The pretender watched as the shadows were chased by slivers of light that escaped through the blinders in front of the window. He had awoken about an hour earlier and was loathe in asking for some more pain medication. He needed to think. Yesterday was the first really lucid day he had in a while. 'Well, three and a half weeks were more accurate' he mused as another red hot wave reminded him of the broken part of his body.

Shifting slightly, he tried to find a less painful way of letting his lower extreme remind the rest that it was there. He still could not recall any information on his recent past and after the conversation with the doctor he wondered whether he wanted to know. He needed to find out in a subtle way what information the hospital had on him. Creating a new persona shouldn't be too difficult but the problem would arise if that did not correlate with what they knew.

Holding his breath he waited as another wave assaulted his senses. He briefly wondered how he had stayed under the Centre's radar. After having inadvertently given the doctor his name he was sure that it would not be long before that possibility changed too. 'Miss Parker would just love the fact that I can't even go the bathroom without help, never mind disappearing around the corner.' He smiled at that thought as a few scenarios played around in his head. The one with him in a wheelchair and Parker chasing after him on crutches as the hospital gown she had on flapped behind her broadened the smile.

Hearing the soft tread of nearing footsteps he closed his eyes and deepened his breathing as he waited till the nurse had finished checking on him. Apparently satisfied she left as he once again continued his ruminations.

************

"Morning, Jarod. How are you doing today?" the doctor asked as he entered the room.
"Better, thanks" Jarod replied as he tried not to let the agony of his leg show on his face. He knew that he was not very convincing when he saw Kearny's concerned face.

"How long has it been since you had anything for the pain?" he gently reprimanded as he took notice of his patients pallor and the sheen of sweat on the upper lip.

"I'm not sure. I needed time to think"

"Jarod, you are not helping yourself. You have to allow us to provide comfort and for now it means continuing the pain medication for that leg of yours."

Jarod felt his face flush as he lowered his eyes to where his hands were gripping the sheets. He felt a hand on his arm and looked up into the grey eyes of the doctor.

"I know you are frustrated, but even though the medication makes you drowsy it is the best for you for the moment. The added sleep gives your body time to heal and rest."

The pretender followed Kearny's hand as it moved from his coat holding a syringe. He could feel a fresh film of sweat form on his forehead. He needed the relief but he was worried. Why did they want to keep him sedated? His mind tried to sim various scenarios when he noticed the expectant expression on the doctor’s face.

"Oh, um sorry, I wasn't really listing. Can you please repeat what you were saying?" he whispered as his eyes were drawn back to the syringe.

Kearney stepped towards the IV while he repeated his previous words.

"Jarod, will you trust me?"

He could feel Jarod’s unease as the needle punctured the insertion point. Holding his thumb on the plunger he waited till he received a slight nod before pressing down. Staying by the bed he lingered until the hands that gripped the sheets steadily relaxed and his patient’s breathing deepen before he walked away to find a phone.

************

"It's not fair. Why can't I do what other kids do? You're worse than Raines!" with this outburst done the boy stormed out the front, the slam of the door echoing in his wake.

Major Charles sighed as he slowly sat down. He had no idea being a parent was this taxing. He felt old and it didn't help to know that your seventeen year old son thought the same. They had been arguing the whole morning till it finally escalated in the boy leaving so abruptly.

Shaking his head at the impulsiveness of youth he knew that J would come back later and apologise. The boy needed to understand that putting himself in that situation will not only endanger him but also those around him.

Moving to the kitchen table where his laptop was, Major Charles entered the passwords to access the secure website Jarod and he used to communicate with each other.

Nothing.

Slightly worried now he wondered why Jarod had not contacted them yet. Hearing the front door open he closed the laptop as he moved towards where his current ward was starting with his apologies.

************

"There … is no … sighting of …Parker?" Raines wheezed as he faced Lyle in the corridor of SL 5.

“The sweepers turned up nothing. They called every hospital in the vicinity. No Jane Doe's have been admitted that matched Parker's description."

"Anything … from the ...cleaners?"

"They are still looking into it. They …" Lyle was cut short as his phone rang. Excusing himself he could feel an irate Raines watching him as he moved away.

"Not now", he whispered as he turned and plastered a smile on his face. Listening to the voice on the other side he tried to keep calm as his voice rose slightly, "I don't care. Deal with it."

With this he snapped his phone closed as he joined the chairman again.

"Sorry, business. As I was saying, they need …" their voices fading as they walked further down the hallway. Blue eyes stared out through the grate, watching them disappear around the corner.

************

"Sydney, when do you think they will let us go? I have to pick Debbie up from school." Broots nervously tugged on a thread of one of his shirt buttons. He looked at the older man briefly before returning his attention back to the thread.

Since they left Parker's home with Lyle this morning, they had been stuck in the cell located in the TBoard main room.

Peering through the glass at the people conversing around the table Sydney turned his attention to Broots.

"I assume as soon as the Board is satisfied that we know nothing of Parker's disappearance."

"Do you think she is still … alive?" Broots held his breath as the thread lengthened under his insistent tugging.

"I hope so, Broots. Parker is a fighter. She knows how to handle herself and I'm sure that the kidnapper is regretting his actions." Sydney smiled slightly as he thought of a fuming Parker squaring off with the poor fool who took her.

Seeing Lyle approaching, Sydney stepped away from the door as it swung open.

"You're free to go" the chairman's son said flourishingly as his arm swept the open doorway.

Broots scuttled out the small room and as Sydney started to follow he felt his arm being grabbed. Looking from the hand into the ice cold eyes of the killer, he heard Lyle whisper

"If I find out that you knew anything of this fiasco, I will personally make sure that I am the one to pull the trigger."

Opening his hand, he let the man go. Smiling thinly, he waited as the pair disappeared before pulling the door shut behind him.

************

"Oww" the shout left his lips as he found yet another position that stretched his protesting muscle. 'That makes it fifteen different positions of pain' he thought wearily as the physiotherapist slowly lowered his throbbing leg onto the bed.

She moved up toward his torso as she coaxed him into a sitting position. Arranging the pillows behind his back and head she lowered him into the new position. Gratefully, he smiled his thanks as Kearny entered his room.

The same sentence flowed from his mouth as he examined the slowly healing leg. Only half listening to Jarod's response he scrutinised the scars that crisscrossed the lower part. He could see the muscle tone improving steadily. Softly patting the leg he lowered the sheet as he looked at the dark man.

"It is looking good. How are you coping with the pain?"

"It’s manageable. Is there any chance that I will be able to get a phone connected in here?" Jarod asked as he followed the man toward his IV from under his eyelashes.

"I am afraid not. If there is someone you would like us to call, I am sure the nurse would not mind doing it. Does this mean that you remembered your last name, Jarod?" the doctor responded as he emptied the syringe into the line.

"No." was sighed as Jarod sank further into the soft pillows. The now familiar numbness was slowly spreading through his body. His mind soon became too disjointed for any coherent thought and he gave up the fight as he allowed the soothing work of the medication to drift him toward sleep.

************

Parker opened her eyes and blinked. Everything remained pitch black. Raising her hand in front of her face she could see nothing. Her mouth had the distinctive taste of chloroform. She moved her tongue around in an effort to alleviate the uncomfortable sensation as her hands continued to explore around her.

She traced the edge of the mattress and raised her right hand cautiously upwards. As she met no resistance she raised her head and moved into a sitting position. Something clanked as she clenched her legs and brought them under her chin. Her left leg felt strangely heavy and as she probed downward she felt the cold links of the chain.

“Jarod, if this is one of your hair-brained schemes, I’ll kill you for this.” she grunted as she slowly drifted her legs toward the edge of the bed. Her legs didn’t travel far before meeting the floor. ‘Okay, this means that the mattress has no base. Rising carefully she kept one hand on the wall. Stretching her other hand in front of her, she cautiously moved forward. She counted her steps till her other hand met the wall. “That’s four steps to the corner.” The length of the chain allowing, she turned and repeated the same procedure until she encountered a familiar form.

“There is a God.” she murmured as she pressed the switch. Blinking rapidly, tears left her eyes at the harsh glare of the light bulb.

The chain link around her ankle snaked across the floor towards the end of the dirty mattress she just left. She screwed up her face in disgust at the thought of having spent the last few hours on that lice infested bed. Roving to the other side she saw water bottles and a closed box. She almost sobbed in relief as she stumbled over, opened and downed a quarter of the bottle. Feeling slightly better she glanced at the box. She put the bottle down and opened it. The silver glint of tins smiled back at her. Grabbing one she read the label. Coleman’s Baked Beans.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Throwing the tin back with the others she saw a toilet in the other corner. Several toilet rolls were stacked on top of each other. Nothing else. No door, no window. Nothing.

Looking to the roof she saw a grate that extended beyond into darkness. Her eyes were drawn back to the light switch. Stuck next to it was a piece of paper. It was an inventory list of the room’s contents.

Bunching the paper into a ball she threw it across the room. As the ball left her hand she noticed for the first time the small cupboard built into the wall across from where she stood. It was eye level and camouflaged to match the wall colour. She felt apprehension as she neared the cupboard. Stretching out her hand she gingerly opened the door.

“No!”

For a moment she felt if she was plummeting down a dark abyss screaming uncontrollably as she raced towards the bottomless pit. The fear, the pain, the fury and the rage seemed to overwhelm her all at once. Her gut-wrenching anguish caused her to stumble backwards to the toilet as she hurled her stomach contents into the bowl. She held onto the edges of the bowl in the hope that it would steady her trembling hands, her aching heart. But it was to no avail – all she could do was curl up tightly on the grimy floor, tears flowing freely across her face. The only sound audible was her muffled, sporadic gasps for breath as she sank deeper into despair.

In her mind burned the nauseating image of her father’s decapitated head with the lifeless eyes staring into the void.

TBC

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