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Disclaimer: I do not own Pretender. This fiction is just for fun and no profit.

Five Weeks Later . . .

“Honestly, Syd, stop playing my daddy.” Lily said on the phone with Miss Parker’s voice. “I’ll be fine. I’m getting closer to a lead on my mother. I don’t think she was in South Africa anymore, but I know I can find where she’s at soon. Don’t worry about me.”

“Okay,” Sydney said over the intercom. “Everything is okay? What is that clanking?”

Lily groaned and spoke in Miss Parker’s voice again while Miss Parker was clinking the side of her bed frame. “Almost my head hitting my desk. This is far from the Ritz Carlton, closer to the Stanley Hotel.  I better check out that noise.” She hung the phone back up and strolled over to Miss Parker. “Well, I’m going to leave now. I’ll be in a different part of Africa for awhile, but I will still take your calls. I think I’ve learned enough from watching you and watching all those surveillance videos of yours. Even your friends. Mention your mother and saying don’t worry. A little rough, but not too rough. Distant, yet a little close. You care, but don’t show you care enough. I think I’m starting to nail it.” She bent closer to her cell. “What do you have to say about that?”

Miss Parker glared at her.

“It burns you, doesn’t it? All you can do is give mean looks because Mister Lyle said you can only talk back to certain people at certain times.”

Miss Parker continued to glare.

“Goodbye, Miss Parker,” Lily said. “Hopefully I’ll never see you again. You don’t exactly have a shining personality. And don’t worry, I don’t mind talking to your friends for a few minutes a week if it makes them feel better. I am getting better and better at this. Things like ‘what happened in Sl-27’ seem to contribute too,” she laughed. “Heh, and momma always said voice acting would never pay anything.”

Miss Parker watched as her voice double left. She got up and headed toward the glass, feeling around it. There was no way out. She wasn’t allowed to talk back. She wasn’t allowed to leave.

“Miss Parker,” Lyle said with a smile while he came over towards her cell. “You have an actual phone call you can take.” He opened the cell door, tossed it in, and stepped back.

“Why is she getting a phone call?” One of the guards quipped.

“Someone who already knows she’s here, so relax,” Lyle answered. “Besides, it’s been cleared with the Triumvirate.”

Miss Parker picked up the phone. There was only one person it could be. “Broots?”

“Miss Parker,” Broots said calmly. “Hello. I wanted to hear from you and not someone faking you. So. Tell me something the other Miss Parker wouldn’t know.”

“The first time you met Jarod, I know that you grabbed a spoon in defense,” she said. “It’s me. Why are these cretins letting you call? How’s Debbie?”

“If I don’t give her the pills they gave me, she gets really sick,” Broots said. “When she takes them, she does okay. She can go to school and live normally.”

“That’s good.” She wanted to know that.

“But, I got scared and I stopped it, and she got violently sick. If they stop it, they said she’ll . . . I can’t see a doctor. I don’t know what they did. I don’t know what to do!”

“Nothing, Broots. The Centre has Debbie in their grasp. You can’t risk her life for anything.”

“I’ve thought so many times about Sydney. Sydney, he could reach Jarod. Jarod’s pretended to be a doctor, a good one, and I know he could help.”

“Yes, I’m sure he could,” Miss Parker admitted. “Jarod’s thing is defending anyone who can’t defend themselves. He’d be there as soon as he could, but this isn’t a perfect world,” she said. “One wrong move. I don’t know how important I am right now,” she confessed. “I don’t know what they are doing to me.”

“Are they hurting you?”

“No. They adjust the heat and air whenever I knock on the glass for it to be changed,” she said. “They give me pills each day. I have nausea, sometimes severe, but I’ve been fine lately. They improved my food. They.” She chuckled. “They ask me if I want chicken, beef, or a special order from their own cafeteria menu.”

“Oh. Really?”

“I don’t get it.” She looked down toward her sheets. “I used to have a regular thin sheet to sleep in, and now I’ve got a full comforter set, Broots.”

“Oh. That’s unusual.”

“Lyle is bringing up another bed for me later,” Miss Parker said. “I don’t feel lucid at all, Broots. Do you know what this could be?”

“You’re locked up, but they are treating you like a princess?”

“Yeah. One that can’t leave the castle, and who has an ugly looking dragon guarding it,” she said as she looked toward Lyle. “I feel . . . even more uneasy with these changes.”

“Well. At least you’re okay.”

“Am I?” She asked. “We’ve got no idea what they want me for. No one tells me anything. I have no idea if I’m just in this place as a joke for Lyle for him winning, or if they have real plans for me.” She tapped her foot.  “And if it is just a Lyle gloating thing, then why am I not in the Centre for everyone to point and laugh at? Why am I all the way out here in South Africa?”

“I don’t know, Miss Parker.”

“Well, you weren’t a lot of help into this,” she said to him. “Don’t put Debbie at risk. If you tell Sydney and decide to do something, you make damn well sure she’s going to be okay. Or I’ll kill you, Broots. I will escape, find my way to you, and I’ll kill you.”

Broots chuckled nervously. “Yeah, you would.” He quickly straightened up though. “I won’t put her at risk, but it’s been five weeks. What if he keeps you in there for months? Years?”

Miss Parker shrugged. “I don’t know, Broots. I can’t do anything from this cell. If you want to figure out how to help, and make sure Debbie is safe in the process, it’s up to you.”

“I’m afraid. I’m afraid I’ll try and call and you won’t be there. Just the fake you. I’m afraid they’re going to take away the medication that keeps the sickness at bay. I’m afraid that if I don’t do something, you’ll wind up dead.”

“Me or Debbie, Broots,” she said softly. “Your daughter deserves to keep living. Even if something does happen to me, don’t give up on her. One day you need to find a way to help her though. If I’m gone, the Centre will have no need to bother with the pills anymore. You can’t wait ‘til it’s too late.”

“But then I have to tell Sydney somehow about you.”

“You’ll find a way to do what needs to be done, or you won’t,” Miss Parker said. “It isn’t my life on the line, Broots. But, just know. So far, as kooky as it seems, I’m fine. I’m better than I was when they locked me in here. I even get daily massages.”

“Um, huh?”

“To prevent stress. They are always assuring me that everything’s fine and I should just relax. At first, I kept trying to get away during that time, but they have so many guards around now.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I just enjoy the massages. Katrina is fantastic with her hands.”

“Massages?”

“Mm. Pictures becoming even stranger, isn’t it?” Miss Parker asked him. “I feel like I live in a Five Star hotel but I can’t ever leave the room.”

“Like Hotel California,” Broots tried to joke. “Oh. I wish I could figure this out, Miss Parker. Massages. Pills. Nausea. Some nausea but a good bed. A choice in dinner.”

“Mm. Actually, about the strangest thing of all. Everyday around this time, I turn into an animal at the zoo.” Miss Parker watched as several people who had bright animal skin colors in their clothes, including Mutumbo, came down towards her cell. They just stared at her. “They just stare at me. Sometimes they smile, creepily.” She turned her back on them.

“How are you today?” Mutumbo asked her. The one who visited the Centre the most in the past, and wouldn’t listen to a word she said, now hung onto her every word.

“Fine,” she answered back. She focused back on the phone. “I better talk to you later, Broots. Be careful.”

 

Lyle looked toward the whole triumvirate team and back at her. “Phone call finished? Good. I have been so busy at the Centre. You know, it’s only natural now that I’ll be running it soon,” he boasted. “I can’t get a moment to rest for anything, but I had to come here. Ooh, I love that look too. Real becoming.”

Miss Parker’s eyes followed him as he moved inside and retrieved the phone. The rest of her gawking crowd left, as always. He moved back out of her cell and secured it behind him before he talked some more. “Mm. I really like this new you too. Not a word spoken without permission or the end of Broots’ daughter. Funny. Guess you should have had her guarded by sweepers.” Lyle shook his head and pressed against the glass, knowing full well he just exposed that he bugged their work area before they came to South Africa. It didn’t matter anymore though now, it just seemed humorous to him. “You hide behind that façade of not caring for anyone, only letting it drop minutely. But then you made the mistake of showing it to the wrong people.” He shrugged. “Not that you could help yourself, Broots was about to die. For some reason, you just couldn’t let that happen.”

She continued to eye him. Without being able to speak and cut with her words, she still had a look that could almost kill. Even in that cell, she wouldn’t back down.

“Of course, your weakness of caring has been shown for some time,” Lyle said, “but I couldn’t really use it to my advantage. Your sharp tongue even kept me guessing for the longest time which side you were really on.” He moved back toward the other side. “Now I don’t think you should really blame me for everything, Miss Parker,” he insisted. “I mean, without me, you’d be dead. Losers don’t go on at the Centre. However, I don’t think I’m going to get a thank you, so I won’t hold my breath.”

He should hold his breath. Underwater, when he’s being drowned because it’d be awhile before I let him come up for air.

Lyle just smiled and knocked on the glass playfully. I got some news, Sis.” He moved against the glass. “I’ve never looked at the scrolls. Hardly anyone knows what was really on them, but what we do know? Well, there was a reason for Gemini.”

Just get to the point. What have you been doing?

“The clone of Jarod. Jarod, he was a special one,” Lyle said. “I think it was his genes, and apparently Mutumbo agreed. After all, they created another Jarod. Remember him? The little Gemini though, he’s long gone. Oh, and don’t forget our half-brother, Ethan.” He chuckled. “That was brilliant. But, he’s gone too now. All grown up. The Pretenders. Of the Parkers, there’s only one baby.”

Which could not have been my father’s, just like I couldn’t be.

“It may . . . or may not be Parker,” Lyle admitted. “Brigitte back then.” He wiggled his fingers. “I prefer Asian but she was already there. She was kind of loose though.”

Is he really going in that direction with me? Just get to the point, Lyle!

“Sorry. I’m taking a little extra time. I just want to enjoy the moment,” Lyle said. “The thrill of it. This is the only time I’ll ever get to experience it firsthand. I call it, the kill moment.”

Lyle came as close as he could to the front, right where she had been standing on the other side. “You know how the Centre always keeps bodily fluids? I’m sure you do considering that’s how you tested Mr. Parker. Well, we can’t keep a whole lot. A real good reason for the cloning, certain DNA lasts a lot longer. Only so much of a certain thing. Gotta be careful with it.”

What is the point you little weasel? What are you trying to do to me?

“If we can’t clone another Jarod, and we can’t get Mirage back,” Lyle said pausing slightly. “ . . . well, then we just need to bring some more into the kiddie pool.” He watched her extra close, making her uneasy. He was finally getting around the bullshit to tell her what he needed to. “Limited, but as the new one coming to be in charge of the Centre after good ol’ dad passes away? Soon? I’m already making plans for my time at the Centre.  Oh, but don’t worry.” Lyle knocked on the glass. “You have a part too. By the way, you feel better, don’t you? Haven’t messed with you for awhile.”

Which is what she didn’t like. None of that was normal for her position, and it only made her more anxious.

“Haven’t given you any shots in some time, just minor pills with no side effects. Even your tummy, it always gets plenty of food, doesn’t it? No starvation issues here. Why, you have your own little paradise in there. Not too hot. Not too cold. Even your bedding went from almost nothing to full-fledged covers. Today, I am even bringing in a brand new bed with back support, remember?” he chuckled.  “So. Have you wondered at all why this has been happening?”

He was still watching her, his eyes darting across her face like he was waiting for something. She didn’t change her expression until he did it. He dropped the news. “We tried a clone. We tried a brother. Now, the Triumvirate . . . will create a son. And we want mommy, to be healthy and comfortable. Thought it was time you should know since you might be noticing some changes soon.”

It fell. The bravado. The glaring accusational look. The stare that could almost strike fear into anyone’s heart. It slid completely off her face. She didn’t move. Her breathing stiff and even, aware of every breath her body was emitting.

“There it is,” Lyle said devilishly as he bit his lip. “No words. No ferocious look. Do you know what you look like right now? Like Broots,” he said rubbing it in. He laughed. “Now, making Broots look like that, putting a scare into the weak? It’s no fun. No, but getting someone like you to finally drop that mask you always put up. I will remember this face for the rest of my life.”

In. Out. In. Out. Her belly moved inward and outward as she breathed. She felt her throat getting so dry. Even if she felt safe to talk, her throat wouldn’t have been able to utter words.

All. Those. Years. Doing everything they wanted. Being strong. Staying strong. Working for them. Her whole life revolving around them. And in the end? They . . . they turned me into . . . her own mother. They somehow impregnated her without any asking. Without any remorse. And even though she wanted so hard to keep up the charade for Lyle, she couldn’t. Her whole face seemed paralyzed, unable to make any action to stand up for herself. Not a crinkle of an eyebrow, not any kind of glare from her eyes. Nothing.

All that time. All that dedication. Only to be betrayed.

“Okay. Enough of that,” Lyle said as he backed away some. “Be proud, no one else has been deemed good enough to try this with because we’ve got a real limited amount. The Centre doesn’t even know the Triumvirate has this. This isn’t just DNA. This isn’t cloning, it’s Jarod’s frozen sperm,” Lyle chuckled. “Wonder how your old boy wonder had fun with those sims, huh? Miss Parker. You are one in a million. No, one in a billion. You have the honor of bringing the best kind of Parker blood back into the Centre. Pretender blood.”

Miss Parker snapped out of her daze and wailed and smacked the glass walls as hard as she could. Those bastards! They didn’t have the right! She kept hitting the glass cell walls as hard as she could, over and over.

“Easy, momma,” Lyle said to her. “Don’t worry. As soon as it’s born, we’ll take care of the rest. Then you’ll get a few months rest.” He shrugged. “Then go again. Especially if it’s a girl. Really want a boy for my new Centre. If the first one was a boy, then we’ll probably try some . . . Angelo? Well, he’d be a little lacking in the father department too, even if your ‘mushhead’ figured it out. Or maybe even Kyle. Never have to worry about him showing up to complicate things anymore.”

“I’m gonna kill you, Lyle!” Miss Parker screamed. “I might be here right now, but soon I’ll be on the other side and I’m going to pack you so full of lead, Bobby, they won’t be able to identify your body!”

“Too late,” Lyle said. “You can’t put up a front to me anymore. I’ve seen your true self. You’re as weak as our mom was. It’s fitting that you end up here the same way.” He saluted her. “Mr. Parker was right. It will all change with you. A new generation is just around the corner for my Centre. Hey, maybe I’ll give Jarod’s kid his old man’s room for kicks? I’ll see you later, Sis.” He turned back around. “Oh, and uh, no more long phone calls with Broots now that you know. Mister Scaredy Cat already has a conscious. We don’t need him making the situation worse.”

 

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