Author's note: Still hanging in there, I hope. Not long to go now. Thank you again for the reviews. I hope you like this chapter, I did, I've read this chapter so much I can almost read it from memory. The weird thing is I had trouble writing the next chapter after it because I kept reading this one over and over and I still don't know why, weird hey.

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Start of Part five

6:30pm

Monday Evening.

"What happened to you?" Parker asked moving closer to Jarod. Jarod didn't move an inch but he kept his eyes on her.

"Just ran into some trouble, that's all." Jarod replied causally. Sam moved around behind Jarod just in case the man decided to run. Parker sat down at the table on the other side of him. Parker slowly looked Jarod over, from the broken wrist to the numerous cuts and bruises up his arms, to his discoloured face. He was a clear picture of someone that had been tortured.

"What did they want to know?" Parker asked. Sydney could have sworn he heard concern in her voice.

"What the winning Lotto numbers are going to be." Jarod announced sarcastically. Parker rolled her eyes in frustration, which Jarod noticed. "Do you think I would tell you, the one person that would drag me back to the centre, which would be back to my death!"

Parker herself had wondered just what would happen to Jarod once he was back behind the walls of the centre, and none of them end with happily ever after.

"When and how you arrive back at the centre depends on me." Parker said leaning forward in her chair that was when she noticed the sweat on face. She reached up a hand to feel his temperature yet his hand stopped her. Parker looked into his eyes and saw the pain there. Jarod slowly unwrapped his fingers from around her wrist and let his hand fall back to the table. Parker placed the back of her hand to his forehead then quickly pulled it away as if she had been burnt. Parker understood immediately why Jarod still sat in his chair and not running for the closest exit. He was to fever ridden to get up and keep his balance long enough to escape.

"The truth is a hard thing, yet when you are faced with it you understand it or let it consume you. For you cannot change the truth." Jarod stated starring at her for a minute then let his head fall back to the table on top of his arms.

"Sydney, why is this door open?" Broots called from the front door. The technician soon appeared in the kitchen looking over his shoulder. "Anyone can just walk in the door and - Miss Parker!" He had just seen Parker and almost dropped the grocery he carried. "Wh - What are you doing here?"

"It's good to see you're feeling better." Parker told him looking hard at Sydney. Broots looked at Sam then at Jarod then back to Parker.

"Miss Parker you ca-cannot bring Jarod back to the centre in his state" Broots stuttered with as much courage as he could manage.

"I am glade you think that way Broots." Parker hissed looking down at the technician Broots stood his ground.

"Now, now children don't fight." Jarod said lifting his head up. Parker gave him a look that could have melted ice. "Oh, what a look, you know if you keep doing that, your face will stick that way!" Everyone in the room was now starring at him. No one in his or her right mind would say something like that to Parker and live. Parker however walked over to Jarod and gently grabbed his upper arm.

"Sydney give me a hand, I think wonder boy needs some sleep." Sydney grabbed him by the other arm and together they helped Jarod to the main bedroom. Jarod was gasping for breath and sweating heavily from the fever. As they reached the bed Parker accidentally bumped Jarod's left side, were he had been burned. He grunted as fire shot through his side and he lost his grasp on his consciousness. Most of Jarod's weight fell onto Parker's side. Sydney quickly took the younger man's weight back and layed him down on the bed. Parker looked down at Jarod concerned.

"What happened?"

Sydney pulled back the pretender's shirt on the left side to reveal the long burn mark across his ribs and stomach. Parker gasped at the sight she had no idea at the damage done to him.

"Who did this to him?"

"We don't know, Jarod has told us nothing." Sydney said sadly.

"What did they want to know?" Parker looked up from the still figure on the bed to look at Sydney.

"If I told you, not only Jarod's life would be in danger. Right now we should concentrate on getting his fever down." Sydney told her, she nodded her head understanding. She now had a decision in front of her that could cost many people their lives, including hers. Jarod mumbled in his sleep and tossed his head she could even see his right hand flexing and unflexing as if he fought invisible demons.

"Kahlia, please don't take her, please." Jarod mumbled as he fought his way towards the light.

Parker cocked her head to the side slightly storing that piece of information away in her mind.

"No please, no leave her, she is only seven years old, please." Jarod begged to his invisible assailants in his sleep. Tears came to Sydney's eyes as he heard his former student's raw pleads.

"Come Miss Parker, Broots can watch Jarod." Sydney told her, she could see the tears in the older man's eyes.

Parker and Sydney sat down at the kitchen table, Sam stood outside Jarod's door, which was open, and Broots sat on a stool next to the bed. George had gone into work that day and was due back later in the night.

Parker looked at Sydney, "I've heard the Refuge Inn is very good at this time of year." Sydney smiled.

"Thank you, Miss Parker." Sydney said looking at the still form in the other room. "I will not forget what you have done."

"Just remember, this is your mess you clean it up." Parker raised out of her chair and called Sam over. "We are leaving and we will never speak of this to anyone. Do I make myself clear." He nodded his head and together they left the unit. Sydney picked up his chair and carried it to Jarod's room.

* * *

Green eyes had observed the whole scene from across the street. He looked down at the rifle in his hands. He slowly started to take apart the weapon fortunate that he didn't have to use it, however the word 'yet' jumped into his mind. So far everyone had played his or her roles. He sighted as he put the last piece away he had enough blood on his hands and didn't want more dead because they didn't play by the rules. He had been given strict instructions on what to do. He looked at his watch and saw it was time to move. He had more to do before this night was out, he only wished he had more time to prepare for the end.

1:00am

Tuesday morning

Jarod's fever had broken over two hours ago and he now was sleeping peacefully, to exhausted to have nightmares. Sydney watched over him as Broots and George slept. Sydney took Jarod's right hand and held it thinking back on all the times while Jarod was growing up that he wished he could have given him this small favour. Sydney wished he could go back in time and help Catherine brake Jarod out, yet he knew that he had to live in the present and not the past. He still asked himself, what if he had helped Catherine, what if he had shown compassion to Jarod or what if he had left the centre when Jarod escaped. When he felt the fingers move under his hand he looked down at Jarod, he was awake. Sydney let go of his hand.

"You are not responsible for this Sydney." Jarod softly said. "I got myself into this."

"I should have done something when they brought you in. I should have left when you escaped the centre." Sydney said slowly looking down at his hands.

"We don't know what will happen in the future we can only do what we believe is right at the time. If I didn't have you as a teacher I could have had Rains. If you had left when I escaped Rains would be after me and I would be in more trouble than I am now." Jarod told him hoarsely. "Do what you can now and not back then. Now I need to go to the toilet, can you help me up?"

Sydney helped him up and Jarod limped into the bathroom he reappeared a few minutes later and sat on the edge of the bed. He picked up the phone receiver and dialled a number from memory.

"Max, how is she?" Jarod listened to the person on the other end of the line. "Good I will see you on Thursday I'll ring again to tell you were. Bye Max." Jarod hung up the phone.

"How is she doing?" Sydney asked, Jarod looked up at him.

"She is scared that she will never see her mum and dad again." Jarod frowned. "Was Miss Parker here? My mind is a little fuzzy."

"She was, she left when she saw the state you were in." Jarod looked the older man in the eyes. "You have earned a few days off Jarod, use them well." Sydney sat back in his chair. "Now sleep you need your strength." Jarod did what he was told and was soon fast asleep.

Sydney watched his former student sleeping, he watched him late into the morning. Broots walked into the room at around 7:00am so Sydney could get ready for work. At a quarter to eight Sydney looked in on Jarod one more time, he was still asleep, then he quietly slipped out the front door.

* * *

Green eyes tracked him as he left the unit and walked to his car. He watched as he got into the car and headed in the direction of the centre. He knew all about the centre and what they did there. He also knew the building inside and out for it was part of his game plan along with some workers inside the large building. He opened a small laptop and watched Sydney's car drive down road after road, of course he wasn't watching an actual car, he was in fact watching a coloured light which represented his car. He had bugged and tagged the car at the very start of this operation. In fact he had all the cars, homes and offices of the game players bugged and tagged. He could not let any of them slip through his web. Each action he took needed to be exactly on the dot he could not be a degree out.

He looked across the road and saw that Broots still looked over Jarod and that Dr George Falconer was getting ready for work in the next room. He turned his attention back to his computer screen he pressed a few buttons and Sydney's office came into view, he saw the old man sitting at his desk writing. He then ran through all the hidden cameras throughout the centre and a few other buildings that were bugged. All of the players were playing on the field and by the rules. Getting up from his computer and stretched his back then headed down to his car.

He still had work to do, 'it's hard business planing for the end' he thought.

End of Part five.