A Dance We Do
By: Dee
Beta read by Dianne
Disclaimer:
The Centre, Blue Cove, Delaware
Tech Room
A box had just arrived for Miss Parker and she was not pleased, for it was from Jarod
"Oh goodie, I get to learn more about what perversion my family has been up to. I wonder if it could upstage a cannibal psychotic serial killer as a brother or a murdered mother. Maybe Daddy has a secret brotherhood that eats babies," said a snide Miss Parker.
"He does?" Broots asked, his eyes wide.
"Listen, geek boy, get back to that keyboard before I choke you," snarled Miss Parker.
"Parker, aren't you going to open it?" Sydney tried to hide the amusement in his voice; they reminded him of two children squabbling over a toy.
She picked up the box and was about to open it then thought better of it and tossed it over to Sydney. "He's your labrat and I swear if it has anything to do with Asian women or dead things, I'm going to shoot your labrat's kneecaps right off him. "
Sydney gave her a small smile and shook his head as he slowly opened the bright blue and orange colored box. All eyes were on Sydney as he slowly pulled out a worn teddy bear and an old newspaper clipping, which was quickly snatched away from him by Miss Parker. As she read it, her face turned pale then she took a deep breath and handed the clipping back to Sydney.
The clipping was from an old newspaper and was about the disappearance of a five-year-old boy by the name of Danny Whiteside; stamped on the side of the paper was a code number.
Sydney shot Miss Parker a questioning look.
She slowly shook her head. "When I used to go to look for Jarod, I had to pass Raines freak labs. I saw this boy in there, but that was 22 years ago."
Sydney's voice sounded almost panicked as he asked, "What was he doing to him?"
"Who knows what that burnt, oxygen sucking corpse was doing." She gave a little huff, "Well, at least this freak show isn't a member of the Parker family. That's a first for Jarod."
"Parker, there's one last thing in the box from Jarod, it's addressed to you." Sydney stated matter of factly.
"God, I knew it was too good to be true. Hand it over, Sydney, with my luck, I'll find out the freak of the week is a half brother." Parker's voice dripped with sarcasm.
Sydney reached in and pulled out a ring box with a note taped to the bottom and handed it to Miss Parker. She gingerly opened the box, exposing a thin gold band with a diamond in the center. She knew instinctively that it was her mother's engagement ring. She closed the box and slipped it into her jacket pocket after removing the note. She then opened the note and read:
Dear Miss Parker,
I am sending you your mother's engagement ring. I wonder what she would say about this dance of denial that we do and how we have to hide our growing love. Have you ever been to a carnival, my dear Miss Parker? Maybe I'll see you there, three days from when you receive this.
Jarod.
P.S. I know that your love for me will make you run to my side.
Parker folded the note back up and slipped it into her jacket pocket beside the box with mother's ring.
"Moron." She murmured then said in a louder voice, "Well, Dr. Dolittle, it seems that your labrat has found a fitting place for himself with the rest of the mutations of Earth. We're going to a carnival, aren't we lucky?"
Brooks spoke out, his voice filled with excitement, "A carnival! Do you think I could bring Debbie?"
Miss Parker's eyes turned to frost. "No, this isn't a pleasure trip, although I can see that you'd fit right in, but right now, you have a job to do. I want you to find all the carnivals..." She stopped mid sentence and a sparkle of knowledge graced her eyes. She walked over to the box and pulled out the teddy bear, she turned the teddy bear around and hidden beneath a patch of fur was a key; she wound it.
The tinkling of music softly played, it took a minute for Parker to recall the tune – 'We've only just begun' then Jarod's voice rang out. "Hi, Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots, I hope you can make it. Miss Parker holds the key to my heart and Sydney you're right, the Rolling Stones are cool. Broots, you should see all the games they have here, I hope Debbie can make it, Parker used to love games when she was Debbie's age."
Parker unceremoniously dropped the bear and ordered Broots, "Come on, geek, you heard the labrat. Look for carnivals in Pennsylvania, the Keystone State." She looked over at the teddy bear and softly speaking to herself, said, "Could you make this any easier? What are you up to, Jarod?"
"Broots, check on the missing rugrat Danny Whiteside. Try the code first."
Broots looked up from his terminal uneasily and asked, "Um, Miss Parker, which should I do first?"
"I'm surrounded by idiots and they want to know why I can't catch the labrat. The labrat comes first, Broots. As for the missing kid, he was turned into a pet project twenty-two or twenty-three years ago by that oxygen sucking weasel, I think he can wait. I wonder what sick twisted monster Raines turned him into." A small shudder swept through her tall, slender frame.
Somerset, Pa
Brightly colored banners littered Town Street. People dressed in every custume imaginable crowded the walkways and four wooden stages were erected off to the far right. Applause rippled through the crowd as a well-built man with dark hair and flashing brown eyes dressed in a black tuxedo bent over. Straightening himself back up, he smiled then pulled a white rose from his jacket and tossed it into the crowd of onlookers who scrabbled towards it only to have a young, dark haired girl flash it in the air, signaling that she was the lucky one. A tall, lanky blonde dressed only in a skimpy blue sequined swimsuit smiled brightly from the stage and gave the man a kiss on his cheek to a thunderous applause. The sign in front of the wooden stage read Jarodco The Marvelous.
The long legged blonde was still attached to Jarod's arm as they walked back to his small, single trailer. "You were wonderful." Tracy said passionately as she ran her hand up and down his chest, feeling the hard planes of his body underneath the tuxedo. Jarod grabbed her hand and held it still as they entered the trailer together.
The trailer was small with a single pull out bed, a small table and two chairs. The only things on top of the table were Spiderman comic books, four Pez candies, a deck of cards, a framed photo of Miss Parker, which had been taken from her home and a single red rose tinged in white, lying in front of her photo.
Tracy walked over and picked up Parker's photo. "She's really not that pretty and what kind of woman would let a man like you go anywhere alone?" She purred as Jarod walked calmly over and took the photo from her hand, placing it back in its proper place. He only gave her a Cheshire cat like smile and leaned over; sensually breathing into her ear, he whispered. "The Ice Queen." He smiled again. "I think I'm going to rest a little bit before the next performance."
Tracy smiled. "I'll come back later to wake you up." Her tone was low and sensual.
Jarod placed his hand on Tracy's back and gently escorted her out, locking the trailer door behind her then he grabbed his computer and rewound the avi that Angelo had sent him two nights ago.
Jarod sat fascinated as the drama replayed before his eyes. It showed Mr. Parker's office now occupied by Lyle, who was rocking nervously in his father's chair, opposite sat Raines in a wheelchair, hooked up to his oxygen. He looked decayed, as if death itself wouldn't touch him, his skin was puckered where the fire had burned off his flesh and it had been replaced by skin grafts. Raines leaned forward in his wheelchair, "Danny will take care of Miss Parker and her annoying friends. He'll be easier to handle in about three days time. He's a little bit excited."
Jarod could almost feel Lyle's sickening smile. "Your pet monster, Raines, and it can't be linked back to me. I want my sister to die really slow and I want it taped. She can't go running to dear old Daddy, may the old bastard rot in hell and she's getting to be to like dear old Mommy, sticking her nose in where it doesn't belong. I only wish that we could make a clean sweep of it and get Jarod too."
The old man in the wheelchair coughed. "We'll keep monitoring them, if Jarod isn't found within killing distance of Parker and cohorts then we'll just kill his sister, I know where she is. Then he'll come to us." The picture faded, leaving only a blank computer screen.
Jarod leaned back and picked up a red notebook. He opened it and headlines screamed out at him. 27-year-old magician dies of an overdose. Mr. Williams was found yesterday in his trailer. He was in a drug-induced coma and died shortly before police reached the scene. Mr. Ted William's was best remembered as being the only child taken by convicted murderer Charles Holt that survived. Jarod flipped the pages.
This pretend wasn't what he'd planned. He was sure that there were two people involved instead of one. Jarod closed the folder and laid it back in his case and before closing the case, he retrieved Catherine Parker's wedding ring and staring deeply into it's facets, came up with a plan. He smiled, he'd already started the ball rolling; everyone knew that his ice queen was coming and he had plans for her, that was if she didn't kill him over it. Jarod shook his head, five years of hiding and running from her, only to realize that he loved her.
Jarod picked up the small paperback of Murphy's Law in his case and started to read.
Chapter three
USX building
Downtown Pittsburgh, Pa
A helicopter approached and landed on the heliport pad and the three occupants exited the craft. First one to exit was Miss Parker, a tall, leggy brunette, wearing tight fitting black clothes and high-heeled shoes, Sydney was the next one out, he was wearing a dark blue business suit, he stopped half way down the steps and removed the jacket, tossing it over his arm, Broots was the last one out, he was dressed in a Hawaiian top and matching shorts. Each one carried a small carry-on bag and Broots was also carrying his laptop computer safely stored in its black case.
Parker's heels clicked on the roof's pavement and as she walked, she scratched her arms. She couldn't believe how Lyle had run out of the complex and gave her a huge hug goodbye; she wondered vaguely if she had fleas now. She shuddered at the thought of him touching her. Something was wrong, she couldn't quit put her finger on it, but she would, given a little time.
Sydney heard the ringing of his phone as the helicopter rose into the air and left. He unhooked the phone from his belt. "Jarod, it's nice to hear from you." His voice was soothing. "Do you know that we're here in downtown Pittsburgh?"
"I know, Sydney, I'm glad you're here. Is Parker with you?" Jarod asked.
"Yes, Jarod, she's here." Sydney gave a little knowing smile.
"Sydney, if you every really cared about me, Broots and Parker, you have to listen. Lyle has sent someone named Danny to kill Parker, Broots and you. Raines trained him under the name Desert Hawk... Sydney, are you there?" Jarod seemed a little rushed.
"Yes, Jarod. So, what do you want me to do?" Sydney closed his eyes and took a deep breath, so Danny was alive, Parker was right; no one ever really died at the Centre.
"I want you to come to Somerset, Pa. Follow the signs to the carnival up here. It's an hour and seven minutes from where you are - Take I-76 east to exit 10 then take the 601n to 281north, you'll run into Elmo's Light Store, go in there. I'll have costumes waiting for you," Jarod's voice switched into an authoritative mode.
"Jarod, you may have trouble with Parker, you know how she hates to be told what to do or to trust anyone beside herself." Concern echoed in Sydney's voice.
Jarod laughed. "I'll deal with the ice queen. Just hurry, we have some plans to make and I have to finish this pretend sooner than I thought."
"We'll be there in an hour and seven minutes. Jarod, take care," said a concerned Sydney, he was met with silence then after a short pause, he heard.
"I will, Sydney. Take care of Parker." And the phone went dead.
Sydney closed his phone and hooked it back onto his belt.
Broots clumsily made it over to Sydney. "Jarod?" Broots whispered, almost scared that Parker would overhear.
Sydney gave Broots a pat on his arm. "Yes. It's okay, Broots, Miss Parker is probably halfway out the building by now."
Broots felt a rush of relief flood his system.
As they started tracing her steps, Broots seemed to have a hard time getting his voice back. "D-does Pa-Parker know that you talked with Ja-Jarod?"
"No, not yet. I'll tell her in the car." Sydney smiled as he placed a protective arm around Broots.
"Y-you don't think she'll sh-shoot Jarod, do you?"
Sydney smiled as he dug around in his pocket and came out with the firing pin to her gun. "You never know and with Parker it's better safe than sorry, especially since she's having a hard time trying not to love him."
That stopped Broots in mid step. "Parker and Jarod." He gave a low whistle. "Sydney, I would have never guessed, most of the time she's trying to bring him in or threatening to shoot him and he's always yanking her chain. Wow, Parker and Jarod." He whistled again and shook his head. "Boy, life is sure complicated."
Sydney smiled. "Yes, my friend, life is complicated. We'd better get to the rental before Parker leaves without us."
By the time they made it to the rental car, Parker was sitting behind the wheel, beeping the horn. She yelled at them, "Will you two hurry up! What do I look like? Cab service? And for the love of God, Broots, wipe that stupid grin off your face, you look like a moron."
"Yes, Miss Parker." Broots whispered as he got into the back seat, while Sydney took the front seat beside Parker, both buckling themselves in.
Sydney reached over and touched Parker's arm. "Jarod called, he's in Somerset. I have the directions."
Parker's mouth dropped open.
"Before you say a word I promised him that we wouldn't bring him in." Sydney spoke to her in a fatherly manner.
"Are you nuts? Listen, Dr Frankenstein," Parker stressed the point by grabbing Sydney's shirt, her eyes flashing and her voice low and dangerous, "You know yourself that your little labrat will tire and run underground. Then, Daddy Higgins, neither of us will ever see him again."
"Parker just drive, I'm going to tell you something that you're not going to like." Sydney's face seemed to cloud over.
Parker wished that she had a drink and for the first time in her life, she drove at the speed limit.
"It started when Jarod was just a kid and I was working with him. Raines was working on other projects, one with a child named Danny. I later found out that Raines was working on an ultimate soldier, a killing machine. Using drugs, he killed off nerve endings, thereby destroying pain and by destroying parts of the brain, feelings. Danny was 12 when I first saw him. He was completely still, until Raines told him to do something. Just like an animal, he'd fetch and kill. I thought he had died a long time ago." Sydney stopped talking.
Parker turned her eyes from the road for a brief moment, "Oh God, Raines sent him after Jarod, didn't he?"
"No, Lyle and Raines sent Danny after you, me, Broots and Jarod. Danny will go after the strongest first and that's you and Jarod."
"This just keeps getting better and better. A guy with the IQ, personality and emotions of a dipstick is going to try to kill us and he was sent by my sadistic brother and death warmed over uncle who make the SS look like boy scouts. My family gives me such a warm tingly feeling I could just beat them to death with a baseball bat. I wish Wonderboy was here." Parker said then quickly added, "So I'd know the odds on all of us surviving this nightmare."
They made it in record time to Somerset only stopping twice, once because of Broots who bitterly complained that he was going to pee himself if they didn't and once at a liquor store for a bottle of vodka, which was now just a memory. Parker had refused to share and had consumed it herself by the time the trio hit Elmo's. Parker fortified her resolve with booze while Broot's shivered and shook with fear, Sydney resigned himself to any fate that befell him.
Sydney was always impressed by the way, drunk or not, Parker held herself. If it weren't for the occasional blow up of her raw emotions or just the tiniest twitch of her right eye, you would never know that she drank. She held herself in tight control as she descended on the store clerk, only to watch as the clerk giggled the way teenagers do as she handed Parker a huge package filled with the costumes that Jarod had chosen for them. Broots was a clown, Sydney was an eighteenth century gentleman and Parker refused to put hers, a tiny French maid's uniform, on and announced that Jarod needed a sex life or a 1-900 number to keep him busy.
No one heard Jarod enter the store; he just seemed to appear. Sydney was the first to spot him leaning against the back wall of the store, wearing a tuxedo with a white flower in his lapel. Jarod leaned back, arms crossed, a large child-like smile gracing his lips; a medium size white bag rested on the floor next to him.
Sydney was now dressed in full costume and he smiled back at Jarod. Miss Parker stood next to Sydney, but her attention was on Broots who had just exited the bathroom waving a rubber chicken in front of him and proudly proclaiming about the rubber toy that he'd found in the pocket of the costume. As Sydney walked pass Parker, he grabbed the gun from her back holster.
Sydney and Jarod embraced then pulled apart. Sydney patted Jarod's arm and handed him Parker's gun. "You look good, Jarod." Sydney told him.
Jarod was still smiling "Freedom agrees with me, Sydney." Jarod stated, but his eyes were looking straight at Parker, who made a move to grab her nonexistent gun. Her eyes never left Jarod's as he held the gun up for her to see then with a flick of his wrist, the gun disappeared.
Sandy, the teenager who manned the cash register, was all eyes as Jarod smiled at her and gave her a nod. She quickly closed up her register and walked over to Jarod, giving him a warm smile and a little wave as she walked to the front of the store and exited, locking up behind her.
Sydney moved to one side as Parker, gripping the maid's outfit, came charging up to Jarod in a fury. She didn't stop, but pressed her body right into Jarod's. She leaned into Jarod, her breath falling on his ear and in her most intimidating voice said, "I'd rather go naked than wear that." Then she pushed the outfit into his hand.
Jarod got an amused grin on his face and turned his head towards hers, their faces only a fraction apart, their eyes locked. "Are you propositioning me, Parker?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she pulled back from him.
"I'm extremely honored, Miss Parker, but we really don't have the time right now, but I do plan to take you up on your offer later."
Jarod grabbed the white bag and pressed it into her hands. "This is more you, Parker, and if you don't put it on, I'll do it for you."
"You wouldn't dare." She hissed.
He only smiled "I'm an labrat, you said so yourself, Miss Parker, a pretender, do you want to take the chance?"
Parker moved slightly away from Jarod then spun around, her eyes flashed and narrowed as she dropped the bag to the floor, her hands going to her hips. "What game are you playing now, wonder boy? What hoops are you going to have us jump through? Maybe the two trusting stooges dressed up like social retards over there are willing to play your twisted little games, but I'm not playing. You told Sydney about Danny just to scare us, to prove that the Centre was so evil. What? You have another roach motel hidden in the backroom or is this one of those social soul saving techniques? Whatever it is, it's not going to work."
For a minute, Jarod looked stunned then he reached into his pocket and tossed a disk at Broots who caught it. Jarod's eyes never left Parker's. "Play it, Broots."
Broots, with his big clown shoes, made it over to the side of the building by the bathroom where he had tossed all his clothes. He grabbed up his computer case and taking his laptop out, pushed in the disk Jarod gave him and slowly walked back over to where Jarod and Sydney were standing. Broots looked back and forth, wondering what to do, but both Parker's and Jarod's eyes were trained on each other. He was about to say something, but Sydney stopped him by putting his hand up and motioning for him to play the disk.
As the disk played, Parker recognized the speakers and her gaze shifted from Jarod to Broots' computer. Her skin paled as Lyle talked about her torture and how he wanted it videotaped. A chill ran through her then first stab of pain from her ulcer kicked in. The pain showed in her eyes as they sought out Sydney's and then Jarod's.
"The hug from Lyle was a tracking devise, that's why the clothes change." The next wave of pain hit, causing Parker to stumble a little. "Jarod, get them out of here and leave me my gun. Sydney, that firing pin you took out had better be there." The world started to fade and her body started to shake, at first, she thought that it was an earthquake then she realized it was her own body.
Jarod saw Parker's skin pale, the tiny beads of sweat and the pain in her blue eyes then he noticed the shaking in her limbs and the rapid breathing. The words she spoke were in a childlike, weak voice as she strained to overcome an onslaught of pain. He bounded over to her and holding her slender frame up, yelled at her, "Parker! Parker!" With his other hand, he grabbed the edge of her neckline and tore off her top.
"Sydney, help me get her undressed and into her costume, it's easier to hide in plain sight." Jarod said as he tenderly placed her on the floor and quickly took her pulse. Sydney tore into the bag and brought out a sparkling 1920's outfit and hat, the short wig he left as he helped Jarod undress and then redress Parker.
Sydney frowned. "Damn it, Parker, why can't you just listen and take care of yourself?" Jarod picked up Parker in his arms and Sydney helped him pull her up so that her head rested on his shoulder.
Jarod ordered, "We'd better get going, leave your clothes and everything, but your computer here, my van's outside. I'll drive. Broots, the front door is locked from the inside so just pull the slide up and check outside for us."
Broots almost tripped over his clown shoes as he sprinted to the front door and opened it, after five minutes, he came back to the doorway and waved them on. As Jarod got to the door, he placed Parker in Sydney's arms and fished around for his keys. When they reached the van, Jarod took the driver's seat while Broots helped Sydney get into the back with Parker and then sat down alongside them.
Jarod turned around a couple of times, watching Sydney cradle Parker and gently rock her back and forth like a parent with a child. After they were about fifteen minutes away, Jarod couldn't stop himself from asking, "Sydney, how is she?"
Sydney stared at the back of Jarod's head. "A lot of things contributed to this; Parker hasn't been sleeping well, she's hardly eaten anything in four days, stress, her ulcer, the drinking. She just had a minor flair up, but her pulse is back to normal and she seems to be sleeping now."
"Sydney, I didn't cause this, did I?' Jarod asked, his voice full of pain.
"No, there's a lot going on at the Centre, a lot of pain and she's afraid to trust anyone."
"I know the feeling," Jarod said, his voice filled with spite.
"So, Jarod, what would you prescribe for your patient?" Asked Sydney, playing at an old game that had started thirty years ago and one that Jarod felt comfortable with.
"Miss Parker should have rest, be placed on a bland diet and given Tagiment." He answered back
"Good answer, Jarod, now all you have to do is tell that to Miss Parker when she wakes up." smiled Sydney.
Jarod couldn't help but laugh, "Coward."
"Let's just say, Jarod, that I'm a man who knows my limitations." Sydney stated with a smile.
"We're here, it's a little bit small, but I really wasn't expecting guests," Jarod told them as he got out of the van and opened up the back. Sydney and Broots stretched as they got out, leaving Jarod to pick up Parker. Jarod walked up to the front door of the trailer and with a well-placed kick, opened the door. He went straight over to the single bed and lay Parker down on it. Staring intently at her face, he tenderly brushed away an errant hair and wondered briefly how something that looked like a beautiful angel when asleep could turn into such a wildcat when awake. His hand was still on her face and only a few coughs coming from Sydney, brought him back from his reverie.
As Broots finally got into the trailer, he remarked. "Boy this is small," and looked around to find somewhere to sit. Jarod only had to turn around and take two steps to be in front of Sydney and Broots. Jarod motioned for them to follow him outside as he led the way. He led them to another trailer directly behind his own. As he opened the door, they entered a small oasis of magic.
The interior of the trailer was aligned with fun mirrors, each distorting reality. Broots looked into each one of them, watching himself growing taller and skinner or fat and robust, at each mirror he stopped and waved. The single bed was pulled out and the covers tossed around indicating that Jarod spent most of his time there. Magic equipment lined the far side, leaving only enough space for the narrow bed and place to walk, but it was the table that Sydney was drawn to. On it was beautifully done clay figures, which hung from a huge clay replica of the center. The main character was Miss Parker, her figure was perfect and she was dressed as a delicate ballerina, next to her was a man and he knew at once it was Jarod for the figure's outfit, down to the leather vest was perfect, but his face was a mask. On the other side of Miss Parker was a wretched looking man - her father and next to the Jarod figure was himself and Broots, but next to Parker's father was Raines who was depicted as a skeleton.
Sydney was in awe of the beautiful ballerina; her hands were outstretched to both her father and Jarod; the figure of her father looked away, his hand out like a king while the figure of Jarod showed both hands reaching for the ballerina. Jarod grabbed up the piece and with a nervous smile, opened a drawer and tossed it in. "Just something to play with, it's cool working with clay." Sydney looked deep into Jarod's eyes and what he saw in them pained his heart. The innocence within them was dying. Was this a cleverly planned pretend or being on the run for five long years? Sydney prayed not for both Jarod's and Miss Parker's sake.
"Sydney, you can keep an eye on Parker, I'll stay here with Broots." Jarod said.
"No, Jarod, I will be quite content here. I really don't want to force you out, plus Miss Parker will be in capable hands in case her ulcer gets worst." Sydney said thoughtfully. If this were a pretend then Jarod would have to face Parker and watch the toll it took on her when she learned the truth and if he really loved her, it wouldn't hurt for them to spend some time together.
Jarod slowly made his way back to his trailer, stopping for a minute to watch the sun set. The last of the crowd were leaving for the night. According to Angelo, Jarod and Parker only had one more day before Danny was calm enough to send after them. Lucky for them, the deadline had been pushed back another day.
As soon as he opened the trailer door, he knew she was up; he could sense her and before he could move, he was grabbed by the lapels and pulled into the trailer then the door slammed shut behind them. Parker still held his lapels, her breathing rapid. "I want to know what in the hell is going on, Jarod." She said as she pushed him backwards. She looked like a true ice queen; her skin was pale, her eyes huge and blue and the 1920's dress glittered like a thousand diamonds on her slim frame. He wondered why she seemed so slim and fragile then he noticed that she wasn't wearing her four-inch stiletto heels.
"Well, Boy wonder, how much time do we have?" her voice sounded tired.
"Tomorrow night." he answered her softly.
"Is there away for you to hurry up this goody two shoes routine of yours?" She asked.
"There is a way, but it would involve your help." His eyes bored into hers.
Parker seemed to be weighing everything before she answered. "God, I have taken one step beyond, right into the twilight zone. I'll help under the following conditions: I get my gun back, I promise not to shoot you no matter how tempting and most important of all, I get some real clothes." Parker stuck out her hand. "Deal?"
Jarod smile and in a western accent said, "It's a deal, little lady." Jarod grabbed her outstretched hand, brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles, his eyes sparkling in merriment.
Parker rolled her eyes. "Definitely the twilight zone."
"Well, since your playing," her eyes came to rest on a Spiderman Pez dispenser, "Spiderman, I'm going to do some real work. Can I have my cell phone back?"
Jarod walked over to his brown leather jacket, retrieved Parker's phone he tossed it over to her. "Here you go, Mary Jane Watson."
Parker just looked at him blankly and shook her head. Working with Broots and Sydney could be trying enough, but working with Jarod was going to be downright impossible.
Parker opened her cell phone and pushed a speed dial button. The phone on the other side was picked up on the third ring. "Sam."
"Sam, it's Parker. I want you to call me every time the helicopter or company plane is used, I want to know who's on it and its destination and go to Broots' house and take Debbie over to my house." Parker terminated the call without waiting for any response then pushed another button.
The phone this time was answered on the first ring. "Lyle here."
"Lyle, it's Parker."
"Chasing your little lab experiment, sis? I hope this time you're competent enough to catch him." Lyle said snidely.
"I'm closing in. I should have him in two days. Cover for me?" Parker kept her tone neutral while her thoughts were anything but as she thought, 'So that if I live through this I can strangled you with my bare hands, dear brother, or show you how to really use your little torture chamber.'
There was a long pause. "Two days, sis, that's all I can give you before I send the sweepers in." Then he hung up.
Parker closed her phone and tossed it on the small table, almost knocking her photo down. Jarod was hovering over her as Parker gazed up. "We'll be told when any of the Centre's planes or helicopters leave. Lyle didn't ask, so that means he knows where we are and since they want you dead too, they're willing to wait an extra two days from now to catch us all together. I need a drink, a large one."
Parker grabbed her shoes and slipped them on, she got up and crossed in front of Jarod, stopping at the front door to say, "I'm going to check on Sydney and Broots, see if they learned anything else on this Danny. Then we can all have a morning meeting and collate all the information we've gathered. She glanced over at Jarod, but he had already picked up his red notebook and was studying it, oblivious to her or the world around him.
Parker wondered briefly what in the hell she had gotten herself into.
*****
The trailer out back
Broots was lying on his back on the single bed, wearing underwear with horses on them and still wearing the clown shoes from the costume. Sydney was lying on a blow up airbed on the floor beside Broots. Neither of them could sleep.
"Sydney, all the weirdness around us and Jarod is courtesy of Mr. Skin Grafts himself and now a killer is after us. I'm seriously thinking about quitting." Quipped Broots.
Sydney smiled, "It is harder to quit than you know, my friend."
Sydney had just finished that thought when the door was swung open so hard that it hit the wall. Broots jumped, but Sydney only smiled and pulled himself up into a sitting position. "Miss Parker."
Parker marched right in and stood with her hands on her hips. "Okay, Sydney, I want to know everything you know about Danny."
"I told you everything." His eyes looked deeply into hers.
"Syd, how is it that half the time you don't have a clue and the other half you know everything?" Parker frowned.
"Survival, Miss Parker. How many secrets and lies do you know? If I knew any more about Danny, I'd tell you." His voice was earnest.
Broots eyes grew wide as he listened, "Oh. Ah. I'm going to go back to sleep." He started to lie back down only to have Miss Parker reach down, grab him by his underwear and pull him back up from the bed. She placed her face next to his and fear glittered in his eyes. Her voice dripping with poison, she told him, "First, you're going to help me find out exactly what is going on and who Danny is."
"How do you expect me to do that?" he asked shakily.
"Who knows all the dirty secrets? Whose experiment is Danny?" She quizzed.
Sydney's eyebrow shot up. "Raines."
"Score one for Dr. Doolittle. Broots, you are going to hack into his archives and search for any references to Danny boy." Parker said as she let Broots go.
"Are you crazy? Oh God! You mean it. If he catches me hacking in, he'll…" Broots took a big gulp.
Parker pulled him close again. "He'll kill you, Broots, news flash he is already planning to, remember Danny boy?"
Broots pulled away and grabbed his laptop computer. "Um, Miss Parker, I need a power source."
"Well, look around for one and I don't mean play with anything. I'll be back around 6:00am for a briefing and Broots if you want your little horses intact you'd better have something good." With that, Miss Parker turned to Sydney. "Tomorrow we are going out and getting some real clothes."
Parker stepped back out into the night, quickly surveying the area; only Jarod's two trailers were still lit. She made her way to the other trailer. When she entered the door, she was shocked; the papers that had been in the red notebook lay scattered about and a Sim of Jarod as a young child with Sydney played in background. A mannequin lay on the bed, a pillow part way over its face. Jarod was standing next to the mannequin absentmindedly playing with a yo-yo
Parker looked at the DSA and came up with an idea; her eyes swept over the area where it lay, but the rest of the discs weren't there. If she grabbed the DSA while he wasn't paying attention and ran with it, she could call Sam to have her picked up by the Centre. She'd return it and they'd call off Danny. They wouldn't dare hurt them at the Centre. She made a couple of small steps towards it only to have Jarod's voice stop her.
"Don't even think about it, Parker."
Parker took a step back. "The only thing I'm thinking about is sleep so why don't you get your girlfriend out of my bed, Labrat?" Parker yawned. She could make her move once he was asleep. She didn't see Jarod's hand go into his pocket as he approached her.
"You're right we could all use some rest, especially you. How is your ulcer, Parker?" Jarod asked; he stood right in front of her, the heat of his body warming hers. Then she felt a sting in her arm.
"You son of a bit..." Was all she managed to say before her body went limp and she fell into his arms.
Jarod eased her down onto the floor and started picking up everything and putting them in secure places. He had done the sim enough to his satisfaction for the past couple of days and this was his final check before he could finish his pretend. He pulled out the blow-up bed and used a pump to fill it with air, he popped a few Pez in his mouth and after it was finished pumping up, tossed some blankets and a pillow on the air mattress. Then he picked up Parker and placed her on it, he slid off her shoes, took out a pair of handcuffs and snapped one onto her wrist. He then lay down beside her and since the air mattress was narrow, eased Miss Parker on top of his chest and snapped the other side of the handcuffs to his own wrist. Now he could sleep without having to keep an eye open. She was so soft and warm. Jarod wrapped his arms around her, closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Parker was having a dream, which cut through the murky drug induced sleep. She watched her mother step into the elevator and she tried to scream out to for her to stop, but she couldn't, all she could do was watch. Then the scene shifted to Jarod in a plastic ball pleading with Sydney that he couldn't do it, there was no air he couldn't save them. Then the dream switched to Thomas covered with blood. She couldn't do anything; she wanted to hide, to make everything go away.
Suddenly she heard her mother's voice. "It's okay, baby, it's okay. You can trust Jarod." Then the scene shifted again. She was a little girl and Jarod was holding her, Faith had just died. She could feel his warmth and caring, she felt so warm, so secure. In her dream and in reality, she gripped Jarod tighter and buried her face in his chest.
"Parker?" Jarod awoke as her arms tightened around him. He knew that she was still a sleep. "Parker?" He tightened his arms around her and she seemed to settle down.
Then in a soft voice she said, "I love you, Jarod."
Jarod gave a small smile and closed his eyes. "I love you too, Andrea Louise Parker."