by
N.R. Levy
"They're both gone?"
Will heard the sound of Mr. Raines voice out in the hall. He heard anger
and shock in that voice, and it got the boy's attention. Quickly he moved
to the door of his room and peeked out the window.
Raines stood there with his ever-present oxygen tank beside him. He had
apparently addressed his words to the two men in front of him, Mr. Cox and Mr.
Lyle. It was Cox who responded.
"The Major is gone, and no one seems to know where Master Parker is."
Raines tightened his hand around the handle of the cart that moved his tank
from place to place and a vein began to stick out in his forehead.
"Is there any way the Major could have known about the boy?"
"Not that we can find," Lyle offered, his usual cool demeanor in
place, "unless, of course, you left that information somewhere it could be
found."
The men continued to talk as Will turned away, a cold, hard anger forming in
his eyes. He knew why they were gone, and he knew who had helped them.
She had done this. She had ruined his perfect Sim and she had left him
here while she saved Jarod's family.
That's when Will heard his little voice start. This voice had guided him
for so long, telling him when to give into Raines and save himself from
punishment, telling him who to trust. It had willed him back to
the Centre, back to Miss Parker, and now it was trying to tell him that she
hadn't left, hadn't abandoned him. He heard the words in his heart, the
place he always seemed to translate the sounds that played out inside of his
head.
But today, something was different. Today he could not and would not
listen to them. He was too angry. He had given up his freedom to
come back to her and now she was gone. He could not let that go. He
would not let that go.
Will turned back to the door and began to bang on it. It didn't take long
for the noise to attract the attention of the men standing out in the hall and
they moved as a unit toward him. Raines opened the door, and Will stepped
out to face them.
"Will, is something wrong?"
"I know who took them."
Lyle narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to the boy. For a second, Will
almost thought better of what he was about to do, but his anger surged again
from just thinking of her holding that baby in her arms, and he straightened
his shoulders and stood taller.
"Miss Parker, she took them both."
EARLIER THAT DAY
Many of the secrets she had learned over the past few years had threatened to
send Parker reeling, but she had never been so close to the edge of blatant
fury as she was now. They had stolen her children. She kept hearing
Broots' words in her head as he had tried to explain the whole thing to her,
his efforts to shield her both admirable and futile. Will and the baby -
they were hers and Jarod's - and that meant only one thing: she had to
get them out of the Centre.
What she didn't know yet was how to do that, and she had little time to
decide. Project Retrieval was going to begin in fifteen hours, and she
had to get Charles out before everything went to hell, and Jarod ended up going
with it.
Out of her peripheral vision, Parker caught sight of the gas station where she
stopped regularly to fuel her stable of cars, the gas station where her life
had changed so dramatically two year ago when she'd met Thomas here.
Stopping, Parker made a u-turn and pulled into a parking spot at the
station. She wasn't sure why when she made the turn, but as she climbed
out of the car and headed for the payphone, Parker suddenly instinctively understood
why she had come here. Quickly, she moved inside the booth and closed the
door, and then her fingers dialed a number she had never called, but had
committed to memory.
"Hello? Elizabeth, is that you?"
Parker could hear a slight tint of worry in her Uncle Harry's voice, and it did
nothing to alleviate the tension in her own body.
"No, Harry, it's Parker."
"Oh, Little Cat, thank goodness. Did they catch up with you
yet?"
"What? Did who catch up with me?"
"Lizzie and Angelo. He got all upset about something, saying you
were in trouble, so she left to bring him down -"
"They're coming here? No, Harry, you have to stop them. They
can't come here, not now."
"It's too late, Parker. They left last night. They'll probably
be at your house in a little while."
"Damn it." Parker closed her eyes in an effort to block out the
new fear that was growing inside of her. Not her brother, too. She
couldn't have to risk everything that mattered to her, not in one day. She had
to warn them off, but how? She couldn't go back to the house; her absence
at the Centre would surely go noticed on a day when a project regarding Jarod
was being launched. No, she had to get them word some other way.
"All right, Harry, listen. If they call you, you tell them to wait
at my house for a man named Sam. Tell them to do exactly what Sam says,
do you understand?"
"Okay. Sam. I'll tell them."
Parker hung up the phone and took a deep breath. Carefully, she pulled
her Ice Queen mask around her, hiding away all of the worry and anxiety she
felt now. It was time to get to work, and it was time to do what needed
to be done.
Miss Parker's arrival at the Centre was typical. She strode through the
lobby, the heels of her boots clicking against the tile as she moved with grace
and speed and her usual ignorance of those around her. She went straight
to her office and shut the door and sat down at her desk. She pulled a sheet of
paper from a drawer and wrote down the only words that were needed to
communicate her goal. Then she took the sheet of paper, folded it, and
put it in an envelope. Once it was sealed, she reached over and picked up
the phone.
"Sam, meet me in the rose garden in five minutes."
Five minutes later, both Sam and Miss Parker strode into the Centre rose
garden. After checking to make certain they were alone, she handed him
the envelope.
"There's going to be two people arriving at my house sometime this
morning, Sam. Give them this."
"Of course, Miss Parker." As he spoke, Sam reached out to take
the envelope and noticed something he had never seen before - Miss Parker's
hand was shaking.
"Tell them to follow the instructions exactly. My life may
absolutely depend on this, Sam. Do you understand?"
Sam's only response was a nod, but Parker trusted him and knew that only death
would stop him from delivering the message. She turned and walked away,
leaving him standing there. He watched her go, then carefully put the
envelope in his inside pocket. After stopping by to joke with the morning
crew of sweepers to keep up appearances, Sam headed straight for his car and an
hour after his meeting with Miss Parker had ended, he pulled into her driveway
and waited.
Twenty-five minutes later, a car pulled up in front of the house. Sam
watched carefully to be certain that this was no one from the Centre before he
revealed himself. A woman emerged from the driver's side, and moved
around to the passenger door. She opened it, and pulled out a man that
Sam instantly recognized as Angelo. Satisfied that this was who he had
been waiting for, Sam climbed from the car and moved toward the twosome.
It was only when he got closer that he saw the woman's face clearly, and he
froze in his steps as he saw an older version of Miss Parker's face looking
back at him.
For her part, Elizabeth wasn't sure what to think about this man, and as she
tried to think of some excuse for their being there, Angelo moved away from her
and walked toward Sam, his hand rising to pat the man on the shoulder.
"Sam friend. Help sister."
Those words made Elizabeth relax, and she smiled warmly at the rather muscular
person she now knew as Sam. She then extended her hand toward him.
"Well, then, Sam, I guess that makes you my friend, too. I'm
Elizabeth, Parker's aunt."
Sam swallowed hard as he fought to regain the power of speech. Aunt? When
did she get an aunt, and how in the hell did all the Parker women look so much
alike? Trying to right his brain, Sam reached into his
pocket and pulled out the letter.
"I'm supposed to give you this, ma'am, but maybe we should go
inside?"
Elizabeth nodded, and the trio moved to the porch, where Sam produced a key and
opened the front door. The three entered, and the sweeper had barely shut
the door before Elizabeth tore open the envelope, dropping it to the floor as
she pulled the letter free. Her eyes anxiously took in what was revealed
on the page.
"Elizabeth, find Jarod. Tell him to meet me at the Harcourt exit of
Interstate 85 at 8:00 tonight. Matter of life and death for both our
families. All of you stay away from the Centre. Bring Angelo and
meet me there. Parker."
As Elizabeth read, Angelo scooped up the envelope from the floor, and his
sudden intake of breath was the only thing that made his aunt tear her eyes
away from the letter in her hands.
"Angelo, what is it?"
"Saving children. Sister is going to save family."
"Well, she won't if we don't do this. Sam, do you think these phones
are bugged?"
"Knowing the Centre, ma'am, probably."
Elizabeth nodded and moved to her purse. As she pulled her cell phone out
she noticed Angelo heading toward another door inside the house, but she did
not stop him. Instead she struggled to remember the number she had
memorized when Jarod left her farm, and then she dialed it into the keypad.
Emily stretched and finally sat up in bed. Her eyes sought out the clock,
and she saw that it was almost 10:00 in the morning. Hmm, she thought, so
nice to sleep in. She'd been getting up at 6:00 for work as her alter ego
Gracie Maxwell for weeks now, and it was nice to just relax. The pretend
had exhausted her, and she marveled again at her brother's stamina. Jarod
could stay immersed in a persona for months and just walk out of it as if
nothing had happened. Of course, he had years of practice, but still,
that he could do so with little ill effect amazed her.
The rumbling of her stomach told Emily that perhaps she had slept in a little
too late this morning, so she got up to go forage in the kitchen for whatever
real food there might be. Someday she was determined to convince her big
brother that Pop Tarts were not a food group. As she smiled at that
thought, she made her way through the apartment and toward the kitchen.
She froze when she caught sight of Jarod.
He was standing by the dining room table, his hands clenched as he held on to
the sides of the piece of wooden furniture as if his life depended on the
support it gave him. Her eyes traveled to his face and soon found that
his handsome features were twisted into a tight mask of fury.
"Jarod, what is it?"
"Damn them! Damn them!"
He pushed away from the table as he uttered the last "them" and began
to pace frantically through the room. Emily had been to enough zoos in
her time to recognize the look of a caged animal, the frenzy that crept through
their bodies. That was exactly what her brother looked like now.
"Jarod, what is it?"
"They have Dad. Those bastards have our father, and they're planning
to use him to catch me."
With that, Jarod moved through the apartment toward his bedroom. Emily
followed, though, thanks to her own shock, she was two steps behind him.
How in the hell had they caught Dad? She didn't have much time to
entertain that thought, however, because she realized what Jarod had come into
the room to do - he was packing.
"Where do you think you're going, Jarod?"
"I'm going to get Dad."
"That's a brilliant idea since you know they only caught him to get you to
come after him so they could trap you. Amazing how little originality
they have in that place. Same plan, different relative."
"Emily, we're not going to debate this."
"No, we're not because you're being stupid, Jarod, and that's something I
didn't think I'd ever see from you."
That made Jarod stop in his tracks. He looked down at the clothes in his
hand and then over at his sister, and he realized that he was running on pure
adrenaline and emotion right now. Sighing, he sank down onto the
bed. Emily was right. He was being stupid. Still, what he'd
read in that file. He'd never expected his random search to turn up a
file on his father, not really, but there it was. Project Retrieval -
they had, God, it made him sick to think about it. They had brainwashed
his father so that the sight of his oldest son would trigger a physical response
that appeared to be a heart attack. That was their plan. Jarod would see
his father collapse and expose himself, no matter what the danger, and then the
Centre would take back their pretender. After his return, they would
systematically strip away his memories of the last four years, and he would
never remember being free.
Their plan was full proof. Jarod had read and read the file over and over
and he knew that another pretender must have developed the profile. The
location was perfect, a place without a lot of pedestrian traffic to give Jarod
cover; the set up - as if there was any chance that Jarod would not go to his
father's aid? And the brainwashing method they'd selected, that was the
ultimate irony - it was one Jarod had developed himself during a pretend in
1980 about ways to minimize the long-term affects of capture on the American
hostages who had been held in Iran.
Emily saw the tension in her brother's shoulders grow even stronger, and she
moved to him, easing herself down next to him on the bed. Slowly, she
extended her hand so it could move up and down his left arm in a gesture of
comfort.
"We'll think of a way to get him back, Jarod, but we're not going to risk
you to do it."
He nodded, and though it wasn't much, it was some kind of acquiescence on his
part. Emily moved closer to him, sliding her arm around him as she leaned
her head on his shoulder.
"I'm scared for him, too."
"I know, Em. I know."
"Maybe - Jarod, maybe we should call Parker and -"
Jarod stood the moment he heard Parker's name, his body suddenly filled with
that dangerous energy again.
"No, absolutely not."
Emily looked at her brother carefully, her eyes narrowing. He could
possibly think -- after all they had been though, he couldn't doubt Parker's
loyalty now, could he?
"Don't you dare accuse her of being part of this. You know her
better than that, Jarod, you know she wouldn't --"
Jarod put his hand up to stop her.
"That's not what I meant, Em. I'm not going to make the same mistake
twice, and yes, I do know her better than that. But if she isn't involved
in this, the damn it, I want her to stay uninvolved. She doesn't need
this."
"She might not agree." Emily's words hung there in the air
between them as Jarod thought about it. No, Parker would probably be
furious with him for not telling her what was going on, but she had been hurt
enough. Physically, he honestly didn't know how much more she could take
and emotionally, well, if Christmas had been any indication, she was already at
the breaking point. He was not going to be the reason for any more of her
pain. He owed her that much at least.
"No, I don't want her involved. We'll figure out some other
way. I'll email Sydney. Maybe he knows - "
The ringing of his cell phone cut off Jarod's words, and he rushed to answer
it.
"Hello?"
"Jarod? Oh, thank goodness. Jarod, it's Elizabeth."
"Elizabeth? Is everything all right? Is Angelo okay?"
"He's fine except that he's worried sick about his sister. Jarod,
something's going on. I'm not sure what, but Angelo was so upset I
brought him to Blue Cove, and -"
"Is Parker with you?"
"No. She's at the - at that place. She sent someone named Sam
here with a note for me. Jarod, she needs you to meet her. She said
to meet her at the Harcourt exit of Interstate 85 at 8:00 tonight. She
also says that it's a matter of life and death for both of your families and
that we should all stay away from the Centre."
Emily watched as Jarod's hand tightened around the phone, and she felt her
stomach sink as her brother spoke in barely audible words that might have been
a prayer more than they were anything else.
"Oh, God, Parker, no."
Elizabeth waited on the other end of the line for some sign that Jarod had
understood what she said. She heard something that sounded like a
whisper, but she could not make out the words. Patiently, she continued
to wait, not knowing that at the other end of the phone Jarod had sunk down on
the bed, his mind instantly filled with a fear he could not control. Parker
was risking her life for him and his family again. What would he do if this
time she didn't survive?
"Elizabeth, tell Sam to stop her. Tell him he has to stop her."
As the young man's words registered, the woman to whom he spoke let her eyes
scan the room. They stopped on a photo of her beloved sister holding her
beautiful smiling baby girl in her arms. In that moment, Elizabeth
understood the fear Jarod was feeling. Parker had lost so much in her
life. Was it fair for her to risk what little she had left? She was
about to express that to Jarod when she suddenly felt the phone being pulled
from her grasp. She looked up to see Angelo standing beside her.
Slowly, her nephew curled the receiver toward his mouth, and he spoke awkwardly
into the device.
"Jarod do what sister says. Important. Find family."
Angelo's voice sank into the depths of Jarod's mind, and though he didn't want
to accept what he had heard, how could he doubt Angelo? This man had so often
saved all of them from danger, and he knew it would be folly to ignore his
friend, yet Jarod wanted so much to say 'no, I won't do what she says.
I'm going to stop her,' but he didn't say any of those things. Despite
his worry, his heart told him to do what Angelo said.
By the time he made his decision, Angelo had handed the phone back to his
aunt. He was now sitting on the couch with what looked like a sketchbook
held tightly against his chest. The silence from the other end of the
line, however, demanded she turn her attention away from her nephew and back to
Jarod.
"Are you there, Jarod?"
"All right, Elizabeth. I'll do what she says, but, please, ask Sam
to tell her to be careful. Please."
"I will."
Elizabeth heard him disconnect the line so she followed suit. After
replacing the phone in its cradle, she moved to Angelo.
"Angelo, Jarod's going to help her. It's all right."
"Good. Jarod help sister save family."
As he finished speaking, Angelo handed the sketchbook to Elizabeth, then he
moved off, she assumed, to explore the house again. She was about to open
it when she remembered Sam, and turned to face him.
"Sam, Jarod asked me to have you tell Parker to be careful."
Sam smiled at that. He had known for months now, ever since the mess with
Damon in San Diego, that things had changed somehow between Miss Parker and
Jarod. Still, the Pretender should know better than anyone that to tell
Miss Parker to do anything was a waste of breath, though he figured now wasn't
the time to point that out to his boss's aunt.
"I'll do my best, ma'am. I better get back to the Centre. You
should probably head off as soon as you can. If you have any problems,
you can call me at this number."
Elizabeth smiled a warm, caring smile that reminded Sam of the way Miss Parker
had smiled when Thomas Gates was alive. He hoped to see her smile like
that again someday. He handed the woman in front of him a slip of paper
with his cell number on it and then turned to leave.
It was some minutes after Sam had made his way back to his car before Elizabeth
finally remembered the book she held in her hand. She opened it and
scanned through the sketches she found inside. She did not need to see
the small "mp" at the bottom of each page to know her niece had
created these beautiful images of the house she now sat in, of the woods
outside, of those the young woman loved - it was clear she had inherited more
than Catherine's beauty. For just a moment, Elizabeth though about the
beautiful paintings her sister had created during their long, lazy summers
together in the country before their father had torn their lives apart.
Those happy thoughts were soon replaced by startled realization, however, as
she turned to the last pages of the book. Suddenly Angelo's earlier words
held an entirely new relevance.
The final sketches were of a baby and a teenage boy. Elizabeth knew that
each portrait contained every significant detail of how these children looked,
their various expressions - laughter, reflection, contentment - drawn over and
over again. Only someone who loved these two children deeply could
capture that much of them on the pages of this book. That was a love
Elizabeth knew all too well.
It was the love a mother felt for her child.
Again she heard Angelo's voice in her mind. 'Save children.' 'Save
family.' Could it be possible? Could these children be...
"Angelo? Angelo?" Elizabeth got no response to her calls,
and though that was not unusual, she couldn't help but feel instantly that
something was very wrong. She stood quickly and began to search the house
for her nephew. It was only after she had searched every room twice that
she realized the reason for her growing sense of dread - Angelo was gone.
At the same time that Elizabeth was making this discovery, Sam pulled into his
usual parking space. His task for Miss Parker was complete and as absurd
as it sounded, he now had an errand to do for Jarod. The question was,
could he still do it? Was Miss Parker still inside these walls, or had
she already done whatever it was she meant to do today?
Sam was so focused on these thoughts that he never noticed the figure huddled
on the amply spacious floor of the Lincoln's rear seat. He headed into
the Centre blissfully unaware that he had just facilitated a break-in at his
place of employment. The culprit lay in wait, calculating in his mind how
long it would take for the security cameras, which had been activated by the
arrival of the car he now hid inside of, to return to their original
position. It normally took 90 seconds for a complete cycle. This was
something he had learned in his years of life inside the building he was
waiting to reenter.
The time elapsed, and the man carefully crept out of the back of the car.
He knew somewhere inside his brain that the moment he stepped out of the car
the camera would begin to turn back toward his hiding place. That meant he had
to move quickly so he could get up against the building before he was
discovered. Once that was accomplished, it was just a few hundred feet to
the air duct that he would use to make his way inside.
Angelo breathed in the smell of the familiar tunnels once he had safely gained
access to the Centre. He moved quickly, and it took him just over five
minutes to reach the office air vent he needed to reach. Unfortunately for
everyone, he had reached it too late. He could feel the rage coming from
inside his sister's office as he watched Mr. Lyle, Mr. Parker and Raines
question both Sydney and Broots.
"Sydney, you know everything in this place. Where is my daughter,
damn it? Where is my son?" Mr. Parker stared hard into the
eyes of the Belgian doctor, his anger a palpable force in the room.
Angelo knew instantly that by son the man wasn't referring to him. No,
his "father" was talking about the baby.
Angelo listened as Sydney and Broots denied any knowledge of what had happened
today, and he sensed that they were not lying. His sister had completed
her plan without involving those she cared for, and now she was gone. But
she would be back. He could still sense her determination, the feelings
of need and love that had pushed her into action. She would be
back. There was still someone here she had to save, and so he would do
the only thing he could. He would wait.
The moment Sam realized that the furor in the Centre had been caused by the
disappearances of Baby Parker and Major Charles, he understood the cryptic
nature of the message he had delivered to her aunt that morning, and he
understood the importance of the warning Jarod had asked him to give to his
boss, though now it was a moot point. Miss Parker's play had been made,
and now all he could do was protect the people he knew she would want him to
protect. He'd seen the trio of Centre ghouls - Mr. Parker, Mr. Lyle and
Mr. Raines - head off toward Miss Parker's office, and he knew that if
suspicion had fallen on her, then Sydney and Broots were probably about to face
some harsh questioning. He was just heading that way when his phone rang.
"This is Sam?"
"Sam, it's Elizabeth. Angelo's gone."
"Gone, are you sure?" The sweeper lowered his voice as he
looked around quickly to make certain no one was near him.
"Yes. I've looked everywhere."
Sam shook his head, unable to imagine where Angelo could be. Then for no
real reason he could think of, his eyes moved upward and fell on the air vent
above him. There was nothing there, but the sweeper's gut feeling told
him that elsewhere, in another vent, a set of eyes would probably be staring
out at him.
"I think I know where he is. I'll take care of it. You need to
leave there, now. Some very important people are missing. If they
suspect she's involved, they'll come there and search the house."
"I can't leave without Angelo. Parker trusted me to take care of
him."
"Ma'am, trust me."
Elizabeth hated this. Now both of her sister's precious children were in
danger, and the thought of leaving without them was unconscionable to her, yet
it was Parker who trusted this man, and didn't that mean she should trust him,
too?
"All right, I'll go, but find him, please."
"I will."
Sam disconnected the phone then, hoping that Miss Parker's aunt would get out
of the house quickly. He couldn't spare much more time to worry about
it. He had to focus on the task he had promised to handle. He moved
through the hallways, searching the vents for the telltale pair of eyes that
belonged to Angelo.
She had moved through the Centre like a specter, a force both undetectable and
unstoppable, and though Parker wasn't certain how she'd accomplished this, she
was simply grateful that she'd done it. As she drove along the twisted
back roads that would take her to the small airstrip 40 miles from that
Godforsaken place, she glanced over at Major Charles. He sat alert and on
guard, his eyes scanning their surroundings for any potential threats.
She also noticed that he spared the occasional glance back at the infant who
sat sleeping soundly in his car seat behind them.
She hadn't told him yet that the baby boy she'd insisted they rescue was his
grandson. That knowledge had to belong to Jarod before it belonged to
another soul. Still, she wondered if Charles was already suspicious that
he might somehow be connected to her son.
Her son. It was that thought that had fueled her though the Centre. She
left her office 30 minutes after Sam had left to take her message
Elizabeth. A short walk took her to a door that separated her from a boy
she had come to love so much in such a short period of time, a boy she had
really only seen twice, but who now meant so much to her she couldn't even define
a quantity to describe it. Will was behind this door. She was
careful not to get close enough to the window for him to catch sight of her,
but Parker had felt an unbelievable urge to be near him. It was probably
guilt. Guilt over what she was about to do. Because no matter how she had
turned it over in her mind, she didn't see how she could get both of her boys
and their grandfather out of the Centre at one time. That meant making a
choice, and as much as it tore at her soul to do it, she had decided to leave
Will behind until she could get her other two charges to safety. As soon
as she'd done that, she would come back for her eldest son.
She knew her reasoning was sound. Will was too valuable to them to harm
and since he was still completely ignorant of their connection to each other,
he was no danger to them anyway. If, for some unknown reason, they
tightened security around him, at least he was old enough to understand
whatever signals or clues she might give him in order to aid in his escape.
The baby was too young to defend himself, too easily moved from place to place,
she heard the little voice inside tell her, and leaving the Major wasn't a
choice at all. Leaving him endangered her children's father, and she
couldn't do that.
So she stood outside of Will's door, her hand slightly touching the metal,
hoping that somehow he felt her concern despite their separation from one
another. 'Soon, she thought, I'll be back for you soon, baby.'
Parker moved from there to the elevators and headed for SL-22. She did
this because she had an excuse to be on that sublevel - she needed to get the
daily security reports, and the man who processed them, a blind man named
Yancy, worked on that level. She also went there because she knew, thanks
to her many childhood explorations of the Centre, that there was a sealed
access tube that went directly from SL-22 to SL-24. It had been used before to
send soiled medical linens directly to the decontamination unit. It was
closed off since the infirmary had been moved yet again during the Centre's
last renovation. SL-24 now possessed some of the most horrid holding
cells the place had to offer. The Project Retrieval folder indicated that Mr.
Cox had issued an order to move Major Charles to this sublevel. Why, she
didn't know, but she was a bit grateful to him. A return trip to Renewal
Wing certainly had not appealed to her. Ever since she'd found Fenigore
there with his brain scrambled - well, she was in no hurry to go back.
Miss Parker picked up the report and mentioned to Yancy that she was heading
out for an early lunch and that's why she wanted the report now. She knew
it was futile to try and lay too much cover for herself, her father wasn't an
idiot after all, but she needed to keep them distracted long enough to get
away. If they honestly thought she might be in town on an errand, Lyle
and Raines would wait that extra 30 minutes before condemning her so that they
had a clean case for the Chairman.
She took the report and strolled down the hallway, her eyes scanning to make
certain that no one was around. As she looked up and saw the tiny red
light on the hallway camera go out, Parker thanked her lucky stars she had
watched Broots run his security breach programs enough times to know how to
throw one together herself. Now she just had to hope she'd done it
correctly.
Moving quickly, she moved to the shaft and muscled open the twist lock that had
kept it sealed for more than seven years. Parker turned her face away as
the stench from SL-24 reached her nostrils. God, what did they have down
there? Shaking her head, she moved forward. There was no time to
worry about that. This floor's cameras would only show distorted snow to
the security booth for two minutes. She had to be inside with the tube
lid closed before that. She made it with 15 seconds to spare.
Parker had been doing a combination of Pilates, weight training and Karate for
six years now, and it had not only made her lean beyond belief, but strong in a
way that belied her slim build. She used that strength now as she slowly
lowered herself alternately moving in a hand/foot combination that allowed her
to slip partway down the tube while controlling her decent enough to stay
silent. When she reached the bottom of the tube, she pressed her legs
hard against one side, her back against the other. Once she released this
stance, Parker would drop directly onto the floor below. That meant she
had to be ready. There were four sweepers on this floor. Two would be
directly in front of the Major's door. Two would come from posts at
alternate ends of the hallway the moment they heard any trouble. Taking a
deep breath, Parker pulled the second gun she had not in her holster, but
tucked into the back of her pants. She noticed as she brought the
gun forward that her hands were shaking. 'Think about your boys, Parker,'
she told herself.
The shaking stop.
She dropped down and fired instantly at the door. The two men fell to
the floor immediately, their bodies paralyzed by the Centre engineered
drug that would keep them unconscious for 48 hours, but leave them with
little more than a hangover. Parker had made the decision to use a
non-lethal weapon in her rescue. She had all the blood on her hands she
could handle, that is until she got a crack at the bastards who had
stolen her babies.
Then she heard the other two sweepers approaching. She listened for the
footfalls and guessed correctly that the man approaching from the east
would arrive first. He was falling as she turned and fired at the
sweeper heading in from the west end of the hall. His body crumpled on
the floor equaled four. That meant it was time to move.
The why of Cox moving the Major here still escaped her. These rooms
were not equipped with the state of the art electronic locks that kept
prisoners from even dreaming of escape. SL-24 was equipped with
standard metal locks that could be opened easily as long as you had the
key. Parker had it. Too bad she didn't still care about what
happened
to the Centre, or she might mention to her father how easily she had
stolen that key from the main security desk on SL-5.
Major Charles turned the moment he heard the key hit the door. All he
could imagine was that either Cox or Lyle had come back to torment him
about how they were going to capture Jarod or Raines had come back to
torture him again. The last thing he expected to see was the slightly
mussed but beautiful woman who moved into the doorway with a gun
extended in her hand.
"Miss Parker?"
"Ready to get out of here, Major? We only have 35 seconds, so I hope
the answer's yes."
Charles didn't need to be told to move quickly again. He didn't
understand quite yet what was happening, but he knew he should go
wherever she directed him. That destination was a ventilation shaft 20
feet from the room he'd just occupied.
"The cameras will reactivate in 15 seconds. Climb in."
Charles did as he was told and once they were both inside she moved
ahead of him, leading the way through the passages. He could tell they
were moving upwards. They continued on for more than five minutes
before Miss Parker stopped, glanced at her watch, and then looked at
him.
"Major, we've got one stop to make. I'm going out then I'll hand you
something up. If for some reason I don't make it back up, you take the
package I give you and keep following this passage. It dead-ends at the
rear of the building. Get out, go to the black Lexus and get the hell
out of here. There are directions for where to go after that in the
car."
He wanted to question her, but before the Major could open his mouth,
Parker had popped the air vent shield off and was gone. He heard what
sounded like her whispering to someone, then he heard footsteps coming
toward the vent again. He nearly passed out when he saw what the
"package" was.
A baby?
He took the child and waited for some sign of whether or not Parker was
going to join him. After a moment, she pulled herself up into the
passage again and closed the screen. Her eyes fell on him and then she
reached for the bundle in his arms.
"Miss Parker, you get us out of here. I'll carry this one."
Reluctantly, she nodded and headed toward their escape route. Three of
her four camera circumventions had worked. Now she just had to hope
that camera trick number four would also be a success, and she had to
pray that no one would try to blame Broots for what had happened here
today.
They reached the exit point 10 minutes after Parker handed the baby up
to Charles. She put up her hand to stop his movement and watched to see
if the camera had stopped yet. No. She glanced at her watch.
Still
another minute to go before she'd set the timer. About now, she
thought, they'd have found the sweepers. They'd know the Major was
missing. It would probably be another 10 minutes before they noticed
the baby gone. That gave them enough time to clear the compound if -
Bingo, the camera froze turned away from the Lexus and Miss Parker
bounded out of the passage with the Major in close pursuit. She reached
for the baby and directed him to get in as she moved to strap her son
into the car seat she'd thankfully had the self-possession to stop and
buy this morning after learning the truth about the baby from Broots.
Within moments they were on the move, and they had traveled a full
half-mile before the camera began to sweep the parking lot again.
They had barely spoken since then. Instead, Parker had focused on
driving, and the Major had spent his time searching for any sign that
the Centre was on their tail. Thankfully, her baby boy had fallen
asleep, and though she wanted to do little more than hold him close, she
knew right now she had to follow the plan she'd put into action.
Finally, after what seemed an eternity, the airfield came into view.
"Feel up to flying, Major?"
"As long as it's out of here, Miss Parker, you got it."
She smiled at him as she pulled to a stop on the tarmac. That smile
reminded him so much of Catherine Parker's, and though he couldn't
imagine what had made this girl turn on everything she'd ever known, he
knew that somewhere her mother was beaming with pride. Smiling back at
her, he began to climb out of the car, but stopped when he noticed a
small red wire near Miss Parker's leg.
"I should cut that," he said as he motioned to the wire.
"They'll be
able to use your tracking system to follow us."
He was surprised when Miss Parker shook her head "no." She
climbed out
of the car and moved to the car seat where she managed to extricate the
sleeping baby without so much as a whimper.
"But they'll know where we went."
"I want them to know, Major. This plane's got a flight plan for
Miami.
I want them to find that because we're not going to Miami."
"We're not?"
"Nope, we're flying to the last place they'd expect us to go. A
little
air strip in North Carolina, you might remember it."
"And why are we going there?"
She smiled as she held the baby closer and moved toward the plane.
"Because from there we drive to see your son, unless you'd rather not
see Jarod today."
Miss Parker disappeared into the plane as Charles absorbed what she'd
said. Jarod. He would see his son today, and they would owe it to
this
woman.
Twenty minutes later, they were airborne, and Charles spared a glance to
the seat beside him where Miss Parker sat happily cuddling the still
sleeping little boy. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen a
child so at peace. It had to have been years - maybe even all the way
back to Margaret cradling their baby Jarod nearly 40 years ago.
"Thank you for doing this, Miss Parker."
And though he hadn't really expected a response from her, he felt a
surprising sense of happiness when she'd uttered very quietly, "you're
welcome."
"You're sure about this, boy?" Will stared up into Mr. Parker's
demanding eyes and now that earlier feeling he'd had, the one that Mr.
Lyle had caused, grew deeper. Maybe he shouldn't have said anything,
maybe...no, she had abandoned him. She had left him. Why should he
be
worried about her now?
"Yes, sir, I'm sure. Miss Parker is the one who took them
both."
Mr. Parker held his icy glare on the boy as he quickly ran through his
options here. Lyle had called him after the boy's initial revelation,
and now he knew that his daughter had finally forced his hand. He could
save her or he could save his position. Unfortunate for her that she
had left him only that choice. Clearing his throat, the man turned to
face both Lyle and Cox.
"Find them."
"And Miss Parker?" It was Cox who asked the question, his eyes
wide
with what Mr. Parker read as anticipation.
"Do what you have to do to bring them back. As for Miss Parker,
Lyle,
I'll expect you to handle that personally."
Cox watched as a grin even a Cheshire cat would envy spread across
Lyle's face, and he had to fight down the urge to choke the weasely man
right then and there. Mr. Parker had just signed his daughter's death
warrant, and Cox, who had tried so desperately to keep her alive despite
his own wondering at why he cared, now knew he was about to run out of
time.
As they left the room and headed off to their various resources in order
to track the Centre fugitives, Cox again marveled at his concern for
this woman. She had ruined Retrieval, a plan he was central to
creating, she had kidnapped the infant who was his responsibility, she
had somehow managed to circumvent every play he had made to keep her out
of harm's way, and now she had betrayed the Centre itself, the very
entity which he had lived his whole life for. She had done all this,
and still Cox found himself hoping against hope that Miss Parker was
somewhere safe.
Those feelings aside, he had to do something to make it look like he was
really trying to drag her back here. To that end, he opened the door to
the Sim Lab and stood waiting for Mr. Broots to begin to cower. It took
less than 15 seconds.
"M-m-mr. Cox. What, uh, what can I, uh what do you -"
"Miss Parker seems to have absconded with Centre property. I would
like
you to find her."
Cox watched for any hint that the technician, or Dr. Green, who had been
sitting quietly beside him, had known what Miss Parker was planning. He
knew the two men had been interrogated by Mr. Lyle and Mr. Raines, but
he wanted his own read on the situation. What he saw were two men who
were terrified that someone they loved was in grave danger. They
couldn't have been more right.
"You do realize," Sydney began, "that Miss Parker could be
completely
uninvolved in this situation?"
"Not so, doctor. We have confirmation that she planned and executed
the
thefts."
"What do you mean by confirmation?"
Cox was staring so intently at Dr. Green that he didn't notice the eyes
that now peered through the air vent in the lab. Those eyes were piqued
with interest at what might be said next.
"Our young pretender William says she is the responsible party. Mr.
Parker's response to that was to give Mr. Lyle carte blanche to do
whatever he feels necessary to...well, you understand, don't you?"
This made both Sydney and Angelo's eyebrows rise. Why would Cox give
them any kind of warning about what could happen to Miss Parker if she
was found, that is if he were really here to search for her?
Just then Broots, who had been typing away at his keyboard, cleared his
throat to get the attention of both men in the room.
"Um, uh, I found something."
Sydney couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his colleague. Broots
was fiercely loyal to Miss Parker and would do almost anything to
protect her, but his fear of Cox was overwhelming. Besides, they would
find the information he had eventually, and it would be better in the
long run for it to come from Broots than from someone else.
"Yes, Mr. Broots?" Cox watched as the little man shivered.
"Uh, Miss Parker's Lexus. It has a tracking system, and I know how
to
hack into it because of when we had to do it..."
"This year, Mr. Broots."
"I found it. It's at an airstrip 40 miles from here."
"Good work. Call me directly if you find anything else, Mr. Broots,
understood? Me and only me."
Broots nodded then watched as the frightening man turned and left the
room. Within moments he and Sydney were conferring in quiet
conversation about what Miss Parker might have planned and where she
might be. They spoke unaware of the man watching them from above.
Though Angelo trusted them both completely, he didn't feel that now was
the time to reveal himself. Instead, he had to sort out the odd
feelings he'd just picked up from the tall, dark man named Cox, and he
had to find out why the boy, what had Cox called him, William? Why had
he turned Miss Parker in to the Centre?
The drive from North Carolina up route 85 was long and tedious, and Miss
Parker had happily relinquished the task to Major Charles so that she
could keep her focus on the baby. That, she thought, really had to
stop. He wasn't the baby or Baby Parker -- he needed a name. Still,
she would wait. She and Jarod would name their son together, and then
they would figure out a way to get Will out of the Centre and bring
their whole family back together.
Major Charles glanced in the rearview mirror again and stole another
look at Miss Parker and the baby boy. Something about the child seemed
so familiar to him, yet he couldn't place his finger on it. Perhaps it
was just his nostalgia. The reminder of Margaret and Jarod earlier had
stayed with him, and frequently as he neared a reunion with his son, his
mind focused in on the days his family had been happy. Those days were
so long ago, yet he hoped that even though they could never bring Kyle
back and make their family complete, the future would bring chances for
more happiness and joy.
Just as his eyes caught sight of the exit sign marked Harcourt his heart
began to beat a little faster. He credited it to excitement about
seeing his son, so he was surprised when he felt Miss Parker's hand on
his shoulder.
"Major, pull over."
"What? We're almost there."
"Please, just trust me, pull over."
Though he didn't understand why, the Major pulled carefully over to the
side of the road. No sooner had they stopped than Miss Parker climbed
out of the back seat and made her way to the driver's side door. Seeing
that, Charles unbuckled his seatbelt and slid over to the passenger
seat.
"Miss Parker, what is going on?"
"Major, there's something I need to tell you. Something that you
probably don't know about the Centre's plan to use you to catch Jarod."
"I'm listening."
"You had several sessions where Raines drugged you. Do you remember
anything about those?"
"No."
She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. He remembered that time
last year when he'd seen her in the Centre, her gun pointed at him.
That angry, frightened girl, and that's truly what she'd been in that
moment, a girl, was gone. In her stead was a confident, strong woman
who was not running on emotion, but using the brilliance and skill she
had been born with.
"Then I need to tell you what happened in those sessions, and I need to
do it before we see Jarod."
Jarod and Emily sat in the black Chevy Suburban he'd picked up in
Atlanta, their nerves completely on edge. As they had driven to the
meeting point, he had carefully explained to Emily the danger their
father still faced. It was true that the Centre had only programmed his
body to think it was having a heart attack, but the reality was that
should the plan go into effect, there was no guarantee that his father
would survive the simulation. A heart tricked into seizure had no way
of knowing that it was not truly injured.
Using the pretender skills that had forever caused the course of his
life to travel into these dangerous turns, Jarod simmed the situation
and realized that there was no way to undo the evil done by the Centre
without weeks of work, and even then he would have to break further into
the Centre computers to try and locate more information on the process
they had used. No, the best course of action was to try and control the
simulated heart attack. He just had to hope now that Parker knew enough
about Retrieval to know the danger his father was still in.
"There she is."
Jarod looked up at Emily's words, and his eyes instantly fell on the
stunning figure of Parker walking toward them, her black-clad body
illuminated by the bright lights of the rest area. He had not seen her
since that very tense day at the cemetery when they had stood in front
of Thomas' grave and argued. They had spoken on the phone since then,
and they had seemed in those few conversations to have reached some kind
of peace. Still, Jarod had sensed her need for space had not changed,
and so he had tried to keep a safe distance from her. Clearly fate had
other plans. He climbed from the Suburban and met her a few steps away
from the truck. Almost instinctively, Emily stayed behind.
"Hi, Jarod." She smiled faintly, and though it was nothing like
the
amazing smiles she'd let him see back at Elizabeth's before everything
had gone to hell, it was something. He smiled back.
"Hi, Parker."
They took a moment to just take each other in. Jarod scanned her face
for some sign of what she was thinking, but Parker was doing everything
she could to keep her thoughts hidden away because what she was thinking
was how much she needed him. Finally, afraid she might lose the fight,
Parker looked away and launched into what she'd planned to say to him.
"Jarod, your father is in the car, but -"
"Retrieval -- you know what they did?"
"Yes. I don't know how to stop it from happening."
"We can't stop it, but we can try to control it." With that
Jarod
reached into his pocket then handed her a capped syringe.
"I booked us into a motel a few miles down the road. You need to
give
that to my father. It has to be in his system for 30 minutes before you
bring him to the room. His body will still go through the simulation,
but this should help to keep him from succumbing completely. Hopefully
that will keep him safe."
She looked down at the vial in her hand. Of course she would do it.
She trusted him completely, but curiosity got the best of Parker.
"What is it?"
"A combination of a few things, adrenaline, litocaine, a few other
things. I really don't see any other option."
"All right. You go ahead to the motel. I'll give it to him and
meet
you there. Which one?"
"The Sundowner. Room 201."
Parker nodded and turned to head back to the Major. Jarod watched and
was about to let her go, but somehow he couldn't stop the words that
slipped out without his consent or control.
"If anything had happened to you..."
Parker stopped and closed her eyes. Her worst fear had suddenly
evaporated into the chilly night air, and even though he didn't know the
gift he'd just given her, her heart filled with gratitude toward Jarod.
She'd been so worried, so afraid that her harsh treatment of him at
Christmas, the anger she'd felt when he revealed the truth about Thomas
and the distance she'd forced between them might have somehow caused his
feelings for her to diminish. His words made her see how foolish that
had been. What existed between them was not something easily
destroyed. If it had been, the Centre would have done it long ago.
She took a deep breath then turned around to face him again. This time
when she smiled, she let it come from the place in her heart that only
he could touch, and Jarod felt his breath stop. God, she was so damn
beautiful.
"Nothing bad is going to happen, Jarod, not to any of us ever again."
With that she turned and headed for the car before she did something
hopelessly silly and ran up and threw her arms around him. There wasn't
time for that kind of thing now. Soon enough, Jarod would know the
truth about their sons and about her feelings and then, then she would
hold him in her arms.
The thirty minutes passed in what seemed like both seconds and years to
Jarod and Emily. They couldn't wait to see their father. For Emily,
it
would be the first time she'd seen him since she was a little girl.
Unfortunately, their joy was tempered with the fear of what was going to
happen when Charles finally arrived. Jarod tried to express confidence
to Emily that his plan would work, but she sensed his worry.
There was a knock at the door, and Jarod rushed to look out the window.
Parker stood in front of the door holding something wrapped in a blue
blanket. He quickly unlatched the door and opened it. It was then
that
he saw that her bundle was a baby.
"Parker?"
"Long story and we'll deal with it later. Emily, can you take him,
please."
Jarod watched as his sister came for the infant, and Jarod immediately
saw the logic of what Parker was doing. Emily would be too upset to
help him with his father once the symptoms began, no matter how much she
wanted to. That left Parker to act as his nurse. She stepped back
after Emily took the baby and the bag Parker handed to her then looked
at Jarod.
"Ready?"
He nodded and Parker stepped aside. Jarod moved further back into the
room so that his father would be further inside once his body began to
react to the Centre's programming. After a moment, his father came into
the doorway and Parker immediately stepped closer to him, her hands
going to his arm and back so she could support him when whatever was
going to happen happened. Charles saw his son and joy spread across his
face. He had enough time to move his eyes to the beautiful young woman
that Parker had told him was his baby girl. He smiled at her, and then
he felt his heart begin to pound in his chest. Charles tried to fight
it, but he realized he was out of breath and he suddenly began to drop
to his knees. Parker was there, keeping him upright and soon Jarod was
beside him also.
As they moved deeper into the room, Parker kicked the front door shut,
and then helped Jarod hoist Charles up onto the bed. She glanced up at
Emily and motioned with her head toward the door.
"Lock it."
Emily moved quickly, the baby cradled in her arms. She did as Parker
had told her and tried to focus on the child she was holding and not on
the fear she felt for the father she hadn't seen in so long.
Jarod knelt beside the bed and quickly slipped into the doctor façade he
used so often. His father's blood pressure was elevated, his heart rate
was out of sight and his breathing was shallow, but he was still
conscious and fairly lucid. Quickly Jarod hooked up the heart monitor
he had brought with him and he began an IV drip that would help keep his
father hydrated during what was going to be a difficult few hours.
Still, the early signs were good. Though his body was reacting to what
the Centre had done, Charles was holding his own.
"Don't fight the drugs, Dad," Jarod spoke softly and gently, his hand
moving to grasp his father's strong, weathered one. Just relax and let
them help you though this. You're doing fine. I know it probably
doesn't feel like that, but you are."
Charles mustered his remaining strength to squeeze Jarod's hand, then he
let his eyelids close and he drifted to sleep. Parker, who had stood by
handing Jarod the items he needed and simply trying to offer moral
support now decided to give father and son a much needed moment alone.
She turned and walked to Emily, extending her arms for the baby. Emily
surrendered the child then moved to her father's side.
Parker settled down into a chair and watched as both Russell children
sat watch over their father. She could see so clearly how much they
both loved him and needed him. As if thinking about the family unit in
front of her somehow willed it to happen, she suddenly felt a small hand
grip her shirt and pull on it. Looking down, she saw her son's face
beaming as a wide grin put dimples in his cheeks. His other little hand
reached up toward her face, and Parker took the chubby appendage and
brought it to her lips planting a soft kiss on the palm. That made the
baby giggle.
The soft sound of the baby's laugh caught Jarod's attention, and he
looked over at the scene playing out across the room. Parker and the
little boy were in a world of their own. He had never seen anything so
fascinating or amazing as her with that baby. The serenity of the
moment helped ease his mind, and after checking again and seeing that
his father's levels were staying consistent, he leaned over and kissed
Emily on the top of her head, then stood and moved to where Parker was
sitting. She was bouncing up and down in her chair, and the baby's
happy giggles grew louder as she turned her gaze toward the man who now
sat beside her. Of course logic had finally kicked in and he now
realized who the child must be. Smiling, he spared one more glance at
his father before he finally spoke to her.
"He's beautiful, Parker. Not that I'm surprised, your father does
make
beautiful children."
She knew he'd meant it as a compliment to her, but she closed her eyes
against the sting of what his words reminded her of -- betrayal, her
father's deep, horrid betrayal of her and of this incredible man next to
her. Her eyes were still closed when she felt his hand on her
shoulder. She opened them to see him now kneeling beside her.
"Hey, I didn't mean to make you sad."
She shook her head, her hand moving to his. "You didn't, but we need
to
talk, Jarod."
"Dad's going to sleep for a bit. Now's as good a time as any."
Parker let out a half laugh and let her eyes drift downward. The whole
way here, all she'd wanted to do was tell him the truth about this boy in her
arms, about the other boy who sat waiting for her return. Now with the
moment here, it seemed she didn't know the words. Still, it was time.
"Jarod, I need to tell you something about the baby. He isn't my
brother."
"Then you were right. Lyle and Brigitte -"
"No," Parker shook her head as she said the word, and suddenly she
felt her whole body shaking. "Would you take him for a minute?"
Jarod nodded and took the baby in his arms as he stood up tall. The
little boy took to him instantly, and Parker felt her resolve strengthen as she
saw father and son together for the first time.
"Jarod, he isn't my brother, he's your son."
This was how she'd planned it. She'd first reveal the baby's paternity to
him. Then she would explain how she was his mother and finally, she would
reveal the truth of Will to him. She knew from experience how daunting
this discovery was going to be, and she was hoping to spare him some of the
shock she had felt when Broots revealed the information to her this - God, had
it only been this morning?
She saw Jarod pale, and he sat back down in his chair with his arms wrapped
tightly around the small, squirming bundle in his arms. After a moment,
he held the baby away from him, taking in this little boy's features. His
son? This child was his son?
"How - Parker, how do you know this?"
"Broots and Sam caught Raines trying to destroy some records, and once
Broots deciphered them, we knew."
Parker watched as he began to absorb this information. He was in pain and
he was angry and it was only just beginning. Steeling herself, she went
to continue on, but the sound of Emily's concerned voice stopped her.
"Jarod, I think something's wrong with Dad."
Jarod sprang up and handed the baby to Parker, then moved quickly to the
bed. The Major's breathing had become more labored, and Jarod focused in
on helping his father, blocking away the painful and yet joyous information
Parker had just delivered to him.
It took more than an hour for the Major to be stabilized, and in that time
Parker fed the baby a bottle of the formula she had brought and then changed
him and lulled him to sleep. She set up a makeshift bed for him in the
corner of the room on a pile of blankets, his favorite blue blanket covering
him as he sucked on his fist and slept blissfully unaware of the dramatic
changes occurring in his life. Once he was settled, Parker decided to
slip out of the room and retrieve her laptop from the car.
While she was back at the sedan they'd driven in from Iversonville, Parker
decided to use her wireless modem in order to contact Broots. It didn't
give them much extra protection, but it did ensure that if the Centre picked up
on her signal they would get a far broader area to work with than a direct
phone line connection in the hotel. It took only moments for her to
connect, however she was frustrated to find no word from Broots. She
quickly wrote a message to him, explaining it was too risky to phone, but
assuring him all was well. She hit send and then closed the computer,
never seeing the flashing message that indicated her email had been blocked
from the Centre mainframe.
Upstairs in room 201, Charles was beginning to toss and turn. His vital
signs had stabilized, but his body was still suffering from a certain amount of
trauma and so the restlessness was not surprising. Still, Jarod couldn't
help but be a little unsettled by the odd words his father whispered in his
sleep.
"You were my son. How could you? Betrayed.
William."
"Dad, Dad, it's okay. I'm here. I'm here."
"Betrayed...don't understand."
The last few words trailed off of the Major's lips and Jarod sat trying to
understand what they meant. That was when he heard the door open and he
realized for the first time that Parker had left the room. He whispered
to Emily that she should lie down as well and get some rest. Surprisingly, she
agreed, and soon she was snuggled beside her father, her hand resting
protectively over his.
Jarod made his way over to where Parker was checking on the baby - no, not the
baby, he reminded himself, his son. He waited for her to move a bit away
from the still sleeping infant and then he leaned close to her as he whispered
the question he needed answered.
"Who is William, and what did he do to my father?"
"What?" There was a tinge of fear in Parker's voice and Jarod
wondered why it was there.
"My father. While you were out he said something about betrayal and
someone named William. What happened, Parker? Is he talking about
Raines?"
"No...boy."
They both heard the Major's voice and turned toward the bed. He was
blinking his eyes, trying to force himself to stay conscious this time.
"Dad, this can wait, get some sleep."
"William is the boy. He...he turned me over to Cox and his
friends. He wanted to go back to the Centre."
Jarod and Parker both heard the same words, but they received them in very
different ways. Parker, who had spent her whole life wrapped up in Centre
lies understood the evil effect the place could have on even an adult's
psyche. If that were the case, then what chance did a teenage boy have,
especially one who had never had a family for even a few years to teach him any
differently? No, though she was disappointed to know how completely the
Centre had damaged her son, Parker's only instinct was to go back and get him
before more harm could be done, and so she could give him the family he needed
to heal.
Jarod, who did not know that the confused teenage boy was his son, who didn't
know that the woman he loved was the boy's mother, had a very different
reaction to the story the Major had related. All he heard was that
someone he had risked his life and freedom for had betrayed him. Worse, had
betrayed his father. He looked now at the older man lying in the
bed. Yes, it was true his father would survive the ordeal he was
currently going through, but he shouldn't have had to endure it at all. It was
all this boy, this William's fault. Then Jarod remembered his thoughts
after finding the file on Project Retrieval: "another pretender must
have developed the profile."
He turned then and looked at Parker. She was standing slightly behind
him, and he was stunned when he saw not upset or confusion on her face, but
something bordering on a soft, generous look of forgiveness.
"I can't believe after everything we did for him -"
"Jarod, you have to understand that he was confused. He didn't know
what he was doing. He's been trapped in that place his whole life."
"So was I, and it didn't make me betray people who tried to save my life,
tried to give me freedom."
Parker took a step back from him. He wasn't just upset, he was yelling at
her, and he was yelling about their son. She knew he didn't know that,
but still, this reaction was not what she'd expected from Jarod, who had
managed to forgive even her sins.
"You'll wake Emily and the baby, Jarod."
Gritting his teeth, he looked around to make sure the two parties she'd
mentioned had not been disturbed, then he returned his gaze to her. She
immediately began to try and talk to him again.
"Jarod, he didn't have your parents, hell, he didn't even have my mother
for a few years to try and stop all the crap that Raines planted in his head.
He's just a boy."
"He's a monster, a Centre-fabricated monster."
He said the last words in a low and harsh voice, and Parker felt a chill in her
heart as he did so. Then Jarod angrily turned and headed for the
door. He would have thrown it open except for a moment of reason when he
looked back at his father and sister and realized he would frighten them if he
did so. Instead, he stood in the open doorway for a few seconds, then
walked out shutting the door quietly behind him.
Parker had never been so shocked by anything in her life. Never had she
imagined Jarod unable to forgive a child for a mistake. Granted, it was a
huge mistake and it had cost the Major months of pain and freedom, but it had
been a mistake. Why the hell couldn't Jarod see that? And what was
she supposed to do? She couldn't tell him that Will was their son,
not now. Once he'd calmed down, certainly, but not in the state he was in
tonight. Unfortunately, Parker knew she didn't have the luxury of
time. She had to get back to the Centre before they found out the trail
she'd left in Florida was only a ploy to lead them away from her real
destination. Glancing at her watch, she realized she should already be on
her way back.
Needing comfort that only two people right then could give her, Parker moved to
the corner of the room and picked up her baby boy from his little temporary
bed. He was awake, but he'd been playing quietly alone, and she was
surprised that his father's yelling hadn't scared him, but no, the little boy
seemed very much at peace. She held him tightly in her arms, inhaling his
baby scent, which she had always loved, and thinking about him and his brother
and all the truths still left to be revealed to Jarod. So much to do
before the two of them could give their sons the life they deserved with a
father and a mother...that was when the thought hit her...
'If he knows, Parker, he'll never let you go back.'
What was it he'd said earlier, if anything had happened to her? She knew
how much she meant to him, how much he worried for her and about her.
Their silence over the past few months had done nothing to change that.
Now she was supposed to believe that he would let her, the mother of his child,
go back for a boy he hated at this moment in time? No, he would not, and
she could not let him stop her.
The moment that realization sank into her heart, tears began to spill out from
Parker's eyes. They fell of their own volition, and nothing she could
have tried to do to stop them would have worked because she had just realized
that just as she had earlier today, to save one son she would have to leave the
other behind. Of course, she'd known all along she'd have to leave him in
order to rescue Will, but to leave him with so many secrets still unspoken...
Instinctively, her arms tightened around the baby. That was when he
started to cry. Parker thought at first she had hurt him, but after
loosening her hold and bringing him higher against her body, she realized that
he had simply realized somewhere inside of him what was happening. He
knew she was leaving him, and he was letting her know that he did not
understand. That made her cry even harder. How could she do this?
Then again, how could she not?
"Shh, baby, shh. It's going to be okay. I know that you don't
know this, but you have a brother, a big brother who is going to be really
important to you soon. He'll teach you all kinds of things, and he'll be
your friend, but he can't do any of that until Mommy goes to get him."
Parker blinked back a few tears as she brought him up so that they were looking
eye to eye. He smiled and that brought a small smile from her.
"You know that, don't you? Even though I never said it around you,
you know that I'm your mommy, huh? I promise you, baby, that I will be
back with you as soon as I can. Nothing in the world will stop me from
watching you grow up, okay? We're going to go on long walks together, and
I'll take you horseback riding, and I'll teach you how to draw pretty
pictures. Me and your daddy, we're going to teach you everything you need
to know, and we're going to let you have a happy, safe life."
Parker pulled her son close again, and he snuggled against her, his tiny fists
holding tight to her blouse. She had to go, and she knew she had to do it
soon. She kissed his head, then brushed her cheek against the soft, downy
hair there.
"I love you, baby boy. I love you more than my life, and I will come
back for you."
She kissed him one last time, then returned him to his makeshift bed. She
watched as his face began to twist up, and she knew he was about to let loose
with a scream. Quickly, Parker reached for his blue blanket and put it on
top of him. He wrapped his fists into it and moved himself so he was on
his side, holding tight to the fabric with one hand while the other moved to
his mouth. Though tears still fell from his eyes, he seemed content, and
Parker took this as a sign that she needed to leave now.
She briefly stopped in the mirror to try and hide the evidence of her tears,
then she opened the door. Jarod was standing on the balcony outside,
staring off into the night sky. He smelled her perfume the moment the
door opened, but he did not turn to look at her. Instead he waited for
her to walk to him. She did, but stopped short and leaned against the
railing a few feet away from him.
"I have to go, Jarod."
"Go?"
"I have to get back to the Centre."
He did not face her. He couldn't. If he did, he would scream at her
and he would grab her and shake her and demand to know why she kept going back
there despite everything they did. So he kept his eyes focused on the
sky.
For this, Parker was infinitely grateful. If Jarod had looked at her, she
couldn't possibly have hidden the heavy heart that sat inside of her chest, the
pain she knew was visible in her eyes. Soon, she thought, soon we'll be
able to look at each other again, Jarod, and it won't hurt like this.
"Please, please, don't go back. Walk away this time, Parker."
A barrage of new tears threatened, but she held them back. "I have
to go. I'm sorry."
And a million questions threatened to remain unanswered. Jarod knew that
he had not even scratched the surface of things he needed to know about his
son, things like who his mother was, what the Centre had planned for him, but
none of those things could take hold of his main focus, not when she was
leaving to go back to that dangerous place again.
"You should name him, Jarod. He needs a name. A good, strong
one, okay?"
"What name do you like?"
Parker had half turned so that some of her back was showing to him, and she was
again grateful. She was losing her battle, and tears were streaming
silently down her face. Had it not been dark, Jarod would have seen her
body beginning to tremble."
"He looks like a Matthew to me, but really, it's up to you."
They stood there silent for a moment, and Parker decided to make her break for
it. She had taken a few steps when she stopped and partially turned back
to face him.
"He has to have his blue blanket to get to sleep. Remember that,
okay? Without it, he feels lost."
Five minutes later, she was driving away. She didn't even remember
getting back to the car, only that she had practically run there in an effort
to outrun the pain she felt beginning to overpower her. Still, despite
the tears, despite the agonizing burning coming from her ulcer, she continued
on, driving into the night. The only way to heal the hurt inside of her
was to be sitting in one room with the three most important men in her
life. It would happen. Jarod's anger would cool and she would tell
him the rest of the story of their sons and then the four of them would build a
family together, but first, she had one very important task to complete.
Back at the motel, Jarod had finally returned to the room, his heart filled
with anguish over Parker and the baby and the terrible things that had befallen
all of the people he loved. Seeking some sense of comfort, Jarod moved to
the sleeping baby boy and picked him up in his arms. The soft blue cotton
blanket Parker had spoken of came with him, and as Jarod snuggled his son
close, he realized why the baby loved it so much - it smelled like Parker's
perfume.
"You love her, too, don't you, Matthew?"
He sat on his cot, knees pulled tight
against his chest, the way he always did when he was upset. He had been
so sure of himself yesterday when he'd revealed Miss parker for the traitor
that she was. The fact was she'd left him here alone after he'd done
everything in his power to get back to her, and she deserved to be punished for
that.
So shy was he sitting here now in the early morning hours, he wondered, wracked
with guilt about his decision? Part of it, he was certain, was the
annoying little voice that kept telling him that she was coming for him, that
she cared for him. If that was true, then it was he who had committed the
betrayal, and how in the world could he ever expect to be forgiven for
that? He, who could not forgive anyone, who was he to expect forgiveness
if he was wrong about her?
Will squeezed his eyes tight to try to block out the image of Mr. Lyle's
cruelly smiling face. God, if he was wrong, if he'd put Miss Parker in
danger...
"Not angry. Understand."
Will heard the voice come from above him, and he looked up sharply trying to
see where it had come from. He stood on the cot, his eyes focused on the
vent as he searched for the source of the voice. His attention was torn
away from that, however, when he heard the door of his room beginning to
open. And then his heart both rose and fell as he realized who was coming
in - it was her. She looked beautiful and amazing to him, like she had
that first day he'd seen her, and a wave of guilt rushed over him as he
realized what he had done.
"Will, I came to get you out of here."
Confused, the boy stepped down from the bed and moved closer to her. She
reached out and put her hands on his arms, steadying him.
"What do you mean?"
"Sweetheart, I can't explain everything to you right now, but I'm taking
you out of here, and you're never coming back."
"But I-I thought you left me. I thought you didn't care..."
This was what she'd been afraid of, that he'd hear she was gone and
misunderstand her reasons. Smiling, she guided him to the bed and they
both sat down on the edge.
"Will, I would never and will never leave you. And as for caring, I
can't even tell you how much you mean to me. Listen, I can't - Will, you
need to know something. You don't belong here. I know that you -- I
know about what happened with the Major..."
"I didn't want him hurt, Miss Parker, I didn't. I just had to come
back, I had to see -"
"Shh, it's okay. I'm not angry. I understand how things happen
when you get confused, believe me. But you are going to have enough
people around you to love you and help you from now so that will never happen
again."
"What people? What do you mean?"
She could see he was uncertain about what was going on, and though they were
pressed for time, she knew she had to take a moment and at least tell him the
most important part of this story.
"What I mean is that you have a family, Will."
He cast his eyes down then. He had heard this before.
"I'm not his son. I'm a duplicate of his son, and that's not the
same."
"No, honey, you're not Charles' son, and you are not a duplicate of anyone.
Will, you have a mother and a father of your own, and you have a baby
brother."
"I-I do?"
"Yes. You aren't Jarod's clone, sweetheart. You're his
son. You're my son."
Will's eyes widened with disbelief and then they clouded with tears. Oh, God,
what had he done? His mother? She was his - he had to warn her.
"We have to get out of here. We have to go now." He was
practically screaming, and Parker stood up, trying to keep him from running
from the room.
"What's wrong, Will? What is it?"
"I told them. I was angry with you. I thought you - I thought
you chose Jarod's family and the baby and that you didn't care about me.
I told them it was you who took them."
"They were going to figure it out anyway. It's okay. We're
leaving, they won't -"
"You don't understand. Mr. Lyle, he -"
"He's right here."
Parker and Will looked up simultaneously at the sound of Lyle's voice. He stood
in the doorway, flanked by a small army of sweepers. Parker's eyes
scanned them anxiously, hoping Sam was among them, but he was nowhere to be
seen.
"Once again, Will, you've proven yourself to the Centre. Thank you
for your help in Miss Parker's capture."
Then he smiled that hideous smile, and Will was filled with a new sense of
terror. He wrapped his arms tightly around Miss Parker as the sweepers
advanced, prying her away from him.
"No! No! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I didn't know."
Parker fought the sweepers, desperate not to be taken away from her son when he
was in the state he was. Finally, however, she was overpowered, and as
they dragged her toward the door, she called back to him as she watched the boy
dissolve to the ground in tears.
"It's okay, Will. I understand. I love you. I love
you!"
And then she was gone. Will lay there in the silence that was left, his
arm still reaching out toward where she had been. Now he understood. The
voice that had told him he belonged with her, the feeling of completion every
time he had seen her - it all made a terrible, horrible sense to him now.
She was his mother, and because of him, she was probably going to die.
Lyle stood looking at the boy lying on the ground crying. Pathetic.
Amazing how weak emotional attachment made you. He'd known when Cox left
on the trip to Miami following Parker's flight plan that it was a red herring
she'd left behind to confuse them. No, Parker worked on emotion, and she
clearly had a soft spot for anything remotely connected to Jarod. That
meant she would come back for the clone, and come back she had. Now, he
had her.
Just thinking of her trapped and wounded, begging him for mercy, gave him more
pleasure than almost any physical act he could imagine.