Ms. Parker popped yet another one of the pills given to her by the Centre doctors. The recommended dosage was three a day and she had already swallowed six. While she was well aware of the dangers of over medicating, she just couldn't seem to care less.

She wanted to stay on her feet and the more pills she took, the more awake she felt. She needed that. She needed that super edge the drugs would give her. She needed her brain to fire a thousand miles a second if she was going to catch Jarod.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, when she thought about Jarod. That was because Parker knew he was the source of all the pain in her life. It was entirely all his fault. He was the bad guy not her, and now he was going to get away. She had to stop him before he disappeared, make him pay for all the late nights and the active ulcer.

Nobody quits a game while a Parker was on the field.

"Parker?"

Ms. Parker's thoughts of revenge were interrupted by the sound of Sydney's distinct Belgium accent. She wasn't surprised as the aging shrink walked through the door of her office and closed it behind him. She was more then a little annoyed to see that stupid 'I feel your pain' smile he always seemed to have when he was concerned about people. She was so glad to see it fade when he saw the open bottle of pills on her desk. "What the hell is it?" her voice had that tense edge to it and she knew that it was wrong to be so upset with him without good reason but she was too wired to care at this point.

"I just came in to see how you were doing, " he settled uneasily into the chair directly across from her, "I heard you had a little scare this morning."

"My ulcer acted up."

He nodded the smile returned briefly, "So Dr. Keith told me." He leaned forward to try and look more sympathetic, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Has Broots finished his analysis of the postcard yet?"

"No." His eyes wandered again to the open pill bottle on the desk, "Parker, this sudden fixation on Jarod…"

"What sudden fixation? I'm being passionate about my job." She suddenly rose and slide the unspoken conversation piece sitting on her desk into a drawer, "We have to catch Jarod before he gets away for good. He's our property and I'm just eager to get him back."

"Oh are you? Or are you worried that the only man you ever truly cared about is leaving for good?"

Parker snorted out a small chuckle. Either she had taken too many pills or Sydney had just said what she thought he said. "I do not care for Jarod. I hate Jarod. Jarod is the reason I'm trapped in this place."

"No he isn't."

She blinked in shock. "What?"

"In the beginning Parker you had a choice. Let your father turn you into a glorified sweeper or you could have rebelled and simply went away, run off to join the circus so to speak."

The venomous look that crossed Parker's face could have bent steel. Sydney suddenly found himself wondering if this was an especially health conversation. "My father," she began, "Had an immense amount control over me. If I had disobeyed him like that I would have been left with nothing. Not a single dime…"

"Was the money your motivation? You aren't greedy Parker, you were pampered growing up but I know you were never spoiled, you knew the true value of a dollar and wouldn't have been too concerned if Mr. Parker had cut you off." Sydney's voice began to raise in volume and Parker was suddenly treated to a rare view of the Dr. Green's anger. He was frustrated with her stubbornness and scared at her behavior. "You had a choice Parker and you chose to remain not because your father made you but because you wanted to stay close to the Centre. Close to Jarod."

"I have never in my life…"

"Don't you dare say that." He pointed his finger in her face and waved it angrily, "I still remember the little girl who would tug on my pant leg in the hopes that I would release Jarod from his exercises so he could play with her. I remember the teenage girl who wore make-up and low cut shirts on her every visit to my Sim Lab. I even remember the cold, driven head of Centre security who made unnecessary patrols through the Pretender holding cells for no good reason. This isn't about your job its about Jarod. Its always been about Jarod so don't you dare try to-"

Sydney would have continued his speech but Parker's hand slapping into his cheek stopped him cold, He had never realized how hard she could strike a man.

When he heard her voice it wasn't even a shadow of the happy little girl he had mentioned a moment ago. "First of all, you are not my shrink so stop handing out free advice like your some kind of fifty dollar Yoda. Secondly, I was lonely as a child, I was having sex with one of the sweepers when I was a teenager, and I was doing my goddamned job back then just like I am now." She nearly hit him again but instead started moving towards the door, "I hate Jarod. This is all a game to me, a game I'm going to win. Now if you'll excuse me…" her sentence trailed off into oblivion as she walk out the door.

But his voice still trailed after her, still questioning her world.

"That sweeper you dated, was he a tall brunette?"

************************************

As the Centre's jet took off Parker sat back in her chair and popped another pill. Broots had finally earned his money and by morning she was going to be in the small college town of Oberlin, Ohio. Soon she would have Jarod in her sights and this whole nightmare would be over.

She forgot all about Sydney's analysis and concentrated on how much fun it was going to be capturing Jarod. Parker could see it now. She'd knock him unconscious, then handcuff his arms behind his back, and then she'd whip him for giving her an ulcer.

With a belt.

He'd beg for mercy and plead for her to stop but she'd just keep making fresh welts on his back and watch his skin open like a spring rose. She'd make him do things like kiss her feet and talk about how much smarter she was then him.

As Parker's revenge fantasy turned sordid, she felt a familiar warmth go through her.

Realizing it wasn't going away, she got up and went into the jet's bathroom to relieve the tension. Because that's all it was.

Tension.

************************************

"Hello class," the new English professor at Oberlin College said, "My name is Dr. Jarod Russell and welcome to English 132."

TBC