt Miss Parker with his gun to make her shoot at him and be able to fake his death.

Or in Dry River, when that inner voice suggested him to shoot in Jarod’s direction because he would save himself. Of course, he wasn’t so proud of the result, seeing that Kyle had run in front of Jarod to take the bullet and he got killed. But Lyle aimed at Jarod’s shoulder, he didn’t want to kill him, he knew how much valuable was the pretender for the Centre.

His inner sense even astonished him when, in the occasion of his first meeting with Chuntao, it warned him that she could be the great love of his life. The voice he heard hadn’t used these very words, but it had pushed Lyle to talk with that charming woman.

Lyle knew he couldn’t consider himself a good man. He knew he had a turbulent past  - at least. But now, since Chuntao had come into his life, he felt different. More…human.

And a weakness of this beeing more human was connected to the childhood joy he felt when he saw his sister.

Chuntao entered his office and lessened his embarrassment for those thoughts, “So, are we going to dinner?” she warmly asked him.

“Of course, Peachy.”

The woman noticed an open file and a few pictures on his desk. Photos of a bald man, with dark complexion and very light blue eyes.

“Are you searching for this man?”

“A little favor to an old friend, nothing more.” Lyle answered, skating over the issue. “Let’s go or we’re getting late. I’m taking you to Etienne tonight.”

“My favorite restaurant? What, you want to score tonight?”

Lyle patted her buttock and followed Chuntao outside.

---

Jarod was driving home, the trip would still take him a few minutes. The radio was on but he wasn’t listening, so many were the thought troubling him. Even if Parker and the children were always at the first place in his mind, he couldn’t help but think about Gabriel.

Jarod wondered if he was really an enemy, if he was really supporting the Centre. And most of all he couldn’t understand why he decided to come out like that, with the risk of being recognized by Parker and himself. Did he need his help? Or was he insane like Alex, ready to appear from the past to try and kill him?

Without noticing, Jarod had arrived home, driving beyond the house alleyway. It was already evening but darkness hadn’t fallen yet, it was a warm day announcing the upcoming of spring.

The pretender entered his house after coming back and parking the car. He walked instantly towards his computer, ready to open the application that allowed him to monitor the new cameras he had installed at Ben’s home.

He messed about with passwords for a few seconds, then he opened a connection with the new decives, ready to keep an eye on his children. He knew that if he could see them safe and sound, he would feel less nostalgic about their absence. The house seemed so quiet and empty without them.

At last, the images that would magically teleport him in Ben’s house appeared on the screen.

The kitchen was empty and so were the children’s and Catherine’s bedroom (Parker persisted in calling the room that way even if she always slept in it).

When Jarod used the cursor to change the view to the living room camera, he got chilled to the bone. The room was empty except for Ben’s body lying to the ground.   

The pretender startled panicking, then he hit the button to rewind the surveillance videos, trying to understand what might have happened. He had a terrible feeling that he could already guess, though.

The video was flowing backwards, confused figures were appearing on and off the screen. Jarod stopped when he reached the time when he had left after saying goodbye to Parker. It was not more than fifteen minutes before.

Ben came down the stairs, probably after taking Ethan and Katie upstairs to settle. Parker sat on the couch and Ben asked her something, maybe if she wanted something to drink, seeing that she smiled as to thank him. And soon after that, chaos started to reign. Men, certainly sweepers, seeing how they were dressed, entered the house with weapons and dragged Parker away; Ben came back to the living room attracted by the noise and one of the sweepers hit him from behind, making him fall. Jarod sighed in acknowledgment that Ben hadn’t been killed. But his relief lasted only two seconds, because the video showed two sweepers holding his kids struggling to get free from their hands. Lastly the men took them outside Ben’s house.

Jarod contemplated the screen turning almost into a picture portraing the living room and a fainted Ben Miller. He was shocked and worried as he’s never been before. The time was going on, but the still didn’t change. The pretender wanted to do something – anything, but he knew it would have been to no avail.

It looks like Gabriel made his move, he thought. “And it’s the wrong one.” He murmured out loud, “You just signed your death warrant.”

A few seconds and Jarod’s mobile rang. It was an unidentifiable ID caller that troubled Jarod, because he never received calls from unknown people.

He stood up and took the appareil, answering. “Whoever you are, just know that you just committed the worst mistake of your life.”

The voice of the man from the other hand burst into a scornful laugh, “Jarod, you’re so predictable. You know, before ordering to kidnap your family, I simulated your reaction many times. And every single time, you answered exactly as you did.”

Jarod walked fast to gather his DSA viewer. If he couldn’t see the man he was talking to, he wanted at least to have an image of the boy he once had been.

“It’s not fair that you know who you’re talking to while I don’t know nothing about you, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Come on, Jarod…” the fact that the stranger called him by name with such nonchalance annoyed Jarod, “You think I don’t know that you found out who I am?”

Jarod stopped the DSA video to still the image of the blond kid that was troubling his thoughts.

“Gabriel.”

“And they call you the genius. It’s unbelievable that the Centre looked for you all these years.”

“If I’m so useless, why did the Centre keep searching for me?”

“We’ll get to it in due time. Are you ready to meet me?”

“Why didn’t you capture me along with my family, if you wanted to talk to me so damn much? Why didn’t you contact me the other day at school?”

Jarod walked and reached the door, ready to jump on his car and drive away to reach for Ben’s.

Gabriel answered, “I had to be sure that I got your attention.”

Jarod didn’t make it to the car that it exploded in a loud and deafening blow right in front of him. He was thrown at ground by the explotion, but he still kept his mobile when he opened his eyes to see his car still burning. Jarod found himself to think desperately about the power of this new enemy.     

“When did you mine my car?” he asked worried, realizing that he’d probably driven on a mined car for who knew how long.

Gabriel sniggered, “Now I got your attention, don’t I?”