In such situation, Mrs. Miller might be scared and worried for her children’s life. But Miss Parker, former Ice Queen, was accustomed to the Centre idea of problem solving.

Need a new pretender because the one you have runs away? Clone him.

Need to convince your best hunter to remain instead of leaving with her lover? Kill him.

Need to find a new way to lure the pretender to the Centre? Kidnap his family.

Parker knew that the Triumvirate needed them, and that was the reason why she was still alive. They knew everything about her gift, the inner sense she had inherited from her mother. The point was to discover how much they knew about Ethan and Katie.

Parker’s cell was empty. She was sitting on an iron bunk, she’d been there for hours. No food, no visitors, no questions. One thing they had accomplished: they’d already irritated her.

Suddenly the door opened and Gabriel entered, followed by a lovely woman whose somatic traits betrayed her Chinese origin. Parker didn’t remember Chuntao’s picture very well after her encouter with Lyle, but she had not doubt about this woman’s identity.

She sneered at her, “So you were faking it. If the occasion wasn’t so tragic, I could almost laugh at Lyle’s bad luck.”

Gabriel and Chuntao were impressed by Parker’s attitude. She was alone, far from Jarod and unware of what might have happened to her children. Yet she was determined and proud as a tigress.

“I don’t like wasting time in pleasantries, Miss Parker. What do you think if we go straight to the point.”

“About tim, too.”

“Your children are safe. For now.” Gabriel waited a couple of seconds to analyze Miss Parker’s reaction, but this woman was a real force of nature. “I want to know what they can do.”

“Well, during her last piano lessons Katie learned to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She’s not so good with the second part, but she goes for it.”  
Chuntao and Gabriel looked at each other in surprise.

“Ethan’s drawing is pretty good, but he’s no Leonardo da Vinci, yet. Maybe if he practices.”

“You think this is a game, Miss Parker?” Chuntao asked her, annoyed by this woman’s lack of seriousness.

“I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer, Peachy. This sick madhouse had been playing games for a century. I’m sick and tired of you manipulating my life.”

“That’s why you ran away with the pretender?” Gabriel asked her.

“Maybe. Or maybe because Jarod has the best ass I’ve ever seen.”

“What?” Chuntao was almost horrified by Parker’s words.

“Try spend five years of pursuit watching only his back while he runs away and with only Broots and Sydney as comrades, than you’ll know what I mean.” Parker winked at her.

“Enough.” Gabriel stopped the banter. “Did your son ever perform a SIM? Has Catherine already devoloped her grandmother’s inner sense?”

Parker fell silent. She wanted to try the silence strategy to find out what Gabriel was ready to do in order to make her talk.

“You ain’t making this easy, aren’t you?”

“You wish.” Parker’s response was caustic.

Chuntao approached the prisoner, who was still sitting on the bunk, “You realize that if you don’t help us you won’t see your children ever again?”

“That’s a price I’m willing to pay. Plus, Katie and Ethan won’t talk with you if either one of their parents is with them. They’ve been taught to distrust strangers.”

“Fine. Then there’s no need to keep them alive. Chuntao, go and order to kill the kids.”

Alarmed by the strange turn of events, Parker looked up at them with frantic eyes. “You are bluffing.” she murmured.

“You don’t know me very well.” Gabriel replied.

Gabriel took a gun tucked to his waist on the back of his trousers and gave it to Chuntao.

Parker watched  incredulous Chuntao starting to walk towards the exit, then she stood up screaming, “They are just kids!”

“With a long life ahead.” Chuntao replied.

“You touch them, you are dead, bitch.”

Chuntao moved back and punched Miss Parker right on her face. Gabriel stopped his partner with a gesture of his hand, “I believe your children are not fully aware of their capacities. Am I right?”

Parker nodded. She had hoped to fight this man with her weapons, sarcasm and stubborness. But Gabriel was different from every menace she’d ever encountered in her life before. He was resolute and heartless.

“So, they do have qualities.”

“They are young…they still don’t have a clue.” Parker explained.

“Well, that’s all I must know. For now.”

Gabriel and Chuntao moved towards the door, ready to leave Miss Parker alone.

“Let me see them.”

Gabriel turned around, “Why should I do you this favor, Miss Parker?”

Parker was out of words. She didn’t want to confess these people how much she needed to see her children, she needed to know that they were fine, that Gabriel hadn’t touched them yet. Gabriel smiled, “You were a fool, Mrs. Miller. You betrayed your own family to live a bogus life. Was it worth it?”

Parker found some of her previous resolution, “You have no idea .”

“And for what? In the end, your son and daughter ended up in the same place their parents came from. And they’ll be very useful to our cause.”

Parker didn’t reply. She simply kept her gaze on the man, trying to convey all her hardness in that look.

“Chuntao. Take her to the kids’ cell.”

Parker sighed in relief.

“If she tries to tell them something, kill her. History teaches us that mothers can be easily erased, here at the Centre.”

Chuntao escorted Miss Parker to SL-9 and opened the cell where Katie and Ethan were staying. As soon as the children saw their mother, they jumped from their chairs and ran towards her.

“Mom!”

“Mommy!”

Chuntao left the three of them alone and exited.

“It’s okay, Pumpkin.” Parker did her best to soothe the crying girl who was curling up at her. “Ethan, did they hurt you?”

“It’s the first time someone comes through that door, Mom. You are the first person we’ve seen since we came here.”

Proud of her son’s calm and dignity, Miss Parker smiled at him. She didn’t understand what kind of game they were playing, but she was afraid to find out.

“Mom, the dream is coming true.” Katie murmured to her mother’s ear.

Parker remembered her daughter telling about the dream.

“You, Ethan and I…we were caged…in a dark place…and you were suffering, Mom…they were hurting you.”

“Who was hurting me?”

Seeing that Katie was sobbing, Ethan concluded his sister’s dream, “The bad guys. The ones I still dream about at times, too.”

Katie’s words echoed in Paker’s mind.

“Honey, don’t worry. It’ll be fine. Nobody’s hurting me, you see?”

Katie sniffed and nodded fast.

“Daddy will come and save us, won’t he Mom?”

Parker sat down on the ground with her children hugged at her side, “I hope so, Katie.”

She kissed her daughter’s forehead and held Ethan’s little hand in hers.

She tried to figure out a way to make a deal with this man, she was ready to give her life for the safety of her children. But she was powerless, alone and with nothing to bargain.

The only one who could save them now was Jarod.

And she’d never missed him so much.

PARKER MANSION

Lyle was on his way to the Centre, Sydney sitting at his side. The old psychiatrist was ready to get into the game. He looked calm and relaxed, as if they were leaving fort the spring break.

Jarod was following them on a different car. He still didn’t know if he could trust Lyle, but he had no choice anyway. Leaving Sydney in his hands was a hazard, but his former mentor was willing to risk his life and he had made no secret about it.

The three of them would be in touch by using almost invisibile earphones, a gift Jarod had received from one of his friends at the Bureau.

“It must be thrilling, Syd.”

“What?”

“You know, going back to the Centre. You must be very excited.”

“My feelings are not the ones I’m worried about. I’m more concerned about yours.”

“I have total control of myself.” Lyle explained to the old man, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel. Jarod listened to the conversation in silence.

“And yet, you’ve just been betrayed. It must be difficult, trusting someone for the first time in your life just to see them deceive you.”

“Chuntao will get what she deserves in due time. She doesn’t know who she’s dealing with.”

These last words preoccupied Jarod, “Lyle, this is not personal.”

He was not worried about Lyle’s feelings, Jarod was concerned about his concentration. The plan depended on Lyle’s ability to control himself.

Lyle laughed, “Silly, coming from you. You’ve always made the Centre business something personal.”

“But I’ve learned that vengeance doesn’t give back what you lose.”

“That’s what you tell yourself when you think about Kyle? About Ethan?”

Lyle knew he was daring too much. Jarod didn’t know the truth behind his brothers’ death.

Yes, he’d seen Lyle shooting Kyle, but that had been an accident.

Ethan’s death was whole other story.

Jarod and Miss Parker weren’t there. They hadn’t seen Raines urging Lyle to kill Ethan when they had finally found him. They hadn’t seen the fear in his brother’s eyes when the young man had realized that Lyle would pull the trigger. They hadn’t heard Catherine’s voice in their heads, imploring Lyle not to do it.

Lyle had obeyed a mad man’s order. And then Raines had asked him to leave, to abandon Ethan’s corpse right there, were Jarod would find him later. They had left the building with a bunch of sweepers to reach the Centre cars that had been safely hidden two blocks from there. And then they had just waited for Jarod and Miss Parker to show up.

Lyle’s actions had no excuse, he knew it. His sister and the pretender couldn’t forgive him for killing Ethan. But at that time, he hadn’t any other choice than following Raines’s orders. Those who didn’t, were dead men. But how could he explain his point of view to Jarod? It was simply impossible. And certainly not at times like those.

Lyle felt Jarod’s anger when he answered, “If I wasn’t sure about this, you’d be dead already. We’ve been on this ground before, haven’t we?”

Lyle touched his leg. There were times that his old wound still hurt.

“Just think about this, for the first time in your pathetic life you can redeem yourself for a lifetime of iniquities.”

“How?” Lyle asked the pretender, convinced that it was far too late for him.

“Help me save Parker and the kids.” Jarod suddenly had an epiphany, “They are your nephew and niece, aren’t they?”

Lyle remembered the way he had felt while holding Ethan in his hands when he’d delivered the baby to Jarod and Parker ten years before. The boy had called him Uncle with that worried expression on his face. Then he had decided to help Parker and Jarod to leave.

“How can you trust me after all the things I’ve done to you?”

“I can’t.” Jarod replied, sarcasm evident in his voice, “But I trust your reputation. I know that you don’t like being fooled. And I am sadly familiar with your attitude towards your enemies.”

Lyle saw a road sign indicating that they were almost reaching the Centre. Jarod would soon leave them to take a different way to reach the ominous place.

Sydney noticed the sign, “We are almost there.”

“Panicking, Sydney?”

“Syd, if you want to change your mind, this is the last chance.” Jarod’s voice resounded in the earphone.

Sydney shook his head, “I’m not afraid, Jarod. Men of my age don’t fear death. It’s you I’m worried about.”

Jarod was secretly pleased to realize that Sydney still cared for him so much.

“To die would be a great adventure, Syd.” He replied, quoting one of his favorite books.

“Jee, listen to yourselves! I can’t believe this!” Lyle intervened, “I am on a suicide mission with the old man and Peter Pan as my partners. I must be crazy.”

Sydney took the moment to tell Lyle a harsh truth, “I know that you were not trained like a pretender, Lyle. But don’t forget that you are a red file, too. You have it in your blood. You must just find it in you.”

“I don’t need you to psycoanalyze me, Sydney.”

“He can’t help it, he can’t resist.” Jarod was almost laughing, “But he’s right, you know.”

“It’s time to go Jarod, we are almost there.” Lyle wanted to stop this conversation once and for all. He was tired of being mentally stimulated like that. He’d lived all his life with a few certainties and it wasn’t Jarod’s duty to change him.

“Let’s stay in touch. Be careful. Gabriel is very dangerous, he might suspect something.”

“Well you must be glad about one thing at least.”

“What?” Jarod asked Lyle.

“If he’s going to kill me, you’ll witness my death as if you were there.”