Fanfiction | Ashlee | Deep Deception Part Two by Ashlee

Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully belong to 10-13 productions and Chris Carter whom I didn’t mean to insult. Everyone else except Unit 13, Mr. Braddock, Jeffery and Dana (they belong to me) belong to NBC and The Pretender.
Note: Yes, I know Thomas is now dead, may The Pretender Gods rest his soul. This story is not intended to tarnish his memory. I would also like to say that I do not mean to insult the people who live in these towns with the remarks made. Lastly, in the 1^st part of this series there were time inconsistencies. Sorry about that. It won’t happen this time. I’m also sorry this story took so long, but that’s High School for you. With that said, enjoy the story!

Title - Deep Deception Part 2
Author - Ashlee
E-mail address - zyp959@hotmail.com
Rating - PG
Category - AV (Adventure)/ AU (Alternate Universe)
Series/Sequel - 2nd of a three part story.
Spoilers - N/A
Summary - Miss Parker finally catches Jarod only find out that the one person she thought she could trust is one of her most dangerous enemies.

"Deep Deception"
Part 2
by Ashlee

March 14, 1999
Main Street Northern Ironwood, MI
12:02 a.m.

As Miss Parker pulled out of the parking lot Jarod reached into the back seat and began to rummage through the contents of his duffel bag. When he sat back down he had with him his cell phone, laptop, and a whistle pez dispenser. As he plugged the phone into his laptop Miss Parker turned to him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked vehemently thinking that the tone in her voice would stop him from continuing.

Jarod, however, was unfazed. As he continued to type franticly his eyes darted back and forth across the screen. Finally he answered her question.

"About four days ago I installed voice activated bugging equipment in your father's office so that if he slipped and talked either about my family or your mother I would have it on disk. The bugging devices convey the conversation that they receive to a satellite that I have access codes to. From there I can download them onto my computer via my cell phone, which transmits to the same satellite."

Miss Parker was thoroughly confused, but refused to let it show. Instead she asked, "How the hell did you get into the Centre without security detecting you?"

Jarod looked over at her stunned, and the a smirk slowly formed across his face, "Now, now Miss Parker. If I told you that, it wouldn't be any fun." With that he turned back to his computer.

Miss Parker, on the other hand, was driving slowly. For once in her life she was abiding by the speed limit. She figured that even though it was 12 a.m. and there were probably no cops present that it would be in her best interest to look inconspicuous. She had decided that it would also be in her best interest to go to the next possible airport and rent a plane there seeing that Thomas knew were they were. As they were pulling past the sign announcing their departure from Northern Ironwood a big grin spread across Jarod's face and he stopped typing.

"Well, what did you find?" Miss Parker asked impatiently. This slow driving was beginning to get to her. 80 miles per hour was more her speed even in a residential area. Without answering Jarod maneuvered the mouse that was built into the computer to an icon marked '3/13/99 Conv.2' the message began to play. The conversation that had been held between her and Broots that night began to play:

"Wait a second. Rat Boy here is a pilot. Have the Centre rent a plane at the North Ironwood airport in Michigan. Genius here is going to fly us home. Bye."

Raines: She..has Jarod...and has failed...to inf..orm us. We must...get rid..of them..both. She...cannot...leave the...Centre alive. Jeffrey..you must...get that plane...to experience an...accident

Mr. Parker: Wait, isn't there another way? That's my daughter damn it! We can't kill her!

Raines: No...there isn't. For the Centre's.. safety we can't have... loose cannons running... around. Your daughter is to... much like her mother... to be kept... alive. They are both... going to have to die.

As Miss Parker and Jarod listened they were stunned. Even Jarod, who knew the person that Mr. Parker really was, had not expected him to give in so easily to the idea of killing his daughter. Well, he thought, at least he put up some resistance, no matter how pitiful an attempt it may be. Miss Parker, on the other hand, was still as faithful as ever to her father. He had, after all, tried to stand up to Raines for her. Still, she thanked God, for the first time in a long time that her plans had been diverted and that she had not taken the lethal plane ride.

Neither Jarod nor Miss Parker said anything as Jarod typed a few more keystrokes and another sound file popped up. It was marked '3/13/99 Conv. 3':

Jeffery: I'm not asking a lot. Considering what I know and what information will be leaked if you kill me I say that 10 million isn't a whole lot to ask. (Jeffrey said in a mater of fact tone.)

There was a knock on the door

Sam: Mr. Raines? We have a small problem. It seems that Miss Parker has rented a different plane. There is no time to rig the new one. What do you want us to do? (Sam spitted out sounding terrified.)

Mr. Parker: Thank you for the update. We will take over now.

Sam: Yes sir.

Jeffery: What will our recourse be?

Raines: We will...put one..of our men...on the check...crew. They can..cause the plane...to crash. I don't...want there to be any..bombs. It has to...look like a..legitimate..crash. Understood?"

Jeffery: Yes, I'll get right on it sir..

(This time we can hear what Mr. Raines said to Mr. Parker)

Mr. Raines: It will be the same.... arrangement as with Katherine's.... death. We give the orders and.... keep... our hands.... clean. Then we will have.... Jeffery dealt with. Now...there will be no one...to tell our...secrets.

Miss Parker had fallen completely silent. She was in a state of complete shock. She had never accepted that her father had known beforehand that her mother was to be assassinated, but with this added conversation a new image of her father emerged. Everything that he had ever said or done to her was cloaked with new meaning. From what she could understand her father not only knew that her mother was going to be killed but had actually had been part of it, and now he was to be part of hers.

Jarod was beginning to become concerned. Miss Parker had a far off look in her eye. He was about to say something when two black sedans flew past them at no less that 65 miles per hour. As the cars flew by both Miss Parker and Jarod stole a peek to see who was concealed in the blackness of the cars. They both were shocked.

"Jarod? Did you just see what I saw." Miss Parker asked in a stunned tone, barely able to get her mouth to form the words.

"That depends," replied Jarod who sounded just as shocked as Miss Parker, "if you saw Mr. Lyle and Brigitte then yes."

"Damn it! How the hell could they have found me?" Miss Parker asked, her voice consumed with rage. Jarod didn't know how this rage should be interpreted. Was it that they were impeding on her capture of Jarod or because they were part of the facility that she had dedicated a good part of her live to and that, in return, betrayed her for her loyalty. Jarod glanced over at Miss Parker in hopes that he might find the answer in her eye. He was not disappointed. She turned toward him and gave him a knowing look.

***

West Mark Hotel
Northern Ironwood, MI
March 14, 1999
12:11 a.m.

The Unit 13 sweeper team had conducted a search of the perimeter and had found nothing that was of any use. They had also conducted a room to room search claiming that Miss Parker and Jarod were wanted for serious felonies. That search had also produced nothing useful. With time running low Thomas finally decided to interrogate the hotel manager, who had been running circles around them for the last 15 minutes while the various teams searched rooms. He kept apologizing to his customers and telling Thomas that he had no right to do this. When his search turned up nothing Thomas became very suspicious of the man's actions. When they re-entered the hotel lobby Thomas, with out warning, took the man by the lapels and threw him up against the wall.

"Where the hell are they?" He asked threw gritted teeth sounding as though he were doing his best to keep from smashing the managers head against the wall until it was nothing but a bloody pulp.

"I..I...I don't know," the man stammered nervously thinking that with in minutes he was sure to be wiped off the face of this earth.

"Don't lie to me!" Thomas yelled as he slammed the man up against the wall again.

As the man fought against the urge to black out he replied again, "I...I...swear! I really don't know."

Thomas slammed him up against the wall one last time. The man slumped to the floor, no longer able to fight the blackness that consumed him. Thomas made a sweeping motion with his hand and left. The sweeper team left as quickly as they had came.

***

Mr. Lyle's car
March 14, 1999
12:09 a.m.

As Mr. Lyle's car drove quickly along the rural roads leading toward Northern Ironwood he made it a habit of looking into the oncoming traffic just in case Miss Parker had decided to leave early or get a head start. He knew that his father, Mr. Parker, had ordered that if he should happen to feel the urge to go investigate the sightings of Miss Parker and Jarod in the small town that he should shoot on sight. He, for one, was not going to miss out on this opportunity to enact his revenge on them for his little run in with the Yakuza. They were going to feel the pain of having a thumb cut off with out anesthetic. Then he would shoot them both a couple times before putting the final kill shot into their enlarged, overconfident brains. This, and only this, would give him pleasure at this point in the never-ending battle of the minds.

As he played their final scenes over in his head he spotted the oncoming car. When he looked in he spotted what he had been hoping for. He grabbed on to the back of the front seat and yelled into the driver’s ear. "Turn this piece of shit car around and follow them!"

The driver pulled a one eighty and headed after the 1999 Chevy Beretta that was speeding away into the distance. The other sedan, which contained Brigitte, also turned and headed after the Beretta. It had become a full-scale car chase.

***

Miss Parker’s Car
US-2 (highway)
12:13 a.m.

Miss Parker looked over at Jarod with a determined look. She had no doubt that Mr. Lyle and Brigitte had gotten word of the contract the Centre had put on her head and were all too glad to help put her six feet under. As she looked into Jarod’s eyes she saw that he was worried about her intentions. She just winked one of her baby blues at him and hit the gas. When she looked into the rearview mirror she spotted the two sedans turning and heading back in her direction. Miss Parker turned to look over at her companion as gave him a determined smile. "Buckle up we’re in for a ride. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let those cretin adulaters get the best of me."

Jarod released a sigh of relief. Though there were still a few major things to worry about the greatest of his fears had been laid to rest. "What now?" He asked, still not sure of how she planned on escaping.

"Now we drive really fast and get away." Miss Parker replied as if she were speaking to a young child that couldn’t comprehend words that contained more than two syllables. Miss Parker continued to accelerate until the speedometer reached 120 miles per hour. They were flying down the highway but they couldn’t seem to loose their pursuers. Up ahead Jarod spotted a turn off and pointed it out to Miss Parker. The two sedans were no further than three feet from the Beretta’s bumper. Five feet from the turn off Miss Parker hit the brakes as hard as possible and cranked the wheel hard to the left. Half way through the turn Miss Parker hit the gas and sped away in the opposite direction. Before Mr. Lyle or Brigette’s cars could turn around and continue the pursuit their target had turned onto a side road and was long gone.

***

Mr. Lyle’s Car
US-2
12:21 a.m.

As Miss Parker turned the car around Mr. Lyle thought for sure that they were going to flip the car and he would have his prey at his disposal. Unfortunately, by some miracle, she had pulled the turn off and was heading back in the opposite direction before he could blink. His driver had yet to turn the car around and Mr. Lyle found this to be unreasonable.

"What the hell are you waiting for dumb ass? Turn this bucket of bolts around and get them!" the driver did as he was told and turned around. As he did so Lyle realized that at this point his search was going to be fruitless. There were a number of back roads and detours that they could have taken. He feared going back to the Centre and facing his father and the Triumvirate with this failure hanging over his head, but until Miss Parker and Jarod were spotted or attempted to use their cell phones he was shit out of luck.

***

Miss Parker’s Car
Somewhere in Northern Wisconsin
2:46 a.m.

Jarod woke from a deep sleep, something he had not experienced in a long time, to the sound of a car’s horn. His eyes flew open only to be greeted by the harsh, bright lights of an oncoming car. Miss Parker’s head relaxed against the headrest. She too had fallen asleep.

"Miss Parker!" Jarod yelled. She sat up with a start and swerved the car into its rightful place on the opposite side of the road just as the car was about to hit them. She glanced over at Jarod who looked as though he had just had a heart attack. Miss Parker didn’t know what to say. She was so tired that her brain seemed unable to function, much less try to form an apology to man who had just saw his life, no matter how little of it he knew, flash before his eyes.

Jarod, after his heart had slowed back to a normal pace, spoke. "Miss Parker, perhaps I should drive us to the nearest hotel."

Her only response was to pull over to the side of the road and slowly climb out. She was hardly able to walk. She dragged herself to the other side of the car and plopped down. Her thoughts were finally beginning to formulate. She looked over at Jarod, who had taken over her position in the driver’s seat, with sad, weary eyes and spoke. "I can never go back can I?"

"I’m afraid not." Jarod replied in the same sad voice as Miss Parker’s. He knew, no, he felt her pain. He felt all the emotions that ran through her. His only wish at that moment was to be able to make that pain diminish into nothingness so that she could, once again, feel the innocence and freedom that she had experienced as a little girl. The little girl that he knew was still inside her, fighting for acknowledgement.

Miss Parker was barely audible now. Sleep was repossessing her while she mumbled on, unaware that she was confiding in the one man that she never wanted to know her weaknesses. "I have no where to go, I have no one." She stated, crying as she drifted back in to the dark, silent world of a dreamless sleep.

Jarod looked over at her with true compassion. As he looked at her sleeping figure he whispered something that they both knew to be true, but was never to be spoken. "You’ll always have me Miss Parker, you’ll always have me."

***

Unit 13 Headquarters
Stone harbor, Connecticut
3:31 a.m.

Thomas had just arrived back at headquarters and was heading for a meeting with Mr. Braddock. He was not looking forward to this. He had promised results and had turned up nothing. This was not going to satisfy his boss. He entered Mr. Braddock’s slowly, but confidently. "You wanted to see me sir?"

"Yes Thomas. Tell me what you have uncovered."

"Well, sir. We know that Miss Parker has indeed captured Jarod and has him in her possession. However, they managed to elude us by exiting through the window before we were able to break down the door."

"So you didn’t obtain them? This is not satisfactory. You stated that if you could located Miss Parker while she had Jarod in her possession you would have no problem capturing him."

"Yes sir, I know. I am sorry…"

"This time I will understand, but should it become a habit… well, you know the procedure."

"Yes, of course sir. Thank you."

"Remember Thomas, Miss Parker is expendable. If she should stand in the way kill her. Our only concern is insuring the capture of Jarod. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sir, perfectly." Thomas stood silent for a moment waiting to be dismissed.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Stop your groveling and catch them."

Thomas quickly exited the room and headed to the Computer Analysis Lab. He hated that man, but he knew there was little he could do about it. The only thing that kept him at Unit 13 was the knowledge that one day he would become one of the powerful men that ran the facility. Then he could have Mr. Braddock’s sorry ass "removed". He smiled at the thought. However, when he entered the Computer Analysis Lab his smile was replaced by the look of anger that usually resided there.

"I want to know the minute you find anything on that lab rat and his keeper. Is that understood?" Everyone stopped their work and nodded. "Good, I’m glad we understand each other. Well, what are you sluggards waiting for, a sign from God? Get to work!" Everyone jumped again and did what they were told.

Thomas laughed as he left the computer nerds to do their work. He loved the feeling of power their nervousness gave him. He felt so powerful when they quivered as he spoke. Soon Miss Parker and Jarod would feel this way too. He could hardly wait to capture them and show that impotent bastard of a boss who and what he was really dealing with. No one ever made him look bungler and not pay the consequences.

***

Holiday Inn
Hazelhurst, Wisconsin
3:32 a.m.

Jarod pulled into the Holiday Inn only fourteen miles short of his final destination, but was unable to go on. Before he could go any further he needed some rest and a phone jack. As he sat in the car he realized that he had no cash. His funds had run out at the Great Western Hotel in Northern Ironwood. He was about to renew his funds, thanks to the access codes he had to the Centre’s bank accounts, when Miss Parker decided to haul him back to the place were nightmares came true. Not wanting to wake Miss Parker he looked through her belongings, namely her fake credit cards, until he came across one marked Mrs. Carie Moor. He grabbed the card and locked the doors. When he entered the lobby he was greeted by a less than exuberant clerk.

"Good morning sir. How can I help you?" the clerked asked making an attempt at being cheerful but failed miserably.

"Hi. Um, well my wife and I need a room. She’s out sleeping in the car see and I didn’t want to disturb her so I grabbed her credit card. That won’t be a problem will it?" Jarod asked giving his most disarming smile.

The clerk took a look outside. When he spotted Miss Parker outside in the car he shook his head. "No, of course not sir. I know the hell you pay when you wake a woman, no matter what the reason." He smiled back at Jarod and took the credit card. "Well, Mr. uhh… Moor you and your wife have room 70. It’s a double; we don’t have any singles left. Is that all right?

Jarod looked confused for a minute and then remembered that married couples usually want a single. He shook himself out of his confusion and nodded. "Yeah, that’s all right. Perfect actually. Where is it?"

"It’s on the back left side. There’s an entrance over there. Enjoy." The clerk replied.

"Thank you very much," Jarod replied while retrieving Miss Parker’s card from the clerk’s hand. Jarod headed back out to the car and drove to the spot were the clerk had said there would be a door. Jarod parked in the spot designated to room 70 and brought their stuff, which consisted only of the DSA’s and his small duffel bag, into the room. He then came back out and lifted Miss Parker into his arms and carried her to the bed. He then took the other bed and laid down in an attempt to get some rest before having to experience the task of telling Miss Parker their destination.

***

The Centre
Mr. Parker’s office
4:01 a.m.

Mr. Parker had just arrived in his office after being summoned there by his son, Mr. Lyle. He was dressed in a gray suit that highlighted the light blue-gray of his eyes. He looked as cool and collected as ever. No one would be able to tell that he had not slept in two days. When he arrived he looked around his office. So much of what had happened at the Centre had been formulated in this very office. He looked at the picture of him and his daughter and gave a tight smile. He never really considered her his daughter; she was more of a pawn in a large chess game. She was just like her mother, always looking out for the helpless. Just then Mr. Lyle arrived looking as confident as ever, accept for the fact he was rubbing his hand were his thumb used to be.

"Well, Lyle what was so important that you had to drag your old man out of bed at this hour?"

"I just thought that you would want to know about what happened with our lead on Jarod and my dear sister." Lyle replied in a confident tone, not willing to let on that he did in fact fear the powers that be who resided at the Centre.

"Well spit it out. I have other work that I need to get done. The ‘bug exterminators’ are due here in twenty minutes." Mr. Parker said referring to the men that swept his office weekly for bugging devices.

"We engaged in a car persuit, but Miss Parker managed to elude us. We aren’t sure why she would run from us, but she did. We then proceeded to inspect her room for clues to where she might be headed, but it appeared as though someone else had already done so. I then questioned the clerk who said that another group had been there and had interrogated and harassed all his guests. He also claimed that these men where government officials of some sort. They accused Jarod and Miss Parker of being guilty of various felonies. When he told them that he didn’t know were they were going he bashed the managers head against the wall and left."

"Well, did you find any evidence of who this competitor might be?" Mr. Parker asked.

"Well," Mr. Lyle continued knowing that the next tid bit of information was sure to make his father angry "The finger prints that we recovered belong to a Unit 13 agent named Thomas Handleson. We weren’t able to come up with a picture. We think that they might be after Jarod, after all Unit 13 has been one of our biggest competitors in the Pretender Project. Since they have yet to have a successful pretender, my hypothesis would be that they are after Jarod so they can use him to breed or create their own successes."

"Well, we can’t let that happen. Do you suppose that this Thomas is the same as the one your sister has been dating?"

"I couldn’t tell you." Mr. Lyle said feeling more and more comfortable with the situation at hand. He had gained control and was looking extremely competent.

"Well that fact is insignificant. I want Miss Parker and Jarod eliminated. That way they are no longer a threat, nor a stressor, and they can’t be used against us. Neither is of any use to the Centre, they've just become a nuisance and have threatened the security of Centre operations. Your sister has let her feelings for Jarod stand in the way of his capture, for her lack of loyalty to us she will have to pay the consequences." Mr. Parker explained coldly, no longer having regrets about the fact that his daughter was about to be assassinated, in fact he was glad that this situation, which had given him nothing but trouble, was about to be put to rest for good. All that was left was to deal with Jeffery. He stole a quick peek at his watch. That problem was being dealt with as they spoke.

"Right, we’ll get right on it. I’ll call in Broots so he can set up some kind of monitoring system so we can keep an eye on Unit 13’s activities." With that Mr. Lyle left to call Sydney and Broots. He wasn’t going to let anything or anyone get in his way. He was going to get his prey.

***

Thomas’ Quarters
Unit 13 Headquarters
Stone harbor, Connecticut
4:37 a.m.

Thomas was sound asleep when the phone beside his bed rang. "What?" He demanded his voice horse with sleep.

"Uh, sir we have come across the name of one of Miss Parker’s guises that you gave us." The man on the other end of the phone sounded nervous and intimidated although he tried not to show it.

"Well, were the hell is she?"

"Uh, the credit card was used to purchase a…"

"Don’t waste my time you worthless moron. Get to the point."

"Okay, well they’re in Hazelhurst, Wisconsin at the Holiday Inn."

"Get the jet ready and I want a sweeper team on board." Thomas abruptly hung up the phone and got ready. Nothing was going to stand in his way this time.

***

SL-4
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
4:52 a.m.

Broots, a small nervous balding man in his thirties, sat up with a start when the alarm on his computer went off and spilt coffee all over himself. "Crap!" He yelled as he stood up. Sydney, an older man in his late fifties who was dressed in a suit, offered the man some napkins. "Thanks Syd." Broots said gratefully as he wiped the coffee off of his shirt that was obviously purchased in the 80’s.

"Well, what have you found Broots? I don’t have all day." Mr. Lyle said as he appeared out of the darkness.

Broots jumped again at the sound of his voice and placed a hand on his heart.

"Jesus!" After recovering from shock and conducting a few keystrokes on his computer he continued. "Um, well, um, Unit 13 has submitted a flight plan for one of their jets to Hazlhurst, Wisconsin. They’re to leave in an hour and a half. From the report that has been filed it looks as though Miss Parker and Jarod are staying at the Holiday Inn they’re posing as… Uh… a Mr. and Mrs. Moor." He looked nervously over at Sydney, who appeared unscathed by the news, and then at Mr. Lyle who was fuming.

"Get the jet ready, we’re going intercept sister dear and her science experiment for a lover. I want to be out of here in a half-hour. I’m going to beat those Unit 13 punks to the pot of gold." With that Mr. Lyle turned and left the same way he had entered.

When Broots was certain that Mr. Lyle was no longer present he turned to Sydney with a worried expression. "This isn’t a good thing, is it."

"I’m afraid it doesn’t look that way Broots. I think that if we aren’t careful we could end up with a corpse on our hands." Sydney replied looking distressed.

***

Mr. Parker’s Office
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
5:01 a.m.

Mr. Parker sat at his desk looking over the latest on potential Pretenders found through the system of standardized testing in high schools. Suddenly his phone rang and he answered it without removing his eyes from the paper work. "What is it?" he demanded.

A deep voice of a cleaner answered his demand with a few simple words. "Jeffery has been dealt with."

"Are we sure he won’t be making any other requests?"

"Wood chippers work wonders."

"I see. Then he will never be found. Thank you." Mr. Parker hung up the phone with a satisfied smile. Every thing was going according to plan.

***

Holiday Inn
Hazelhurst, Wisconsin
7:04 a.m.

Four gunshots echoed endless down the dank hallways of the Centre. They reverberated against the walls in a loud and constant stream of noise. Miss Parker rushed towards the elevator knowing that her mother was there, she wanted to help, to see her mother and make sure that she was all right. She pushed through the infinite mass of people only to be draggged back to the edge of the crowd and finally she was completely disconnected from them. "No! No! Mommy! Mommy! I want my…."

Miss Parker sat up with a start dripping with cold sweat and reached for the gun that was supposed to be lying on her bedside table. Not only could she not find the gun, but the table was also missing. "What the…," Miss Parker started to ask, but then got her bearings. She noticed the other bed and typical hotel surroundings. She looked up and saw Jarod looking at her with an amused look on his face. "What the hell are you doing here and why the hell am I wearing these God awful pajamas?" She asked with a mixture of confusion, frustration and pure rage.

"You don’t remember?" Jarod asked both worried and curious.

Slowly all the previous night’s events came flooding back. Her following Jarod, capturing him, the canceled plane, the burly truck drivers, and the tapes. "Damn it! You mean it wasn’t a nightmare? Shit!"

" ‘Fraid not Miss Parker. Looks like we’re stuck together."

"Great, this is just great! Fine. Okay. Well," she said trying to change the subject, trying to convince herself that she really didn’t want to be stuck with him. "Anything new from my dad’s office?"

Jarod was eating some Pez. When Miss Parker asked her question his face clouded over. He didn’t want to hurt her with his newly acquired information. He debated whether or not to tell her. On one hand she already had the gist of the conversation, that her father was in on enforcing the contract that was out on her. On the other hand, this new conversation would really drive the point home. He was still debating when Miss Parker pushed him aside. When she saw the clouded look she knew that it must be really bad, but she needed to hear for herself. She took the mouse and clicked on the icon marked ‘3/14/99 Conv.1’ the sound file began to play.

Miss Parker remained silent. She knew that her father wanted her dead, there was no question. "Well, I guess that says it all," she said without any real emotion.

"Miss Parker, you need to deal with this. You can’t just leave it as is." Jarod said. He was concerned about her welfare and emotional state. The last thing he needed was for her to loose control on him.

Miss Parker glared at him, but then looked away. "You’re right, but what I need now is something to take my mind off of my miserable pathetic excuse for a life. Got any suggestions?"

"Yeah. First get out of those God-awful pajamas, take a shower and put on some of those clothes we bought. Then after we are both ready I’ll tell you about my plan." Jarod said sounding excited. He stood up and began to exit the room. "I’ll be back in about a half hour. I’m gunna get us some breakfast. Anything in particular?"

"Um.. a chocolate doughnut please."

"Right on," Jarod said as he winked at her and closed the door. He left and headed for the bakery a block down the street.

Miss Parker decided to take advantage of the privacy and headed right to the shower. She felt ragged and disgusting from the long trip. She showered for a good twenty minutes letting herself relax as the water poured over her. She got her head on straight and decided that the Centre was in the past. She was going to wash her hands of them. Her only regret being that she would have to leave Sydney, and no matter how much she hated to admit it, she would miss Broots too. That, however, was not a thought she was going to let draw her down. She was going to become a woman that her mother would be proud of. She was going to help Jarod defend the weak and abused.

As she climbed out of the shower her mind was made up and she felt more content and happy with herself then she had in a long time. She quickly dressed and ran out to share this epiphany with Jarod only to find that he had been gone for forty minutes and had yet to return. Miss Parker looked out the window, which showed a view of the street and the bakery. She spotted Jarod in deep conversation with the elderly owner. Probably discussing doughnut recipes or something, Miss Parker thought to herself with a laugh.

Then Miss Parker’s eyes caught hold of the briefcase, which contained the DSA’s. She lifted the case onto the bed, which had been occupied by Jarod the previous night, and slowly opened the lid. She rummaged through the disks until she came upon the one she had been searching for. The first time Jarod had run away, well, not really ran away. It had been more of a taunt. She and Jarod had just had a fall out, which, fortunately, had not been captured by the security cameras, at least not that she was aware of. She had just returned for updating her security training and had run into Jarod on SL-17. He was doing a simulation were he was supposed to find a chemical formula that would neutralize one of the bio weapons that was possessed by Iraq. Jarod went to greet her and saw her not only with her gun but also, with her Head of Security badge. The look he gave her was on of shock and disappointment that nearly made her burst into tears. His disapproval of her was almost as intolerable as her father’s. The scene played over in her mind.

"How could you?’ He asked eyes wide as he tried to understand.

"How could I what?" she had asked, her voice cold and distant, not wanting to look into those disapproving eyes, but forced herself. She tried to stare him down but it didn’t work.

"You say that you hate this place so much and yet you pledge your loyalty to them. The people who stole your childhood, who stole who you are," Jarod said as he tried to break down the barriers and the coldness that she had worked so hard to build so that she could never again be as hurt as she was the day her mother had died.

"They stole nothing from me. Look Labrat, perhaps you should stop analyzing me and get back to playing scientist." She looked at him unwilling to drop the act. The dejected look on his face was genuine. The words had bit him to the core. He slowly shook his head and began to walk away.

Before he left he turned to face her one last time, "Miss Parker, I know you aren’t as you seem, but you are becoming more your father’s daughter every day." With that her left her. She turned away and walked towards the elevator hopping that he had not seen the tears that had begun to fall.

Miss Parker looked at the disk in her hand and put it in. At the bottom of the screen read ‘For Centre use only’. Miss Parker stood with her gun drawn on Jarod who only stood a few feet away.

"How the hell did you get out of your cage," she asked condescendingly.

Jarod looked her in the eye and smiled. "Now Miss Parker if I told you that then we wouldn’t get to experience the thrill of the chase," he answered in a teasing voice.

"What chase, numbskull? In case you haven’t noticed I have a gun on you. There is no chase."

"Oh, Miss Parker, this is only a trial run. You have yet to experience the real thing." Just then a sweeper team rushed in and grabbed Jarod roughly by the shoulders and began to drag him away. As they did Jarod winked at Miss Parker and was dragged back to his cell.

"God he’s a pain in the ass." The DSA ended just as Jarod re-entered the room.

Miss Parker quickly turned to him and smiled a rare smile. Jarod looked at her as if she were a complete stranger for a moment, but then returned the smile. Then he saw her with the DSA’s and his smile faded. "What are you doing with those?" he asked suspiciously.

"Remembering," she replied still smiling, but it was a sorrowful one. Jarod nodded and walked over next to her. The screen was blank but he knew what one she had been viewing.

"Well, I’m going to go take a shower, then we have to leave. Here’s your breakfast." He said as he set the bag on the table and headed for the bathroom.

"Wait," Miss Parker said, causing Jarod to stop half way to the bathroom.

"Yes, what is it?"

"How were you planning to escape when I captured you?" Miss Parker asked looking at him inquisitively.

"You aren’t planning on taking me back anymore are you?" He asked, his voice full of suspicion.

"No, I think I’m going to leave the dark side. I’ve seen the light, in a manner of speaking."

"Well, don’t be mad, but I planned on just flying to another airport. Unless you wanted to plummet to your death there was nothing you could have done to stop me."

"What do you mean? I could have shot you in the leg or something. That would have changed your tune real quick."

"If you did that the cabin would have lost pressure and we would have crashed."

"Oh." Miss Parker said realizing that he was right.

"I’m going to go take my shower now. Don’t get to relaxed, we have an interesting day ahead." Before Miss Parker could ask what he meant he slammed the bathroom door shut.

Before she ate Miss Parker wanted to let Sydney know that she was okay. She also wanted to share her knowledge of what was happening with him. Maybe he could help. Miss Parker picked up the phone and called the main desk. When the phone was answered Miss Parker made her request. "Yes, I would like to make an out of state call."

"Is this Mrs. Moor?"

Miss Parker was confused for a minute and the remembered that Mrs. Moor was one of her aliases. "Uh, yes, yes it is."

"Well, Mrs. Moor your husband asked us to tell you that these phones are not secure and that your father could trace you here." Replied the elderly woman’s voice at the other end.

"Oh," was Miss Parker’s only response.

"My father wasn’t fond of my husband either. Don’t worry hun, with time your father will get to like Jarod. He’s a very nice young man. You’re lucky to have him." The elderly woman’s voice was full of warmness and reassurance.

"Yes, yes I am. Well, thank you. Goodbye." Miss Parker placed the phone back in its cradle and sat down at the edge of the bed. I need some fresh air, she thought, maybe that’ll clear my head.

Miss Parker opened the door and descended the stairs. She was about to turn the corner that led to the front of the hotel when she spotted two long black sedans pull up. They were of Centre issue and she stepped back against the wall. As she peered cautiously around the corner she spotted Mr. Lyle and Brigitte exiting the car with Sydney and Broots, who both appeared reluctant to follow. "Oh shit!" Miss Parker whispered. She then broke into a run and headed back to her room.

Jarod had just finished his shower and was brushing his teeth in nothing but a towel when he heard the door to the room slam open and shut. He opened the bathroom door and peered out. Miss Parker had just entered and was stuffing their belongings into the duffel bag. When she heard him she looked up and was at a loss for words for a moment. She stared at the water dripping over his bare chest and let her eyes trail down for a moment, her imagination momentarily running away. She jerked herself back to the present. "Jarod, Lyle and Brigitte are here with Syd, Broots and some sweepers. We have to get out of here!"

"What? Here? But.."

"Damn it! We don’t have time to discuss it now," Miss Parker yelled truly frustrated. She turned to face Jarod; "Will you just get some clothes on? We have to get outta here before they come." She threw some clothes at him and returned to stuffing the remainder of their belongings in the bag. Jarod quickly pulled on his clothes, not even bothering to use the bathroom to do so, not that Miss Parker noticed.

"How the hell do we get out of here with out them spotting us?" She asked Jarod in a near panicked voice.

"Well, the windows not an option. We’ll have to take our chances with the door." Jarod replied. They exited the door exactly three minutes after Miss Parker had run in with the news.

Jarod stuck his head out the door and didn’t see anyone. He grabbed Miss Parker’s hand and they sprinted for the car. As they reached the car both Brigitte and Mr. Lyle came around the corner. Lyle quickly pulled his gun and trained it on them.

"Hello Luvs," Brigitte greeted them sounding like a cheerful girl who had come over to play.

"Hello Bitch," Miss Parker said in greeting using the same tone.

"Now is that any way to greet you step-mum?" She asked in a scolding voice that might be used on a two-year-old.

Mr. Lyle stopped the conversation by stepping in between the two feuding women. Before he could say anything Jarod stepped in front of Miss Parker and pushed her behind him. "Look," he said in a voice that made him sound as though her were in control of the situation, "I’ll go back with you if you let her go."

Brigitte and Lyle gave a disgusted snorted in unison. "Playing hero as always I see," Mr. Lyle commented. "Well, It’s not going to work this time. The Centre no longer has a use for either of you. You are now at our disposal."

Brigitte took this opportunity to put in her two cents worth. "You see luv, your daddy and I have agreed that we would like to try for a more, how do you say? Oh, yes, a more obedient and loyal offspring."

"Look you Kojak wanna-be, you wouldn’t know how to get it on with out an instruction manual and picture guides." Miss Parker said in an even, menacing tone. Just the another black sedan pulled up next to where Sydney and Broots were being closely guarded by some of the sweepers. Out of the car stepped Thomas. This distraction was just enough to let Miss Parker and Jarod climb into the car and speed off. Bullets hit the frame of the car as they sped down the road.

***

US 51
Miss Parker’s Car
8: 32 a.m.

"How the hell did they find us?" Miss Parker asked still unnerved by their close encounter.

"Were do you keep your fake identification?"

"Beneath a loose floorboard under a loose piece of carpet in my bedroom. Why?" Miss Parker asked, not seeing the connection.

"Well, my guess would be that Thomas found them while he was renovating your house. Then he used them to track us. Lyle probably figured it out and had Broots set up some sort of monitoring system" Jarod took his eyes off the road momentarily to catch the sudden realization that came over Miss Parker.

"Oh," was her only reaction. After a few moments of silence she continued. "So, what was this plan of yours that you were going to tell me about?"

Jarod looked over at her and smiled mischievously. "Have you ever heard of Special Agents Mulder and Scully, Miss Parker?"

***

Holiday Inn
Hazelhurst, Wisconsin
8:33 a.m.

Thomas looked bewildered as Miss Parker and Jarod raced off. He couldn’t believe that he had missed again, no thanks to the incompetent blunders of the Centre misfits that stood 15 feet away from him. How the hell did they know where Miss Parker and her science experiment had been staying anyway? There had been no calls from either the cell phone or from their room, he had had it monitored. Then he caught a glimpse of the computer geek that stood across the street surrounded by sweepers. He knew exactly what had happened.

Mr. Lyle looked as though he were ready to explode. He couldn’t believe that he had missed this opportunity to put those miserable excuses for human beings out of their misery. Not only had he failed again, but he was sure that Unit 13 was not going to appreciate his interfering with their affaires. Not knowing what else to do he turned to leave. As he did he yelled to Sydney, "get the damn car so we can follow them!" Sydney and Broots turned to comply when a shot rang out.

Thomas was not going to let this idiot get away with spoiling his operation, besides he was still pissed at him for interfering with his relationship with Miss Parker and his stupid little put downs that he had made about him before he found out that Thomas was Unit 13. He pulled his gun and aimed it at the retreating figure and shot him square in the leg. He thought about shooting that annoying little girl with the fake British accent too, but decided to let Lyle’s injury be an example. "Next time you interfere in Unit 13 operations I’ll kill you." Thomas waved to his sweepers and the left as Sydney and Broots came to check on their colleague.

"He’s fine, but he needs a doctor," said Sydney. He and Broots helped the now silent Lyle up and headed for the car to join Brigitte. It would be best if they left before the authorities appeared.

***

US 51
Miss Parker’s Car
8:41 a.m.

"What you mean the X-Files? Yeah I heard of them." Miss Parker replied to Jarod’s odd inquiry.

"How would you like to get a lesson in Pretending?" Jarod asked impishly.

"Will you quit the games and tell me what the hell you’re talking about?" Miss Parker asked impatiently. Now that she was on his side she felt that these games were no longer necessary.

"Fourteen miles from here at a girls camp a girl mysteriously had her lungs extracted with out any incisions. We are going to pose as FBI agents and uncover the truth. Are you up to it?"

"I can handle it if you can," she replied giving him a competitive smile.

"Alright, then I officially dub you Miss Melissa Scully. Oh, we might want to change before we make our appearance. Good thing I bought the appropriate clothing before the king of hearts arrived."

"Yeah, good thing. So let me guess, you’re going to be Michael Mulder right?"

"Yeah how’d you know?" Jarod asked confused.

"Now, now Jarod if I told you what would the fun be in that?" She said smiling at the fact that she was the one that had him perplexed. Slowly he returned the smile.

***

Camp Wantinaga
Woodruff, Wisconsin
10:33 a.m.

Jarod and Miss Parker (or should I say Agents Mulder and Scully? J ) had been interrogating Angela’s, the girl who had disappeared, bunk mates. They had talked to 5 of the 6 so far and had yet to come up with anything. It appeared that Angela was well liked and no one had anything against her. In fact the only girl that she didn’t get along with was Dana, the next girl that was to be interrogated.

Dana slowly entered the room were the two ‘FBI agents’ sat. They both appeared to be legitimate, but she knew better. She could see right through their guise.

"So, agents what is it that you would like me to enlighten you about?" Asked the 16-year-old blond. She was about 5’5’’ with a slim build.

"Well," began Mulder looking at her oddly trying to put himself in her shoes, but something seemed to be blocking him from doing so, "how well did you know Angela?"

"Not at all, thank God." She replied in a relieved tone, but her eyes remained cold and revealed nothing.

Agent Scully took this opportunity to speak up. "Did you happen to see anyone enter the bunk after lights out?"

"No, the doors are locked after the lights are turned out, but I’m sure you already know that don’t you?"

Mulder looked at her curiously, but otherwise unfazed. He was still unable to get into her mind, to tap into her emotions. "Do you have any extraordinary powers?"

"Mr. Mulder I think you have watched one to many episodes of the X-Files. Are you taking your ludicrous ideas from the brain of Chris Carter?"

Jarod leaned across the table so his face was in Dana’s personal space and looked her in the eye. She didn’t flinch. "Here’s what I think. I think you performed a little bit of surgery on her and disposed of the remains."

She met him word for word, not flinching a bit when he spit the words out. "Oh, really. And what would my motivation be? Or better yet how’d I do it?"

"You have ‘special’ mental powers and you like to, for lack of a better word, show them off."

"Hmm. If that were true wouldn’t I confess so that everyone would know?"

"I think you will, in time."

"Look," Miss Parker broke in and spoke to her partner; "she obviously didn’t do it. I mean look at her. She couldn’t kill a fly with her mental influence, much less rip out some poor girls lungs." Each word was spoken in a calm, logical voice that was obviously meant to tear at Dana’s need to be recognized for the crime. Her plan succeeded. Each word could be seen ripping into Dana’s frail torso.

"Show’s what you know Miss Parker. I know there are Pretenders among us. Geniuses with the ability to become anyone they want to be. In fact, in 1963 a corporation known as the Centre isolated a young Pretender named Jarod and exploited his genius for their research, but the one day their Pretender ran away." Dana recited this in a calm, insightful and almost taunting voice. Then in a sarcastic tone she added, "Shame on you," while staring at Jarod.

"So you say you did it. I doubt that." Miss Parker asked ignoring any of Dana’s speech that occurred after ‘show’s what you know’.

"Look you stupid bitch I have a whole lot more mental capabilities than you could muster up in a life time. Get it?" Dana yelled standing up and leaning into Miss Parker’s face.

Miss Parker didn’t so much as blink. She just snorted at Dana. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say. I’m sure that you can kill someone by just willing their lungs out of their body." She replied sarcastically. Jarod was sitting next to her and starring on in awe. She was a whole lot better at pretending than he had originally thought.

"You inane slut! Damn straight I killed that whore! She deserved it, acting all holier than thou. I showed her who had the almighty powers! Damn straight!"

"Oh, well when you put it that way," Miss Parker concluded as Jarod snapped the cuffs on, "I have no choice but to believe you." They led the girl out into the grassy square and gave her to the police officers that were waiting, along with the taped confession.

As they pulled away in a newly rented 1999 black Intrigue Jarod turned to Miss Parker. "You know, for a beginner you aren’t to bad."

"Yeah, well beginners luck I guess." She replied smiling slyly at him.

"Let’s hope that luck stands. We may have righted one wrong, but there’s a whole lot more left." He returned her smile and continued to drive.

TO BE CONTINUED……..

What’d ya think? Send your comments to zyp959@hotmail.com

Part Three

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