Disclaimer: "The Pretender" is a protected trademark and I'm Just borrowing the characters. I promise to give them back once I've used them, hopefully more or less intact.
I thought of this story when I saw the end of Crazy, where Sydney was actually reading a Braille book. He had only been blinded for a short time and to be able to read Braille with the speed he was reading it takes a little longer to accomplish.
Title: Renewal
Author: Giton
Rating: R, warning some torture involved
Spoilers: After Bloodlines
Keywords: Sydney
Summary: What happened to Sydney in the Renewal wing? 2/2
Renewal
By Giton
About three days after his re-education lessons, during which time he was left alone, he was woken out of his reverie by a sound at the door, more like a fumbling. He doubted that it was the terrible "twins" come to visit him. They had no need for stealth. He slowly sat up on the edge of the bed.
He could hear the door open. Could hear someone slip inside and closing the door quickly again. This was a person who did not want to be detected. For a small while it was quiet and then he could hear the person utter a sigh of relief. "Who's there?" he asked.
There was a rustle at the door when the person quickly spun round and he heard the familiar voice of Miss Parker exclaim in shock, "My God! Sydney!" Did he really look that terrible that she was shocked to see him?
"Miss Parker..." he started, he was happy to hear that his voice had its old timbre back, or as near as possible, so he wouldn't scare her away. Was she real? Or was he hallucinating now?
With unbelieving eyes Miss Parker looked at the figure sitting on the edge of a hard looking bed in the semi-darkness. He looked liked Sydney, alright, but he was unshaven, unkempt and he looked drawn and tired, "I thought you were..."
"...Dead," he concluded the sentence for her, "Give them time!"
He could feel her sit down beside him. Her presence next to him was quite comforting and for a brief moment he was savouring the human contact. She turned towards him, "What the hell have they done to you down here?"
He contemplated telling her exactly what had happened, but while they were listening to the screams from the other cells along the corridor he could sense her discomfort and he decided against it. It was no good getting her all worried about him. Luckily she wasn't one of these women who went in for group hugs and the like, so there was no danger of her finding out what they had done to his back. He wouldn't have been able to withstand a hug anyway.
Instead he said in an off-hand way, "I believe the term is re-education. But I would plant the bomb again to save that child."
Miss Parker could hear the pain and the anger in Sydney's voice and she was genuinely concerned about her friend, "There is nothing I can do to save you from this."
With resignation in his voice Sydney answered, "I'm not interested in saving myself. Jarod? Was he able to make it out safely?"
Miss Parker looked down, "In body, yes, but Jarod flipped out. Pulled a psycho Martha Stewart at a Centre Records Lab." She saw a DSA-reader propped up against the wall, put it on the chair's seat and inserted the DSA of Jarod's actions at the Centre records lab when he thrashed the Centre's satellite office and played it.
Sydney could hear the anguish and the pain in Jarod's howls and he was worried about his former charge, he felt helpless, stuck where he was and not having been able to comfort Jarod when he needed him most, "That's what I've been afraid of all this time. That one day the pressure of living in the outside world and the truth about his past would come crashing down upon him."
Miss Parker stared at the screen, not noticing that Sydney was still staring straight ahead and her voice was full of worry, "I need your help. I need to bring him in and I need to know what I am up against."
She watched Jarod's final assault on the surveillance camera again.
Sydney could only agree with her, "The anguish of his cry comes from deep within."
Miss Parker found that a strange choice of words and looked at Sydney. For the first time she noticed that he hadn't moved from the position she had found him in. She raised her hand and gently moved it in front of Sydney's staring eyes and realisation dawned on her, "Oh Sydney. You can't see!" She looked at him sadly.
Sydney grinned wanly, "Call it poetic justice." He stood up, away from her prying eyes.
She looked up at him with concern, "There must be something..."
"Bring me anything Jarod left behind before he did this." He spread his arms wide as if to push at imaginary walls, as if he could push it away, "They will never let me out of here. And there's little time. This may be my last chance to help Jarod..." he turned sharply to Miss Parker and concluded sadly, "...or you."
When she left the warmth he had felt for a brief moment seemed to seep back out of the cell again. At least she knew he was alive and some of the burden was lifted from his shoulders knowing that she had come out of the blast practically unharmed.
He was worried for Jarod. What he had heard on the DSA was a man in deep emotional turmoil. He clenched his fists in helplessness and anger, "And I hadn't been there to help him pull out of it," Sydney thought.
Had he known about this instead of being cooped up in here, held a prisoner, he might have been able to ease Jarod's mind and prevent this from happening.
He hoped Miss Parker could sneak back and give him more clues to work on, so he still might be able to save Jarod, even if it was too late for himself.
Some time later she sneaked back, this time bringing Broots with her. They also brought Sydney the items they'd gotten from Jarod's locker at the records office in York. Gently Sydney ran his hands over the articles and found them to be pill bottles and books.
He sat back, unable to see what was on the labels or the titles of the books and waited until Broots read to him what was on the labels. When he finished reading them, Sydney explained what they were, "Neuro inhibitors, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics."
Miss Parker frowned, "Self medicating?"
"That's not like Jarod."
"Well," Miss Parker guffawed, "the man who destroyed that room is not like Jarod."
"No, you are right."
Broots had started taking the books out of the box and read them aloud. ""Shedding Light on the Schizophrenic Mind", "Dementia, The Phantom Within", "Dementia Praecox"." Out of habit he held one of the titles up in front of Sydney to read and then realised his error. He dropped his eyes back to the box and hoped nobody had noticed, but a glance from Miss Parker and a half grin from Sydney, who somehow guessed what he had done, told him otherwise. He said quickly, "They're all books on the troubled mind."
Sydney's voice filled with anguish, "If we had only gotten to him sooner."
Miss Parker was worried for the state of Sydney's mind, "I wish things were different too, Sydney, but all the pieces to this crazy jigsaw fit."
Sydney could feel all of his muscles tighten and he sat back.
Broots finally lifted out the last book and read the title aloud, ""Houdini, The Man and His Escapes." Not this one."
The last book brought a small smile to Sydney's face. Maybe not everything was lost.
All too soon the other two left, leaving Sydney on his own.
Left to his own devices, Sydney contemplated the situation. Hearing about Jarod's plight made him feel stronger that he had been for days. Jarod needed him that was all that mattered.
Miss Parker and Broots couldn't do it all on their own. He had to find a way to get out of here, even if it meant giving in to Raines and Lyle.
No, he couldn't do that. He couldn't let the two win.
He eased his back against the wall, wincing when he made contact. His wrists itched and when he touched it he could feel the welts and the healing scabs, evidence of the shackles used there. He was surprised and relieved that neither Broots nor Miss Parker had noticed them. Then again, the sleeves of his sweater were long and he hadn't made any movements to ride them up.
When he thought over what he had learned today he wondered if Jarod had really gone crazy. After all, he was a pretender. He could have, the medication pointed in that direction, but the last book...
Broots had picked it up, read the title and tossed it aside thinking it had no bearing on the case. Sydney thought differently. Jarod never did anything by half. Anything he had ever left behind for them to be found always had some bearing on the cases he had been working on, however small the detail.
Of course, Broots and Parker could be right and finding out about project Gemini followed by the bomb blast could have tipped his mind over the edge, but somehow Sydney didn't think so.
He wondered if they had been monitoring his conversations with Parker and Broots. He suspected they had been monitoring him most of the time. He had no way of knowing whether the security cameras were on. The new cameras didn't make a sound. One could only tell if they were on by the blipping light on the side. Blast his eyes!
They brought the food and water in a little while after Parker and Broots had left. This time they hadn't waited until he was asleep again. Mind, he had been so pre-occupied with Parker, Broots and Jarod that he hadn't even thought about eating or drinking for that matter. Maybe they had expected him to be asleep.
"What's on the menu today? Hemlock or valium?" he said jovially to the unseen attendant. The answer was silence. Either the man didn't understand the joke or he was under strict orders not to talk to Sydney. Sydney made to shrug his shoulders and then thought the better of it.
After the man had left Sydney picked up the water. No funny smell, no funny taste. He drained the glass in one go. No funny effects. The drugs must be in the food this time. Well, he wasn't particularly hungry anyway and he needed a clear mind to think about Jarod's problem.
Shortly thereafter he heard the door to his cell open again and the unmistakable wheeze of Raines filled the room.
"Not hungry, I see," there was a threat in his voice.
"No," said Sydney simply.
"If I were you Sydney, I would eat. I question how many more opportunities you will have to do so."
"So, let them starve me," thought Sydney, "they wouldn't dare!"
He got hold of the food tray and threw it in the direction of Raines' voice. Before he threw it he had felt the shape of an apple and he held on to it. Unless they had injected it with drugs it should be safe enough to eat later on. The sound of the tray hitting the opposite wall was a bit disappointing. It had missed Raines completely. Maybe next time...
Raines raised his eyebrow in surprise. He had expected Sydney to be more docile, not defiant like this. Then Sydney took a bite of the apple he was holding, his stance rebellious, as if to say, "Try me!" his half smile appearing on his face, infuriating Raines.
In disgust Raines wheeled out of the room. On his way out he noticed Lyle slipping into the room. "Well, good luck to you," he thought. The door closed.
For a moment Sydney thought he was alone and the hand holding the apple dropped. "There goes the apple for a rainy day," he thought. He detected a slight movement, someone breathing. "What more do you want Raines?" No answer, "Who's there?" he asked aloud.
"A friend," came the soft voice of Lyle. Whatever his intentions, his voice didn't sound too friendly and Sydney shuddered.
Lyle opened the door and two Sweepers entered. They were the same two Sweepers of a couple of days ago. Sydney remembered their smell. They took hold of his arms and marched him out of his cell. This time they brought him to a smaller room where he was placed on a chair. They stepped back.
"You have been talking to my sister," Lyle's voice whispered in his left ear. "What about? Jarod?"
Sydney wondered. If they had been monitoring him, why didn't Lyle know what they had been talking about? He stayed silent, let him guess!
"You know what happened last time you kept your mouth shut," Lyle said forebodingly.
"Miss Parker knows where I am now and that I am still alive!"
"Yes, It is an added complication, but not too great an obstacle. There are other methods to coerce your co-operation," he sniggered. He motioned to the Sweepers and Sydney could feel rough hands remove his sweater and strap his limbs tightly to the chair. He heard the crackle of electricity coming from Lyle's direction.
"Where was I? Oh, yes, different methods of persuasion..." he brought the electric rods closer to Sydney's skin, who could feel the hairs on the back of his arm rise in static. His breathing quickened.
"Now, are you going to be stubborn and I have to continue or are you going to talk to me?"
Closer the rods came and Sydney knew there was no use to oppose Lyle on this one, a sheen of sweat had spread over his upper body, "No, I will talk..."
Lyle sat back and smiled, "Good, I am glad you have came to your senses. How did my sister know where to find you?"
"I don't know," said Sydney truthfully.
"She must have told you?"
"No she just appeared in my cell one day."
"And I have to believe you?"
"Yes! You are the one holding the... cards at the moment."
"Hm. You talked about Jarod?"
"Yes."
"Any leads?"
"Miss Parker thinks he's dropped over the edge. Lost his marbles, gone crazy."
"But you don't think so?"
"Based on what she brought me I tend to agree with her," Sydney said evasively.
"Gone off his rocker, eh?" Lyle mused. Not surprising, really. He wondered why Jarod hadn't lost his mind sooner.
He studied Sydney's face. Apart from the stubble, which was now growing into a grey beard and signs of weariness, there was nothing that could betray what he was really thinking or feeling. "The eyes must be the keepers of the soul," he thought, "without them there is nothing."
He turned his attention back to Sydney. "You were talking about a game plan, weren't you?"
"She and Broots were. I could only act as a sounding board"
"And that was all you talked about?"
"What else is there to talk about?" Sydney answered annoyed.
"Oh, I don't know... The blast, her health, your re-education..."
"I am not as sick as you, Lyl..."
Lyle struck him across the face for that, "You don't learn do you?"
"Sorry, Lyle, just came out the wrong way," Sydney hated to grovel, but if he wanted to be of any help to Jarod or Miss Parker then his first aim was to get out of here, even if it meant grovelling to the likes of Lyle.
Lyle sat back with a satisfied grin on his face, "That's better! I knew you would be more co-operative once we had a word. And to think that Raines doubted my methods, hah, what does he know!"
Sydney said nothing. Let the poor fool delude himself!
"You and me are going to work together," Lyle laughed. Sydney lifted his head. "There are a couple of things I need to find out and you are the man to help me with that."
"Jarod?"
"Screw Jarod! My sister is already after him. No, this is more important."
"How can I help you? My eyesight..."
"We can do something about that and if it doesn't help... Don't worry; it's not your ability to see that I need. Funny enough, it's your ability to read Braille and you language skills I'm after."
"Are you not afraid I might betray what we find?"
"Not really. I have been thinking of a safeguard." It was the way Lyle said it that made Sydney cringe inwardly. "You remembered what happened a few days ago!"
"I am old, Lyle, not senile!"
"I wasn't implying that, Sydney, not at all. I just wanted you to remember it."
"If that's your threat, then..."
"You don't let me finish. It is more subtle than that," he paused to observe a small frown on Sydney's face, "I want you to remember how it felt, what was going through your mind then. I want you to imagine how it would feel to, say, Miss Parker, Broots, Angelo or... (-he paused for effect and Sydney expected him to say "Jarod", but was shocked when he said-) Debbie Can you imagine how it would feel to a sweet, innocent, little..."
"Stop!" Sydney shouted, straining in vain against his bonds, "You sick, little bastard..."
Lyle just sat back, a big smile on his face. He got Sydney where he wanted him, "Do you think you can protect them all? You can't even protect yourself at the moment. Just look at you! Sorry, you can't even do that!" He sniggered maliciously.
Sydney hung his head. He knew Lyle was right. He was just wondering what the little creep had in mind. Possibly something that could harm a lot of people. And what would happen to him afterwards? If he helped Lyle with whatever he was after would he then consider Sydney a threat? Have him "cleaned up"? On the other hand he had to get out of here and he had already told Jarod once that in effect it didn't matter whether he was alive or dead, not after Jacob's death. He had to find out what Lyle was after. He might be able to use it later. Although still breathing heavily, Sydney stopped straining against his bonds. It just cost him a lot of energy and wasn't getting him anywhere. "So what do you want me to do, Lyle?"
Lyle smiled broadly now, "There are some... reports in my possession, which were written by one of the, ah, patients here. Unfortunately it is written in Braille and since you can read it..."
"Wouldn't the Centre have transcripts of it?"
"Yes, but they are classified."
"Then how did you get the reports?"
"Would you believe I stumbled on them? No, I didn't think you would. Let's just say, that for the moment they are in my possession and I want them read. Understood? Good!"
"Why not just ask me instead of trying to get it through force?" Sydney lowered his voice.
"I couldn't trust you to do it without telling the others, could I?"
"You also said you needed my language-skills. Why?"
"The... ah... patient was European and no, I don't know which nationality. I also don't know in which language it is written."
"Then why do you want to know what is in the reports?" Sydney was genuinely confused.
"I just do! Just leave it to that!"
"So, you need me!"
"Don't get your hopes up."
"If I have to help you, I want to be out of the Renewal wing, go home, wash and change. I need a clear mind, so, no more food or drinks laced with drugs."
"You have nothing to demand. I could stop the lacing of drugs, but letting you go home..."
"I could sit back and don't even touch the reports."
"I could go after the others..."
"...And make me more determined not to help you."
Lyle looked at Sydney. He thought he had him by the short and curly's. Now the table seemed to be turned again. He was sure Sydney could make true his threat, the same as Sydney knew Lyle would keep his. Of course he could go outside the Centre to let someone else translate the Braille reports, but than he might have to murder, sorry "cleanse", the translator with a possible lead to him or the Centre. He knew he couldn't trust anyone at the Centre and Sydney knew that as well. By agreeing to Sydney's demands he might let him know how important the files might be, but he had not much of a choice. On the other hand Sydney might be easier to control.
He looked at Sydney's calm face and reached a decision, "Okay, you can go home, but on certain conditions. You will not convey any messages to my sister or Broots as to the nature of the translations, not even in the future. You will work solely for me until the translations are done. Let the others go after Jarod."
"They might want my advice."
"Unless you have to you will leave them to me. If you violate any of the above than, trust me, the first person I will go after will be Debbie!" He watched in satisfaction when he saw the veins in Sydney's temples stand out, "Do I have your word?"
"Yes."
"Do I have your solemn word?" Lyle knew that Sydney would keep it if he gave it; Sydney would keep a promise to the devil rather than break it.
"Yes, you have, but let me give you a promise in return. You touch any of them for no other reason than your own pathetic perversions and you better watch your back especially on dark and foggy nights."
Lyle could hear by Sydney's tone of voice that this was no idle threat; he might have to deal with Sydney after all when everything was over, "That's settled than. They will bring you back to your room, while I clear it with Raines."
He wasn't surprised when Sydney didn't thank him for the solution when the two men unstrapped from the chair him and escorted him back to his cell.
The way things had turned about and also the reasoning behind it surprised Sydney. He had to wait to find out why, but for the moment, if Lyle kept up his part of the bargain, he was free to help Miss Parker and Jarod. He had to be discreet about it. There was no sense in trying to provoke Lyle following up on his threats.
He wondered if Lyle was serious about letting him go or if this was another attempt of trying to break him. He didn't have to wait long. His shoes and keys were brought to him, the only worthwhile survivors of the blast. The irony of the whole situation was not lost on Sydney. Prisoner in a cell one minute and free to roam the next. For the Centre total freedom was relative and a rare commodity.
Lyle himself dropped him off at his house. He had turned his demeanour a full 180 degrees, "Do you want me to stay and help you out with anything?"
"No," said Sydney resolutely, "I like to be on my own for a while."
"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning than. And no contact with the others," he added as an unnecessary precaution before driving off.
Sydney had already turned and walked to his front door, waving his hand in understanding and dismissal. He could hear Lyle's car disappear in the distance.
He dropped his shoulders and for the first time in a long while relaxed. He hadn't even realised how tense he was until now. He let himself into the house and was savouring the silence and the clean smell. Closing the door softly he went up the stairs and indulged in a two-hour soak before walking into the kitchen and enjoying his first absolutely tainted-free water for a week.
After a simple meal of some bread, which he kept in the freezer for emergencies, and cheese he went to bed.
The comfort he felt of sleeping in his own bed, feeling the softness of the mattress caress his tired and painful body nearly made him cry. For the first time in a long while he fell in a fitful and dreamless sleep.
The next morning Lyle picked him up to drive him to the Centre. He was surprised to find Sydney waiting for him, clean-shaven and properly attired and wondered how he managed to do that on his own. Lyle had brought him a white stick to guide him around, which was heartily accepted by Sydney. Lyle only wondered slightly how Sydney managed to walk around with it so confidently after only having been blinded for such a short time, but he put this down as a practice he might have had to explain sims to Jarod in the past.
When they got to the Centre Lyle immediately went to the sim-lab with Sydney. He had the manuscript with him and placed it in front of Sydney.
"Why here," asked Sydney while he was feeling the binding of the book.
"I thought you might like to work in familiar surroundings." Sydney nodded.
The binding was leather and he could feel tiny pinpricks on the leather too. It could be nothing and it could have some hidden meaning. He had to work that out while Lyle had his concentration elsewhere. He opened the book and let his fingers run over the raised script. A jolt of pleasure went through him. This wasn't going to be as difficult as he thought it was going to be. The language was in French. He decided then to stall for some time until he had a fair idea what the manuscript was all about before telling Lyle what was in it.
He explained to Lyle that it had been a while since he read Braille and that he had to familiarise himself with it again before he could make a serious attempt at reading it. Luckily Lyle bought it and went to get them some coffee.
Sydney read the first lines: "My name is Pierre Chambertin. I have been kidnapped and kept here for several weeks. They want to know my secret on "temporal and corporeal displacement" but I refused to give it to them. How can I trust them? Now they have threatened to get my wife and son and bring them here too. One of my kidnappers has whispered in my ear what he would do to them once they are brought here and, God help me, I believe him. What else can I do than give in?
They want me to type this all down before it gets all lost to posterity, well, that's what they call it. If it wasn't all so serious they would make me laugh. Alas, it is bitter reality.
I have no choice but to comply and write it all down."
Sydney gently ran his hand over the volume. A diary of some sort? Written under duress for certain.
While his hand rested on the volume he thought he could detect small differences in the paper under his left hand. Almost like typing errors trying to be erased. That was highly unusual! They weren't very noticeable and if he hadn't rested his hand there in contemplation he wouldn't even have noticed their presence since it wasn't part of the main text.
He quickly ran his fingers over it. They seem to be mainly numbers. He had to pursue this in greater detail, but first he had to know a bit more about it. He could always gain a little extra time by saying that he had to familiarise himself with Braille again. Then he could see if the message should be kept from Lyle and the Centre. He had a feeling that it might.
He ran his fingers over the page again when Lyle came back.
"Sydney, could you come with me for a moment? I need your hand," he giggled at his own joke.
Sydney closed the book, -did he have a choice?- grabbed his stick and followed Lyle out.
Lyle took his arm and guided him through the maze of corridors and Sydney wondered if he had ever been to this section of the Centre.
When they entered the last corridor Sydney could hear Lyle throw some switches before entering and he could hear the humming of overhead lamps. He was now quite sure that they had entered the deeper bowels of the Centre. After about 10 yards they walked into a room and it was cold and smelled musty as if it hadn't been occupied for a long time.
For a brief moment Sydney was wondering if it was all a cruel joke on Lyle's part, "Let him taste freedom for a short while and then lock him into a place where no one has been in for years or at least have forgotten about." But then he could hear Lyle hum to himself as if he was looking for something.
"Stand still, Sydney, there are too many objects strewn over the floor, don't want you tripping over things and hurting yourself. You are too big to carry back and I don't want the others to find out about this room. At least, not yet."
Sydney could hear him rummage on some shelves at the far end of the room.
"Ah, there it is," Lyle said joyfully. He walked back to Sydney and placed something in his hands. "Do you know what this is?"
Sydney was confused. Couldn't Lyle see what it was? He let his fingers glide lithely over the object he was holding, "Feels like a box, with moving parts or sliding panels."
"Anything on the surface?"
"It could be. There are small indentations on it, quite similar to Braille and they are very regular to be natural, but since I don't know whether it is up or down it could be anything and might not even be Braille."
"I knew it," said Lyle triumphantly, "Can you decipher it? Find a way to open the box?"
"I need some time to work on it. Has it ever been opened before?"
"Not to my knowledge. The people who found it thought it be just another trinket, but I believe it holds a secret and maybe part of a solution to the book you will be reading for me." There was zeal in his voice and silently Sydney promised to read the report for himself first before trying to open the box or revealing the contents of the report and the box to Lyle. He dropped the box in his pocket, but Lyle stopped him from doing that. "I rather take that." And took it off Sydney.
Sydney felt the box being snatched away from him and he said, "If you want me to find a way to open the box I need it with me to study it."
"Translations first. I bet the secret on how to open it is in there."
They walked back to the SimLab.
When they walked down the stairs Sydney thought he caught the whiff of a familiar scent and joy filled his heart, "I know that Chanel anywhere! Good morning, Ms Parker!"
"Sydney!" She exclaimed with the same joy, but also with confusion of seeing him here, "What are you doing here?"
Before Sydney could answer her he felt Lyle's hand on his shoulder, "We're working together, as a team." The message relayed by the pressure on his shoulder was obvious to Sydney and had to control himself not to wince. For although most of his movements were becoming more natural his back and shoulders hadn't healed completely and were still tender.
He felt for his chair and sat down.
Ms Parker's voice was dripping with sarcasm when she looked at Sydney, "Woopty doo! Just one happy family, eh Syd? I am sorry but my ears are still ringing from that bomb blast! You do remember the blast, don't you Syd?"
Again before Sydney could say anything Lyle said, "Interesting about that. Upon further review they realised you had reached the wrong conclusion." He patted Sydney on the shoulder in a patriarchal manner, stopping him from saying anything, "Sydney wouldn't have planted that bomb. It was Gar."
"Gar?" Ms Parker said with mockery, "Gar couldn't light a stick of dynamite if he had a road map to the fuse. And why would he?"
"The truth, unfortunately goes to the grave with him." Lyle answered demurely.
Ms Parker continued in the same mocking tones, "Tragedy. But a fortunate one for you Syd, that the Ken doll here corrected overnight the mistakes that my report took a week to find."
Lyle grinned at her, "No, the fortunate thing is that the powers that be agree with my findings."
She now glared at him, "Would that be the powers in Asia or Europe?"
"The ones that count."
She now turned back to Sydney, finding it a pity that he couldn't fully appreciate the glare she gave him, "Gee Syd. I know you're blind," she leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "I just didn't realise that deaf and dumb came with the package."
Sydney felt hurt and stammered, "You don't understand Parker..." She couldn't understand what was going on and he couldn't tell her.
When she answered him it was meant to hurt him and it did, "It's crystal clear. You sold your soul to save your ass. I just hope you don't get burned by the guy with the horns and the little red pitch-fork."
Lyle sniggered and waited until Ms Parker turned to leave, "You know I believe that you are confusing intelligence with guile."
She turned back on him, "Do I?"
Sydney tried to stop this bantering and turned to Lyle, "We do have work to do."
"Yes, We, is the operative word," he pulled up a chair next to Sydney, amused by the bewildered expression on Ms Parker's face and turned to her, "Are you in on this pursuit or not?"
She frowned, "Jarod contacted me earlier. He sounded different, disturbed. I came here to research Centre records of his psyche profile. To try and understand his behaviour."
"Great minds. Sydney and I were just exploring Jarod's dive off the deep end as well."
"Do you think he's really gone crazy?" She looked imploringly at Sydney.
As if he could see her addressing him Sydney answered, "Maybe he's pretending to have lost his faculties so as not to stand out from others who have lost theirs." Maybe it could give her a clue. He had been thinking it over in the past few days and he didn't believe Jarod had gone over the edge. Hopefully Ms Parker picked up on the hint.
Lyle said jokingly, "Like in an asylum." Sydney hoped he hadn't picked up on the hint.
Sydney could hear Ms Parker's heels turn away, "Well he would certainly fit in around here."
If it was Lyle's idea to alienate Sydney from his co-workers it was working.
After Ms Parker had left Sydney turned to Lyle, "There was no need for that. I still have to work with them after this is finished."
"Who says?" asked Lyle annoyed.
"I had assumed..."
"Assume nothing. What will happen to you all depends on what you can find out."
Sydney's heart sank, he went back to the book, "You can leave me now. I have work to do!"
"Can I leave you alone, Sydney?"
"I work easier without someone leaning over my shoulder who can't even see what I am doing. I have to familiarise myself with the Braille again and than establish in which language it is written and translate it. Can you be that patient, Lyle?"
It was obvious from Lyle's grunt that he wasn't. Without another word he left the room, leaving Sydney to go through the book on his own.
About another hour later he heard the door to the Sim Lab open again and the voices of Broots and Ms Parker. "We need you hand here, Sydney."
It was no use denying them, even with Lyle's threat hanging over him. Denying them his help would make it more suspicious. Besides, he wanted to have a word with them anyway. He closed the book and turned his attention to them. He will explain it all to Lyle later and hoped he would understand.
He could hear Broots open his laptop and tap away at the keys, "I looked at all the records. In all the psychiatric institutes in North America 20 have John Does admitted in the last few days."
He named them all for Sydney's benefit and Sydney started dismissing some of them based on their admittance regulations, open ground policies and the clues Jarod had left them. They were down to the last ten when Sydney could hear the door to the Sim Lab slide open. Lyle was surprised to find Broots and Ms Parker sitting next to Sydney, but he kept his voice even, "Found anything yet?"
"Well we're getting close," said Broots, "We're down to the last ten here."
Ms Parker pointed at the screen, "Pleasant Woods Psychiatric Institute. Towsan, Maryland."
"It all seems way too easy," said Lyle in surprise.
Ms Parker had her old sarcasm back, "Believe me, cuckoo boy is there."
"But why would he leave us a trail that would lead straight to him?" Lyle asked in astonishment.
Sydney smiled, "It's simple. It's Jarod's way of telling us that he is still in control."
Broots packed up his computer and Ms Parker stood up, she looked at Sydney, "Bus is leaving. Save you a seat?"
"No," answered Lyle for him, "Sydney and I have work to do. Happy hunting."
With a confused frown at Sydney Ms Parker left. She would find out when she got back!
"Is it possible for me to work in my own office?" Sydney asked before Lyle could say anything else, "I know my way around there better and it is warmer. When the fingers feel all stiff with cold it is very difficult to read the dots."
"Why were you talking to them?
"They asked my help. If I had said "No!" they would have become suspicious. You wouldn't want that would you? And I didn't say anything about our... deal."
"I believe you. I see what I can do. Continue."
A while later Sydney was back in his own office. Later in the day an unhappy Ms Parker and Broots stamped into his office. "The Labrat has done it again! Flown the cuckoo's nest before we could get to him. One day... You want a lift home, Freud?"
He was glad when she called him Freud again, the rancune had gone from her voice, "No, Ms Parker, I still have some work to do. Lyle said he was going to drop me off." He could almost feel her hurt when he said that.
"If you want to dance with the devil, be my guest! Come on, Broots, the smell of brimstone is strong in here!"
Sydney felt bad about the way he had to treat her, but it was for her own good.
It was later in the evening when he heard his cell-phone go off in his drawer. He just hoped there was nobody listening in. It was quiet enough in the outside corridors. He picked it up.
"This is Sydney."
It was Jarod's voice, how he knew Sydney was out was a mystery, "How's your sight?"
Sydney sighed, "My sight is gone Jarod, but my vision is in some ways clearer than ever."
"I see you have found a way to survive, again."
"As have you."
"It's a crazy world."
"You're not. You're just lost, Jarod."
"For now. But somewhere out there I will find my way. Find out who I am!" Jarod disconnected.
"Maybe I will too," said Sydney to himself before he went back to the book on his desk.
THE END
10
I thought of this story when I saw the end of Crazy, where Sydney was actually reading a Braille book. He had only been blinded for a short time and to be able to read Braille with the speed he was reading it takes a little longer to accomplish.
Title: Renewal
Author: Giton
Rating: R, warning some torture involved
Spoilers: After Bloodlines
Keywords: Sydney
Summary: What happened to Sydney in the Renewal wing? 2/2
Renewal
By Giton
About three days after his re-education lessons, during which time he was left alone, he was woken out of his reverie by a sound at the door, more like a fumbling. He doubted that it was the terrible "twins" come to visit him. They had no need for stealth. He slowly sat up on the edge of the bed.
He could hear the door open. Could hear someone slip inside and closing the door quickly again. This was a person who did not want to be detected. For a small while it was quiet and then he could hear the person utter a sigh of relief. "Who's there?" he asked.
There was a rustle at the door when the person quickly spun round and he heard the familiar voice of Miss Parker exclaim in shock, "My God! Sydney!" Did he really look that terrible that she was shocked to see him?
"Miss Parker..." he started, he was happy to hear that his voice had its old timbre back, or as near as possible, so he wouldn't scare her away. Was she real? Or was he hallucinating now?
With unbelieving eyes Miss Parker looked at the figure sitting on the edge of a hard looking bed in the semi-darkness. He looked liked Sydney, alright, but he was unshaven, unkempt and he looked drawn and tired, "I thought you were..."
"...Dead," he concluded the sentence for her, "Give them time!"
He could feel her sit down beside him. Her presence next to him was quite comforting and for a brief moment he was savouring the human contact. She turned towards him, "What the hell have they done to you down here?"
He contemplated telling her exactly what had happened, but while they were listening to the screams from the other cells along the corridor he could sense her discomfort and he decided against it. It was no good getting her all worried about him. Luckily she wasn't one of these women who went in for group hugs and the like, so there was no danger of her finding out what they had done to his back. He wouldn't have been able to withstand a hug anyway.
Instead he said in an off-hand way, "I believe the term is re-education. But I would plant the bomb again to save that child."
Miss Parker could hear the pain and the anger in Sydney's voice and she was genuinely concerned about her friend, "There is nothing I can do to save you from this."
With resignation in his voice Sydney answered, "I'm not interested in saving myself. Jarod? Was he able to make it out safely?"
Miss Parker looked down, "In body, yes, but Jarod flipped out. Pulled a psycho Martha Stewart at a Centre Records Lab." She saw a DSA-reader propped up against the wall, put it on the chair's seat and inserted the DSA of Jarod's actions at the Centre records lab when he thrashed the Centre's satellite office and played it.
Sydney could hear the anguish and the pain in Jarod's howls and he was worried about his former charge, he felt helpless, stuck where he was and not having been able to comfort Jarod when he needed him most, "That's what I've been afraid of all this time. That one day the pressure of living in the outside world and the truth about his past would come crashing down upon him."
Miss Parker stared at the screen, not noticing that Sydney was still staring straight ahead and her voice was full of worry, "I need your help. I need to bring him in and I need to know what I am up against."
She watched Jarod's final assault on the surveillance camera again.
Sydney could only agree with her, "The anguish of his cry comes from deep within."
Miss Parker found that a strange choice of words and looked at Sydney. For the first time she noticed that he hadn't moved from the position she had found him in. She raised her hand and gently moved it in front of Sydney's staring eyes and realisation dawned on her, "Oh Sydney. You can't see!" She looked at him sadly.
Sydney grinned wanly, "Call it poetic justice." He stood up, away from her prying eyes.
She looked up at him with concern, "There must be something..."
"Bring me anything Jarod left behind before he did this." He spread his arms wide as if to push at imaginary walls, as if he could push it away, "They will never let me out of here. And there's little time. This may be my last chance to help Jarod..." he turned sharply to Miss Parker and concluded sadly, "...or you."
When she left the warmth he had felt for a brief moment seemed to seep back out of the cell again. At least she knew he was alive and some of the burden was lifted from his shoulders knowing that she had come out of the blast practically unharmed.
He was worried for Jarod. What he had heard on the DSA was a man in deep emotional turmoil. He clenched his fists in helplessness and anger, "And I hadn't been there to help him pull out of it," Sydney thought.
Had he known about this instead of being cooped up in here, held a prisoner, he might have been able to ease Jarod's mind and prevent this from happening.
He hoped Miss Parker could sneak back and give him more clues to work on, so he still might be able to save Jarod, even if it was too late for himself.
Some time later she sneaked back, this time bringing Broots with her. They also brought Sydney the items they'd gotten from Jarod's locker at the records office in York. Gently Sydney ran his hands over the articles and found them to be pill bottles and books.
He sat back, unable to see what was on the labels or the titles of the books and waited until Broots read to him what was on the labels. When he finished reading them, Sydney explained what they were, "Neuro inhibitors, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics."
Miss Parker frowned, "Self medicating?"
"That's not like Jarod."
"Well," Miss Parker guffawed, "the man who destroyed that room is not like Jarod."
"No, you are right."
Broots had started taking the books out of the box and read them aloud. ""Shedding Light on the Schizophrenic Mind", "Dementia, The Phantom Within", "Dementia Praecox"." Out of habit he held one of the titles up in front of Sydney to read and then realised his error. He dropped his eyes back to the box and hoped nobody had noticed, but a glance from Miss Parker and a half grin from Sydney, who somehow guessed what he had done, told him otherwise. He said quickly, "They're all books on the troubled mind."
Sydney's voice filled with anguish, "If we had only gotten to him sooner."
Miss Parker was worried for the state of Sydney's mind, "I wish things were different too, Sydney, but all the pieces to this crazy jigsaw fit."
Sydney could feel all of his muscles tighten and he sat back.
Broots finally lifted out the last book and read the title aloud, ""Houdini, The Man and His Escapes." Not this one."
The last book brought a small smile to Sydney's face. Maybe not everything was lost.
All too soon the other two left, leaving Sydney on his own.
Left to his own devices, Sydney contemplated the situation. Hearing about Jarod's plight made him feel stronger that he had been for days. Jarod needed him that was all that mattered.
Miss Parker and Broots couldn't do it all on their own. He had to find a way to get out of here, even if it meant giving in to Raines and Lyle.
No, he couldn't do that. He couldn't let the two win.
He eased his back against the wall, wincing when he made contact. His wrists itched and when he touched it he could feel the welts and the healing scabs, evidence of the shackles used there. He was surprised and relieved that neither Broots nor Miss Parker had noticed them. Then again, the sleeves of his sweater were long and he hadn't made any movements to ride them up.
When he thought over what he had learned today he wondered if Jarod had really gone crazy. After all, he was a pretender. He could have, the medication pointed in that direction, but the last book...
Broots had picked it up, read the title and tossed it aside thinking it had no bearing on the case. Sydney thought differently. Jarod never did anything by half. Anything he had ever left behind for them to be found always had some bearing on the cases he had been working on, however small the detail.
Of course, Broots and Parker could be right and finding out about project Gemini followed by the bomb blast could have tipped his mind over the edge, but somehow Sydney didn't think so.
He wondered if they had been monitoring his conversations with Parker and Broots. He suspected they had been monitoring him most of the time. He had no way of knowing whether the security cameras were on. The new cameras didn't make a sound. One could only tell if they were on by the blipping light on the side. Blast his eyes!
They brought the food and water in a little while after Parker and Broots had left. This time they hadn't waited until he was asleep again. Mind, he had been so pre-occupied with Parker, Broots and Jarod that he hadn't even thought about eating or drinking for that matter. Maybe they had expected him to be asleep.
"What's on the menu today? Hemlock or valium?" he said jovially to the unseen attendant. The answer was silence. Either the man didn't understand the joke or he was under strict orders not to talk to Sydney. Sydney made to shrug his shoulders and then thought the better of it.
After the man had left Sydney picked up the water. No funny smell, no funny taste. He drained the glass in one go. No funny effects. The drugs must be in the food this time. Well, he wasn't particularly hungry anyway and he needed a clear mind to think about Jarod's problem.
Shortly thereafter he heard the door to his cell open again and the unmistakable wheeze of Raines filled the room.
"Not hungry, I see," there was a threat in his voice.
"No," said Sydney simply.
"If I were you Sydney, I would eat. I question how many more opportunities you will have to do so."
"So, let them starve me," thought Sydney, "they wouldn't dare!"
He got hold of the food tray and threw it in the direction of Raines' voice. Before he threw it he had felt the shape of an apple and he held on to it. Unless they had injected it with drugs it should be safe enough to eat later on. The sound of the tray hitting the opposite wall was a bit disappointing. It had missed Raines completely. Maybe next time...
Raines raised his eyebrow in surprise. He had expected Sydney to be more docile, not defiant like this. Then Sydney took a bite of the apple he was holding, his stance rebellious, as if to say, "Try me!" his half smile appearing on his face, infuriating Raines.
In disgust Raines wheeled out of the room. On his way out he noticed Lyle slipping into the room. "Well, good luck to you," he thought. The door closed.
For a moment Sydney thought he was alone and the hand holding the apple dropped. "There goes the apple for a rainy day," he thought. He detected a slight movement, someone breathing. "What more do you want Raines?" No answer, "Who's there?" he asked aloud.
"A friend," came the soft voice of Lyle. Whatever his intentions, his voice didn't sound too friendly and Sydney shuddered.
Lyle opened the door and two Sweepers entered. They were the same two Sweepers of a couple of days ago. Sydney remembered their smell. They took hold of his arms and marched him out of his cell. This time they brought him to a smaller room where he was placed on a chair. They stepped back.
"You have been talking to my sister," Lyle's voice whispered in his left ear. "What about? Jarod?"
Sydney wondered. If they had been monitoring him, why didn't Lyle know what they had been talking about? He stayed silent, let him guess!
"You know what happened last time you kept your mouth shut," Lyle said forebodingly.
"Miss Parker knows where I am now and that I am still alive!"
"Yes, It is an added complication, but not too great an obstacle. There are other methods to coerce your co-operation," he sniggered. He motioned to the Sweepers and Sydney could feel rough hands remove his sweater and strap his limbs tightly to the chair. He heard the crackle of electricity coming from Lyle's direction.
"Where was I? Oh, yes, different methods of persuasion..." he brought the electric rods closer to Sydney's skin, who could feel the hairs on the back of his arm rise in static. His breathing quickened.
"Now, are you going to be stubborn and I have to continue or are you going to talk to me?"
Closer the rods came and Sydney knew there was no use to oppose Lyle on this one, a sheen of sweat had spread over his upper body, "No, I will talk..."
Lyle sat back and smiled, "Good, I am glad you have came to your senses. How did my sister know where to find you?"
"I don't know," said Sydney truthfully.
"She must have told you?"
"No she just appeared in my cell one day."
"And I have to believe you?"
"Yes! You are the one holding the... cards at the moment."
"Hm. You talked about Jarod?"
"Yes."
"Any leads?"
"Miss Parker thinks he's dropped over the edge. Lost his marbles, gone crazy."
"But you don't think so?"
"Based on what she brought me I tend to agree with her," Sydney said evasively.
"Gone off his rocker, eh?" Lyle mused. Not surprising, really. He wondered why Jarod hadn't lost his mind sooner.
He studied Sydney's face. Apart from the stubble, which was now growing into a grey beard and signs of weariness, there was nothing that could betray what he was really thinking or feeling. "The eyes must be the keepers of the soul," he thought, "without them there is nothing."
He turned his attention back to Sydney. "You were talking about a game plan, weren't you?"
"She and Broots were. I could only act as a sounding board"
"And that was all you talked about?"
"What else is there to talk about?" Sydney answered annoyed.
"Oh, I don't know... The blast, her health, your re-education..."
"I am not as sick as you, Lyl..."
Lyle struck him across the face for that, "You don't learn do you?"
"Sorry, Lyle, just came out the wrong way," Sydney hated to grovel, but if he wanted to be of any help to Jarod or Miss Parker then his first aim was to get out of here, even if it meant grovelling to the likes of Lyle.
Lyle sat back with a satisfied grin on his face, "That's better! I knew you would be more co-operative once we had a word. And to think that Raines doubted my methods, hah, what does he know!"
Sydney said nothing. Let the poor fool delude himself!
"You and me are going to work together," Lyle laughed. Sydney lifted his head. "There are a couple of things I need to find out and you are the man to help me with that."
"Jarod?"
"Screw Jarod! My sister is already after him. No, this is more important."
"How can I help you? My eyesight..."
"We can do something about that and if it doesn't help... Don't worry; it's not your ability to see that I need. Funny enough, it's your ability to read Braille and you language skills I'm after."
"Are you not afraid I might betray what we find?"
"Not really. I have been thinking of a safeguard." It was the way Lyle said it that made Sydney cringe inwardly. "You remembered what happened a few days ago!"
"I am old, Lyle, not senile!"
"I wasn't implying that, Sydney, not at all. I just wanted you to remember it."
"If that's your threat, then..."
"You don't let me finish. It is more subtle than that," he paused to observe a small frown on Sydney's face, "I want you to remember how it felt, what was going through your mind then. I want you to imagine how it would feel to, say, Miss Parker, Broots, Angelo or... (-he paused for effect and Sydney expected him to say "Jarod", but was shocked when he said-) Debbie Can you imagine how it would feel to a sweet, innocent, little..."
"Stop!" Sydney shouted, straining in vain against his bonds, "You sick, little bastard..."
Lyle just sat back, a big smile on his face. He got Sydney where he wanted him, "Do you think you can protect them all? You can't even protect yourself at the moment. Just look at you! Sorry, you can't even do that!" He sniggered maliciously.
Sydney hung his head. He knew Lyle was right. He was just wondering what the little creep had in mind. Possibly something that could harm a lot of people. And what would happen to him afterwards? If he helped Lyle with whatever he was after would he then consider Sydney a threat? Have him "cleaned up"? On the other hand he had to get out of here and he had already told Jarod once that in effect it didn't matter whether he was alive or dead, not after Jacob's death. He had to find out what Lyle was after. He might be able to use it later. Although still breathing heavily, Sydney stopped straining against his bonds. It just cost him a lot of energy and wasn't getting him anywhere. "So what do you want me to do, Lyle?"
Lyle smiled broadly now, "There are some... reports in my possession, which were written by one of the, ah, patients here. Unfortunately it is written in Braille and since you can read it..."
"Wouldn't the Centre have transcripts of it?"
"Yes, but they are classified."
"Then how did you get the reports?"
"Would you believe I stumbled on them? No, I didn't think you would. Let's just say, that for the moment they are in my possession and I want them read. Understood? Good!"
"Why not just ask me instead of trying to get it through force?" Sydney lowered his voice.
"I couldn't trust you to do it without telling the others, could I?"
"You also said you needed my language-skills. Why?"
"The... ah... patient was European and no, I don't know which nationality. I also don't know in which language it is written."
"Then why do you want to know what is in the reports?" Sydney was genuinely confused.
"I just do! Just leave it to that!"
"So, you need me!"
"Don't get your hopes up."
"If I have to help you, I want to be out of the Renewal wing, go home, wash and change. I need a clear mind, so, no more food or drinks laced with drugs."
"You have nothing to demand. I could stop the lacing of drugs, but letting you go home..."
"I could sit back and don't even touch the reports."
"I could go after the others..."
"...And make me more determined not to help you."
Lyle looked at Sydney. He thought he had him by the short and curly's. Now the table seemed to be turned again. He was sure Sydney could make true his threat, the same as Sydney knew Lyle would keep his. Of course he could go outside the Centre to let someone else translate the Braille reports, but than he might have to murder, sorry "cleanse", the translator with a possible lead to him or the Centre. He knew he couldn't trust anyone at the Centre and Sydney knew that as well. By agreeing to Sydney's demands he might let him know how important the files might be, but he had not much of a choice. On the other hand Sydney might be easier to control.
He looked at Sydney's calm face and reached a decision, "Okay, you can go home, but on certain conditions. You will not convey any messages to my sister or Broots as to the nature of the translations, not even in the future. You will work solely for me until the translations are done. Let the others go after Jarod."
"They might want my advice."
"Unless you have to you will leave them to me. If you violate any of the above than, trust me, the first person I will go after will be Debbie!" He watched in satisfaction when he saw the veins in Sydney's temples stand out, "Do I have your word?"
"Yes."
"Do I have your solemn word?" Lyle knew that Sydney would keep it if he gave it; Sydney would keep a promise to the devil rather than break it.
"Yes, you have, but let me give you a promise in return. You touch any of them for no other reason than your own pathetic perversions and you better watch your back especially on dark and foggy nights."
Lyle could hear by Sydney's tone of voice that this was no idle threat; he might have to deal with Sydney after all when everything was over, "That's settled than. They will bring you back to your room, while I clear it with Raines."
He wasn't surprised when Sydney didn't thank him for the solution when the two men unstrapped from the chair him and escorted him back to his cell.
The way things had turned about and also the reasoning behind it surprised Sydney. He had to wait to find out why, but for the moment, if Lyle kept up his part of the bargain, he was free to help Miss Parker and Jarod. He had to be discreet about it. There was no sense in trying to provoke Lyle following up on his threats.
He wondered if Lyle was serious about letting him go or if this was another attempt of trying to break him. He didn't have to wait long. His shoes and keys were brought to him, the only worthwhile survivors of the blast. The irony of the whole situation was not lost on Sydney. Prisoner in a cell one minute and free to roam the next. For the Centre total freedom was relative and a rare commodity.
Lyle himself dropped him off at his house. He had turned his demeanour a full 180 degrees, "Do you want me to stay and help you out with anything?"
"No," said Sydney resolutely, "I like to be on my own for a while."
"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning than. And no contact with the others," he added as an unnecessary precaution before driving off.
Sydney had already turned and walked to his front door, waving his hand in understanding and dismissal. He could hear Lyle's car disappear in the distance.
He dropped his shoulders and for the first time in a long while relaxed. He hadn't even realised how tense he was until now. He let himself into the house and was savouring the silence and the clean smell. Closing the door softly he went up the stairs and indulged in a two-hour soak before walking into the kitchen and enjoying his first absolutely tainted-free water for a week.
After a simple meal of some bread, which he kept in the freezer for emergencies, and cheese he went to bed.
The comfort he felt of sleeping in his own bed, feeling the softness of the mattress caress his tired and painful body nearly made him cry. For the first time in a long while he fell in a fitful and dreamless sleep.
The next morning Lyle picked him up to drive him to the Centre. He was surprised to find Sydney waiting for him, clean-shaven and properly attired and wondered how he managed to do that on his own. Lyle had brought him a white stick to guide him around, which was heartily accepted by Sydney. Lyle only wondered slightly how Sydney managed to walk around with it so confidently after only having been blinded for such a short time, but he put this down as a practice he might have had to explain sims to Jarod in the past.
When they got to the Centre Lyle immediately went to the sim-lab with Sydney. He had the manuscript with him and placed it in front of Sydney.
"Why here," asked Sydney while he was feeling the binding of the book.
"I thought you might like to work in familiar surroundings." Sydney nodded.
The binding was leather and he could feel tiny pinpricks on the leather too. It could be nothing and it could have some hidden meaning. He had to work that out while Lyle had his concentration elsewhere. He opened the book and let his fingers run over the raised script. A jolt of pleasure went through him. This wasn't going to be as difficult as he thought it was going to be. The language was in French. He decided then to stall for some time until he had a fair idea what the manuscript was all about before telling Lyle what was in it.
He explained to Lyle that it had been a while since he read Braille and that he had to familiarise himself with it again before he could make a serious attempt at reading it. Luckily Lyle bought it and went to get them some coffee.
Sydney read the first lines: "My name is Pierre Chambertin. I have been kidnapped and kept here for several weeks. They want to know my secret on "temporal and corporeal displacement" but I refused to give it to them. How can I trust them? Now they have threatened to get my wife and son and bring them here too. One of my kidnappers has whispered in my ear what he would do to them once they are brought here and, God help me, I believe him. What else can I do than give in?
They want me to type this all down before it gets all lost to posterity, well, that's what they call it. If it wasn't all so serious they would make me laugh. Alas, it is bitter reality.
I have no choice but to comply and write it all down."
Sydney gently ran his hand over the volume. A diary of some sort? Written under duress for certain.
While his hand rested on the volume he thought he could detect small differences in the paper under his left hand. Almost like typing errors trying to be erased. That was highly unusual! They weren't very noticeable and if he hadn't rested his hand there in contemplation he wouldn't even have noticed their presence since it wasn't part of the main text.
He quickly ran his fingers over it. They seem to be mainly numbers. He had to pursue this in greater detail, but first he had to know a bit more about it. He could always gain a little extra time by saying that he had to familiarise himself with Braille again. Then he could see if the message should be kept from Lyle and the Centre. He had a feeling that it might.
He ran his fingers over the page again when Lyle came back.
"Sydney, could you come with me for a moment? I need your hand," he giggled at his own joke.
Sydney closed the book, -did he have a choice?- grabbed his stick and followed Lyle out.
Lyle took his arm and guided him through the maze of corridors and Sydney wondered if he had ever been to this section of the Centre.
When they entered the last corridor Sydney could hear Lyle throw some switches before entering and he could hear the humming of overhead lamps. He was now quite sure that they had entered the deeper bowels of the Centre. After about 10 yards they walked into a room and it was cold and smelled musty as if it hadn't been occupied for a long time.
For a brief moment Sydney was wondering if it was all a cruel joke on Lyle's part, "Let him taste freedom for a short while and then lock him into a place where no one has been in for years or at least have forgotten about." But then he could hear Lyle hum to himself as if he was looking for something.
"Stand still, Sydney, there are too many objects strewn over the floor, don't want you tripping over things and hurting yourself. You are too big to carry back and I don't want the others to find out about this room. At least, not yet."
Sydney could hear him rummage on some shelves at the far end of the room.
"Ah, there it is," Lyle said joyfully. He walked back to Sydney and placed something in his hands. "Do you know what this is?"
Sydney was confused. Couldn't Lyle see what it was? He let his fingers glide lithely over the object he was holding, "Feels like a box, with moving parts or sliding panels."
"Anything on the surface?"
"It could be. There are small indentations on it, quite similar to Braille and they are very regular to be natural, but since I don't know whether it is up or down it could be anything and might not even be Braille."
"I knew it," said Lyle triumphantly, "Can you decipher it? Find a way to open the box?"
"I need some time to work on it. Has it ever been opened before?"
"Not to my knowledge. The people who found it thought it be just another trinket, but I believe it holds a secret and maybe part of a solution to the book you will be reading for me." There was zeal in his voice and silently Sydney promised to read the report for himself first before trying to open the box or revealing the contents of the report and the box to Lyle. He dropped the box in his pocket, but Lyle stopped him from doing that. "I rather take that." And took it off Sydney.
Sydney felt the box being snatched away from him and he said, "If you want me to find a way to open the box I need it with me to study it."
"Translations first. I bet the secret on how to open it is in there."
They walked back to the SimLab.
When they walked down the stairs Sydney thought he caught the whiff of a familiar scent and joy filled his heart, "I know that Chanel anywhere! Good morning, Ms Parker!"
"Sydney!" She exclaimed with the same joy, but also with confusion of seeing him here, "What are you doing here?"
Before Sydney could answer her he felt Lyle's hand on his shoulder, "We're working together, as a team." The message relayed by the pressure on his shoulder was obvious to Sydney and had to control himself not to wince. For although most of his movements were becoming more natural his back and shoulders hadn't healed completely and were still tender.
He felt for his chair and sat down.
Ms Parker's voice was dripping with sarcasm when she looked at Sydney, "Woopty doo! Just one happy family, eh Syd? I am sorry but my ears are still ringing from that bomb blast! You do remember the blast, don't you Syd?"
Again before Sydney could say anything Lyle said, "Interesting about that. Upon further review they realised you had reached the wrong conclusion." He patted Sydney on the shoulder in a patriarchal manner, stopping him from saying anything, "Sydney wouldn't have planted that bomb. It was Gar."
"Gar?" Ms Parker said with mockery, "Gar couldn't light a stick of dynamite if he had a road map to the fuse. And why would he?"
"The truth, unfortunately goes to the grave with him." Lyle answered demurely.
Ms Parker continued in the same mocking tones, "Tragedy. But a fortunate one for you Syd, that the Ken doll here corrected overnight the mistakes that my report took a week to find."
Lyle grinned at her, "No, the fortunate thing is that the powers that be agree with my findings."
She now glared at him, "Would that be the powers in Asia or Europe?"
"The ones that count."
She now turned back to Sydney, finding it a pity that he couldn't fully appreciate the glare she gave him, "Gee Syd. I know you're blind," she leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "I just didn't realise that deaf and dumb came with the package."
Sydney felt hurt and stammered, "You don't understand Parker..." She couldn't understand what was going on and he couldn't tell her.
When she answered him it was meant to hurt him and it did, "It's crystal clear. You sold your soul to save your ass. I just hope you don't get burned by the guy with the horns and the little red pitch-fork."
Lyle sniggered and waited until Ms Parker turned to leave, "You know I believe that you are confusing intelligence with guile."
She turned back on him, "Do I?"
Sydney tried to stop this bantering and turned to Lyle, "We do have work to do."
"Yes, We, is the operative word," he pulled up a chair next to Sydney, amused by the bewildered expression on Ms Parker's face and turned to her, "Are you in on this pursuit or not?"
She frowned, "Jarod contacted me earlier. He sounded different, disturbed. I came here to research Centre records of his psyche profile. To try and understand his behaviour."
"Great minds. Sydney and I were just exploring Jarod's dive off the deep end as well."
"Do you think he's really gone crazy?" She looked imploringly at Sydney.
As if he could see her addressing him Sydney answered, "Maybe he's pretending to have lost his faculties so as not to stand out from others who have lost theirs." Maybe it could give her a clue. He had been thinking it over in the past few days and he didn't believe Jarod had gone over the edge. Hopefully Ms Parker picked up on the hint.
Lyle said jokingly, "Like in an asylum." Sydney hoped he hadn't picked up on the hint.
Sydney could hear Ms Parker's heels turn away, "Well he would certainly fit in around here."
If it was Lyle's idea to alienate Sydney from his co-workers it was working.
After Ms Parker had left Sydney turned to Lyle, "There was no need for that. I still have to work with them after this is finished."
"Who says?" asked Lyle annoyed.
"I had assumed..."
"Assume nothing. What will happen to you all depends on what you can find out."
Sydney's heart sank, he went back to the book, "You can leave me now. I have work to do!"
"Can I leave you alone, Sydney?"
"I work easier without someone leaning over my shoulder who can't even see what I am doing. I have to familiarise myself with the Braille again and than establish in which language it is written and translate it. Can you be that patient, Lyle?"
It was obvious from Lyle's grunt that he wasn't. Without another word he left the room, leaving Sydney to go through the book on his own.
About another hour later he heard the door to the Sim Lab open again and the voices of Broots and Ms Parker. "We need you hand here, Sydney."
It was no use denying them, even with Lyle's threat hanging over him. Denying them his help would make it more suspicious. Besides, he wanted to have a word with them anyway. He closed the book and turned his attention to them. He will explain it all to Lyle later and hoped he would understand.
He could hear Broots open his laptop and tap away at the keys, "I looked at all the records. In all the psychiatric institutes in North America 20 have John Does admitted in the last few days."
He named them all for Sydney's benefit and Sydney started dismissing some of them based on their admittance regulations, open ground policies and the clues Jarod had left them. They were down to the last ten when Sydney could hear the door to the Sim Lab slide open. Lyle was surprised to find Broots and Ms Parker sitting next to Sydney, but he kept his voice even, "Found anything yet?"
"Well we're getting close," said Broots, "We're down to the last ten here."
Ms Parker pointed at the screen, "Pleasant Woods Psychiatric Institute. Towsan, Maryland."
"It all seems way too easy," said Lyle in surprise.
Ms Parker had her old sarcasm back, "Believe me, cuckoo boy is there."
"But why would he leave us a trail that would lead straight to him?" Lyle asked in astonishment.
Sydney smiled, "It's simple. It's Jarod's way of telling us that he is still in control."
Broots packed up his computer and Ms Parker stood up, she looked at Sydney, "Bus is leaving. Save you a seat?"
"No," answered Lyle for him, "Sydney and I have work to do. Happy hunting."
With a confused frown at Sydney Ms Parker left. She would find out when she got back!
"Is it possible for me to work in my own office?" Sydney asked before Lyle could say anything else, "I know my way around there better and it is warmer. When the fingers feel all stiff with cold it is very difficult to read the dots."
"Why were you talking to them?
"They asked my help. If I had said "No!" they would have become suspicious. You wouldn't want that would you? And I didn't say anything about our... deal."
"I believe you. I see what I can do. Continue."
A while later Sydney was back in his own office. Later in the day an unhappy Ms Parker and Broots stamped into his office. "The Labrat has done it again! Flown the cuckoo's nest before we could get to him. One day... You want a lift home, Freud?"
He was glad when she called him Freud again, the rancune had gone from her voice, "No, Ms Parker, I still have some work to do. Lyle said he was going to drop me off." He could almost feel her hurt when he said that.
"If you want to dance with the devil, be my guest! Come on, Broots, the smell of brimstone is strong in here!"
Sydney felt bad about the way he had to treat her, but it was for her own good.
It was later in the evening when he heard his cell-phone go off in his drawer. He just hoped there was nobody listening in. It was quiet enough in the outside corridors. He picked it up.
"This is Sydney."
It was Jarod's voice, how he knew Sydney was out was a mystery, "How's your sight?"
Sydney sighed, "My sight is gone Jarod, but my vision is in some ways clearer than ever."
"I see you have found a way to survive, again."
"As have you."
"It's a crazy world."
"You're not. You're just lost, Jarod."
"For now. But somewhere out there I will find my way. Find out who I am!" Jarod disconnected.
"Maybe I will too," said Sydney to himself before he went back to the book on his desk.
THE END
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