Disclaimer: See Chapter I for details
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Chapter VI
By Callisto
The feel of the wind on her face was liberating. She was still having difficulties grasping the enormity of change she was inflicting on her life. She leaned further into the seat cushion of the convertible Mustang. Jarod sympathized with her love of convertible cars and rented the Mustang with her in mind. Unconsciously smiling, she turned to look at the man in her life. She was determined to hang on to him as long as possible; with him there was no need for secrets or the apprehension that a part of her dark past would come slithering out of the shadowed recesses to haunt her and scare him. He was fully aware of the worst and loved her regardless. Her smile turned into a happy grin as the wind whipped at her hair threatening to tear it loose from the combs she used to hold it in place.
Jarod felt her scrutiny but continued driving. They were on a tight timetable and pulling over now to satisfy his ever-present lust wasn't an option. He hadn't gone into any details about what he had discovered when he was surfing through the Centre's mainframe. The appearance of Mountesi at the Centre was troubling; there could be only one reason and Jarod was determined to keep her to himself. He had plans for her and a lifetime to see them through. A peal of childish laughter broke in on his thoughts as Ian reached forward trying to grasp a lock of Parker's hair which had broken loose from a comb. A question he meant to ask her last night popped into his mind again.
"He's calling you mommy now, are you going to tell him about his parentage?"
"I have my own ideas about his parentage that have nothing to do with either Daddy's lies or Brigitte's misconceptions," she replied relieved that he had opened the door to this discussion.
"Well, I suppose he can't be Mr. Parker's son, I was thinking from some of the comments Sydney made that perhaps Lyle was his father," he said hesitantly. Glancing at her he caught his breath, she was looking gorgeous as she fought to pull her hair into a loose ponytail.
"He's not Lyle's son either, at least I'm fairly sure he isn't." She paused and finished wrapping her hair up in a ponytail. Looking at him she decided that now would be as good a time as any to spring her theory of who Ian's parents were. "There is only the smallest chance that Brigitte is his mother but I'm just about positive that neither Daddy, Lyle or even Raines are his father."
"Really? Then who do you think is the most viable candidate for Ian's father?" She had finally piqued his curiosity.
"Maybe you should pull over for a minute. You're not going to be too ready to hear this, but then it's just my hare-brained idea and as we both know I'm no genius."
"I took a look at your NuGenesis red file. As much as you might hate to admit it you are a latent pretender. Your IQ would give most Mensa snobs a nosebleed," he laughed.
"I'm serious, pull over for a minute, this is important." She said this with such quiet resolve that he conceded to her request and smoothly pulled to a stop careful not to jar the toddler in the back seat.
"I think we should talk about this, I should have mentioned it earlier but I didn't know how to bring the subject up." Pausing she looked at him from behind her black Ray-Ban's. "I'm no geneticist but I do know that every child inherits one parent's or a combination of both parent's eye color. Since both Daddy and Lyle have blue eyes then there isn't any chance either could be Ian's father. In Ian's case it would require that at least one parent have brown eyes, Brigitte had blue eyes also. Ian's eyes are a beautiful shade of brown that are very similar to someone I know." She continued to look at him and watched as he became very still. In a neck-breaking move he turned to look at the child with fresh interest.
Jarod slowly reached up and removed his sunglasses. He got out of the car and walked over to the rear passenger side and unbuckled Ian from the child safety seat. He gently removed the tiny sunglasses Parker insisted on buying him and lifted the child to eye level. Ian's curious dark hazel eyes stared back into Jarod's darker brown orbs. Wanting to confirm another notion that occurred to him, Jarod held Ian against his chest and walked a couple feet into the bright afternoon sun. He positioned Ian so that the light was beaming directly into his eyes. The child blinked and tried to cover his eyes from the disturbing brightness. Jarod caught the child's arm and then lifted him again to face him. Ian's eyes had lightened from hazel to a smoky gray.
"What's wrong, Jarod?" Ian asked insouciantly.
"Nothing, nothing's wrong but I think I'm your father, at least that's what your mother just told me," he answered smiling into the child's face. Now he realized that the child looked a great deal like Parker with a few features that could have been inherited from him. Walking back to the car in a daze, he distractedly replaced Ian and refastened his seatbelt.
"Momma, Jarod says he's my father!" Ian announced loudly.
"I know, sweetheart. I believe he is, would you like a sip of water? It's kind of warm out here." She handed him a small plastic sipper cup that clinked from the ice cubes inside.
Without a word, Jarod returned to his seat and resumed driving. His mind was reeling at this latest discovery. "How long have you known?"
"I've suspected since he was about six months old. His eyes were a grayish green when he was born and changed to hazel around then. I put two and two together; I still haven't had the courage to perform a genetic test on our blood because every time I do, I usually get a nasty shock, first Lyle then Daddy. However, my pesky, interfering inner sense keeps telling me to trust myself, so I'm fairly sure what I believe is the truth.
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
Monday late-afternoon
Lyle quickly strode into the Centre, his secretary tried to flag him down when she caught a glimpse of him from across the cavernous lobby but he ignored her frantic waving. Instead of going into his own office to brood on his latest discovery from the Centre's satellite facility outside Dover, he veered off and headed in the direction of Raines' office. Two burly guards who practically had the words 'Property of the Triumvirate' stamped on their foreheads stopped him. He reconsidered entering and had backed away a few steps when a Triumvirate lackey unexpectedly opened the office doors. The African stared arrogantly at him for a few seconds before ducking back into the office and announced Lyle's presence. Lyle couldn't hear the response but knew a strategic retreat wouldn't be wise. The lackey opened the door wider and nodded at Lyle to enter.
Lyle was taken aback at the sight of Mountesi lounging unhappily in the chairman's seat. Raines was practically standing at attention next to the desk. With a heavy measure of reluctance Lyle entered the office, he nodded at Mountesi and offered the usual greetings. As soon as Mountesi acknowledged his civilities, Lyle turned to Raines.
"I've just returned from the Dover Satellite facility, the boy has been removed. It seems Miss Parker has taken him on an extended excursion," Lyle began as his annoyance returned.
"When did this happen? How did she break into the facility?" Raines asked taking a deep breath from his oxygen supply. The sick feeling that had started earlier was beginning to expand.
"I spoke with the guards, they say she left with Master Parker Thursday night. Apparently she lulled security into the habit of seeing her remove the boy only to have her return with him in a few hours. When I got there, they were still under the illusion that Parker would return with the boy," he said looking from Raines to Mountesi.
"How long has Miss Parker been removing the child from his quarters?" Mountesi asked in a mellow tone of voice. He sounded almost amused by the latest development.
"She started soon after she was named Acting-Chairman. First taking short jaunts outside, then she steadily lengthened the time frame. It wasn't unusual for her to take him home with her for an overnight stay."
"Why is this just coming to your attention now, Mr. Raines?" Mountesi asked with a sinister calm. His eyes shifted from Lyle to Raines.
"There is obviously a conspiracy at the satellite facility. I gave them explicit instructions that the child was not to be removed under any circumstances," Raines replied breathlessly.
"And obviously you did nothing to increase your scrutiny of either Miss Parker or the boy. Interesting. Mr. Lyle, since everyone else was lulled into a false sense of security concerning Miss Parker's loyalty, what made you suspicious enough to check on the child?" Mountesi questioned with a slight lift of his eyebrows.
"I decided that a fresh approach in the pursuit of Jarod was needed. I used one of the pretenders to draw up an evaluation of his past actions in an effort to predict what he would do next and why he hasn't been in contact with us." Lyle stopped inexplicably.
Mountesi looked at Lyle pensively and said, "What does that have to do with Miss Parker?"
"The pretender handed in this report earlier today. She concluded that Jarod would use the child as the first building block in creating a family for Parker," Lyle replied and slipped the bound pages onto the desktop.
Mountesi picked up the report and began to read while Raines continued the questioning. "Why would Jarod be interested in building a family for your sister? She already has a family."
"Yes, one which is a source of so much pride and has provided her with equal amounts of warmth," Mountesi intoned sarcastically.
"According to the pretender, Jarod has used the pursuit team as a sort of goal. He wants to give them a sense of family so they will feel guilty enough to leave him alone to find his own family."
"Have you read this report, Mr. Lyle?" Mountesi asked offhandedly as he turned to the last page and continued reading.
"No sir, I haven't had the chance. I had the pretender sum up the findings for me. As you can see, it's not very long."
"Then I suggest you take a few minutes and read it through. Perhaps you will learn something," he said as he held the report in his hands not bothering to return it to Lyle.
"It would seem Miss Parker has done something I have often warned her not to do. I am disappointed. Mr. Lyle, I want a full-scale search launched for the recovery of Miss Parker. I insist on none of the bumbling around that was done with Jarod; since your sister is not a pretender, the ends should be considerably easier to achieve." Mountesi then handed the report to Lyle with a look that chilled the sociopath's heart.
After Lyle's hurried departure, Mountesi stared distractedly into the middle distance. He seemed a million miles away as he contemplated his thoughts. Raines was curious about the report and hazard to question Mountesi about it.
"May I ask, sir, what did the report say that has caused you to be so thoughtful?"
Mountesi heaved a large sigh and nodding regally for Raines to take the seat opposite the desk he answered, "The report states Jarod is probably emotionally attached to Miss Parker. The pretender sent Lyle on a wild goose chase to look for the boy you created. If Mr. Lyle had bothered to read it, he would have known that looking for either his sister or the boy would prove to be a waste of time. The evaluation stipulates Jarod's deep-seated attraction to Miss Parker and goes on to say that should she reciprocate, he would do everything in his power to keep her with him. We are both aware of how emotionally needy Miss Parker is."
"It was a sound decision to cause Miss Parker's emotional void, without it we wouldn't have gotten this far. The second she found an emotional outlet with that carpenter, her focus immediately began to waver and her interest waned dangerously," Raines replied taking a deep breath and glaring accusingly at Mountesi.
"The man's death was necessary, I agree. However, Miss Parker's induction into the Triumvirate will never happen now. It would have been a lucrative feather in both our caps had a red file joined the Triumvirate. The expansion of our fledgling subsidiaries depended upon it. Tell me, is she still completely unaware of her abilities?"
"No, the inner sense she shares with her mother and Mirage is becoming more pronounced. I am sure within the next year her abilities will be difficult for anyone to ignore. We never should have waited, the induction process should have been activated once her father was out of the way," Raines said disgustedly. "Mr. Parker, surprisingly enough, was attached to her and subtly blocked the induction."
"I thought he wanted this to happen. After all he did start the process after she was assigned to Centre security. Her corruption was being carefully encouraged and monitored. With his escape, Jarod's timing couldn't have been worse. If I were a suspicious man I would say that he knew about our plans for her. What we have now is another red file on the run with the results shockingly similar to her mother—persistent resistance."
"A pretender in the Triumvirate would have been my crowning achievement," Raines said regretfully. "Now the assassination of Executive member, Olambuto will have to be put off. Using the designer drug to override Miss Parker's moral objections to cold-blooded murder would have finalized her corruption and cleared the way for her induction. She would have assassinated him without batting an eye. Now there seems little reason to be rid of him," he said with a sad sigh of regret. "I would have been most interested in seeing what affects the drug would have on her inner sense abilities."
"Yes, unfortunately I again am forced to agree." An unpleasant look settled on Mountesi's face as he considered the other limited avenues available to him to advance further in the Triumvirate hierarchy.
Monday early evening
After a few hours on the road, Jarod pulled into a small diner on the outskirts of a smallish town. When they were finished with their meal, both adults sat back and relaxed while Ian played quietly with some toys brought in to amuse him.
"Are you going to tell me why you were in such a big rush to leave that nice, cozy house in the woods?" she asked determined to get a straight answer out of him.
"I found a record in the Centre's flight manifest log that alarmed me; Mountesi decided to make a personal appearance today. I knew once your absence was noticed by him and they were unable to locate you quickly that a full-scale search would be instituted."
"Oh God, I got out just in time. The Triumvirate has never been known for their patience, they're worse than I am. I just never figured he would put in a personal appearance; it could only mean that I passed their tests," she said quietly as she rubbed at her eyes.
"Do you know exactly what it was they wanted from you?" he asked wondering if she had figured it out.
"Yes, they wanted to set a precedent by having a red file become a member of the Triumvirate. As a perk, I was also going to be a temporary plaything to amuse Mountesi," the idea of what her life would have been like made her shudder especially after hearing that demonic and thoroughly corrupt laugh.
"I surmised they wanted you in the Triumvirate once I listened to your taped conversation with Mountesi. What I'm wondering is how they thought they were going to convince you to go along with the program?" he asked curious about the Triumvirate's methods.
"I'm surprised you hadn't figured that one out yet, but then again it takes some considerable warping of the imagination to know how they think," she paused taking a deep drink of lemonade. "I figured it out in bits and pieces, when Mountesi made that last phone call slipping in the reference to my completing a simulation everything slid into place."
Jarod remained silent waiting for her to continue. The explanation, he knew, wasn't going to be simple. His limited experience with the Triumvirate had taught him that long ago.
"The first clue was Mountesi's insistence that I have a sim created using their suggestions and list of clients. I knew anything they would suggest would turn my stomach but they had given me a $500 million goal to reach, so eventually I couldn't remain too fussy. I chose the one project they knew I would be attracted to; a sim that would have primarily altruistic goals but would still command a handsome payment. The next and most significant clue came from the evaluating pretender. For the Triumvirate's drug sim, she pointed out that the process used to synthesize a plant into a drug the client needed could, with only a few alterations, produce a narcotic that would make the user susceptible to any suggestion—regardless of subconscious moral objections.
"I knew both the Centre and the Triumvirate did most things for a reason or to simply send a message. Well, I got the message. I'm certain they have a drug in their arsenal that has the same or similar effects. I was slated to experience it first hand, that's why I had practically stopped eating. I was never sure if they would start me out slowly on the regimen by introducing the drug to my food or drink. I thank you again for bringing the groceries; having to go to the store every night for something different to eat was getting entirely old," she said with a hearty grin of remembrance.
"The drug would have rendered you susceptible to suggestion and with a little prodding you would have been at their mercy. And your father approved of this plan, he recommended you so he could garner more power and influence with the Triumvirate once you were made a partner," he was amazed at the depths the man Miss Parker revered as her father, would sink. "I wonder why they gave you any clues at all."
"My father would have insured my passive, if not tacit agreement to the Triumvirate's plans. After all no one can be truly corrupted without some complicity. I like to believe Daddy had a last minute attack of conscience and removed himself from the plot. Raines and the Triumvirate felt this latest simulation complete with clues was a good back-up plan." Her grief over her supposed 'father' still provided her with a sharp stab of mourning. "I was supposed to become enamored with my newly expanded power and my own ability to successfully wield it. So much so that I would be eager to embrace the Triumvirate's offer and let the depravity fill the void left by the deaths of everyone close to me." She fell silent for a few moments.
Looking up into Jarod's concerned face she said, "I had my own exit plan in place, you know. I wasn't depending on you to pull me out of the fire. It seems that Sydney was also concerned for my welfare and had the pretender who was helping me, come up with yet another exit plan. By the way, what happened to that sim and the recording of my conversation with Mountesi? You just about admitted to taking them, why did you do it?" she asked with a mixture of forcefulness and gentleness.
Holding his hands up in mock surrender he laughingly replied, "Guilty as charged. I was worried about you and I knew you wouldn't give me a straight answer. You like to tough it out alone too much."
"Thank you, there aren't too many people alive or dead who have given a damn about my welfare. Which reminds me, I want to say good-bye to Sydney, I never got the chance." She extracted the cell phone Jarod had given her and started to dial Sydney's home phone.
"Hello, Sydney it's me," Parker said into the phone after Sydney curtly answered.
"Parker!! Is everything alright with you? Where are you? Did you know that the Triumvirate has issued a shoot to kill order on you?" he asked in a rush, each question running into the next.
"I'm not surprised, I've left and from what I can tell, not a moment too soon. How are Raines and Mountesi getting along?" she asked cynically.
"Very well, actually. Everyone has been in such a furor looking for you that no one has bothered giving Broots much thought. He has gone missing too, I've left numerous messages on his machine but so far there has been no response and no one is answering the door at his house," Sydney said sounding worried.
"Calm down, Freud. I sent Broots and Debbie away for their own good. The last thing I need to see is a milk carton with little Debbie's picture on the back. How about you, are they leaving you alone?"
"I'm doing fine, hearing your voice is making things better. Am I correct in supposing you found that little item we talked about a few days ago useful?" he asked.
"Actually no, I used another method but I strongly suggest you use that item for yourself. It sounds like a very good plan," she said allowing the concern in her voice show.
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. I do have one request to make of you: Would you give me your word to keep in touch? Your word, not the usual perfunctory civilities," he asked earnestly.
"You have my word. Besides, I plan on calling from time to time just to check on you. Take care, Sydney," she said and disconnected the call suddenly without giving him a chance to respond in kind. He looked at the handset and smiled affectionately, despite her brittle attitude and stressful, if not often abrasive personality, he couldn't help being extremely fond of her.
"I'm glad you called him. He would have been worried sick about you and start bugging me to look after you the minute I called him," Jarod said with a smile.
She returned his smile and cupping her chin in the heel of her hand she leaned on the table and looked at him as though he were made from the most tantalizing and precious elements known to man.
"Keep looking at me like that and we're going to take a quick detour to that nice motel we passed on the way here," he said turning his smile into an appealingly attractive leer.
Voicing a satisfied sigh, she remarked, "I really hit pay dirt with you, genius. Handsome, heterosexual and indefatigable, what more can a girl ask for?" She grinned and raised her eyebrows suggestively.
"Let's go," he said getting up to pay their bill in a sudden hurry.
She suppressed her laughter at his honest display of eagerness and started to gather their things to leave. Ian was getting fussy, a sure sign he was ready for bed. She had Ian in her arms as she waited for Jarod outside the diner.
"Where are we supposed to be going?" she asked him.
"To meet Ethan, we're staying in a converted warehouse. Don't worry, we've made it very homey, it's only a few blocks from here," he added nonchalantly.
"Oh, why didn't we have dinner with him?" she inquired, slightly perplexed.
"I wanted to have you to myself for another couple of hours. I doubt we'll be alone for the next few days. Ethan is excited that you're coming to stay and I have a feeling he wants to make dinner for us—he means well, but he's a terrible cook."
"He didn't make dinner, he suspected you would delay bringing me home," she laughed in response.
"How do you know?" he asked with confusion.
"I just do. That's been happening to me a lot more lately. When I picked up Ian from the Dover research facility, I knew you were waiting for me. That's why I was almost home when I finally saw your envelope."
"I'm glad I grabbed that backpack you were stuffing with clothing. They probably have every sweeper employed by the Centre canvassing all the children's stores within a 200 mile radius."
When they were all in the car, Jarod quickly turned around the way they came. Sensing her confusion, he remained quiet as the motel came into view. She released a slow, sexy laugh as they pulled into the parking lot.
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
Monday late evening
Willie was resting comfortably in the Centre's infirmary. The entire wing seemed to have fallen asleep; no one was making a sound as silence enveloped the facility. Willie was unaware of the on-going events that were affecting the Centre, he had few visitors and the few sweepers who used to come by suddenly stopped. The search for Miss Parker was massive and every able-bodied sweeper had been assigned to it by order of the Triumvirate.
Willie was just about to succumb to sleep when he noticed a shadow on the wall. Normally there were no shadows on that wall since the spartan room had few furnishings that could cast such a silhouette. The sweeper continued to stare at the shadow, wondering what it could be. When it remained on the wall without moving for several minutes, the painkillers intravenously dripping into his arm began to urge him into slumber once again.
He was just at the point of drifting off, when he cracked his eyes open again to reassure himself the shadow was still there—it wasn't. The heart monitor began beeping slightly faster. His eyes searched the room in vain; he could barely move his body much less his head. Keenly alert, Willie strained his ears to catch the slightest movement. The soft rustle of material was heard no more than a second before Mr. Lyle's handsome face came into view.
Willie relaxed for a second; he knew that Lyle was as much a servant to Mr. Raines as he. It was when Lyle's mask like face became blank and a dark light shimmered in his eyes that the heart monitor registered his fear. Leaning over the stricken sweeper Lyle tilted his head in mild interest.
"Looks like Sis did quite a number on you, the doctor says it will be months before you're back on your feet again. Pulverized larynx was the diagnosis." Lyle paused as his eyes drifted to the hose connected to the tracheotomy tube in Willie's neck. Slowly taking hold of the tube, Lyle continued talking, "You really shouldn't have attacked my sister. I don't care what Raines ordered, I thought I had made that clear to you after you shot her in the back: I am the only one permitted to hurt or kill her. You made me worry about her, feel emotions I'm not supposed to have. Now I'm just going to have to avenge her."
With a vicious yank, Lyle disconnected the oxygen hose and covered the opening in Willie's neck with the palm of his hand. He watched as Willie began to feebly struggle for air; a few minutes later the sweeper was dead. Lyle kept his palm over the opening for a few minutes longer as insurance then reconnected the hose with his gloved hand, straightened the tousled sheets and quietly left the room. The small red light on the surveillance camera winked on.