The Pretender is the Copyright of TNT Valued Gateway Client Valued Gateway Client 3 845 2001-10-23T06:49:00Z 2001-10-27T02:36:00Z 2001-10-27T02:37:00Z 5 2809 16013 133 32 19665 9.3821

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.

Thanks again to Laurie for giving me the courage to try this, Jamie for being so darn nice, the folks at the Pretender for sharing with us and modern technology so that I didn't have to play at this with a pen and a notepad.  =)

Chapter 13: All we are is Dust in the Wind Florida Keys

Lyle issued orders to have Jarod dragged into his car.  He was still tied securely; his efforts to shred the ropes discovered when they started to move him.  They tied him in the car so that he couldn't open the door or move much.  Lyle didn't want Jarod to injure himself trying to escape during their short drive or perhaps more honestly, didn't want Jarod to hurt him.  Lyle ordered the sweepers to follow in the other car because he wanted to be alone with the pretender.

When they were back on the road and headed towards his sister and the others, Lyle began his story.  He hoped that Jarod was listening despite the closed look on his face.

He began by saying that he was a mole for the Triumverate sent to the Centre to put a stop to the activities of his father and Mr. Raines.  His past and some of the revolting events had been fabricated to give him a bad boy image.  

There were elements in his past that were true.  He had been stolen from his mother at birth and on orders from Mr. Raines his foster father had abused him.  He had not killed his best friend or incriminated his father that was the work of Mr. Raines to cover his tracks.  He had spent the next several years in intensive counseling set up by the Triumverate while supposedly in College.  It had taken several years to get over that.   He had lost his thumb when the Yakuza blamed him for the hostage failure.  It had been Mr. Raines that set that up.  He had let the blame fall on him for reputation sake.

Killing Kyle had never been his intention.  He was trying to get Jarod and return to the Centre to further convince them of his position.  The bullet he'd taken from Kyle had thrown off his shot.  The sheriff's wife was to be pulled from the tank and hidden away until the whole thing was over.  The Triumverate operative that was to release her was killed on the highway on the way to Red Bluff.  They had called before the accident so he was totally unaware that the woman was still trapped.  Afterwards he had been traumatized at what he had done.  Both to the woman and Kyle. 

He had been removed from the scene unconscious.  He'd heard about what had happened after he was removed from the private hospital he had been hidden in.  He had taken steps to try and amend the guilt he felt.  He had set up a large charity fund to help put organs to donors and a trust fund set up for the sheriff's baby.    

A glance at Jarod indicated that his explanations were falling short.  He hurried on since they were nearing their destination.

"I did everything I could think of to keep you out of the Centre Jarod.  It was rather easy to alert you to our presence.  When we got too close I slammed doors, or opened them with keys in the ignition so the bells would go off.  I let the pride and greed of people like Bridgett call the shots knowing that you would never be so stupid.   Everything I could do that wasn't too obvious.  I even had Angelo move cameras and sensors in the air ducts."

"My sister believes me.  Angelo was able to convince her.  I helped them get out, kept them hidden until my father and Raines were recalled.  They're all safe and sound."

"Here we are, there's more but we don't have time now.  One last thing, I've recommended control of the Centre go to Sydney and my sister.  They can get the Centre back on track and keep it that way.  The Centre's goals were beneficial, in the beginning."

Lyle parked his car in front of his sister's house.  The sweeper car pulled in behind him.  Lyle hoped that the others were still there.  He stepped out and walked around to Jarod's side of the car.  His sweepers joined him and cut the ropes holding Jarod.  By this time Sydney had poked his head out of the door.

"Jarod!"

He rushed out of the house and to the car as the pretender stepped out.  The sweepers kept their guns pointed at Jarod in case he tried to run.

The others quickly joined Sydney outside. Miss Parker pushed them all aside when she saw Jarod bleeding.

"Lyle what did you do to him?"

"He resisted capture.  I told them not to hurt him.  They got worse than they gave."

Jarod locked his jaw and assumed a defiant posture.  He remained silent.

"Jarod are you alright?  We were told not to try and contact you."  Sydney said.

Miss Parker knew that Jarod was still angry.  To give him a chance to come around on his own she offered, "Come in out of the sun.  We were talking about Lyle's offer from the Triumverate.  There are cool drinks inside."

The cry of the baby waking up drew Miss Parker.  "Jamie's up."  She didn't wait for the others and ran inside.  Sydney gestured inside and after a stern look by Lyle, Jarod looked around at the sweepers and grudgingly complied.  They sat down inside as Miss Parker walked in the room with the baby.  He was still whimpering and not fully awake.  She snuggled him into her shoulder and sat down next to Sydney who was sitting across from Jarod.

The sweepers had placed themselves by the doors and windows.  Sam included himself among them but positioned himself close to Miss Parker.  He knew that she loved Jarod but he was taking no chances that he might hurt her.  Broots and Lyle sat in the empty chairs.  All eyes turned to Jarod.

Lyle spoke into the silence.  "I told him what I told you about me, the Triumverate and their offer to you.  I don't think he believes me."

"Not that we blame him Lyle.  It is rather incredible." Sydney stated.  "What is it you need to hear Jarod?"

Unidentified sub-level, Triumvirate Headquarters, Africa

The room was shrouded in darkness but Mr. Parker and Mr. Raines knew what it was without being able to see much of the room.  Only the tee shaped table was lit.  They had been called before a T-board.

Mr. Parker growled, "They have a lot of nerve calling me before a T-Board, me of all people.  I've run the Centre for too many years to be treated this way.  Just goes to show you the whole place is going to hell without strong leadership.  Matumbo did this.  He wasn't a strong leader.  Heads are going to roll for this I can tell you."

Mr. Parker rocked to his heels and put his hands into his pockets as if his saying it would guarantee it.

Mr. Raines glared at Mr. Parker.  "It's your sloppy mistakes that have brought us here.  If you didn't keep trusting vital Centre programs to incompetents we wouldn't be here to explain your failures."

Mr. Parker turned to Mr. Raines and vehemently shouted, "My mistakes?  You're the one that insisted your experiments were going to put us decades ahead of everyone else. Instead you fried Angelo's ability to be a Pretender, botched the Gemini project so that we only got one clone and couldn't duplicate him, drove Mirage to disappear totally and tortured Jarod to the point that he would rather die than be returned to the Centre.  This is all your fault!"

The door to their holding cell opened stopping his tirade.  They both turned to see who would be first.  Mr. Parker was gestured out.  As their earlier conversation showed, Mr. Parker blamed all of the Centre's problems on Mr. Raines.

When it was Raines's turn, he blamed everything on Mr. Parker.

When they were done listening to Mr. Raines denying all responsibility the shadowy figures at the T-board called for Mr. Parker to join them at the table.  Mr. Parker sat down with an air of confidence, sure that he would be returned to power at the Centre and Raines would be 're-educated' as it had worked last time.

They both reacted in shock and anger when they were severely chastised by the T-board and sentenced to re-education.  They were told to consider it damage control for the way they had acted and the financial losses that had resulted.  They were fortunate that the events of the past were hidden from the authorities or they would have been terminated with prejudice.

Both were lead off into the darkness still denying their responsibility for the Centre's failures.

Florida Keys

"What is it you need to hear Jarod?" Sydney repeated when Jarod didn't answer.

Miss Parker herded everyone out of the room to give Sydney privacy with Jarod.  The sweepers took positions outside the building.  Miss Parker took Jamie to their umbrella on the beach where she hugged him and wept softly.

"There is nothing you can say Sydney.  I trusted you. I trusted both of you.  You lied to me and tricked me into staying at the Centre.  You knew I would never have agreed to that."

"What would you have done Jarod?  Simulate that.  You were injured, your memory gone.  We could have institutionalized you and kept you hidden but for how long?  The best medical care was at the Centre.  Your best hope of recovery was there.  When Angelo told us that your memory was gone we wanted to keep you safe from Raines.  He almost won that argument until Miss Parker agreed to play along with the fabricated story.  I chose the simulations until they over-ruled us and insisted you work on Gemini again.  We were going to destroy it and escape with you when we found out from Angelo that he had kept you locked inside your mind.  We were trying to make it right."

Jarod stood and looked out the window.  He saw his reflection in the glass but rather than the tired smudged face he wore now, he saw that of the four year old boy who had been stolen from his bed in the middle of the night.  He remembered his first day at the Centre.  He had been locked in a room of two-way mirrors.  He knew from the DSA's that they had been recording him.   His lips shaped the words he had said all those years ago.  "I'm finished now."

He closed his eyes and a song came to mind.  The words flowed from a distant part of his mind:

I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moment's gone

All my dreams, pass before my eyes a curiosity

Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind

Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea

All we do crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind

Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky

It slips away, all your money won't another minute buy

Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind.

The Centre tainted everything in his life.  Would he be who he was without them?  Would he be able to use his intelligence as well?  Would he be as motivated to help people as he was because of their misuse of him and his simulations?

Sydney knew by the stance Jarod took and the faraway look in his reflection that he was simming it.  It was their only hope for his forgiveness.  It was over half an hour before Jarod spoke again in a quiet voice.

"I wouldn't have done anything different." 

His shoulders sagged and he began to sob.  Sydney quickly got up and took him in a firm embrace.  They stood there until Jarod stopped.

Before Jarod could end the embrace, Sydney grasped him by the shoulders and said, "I have wanted to do that since you came to the Centre Jarod.  I'm sorry it took me so long.  I was afraid they would take you away from me if they knew I loved you.  I love you as a son Jarod.  Your time on the outside has made me very proud.  I didn't want you back inside the Centre either."

Jarod's eyes filled up again.  He had waited all of his life to hear those words from this man.  But those words brought a haunted look to his eyes and he whispered, "I can't go back there Sydney.  I'm not ready to re-live that nightmare.  They took thirty years of my life.  I still don't know who I am.  I want to find my family."

"We have time Jarod.  If the Triumvirate keeps up it's part of the bargain, Miss Parker and I will be busy refocusing the efforts to the good of mankind.  Please don't give up on us."

Jarod nodded and wiped his eyes.  "I need to talk to her."

Jarod and Sydney walked outside and spotted Miss Parker and Jamie on the beach.  Lyle watched as they headed her way.  He whispered a prayer that Jarod wasn't as stubborn as he thought.  He hoped the Pretender could forgive his sister for her part in this.  Her intentions had been good.

Sydney picked up Jamie and offered to make him a sandwich.  He carried Jamie back to the house leaving a nervous Jarod watching the waves roll into the shore.  Miss Parker took a deep breath and patted the sand next to her.  Jarod accepted the offer and sat down stiffly not knowing where to start.  She let the silence give Jarod the time he needed.

Finally he took a deep breath and started.  "I'm sorry.  When I simmed it I couldn't come up with anything better than what you and Sydney did."

She nodded and her tears started again.  She quietly thanked the voices that he was willing to forgive her.

"I can't go back to the Centre right now."

"I understand." She said not understanding at all. 

He continued.  "You can't understand it, I don't myself.  I love you.  I have always loved you.  But I can't go back there yet.  There is so much out here that I haven't seen yet.  I missed knowing and experiencing so much while I was a prisoner in there."

She nodded this time truly understanding what he needed.  She had been as much a prisoner as he but she had gotten to see and experience the outside world.  He had seen it for the first time only five years ago.

"I still have to find my family.  I'm not ready to give that up and spend the rest of my life in that hell, no matter who's running it."  He added when she opened her mouth to protest.  "I want my life back and it's not at the Centre, at least not now.  I think it could be with you but I want to make sure before I decide."

She put her hand on his hand resting in the sand between them.  "Jarod I understand.  We have put you through hell all of your life.  I love you.  I would do anything to see you happy.  If you decide that you want me in your life, I will leave the Centre and never look back.  You mean more to me than it could ever mean."

He took her into his arms and kissed her.  They stayed in their embrace and watched the sun go down.

The next day the group loaded into vehicles and prepared to leave the quiet base.  Jarod was taking Lyle's car and the others were returning to the Centre.  Jarod shook hands with them and parted from Sydney with an embrace and a promise to stay in touch.  He held Miss Parker and kissed her firmly.  She whispered, "Find yourself Jarod.  Please remember that I love you.  It took me so long to find you, I'll miss you every minute of every day, no pressure."  She laughed with tears in her eyes.  She climbed into the limousine and took Jamie from Broots.

Jarod drove off first and they parted ways when they hit the main road.  He didn't know where he was going but right now it had to be in the opposite direction as the other cars.

In the limo Sydney asked, "why didn't you tell him?"

"Tell him what?" Miss Parker sidetracked.

"That Jamie is his."

"Who said that he is?"

"You did.  By your treatment of him."

Rather than deny it she said, "I will, just not yet.  I don't want any pressure on Jarod to come back or take Jamie with him.  He needs to find out who he is before he can come back."

"He has a right to know."

"I'll tell him, when he's ready to hear it."

"That will only make him angry that you kept another secret from him."

"I plan on giving Jamie all the love and family that Jarod didn't get.  A home is something that Jarod can't offer right now.  I'll tell Jamie who his father is.  It will only be a secret if he refuses to see it"

Jarod left Florida and ended up back in Washington State.  He visited with the couple that had saved him in Denver until he saw a news article about Race Horses dying at a local racetrack.  It didn't take him long to uncover the insurance scam and put a stop to it.  After that he drifted around helping people where he could but his thoughts kept returning to Miss Parker and Sydney.

He kept tabs on the Centre through his own checks of the Centre mainframes and communications with Angelo.  He wanted to see if the Triumvirate meant what they had promised and if Miss Parker, Sydney and Lyle really meant what they said.  His secret checks indicated that they had cancelled a lot of the projects that had been in work.  He saw some of the new projects and results they were achieving.  Even with deep investigation they appeared to be sincere.  He started to send emails to let them know he was doing okay.  Sometimes he asked Sydney his thoughts on a Pretend he was working.

The week before Christmas he sent Sydney an email.  Sydney promptly invited him to visit with him during the holidays.  Miss Parker and Jamie joined them at Sydney's place.  It was the best Christmas that Jarod had ever had.

Without much fuss, Sydney began to ask for Jarod's help on several Centre projects that couldn't be used for evil purposes.  Acting as a Consultant with no strings, Jarod helped them several times with projects that helped several countries and made some major contributions for good.  Later that year he made a surprise visit to Sydney on the older man's birthday.  In an obvious place he saw a recent picture of a smiling and beautiful Miss Parker with Jamie.  Jamie reminded him of someone he had seen in his DSA's, himself right after being stolen by the Centre. 

He made a surprise visit to Miss Parker's house to see Jamie.  When Miss Parker let him in the door Jamie came running from the other room and grabbed him around the legs and shouted a very happy "Daddy!" 

True to her promise to Sydney, she had told Jamie who his father was.  She kept pictures of Jarod around and they watched DSA's of his most recent stay at the Centre like home movies.  She made sure that Jamie would know and recognize his father.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Sydney wanted me to but you didn't need that on your mind.  You needed the time to think so I watched him for you.  I told him his Daddy was on a trip and was trying to hurry home to the little boy he loved very much."

Her eyes pleaded for him to understand.  He picked up Jamie and saw that she had done exactly what she had said.  If he had known about Jamie, he would have come back under pressure or taken Jamie with him on the road.  Neither of those were the best for Jamie.  Jarod took the two of them into a hug with "I love you" to both of them.

He stayed the weekend to get to know his son.  The weekend turned into the month, which turned into several months.

One evening, Sydney came over for dinner and after they talked it out, they agreed to create an off site Facility for Jarod to use on whatever he wanted.  This would allow him to stay close and still pick his own projects.  Miss Parker was sporting the new engagement ring Jarod had given her at breakfast that morning.  Jarod had not found his family but he had made himself a new one.  He planned to keep looking for his family but for now, he had a new family that he loved very much.