Part 10: Retribution and Rejoicing
by N.R. Levy
Lyle sensed Sydney's eyes on him, and he straightened his walk, trying to hide the limp he'd been battling all week. His sister's aim apparently never failed her, even when she was taken completely by surprise.
It had been six days since Parker's disappearance, and he and Brigitte had not been able to find any solid leads on her whereabouts. Broots had reported several possible sightings in various parts of the country, but so far, they had all turned up empty.
His father was furious, and Lyle again wondered why it was that no matter what he did, how low an act he committed to win favor with his father, when push came to shove Parker was always the child that mattered most to the old man. Was it just the difference in years spent together, or was the man just consumed by guilt over all that he had taken from his daughter? Lyle wasn't sure, but it was damn infuriating.
Things would change when Brigitte's son arrived. That little jewel was going to be his key to the kingdom, all he had to do was bide his time, and of course, find his sister before her son got in the way.
Knowing the course of action he needed to take, Lyle entered his office and dialed the phone.
"Yes, Matthew. I'd like to see you right away."
***************************
Dr. Spencer Townsend stretched in her chair and then went back to the paper she was reading on new protocols for dealing with HIV patients in emergency medicine. She was still on page two of the paper after more than three hours, mostly because she found herself constantly looking up to check on the patient whose bedside she occupied. And that sent her mind wandering into the thoughts she'd been having about Jarod and his wife for the past several days.
There were things about them that were clearly on the up and up. Their obvious affection for each other was one, and their dedication to the little boy that thankfully still occupied his place inside his mother's womb was another. They were both interesting, intelligent people, and though Catherine could definitely be a handful – as many of the nurses had found out – she was at heart as kind a person as Jarod.
What didn't add up was Jarod's seemingly endless knowledge on so many different subjects, things that went beyond the reach of an ordinarily educated person. Each time a change occurred in Catherine's medical condition, Spencer faced a pointed round of questioning by Jarod, who knew medical terminology better than most residents.
Then there was the matter of what the man could do on a laptop.
She hadn't been purposely trying to look at his work, but she'd dropped by at the end of a night shift to check on Catherine. Spencer had entered the room to find Catherine asleep and Jarod working away on his computer. They'd chatted for a moment, and then Catherine had begun to wake. Jarod had jumped from his chair, rushing to his wife's side, and Spencer had only been turning away to leave when she'd noticed the screen of his computer – he had accessed INTERPOL records on a man named Tommy Tanaka.
She didn't know who he was, and she supposed that a federal agent might be able to access those kinds of things on his own, but somehow, she knew that Jarod wasn't quite what he appeared to be. That didn't make Spenser afraid of him, it just left her with the knowledge that she was possibly involved in something much bigger than she'd previously known, and though she was curious as to what it was, it in no way caused a ripple in her resolve to help this family.
Catherine began to toss in her sleep, and Spenser stood to check her vital signs. Though the baby's condition had improved over the past week, he was still a few days shy of being ready to be born. Spenser just hoped that Catherine could hang on that long.
In the week since Jarod had carried her into the emergency room, his wife had lost nearly 10 pounds, and though she was in still stable, clearly the daily stress of enduring the pain of her back injury was taking it's toll.
Spencer spoke calmly to her patient, trying to soothe her. She was getting barely more than four hours of sleep a day, the pain proving too much for her to fight back, and Spencer knew that they were running out of time. Soon, the benefits to the baby would be outweighed by the increasing risks to his mother's health, and she dreaded having to broach that subject with Jarod.
As if he'd heard his name in her thoughts, Jarod entered the room, his now ever-present laptop in hand. He settled his things on the table across the room, then walked over to Catherine's side and gently took her hand in his.
"Has she been asleep long?"
"Barely an hour. She just went in and out before that."
Jarod nodded in response to her words, his whole focus once again falling on the beautiful woman who lay in the bed. Sensing she was no longer needed, Spencer headed toward the door.
"Thank you for staying with her, Spencer."
Spencer looked back at him and smiled, then exited the room to try and get a few hours of sleep herself.
Once she was gone, Jarod sat down on Parker's bed, her hand still held in his. He had been there no more than five minutes before her eyes shot open, her body tensing as if it had been hit by an electric jolt. Her hand tightened in his, and he leaned forward so that his face was close to hers.
"I'm here, Parker. I'm right here."
Slowly, as the initial shock eased, she was able to open her eyes. She looked up at him, tears threatening to break free.
"Jarod, I don't think I can make it."
Her voice sounded so weak and small to him, and he had to fight not to crumble in front of her when he heard it. He eased his body the rest of the way onto the bed, and curled himself around her.
"I know you're tired, Parker. It's almost over. Just a few more days."
"I don't know if I can –" Her voice faltered as she lost her fight with the tears and they began to stream down her face. Jarod reached up and gently wiped them away.
"The Ice Queen melteth."
He was relieved when she managed a small half-laugh in response to his joke. This was what he done many times over the past few days. Parker would feel herself reaching the breaking point and he would pull her back, carefully rebuilding her confidence and resolve. He knew that she was terrified of letting her baby down. He also knew that she was completely exhausted and emotionally drained from being ill and frightened.
"Just talk to me for a while, okay?" She looked at him hopefully, not caring what he wanted to say, just wanting him to stay close to her, to be there to keep her focused on their goal.
"Okay, well, Broots and Sydney send their love."
"When did you talk to them?"
"Just before I came back. Broots has been driving the Centre crazy by placing false leads on you all over the map. He had sweepers flying from Arizona to New York to Florida in 48 hours."
"How's Lyle?" He sensed a faint edge of venom in her voice as she mentioned her brother's name. He had hated telling her that Lyle was responsible for hurting her. It wasn't as if she and her twin were close, but Jarod knew it still had to hurt to know how completely willing he was to betray and injure her to get what he wanted.
"Still limping. Sydney says you caught him right in the thigh. He sent Matthew out to find you."
It was Parker's turn to notice the sound of Jarod's voice. She knew that Matthew was the sweeper Raines had used to frighten Jarod during his captivity, and his appearance into the game of cat and mouse they were playing with Lyle and the Centre had brought back many of the terrible memories of that time. She squeezed his hand to let him know she was with him, and he smiled slightly and continued.
"I hacked into the your father's lawyer's files. He changed his will again. That's why Lyle came after you."
Parker looked at him questioningly, and Jarod took a deep breath before continuing. Even when her father tried to do the right thing he still ended up getting Parker hurt, and Jarod couldn't help but think how sad that was.
"He left his Centre shares to Thomas, to be held in trust by you. He left everything else to be split equally between his wife and his three children."
"So, he was trying to kill Tommy. Ironic, considering he's probably the bastard that killed his father."
Parker closed her eyes and Jarod watched her as she tried to let go of the rage that was growing inside her. She had confessed to him that she believed her father had at least known about the order to kill Thomas, and that her brother had probably been the one to carry out the directive.
For her part, Parker knew that she couldn't afford to let anymore hate and resentment take up residence in her heart. She needed all of her strength to take care of her baby. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if her father would even care that her brother had tried to kill her son.
After a while, she opened her eyes and looked up at Jarod. As she'd been trying to clear those thoughts from her mind, another more worrisome one had entered it. Slowly, she brought her hand to Jarod's face and touched it to his cheek.
"Let it go, Jarod." The look that crossed his face let her know that he understood what she meant, but that he did not agree.
"I can't. He could've killed both of you. I can't just let that go."
"You have to. Look, nobody hates needing anyone more than me, you know that, but I need you, Jarod. We need you. Please, just stay away from him."
Jarod wondered if he'd been able to hide the emotion that swept through him at her words. She needed him – and she was telling him so. Could she possibly know how much that meant to him? But he couldn't just let Lyle walk away from what he'd done to her.
"Lyle is being taken care of, Parker. And I promise, I'm not going anywhere near him to do it."
She looked at him with a continuing gaze of disapproval, but she decided she had no choice but to accept his promise. She listened as Jarod began telling her about the rest of his conversation with Sydney, and her eyes closing under the weight of her constant exhaustion.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
As he sped down the road in his Mercedes, Lyle didn't know what made him angrier – that Matthew had failed again to find his sister or that Brigitte was acting as if the whole thing were his fault. If she had better control over his father, none of this would have happened.
And Matthew, the ignorant bastard – he had tracked a lead on Parker to some bed and breakfast owner in Maine. The man had confirmed that Parker had been there, but said she had left three days earlier for Canada. Was it possibly his sister was becoming even more difficult and annoying than Jarod?
There was another problem, too. The Triumvirate was furious over the Centre's failure to recapture Jarod or his clone. No leads on the pretender or his family had come up in days. With Parker gone, Raines still feeling the burn over Jarod's escape, and his father going nuts over Parker's disappearance, the displeasure of the powers that be with the Russell family's continued freedom fell squarely on his shoulders.
He was definitely having a bad week. Little did he know it was about to get much worse.
Lyle had parked his car and was headed into his home. He was still lost in thoughts of the Centre, and didn't notice the five stealthily moving men who approached him with near silent perfection. He didn't notice them until they were on him and he was falling into unconsciousness from one powerful blow to the back of his head.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
He couldn't see anything through the hood that covered his face, but he could hear voices around him, many of them and they were speaking Japanese. That alone was enough to send terror running through Lyle's whole being. His last encounter with the Japanese – specifically the Yakuza – had not gone well and had cost him his thumb.
The hood was ripped off dramatically, and Lyle squinted his eyes shut against the bright light that filled the room. Once they adjusted, they fell squarely on the face of Tommy Tanaka.
"Hello, Mr. Lyle. So good to see you again."
The man smiled and Lyle felt himself go weak inside. Whatever was about to happen would not be good – at least, not for him.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jarod paced anxiously in the hallway waiting for the nurse to finish with Parker. He checked around the corner once, twice, then caught himself doing it a third time. Spencer was running another ox-sat level on the baby and Jarod was praying that the levels were acceptable. He just couldn't handle watching her suffer anymore.
Ten days had now passed since Lyle's attack and Parker was growing weaker by the day. The constant pain and lack of sleep were beating her down, and her appetite had all but disappeared. Were it not for the IV's that forced nutrition into her body, she and the baby would be getting almost no nourishment at all.
Her spirits had brightened a bit when he'd told her how his revenge against Lyle had unfolded. Tommy Tanaka had been an obvious choice to aid in his plan. Jarod had noticed more than once in the past year how people developed strong loyalties to Parker despite her outwardly gruff demeanor, and the Triad boss was no exception. His youthful sexual attraction to her had developed into a healthy respect and admiration, and when he had learned of Lyle's transgressions against his friend, he'd been more than happy to aid Jarod in his little scenario.
Once they had kidnapped him and taken him to their warehouse, Tanaka had made things very clear to Lyle – he wanted information on the Centre, detailed information about the Triumvirate, the managing council and any other relevant employees. He did not reveal why he wanted the information. That hadn't been necessary. Lyle had spilled his guts for hours, giving Tanaka everything that he wanted.
Lyle now knew that Tanaka owned him. He would do anything the crime boss asked, or Tanaka would reveal his betrayal to the Centre, which, of course, would sign Lyle's death warrant. He had not given Lyle any specific instructions, only a warning that he would be back when "the time was right."
Parker had loved the idea of her brother cowering in fear, and she had no doubt of Tanaka's ability to cause such a scene. She only regretted that she had not had a chance to see it herself. It was a fitting punishment -- her brother would finally know what iit felt like to be under the control of someone else, wondering when his life would be turned upside down – just like Jarod. Just like her.
But that pleasure had only eased her pain, it hadn't taken it away. The surgery that had saved her life had also worsened her own situation, leaving her bed-ridden and unable to move into any position that alleviated the spasms in her back. Though she had spoken the words many times, Jarod now knew that they were true – she couldn't take much more.
Spencer rounded the corner wearing surgical scrubs, and Jarod looked at her hopefully.
"So, you ready to be a daddy?" The smile that erupted on Jarod's face told her the answer. They walked into the room together just as the nurse was cleaning up from inserting Parker's new IV.
"So, Catherine? Had about enough of this?" Her patient glared at her from the bed, no trace of humor on her face.
"If that's a joke, it's not funny." Spencer smiled as Jarod moved to his wife's side.
"No joke. Spencer says you're ready to go." Parker closed her eyes, waiting for them to tell her that they were only kidding, but no words came and she allowed herself to feel a momentary rush of relief before general anxiety swept through her. She reached for Jarod's hand.
"You can be there, can't you?" Jarod looked up at Spencer who nodded her acquiescence, then he turned back to Parker.
"Where else would I be?"
"After they take him, Jarod. I want you to stay with him, okay?" Parker saw that he was about to argue, but she quickly stopped him.
"He's going to be all alone, Jarod. We're all he knows and I can't be with him. Please?" The truth of her words hit Jarod and he allowed himself to be silently proud of how good a mother she already was.
"Whatever you want."
The two were sharing a special moment and Spencer hated to break into it, but she wanted to get Catherine into surgery as soon as possible.
"Hey guys, are we having a baby or what?" They all shared a nervous laugh, and Spencer went to open the door, signaling the orderlies waiting outside to come in.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sydney was sitting in his office reading the results of a new set of twin studies when his phone rang.
"This is Sydney."
"It's a boy." Sydney smiled at Jarod's statement, but he quickly felt his concern jump to the forefront of his mind.
"A healthy boy?" There was a slight pause that made Sydney worry more, then he heard the unmistakable squall of a crying baby, and his worry subsided.
"How does he sound to you? He's a little small yet, only 5 pounds. But, yeah, Syd, he's going to be fine."
"How is Parker?"
"Still in surgery. There's some scar tissue around the bullet now, so it's taking longer than they thought to get it out. I'll call you when it's over."
The line went dead, and Sydney shook his head, wondering if either of his beloved protégé knew just how irreversible and unbreakable the ties they'd built in the past six months really were.
The nursery was quiet when Spencer entered, all of the babies momentarily sound asleep. All except one, who was looking wide-eyed at the man that held him.
"Have you let that baby get any sleep?" Jarod looked up at Spencer's words, the tiny bundle in his arms snuggling closer to him as he did so.
"Hey, it's not my fault. His mother's been keeping him up at all hours."
"Speaking of, what do you say we introduce this little guy to her, hmm?" Jarod's heart tightened as he looked into Spencer's face for reassurance that her tone meant what he hoped it did – that Parker was okay.
"That's one very tough mommy you have there, little boy." She looked up into Jarod's face as she continued. "The bullet did a little more damage than we thought, and there was some more bleeding, but she's going to be fine, Jarod."
Spencer knew the look that appeared on Jarod's face even though she rarely got to see it – it was the look of someone truly grateful for what she had done. So much of her work in the ER went unnoticed by those it helped – maybe that was why she had demanded she be left on this case. This family had truly needed her help, and she was pleased that she had been able to give it to them.
Parker had barely woken when the door to her room opened, and she saw Jarod enter with a small, blue blanket-wrapped bundle in his arms. She immediately felt herself fall into a whirlwind of emotions. Her son was alive and more than that, healthy enough to be brought to her. She had come through for him. But she would be able to do that always? As much as she already loved the tiny being, her doubts began to surge forward.
Jarod sat on the edge of the bed and smiled at her as he handed her the baby. Her son. She looked in his face, and she clearly saw Thomas' smile and her eyes. God, he was really hers. As quickly as her doubts had risen, then flowed away. Looking into his beautiful little face, she knew that she would die before she let her son down – ever.
Jarod settled onto the bed next to them, his arm wrapped under hers to help her support the baby. He said nothing, only watching her as she bonded with her son.
He was more than proud of Parker; he was in awe of her. Still, he sensed that now wasn't the time to tell her that. Instead, he just lay there beside them, glad that he was here to share this amazing day with her. More than an hour passed before he finally spoke.
"How are you feeling?"
"Believe it or not, I have no complaints. God, after the past few weeks, I don't think I can ever complain about not feeling good again."
Jarod laughed at her words, knowing she meant them now, but also knowing her too well to think they would hold. Parker slowly moved her finger up and down the baby's right cheek, the infant at last sleeping soundly in his mother's arms.
"Thomas Gates II. Or will it be Thomas Gates, Jr.?" Jarod asked the question earnestly, realizing it had always been assumed the baby would carry his father's name, and that he simply didn't know how she planned to phrase it. She turned to look at him, and Jarod saw a deep sense of emotion in her eyes.
"Actually, I was thinking that Thomas Kyle Gates was our first choice."
The words touched Jarod's heart in place he hadn't allowed himself to go in a very long time. His brother – so briefly a part of his life – and yet he had loved him so very much. Then the synchronicity of all struck him – Thomas and Kyle – two men who had been taken away from life just as they'd found something to truly make them happy. The names fit together. He sat up and took the baby from Parker, the infant equally at home in his arms.
"Well, then, welcome to the world Thomas Kyle."