Part 3: Decisions
By N.R. LevyParker paced in her living room, restlessly waiting for Sydney and Broots to arrive. She was more than a little anxious to hear what they had to tell her.
Jarod had escaped again -- at least that was the official Centre story. She'd been told that morning when she'd asked to see Jarod before leaving the medical unit to return home.
"I'm afraid that isn't possible Angel."
"Daddy, he did save my life. I just want to say goodbye to him."
Her father had looked away then, a sure sign that he was trying to think of something to tell her. She hated feeling that kind of distrust toward him. He had truly been a loving, attentive father since the shooting, and though they had disagreed about her decision to continue with the pregnancy, he had resigned himself to her wishes and actually had managed to be a little supportive in the past few days. But she knew him too well. He was most definitely not planning to tell her the truth about Jarod.
"He's escaped again." Parker swallowed hard and stared at her father. Something was very, very wrong. She knew that she couldn't let him see her concern, so now she used his trick and turned away, moving to the bed where she continued packing her small bag.
"When did this happen?"
"Last night after his meeting with the Triumvirate. We're still not sure how he did it. I mean, the cameras were on him the whole time, but somehow, he managed to slip out. We think that maybe Angelo --"
Parker turned quickly and stared hard at her father.
"Angelo couldn't decide to help a flea find a dog, Daddy. Don't pull him into this."
Mr. Parker squinted as he regarded his daughter. In the weeks since Thomas' murder, he had hoped she was returning to her old self. Yet as events had unfolded, it had become clear to him that his daughter's penchant for feeling and caring for the people around her had only grown stronger since the handyman's death. He wondered still if it hadn't been a mistake to allow -- no, no use wondering that. The man was dead and now his grandson would grow up without a father. He'd survive. After all, his Angel had managed without her mother, hadn't she?
"Angel, no one is pulling Angelo into anything. What I was going to say is that we think Angelo may be able to get a lead on him. He's in his cell right now."
Parker was about to speak but stopped short when her step mother entered the room. God, she hated that woman. Brigitte strolled to her father's side and, pulling the ever-present lollipop from her mouth, attempted to plant a kiss on her father's lips. Parker was about to turn away until she noticed her father make a very obvious move to avoid contact with his wife.
That was one thing to be grateful for. Sydney had told her about Brigitte's cold response to her shooting, and her father's reaction to it. Despite the fact that nearly a month had passed, he was still clearly angry at Bitchit for her behavior, and that was almost enough to make Parker forget about her concern for Jarod. Almost.
"So, going home are we, luv?" Brigitte forced herself to try and be pleasant to her step daughter. Clearly hubby was still angry with her and she knew that the only way to get back in his good graces was to find a way to smooth things over with his Angel. Far easier said than done. Brigitte genuinely hated Parker. She was too damn strong, too difficult to shake. And now, just when Brigitte had managed to capture the spotlight by announcing her pregnancy, Daddy's Girl had not only saved his life, but was now carrying the man's grandson. Smiling, Brigitte watched Parker finish packing as she thought about the child her nemises carried. He was definitely going to be competition for her son. She was truly going to have do something about that.
Sydney entered smiling, his happiness at Parker's recovery unmistakable. He, like everyone else, knew that she was facing a difficult road, but he was more than a little proud of the strength she'd displayed in choosing her child's life over her own health, and though he was worried about her, he believed in his heart that Jarod would find a way to keep both of them safe.
Seeing Mr. and Mrs. Parker in the room, Sydney moved quickly to stand beside Miss Parker.
"Ready to go home?" Parker turned to him and tried to smile, but Sydney instantly recognized the concern in her face. He covered and reached out to take her suitcase. As he did so, Mr. Parker stepped forward to embrace his daughter. Sydney couldn't help but notice that he held her as if she were made of glass. Genuine concern? Sydney hoped so.
"Angel, you take care, and call me if you need anything."
"I will Daddy. I promise, I'll get back to work as soon as I can."
"You just take care of my grandson. The Triumvirate owes you a few extra weeks of recovery time. Hell, if it wasn't for you, Raines would've taken over the place."
Miss Parker again tried to smile. She returned her father's embrace and then, without any word to Brigitte, walked out of the door, closely followed by Sydney.
Now she was home, waiting for some word on what her two friends had been able to find out about Jarod. Exhausted from her pacing, she sank onto the couch, her left hand instinctively falling over her stomach. He would never have escaped without contacting her right away, she was certain of that. He had promised to look after them, and he never lied. Infuriated, teased, and annoyed, yes, but he never lied.
Finally she heard car doors closing and moved to the front door to let the two men in. She instantly noticed that Sydney seemed to have aged five years since he'd left yesterday and Broots was shaking so badly, that it took all of his nerve just to say hello to her when he entered.
"What is it? What's happened?" Sydney had crossed the room and stood in front of her mantle with his back to her. Broots stood beside her, looking down at the floor. Neither man spoke.
"Damn it, would you please tell me what happened?"
Sydney continued to stand facing away from her. Broots, who was more than a little concerned about how Miss Parker was going to take this news, finally found his voice.
"M-Miss -- Miss Parker, maybe you should sit down."
Parker looked at Broots, tempted to snap at him for his concern until she saw his face. Clearly, they were as worried about her as they were about Jarod, and so she moved to the couch and sat down without argument. Broots cleared his throat as he took a seat next to her. After a moment, Sydney finally turned to face them.
"Jarod did not escape from the Centre."
"I knew that, Sydney. If he had, he would've contacted us by now. The question is what have they done with him?"
Sydney moved to the couch and sat on the other side of her. As he took his seat, he reached over and took her hand. This more than anything told Parker that something horrible had happened. She fought her natural born instinct to turn away from truths she didn't want to know. Straightening in her seat, she looked first at Broots and then at Sydney.
"What happened to Jarod?" Her voice nearly broke over the words, fear growing inside of her that she might already know the answer. She felt Sydney's grip on her hand tighten.
"Jarod is dead."
****************************
Lyle and Raines stood in the observation room of Renewal Wing Lab 13 and watched the activity going on inside. Jarod lay motionless on a cold metal table, several medical staffers working at different points around him.
Both men looked up as the doors opened and Mr. Parker entered. He approached his son, averting his eyes from Raines and instead taking in the scene in the room.
Silence fell as the three men watched doctors hook up multiple IVs to Jarod's body along with five electrical stimulators. Unable to contain himself, Raines drew in a ragged, oxygen tank-aided breath and spoke.
"The first two stages of the project are already complete. Now that his body temperature has been restored, the chemical injections and electronic pulses will begin altering his memory processes."
Mr. Parker looked at the man who had recently become his most hated enemy. Did he realize, Mr. Parker wondered, how close he had come to dying? Did he know that the Triumvirate's orders to "let sleeping dogs lie," had meant nothing to him when he'd found out that his daughter and grandson had nearly died
because of the disloyal traitor who now stood beside him. It had only been concern for his family that had kept the elder Parker from solving the problem on his own, and as far as he was concerned, the sleeping dogs could only be left to lie for so long."I still don't understand why it was necessary to stop his body functions by freezing him with the water?" Lyle didn't really care why they'd done something awful to Jarod, he'd enjoyed it too much to care why, but he felt a serious need to try and dissipate the tension between his father and Raines. Proud of the process he had invented, Raines was only to happy to answer.
"Fluids are routinely used to help warm a body that has suffered extreme hypothermia. By dropping Jarod's body temperature, we were able to use IV fluids laced with the chemical compounds used in the Renewal process, giving us greater access to Jarod's synaptic connections."
"So you saturated his brain?"
Raines looked at the younger Parker male, a smile crossing his face. "Exactly. And when we're through, Jarod will be the perfect Pretender."
Sydney sat in the chair beside Miss Parker's bed in the darkness as he watched her sleep. It had been nearly ten hours since he'd broken the news to her. She had sat quietly for moment, letting the words sink in. Then she had stood, slowly walking toward her bedroom. She had barely gone 10 steps when she began to collapse to the ground.
Sydney wasn't sure who had reached her first, he or Broots but they both grabbed hold of her, lowering her gently to the floor. Sydney hadn't been sure what kind of reaction to expect but he had known instinctively that hearing of Jarod's fate would devastate her.
Now she lay sleeping in the bed where he and Broots had lain her hours earlier. She woke several times, screaming alternately for Thomas and Jarod. Sydney had stayed with her, knowing there was little he could do but try to comfort her, to let her know she wasn't alone. Yet part of him knew that in a way only Parker could truly understand, she was alone because she had lost them both.
Thomas had been the love she could have, at least, that they had all thought she could have. He was disconnected from everything that was the Centre, safe for her to share the rest of her life with. He had been the first man she had ever willingly let inside of her heart. But they had, of course, been wrong. The Centre had deemed him a threat, and that meant that now he was gone.
Jarod was something he knew Parker could neither understand nor explain. He imagined that Parker had never decided to care for Jarod, it had simply happened. The connection between the two was completely organic and completely unbreakable. Friends as children, enemies as adults, they had found an immediate source of common ground with the news of Parker's impending motherhood. He knew that Jarod had intended to be a part of Parker's pregnancy and of her son's life. It had not been a choice for the Pretender, it was simply the way things were to be.
Sydney had asked Jarod once, just after Thomas' death, if he would have really been able to let Parker go to Oregon to start her new life with Thomas. Jarod had thought for a moment and then said, "Yes, I could have let her go. I wouldn't have wanted to, but to see her free, I would have done it."
Now they were both gone, and Parker had once again been left behind. Sydney looked heavenward and said a silent prayer that Jarod had finally found some kind of peace, and that God would let Parker find the same in the life she carried inside of her.
**************
The Centre
Two Weeks Later
**************Parker walked slowly down the hallway, her usual five inch stilettos replaced by more sensible two inch pumps. She hated them, but she was already beginning to feel small twinges of pain in her back and she wanted to try and put off the inevitable as long as possible.
Opening her door, she walked to her desk and looked at the mountain of paperwork that sat before her. Her father had asked her to do the security section evaluations, and though the work was fairly easy, it was time consuming. She'd already been working on it for five hours today and she was tired. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.
It had been two weeks since Jarod's death. Her life seemed to constantly be defined by the lengths of time which had passed since someone died -- 20 years since her mother, since Faith, 5 months since Thomas, 2 weeks since Jarod.
She still couldn't believe he was gone. She knew that he was. Sydney and Broots had seen the DSA of the Triumvirate's execution of their prize -- the man she had hunted for three years of her life. They had asked him to perform simulations, he had refused and they had shot him. That's all it had taken to end his life.
The first few days after she'd heard had been a nightmare of guilt and sadness. She knew that he had sacrificed his life for her when he had returned to the Centre to care for her. That, added to her guilt over Thomas had threatened to send her over the edge. Of course, Sydney had been there to save her. He had talked to her, made her see that she couldn't take the blame for Jarod's choices or for Tommy's. Still, she
carried them with her everyday.It had been the fourth day of her at-home recovery period that she'd made her decision. She knew that she had limited time, of course. Jarod had told her that at best she'd feel reasonably healthy until her seventh month of pregnancy and she was already five and a half months along. Still, with Broots' help, there was a chance.
She couldn't bring Jarod back, but she could make sure that she found his father and the boy, that she helped them find a place to hide from the Centre forever.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jarod sat huddled in the corner of his dark room, confusion clouding his mind and leaving him more frightened than ever before in his life.
Images floated through his mind -- images of him flying planes and driving cars, of him performing operations -- but they kept telling him that those sights were just delusions produced by his breakdown. He had never been in the outside world, they reminded him, so how could he have ever done those things? Yet they seemed so real to him.
He also remembered a man that seemed very important to him. The man was tall and had gray hair, and at first, Jarod had thought it was Sydney. But Mr. Raines had told him that Sydney was dead, that he'd been gone for years. So who was the man in the vision?
Jarod began to shake more violently and he reached over and tore the blanket from his bed, wrapping it around himself as he tried desperately to crawl even further into the corner. He knew they were watching, they were always watching. If he could just have a few moments of privacy, some time to try and sort out all that he was thinking, then he knew that he could recover from whatever illness had taken hold of him. Suddenly, Jarod grimaced in pain and his body tightened even more. Anytime he thought about ways to end his suffering, to find an answer to what was wrong with him, it came back again. This, he knew, was his punishment. It had all been his fault, they'd told him so. She'd done it because of him, because of what he'd said to her. He still couldn't remember the argument, but he knew that it had been real and that after they had fought she'd run away, heading for the elevator, and that before anyone could stop her, she'd taken out her gun and shot herself.
Miss Parker was dead, and it was his fault. They'd told him that seeing her body had triggered his breakdown, and he clearly remembered holding her body, blood covering her white suit, as she had lain motionless in his arms. God, what had he done? He had killed her.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Raines sat in his office watching the monitor which displayed Jarod's room. He could tell that the control device was working. Any time Jarod thought of recovery, his brain automatically fed him an image of Miss Parker's dead body, or at least, what he perceived to be her body. It always sent him spiraling back into depression and fear.
Watching now as the Pretender huddled in the corner, tears flowing as he again relieved the painful "memory" of Parker's death, Raines reached for the phone and dialed Mr. Parker's office.
"Yes."
"It's me. He's broken. We can begin the rebuilding process."
"Then do it."
"What if Miss Parker or Sydney discover what's going on?"
There was silence for a moment before Mr. Parker answered, "Don't worry, none of them will ever find out that Jarod is still alive."
Raines hung up the phone, then stood to leave for the day. If he had kept watching the monitors for just a moment longer, he might have seen the flash of movement in the vent just above Jarod's place on the floor. Movement that signaled that someone else inside the Centre was aware of Jarod's presence and was keenly aware of the danger that surrounded his friend.
Angelo moved quickly through the vents and headed through his world of tunnels to find the person he knew needed desperately to know that Jarod was alive. He had felt her pain for days, and he knew that she needed to know the truth.
go to part four