Ch. 4 – The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth
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Over the course of the next few minutes Jarod relayed his current situation to the people in the library.
About how he was hunted by a corporation called the Centre for costing them millions.
How a high-ranking member of the Centre named Lyle hired an assassin to kill him in San Diego.
And how that assassin, whom Jarod only knew from a call sign 'Stiletto', had set a bomb to destroy his apartment and instead killed five police officers.
Jarod was still having a hard time understanding, and trusting for that matter, everything in this town. Sure from what he said in less than a day it looked like these kids could be trusted.
He also wanted to know more about the unique situation in this town. All he knew was just everything he had read in the library the day before.
But still he was a bit reserved so he only gave an abbreviated version of his current predicament leaving out any Pretender-related information.
An invisible Darien was on the higher level with the book stacks. He leaned against the guardrail and was focusing on Jarod.
Ironically most of the Scoobies didn't look too surprised. Giles had taken off his glasses and rubbed his eyes while asking the Pretender, "Well this is certainly a-a interesting story you've told us. There's just one thing: How did you know to come here?"
Jarod held up the large book he found in Stiletto's bag. "I tried to run down the assassin after he attacked me in my apartment. He got away but left his backpack behind. Inside was this." He dropped the massive book on the table.
The loud noise the book snapped Darien out of the zone he was in. He was so surprised he lost his balance and fell forward.
Normally the guardrail would've blocked his fall but with all the damage the library had taken that section was pretty weak. The rail broke and he crashed to the floor ten feet below.
While Darien was invisible and thus couldn't be seen, the noise from the fall caused Jarod and the Scoobies to turn toward his location in surprise. They had all been on edge after Jarod and Buffy were attacked earlier that morning.
Angel instantly got over to where Darien was lying to investigate. Darien, sprawled out on the floor, figured he might be able to make a break for the entrance but first he had to get by Angel.
He quickly threw a right cross at the vampire catching him by surprise. Angel had no idea it was coming and staggered back a few steps while his vampire face appeared. The Invisible Man then tackled the vampire. Angel fell to the floor but managed to grab his attacker's leg.
"Something's in here!" He yelled. A second later Darien kicked him, causing Angel to cry out in pain and let go of him, and the Invisible Man made a mad dash for the door.
Willow being the most perceptive of the Scoobies came to a reasonable guess first. "What the… it's Marcie!"
Oh God…. OhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGodOhGod Cordelia instantly panicked and ran to the other side of the room.
"QUIET!" Buffy yelled while trying to avoid Cordy. Her eyes were closed as the whole room went silent. The Slayer was trying to figure out where Darien was using the same technique she used against Marcie two years ago.
I've been suspended for doing absou-freakin-lutly nothing, we've got a vigilante in Giles' job wanting protection and now an invisible psycho is back in town. Oh yeah this just keeps getting better and better.
Darien had also stopped dead in his tracks as soon as everyone else stopped making noise. He was starting to get freaked out after seeing another vampire and wanted nothing more to get the hell out of there.
"Danger! Danger Will Robinson!" Summed up Darien's thoughts fairly well.
The entrance to the library was less than twenty feet ahead of him. Darien decided to take a chance and make a break for it.
As soon as he took off Buffy heard him. She grabbed a chair from the table and flung it in that direction. It caught Darien in the legs and he fell to the ground again. This time Angel was instantly on him and he struggled to keep Darien in a bear hug. The vampire wasn't too happy about being treated like a punching bag a minute earlier and Darien was struggling to breathe.
Cordelia was feeling a bit more embolden now that she felt out of danger. She came over to the form Angel was trying to subdue and said, "Yeah that's right Marcie you screwed up! And we're not going to let you out of our sight this time…uh…well…you know what I mean!"
Darien was wondering why all these kids weren't surprised about this. Also he was wondering who this Marcie was. The last time he checked he was the *only* person, aside from Arnaud, who could do this.
"Um excuse me…" The quicksilver snow flaked off Darien. Cordelia screamed and jumped back. She wasn't expecting the person that Angel was grappling with to be a man. "…But who the hell is Marcie?"
The rest of the teenagers weren't expecting this twist either. Oz summed it up when he said. "Call it a hunch but I'm guessing that's not Marcie."
Xander shrugged. "Maybe it's Marcie's older brother?"
Jarod walked over after realizing he had in fact seen this guy before. "Wait a minute. I saw in you in San Diego that night!" He grabbed the eavesdropper by the shirt and slammed him again the wall in anger. "You've been following me! And I'll bet you had something to do with this morning! The weapons weren't flying on their own that was you!"
Now Darien had no clue about what happened earlier since he was too busy being the Mayor's "guest". He angrily broke off Jarod's grip and stared him right in the face. "Yeah I've been following you. But this was the first time I've been in here!"
"And you expect us to believe that?" A very angry Pretender asked.
"Hey screw you pal! Whosever after you killed my cousin! And you? Why should I or any of these kids believe you? Whoever you are buddy, cause lemme tell ya you're not Jarod Anderson and I'm willing to bet you're not even Jarod Turner, I'm guessing you've left out something important."
Darien's loud diatribe made its mark and several of the confused teenagers turned around and looked at Jarod. It hadn't been the first time somebody had tried to fool them like this.
"Jarod Turner?" Willow asked.
Jarod was beginning to get nervous. "Hold on I can explain."
But wait there's more! Buffy groaned. "Really? 'Cause I'd like to know the truth, the actual truth, from you guys."
Jarod took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew now he had to reveal the rest of his past or he might lose what trust he might've started to gain. "When I was a boy I was taken from my family by the Centre. I had a unique gift in that I could simulate any kind of situation. Their term for people like me are 'Pretenders'. I can become anyone I want, like a Doctor or a Lawyer, and pull it off flawlessly."
"Or a librarian." Willow added.
"Exactly."
Giles chimed in. "Uh excuse me Jarod but how exactly you go about from one identity to another and not get caught?"
"I usually just hack into computer systems and build myself an alias. It's what I did here."
"You mean you use those infernal machines just like Willow does?" The librarian groaned.
"Uh…I guess so. Anyways over two years ago I escaped from the Centre when I found out they were using my talents to hurt others. Ever since they've been trying to get me back and conversely I've been trying to experience the outside world. During the first attack, the one with the bomb, I had been in San Diego for almost a week as a police officer named Jarod Turner. That's when I met our friend Darien here."
"So what's your real name?"
"Willow I have no idea. I know my first
name is Jarod. That's about it." With the exception of Willow several of the other
teenagers had a look of disbelief. Jarod
could tell they still didn't believe it.
"Hold on. Jarod how many people did you do this to?" The Slayer then demanded.
Jarod got defensive. "I didn't know about it."
Buffy cocked an eyebrow at that statement. Jarod saw it and his shoulders slumped down Come on! What's it going to take with you people?
The Pretender tried again. "For decades the Centre made an ungodly amount of money using my simulations to hurt other people. They claimed they were for rescue operations or for peaceful means. When I found out the truth I left. I've been spending the last two years trying to make up for all the pain I've caused."
"And who's this guy?" Willow pointed at Darien.
"Let's find out." The Pretender looked at him as well. "So I just told my secret now it's your turn Darien. You can start by telling us how you got here and how you did that disappearing act."
"Do I have a choice?"
"No." Angel replied coldly.
"Right. I was convicted thief on his third strike. My brother Kevin gave me a choice: be a guinea pig in his experiment to put a synthetic gland in my head or go to jail for life. When I activate the gland it lets me turn invisible."
"The places I could go into with that. I've always wondered what the girl's shower looks like." Xander mused.
Cordelia shot him a glare. "Keep dreaming Xander."
"It ain't all perfect kid. This thing kicks in whenever I get an adrenaline rush. Among other things…"
Buffy got right in Darien's face right after he finished. "Could we please get back to why you're here? And believe me when I tell you that if you were the one from this morning who got me suspended I'm going to get Very Grouchy."
Darien winced. His ego was hurting after a seventeen-year-old girl that for all intent and purposes he could've stopped with both arms tied behind his back caught him.
"I was there when the bomb went off. Afterwards I noticed Jarod was acting really strange even for a cop. So I figured you might've been hiding something. So I trailed you here. When I saw you were going by a different name, I figured you would lead to whoever that was in San Diego. As for today I wasn't even here. I tracked all of you to the…what was the name of that club you were at last night the Silver?"
"Bronze." Oz said.
"Yeah that's right. So anyways I got jumped right after your little fight in the alley by some guys like him." He waved at Angel in disgust. "When I came to I was in the Mayor's Office. Some guy named Wilkins."
"Good Lord you were in his office? Did you see anything of value in there?" Giles asked.
"Yeah he likes snakes."
"Well that's…interesting." Giles was feeling the need to take charge of the situation with the chaos that had just taken place. In less than two days the library had been wrecked and everything had gone to, well since they were technically in hell already something worse.
*This* is why I don't take time off. He thought to himself.
"Darien I-I think the rest of us need to talk about this in private. Angel most of the weapons in the locker were destroyed this morning. Why don't you take Darien back to your apartment and bring back your weapons cache."
"No way!" Angel and Darien yelled in unison. They both looked like they were ready to go another round not act like friends. What Giles wanted was the probably the last thing they were willing to do.
The librarian took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes trying to fight off exhaustion and a rising feeling of anger toward these two. With a little bit of anger in his voice he then told the two, "Darien I promise nothing will happen to you and you will be let back in here, right Angel?"
The vampire just snarled. "Fine."
Darien groaned as well while looking at Angel. "Great. Lead the way buddy."
Angel turned around and looked at him. "Alright let's get one thing straight. I am *not* your buddy. I'm not your pal, your compadre or any of that. Got it?"
Darien just rolled his eyes. "Sure. He tried to think of a something to call an undead creature of the night
"…Deadboy."
As Angel stormed out of the library he thought he heard Xander muffle a laugh.
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LAX Airport
Miss Parker wasn't too pleased. After getting through every roadblock Lyle had set up she had finally gotten use of one of the Centre's charter jets.
The bad news was that it experienced a mechanical failure in the air and the pilot had been forced to make an emergency landing in L.A. just before they were due to arrive in Sunnydale. She had sent Broots to find out how long it would take the plane to get fixed. But that was over an hour ago and she was going out of her mind waiting.
She had gotten sick and tired of chasing after Jarod and jumping through hoops for the last two years.
God Damn Jarod.
Ironically someone was walking toward her thinking along similar lines. Bobby Hobbes was wondering how in God's name he was supposed to find Darien since he had a two-day head start on him. He might not even be in Sunnydale anymore.
God Damn Fawkes.
Hobbes and Miss Parker didn't even notice the other and they crashed into each other while Claire, who was walking behind Hobbes, jumped out the way at the last second.
Hobbes lowered his sunglasses and took in the tall, attractive brunette in front of him. "Hel-lo."
"In your dreams shorty." She said with her usual demeaning sarcasm as she got back up.
"Shorty!?! Hey look here you…"
Claire grabbed Hobbes by the jacket and started pulling toward one of the gates before he could finish. "C'mon Bobby we have a flight to catch!"
After the two agency members walked away Broots came running over "Miss Parker!"
She got up and dusted herself off. "Finally. Is the plane ready yet?"
"Well no the mechanic says the part he needs won't get here until tomorrow. But I just found out there's a route from L.A. to Sunnydale every week."
"When?"
"7:15 I think."
Miss Parker looked at her watch. It read 7:25. "Dammit! What gate is it?"
Broots pointed to the gate Bobby and Claire had entered a minute before. They both rushed over just in time to have a flight attendant slam the gate door in their face.
"Oh this is just great! When's the next flight?"
"I told you there's only one per week."
"Perfect." Miss Parker pulled out a cigarette. "So how far a drive is Sunnydale?"
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After Darien and Angel left, Xander couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing hysterically.
The others tried to ignore him and focus what had just happened.
"So what do you think of this guy?" Buffy asked the room.
"Who Jarod?" Willow
replied.
"I was talking about Darien."
"He called Angel Deadboy what do you think?" Xander got out in between laughs.
"Buffy I think there's something we've failed to recognize about this whole situation." Her Watcher said.
"And that would be?"
Giles had held up the book Jarod brought with him. "Buffy this book has been missing from the library for some time. Whoever took this…well I think it's safe to say he knows and is not afraid of the fact that you are the Slayer. Add to the fact this person was probably in here yesterday. I believe we've inadvertently become involved in this problem with Jarod and Darien."
Great just another hellish part about being the Chosen One. As if I don't have enough things in this town that want to annoy me now they're coming from the entire state.
"And on that note: Giles what should we do about Darien?"
"Ironically Buffy I must agree Xander." That shocked the entire room. Unfazed the Watcher went on. "If we shut Darien out of this he may just try to follow us as he has been the last two days. And his well…abilities may be useful. Jarod do you have anything to add to this?"
Jarod had made it a point to keep out of this conversation until someone asked for his input. "He was there in San Diego. I-I had gotten close to his cousin in the short time I was there. I broke the news about her death to him at the crime scene. He looked…devastated."
Giles took his glasses and rubbed his nose again. "Jarod, I believe we have no choice but to help stop this person, Stiletto, from trying anything else. But I must warn you…" Shades of the Ripper were starting to appear in Giles demeanor. "…If you or Darien do anything to the people in this room I will make you pay. Do you understand?"
"Completely." Jarod replied.
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Angel and Darien hadn't said a word to each other after leaving the library. Angel just kept walking down the street and Darien was doing his best to keep up.
This guy ain't too social… Darien thought to himself.
Angel kept up the silent act all the way up to his apartment. When he got there he saw the door was already open.
"Someone's in here."
"You sure?" Darien asked.
"Yeah. I'm positive. A lot of things in this town don't like me."
"Gee I wonder why?"
The two cautiously entered Angel's apartment. As they crept toward the bedroom Darien quietly picked up the poker left at the fireplace and gripped it with both hands. "Dark place you got here. Angel you ever heard of color?"
"Whosever in here. You have no idea what you just did." Angel yelled trying to ignore his obnoxious companion.
From a dark corner they heard a man say. "Well I'm not like most people. They don't know you now do they?"
Darien looked ready to attack but Angel stopped him while getting a better look at his intruder. "No way…it couldn't be…"
The man stepped forward. "I'm sorry for the intrusion Angel but I need your help."
"I'll be damned, Sydney?"
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TBC