Shaddyr's Eclectic Collection > Pretender Fanfiction > Another Day at the Office
Part 6: 
Another Day at the Office
by N.R. Levy

Jay sat alone in the living room, his eyes fixed on the computer screen in front of him. He had volunteered to co-ordinate with Broots via computer in order to create a blue print of the Renewal Wing, and to try and pinpoint Jarod's location.  He had also sensed that the adults very much wanted to protect him from the other things they needed to discuss, and though he felt he could handle whatever that was, he knew it was important to them to feel as if they had kept the sordid details away from him.

Those sordid details were displaying themselves in streaming video over Miss Parker's laptop. Broots had e-mailed the copies of the DSA's he'd found in Mr. Parker's office, along with a caution that what was on them was very disturbing.  Thankfully, Jay had left the room on his own, and they hadn't been forced to send him away like a child. He was far more than that, thought Sydney, yet he was just a boy and he didn't need to see all of the horrors that the Centre could create.

Those realities were, however, something Miss Parker was all to familiar with, and as they watched Jarod struggling for breath as he was drowned, then screaming in agony as he was pumped full of drugs and
electrocuted over and over again, Sydney saw the weariness in his young protégé grow tenfold.  He knew she felt responsible for what had happened, and though everyone, including Jarod's father had tried to convince her otherwise, until Jarod was free and safe she refused to let herself off the hook.

For his part, Major Charles sat motionless, tears streaming down his face as he watched the son he barely knew fight for his life and his soul.  He closed his eyes, unable to watch anymore, and for a brief moment he allowed his mind to drift back to those years when he and Margaret had struggled to conceive a child. They had wanted a baby so badly. Would they do it again, he wondered, knowing what they were doing – bringing a child into the world who faced a destiny of suffering and pain. They had wanted so much for that baby boy. Now he wondered if his son was going to survive his latest visit to the Centre.

Miss Parker switched off the computer and stood, needing to move around to try to shake the startling images from her mind. Raines was a dead man. If she hadn't already planned to make him suffer for his part in her mother's death, this would have sealed it. Fighting to keep the tears in her eyes from falling, she turned and looked into the pained faces of both of Jarod's "fathers."

"I have to be back in Blue Cove tomorrow morning or else my father's going to send someone after me. We've got to figure out what we're going to do."

Charles thought for a moment, and couldn't help but smile when a thought of his son passed through his mind. Sydney noticed, and couldn't help but be curious as to what had caused it. Charles saw Sydney looking at him and explained.

"I was just thinking how much easier this would be if we had Jarod with us."

The comment even managed to bring a slight smile to Parker's face, and she crossed back to her seat, catching sight of Jay working hard in the next room as she did so. Suddenly, a smile Sydney hadn't seen in months erupted on her face, and it was quickly followed by laughter.

"What's so funny Parker?"

"We are, Sydney. We have Jarod with us!"

The two men looked at her for a moment as if she was crazy, but then she motioned toward Jay.  The group then stood and walked into the living room. Jay looked up from his work as they approached, Sydney walking to the chair next to him and sitting down.

"Jay, how would you like to do a simulation?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Raines watched on a monitor as Jarod climbed into bed, exhausted from his first full day of performing sims without supervision. His results so far had been impressive, and the Triumvirate was more than pleased to have their prize back in the fold. There was still enormous pressure to recover the Jarod clone, so much in fact that the still recuperating Miss Parker had been left to follow up a lead on his whereabouts, but for now, the powers that be had been appeased.

Thinking of Miss Parker brought a frown to his rarely animated face. Her injury had been a critical miscalculation. While he knew that the Triumvirate would have been angry at him for ordering Mr.
Parker's assassination without a directive, they would have seen the benefits to eliminating the chairman, and would have dropped the incident without reprisal. Mr. Parker's survival, however, had left him
with a whole new set of problems.

The injury of his daughter had brought out in Mr. Parker a protective streak the likes of which Raines had never seen. Hell, the man would barely speak to his own pregnant wife, and her only faults that day had
been bringing Miss Parker to the airfield in the first place, and a comment which Raines hadn't heard, but also hadn't been surprised by when it had been recounted to him.  Yet the old man was treating her as
if she had pulled the trigger herself.

To no one's surprise, Willie had disappeared quickly after their return, never to be heard from again. Also to no one's surprise, the brunt of Mr. Parker's fury had been and still was directed at Mr. Raines.  That had become clear at the Triumvirate council meeting this  morning.

"I think we should re-institute the electrical stimulation treatments." Raines had spoken the words expecting little in the way of argument from anyone. His plan so far had been phenomenally successful, and he couldn't imagine that anyone wouldn't want to increase the results.

"It seems to me that we've achieved what we were after." The room fell silent after Mr. Parker spoke, and everyone waited to hear what Raines' response would be.  The two men regarded each other for a moment, sizing  up the situation.  Finally, Raines responded.

"Restoring the treatments will ensure that we don't lose any ground we've gained with Jarod. It will also give us greater control over him."

"And damage him further, isn't that right?"  Hearing Mr. Parker's words, Mutumbo quickly turned to Raines.

"I was under the impression that the only side effect Jarod was experiencing was the stuttering."

Raines glared at Mr. Parker, struggling to keep his fury under control. It was a conspiracy of the fates that Willie had hit the wrong damn Parker!

"Jarod is not suffering any further complications."

Lyle shifted in his seat to the left of his father as he waited to see who would get the upper hand as the debate continued. Clearly, battle lines in the power struggle between his father and Raines were being drawn. That meant he had to weigh his options. It was difficult to tell whom the Triumvirate was really backing these days. Their light admonishment of Raines for planning to kill his father seemed to show that Raines had not been wrong in his estimation of his father's importance to the Triumvirate. Yet his father was still the Chairman, and Mr. Parker was determined to eliminate Raines and his power base.

Lyle wished Brigitte were there. They would have been able to communicate in that special way they did during council meetings and he would have another person's opinion about how to proceed. But his father had ordered her to remain in her office researching additional leads on Jarod's father – another punishment for her disregard of his sister. Finally, Lyle made his choice and jumped on a bandwagon.

"No, but there are no guarantees that further treatment won't cause additional damage, is there? I mean, it would be a tragedy to have spent three years trying to recapture Jarod only to destroy him now that he's home."

Raines was about to respond to the younger Parker when Mutumbo silenced him, his hand raised to stop all discussion in the room. "Mr. Raines, am I to understand that you can guarantee increased results from the Pretender, or are you just speculating?"

"Sir, I believe that –"

"I do not care what you believe, Mr. Raines. Can you or can you not guarantee results?"

Raines drew in a breath and considered his answer, knowing that his life could very well be in the balance. He was still determined to steal control of the Centre away from Mr. Parker – but perhaps today was not
the day to try.

"No, Sir. I can't guarantee –"

"Then there will be no further treatments."  Mutumbo stood as he finished speaking, indicating that the discussion and the meeting were over. Raines had been unable to miss the looks of satisfaction that had passed between Mr. Parker and his son as they left the room.

Now, as he watched Jarod sleep, Raines cracked a smile of his own. They could think for now that they had really won. By the time they knew any different, it would be too late. Raines reached over and pressed the buzzer that brought Sweeper Matthew into the room.

"Yes, sir."

"Bring Jarod to Lab 13 – Now."

* * 8 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 7:45 a.m. the next morning, a telephone service van pulled into Centre Lot 17. The security guard there noted that Communication Room 227 had submitted a request for phone service. He gave the driver of the van an authorized technician pass and instructed the man on where to park. The van pulled into the noted spot, and the technician headed toward the entrance that would take him to the communications room of Renewal Wing, which monitored Sub levels 10-20.

* * *

Miss Parker strolled into the Centre at her usual 8 a.m. arrival time and headed straight for her office. She spoke briefly with her assistant, stopped in to give her usual morning scare to Broots and then headed off in search of her father.  As she reached his office, she couldn't miss the sound of Brigitte's voice.

"Sweetheart, I told you, I do care about her. She's your daughter. I love her, too. And I think it's just wonderful that we'll both have children the same age."

Parker nearly felt her stomach roll over at that. The bitch was probably worried about how much of the inheritance Baby Thomas would be stealing from her own brat. Steadying herself, Parker pushed open
the door and entered. As she did so, she saw that her father's arm was around the wicked witch, and guessed that he had finally forgiven the shrew.

"Daddy – Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting?"

Mr. Parker immediately re-focused his attention on his daughter and stepped quickly away from his wife to embrace the younger woman.

"Angel, how are you?" He placed a kiss on her cheek, and was pleased to feel her return his embrace with a strong hug.

"I'm fine, Daddy." The two stepped away from each other and Mr. Parker looked at his daughter, his eyes growing dark as he suddenly remembered another woman who had worn her face so many years ago.

"Daddy, are you all right?"  The words made Mr. Parker realize that he had not hidden the sudden surge of emotion that had taken hold of him, and he quickly moved toward his chair, putting distance between himself and his daughter. He didn't answer her, but instead cleared his throat and picked up a pile of papers.

"So, luvvie? How was Florida?"

"A colossal waste of time. Everywhere we went, Sydney and I were two steps behind Major Charles and the boy. Like son, like father I guess."

"Hmm? I wonder.  You know, Mr. Lyle also went to Florida – don't worry, he didn't have any luck either, but he also didn't seem to have any luck finding you."

Parker smiled. So he had tried to follow her. Thank God for Broots and his magic computer.

"Well then, he must not have been looking very hard. It's kind of difficult for me to hide these days, all things considered. Though, you must understand that, you're showing so much more than me."

The dig made Brigitte's face go red with anger, and she was about to attack her stepdaughter when reason grabbed hold of her. She was barely back in her husband's good graces, and if she and Lyle's plan was going to work, she had to remain the dutiful and loved wife of the chairman. Miss Parker read this thought, and decided that now was the time for her to make her next move.

"Daddy, I was hoping we could have lunch today. There are some things I'd like to discuss with you – about the baby."
"Of course, Angel. Why don't we meet back here at say, 12:30?"

"Do you mind if we make it 11:30? I can't seem to make it past noon these days without eating."

"Well, whatever's good for my grandson."

Brigitte fought not to throw up her breakfast at the exchange. She much preferred her husband's cold indifference to his daughter. This fawning, overprotective bit was getting on her last nerve, and Miss
Parker was loving it which just made Brigitte that much sicker.  She excused herself and headed in search of Lyle. Maybe he could make her feel better.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 8:10, Security Chief Daniels, the headman in Communications Room 227 frowned as he looked at the papers the phone man handed to him. He didn't know anything about a phone problem, but the order
for service had been submitted by Mr. Parker himself, which meant that he had no choice but to allow the phone company man into the room. The man sat down his equipment and began a methodical check of all the phone line connections in the room.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
 

The phone call reached Raines at exactly 8:20 a.m.

"Mr. Raines, please, please help me. I want to come home."

Raines immediately recognized the voice.  It was Jarod's clone.  A smile of utter satisfaction crossed his face. He had told Miss Parker that the boy would never cooperate with Jarod or his father.

"And I want you to come home, son. Where are you?"

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Lyle stormed toward Parker's office, furious about the time he'd wasted in Florida and over Brigitte's news that his father was continuing his disgusting display of fatherly concern where Parker was concerned. Now they were having lunch? They never had lunch. "To talk about the baby," that's what Brigitte had said. Well, if there was going to be a family lunch, he was damn well planning to be a part of it. She wasn't cutting him out just because she was delivering the first grandchild. He was too close to getting what he wanted, at least now that Brigitte had finally gotten pregnant, and he wasn't letting his sister screw it up.

As he rounded the corner, he nearly collided with Broots, who was running toward Miss Parker's office.

"Broots, watch where the hell you're going!"

The nervous technician backed up five feet from the man who sent chills down his spine, fighting to catch his breath.

"S-sorry, Mr. Lyle. I, uh, I have to find Miss Parker right away."

"What's so important?"

Lyle immediately noticed the nervousness of the computer geek go up ten notches. Whatever he had was good, and Lyle definitely wanted to take a look at it before his sister got a chance to see it.

"Broots, My father has made it very clear that we aren't supposed to overburden Parker, you know, in deference to her condition. So, why don't you tell me what it is, and I'll let you know if it's something you need to tell her about."

Broots glanced at his watch. It was 8:45.  He took a deep breath, and held out the paper in his hand.

"Well, Mr. Raines just got a phone call…
 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  * *

At 8:55, Sydney entered Lab 10 in Renewal Wing, and placed several objects on a table.  After a moment, a figure emerged from the shadowed corners of the room.  He approached the table, carefully scanning the objects. He picked up the first object and began to study it.

Back in Communications Room 227, Daniels looked at the monitor that covered Lab 10. It was strange for Dr. Green to work in Renewal Wing, but apparently he needed a more neutral environment for his research
today, something about the weirdo Angelo being too emotionally attached to Miss Parker, and needing to get him away from her.

Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly, as Daniels glanced at his watch and saw that it was 9:10, almost time for him to make his morning rounds. Suddenly a loud crash sounded in the lab. The chief looked up to see that Dr. Green was lying on the ground, and Angelo was throwing things around the room, screaming wildly.

"Briscoe, Roades, Michaelson, get in there now."

Following their chief's order, the men ran from the room, leaving only Daniels and the phone repair man. Daniels picked up the phone to call for backup, but found that the line was inoperable. He turned to question the man behind him, but found himself slipping into unconsciousness, barely having time to realize that he'd been sucker punched by a telephone repairman.

 * * * * * * * * * * * *

Miss Parker again headed toward her father's office, this time though, a mask of rage covered her face. As the clock hit 9:20, she threw open the door and marched straight up to his desk.

"How dare you! I thought that we were finally finished lying to each other, Daddy."

Mr. Parker looked up from his desk, stunned by his daughter's words.

"Angel, calm down. What are you talking about?"

"You told Lyle not to let Broots tell me about the lead on Major Charles?"

"What are you talking about? What lead?" Parker watched as her father's own rage began to boil as she explained.

* * * * * * * *  * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Major Charles, now wearing the security jacket he'd stolen from Daniels rather than his phone repairman costume, strolled down the hallway of Renewal Wing level 13.  The place was a virtual ghost town.  He made his way quickly to Lab 13, and pulled hopefully on the door. It opened with a whoosh of air as he entered, his right hand reaching into his pocket for the gun he had there. His internal clock told him it was 9:25. He had 20 minutes until all of Broots and Jay's computer-hacked handiwork would be detected. Twenty minutes to save his son.
 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 9:40, the guard at Centre Lot 17 waved goodbye to the phone repairman. He noticed that the man looked upset about something, but he figured the job had just been a waste of time, so the guy was pissed about it. He took back the authorized badge and watched as the van drove away.
 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

At 9:45, a technician in the Main Security Room of the Centre began his routine recycle of the cameras in all levels of the Renewal Wing. It took less than two minutes for his program to detect a problem with the cameras controlled by Communications Room 227. He tried to call. No answer. That was very bad. He grabbed a phone and called in a code red for 227.
 

 * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Miss Parker was stalking around her father's office, yelling about her brother's interference in her duties when the phone on Mr. Parker's desk began to ring. As he reached over to answer it, he heard a cry of pain escape from his daughter's mouth, and he quickly rushed to her side, helping her first sit, then lie down on the leather couch in his office.

He was about to head back to the phone when Broots entered, and seeing the scene, rushed to Miss Parker's side as well. Broots reminded Mr. Parker of his daughter's fragile health – there was still a bullet in her back – and the two men agreed that they should take her home immediately.  Mr. Parker never noticed that his phone had continued to ring.
 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The sun had barely come up the next morning before Miss Parker loaded her suitcase into her Porsche and drove off toward Lake Catherine, Maine.

It had worked. It had really all worked and now Jarod was free from the Centre.  Even better, Raines and Lyle were both in serious trouble with the Triumvirate for falling for what was obviously a well-concocted scheme of Major Charles and the clone.  She wished she had been there to see the explosion, but once her father had finally been informed of the situation –- it had taken security almost an hour to track him down at her house –- he had insisted that she needed to stay home and rest. In fact, knowing how stressful a place the Centre would be the next few days, he had insisted she take the rest of the week off, suggesting a getaway to ensure she would be kept out of the commotion.
If there was any suspicion that anyone in the Centre had actually helped in the plan, it had yet to be voiced.  Sydney had been sent home on medical leave himself since he'd suffered a concussion during Angelo's "attack" on him. It still amazed her that just holding the photo she'd held while thinking about saving Jarod had been enough to communicate to Angelo what they needed him to do, but it had worked beautifully. Parker was worried about Broots, and wished he was headed out of town with her, but they all knew that it would be too suspicious for them to all be absent from the Centre at the same time.

The moment she reached Lake Catherine, Parker felt her heart swell with emotion. This place had meant so much to her mother, and when they had been trying to decide on a safe place to take Jarod following his "escape," this had been the first place she'd thought of.  There had been no question that Ben would be more than happy to see them. He thought the world of Jarod, and Parker knew that even though he had no idea of their connection to each other, he would do anything for her just to honor the memory of her mother.

She pulled up in front of Ben's Inn and climbed from the car, grateful that the trip was over. Her back was killing her from the drive, and she knew that she would have to ask one of the men to come and get her things for her.

She was halfway up the stairs when the door opened and Sydney stepped outside. Parker didn't know that he'd been waiting for her by the window for nearly an hour. She did know, however, that he looked
exhausted and worried and that terrified her. She gripped the banister as she made the last step up, and braced herself.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Parker, he's – they've hurt him. They've hurt him very badly."

Parker began to move toward the door, but Sydney reached out to stop her from entering.

"I don't know if you should see him. There –- Parker, there may not be anything we can do for him."

Parker looked at Sydney, stunned by his words. If Sydney was giving up hope -– Suddenly, she pushed past him, moving more quickly than she would've thought she could, and headed upstairs.

She could hear voices in the bedroom at the end of the hallway on the second floor and she moved toward them. Entering the room, she saw Ben trying to comfort an obviously distraught Charles. Her heart tightened as her eyes moved to the bed.

Jarod lay motionless, his head obviously marred by burns from what had clearly been brutal electric shocks. He was hooked to a heart monitor, and his heart was beating strong and regular. Her eyes
locked on the new electrodes that had been placed on Jarod's forehead, the ones that led to the brainwave monitor on the other side of his bed.

Jarod's brain was still active – in fact, it was terrifyingly, hyperactive. Sydney entered the room and stood behind her as tears sprang to her eyes and her hand flew to her mouth in horror.

"Oh, my God! Raines did the same thing to him that he did to Angelo, didn't he?"

"Yes, Parker. He did."
 
 

go to part 7