i) This started off as a small scene but it just seemed to fit with an idea I'd been toying with for some time. It's going to be long - longer than anything else I've written - but I fear I may have overstretched myself... Any criticisms, comments, advice, etc. would be greatly received.
No Distance Left To Run
Chapter One
Outside Of A Circle
Parker burst through the doors of what was still, technically, her father's office but, due to her father's current state, was now occupied by the loathsome Raines. Her entrance had the desired effect; the two men in the room, each wearing identical bandages on their left hands, quickly abandoned all discussion though their features belied any indication of guilt at having been caught out in a compromising position. But she did have their undivided attention.
"Jees Sis, have you no manners?" Sat with his back to her Lyle had quickly twisted around his upper torso to see who had stormed in.
"Hope I didn't interrupt something?" she asked sarcastically. Ever since their father's incapacity Lyle had wasted no time in ingratiating himself further with the stand in chairman. If she ever wanted to know where Lyle was, and as the old adage stated it paid to keep your enemies close, she had to look no further than Raines' backside. She, on the other hand, held nothing but disgust, littered with hate and liberal sprinklings of loathing, for the man who had murdered her mother.
"Not at all we were just discussing possible avenues of luring Jarod back in."
He accompanied this with a smile and she felt a cold shiver run down the length of her spine. Her feelings for her twin, though not as strong as those for Raines, still packed a punch; she trusted neither of them. And she had the distinct feeling she'd interrupted something of importance. They were definitely hiding something from her - no change there. "Giant Pez?" she asked flippantly.
Lyle raised an eyebrow, a smirk riding his lips and obviously enjoying himself, "You have a better idea? After all, it's been what nearly five years now."
It had been a couple of weeks or so since the whole 'Alex' debacle and though she felt as though her world had shattered around her things seemed to continue as normal - or as normal as things got at The Centre. She still chased Jarod; well she would have if there had been any tangible clues to his whereabouts. He had been unusually quiet. She took his silence to mean he was further ahead than she was in decoding the truth behind that photograph of their mothers yet he hadn't called to taunt her about it. She felt slight indignation about that; funny how he could annoy the life out of her whatever he was doing. And how she found herself willing for her phone to ring because the last time they'd spoken he'd sounded as defeated as she'd felt.
"Was there something you wanted Miss Parker?" Raines wheezed impatiently, preventing Miss Parker from responding to Lyle.
Turning her attention to the older man she walked further into the room, "Yes," she uttered evenly, "There is." There had only been so much paperwork she could shuffle around her desk, so many empty, draining, and exhausting visits to her father, so many inane conversations with Broots about the wonders of modern technology and how he could use it to locate Jarod (resplendent with the requisite umms and ahhs that littered his conversations with her) that she could bear. And only so many times she could avoid Sydney's proferred friendship and fatherly advice. Instead she'd wasted time alone in her office, her thoughts straying to the question mark hanging over her paternity. She wanted to believe that Alex had just been messing with her mind, that his words were some twisted attempt to dig the knife further into her father's back, but there was doubt: in truth, that seed had been planted long ago. Alex had just added water to it. She found herself wallowing in that doubt, even as she'd sat in the Centre infirmary at her father's bedside willing him to wake and tell her it wasn't true.
"I want to see my baby brother." Thinking about her own paternity had led her thoughts towards the baby Brigette had carried. The boy had been kept out of sight pretty much since birth - she could count on one hand the number of times she'd actually seen him - and she felt slightly guilty that she'd allowed herself to overlook his existence in favour of the chase and her pursuit of answers. She could acknowledge that the chances he really was her brother were slim but he still represented a link to Mr Parker, a tie she could hold onto at a time when it seemed that nothing was as she'd been led to believe.
"No," Raines denied quickly, that vein on his forehead close to bursting.
Miss Parker closed the distance between herself and Raines' desk, placing both her hands down on the wood she leant forward: "I wasn't asking." The more she'd thought about it, the more resolved she'd become to see the child. She doubted either Lyle or Raines had any interest in the boy that was even vaguely innocent; Raines had managed to destroy too many children's lives, she had only to look at Angelo, or Lyle for that matter, to see proof, and she couldn't imagine Lyle showing any interest in their brother - he was neither Asian nor female. It was that determination that had brought her here. It was that determination that allowed her to return the glare Raines was now giving her.
"I don't see any harm in it," Lyle interjected, watching closely beside her.
The comment caused Raines to turn his gaze to the younger man. Miss Parker followed that gaze, managing to hold back her own surprise. He'd done something similar when she had announced that she was leaving The Centre for a life with Thomas and she suspected that his motives for doing so would be very similar. A suspicion he verified a moment later.
"If my sister," he grinned at her at that word before settling his gaze on the older man, "wants to waste her time with junior, then I can concentrate on more pressing matters." There was a long moment of silence as Raines glared at Lyle - the latter never dropping his smile.
Miss Parker watched the older man closely, his face retaining his evident anger at her approach, yet she had the impression that there was a whole other understanding passing between the two men and she was distinctly outside of that circle; a feeling that only multiplied as Raines gave a reluctant, "Very well." She wasn't sure if this statement was directed at herself or at Lyle; perhaps it was aimed at both of them. She only half listened as the old man went on to emphasise the terms and conditions of his consent. If she could have found the boy herself and snuck down to see him she would have, she detested even being in the same room as Raines. But, despite Broots' help, she had drawn a blank: the child was as invisible as Jarod. That had made her even more determined to locate the infant; why the child had been hidden away in the first place?
"Was there something else Miss Parker?" Raines wheezed, that look of anger still lingering on his face and now entwined with impatience.
"No," she replied evenly.
"I'll make arrangements for you to visit the boy."
Though he never actually said as much she took this to mean she was being dismissed. There was nothing more she wanted anyway. She turned on her heels, after first shooting both men one last defiant glare, heading for the doors with the same purpose she had entered through them. It was only outside that she could finally let out a deep breath and shake her head in wonder at what had just happened: it all seemed too easy, she had been prepared for a fight.
Lyle heard the doors shut behind him, mentally tracing her footsteps as they disappeared down the hallway, waiting until he was sure she'd gone. "Well that went smoothly."
Raines switched his gaze from the closed doors to the younger man, "I don't see how," he replied, missing the sarcasm altogether, "She's too much like her mother."
Lyle smiled, subconsciously rubbing his only thumb against the bandages on his other hand. "Maybe, maybe not," he said quietly. If he applied enough pressure to the wound he found a pain that was so acute it was almost pleasurable. And it gave him an edge, allowed him to focus.
"Miss Parker is too inquisitive for her own good," Raines seethed, already beginning to question the whole idea of letting her near the boy. "If she finds out..." he didn't need to finish the sentence, Lyle knew what he meant.
'Then things will get very interesting around here,' Lyle thought, already mapping out possible scenarios. "Mr Parker knew she'd come looking for the boy eventually, start asking questions. If he were still 'with us' I dare say he could have dealt with her easily enough but she trusts neither of us. Keeping her away now would only escalate her interest." He watched the older man seethe, knowing that he was right - and that Raines knew that too. "Of course we'll have to move the boy, re arrange a few things. Try not to arouse her suspicions too much - if they haven't been already."
Raines eventually nodded. It was possible that something, or someone, had pointed her in the direction of the boy - Miss Parker being who she was there was a distinct possibility that she'd already been digging for her own answers. He made a mental note to check in on Mr Parker; he needed the old man out of the way to maintain control of The Centre and keeping him in a coma facilitated this with the added bonus of emotional leverage over Miss Parker. "Someone will need to keep a very close eye on her."
"That pleasure's all mine," Lyle said with a twinkle in his eye.
Miss Parker stared at the photo in her hands, concentrating on the two people forever caught there. With a sigh she brought one hand to her forehead, lightly massaging her brow; there were no answers in the photograph, only more questions. She'd told Jarod the image was the key to the biggest secret of all - but she was no closer to that truth now than the day she'd received the anonymous e-mail. She'd tried listening to her inner sense but the voices had been silent since Ethan had disappeared. Her exasperation at her inability to control her 'gift' grew each day though she was certain the cause lay in her current scattered, and anxious, state of mind.
Placing the photo face down on her desk she brought her hand back down to join its partner on top of the photo. Never able to truly relax, least of all whilst she was physically in The Centre, it had now become virtually impossible; too many things cluttered her mind to ever allow her to truly let go. Her father's current state, unconscious and once more unable to tell her anything even remotely resembling the truth; her newly acquired, but now missing, brother Ethan; the photo of her mother standing next to Jarod's; and Raines, stepping into the chairmanship with such brevity and ease. All of these things played on her mind but, ultimately, they all made space for that niggling doubt over her own paternity. So much of who she was came as a direct result of the old man in The Centre infirmary; she'd done everything she could to please him - often coming up short in the process. The thought that it had all been based upon a lie was too hard to accept. An adolescence spent looking in the mirror every morning, being reminded of her mother with each passing day, yet ultimately neglecting everything her mother had taught her had been so difficult; the possibility that she had betrayed her mother for a man who had no real claim to her, gnawed at her.
Staring at the back of her hands her gaze settled on the ring on her right hand: her mother's ring. If she wriggled her finger slightly the light reflected on the ring's gem as it had done in, what turned out to be, her premonition. It had been an image Ethan had been familiar with too. She closed her eyes at the thought of him, remembering that short time she'd spent with her half brother, of how telling him about their mother had almost made it seem as if Catherine Parker was still alive. Inevitably her thoughts turned to her other half brother, the little boy she would finally see again - providing Raines stuck to his word. What she'd do when she got to see him was a whole other matter.
"Er... Miss Parker?"
Her eyes flew open to find the owner of the voice stood just inside the door to her office and she was uncertain as to who felt the more embarrassed at that moment. "What?" she asked, her voice carrying just the right tone of annoyance though she was pleased it was only Broots who had stumbled in on her. She'd become ever more reliant upon him in recent times, a fact she'd only realised when he'd 'disappeared' after she'd sent him to Dr Thompson's address. The panic she'd felt at his unexplained abscence, and the guilt at having sent him there, had rammed home just how important he was to her, though obviously there was no need to tell him that.
He cleared his throat nervously; "We might have a hit on Jarod's location." He held on tightly to a file in his hands, the sweat on his fingers and palms leaving visible marks on the card which only made him feel even more self conscious.
Miss Parker raised one eyebrow, hands still resting upon the photograph. "Might?" Her dependence upon Broots rather than Sydney, she knew, was based on the fact that Broots would never dare to question her, or call her, on anything she did. Or voice his concerns in that annoyingly fatherly way that Sydney was so fond of.
Broots ventured further into the room, placing the file on her desk once he'd reached it. "It fits Jarod. And it's the best lead we've had for a while."
She opened up the file and flicked through it. Her 'gut feeling' was that it would be another dead end, another missed opportunity, and Jarod would be long gone. She only gave a seconds worth of contemplation as to how she 'knew' that. She thought about pursuing it anyway, just for a change of scenery but a better idea sprung to mind. "Does Lyle know about this?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the papers on her desk.
Broots shifted from one foot to another, "No... I mean I don't think so."
She nodded briefly then closed the file, looking up at him. "Make sure he does Broots. Accidentally of course."
"Miss Parker?"
"You don't want to run into Jarod again so soon, do you Broots?" she asked pointedly. When Broots had reappeared from his 'walkabout' she had bullied him into giving her the full details of his absence, out of concern that something had happened at Tommy Thompson's place and that just maybe he'd stumbled upon something of importance there. She'd been surprised to learn of Jarod's involvement as the pretender hadn't mentioned anything to her during their brief telephone conversation even though she'd raised her concerns about Broots' disappearance; typical Jarod, only telling her what he wanted her to know. She could understand the pretender's foul mood, Alex had messed them both around, but she was surprised that he'd taken his anger out on Broots.
Broots shifted his feet again but resisted taking a seat. "Um... not really." His most recent encounter with Jarod, so at odds with his first, had led him to many conclusions; the main one being that he had to get the Hell out of The Centre before it was too late. "But... I mean..."
Miss Parker held up one hand stopping him. "Lyle's not going to catch Jarod - there's no way he's smarter than me - or Jarod. But I could do with him out of my hair for a while."
"How am I supposed to... let him discover this...?"
She placed her hand back down upon the photograph. "You'll think of something Broots - you're a smart guy," she said distractedly.
He nodded unconvincingly as a familiar look settled on her features - a look he was well acquainted with. An alarm bell sounded in his head, warning him to get out of there before he got roped into trudging down to the depths of The Centre again but he stood rooted to the spot. He was just as wary of defying her as he was of whatever it was she was about to ask him.
"I've got something I need you to help me with."
"Oh?"
She slid the photo, still face down, across the desk towards Broots. "I received this by e-mail."
He reached out hesitantly for the photo, peeling it back slowly, half expecting something to spring out at him. Seeing nothing amiss he flipped the photo over in his hand so he could see the image. "Isn't that... I mean it looks like..."
"My mother."
"Yeah, but... the other woman. It's... Jarod's mother, isn't it?" He looked up from the image to find a stony faced Miss Parker nodding. "I'll see what I can do," he said quietly, slipping the photo inside of the file and picking it up. He was going to leave, in fact he was almost about to turn and go but he paused. "Are you okay, Miss Parker?" he asked, suddenly infused with a sense of bravado.
She stared at him for a few seconds, unintentionally making him squirm. She considered biting his head off for stepping close to the line but if there was one thing she had learnt over the course of the past few years it was that she could trust Broots. "I may have found my brother." At his furrowed brow she recounted her meeting with Raines earlier that day.
Broots nodded slowly when she had finished, hoping his face didn't give away his surprise, managing to mutter, "I always wondered what happened to that kid."
He watched from the shadows as the bald headed man wheezed towards the comatosed Mr Parker. He held his breath as he watched 'Dr' Raines minister the patient, quickly - and silently - stepping further back into the shadows when Raines paused to look around the room. The wall pressed against his back signalling the confines of the room and that feeling of claustraphobia curled in his stomach. He could feel the cold concrete through his clothes and he pressed his palms against it, regaining his composure. Raines turned back to his 'patient' and he gently eased out a breath, confident that it was Raines' own paranoia rather than anything he'd done. The acting chairman hadn't seen him at all, he was certain of that - the consequences of being found didn't bear thinking about. He allowed his body to relax further, his muscles contracting, as Raines - job done - slithered out of the room as quickly as he'd entered.