2.11.01 – LOL! Those of you who came across this fic yesterday… how embarrassing! It's like getting caught with your pants down. ::sigh:: Yeah, I just pretend I know what I'm doing. Hopefully this is better.
[Disclaimer] All Pretender characters belong to their respective creators, obviously. All scenes pictured in this fanfiction that are parallel to past episodes or the movie, The Pretender 2001, don't belong to me, and I did not mean any infringement by using them, but for the purposes of this story they were needed to connect two time lines. This is merely for enjoyment, so if anyone decides to sue me, all you'll get is 55 cents, some lint, and an apology, for I am a sixteen year old junior in high school who doesn't have a job or driver's license – though both issues are out of my control at the present time. Not that you really needed that personal information. Just enjoy the damn story.
[Author's Note] Well, this is my first Pretender fic. I'm a huge fan of the show and decided it was time. Beware: This story contains spoilers from The Pretender 2001. You've been warned!
A Life Worth Saving
By Rainfall
Chapter One: Lost and Found
New York City was beautiful at night. Maybe not if you were in the middle of it all, but if you stepped back and could see the skyline… it almost looked peaceful. Especially from Central Park. The only sounds to be heard were the crickets and rustling of the bushes.
Ty inhaled the cool night air and continued down the path. She wouldn't be in New York for much longer, and each night she had been there, the Park had just attracted her. For the past three days she had made it a habit to take a walk there each night, and then bring home some dinner for her and Kyle.
Glancing absentmindedly at her watch, her eyes went wide and she swore under her breath. She was late. Again. Taking a deep breath, Ty began to jog the rest of the way.
_____
"Jarod, I want you to meet somebody. This is Kyle." Sydney's voice filtered throughout the dark room.
"Hi Kyle, I'm Jarod." The voice of Jarod when he had been young trailed after Sydney's.
The same DSA had been playing over and over for an hour, and now Jarod was sprawled across the couch, asleep. He was frowning, and images of his brother plagued his dreams.
"Kyle…" he mumbled. "Kyle look out!" He jerked awake shouting, then looked around. Realizing it had been a dream, he slowly lay back, to lie awake for the rest of the night.
_____
Fumbling with the door, Ty finally shoved it open. One arm held a bag full of fried chicken, while the other was juggling two drinks. Her key was held firmly between her pinky and thumb. Using her shoulder to shut the door, she frowned.
"Kyle, a little... help." Turning the face the room, she found it a complete mess. Chairs were overturned and broken, the couch was on its side, and the walls were pierced with bullet holes.
The food and drinks fell to the floor as her arms dropped to her sides with shock. She didn't have to look for Kyle to know he wasn't there. Only one kind of people would do something like this.
"Sweepers." The word was but a whisper, yet held volumes of anger that were aching to be displayed.
Ty walked slowly towards the center of the room, catching every little detail. The TV was on mute, and Ty guessed that he must have heard something before the attack. On the carpet beside the overturned couch were three drops of blood.
"Perfect," she muttered. "Not only do they have him, but he's wounded. That's great."
Sighing, she slumped down onto the floor and leaned against a wall. Drawing her knees up, she rested her arms on them and looked about the room with a gloomy expression mirroring her thoughts. Letting her head fall back with a light thud, she shut her eyes and shook her head.
A smug smile slowly formed on her lips. "And she travels back to the mists, to see what cannot be seen, and hear what cannot be heard." The words were spoken wistfully and she sighed.
Pulling herself to her feet, Ty slowly made her way back across the room, glancing once more at the blood on the carpet as she went. Clenching her jaw, she opened the door and left the room to find the one person who could help her get Kyle out again. She knew it would take nothing short of a genius.
_____
Staring out the window, Jarod sighed. His dream the night before had spooked him, though he couldn't say why. After all, it was only a dream, right? He ran a hand through his rumpled hair and shook his head.
"Where are you, little brother?" he whispered, his eyes searching the street below him, though he knew the answer wouldn't be found there.
Turning his back to the window, his watchful eyes scanned the room. There wasn't much there; a bed against one wall, with a couch, coffee table, and TV set across from it, and a small refrigerator against the far wall, beside a door that lead to the bathroom summed up the layout of the room. Despite the amount of furniture, the room itself was quite large, and he liked it that way.
Walking over to the couch, he sat down and took the picture of his mother out of a pocket. He stared at it for a moment and frowned. "Why is this all I have?"
_____
Sydney cocked his head to the side slightly as he read the computer screen. It was peaceful in his office, with the only sound to be heard being the steady hum of his laptop.
The sudden ring from his cell phone jostled him and he quickly answered the call, his calmness shattered.
"This is Sydney."
"Why is this so difficult?" Jarod's voice could be heard on the other end.
"What is, Jarod?" Sydney asked, frowning as he leaned back in his chair.
"All I want to do is find my family, and do you know what my progress is?" There was a pause. "All I have is a picture of my mother and a brief meeting with my brother. You'd think that with all my capabilities I'd be able to find four people." Bitterness radiated from his voice.
"Jarod, they are out there, and you will find them. The best things don't come easy." Sydney's frown deepened. It wasn't like Jarod to be hopeless.
He could hear Jarod sigh into the phone. "All I want to do is find my family. Why is that so hard?"
Sydney heard the click and knew he had hung up. He shook his head and set the phone down. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him; so many people took family members for granted, while Jarod didn't even know where his were. And it was partially his fault. Sighing, he went back to his computer, only to be interrupted once more.
The door flew open and in walked an excited Broots and a satisfied Miss Parker.
"We're finally getting somewhere, Syd," Miss Parker began, her eyes glowing. "Wonder Boy is as good as ours."
He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Broots could hold out no longer and he blurted out, "We've got Kyle!"
Sydney sat up. "When did this happen?"
"We didn't catch him, unfortunately. Thumbless did. But that's not the point." She smiled. "For once we can just sit back and wait. Jarod will come home on his own."
_____
Typing furiously into her laptop, a triumphant smile began to play in the corners of her mouth. "Almost there," Ty whispered.
She sat alone at a bus stop trying to get across town. Having long since left New York, she was in the industrial city of Baltimore, Maryland.
Hearing the strain of squeaky breaks, she knew the bus had arrived, though she didn't look up. She only typed faster. There was a beep, indicating that she finally had a location.
Carefully closing the laptop, Ty stood up and ascended the stairs onto the bus. To Annapolis we go, she thought gleefully.
_____
The room was dark and bare except for a small cot at the far end. There were no blankets or sheets, only a lumpy mattress and a pillow. A low moan came from the cot, and the still body sprawled on it began to stir. Sitting up, he groaned and brought a hand to his forehead.
"Goddamn it," he mumbled, shutting his eyes against the pain. It wasn't so much that that made him wince, it was the knowledge that it triggered. He was at the one place that was worse than hell.
Glancing around, he massaged his cramped neck and let out a long breath to keep himself calm. Those bastards, he thought angrily. They really think they can bring me back and say that's the end of it. They've got another thing coming. They're gonna pay.
With murderous thoughts floating through his groggy mind, he slowly lay back to rest his aching body. He was going to need all the strength he could muster.