The Pretender is the Copyright of TNT. The characters Jarod, Sydney, Miss. Parker, Broots, and Mr. Raines etc. are all the copyright of TNT. The song Dust in the Wind belongs to Kansas. No profit intended, no harm intended. This is my first take at fan fiction and any errors are mine alone.
Chapter 12: Dust in the Wind Phoenix ArizonaJarod had left Washington and just started driving. He had traded the Blazer in for a convertible and ended up in sunny Arizona. He was sitting poolside at a quiet resort where he planned on hiding until he had his next move planned out.
Jarod re-read the email from Angelo several times over the next few days. "You need refuge. You will find it in the keys."
Sydney had been his refuge for all of the years he was in the Centre. Jarod didn't know if he could ever be that again. Sydney and Miss Parker had tricked him into being the Centre's science experiment again. He had sworn he would never be that again. He had resisted them every step of the way the last time he had been captured. This time he had been tricked by people he trusted. And he had been the perfect little lab rat. It hurt him to know that he had no refuge in Sydney.
He knew by his checks on the Centre mainframes that his virus had been successful. There was no Gemini data for them to miss use. His samples in the lab were now just mystery samples that would be discarded when they tried to straighten out the lab records.
Since that didn't seem like enough, Jarod was working on a program that would start transferring Centre funds to charities. Just a little at a time, transacting as business bribes it should go unnoticed for several months.
The CentreAt the Centre, Mr. Parker was being recalled to the Triumverate. His inability to produce the Pretender, the recovery staff namely Sydney, Broots and even his own daughter had put him in a bad position. Mr. Raines was also being summoned. The Triumverate had voted No Confidence and they were to be reprimanded. In Centre history, that usually implied someone was going to disappear never to be seen again.
Mr. Lyle secretly kept the runaways informed of the results of the search. When the Triumerate recalled his father and Mr. Raines, Lyle stepped in to negotiate for the runaways return. He was planning on meeting with them in person but secrecy was still vital. They had no idea who might still be working under the orders of Mr. Parker or Mr. Raines.
Angelo sent Jarod another email to let him know that Mr. Parker and Raines were being sent to Africa and the Triumverate would be replacing them. Mr. Lyle was acting as temporary Chairman of the Centre interests. This didn't give Jarod any relief. Lyle was not someone to give the power of the Centre. This could be more dangerous than a Centre ruled by Mr. Parker.
Unknown Island Base off the Florida KeysMr. Lyle arrived at the base and set his sweepers around to ensure that they had secrecy and security. His tech teams were watching the activity of hotels, auto rentals and other places that could indicate that they had been followed or were being watched. Lyle wanted to make sure that no one knew where to find his sister and her friends.
She was sitting on the beach in shorts and a tee shirt. Baby Parker was sitting on a blanket surrounded by toys and shaded under a large beach umbrella. His sister sat where she could watch the baby and still see the surf. He thought that her body posture looked tired. Was it caring for the Baby or the events of the past weeks?
Lyle motioned his sweepers out and walked up behind her. "Hey sis, are they treating you alright here?"
"Lyle! Is that a twinkle in your eye?" Miss Parker jumped up from the sand and gave Lyle a hug. Their relationship had come a long way since he had confided in her and helped them escape from the Centre.
"It might be. A heavy load lifted from my shoulders when our father and Mr. Raines were reported at Triumverate headquarters. Can we call the others? I want to tell all of you what's been going on."
"Come on Jamie, time for a nap." At Lyle's look she added, "I thought it was better to pick a name rather than just calling him baby Parker. He was really never a Parker. I thought Jarod could pick a real name for him."
"I think it's a great name." Lyle said as he lifted the baby from her arms. He blew bubbles on Jamie's stomach to the ecstatic giggles of the baby. Inside she got on the phone and called the others.
The calls completed, Miss Parker headed into the bedroom and put Jamie down for a nap. Slowly the others trickled over to her house and joined them. As they waited, they thought their own thoughts.
Sydney was afraid it was bad news about Jarod. Jarod would resist being recaptured even to the loss of his life. He would hate to think of what Mr. Parker or Mr. Raines would do to Jarod if they caught him now.
Broots was still afraid that Lyle was not what he claimed and that they would all be killed by the Centre. Oh why did he ever quit Microsoft?
Sam was feeling guilty about betraying the Centre but his loyalty to Miss Parker was still stronger. The assignment given to him by Mr. Parker himself had been to protect and serve Miss Parker. That he had done even though it was against the wishes of the Centre.
Miss Parker was thinking about Jarod. Him smiling at something she had said, his naked body in the bathtub, his paleness as he had lay unconscious in the infirmary after eating the Pistachios. She hoped he was safe.
Lyle was wondering how they would receive the offers he had been given by the Triumverate.
Working with Angelo's clues, Jarod had traced them to this general area of the Florida Keys. He had rented a jeep to drive around and check the areas that showed the most promise. He was afraid that Lyle was already on their trail. He had checked on the Centre Jet and the changing of vehicles Lyle had made. Lyle must be narrowing in on their location. Time was of the essence.
Unknown Island Base off the Florida Keys"Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines have been recalled to Triumverate headquarters." Lyle started the conversation with. "I've been temporarily put in charge of the Centre."
This caused a rush of fear in Broots and deep concern in Sydney.
"I insisted this only be temporary. I've had enough of the Centre politics to last me a lifetime. I've recommended that the Chair of the Centre be shared between Sydney and my sister."
This brought a burst of surprised conversations. Lyle let them talk amongst themselves for several minutes before he spoke again.
"I know this is something of a surprise to you but my thoughts were twofold. Sydney could bring the Centre's back to its original goal of helping the world with science. Simulations and experiments for the good of society instead of gain. My sister would bring the administrative leadership needed to keep it there. The Triumverate agrees and this will become effective as soon as you agree."
"What is your goal in this Lyle?" Sydney asked suspicious.
"Yeah, Mr. Lyle, what do you get out of this?" Broots stuttered.
"Fair questions. I get the Centre back on track. Fix what my, our mother died trying to fix. Of course I also get a well paying executive job and my own department to work on International negotiations as payment for my part in making this happen. I get my life back which would have been payment enough but hey, I'll take the money." Lyle said smiling.
Miss Parker stood and walked to the window. She looked out at the sand and surf. It was tranquil here; she felt a peace she had not felt in a long time at the Centre. But she was never able to just sit back and let the world move around her. She was an active participant. Maybe this way she could be a participant for good.
This would neatly wrap up this nightmare. She was not really interested in running the Centre but if it would enable them to help instead of kill, she would do it. Maybe Jarod would come back if they could change the Centre.
She turned and raised an eyebrow at Sydney. He caught and held her gaze. Then he nodded. Lyle read that as a confirmation and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Great. I'll communicate that to the Triumverate immediately. I'm glad, it's what our mother would have wanted."
"Thank you Lyle." She said meeting his eyes.
"I would do anything for you sis. I'm glad I can finally say that to you in person. It's been hard playing the bad guy. Lonely too."
Miss Parker's eyes teared up and she grabbed him for a hug. "I'm sorry I was so hard on you."
"You were supposed to be remember?" Lyle said with tears in his eyes and a frog in his throat.
The ringing of his cell phone interrupted Lyle's train of thought. He stepped to the porch and listened.
"What? Are you sure?"
"Grab him. I'll be there in ten minutes. Don't hurt him." Lyle admonished the caller.
Stepping back into the room he spotted his sister. "Sis, something's come up and I have to take care of it. I'll be back."
He headed for his car and was quickly gone.
A Security Station on the Base PerimeterLyle was nervous as he stopped his car in a cloud of dust in front of the small security station. He jumped out of the car and walked into the station. Sitting in a chair securely tied was a ruffled Jarod. His sweepers looked the worse for wear. Jarod had a split above his eye and dust over his body but the sweepers looked like they had taken on ten men.
Jarod glared at him as soon as Lyle walked in. He strained against his bonds trying to find a weakness.
"Well look what we have here. If it isn't the Wonder Boy, not so smart now are we?" Lyle berated himself for slipping into his bad boy profile. He took a breath and rethought his next move. There was no need to antagonize Jarod now, no need to play the bad boy.
"Lyle, slumming here in the Keys? Shouldn't you be planning your world takeover now that you have the control of the Centre?"
Lyle inwardly cursed that Jarod knew that. Damn the man for knowing everything going on inside the Centre. This was going to take some disaster recovery but first he was going to dish out a little well deserved discomfort.
He slowly circled Jarod and quickly tried to put his thoughts together.
"Only temporary I assure you." He pulled a chair over in front of Jarod and sat down facing him. "You can tell me what you did to the mainframes and what else I can expect."
"I seem to be suffering from amnesia as far as the Centre goes." Jarod smirked.
"We both know better than that." Sliding the chair closer, Lyle leaned uncomfortably close to Jarod, trying to stare him down.
Jarod held his eyes and glared back. Without moving his shoulders he was rubbing the restraining rope against the chair edge.
Giving in, Lyle leaned back. "Tell you what Jarod, you do something for me and we'll make a deal."
"I'd never believe any promise that you made.
"Actually, you don't have a choice. You are going to take a little ride with me. I'm going to tell you a story and you're going to apologize to my sister."
