Jarod stepped out of the posh London night club, his brain still thumping along to the beat of that catchy tune.

If your body matches what your eyes can do, you'll probably move right through me on my way to you

He didn't even see her, or Sam until it was too late to run.

"Cuff him." She barked the order to her ever loyal sweeper as she stared Jarod directly in the eyes.
"Please! Miss Parker, please! Don't do this!"
"Save it!"
"I think I know what they're planning to do us, that's why I was here, I was following a lead, they're going to-"
"They can't touch me Jarod and why would they? You're the pretender! She seethed. "You're just trying to save your own ass."
"use us to-"
She slapped him across the face with the butt of her gun.
Jarod momentarily lost his balance and if not for the sweeper's iron grip on his arm, he would have collided with the pavement.
"Gag him!"
Sam simply complied.

The Centre

Mr. Lyle's office

Parker calmly walked into the office.
"Still haven't learned to knock have you sis?"
"It's over!" Parker hissed.
"What are you talking about sis?"
"Sam." She called out with a sneer without even turning.
Lyle's eyes widened as Jarod was hauled roughly into the room.
"Consider this my notice baby brother."
"You're leaving?"
"That was the arrangement."
"Well, what will you do now?"
"I'm going to live."
"Good luck Parker. Keep in touch."
"Don't count it Lyle." She hissed, then turned to leave.
"Miss Parker please!" Jarod pleaded. She gazed into Jarod's tear filled eyes, molten chocolate and wide with fear, anger, and betrayal.

"You had a good run genius boy but now it's my turn to have a life."
Tears slipped past his eyelids.
Parker calmly brushed past him.

Lyle stood calmly, a smile on his lips.
He grabbed Jarod's arm then pulled his weapon.
"Sam-" Lyle began. "You're fired." Jarod jumped despite the silencer on the weapon. Sam dropped to the floor, a bullet in his head.
Lyle then leveled the gun at Jarod's head and stepped over to his desk. He punched a button on the intercom.
"Willie, Miss Parker is on her way out, see to it that she doesn't get there."

"You had this planned." Jarod snarled.
"Yes I did."
"Don't kill her Lyle, please-"
"Kill her?" Lyle chuckled. "Jarod, I think my sis may be of some value here."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, a bit of bargaining chip." Lyle winked. "You'll find out soon enough."

"No!" Jarod heard Parker scream. His head snapped towards the door. "Let me go!"
He blinked in apparent confusion then started, began to bolt for the door.
Lyle pulled him back by the cuffs.

Jarod gasped for breath, felt that he was a little boy again hearing Catherine's screams.
But it was Parker, not her mother. He feared she would share the same fate however.

"Let me go!" She cried out.

The room began spinning around Jarod. He had to stop this, had to stop it now, had to find some way to get her out of this.
The wheels in his mind began turning just as he felt the sting in his arm.
Jarod glared at the needle in his arm and watched in horror as Lyle dropped the plunger on the syringe, emptying the contents of said syringe into his body.

"I don't feel tired or-" Jarod began.
"It's not a sedative. You aren't going to Africa."
"I don't understand."
"Well I'll explain it to then. Hell, you aren't going to be able to stop this anyway now."
"Stop what?"
"Our plan to make you work and my plan to carry on the pretender gene."
Jarod swallowed audibly.

"What?" He asked in disgust. "You are going to torture her to make me work." Jarod had always feared the Centre monsters would go to such extremes.
"Better than that Jarod."
"Better?"
Lyle smiled as he circled the pretender. "You are going to torture her."
"Never." Jarod whispered.

"Oh yes. And when it's all over, you are going to feel so remorseful. You are going to repair whatever damage you inflict on her, see first hand what happens when you are disobedient and you will never again question the work you do. I'm beyond the traditional methods, the playing nice."
"Lyle please. You haven't even given me a chance. I want to work now, I don't care about-"
"Ah now, she at least deserves pay back for the bruises on your face Jarod. You'll remember that later."
"Don't do this Lyle, please. I'll work without questions, I'll do anything but please-"
"No can do Jarod. I'm taking no chances this time." Lyle smiled. "Aren't you even going to ask about just how we plan to replicate the pretender gene after all the destruction you caused to our various labs over the years?"
"How?"
"Let's just say I'm killing two birds with one stone."
"No. No! Please. She...I can't do that-"
"Hey, she's disease free, hasn't been with anyone since Thomas. We've followed her relentlessly and bugged her house. She doesn't even have a power tool in the night stand."
"No. I could never do that, there's no way you-"
"A hefty dose of adrenaline along with a drug that our scientists have been perfecting will allow you to do things you've only dreamed about -"
"I haven't dreamed-"
"You will do it and you will like it. When it's all over, you will work. You will finally be pliable and I'm finally going to have the key to my future. That baby. It's a beautiful plan."