PERSONAL REFUGE
Somewhere Outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Charles looked up at the computer. “Jarod, you’ve got mail. Maybe it’s from your sister. Lord knows it’s been long enough since we’ve heard from her.”
Margaret looked up from her newspaper. “You know she sends me her ‘still alive’ messages every two weeks.”
Jarod walked to the computer and clicked the mouse. “No, it’s from Angelo.”
The family gathered around the screen and looked over Jarod’s shoulder. Charles gasped. “Oh my God, what’s she doing?”
The screen showed Emily sitting with her feet propped up on the director’s desk at the main German office of the Centre. She was going through the director’s personal Rolodex, removing cards, examining them, and tossing them onto the pile of files sitting on the desk.
Jay smiled. “Oh, wow! She’s doing it! This is that mind-control stuff she told me about.”
Charles looked at him sharply. “Mind control?”
“Oh, yeah, see what she’s doing? She’s got all of his family pictures sitting around her; she’s going through his personal numbers; she’s even got her feet up on the desk. And she’s poured herself a glass of brandy; she doesn’t even drink. It’s all about control, establishing dominance over his space.”
Charles frowned. “What’s that written on the wall behind her?”
“It’s German. It says ‘Tag, you’re it.’” Margaret shook her head. “I never thought she would start this by herself. Of course I shouldn’t be surprised. Her first sentence was ‘I can do it myself.’ ”
Jarod raised his eyebrow. “Start?”
“She’s shutting down Centre offices. Apparently beginning with Germany. She’s been working on this plan since she was five.”
Jarod sighed. “Germany. I wonder if this has anything to do with Dr. Eichman?”
**************************************************************************************
Mr. Parker’s Office
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Dr. Eichman glared at Emily’s image on the screen. “Perhaps it is time we brought in outside assistance.”
“Outside assistance?” asked Mr. Lyle. “Hasn’t she already brought in enough? She seems to have involved the entire German justice system.”
“Mr. Lyle do you have any idea how many top secret files she has gained access to. The Triumvirate station has been compromised. She had top-level clearance. She must be stopped at all costs.”
Mr. Parker cleared his throat. “Outside assassins? Do you think that’s wise? We still don’t know who she is working for.”
“Who she is working for,” snapped Dr. Eichman, “is not relevant. What she is working for is.”
“The answer to that question, Dr. Eichman, no doubt lies in both your pasts.” Eichman, Lyle and Mr. Parker looked up in shock as Sydney and Miss Parker walked through the door.”
The blood drained from Eichman’s face. Mr. Lyle recovered first and pasted on a smile. “Sydney! Thank God! Where have you been? We’ve been searching for you.”
“Perhaps you should ask Dr. Eichman about my disappearance.”
Eichman drew herself up and looked haughtily at Sydney. “Denying responsibility has always been your personal…refuge.”
“Perhaps you are the one taking refuge. The timing of your visit is remarkable.”
Mr. Parker cleared his throat. “Perhaps we need to return to the business at hand.”
Eichman ignored him. “As is the timing of your disappearance.”
Mr. Parker stood up. “Are you implying that Sydney had something to do with the business at hand?”
“The Pretender Project has always been Sydney’s one source of power. If he saw it slipping away…”
Lyle stepped forward. “About Lee. I have contacts with some of the…right people, but it’ll cost us an arm and a leg.”
Miss Parker smirked. “Or perhaps a thumb?”
**************************************************************************************
Somewhere Outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Jarod sat in his room holding the package that Emily had left with Jay. It was full of floppy disks. He looked at the dates, chose one, and put it into the computer.
December 11, 1993
It’s coming together. The Triumvirate has agreed to give the Pretender Project to Old Lady Eichman. Three months with that lunatic, and it may FINALLY pay off. Once I get Jarod over here, it’ll be relatively simple to break him out. I can’t wait to tell Mom!
Failure is not an option.
December 13, 1993
I failed. I let down my guard and Sydney was able to pull some strings. What rabbit he had, I will never know. Another failure. I don’t know how many times I can do this. How many more times can Mom survive this? Will we ever have a life?
Jarod sighed.
Margaret and Jay sat at the table studying A Tale of Two Cities. Jay read the last pages of the book and frowned. “He was dying, Mom. How can he be so calm, so happy?”
“You tell me, Jay.”
Jay stared at the page for several minutes, then his eyes lit up. He read out loud. “’I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts…’” He looked up. Margaret waited. “Sydney Carton wanted to be a better person, Mom. But…he had built an entire world for himself that was almost as much of a controlled environment as Donoterase. As long as he was in it—obeying its rules—there was no way out, no refuge. Now, even thought he’s dying, to this family he won’t be Sydney the worthless drunk. He’ll be Sydney, who gave his life for us.” Jay smiled. “It’s like he’s escaping the Centre, Mom.”
“Very impressive, Jay.”
Jay looked out the window. “There’s a car on the driveway.” He stepped out on the deck to check it out with his binoculars. “I think…I think it’s Emily. Yes! It is Emily!” He dropped the binoculars and jumped off the side of the deck. Margaret followed him.
Jay reached the car just as Emily got out. “Emily, you’re here!” He ran up and hugged her.
“God, I missed you. I can’t believe it; you grew. What else have you been up to?”
Margaret interrupted. “Shutting down Germany. It was déjà vu. Just like when you broke into the Triumvirate. I don’t know whether to congratulate you or send you to your room.”
“You always sent me to my room.”
“You came back anyway.”
“I felt fairly safe; I don’t have a room.”
“That was so cool! I loved what you did with the Rolodex,” Jay exclaimed.
Emily looked questioningly at her mother. “What is it we think we know?”
“Angelo e-mailed Jarod a tape of your…exploits in Germany. Why didn’t you take Jarod?”
“It was too risky.”
“How are you? You look like you’ve been living in a roach motel on macaroni and Pez.”
“Not even close,” replied Emily with a sheepish grin. “It was a post-tornado trailer park, cold cereal and Hot Tamales.”
“You really don’t look well dear. Are you all right?”
“Jarod just got back yesterday; he has been pretending to be a doctor to help someone.” Jay offered. “And you look like you could use a doctor.”
“I’m fine; I just picked a virus or something.”
“Well, well, if it isn’t the prodigal daughter.” Charles said as he came down the steps. “Created anymore excitement or is a million dollar price on your head enough?”
“A million? Yes! That is so cool.” Emily said as she gave Jay a high five.
“Sometimes you really scare me young lady. Can you explain what is so cool about a price on your head?” Charles said as he put his arm around his daughter’s waist. Emily suddenly gasped and pulled away from her Father. All the color had drained from her face and she was shaking. “Are you all right?”
Emily nodded weakly and then collapsed.
“Jay, run and find Jarod.” Margaret said as she rushed to Emily.
When Jay returned with Jarod, Emily was sitting up. “I’m fine Mom really, just jet lag or something.”
“You are not alright. You’re positively burning up. Jarod, there you are. Your sister just fainted.”
“So I’ve heard.” Jarod said as he knelt down next to Emily. “What happened?”
“Oh I just wanted to make an entrance. Very classy, don’t you think?”
Jarod felt her forehead and took off her sunglasses. “You have a very high fever. How long have you had the light sensitivity problem?”
“A few days. It’s no big deal.” Emily said as she got up. “I probably just need some rest.”
**************************************************************************************
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Sydney sat in his office, going through what was left of his files. Miss Parker came in. “Cleaning the crumbs out of the toaster, Syd?”
“That’s about all that’s left, I’m afraid. Forty years of work.”
“And the worst part is we’ll never be able to prove that Eichman did it.” Miss Parker grabbed a paper from the desk.
“Parker, don’t…”
Miss Parker read the memo out loud. “’Regarding the transfer of the Pretender Project. At this time I feel that it is necessary to point out that the transfer of the Pretender Project is in no one’s best interests. There are certain matters, which I may be forced to bring to light if the transfer plans continue forward. Mrs. Parker’s untimely death being foremost in these.’ What’s this, Sydney?”
Sydney retrieved the paper. “From my personal files.”
“Whom was this addressed to?”
“Parker, some roads are better left untaken.”
“NOT when they concern my mother, Sydney. You know that.”
“Parker…”
“You know who killed my mother, Sydney. You were blackmailing them with it six years ago. And you’ve NEVER told me who it is!”
**************************************************************************************
Back in New Mexico
Emily caught Jarod’s eye and motioned him out of the room. “You got a minute?”
Jarod looked concerned. “Should you be up?”
“I really need to talk to you.”
They walked into the kitchen. Emily sat down and handed Jarod a file. “When you were at the Centre, did you ever work on this project?”
Jarod read out loud. “’Biochemical bullets.’ They were seldom this blatant.”
Emily sighed. “It’s one of mine. From SL-27. I’ve been following it for years. When I left, it wasn’t completed. I knew somebody was working on it. But I didn’t know they’d finished.”
“That’s what’s wrong with you. You were shot. Weren’t you?” Jay said in an almost accusing tone.
“Eavesdropping is a dangerous habit, Jay.”
Jay ignored the comment. “It’s one of mine. I worked on it. Mr. Raines said there was a dangerous dictator that had to be killed, and they had to make sure that the bullet would work even if they didn’t get a clear shot. He said it would help people. I didn’t know.”
“It’s okay, you’re not responsible for the way the Centre uses your ideas. Just tell me everything you can remember about the project.” Emily said as she put a protective arm around his shoulder.
“Does this mean you’re going to die?”
“Do you know how many points I’d lose if I let the Centre get away with that?” Emily said lightly.
Jay suddenly grabbed her arm and pushed her sleeve up. “You already have the rash. That’s stage 3. How long ago did this happen?
“Two weeks. How many stages are there?”
“Why didn’t you come back sooner? We could have helped.” Jay’s voice reflected both panic and anger.
“I’m here now and I need your help, Jay.”
“There are 4 stages. Five if you count death. We don’t have much time. There is a cure. I worked on that, too. The project was called Safety Net. And Mr. Raines always said to send the information to Pakor and Kingsley for development Life was easier in Donoterase.”
“Easier is seldom better.” Emily whispered.
**************************************************************************************
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
“Broots!”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“I want you to find out everything you can about when the Pretender Project was almost transferred to Eichman. Dr. Demento’s holding out on me.”
“Uh…Dr. Demento?”
“Syd, moron.”
“Um…okay. What do you want me look for?”
“A memo from Sydney. It’s about who killed my mother.”
“Wait a minute! He…he knows?!”
“He knows enough that he was using it as blackmail.”
“Who did he blackmail?”
“If I knew that, I wouldn’t have you looking!”
“Man, I can’t believe this.”
“He let me believe all those years that my mother committed suicide! I almost killed Major Charles because of what Sydney hasn’t told me! If there was one person in this crazy place I thought I could trust…” Miss Parker shook her head. “I want that memo, Broots.”
**************************************************************************************
New Mexico
Emily pulled up a list of Centre sites on her computer. “Kingsley. It’s in Michigan. I haven’t been there yet.”
Charles looked at the screen. There was a long list of Centre facilities. “What do the blue check marks mean?”
“It means I’ve been there. Oh, good, it’s a Level 5. That means 85% of the people there don’t know what business the Centre’s in.”
Charles cleared his throat. “Jarod and I will be handling this one. It’s time you sit one out.”
Emily looked shocked. “That’s so sweet. Not necessary, but sweet.”
Jarod sighed. “Emily, you’ve already blacked out once. You have to trust somebody sometime. Let us help you.”
“Trust. Now there’s an interesting word, Jarod.” Emily looked to see where Jay was and then whispered. “Do the math boys; if you fail we all die. If I fail…I was dead already.”
“Family isn’t about math.”
“Didn’t I tell you she wouldn’t listen to reason, Jarod.” Charles shook his head.
Emily massaged her temples. “Do you realize what a perfect set up this is? Every sweeper worth his salt knows Jarod is a sucker for a damsel in distress. If I wanted to break his spirit, this would be the way. No! If something goes wrong I want you all a thousand miles away.” Emily gathered her things and left the room.
“Can’t help someone that doesn’t want help, Son.”
“She needs our help, Dad. I think she even wants it, but she doesn’t know how to accept it.”
**************************************************************************************
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Broots knocked tentatively on Miss Parker’s office door. “Miss P?”
“What is it, Broots? Did you find the memo?”
“Well…no. All inter-office communications from that time period…are gone. There’s not even the usual accounting stuff. Just nothing. Somebody went to a lot of trouble, and I’m not even sure why. I mean, if they wanted to keep people from finding that memo, they could avoid a lot of unnecessary attention by leaving the other stuff in place.”
“Point, Broots, point.”
“Well, I don’t know; it’s just strange. It’s like the person hiding the memo didn’t know what they were doing.”
Just then, the office door opened and Dr. Eichman came in. “Report on Emily’s whereabouts.”
“Dr. Eichman, it is a custom to knock in this country.”
“Report.”
Broots shuffled his feet. “Well, I’ve really gotta be…in the computer lab.” He ran out the door.
Miss Parker frowned. “You just run along,” she hissed after Broots. She turned to Eichman. “She was sighted in Kentucky. She and the sweepers exchanged fire; she may have been hit, but her whereabouts are unknown.”
“Is that the best you can do? Even your incompetent father is capable of more than that.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, my father is the director of the Centre, meaning that you work for him.”
“An unfortunate and temporary state of affairs.”
**************************************************************************************
Airstrip
New Mexico
Emily opened the cockpit door. “Jarod!” she shrieked and jumped back.
“Going someplace, sis?”
“That’s a good way to get shot.”
Jarod held out a handful of bullets. “I thought of that. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately. And reading.”
“And what have you learned?”
“That you’re twice as smart and half as tough as you let on.”
“Meaning?”
“I’m coming with you. I’m going to help you whether you like it or not.”
“Oh, just fly the damn plane.”
Charles spoke up. “Mind if I tag along?”
“Would it really matter if I did?”
*************************************************************************************
Aircraft Hanger
Western Michigan
“Where the hell is she? We weren’t off the plane 5 minutes before she disappeared!” Charles huffed. “For all we know, she’s collapsed again!”
“I’m sure she knows what she’s doing, Dad. She’s very good at what she does.”
“Whatever that is.” Charles paced up and down nervously. “I remember the day she was born. I vowed I would keep her safe. And now I don’t even know if she’s passed out in the street someplace. I feel like I’m about to lose her again and I never even got to know her.” He sat down wearily and noticed Emily’s bag on the table. “Bring me that, Jarod.”
“What are you doing, Dad?”
“Finding out what she’s been up to.” Charles dug through the bag and came up with a stack of identification cards. “Well, what have we here? Smoke jumper…Texas Ranger…Royal Canadian Mounted… She seems to like police work. FBI…Secret Service… CIA… NASA… doctor… Marine…construction workers’ union …electrician…” Charles continued rifling through Emily’s bag and pulled out a justice department ID that was separate from all the rest. “This is interesting.”
“What is it, Dad?”
“She used her real name and birth date.”
“You don’t suppose…”
“Oh, this is real nice.” Charles pulled out a book titled “Assassins.” “Somehow it doesn’t surprise me a bit.”
Jarod picked up the book and read the back. “It may not be what you think, Dad. ‘World history and prophecy collide in Jerusalem at the middle of the Tribulation…’”
Charles looked sheepish and then got angry again. “It’s been two hours! What does she think she’s doing?”
Jarod sighed. “Trying to survive by relying on the only person she can trust.”
Just then, the hangar door opened. “God, it’s cold out there. Why couldn’t this have been in Florida?”
Charles rushed up to her. “Where have you been, young lady? Are you all right? I was worried sick.”
Emily frowned. “Someday I’m going to figure out what it is about you that annoys the hell out of me. I was in Kingsley, of course.”
“In the middle of the day?”
“It’s harder to get in at night.”
“Well, did you get the medicine?”
“They’re not quite that accommodating. The best I could do was an inventory. I’ll go back tonight and find what I need.” Emily sat down at her computer. She brought up a series of security codes and wrote them on her arm.
Jarod looked over her shoulder. “What are you doing?”
“Getting the security codes for the cameras I’ll need to shut down.”
Charles joined them. “Where did you learn to do this?”
“Reruns of ‘Mission: Impossible.’”
*************************************************************************************
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
“Going somewhere, Syd?”
“Michelle and I had plans for the evening.”
“Isn’t that cozy. You wouldn’t want to tell me who that memo was addressed to before you leave?”
Sydney sighed. “I can’t do that, Parker.”
“Why, Syd? Why? You’re not protecting the Pretender Project. In case you haven’t noticed, you don’t have one. I would have expected this from my father, but I thought you were better than that.”
“There are other children of the Centre yet to be protected, Parker.”
*************************************************************************************
Aircraft Hangar
Western Michigan
Four Hours Later
Jarod knelt next to Emily and helped her sit up. “You were out 15 minutes that time. Maybe it would be better if I did this. You know, you’re not the only one with experience breaking into Centre facilities.”
“Not a chance. I didn’t spend all those years trying to break you out of the Centre just to have you go back in because of me.”
Jarod sighed. “Your fever’s up. Have you taken anything to bring it down?”
“Not for awhile.”
Jarod opened a bottle. “Here, take these.” Charles looked worried.
Emily took the pills. “I’m going in at 12:30. I want to be out before the fresh guards come in at 2.” She yawned. “I think…I think I’ll sleep until then.”
**************************************************************************************
12:30 a.m.
Charles looked over at Jarod. “Is she still out?”
“Yes. Those pills I gave her should last for at least another six hours. Probably more, in her condition.”
“Are you sure about this, Son? What if it is a trap?”
“It’s not a trap. I’m sure of it. We can’t expect her to trust us if we don’t trust her.”
“I hope you’re right, Son. Here. Take her gun.”
Jarod put the gun in his pocket and left.
**************************************************************************************
The Centre
Blue Cove, Delaware
Sydney walked into this office and found Miss Parker sitting at his desk. “Talk, Syd.”
“Parker, you know I can’t tell you. It’s for your protection.”
“Letting me believe for over twenty years that my mother committed suicide is protecting me? You’ve got a strange definition of protection, Syd. Another thing you share with my father.”
“Parker, you have no idea what’s at stake here. My orders in this matter came directly from your father. Perhaps you should talk to him.”
“Just answer one question; was the memo written to my father?”
Sydney sighed. “Yes.”
**************************************************************************************
Just Outside Santa Fe, New Mexico
The Next Day
Emily woke up with a start. “Jarod…where are we?”
“Back in New Mexico.”
“What happened?”
“It was one I owed you.” Emily gave him a puzzled look. Jarod took her hand. “You can’t do it all alone. I knew I could trust you the moment I saw you. I’m so sorry I let Sydney talk me out of it.”
“Would that be the moment I had the gun to your head?”
“It was that moment on the airplane when I knew for the first time in my life that I was safe.” He brushed the hair out of her face. “Now it’s your turn to be safe.”
“Does that mean you’re planning to take care of me?”
Jarod smiled. “I am your big brother.”