Disclaimer: See Part 1

Title - Happy Families
Author - KB
E-mail address - gekbruce@melbpc.org.au
Rating - G
Category - Drama/Adventure/Alternate Universe
Series/Sequel - Part 5 in the Total Recall series
Spoilers - Not sure. Maybe a few
Summary - There's a new player in the game...


"Happy Families"
By KB


 

Parker looked at the screen for the third time and then sank her head into her hands. It just wasn’t possible. Was she going mad? The telephone record had no indication that Jennifer had just called, and Raines had made no comment on the fact when he had been in her office. Perhaps she was going mad. It would be quite feasible, especially considering the state of her family. She accessed the program which they had always used to run searches on Jarod. Beginning to type, she felt a little more comfortable. After all, if that phone call hadn’t happened then it wasn’t certain that anything else had either. Maybe the system…

***

Jennifer curled up against the cushions on the couch and sniggered as she thought of Miss Parker’s confusion regarding the phone call. Jarod, disconnecting the camera and all of the other equipment, joined in her amusement. Jennifer clasped her hands behind her head and glanced out through the streaming window panes at the green slopes below.

“I was thinking…”

“I feel a nightmare coming on.”

“When did you see ‘The American President’?"

“What?”

“Never mind. I was thinking that maybe I should go back.” Jarod stared, jaw lowered.

“What?”

“I think it’s time I went back to the Centre.”

“But…why?”

“Well, there’s still plenty more that needs doing. And I can help you so much better from in there…”

“Oh, yeah.” Jarod’s voice dripped with sarcasm. “Really well once you’re trapped inside one of those little cells, never to see the light of day again.”

“You know what I mean. Raines still trusts me. He knows why I went. I mean, here,” she handed over a small card which Jarod had not seen before.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a congratulations card, from Raines, on the birth of Kyle.”

“But he…why…”

“…Didn’t I show it to you before? Because I’m not that silly. And, anyway, if I know Miss Parker, right know she’s probably questioning her own sanity and wondering how on earth things ever got that bad.”

***

Miss Parker shook her head again, questioned her sanity and wondered how things had ever got that bad. That morning everything had been perfect - Lyle had been helpless inside the Centre, the new system designed by Jennifer had found three new leads on Jarod and she, Parker, had realistically began to think that her days at the Centre may had been drawing to a close. She typed in a letter on the search screen, holding her breath. Then another. However as the A followed the J, the computer instantly shut down. Damned message. ‘It is now safe to turn off your computer’. She could imagine some bright, smiling little computer technician coming up with that phrase to make everyone else’s day as painfully happy as hers was. Miss Parker slammed both palms down on the surface of the desk and jumped in shock as her computer responded to the vibration by booting up again. God, she hated this machine. Not, perhaps, in the same way that she hated Raines, but hate was hate and it ate away at you regardless. The most annoying point was that Raines knew little and cared less about her feelings and this stupid inanimate object couldn’t even feel the pain she wanted to inflict upon it.

***

“But what about Kyle?”

“What about him?” Jennifer looked fondly down at where the small boy sat in his play-pen, playing with the mobile which Jarod had designed and built for him.

“Who’s going to take care of him while you’re locked up every day?”

“Sarah said she would. She has to take some time off herself.”

“Maternity leave?”

“Uh huh.”

“Must be contagious.” Jennifer grinned in response and Jarod’s smile.

“Contagious, maybe. But there’s no way just yet…” Jarod tried to look innocent.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

***

Raines smiled in satisfaction as he watched Jennifer leave his office. The smile almost made the oxygen tube slip out from under his nose but he grabbed it and fixed in firmly in place. He was pleased that she was back. He tried not to think about the similarity between her and his lost daughter but it was unmistakable. The months that she had been away he had spent trying to work out whether he wanted her to return or not. It had been so many years but the pain had never diminished. Admittedly the experiments he had carried out on Jarod had eased the pain a little but it was still there and nothing he could think of would remove that. To Jennifers surprise, he had not only understood but agreed with her decision that her son would never appear at the Centre. However he could never understand her deep reasons for that - her desperation that Raines and Kyle be kept as far apart as possible. One look would show clearly who the child’s father was. Even if he hadn’t had the mark below his right eye, the dark hair and beautiful brown, almost black eyes were a dead giveaway.

***

Jennifer settled in behind the familiar desk and quickly removed any new bugs which may have been placed there in her absence. She was developing a new detector, with Jarod’s help of course, which would tell her where to find the bugs once she had destroyed them, but the use of that was still several weeks off, particularly with Jarod off on one of his jaunts around the country.

“You’re back then.”

“I certainly am.” Jennifer smiled up at Sydney, who gave a half-hearted smile back.

“Have you seen Parker?”

“No, in fact I haven’t even spoken to her for a while.”

“You know that Lyle’s escaped.”

“I knew. What I can’t understand is why you haven’t got him back yet. It’s not difficult.” Sydney’s attempt at being cool dissolved under the pressure of her pleasant nature and he slipped into the chair in front of the desk as she booted up the computer and, after hitting a few keys, brought up a map of the Americas on the screen.

“What’s that? An atlas.”

“Not exactly. It’s a satellite-linked map, for tracking people.”

“What, you mean track one person in a continent of however many million? That’s hardly going to be possible.”

“Of course not, if you’re only looking blindly. That’s needle-in-a-haystack stuff. But if you’re looking for a specific point…” she pressed another few keys on the screen and one solitary yellow dot appeared on the screen. A few more taps and the screen zoomed in on the state of Nebraska.

“Gee, Lyle. I knew you were a sentimentalist but even I never imagined you’d go to that length.” The sarcastic tones made Sydney smile.

“How do you know it’s him? “It’s exceptionally unlikely to be anyone else. A tiny microchip, implanted under the skin in the same way that you tag a pet, only on a different wavelength. Otherwise,” Jennifer laughed, “we’d be seeing every dog and cat between here and the southern border of the States.”

“So he’s…”

“Townsend. Where we grew up together.” Sydney was about to turn and leave when they heard Miss Parker’s voice on her cell phone.

“Townsend. Nebraska. And I want every available sweeper coming with us. There’s no way Lyle can escape now.” Sydney turned and smiled ruefully at Jennifer, who laughed back.

“It’s okay. I knew she was there. If you’re going to go with her, you might want to get a move on.”

***

Jennifer closed down the last of her files and, with a deep sigh, stood up and switched off the computer. As she took down her coat from its hook, the door of her office swung open and Miss Parker grinned at her.

"Hello. What can I do for you?” Without a word, Parker moved aside and Jennifer watched in silence as three sweepers dragged Lyle down the corridor. His lack of movement and wide, staring eyes convinced Jennifer that Raines was aware of his return. Miss Parker carefully watched Jennifer’s face, before moving into the room and shutting the door behind her.

"How can you bear that? I mean, he’s you brother, for God’s sake.” Jennifer sat down and laid her jacket on the desk. “He’s yours too, remember. And he’s not really my brother. I left my brother in Townsend, when I moved out of home. That, as he reminded me some months ago, is Lyle. He’s a completely different entity.”

“I see.” Miss Parker stared into the small rotating mirror-globe which Jennifer had on her desk. Jennifer waited for her to continue. She had been waiting for this discussion all day and a few more minutes was not difficult.

“Did you or did you not call me two weeks ago?”

“Of course I did.” Miss Parker opened her mouth but Jennifer jumped in. “But the office said that you were busy looking for Lyle, who had just escaped, and that you were not available. It was a shame because I had been looking forward to a chat.” Jennifer waited to see what response Miss Parker would make. Although she didn’t like lying, she had begun to realise that life at the Centre involved a lot of them and that most were unavoidable. To ensure the accuracy of her ‘lie’, though, she had phoned the main office of the Centre and her number was clearly in their records. However she was certain that Miss Parker would only check her own listing, and not bother about the general information. It appeared that she was right.

***

Sarah sat and rocked a sleepy Kyle to her while Louise sat in front of the television. Kyle was incredibly advanced for a child of eight months. He had been crawling for five months already and had recently begun to walk, although he was still unsteady on his feet and needed someone to keep a constant eye on him. His speech was also incredibly advanced, using not only single words but phrases although often they made no sense. However, reflected Sarah, considering his parentage that was hardly surprising. She glanced up and saw a tall figure approaching the house and, through the darkening shadows of the garden, she recognised Jarod.

“Hi. Come to get your son?”

“I thought I’d wait for Jennifer, if you don’t mind. I got someone to drop me here and she can give me a lift home.” It was a word Jarod loved saying. Home. It was a part of his life outside the Centre that he appreciated most of all. For a time he had felt that perhaps he would have to leave Jennifer as he had left Nia, however that moment had been bypassed by the work she did at the Centre. Sarah was preparing to hand over the child to his father when Kyle held out his hands.

“Da-da.” Jarod’s face lit up and his smile stretched wide over his face. Sarah handed over the boy and then moved into the kitchen to begin dinner for her own husband.

***

Jennifer drove up Sarah’s drive. It had been a long day. Parker had continued to talk for more than two hours and Sydney had not gone with the others to bring back Lyle but had instead remained in her office, chatting to her about children and how they grew. It was during this conversation that Jennifer began to seriously realise how much Sydney regretted not seeing his own son grow into an adult. Jennifer knew about Nicholas, of course. Her searches through the Archives, and the detailed profiles she had had to make on each Centre employee had taught her a lot, mostly that the Centre liked to know everything they possibly could about everyone who worked under their care. It was a comfort for her to see that all of the small details which she had dropped into the Centre’s mainframe about her own ‘past’ had been picked up and given as proof of not only her life, but her loyalty also. She hardly waited for the engine to stop before she was out of the car and walking up to the door of the house. Sarah met her there with a finger on her lips and showed Jennifer the sight of Jarod, lying asleep on the couch, with his son asleep on his chest. Sarah held out a Polaroid which she had taken several minutes before and Jennifer looked from that to the two on the couch and smiled. Kyle woke and moved his head. When he saw his mother standing in the doorway with ‘Aunty Sarah’, he struggled up. Jennifer moved over and picked him up, cuddling him to her as she walked away from Jarod, as he remained asleep on the couch. For ten minutes she and Sarah chatted until Jarod appeared in the doorway and suggested that perhaps they should go. As they walked down the drive, they met Sarah’s husband Adam coming home from work. Adam had gone to school with Jennifer and Sarah and he and Sarah had married soon after graduation. Jennifer and Jarod exchanged a few comments with him before getting into their car and driving home.

***

Lyle lunged against the restraints which bound him to the wall of the cell. He had not been enlightened as to the method which had been used to bring him back to the Centre, but he was determined to find out and also to escape. He wanted freedom so badly that he could almost taste it and he was determined that his escape this time would not end up with him back here. There had to be some place he could go where they wouldn’t find him and bring him back.

***

Sydney looked at the photos which he had received in the post over the last few weeks. If he hadn’t known that Jarod would not be vindictive, he could almost have believed that his protégé was doing it on purpose. Nice though it was to see, the photos showed Sydney what he had missed in the growth of his own son. Sydney threw the photos onto his coffee table and watched as they fluttered from the shiny surface to the floor, each one face up and in a position where he could see them clearly. He moaned and buried his face in his hands.

***

Brigitte sank down in the corner of her room. Not that it even qualified for a room, she thought bitterly. It was a cell, pure and simple. Maybe somewhat different from the cell which had housed her for the first five months of her captivity, but still a cell. For that time she had forcibly blocked out the memory of her son, and now she forgot that she even had one. She wondered what Raines had in store for her. It was unbelievable that she was still a prisoner but, she reflected angrily, it showed the loss of power that her husband had obviously suffered. She wished that she had killed him when she had had the chance. If only that bitch hadn’t interfered, she would have been under Raines’ protection and not Mr Parker’s. Having failed the Triumvirate’s order, she had had to rely on her talents and skills to get her the position she had enjoyed for the time she had been free. She glared around the room and watched as the door opened.

***

Miss Parker picked up the small boy from his cot. She had had to take over the care of her brother and it was not a task she enjoyed. A sense of repulsion hit her every time she went near him and she had as little to do with him as possible. She had seen the increasing similarities between the boy and his father and for that reason only was she willing to take care of the child when the nanny that her father had hired was not working. It seemed unreal to her that her father now blamed her for Lyle’s escape and that she was almost unable to approach him with hearing a constant stream of criticism for her lack of success. Now even he was commenting, as Raines had done in the past, on her lack of Parker killer instinct.

***

Jennifer lay her small son in his cot and watched him for several minutes. She heard the door open and felt Jarod slip his arms around her waist.

“He’s beautiful.”

“Just like his mother.”

“Father,” corrected Jennifer, smiling. “He looks just like you.” She led Jarod out of the room and shut the door behind her.

“How was your week?”

“Busy.” Jarod sighed and brushed his fingers through his hair in an unconscious movement that Jennifer had learned to recognise as a sign that things were not going well.

“Can I help?” Jarod smiled at her.

“No, sweetheart. It’s not something you can do anything about.”

***

Sydney flipped through the papers on his desk without seeing anything. With a deep sigh he closed the folder and slipped it back into his desk. His thoughts, despite his best efforts, constantly went back to the two images he had recently seen - the photo of Jarod with his son and the image of Miss Parker with her brother. Both beautiful but both would be better if only he, too, had had a child to watch grow.

***

Jennifer glanced over and watched as Jarod’s head began to nod over his computer and the usually rapid pace of his typing slowed. She saw his eyelids close and then force themselves open several times until finally he gave up the fight and sat back in the chair with his chin resting on his chest. Shivering, despite the blazing fire, as the cold eased into the room, Jennifer picked up the travel rug which lay on one of the chairs nearby and slipped it around his shoulders. Then she moved the lap top away from Jarod and quickly scanned the pages which he had accessed. Her eyes widened as she read and instantly understood the situation in which Jarod was involved. She was scared for him. She had always been nervous when he had begun a new pretend, always aware of the dangers and risks, but now she was scared. Really scared. For him. But there was something she could certainly do about it.

***

Lyle silently screamed as the needle was stabbed into his skin and then into the wall of the artery, and the fluid flowed in. It had seemed to Raines that the best thing would be to make Lyle unable to recover and to remove any further chance of escape. Raines watched with satisfaction from the observation deck as Lyle fought against the anaesthetic, but the fight was brief and the operation commenced. Raines sat down and watched with something approaching glee as Lyle’s further chance of escape was removed and as his chance of movement was brought to nothing. Raines had no further use for Lyle, but he wanted him under his control. It had been so simple to get the Triumvirate to agree to this operation. Mutumbo regarded Lyle as a pest and, having failed in his task, was willing to remove him from any chance of further action within the Centre.

***

Jarod woke in the chair with a jolt and glanced rapidly around the room. Jennifer was no longer there and he imagined that she had either gone in to see Kyle or had gone to bed. Despite his usual awareness, he failed to notice that his computer was now switched off. He moved over to the couch and lay on it, sighing deeply as his eyes closed, having completely missed the note which lay on the table near his computer.

***

Jennifer slipped into the pub and approached the bar. Two of the men glanced over their shoulders and immediately moved over to make way for her. She picked up the glass which the barman had handed to her with a wink and turned to the man on her left.

“So, Jerry, how’s tricks?”

“Oh, busy, busy. You know the deal.”

“I do indeed.” Jennifer slipped a coin onto the bar. “Got time for a chat?”

“With you? Always.” Jerry and his friend left the bar only seconds after Jennifer and followed her into a room up the stairs. She sat on the edge of the table and the two men turned chairs so that their backs faced her and straddled them.

“What ‘s up?”

“I need a hand.”

“Drug-runners?”

“You bet. Big men too, from what I heard.” As she continued the conversation, the two men moved in a little closer.

***

Brigitte looked up at the four, unknown burly figures standing in the doorway. As the moved in, she shrank back against the head of the bed but made no sound as they moved in around her and escorted her down the hall and into Raines’ office. Standing by Raines’ desk was a figure that Brigitte instantly recognised however she was not sure if it was a good or a bad omen that Mutumbo stood there, a stern expression on his face and his arms folded across his chest. He eyed her up and down before looking at Raines.

“I want her.” His voice boomed through the room and Brigitte’s heart leapt.

“You shall have her. At the price we agreed.” Immediately Brigitte cringed inside. She was being sold? Like a slave?

“She shall join the other women in my harem. I have long wanted a white woman. She will compliment the others.”

“What you do with her is of no concern to me. She is yours and you may take her immediately.” Mutumbo nodded to the men, who fastened chains to her wrists and waist before escorting her out of the building. She had wanted to cry, to protest. She had a fleeting memory of her son and tried to go back, to beg Raines to change his mind, but the men forced her onward. A member of his harem? A sex-slave? And as Mutumbo had paid for her, there was no way she could ever return to the Centre. She was pushed into a seat on a lavish jet which she had seen only once, when Mutumbo had come to the Centre to bring the clone to Africa. Now she watched as Mutumbo left the building and climbed into the jet. She could smell the alcohol on his breath as he sat in the seat beside hers.

***

Lyle looked around at the clear plastic wall of the bubble which was now his home. He had had no idea of what Raines had intended to do to him but not in his worst nightmares had he imagined this. He rubbed the scar on his chest which showed where the heart had been implanted and glumly swallowed the anti-rejection tablets which lay beside his meal. He had the choice. Either take the tablets and live in this plastic globe, or refuse to take the tablets and die a slow and painful death as his body rejected the new heart. Glancing up from his meal, he saw his sister standing at the window which looked down into the room.

“What do you want?” The snarl had no impact considering his situation.

“I just wanted to make sure that you recovered from that horrible surgery, my dear brother.” Parker cooed, but her eyes gleamed as she took in his position. “Well, at least we know now, beyond doubt, that you actually have a heart. It was always questionable before, you know.” Lyle muttered something incomprehensible and glared at her from beneath lowered lids. He lunged at the window but the pain from the wound in his chest made him stop as the bubble rocked alarmingly. Miss Parker reached down beside her and picked up her baby brother.

“Lyle, meet your brother. This is Robert.” Lyle looked up but paid little attention. Miss Parker, however, was not disconcerted. “Well, I just wanted to see how my darling brother was. Must dash. Got to keep up the hunt for Jarod, after all. I’d hate to be sent to Africa as a member of Mutumbo’s seraglio, like our dear step-mother was. Bye.” She fluttered her fingers at him as he stared at her through the plastic and glass and left the observation area, her new brother in her arms.

***

Jennifer dropped the newspaper on the table and put on the kettle. She really needed a cup of strong coffee. It had been a very long and very busy night but she was happy that the situation in which Jarod had been involved was now solved. As she blew to cool the coffee down, she glanced down at the headline. ‘Contaminated Drugs Swooped On In Raid’ A small sound from the small bedroom took her in there and she scooped up her son with a sigh of gratitude. It was useful that she still had contact with Jerry and Mick, two of the boys taken in by her parents at one time. Although she did not approve of their lifestyle, it was always good to have connections in areas like that. When he son was satisfied, she laid him down again in his bed and then went into her own room. Lying down on the bed, she was quickly asleep.

***

Sydney watched as the jet took off from the runway. He had been unable to account for Miss Parker’s cheerfulness until he had learnt who had arrived and had seen Brigitte brought to the jet by several of Mutumbo’s men. In fact the atmosphere in the Centre had improved greatly since both Lyle and Brigitte had ceased to be active members, and particularly since Jennifer had returned to work.

***

Raines fingered the notes which crinkled between his fingers. He stared out of the window as the jet took off from the Centre’s private runway and turned as Mr Parker stormed into the room.

“Where is my wife?”

“You ex-wife is no longer within the Centre.”

“What do you mean, ex-wife? What have you done with her, William?” Raines reached out and drew a folder to him. Pulling out a form, he held it out for Mr Parker to read. “I never signed this.”

“You must have. Your signature is on the bottom of the paper. Your marriage became null and void three months ago and Mutumbo has taken Brigitte to his office in Africa. The only way for you to see her again is for you to follow her there, and if you do and you succeed in returning to Delaware, you will of course not be welcome back here.” Mr Parker understood the implied threat and turned on his heel without a word, leaving the room.

***

Jarod threw the paper down in front of where Jennifer was eating lunch, a look of amazement on his face.

“What do you know about that?”

“Is that a hypothetical question?”

“No.”

“Only what I read when I picked it up this morning. It’s a good thing that was stopped. If people need drugs, it’s better, and safer, that they be pure and not mixed with potentially fatal substances, I suppose.” She smiled as she spread jam on to a piece of bread but bent her head over the paper to try and hide the smile from Jarod. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh…no reason.”

***

Miss Parker put the baby down on his bed and stood for a few seconds, watching him sleep. She heard the footsteps behind her and turned to see her father watching from the doorway.

“You’ll make a wonderful mother, you know.”

“If I ever get that chance.” Mr Parker’s mouth tightened as his daughter turned back to the cot.

“Please, Angel. You’re all the family I’ve got now. Don’t turn against me.” He held out his arms in mute appeal and, after a second of hesitation, Parker went to him and the two embraced.

***

Jarod was clearing the last of his belongings out of the police locker when Mick approached him.

“You’re leaving, then?”

“Yeah. Got a transfer interstate. I need to fill the position immediately or miss it.”

“Well, good luck.” Mick and Jarod shook hands and Jarod picked up and his case. He was going to have a break before his next job, he hoped. He wanted to spend some time with his family. Mick, meanwhile, turned away with a grin and pulled on his jacket.

***

Jarod came in to the bedroom, with the moon gleaming through the window, to find Jennifer rocking in the chair near the bed and humming a song under her breath.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a lullaby.”

“A what?”

“A song you sing to children to make them go to sleep.” Jarod looked down at his son.

“It seemed to work.” He took Kyle from his mother’s arms and laid him in his cot. Jennifer stood up and stretched before leaving the room. She preceded Jarod into the kitchen and put a covered dish into the microwave.

“What’s that?”

“Your dinner, if you want it.”

“Definitely. I didn’t get lunch today.”

“Why not?”

“No time.”

“What, were you chasing crooks around or something?” Jennifer laughed and glanced out of the window. However, out of the corner of her eye she saw Jarod go slightly red and glance sharply at her.

***

Sydney stood nervously on the doorstep. He had spent hours debating what to do but he knew that he had to do something about the whole circumstance. He couldn’t bear to leave it the way it was at present and, after sitting at his desk and staring blankly at the wall in front of him for the entire day, he had finally picked up the phone.

“Hello, Michelle? This is Sydney. I need to see you. Can I pick you up for dinner?"


Part Six

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