Disclaimer: "The Pretender" and all that goes with it do not belong to me but to NBC. So don’t go calling a lawyer to sue me ‘cause I got no money. I use the characters for plain and simple entertainment. It does not actually have a rating but it contains some harsh language. For give typo’s and grammar ‘cause English is not my first language. Enjoy.
She had stopped running when she turned into the dark ally. Her lungs felt like they were on fire as she gasped in breath after breath. She could hear his cursing, his clear commands as he shouted in the dead quite night. She scanned her surroundings and a barely noticeable fire escape cloaked in the inky darkness seemed like the only logical choice.
His footsteps were hard on the asphalt and she froze on the steps and pushed herself against the wall trying to blend in. Thank god you love black, she thought. He stopped and scanned the surroundings in the same manner. There was to many possibilities in this alley and he would not waste his time. She knew that much.
"Fuck!" he cursed. He kicked a crate in his frustration and got his foot stuck in it for his effort. "Shit! I hate you lab rat! Do you hear me? I hate you!" He kicked the crate off, turned and walked off shouting some new command in his two-way.
Mariska waited for a while before she moved and made her way deeper into the night.
***********
The Centre
Blue Cove
Delaware
**********
Parker sat at his desk and killed the umpteenth cigarette for the day in the already over flowing ashtray. His father walked in and he straightened in his seat. He was the only person who could extract such a reaction from him.
"Son." His father’s voice was indifferent.
"Dad."
"You let her get away again."
"Dad please…"
"Don’t dad me. When am I gonna see results?" Parker got up and walked around the desk and went to sit on the edge of it.
"Maybe if you let me do things my way instead of Center regulation style it would get done. I can’t work with these incompetent misfits." Parker demanded.
"Watch your tone young man." His father spoke louder this time.
Parker grinned. "Dad I’m not that little boy that you can scare with your voice any more."
"Don’t challenge me boy. You wouldn’t want that." His father’s voice was filled with warning this time. And with that warning his father got up and walked out.
Parker slammed the closest thing to him. It just happened to be the picture of his mother that he kept on his desk. "Shit". He bent to pick it up and gather the glass that lay shattered on the floor.
There was a knock on his door. "Go away." But the door opened anyway.
"You shouldn’t let him get to you like that." Parker looked up and found Sydney walking in.
"Doesn’t anybody ever listen to me anymore? I said go away. I’m not in the mood for you psycho-babble Sydney… and he doesn’t get to me."
"Sure." The doctor nodded. Parker got up and threw the frame and glass on the desk sending most of it to the floor again. "Dammit Sydney what do you want?"
"One of our informants spotted Mariska boarding a plane in Portland enroute to LA."
"And?"
"Are you going?"
"No."
"Okay." Sydney left as Parker lit another smoke.
Sydney just walked into his office when his cellular rang. "This is Sydney."
"Hello Sydney."
"Mariska?" His face brightened as he broke into a smile. "How are you?"
“I’m well Sydney and don’t ask me where I am. Your line of questioning is predictable and leaves much to be desired."
Sydney smiled again. "I’ll ask none the less."
"I thought you’d know by now seeing that one of you goons spotted me."
"So you are in LA."
She laughed. "Yes I am…coming?"
"Not today. Junior’s got something to sort out."
"Tell him not to kick crates dressed in expensive suits." The line went dead.
Sydney was still holding the phone in his hand when Parker walked in. "Let me guess. Our ever elusive Mariska." Sydney shrugged. "What did she say?"
"That she is in LA…and that you must not kick crates dressed in expensive suits." A half smile escaped him.
"Son-of-a-bitch! She was there and watching me."
"Parker, would you harm her if push came to shove?"
Parker just glanced at Sydney and placed the reports on the desk. "Have these on my desk in the morning."
****************
Parker’s Residence
****************
Parker unlocked the door and locked it again as he walked in to his house. He dropped the keys on the table and poured himself a stiff vodka. He glanced through the mail and dropped them one side. He loosened his tie and shirt and sat down on the couch. He laid his head back and to a deep breath trying to relax after his trying day.
The craving for a smoke made him get up and go to his room for a fresh pack cause his case was empty. After his smoke he started to undress. His date tonight would make him relax.
The phone rang. "What?" He answered.
"Oh your home. I thought you’d be on you’re way to LA by now." He recognized her voice immediately
"Mariska."
" Yes Jarod. It’s me."
His grip on the receiver tightened as he heard his name. No one would have the balls to address him by his first name except this wench of course. "What do you want?"
"My needs are simple. It’s for you to leave me alone." He grinned. "You’d like that, wouldn’t you?"
"Yes I would."
"Listen up lab rat. I don’t give a fuck what you like."
"Oh you’re so touchy Jarod, be careful anger can lead to impotence in some men, and I gather you don’t need impotence on your platter tonight."
The line went dead before he could say anything.
Later that night
Parker grunted in frustration as the phone rang. "Leave it," said the blond woman in the throws of passion beneath him. "I can’t." He rolled off of the woman and answered the phone. "Yesss!"
"Out of breath already? And where is my ‘What?’?”
"Dammit Mariska!!"
"So Jarod who is the latest bitch to warm your bed?" He sat up and smiled.
"What Mariska, wishing it was you?"
"Oh no Mr. Parker. I wouldn’t give you the satisfaction."
He laughed this time. "Very confident coming from someone who has never had a man."
She smiled. "Just goes to show that you are, as always, uninformed and 2 steps behind." The phone beeped as the line disconnected. He slammed the phone down and the blond next to him jumped, as she was startled. "Come here," he demanded as he reached over to her.
*********
The Centre
Days later
*********
Sydney walked into Parker’s office. It was before lunch and he was packing up already. "Going somewhere?"
"Yes and you’re uninvited, fortunately."
Parker passed Sydney but the older man stopped him. "You never answered my question the other day."
"And which one was that? You ask so many."
"Would you harm her if it came to that?"
"What do you think Sydney? Do you think I’m gonna be gentle with her cause once upon a time we had a friendship? It doesn’t work that way Syd. She ran away from here knowing full well what would happen. And I swear to God if she gives me a tough time, I’ll put a full metal jacket in her knee and make sure she never walks again let alone runs. I don’t give a rat’s ass about her, Sydney, the same way she doesn’t give a fuck about me." He walked out leaving Sydney to think about his words.
***********
The heat out side was unbearable and Mariska was thankful when she walked into the hotel’s lobby. Collecting her messages she went up to the air-conditioned haven of her room. There she showered and changed into a shorts and tee shirt and started to wrap the latest practical joke the she was going to send to Blue Cove.
An hour later her stomach was calling for food. Real food not her usual diet of Pez and pop tarts. Grabbing her parcel she headed out the door to find a place to eat. At the elevator she waited for the car to come down from the penthouse suite to her floor. The door opened with its usual ding and for the first time in a long time Mariska froze.
He stood there alone, leaning against the back wall of the elevator, his legs crossed and reading the local newspaper. Sure, the shock of seeing him was evident but damn he looked fine. Dressed in a loose fitting cotton shirt – whose buttons were undone till halfway down his chest- a white chinos and worn Italian loafers he looked like the perfect vacationing bachelor. It took only a second for her to register all this and the very next second survival kicked in. She was screaming at herself to start moving but her reaction was slow because of him, but her parcel dropped and she was running down the corridor.
Jarod looked up to see why the person was taking forever to get into the elevator when he saw Mariska’s retreating form. He dropped the paper and made it out of the elevator just as the doors were closing. He saw her turn a corner and he started after her his hand in the small of his back holding the Smith & Wesson. "Mariska!" He yelled as she entered a stair well. "Shit!" He cursed and increased his speed to catch up with her.
She was running down the steps 2 at a time as she heard him enter the stairwell, 2 floors above her. When she reached the ground floor and exited the stairwell she ran into a waiter pushing a dessert tray. "Sorry," she apologized as she stumbled and tried to regain her balance. Through the lobby and into the street she continued to run and following hotly on her heels was Parker.
Ducking into an alley, she threw over boxes and trash bins, anything to slow her pursuer down. She turned into another alley and a few meters she was confronted with a gate. "Shit!" She continued running, hitting the gate at full speed scrambling up the fencing. She was not even half way up when a set of strong arms surrounded her waist and pulled her of the gate. "No!"
Her cry of anguish ended as she and Jarod landed on the hard ground. He was up before her and she felt him pick her up and practically throw her against the wall. When she turned to face him he trained the 9mm to her head.
"Don’t make me kill you." He spoke through his deep breaths. She was breathing just as hard as she pushed her forehead against the cold steel barrel of the gun.
"Do it!" She spoke loudly. "Because I’m not going back there." He raised his head in surprise at her actions. "Come on do it!" She screamed at him. He broke his usual impish grin.
"Oh no, Mariska, I would not give you the satisfaction."
She laughed. "Touché."
"Yeah. Let’s go." He pushed her in front for him and pressed the cold pistol against her back.
********
In his hotel room he cuffed her and shoved her into a chair. He poured himself a drink and sat down opposite her.
"What? You not calling the cavalry?" He never answered and slowly finished his drink. "So this must be the only way you get a woman into you room."
He had to smile at that. "Look around, Pretender. You’re caught. Your time is up. And you’re going
nowhere but back to that hole you came out of." The drop of her shoulders and head signaled realization."Don’t take me back there." Her voice was barely audible.
"What?"
"I can’t go back there. Jarod please…" She looked up at him. He saw vulnerability for the first time in this woman. It was wrong. Her eyes should only show interest, passion, excitement - not fear. Never fear. He shook his head to clear his train of thought. "…I can’t go back."
"I don’t care. So don’t waste your time."
Memories of the cold surgical halls Center came back to her. Flashes of past sims, Raines, dark cells, needles, and nightmares and far of screams of pain and fear played over and over in her minds eye. She shook her head. "Can’t go back. No. I can’t. No! No! No!"
************
She opened her eyes. The room was dark. She sat up straight and glanced at the clock next to her bed. It was 2.15 am. She had been asleep for 2 hours. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "It was a dream Parker. A dream." Ms Parker lay down again. "Only a dream." She said again convincing herself to relax.
She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. She closed her eyes and the phone rang. She wanted to leave it but she knew it was him. "Yes?"
"Where is my ‘What?’?."
She didn’t answer him.
"Are you okay Miss Parker?"
"I’m fine Jarod .Bad dream that’s all."
"Really? I had a good one."
"I thought you had trouble sleeping?" She heard him laugh.
"What do you want Jarod?" "Ms Parker, did you ever think what your life would be like if our roles were reversed?" He heard her take a quick breath. "Well?" he prodded.
"Why the hell would I wanna be you Jarod?" She deadpanned.
"Oh just something to think about…."
"Wait."
"What is it Miss Parker?"
"If our roles were reversed and you were tracking me, would you take pleasure in it? Would you enjoy it?"
"Of course I would. What man wouldn't enjoy chasing a beautiful woman like you?"
There was a silence and the line went dead. Miss Parker put down the phone and smiled in the dark. She just put her head down when the phone rang again. "What?"
"Did I tell you that if I was hunting you and I were to catch you that I’d keep you?"
"Really?" She smiled and he heard it in her voice.
"Yeah my dream ended that way." The line went dead again.
She put the phone down again and turned on her side. Something Sydney told her once came back to her. "The two of you are more a like than you’ll ever realize Parker. Connected in a way we won’t understand."
She smiled again, more that her usual quota for the day. "Jarod are we that connected that we are dreaming the same dreams?"