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I do not own Pretender. I make no profit off of this fanfiction.

Sydney watched Broots come back to the office. He immediately sat down and started to work. He didn’t even greet him yet. “Good morning, Boots.”

“Mm. Mm-hmm.”

That wasn’t like Broots. Sydney examined him lightly, not being able to let go of what he saw. Broots was scared. Weary. Something was wrong. “Broots. Did you have a good trip to South Africa?”

“Uh. Uh huh,” Broots said, not giving anything else away again.

“And Miss Parker?” Sydney continued to pry. “Did she have a nice trip?”

“Yuh. Yuh huh. She’s, um, there now,” Broots said, ultra focused on the computer. “Promoted.”

“Promoted.”

“Uh. Uh huh.”

“Miss Parker was promoted to work in South Africa.”

“Uh huh. Yeah, Sydney,” Broots said as he typed furiously away on the computer.

“Broots.”

“I need to work, Sydney.”

“Broots.”

“Yeah?”

“Is she still alive?” The direct question made him stop typing a moment to look at him. Please. Please let Miss Parker still be alive. It would hurt so many people, in and out of the Centre, if she were gone for good.  “Broots?”

“A year,” Broots said, going back to her typing. “I-I can tell you after a year.”

“Broots.”

“Jarod’s tricky. He never gets any easier to catch,” Broots said, ignoring Sydney’s request. “But we’ll get him, we will. We are a good team, you and me, and we’ve been so close so many times. We are bound to get him real soon with all the headway we’ve made. Other people, others would be starting from square one, learning his pattern and everything. It wasn’t easy, it took time. No, I bet we are probably the best people in the whole Centre who could ever catch Jarod.”

Bugged. Sydney looked around the room. Someone must have been listening in on them. Sydney wrote down on a piece of paper. “I want you to check this location for Jarod. This was the last place I heard from him.” He ripped out the paper and gave it to Broots. He had to know.

Broots looked at the paper quickly, crumpled it up, typed in his computer, knocked twice on the desk and picked up a pop to drink out of it.

Thank goodness. Sydney had asked him to knock once if she was dead, twice if she wasn’t. She isn’t dead. At least the worst had not happened. But whatever happened, it was more than just bugs in the room. Broots never suggested that Sydney come out on a break with him, or leave the room.

Remembering how odd Angelo had been before she left, Sydney went to see him briefly, but was stopped by Raines.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he questioned Sydney.

“To see Angelo,” Sydney said. “I have a project I want to start him on. It will help us find Jarod.”

“Are you sure you’re not looking for Miss Parker?” Raines wheezed. “If you are, you should give up. I know everything there is to know about the Centre.” He started to wheel his oxygen away. “I don’t know about her.”

Huh? Sydney looked back toward him as the squeaking wheels of his oxygen tank made their presence known down the hall. Raines enjoyed watching him squirm. Knowing things he didn’t. So, why did he say that?

When he reached Angelo, he was sitting in a chair. “Angelo.” Sydney moved toward him. “Miss Parker. Before she left, you said some things to her. Can you remember that?” He bent down toward him, trying to bring himself to a comfortable eye level.

Angelo nodded. “Confused. Act tough.”

“Yes, Miss Parker acts very tough,” Sydney encouraged him. “But why did you say that to her?”

“Uh, S-Sydney? You need to get out of here,” Broots said gesturing to the door. “Raines won’t want us in here. We need to go.”

Sydney watched him take off. A warning, but no involvement. Broots cared, but something very big was being held over him. He looked back toward Angelo. There was nothing he could give him to hold except something of Miss Parker’s. Nothing from the event though after Africa. “Can you tell me anything, Angelo?”

“Angelo heard. Test,” he said. “Test for Centre. Centre.” He started to move away. “Centre. Tests not good. Tests not good.”

A test for the Centre? Sydney stood up but watched Lyle and Raines come through the door.

“Yes, a preparation exam for the Centre, nosy ,” Lyle said to Sydney as he straightened his cuffs. “Making sure we’re on target, we both took an exam over the Centre, and I won. Fair and square.” His eyes lit up. “The loser is in South Africa, learning more, and maybe getting measured up to see if the triumvirate is for her instead. Brother and sister, still working together. In the future. That would be nice.” He clapped his hands and spread them out toward Sydney and Broots. “You are my Jarod crack team now.” Did he honestly believe that Sydney would buy that? “Go ahead, here.” Lyle pulled out his phone and said off a number. “That’s her number. Call it if you want. See for yourself.”

“I’ll do that,” Sydney said as he watched him leave. As he left, Raines seemed odd. He followed the two of them slightly before deciding to call the number.

“You,” Raines wheezed to Lyle. “Angelo said test, not exam. You better not be doing anything behind my back.”

“Exam, Raines. That meatball doesn’t know the difference, just word association. I had the higher score,” Lyle said. “It’s natural, father. Look at your age. The Triumvirate just want to be careful. Secure the future.”

“I’m. Fine. I’m not pushing up daisies anytime soon.” Raines took a deep breath and groaned. “In a test, Miss Parker would be dead. The losers die. As does everyone else except the winner.”

“A test? A one-off ultimatum test?” Lyle chuckled. “Come on, dad, hardly any Centre leaders ever used that. It was just a typical exam. If she were dead, you couldn’t talk to her. So how would I have a willing phone number? I seem perfect for the Centre, and maybe she’ll get on the Triumvirate. Fair is fair. She can’t handle the dark secrets of the Centre anyway. The Triumvirate will be more fitting.”

“An exam.” Raines still didn’t seem pleased. “Even an exam was not needed.”

 “Yeah, well, what can you do?” Lyle insisted to him with a happy, chipper look on his face.

Sydney stayed back enough to hear them but not be seen. He headed back toward Broots. An exam. A test. Raines thinks Miss Parker is dead? Broots said he couldn’t tell him what happened for a whole year. Was that a standard exam thing for the loser who didn’t win? Or did Miss Parker take a test and lose? He dialed the number Lyle gave him.

“What?!”

That sharp voice. Yes, that was her. “Miss Parker?” Sydney asked. “I was worried. I hear you are employed in South Africa?”

“Good guess, moron.”

Hm. Edgy, but not quite right. Miss Parker usually reserved that word for something else. If she did use it, it wouldn’t be so carefree in conversation so quickly. “When are you coming back?”

“A year,” she said. “I have a ton of stuff to do. I can’t just move to South Africa overnight.”

“But why South Africa?”

“Because I don’t feel like dying. So keep your corpse out of my business. I’m done with Jarod. Leave me alone. I lost the exam, okay? I’m doing what it takes to survive, and then I’m coming back to bite Lyle in the ass.” More aggressive than usual. He was worried, and she was treating him too rudely. And corpse? This isn’t her. He ran a small test. “But what about Max?”

“What about him?”

“Not him, her.”

“Well, she’s just going to have to live on without me, Syd.”

“Are you sure?” Sydney asked. “Did you talk to her about this? You two were quite close together. Weren’t you supposed to get married? Is she moving to Africa with you?”

“Uh.” A slip up. “I can’t hear you. Listen, I have a ton of stuff to do. Getting on payroll, the work visa, I don’t have time to babysit you and that sniveling Broots.”

“Of course.” Was it her? “Sorry, Miss Parker. Good luck to you, and I hope you work out what happens between you and Max.” He hung up the phone.

It sounded like the same kind of voice, but it couldn’t be. Someone could have strictly been employed to impersonate Miss Parker. That was very high paranoia though. A job just to do that? Sydney headed past her office and watched as it was being cleaned out. “Sending her stuff to Africa?” Sydney didn’t need to turn around as he heard the wheezing.

“You don’t need to visit here anymore,” Raines said. “Her stuff is being sent there until she comes back.”

“A year?” Sydney asked Raines. “Broots said something about not being able to discuss it for a year. Must be very hush hush stuff.”

“Yes.” Raines groaned. “Exams. Certain requirements.” He wrinkled his nose lightly. “It is. I don’t like it any better than you.”

He didn’t know what was happening to her either. Something at the Centre going on without Raines’ involvement? It must be infuriating him considering he ran the Centre. Sydney would have smiled at the opportunity, if it didn’t make him more worried about Miss Parker.

 

--------------------

 

“It’s going to be okay. I know we’ll see each other again soon,” Jarod said to Emily on the phone. His family. It was strange, it was special, and it was so hard to keep everyone together. He ran into them on more than one occasion, but they kept having to split up. They tried hard not to, but destiny seemed to be against them. And his mother? Sometimes it felt more like a dream, like it would take an incredible miracle to see her.

Jarod heard a small beep, indicating he got email. He opened it, still chatting with his sister. He wouldn’t have her number for long. He wouldn’t be able to hold on for much longer, she was already on the move. He couldn’t go though. The only negative thing about helping those his sims hurt was that he couldn’t move when he really wanted to. When he was there, he had to stay there until his justice was done.

All his talking stopped though as he saw the email was from Sydney. He wanted him to call him right away. “Emily,-“

“I-I gotta get going, Jarod, sorry!”

At least he didn’t have to be the one to hang up.

---------------

Sydney picked up his phone late that night. “This is Sydney.”

“Sydney.” The familiar voice of Jarod was heard across the line. “Is everything okay at the Centre?”

“It depends on how you define okay,” Sydney answered back. “Miss Parker moved to South Africa to work there, along with her life partner, Max.”

“Sydney. I think I may have missed some memos.”

“I as well,” Sydney answered back. “Since no one named Max exists, but she could not deny it.” He leaned against his desk more. “Broots and Miss Parker left for South Africa not too long ago. Broots came back and he is not saying anything. Not even meeting me outside the Centre to talk.”

“Someone threaten his daughter?”

“I don’t know, but I do know that Miss Parker never made it back.” He heard the phone go silent, and knew what Jarod was thinking. “I overheard Raines and Lyle. Lyle said they took an exam and because of the results, he is back and she has to be there for a year.”

“Miss Parker’s alive.”

“Yes, but unless Miss Parker knows someone close named Max that I don’t know anything about, I think it’s safe to say that there is something going on,” Sydney said. “I don’t see Miss Parker deciding to stay in South Africa, her career or not. If she didn’t get the Centre, I don’t see her going for the Triumvirate.”

“No. I don’t either.” The phone went silent longer. “I’ll run my own little ‘test’. Can I have that number?”

-------------------------------

Jarod dialed the number and heard her usual greeting.

“What.”

“Miss Parker, how are you? Did you miss me?” Jarod asked.

“I can’t talk right now. I’m busy getting ready for something.”

“New job in Africa?” Jarod questioned her. “Didn’t picture you going all the way there. Are you coming back later?”

“A year, maybe,” she answered. “Listen you moron, I don’t have time for old friendly phone calls. I’m beginning a new life. Leave me alone.”

“Moron? That’s a little harsh,” Jarod said. “You never call me a moron.”

“Look. The reception is bad here. I need to be out here though.” She sighed. “It’s about my mother.”

Mother? “How bad’s the reception?” It wasn’t exactly the best on his end either. He sat up.

“Honestly, I can barely hear you.  I can’t even tell who someone is when I pick up the phone until they talk enough. This place is a hell hole but I should get a better phone later so tell Syd not to worry. I have to do this. For my mother.”

Reception? Not knowing his voice if she couldn’t hear it. Did she have a boyfriend she thought he’d been? The Max question Sydney posed, she may not have heard it clearly at all.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be back within the year. I already told Broots that, I’m not staying here forever. Just don’t let anyone else know that’s why I’m here. I just, I can’t let this go. I’m going to find out about my mother if it kills me. Even if the answer lies way out here.”

“Hm. Okay,” Jarod agreed. “Bye.”  He hung up the phone. Tough call. Everything fit that she could be faking, but if it was something about her mother? Miss Parker would do anything to find out about her mother. He wasn’t exactly aware of a boyfriend, but he didn’t look into every aspect of the Centre all the time. As time went by, he really tried to focus more on his own life. His own family.

Recently he found traces of his own mother, but nowhere near Africa, and nothing with Catherine Parker. Could Catherine Parker have gone to South Africa at some point? They were all the way in Carthis once. That makes sense. The exam might be real, but she might be using that as an excuse to find something about her mother. He called Sydney back.

“This is Sydney.”

“Sydney.”

“Jarod? What do you think about the situation?”

“Could be, could not be,” Jarod admitted. “She says she has real bad reception there.  It could be the case, depending on her phone, or how far away she is. Even my phone held a lot of static,” he stated. “Does Miss Parker have a boyfriend?”

“I don’t really know, Jarod. She hasn’t mentioned anyone.”

“Yeah.” He thought so. He should have tried opening with a different way in. “Call her again and make your own decisions,” Jarod said. “It could just be a bad connection. She seemed a little off, but she opened up about finding her mother.”

“So you don’t really know?”

“Sydney, I don’t have time for second guessing. If you really think its fake, I need more than just a little hunch,” Jarod said flat out. “I’m on a strict time limit of my own.” He did. Messing up now to take off, it could get someone killed. “I’m sorry, I can’t help.”

“No, Jarod, I understand. Some things are time sensitive. Thank you, Jarod, for checking it out. I’m sorry I wasted your time. It was so unlike her, but if it has to do with her mother, she would go and probably be more stressed. I will check more into it later. Good luck.”

“Uh huh. You too, Sydney.” Jarod hung up the phone. If he didn’t have his own thing going on, he would look in on it. It was a big change and Sydney sounded worried. Not to mention if it was about her mother, then it might involve his mother too.

But, he couldn’t put himself first above someone who got hurt by one of his old sims. It wasn’t right. If Sydney called back with more proof about Miss Parker then he’d do something. Until then, if it was something big, it sounded like something top secret Broots couldn’t reveal about Miss Parker’s mother while Miss Parker was looking around for more information herself.

-------------

South Africa

Miss Parker groaned from inside of her glass cell. Her body was still horrible. Her hair was a mess. She was laying down on a hard bed with no headboard, looking over at someone. “If you don’t get me out of here, I’ll show you where to shove that phone of yours.”

Lily put her phone away. “Where to shove that phone of yours,” she repeated after her in a voice like her. She cleared her throat. “Yeah, I’ll show you where to shove that phone of yours you bitch.”

“Trying to learn from me?” Miss Parker slurred. “They’ll figure it out. Nobody does me but me.”

“Nobody does me but me,” Lily said harder. “But me. I say what goes around here, and anyone who doesn’t agree is going to get themselves a one way trip to my foot town.” She stopped and talked in her regular voice. “No, wait.” She spoke like Miss Parker again. “A one way trip from my ass to their foot town.” She smiled. “That’s better,” she said in her regular voice. “You are a tough voice to pull off. I can handle the tempo, it’s just knowing when to be aggressive, playfully aggressive, and pure on hell bitch that’s hard.” She shrugged. “At least I seemed to have found an excuse that’s working. That whole mother complex of yours. It seems to be making people back off more.”

“You’re using my mother as an excuse that I’d stay here.” Miss Parker was livid. “You better pray I never get out of this cage or you’re going to get it.”

“You better pray,” Lily said again in Miss Parker’s voice. “You better pray I never get out of this cage or you’re going to get it.” She laughed and talked in her regular voice. “The more you talk, the better I get. Too bad that won’t continue much longer.” She talked in Miss Parker’s voice again. “Now, I have to be off. I have to go, I heard something about my mother. She’s here, somewhere. Someone here knows something and I won’t rest until I find my answers.”

That was a bad move. If they were trying to convince them that she was Miss Parker, then maybe they could for short conversations. But pulling out the mother card? You’re all digging your own graves. My mother. Jarod’s mother. They are connected. Once he comes digging around, this little game of yours is over, Lyle. However, just as her confidence was regained, she saw a guard come by her cell. “What do you want?”

“That. Is enough. Of that,” he declared. He gestured for more guards to take her out of the cell. Still feeling too wheezy, Miss Parker couldn’t do much yet.

“That’s enough of what?” she asked as she was taken down the hall.

 

“Your bravado.”










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