Ouroboros: End Game written by JayVitolo
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Pretender characters. I wish I
did.
In the tech room, words fly across a darkened screen. Buzzing can be heard as a paper dislodges itself from a printer, falling onto a desk. A darkened figure walks over to the paper and picks it up, reading it over. Broots turns away from his desk printer and walks towards the door of the electronic dominated room. "Miss Parker won't like this."
He stops outside her office doors and begs that she isn't there. His pleading with the Lord is ignored as Parker calls him in. "I know you're out there Broots. I can see you through the glass."
The balding tech sighs as he enters her office carrying a paper. He sets it on her desk as he begins to tell her what it is.
"You wanted me to finish the scrolls. Well, here it is." He slids the paper across the desk as he looks to the floor. "But I don't think you'll like it."
Parker scoops the paper up and starts to read it mumbling to herself. "Child known as Jarod. Yadda Yadda. Blah Blah. Fallen angel's plans." She trails off.
Her eyes grow as she rereads the passage. "And the fallen angel's plans of resurrection will fail." She looks up at Broots with a scared expression on her face. "Broots, what the hell does this mean?"
"I, I don't know. I tried to talk with Sydney, but he's been busy reminiscing with Jarod. I ran a search on it, turned up nothing." Broots has not looked up from the floor since he handed the paper to Parker.
"Look at me damn it." Parker slams he hands onto the table cause the tech to jump backwards. She regrets the words already, wishing she could take them back.
"Miss Parker. If I knew, I would tell you. But I don't." He turns to leave the office as Miss Parker looks at his back.
"Broots, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just." She loses her thought as she turns to the window in her office. 'Why do I always resort to acting cold when I'm scared?' That thought's been stabbing at her for the past six years.
"Frustrating." Broots finishes her train of thought as he lets the doors close behind him.
She goes to follow Broots in an attempt to apologize, but he locks the tech room door behind him. As she stands looking at the door, a scraping noise can be heard in the air vents. She hears the noises and turns to see Angelo looking directly at him. "You don't have to sneak around anymore Angelo." She pulls the grate off as he smiles at her.
Angelo hands her a folder and a DSA, as he looks her in the eyes. "Must read. Must watch." He stands in front of her forcing the document and disc in her direction until she gets the idea.
"I get it Angelo. Thank you." She takes the objects from Angelo and heads back into her office. Once she is there and is sure nobody is watching, she pulls a DSA player out of her desk. The disk is inserted and the machine starts to play. The screen flickers to life, displaying a date of 1- 15-68, with an emotionally disturbed Catherine Parker pacing in an office. Parker leans closer to the screen trying to figure out what is happening, but is shocked to see Sydney walk through the doors in the DSA. He sits in a chair beside a couch as Catherine sits next to him.
"You realize that this is not one of our scheduled sessions, Catherine?" The psychiatrist has a concerned look on his face.
"I am Sydney. But I have to tell somebody this, and you're the only one I can trust." Catherine is playing with a strand of her hair as a tear rolls down her check.
"What is it?"
"I, I've had an affair with a good friend of mine." She looks at the psychiatrist whose mouth is hanging open. "You have to promise me that you won't tell Mr. Parker."
"When was this?"
"December of 1960." Catherine looks at the floor of the office as Sydney walks over to a window.
"That would mean Miss Parker. She's not Mr. Parker's daughter."
Catherine starts to cry as she realizes what could happen. "Please Sydney. Promise me you will never let anyone find out about this. I have to take this secret to the grave with me."
The DSA shuts off as Miss Parker stares at the black screen. A knock is heard at her door, bringing her back to reality. She quickly looks around her office to make sure she is still alone as the case is shut. She wipes tears from her eyes before acknowledging the door.
"Come, come in." Her voice wavers.
Sydney walks through the doors flanked by Jarod. Miss Parker has yet to look up from the top of her desk, but sniffling can be heard. Sydney looks at Miss Parker behind her desk and notices the DSA player in the middle. "Unsettling news?"
She fights the urge of the Ice Queen. "Very." She locks her eyes with Sydney's. "Is there something you want to tell me about my mother and my father?"
"Not that I can think of." The psychiatrist looks at Jarod standing beside him.
"Well then maybe this could jog your memory." Miss Parker spins the case around and flicks the play button.
The exact images that she just saw play for Jarod and Sydney. Halfway through, Sydney is sitting in a chair with his head in his hands and Jarod keeps watching. The DSA finally stops as Sydney raises his head to stare at the wall across from him.
"Now. Is there something you want to tell me about my mother and father?" Miss Parker asks the question again, only this time with more emphasis.
"Nothing you haven't seen already." Sydney manages to answer through a sigh of guilt.
"Who's my father Sydney?"
"I don't know."
"Is it Raines?"
"She never said."
"Is it Mr. Parker?"
"She never told me."
"Who is it?"
"I DON'T Know, Parker. Your mother never told me who she had the affair with." Sydney looks visibly upset at having to say those words. "That was one thing she would never tell me. I tried for two years, she never told me."
"Was it you?" Miss Parker stresses the last word, trying to drive a knife through Sydney's soul. She is now standing and leaning over her desk staring a hole through him.
"What?" Sydney leaps to his feet. "How could you say that? You should know I would never do that to your family."
As this has been going on, Jarod has walked over to the folder sitting on the corner of Parker's desk. He opens it and start to read over the contents, humming as he scans. He reaches the bottom and sighs as he prepares to speak.
"Parker, you may want to read this before you start accusing people." He spins the folder around and thrusts it at her.
She grabs it from his hands and starts to look at it, speaking as she goes. "Adoption papers." She looks back at Jarod.
"Read who the birth parents are."
"Catherine Jameson Parker." She looks up at Sydney with a sad look. "And Ben Miller."
The connection is finally made in Sydney's head as he smiles. Ben always brought a smile to Catherine's face, no wonder she would always go to see him.
"I'm sorry I accused you Syd." She closes the folder and throws it back onto her desk as she walks towards the door. As she reaches the door, tears start to form in the corners of her eyes. Her own mother kept a secret from her; everything in her life was a lie. She makes it to the bathroom before she starts to cry, sliding down the wall. Her whole life just got shattered.
Back at her office, Sydney and Jarod are still looking at the door. Sydney sighs as he realizes what just happened to Parker, she just found out that the one person she always trusted told her the biggest lie of them all. Jarod starts to walk after her but Sydney grabs his arm to stop him.
"Let her be. She needs time now." Sydney looks at Jarod and can tell he is upset.
"But I've been there for her in the past. I have to be there now." Jarod's face surrenders his emotions.
Sydney can't help but feel his pain. "She has to get through this on her own."
Broots bursts through the door with a panic stricken look plastered on his face. "Where's Miss Parker?"
"She just left. Why?" Jarod looks at the tech.
"You and Miss P HAVE to leave."
"Why?"
"Arube is here and he sent his Zulu troopers after you two. They have been ordered to bring you to him under any circumstance." Broots runs his palm over his hair.
"What about Parker?" It's Jarod's turn to look upset.
"Immediate termination."
Jarod runs past Broots and out of the office to find Miss Parker as soon as possible. Sydney looks at the technician with a puzzled look on his face. "How did you find this out?"
Broots' face lights up with pride as he looks to the doors of Miss Parker's office. "I hacked into the cameras on the helipad."
Miss Parker finally ventures from the safety of the women's restroom to see a frantic Jarod running down the hall at her. She wipes the rest of the tears from her face just before Jarod stops in front of her and doubles over sucking in air.
"Miss, Parker. We have to, hide." He manages to choke the words out as he grabs her wrist. "Let's go."
"What? What's going on?" She yanks her wrist out of Jarod's grasp while staring at him.
"Arube is out to capture me." He grabs her wrist again. "And if you don't get out of here too, his men will kill you."
He looks away from her and down the hall to her right. Three men in black suits meet his gaze and stop. They start to come towards him as he starts to pull Miss Parker. "Shit, they're here. Move now." Miss Parker doesn't have a choice as Jarod starts to physically drag her away.
One of the men opens a phone and dials a number while following Jarod and Parker. "Sir, we found them. Main floor. We're in pursuit now."
Jarod and Miss Parker duck into an unmarked room as Arube's men reach the bathroom. Jarod quickly looks around the small room as Miss Parker tries to figure out what is going on. She looks at Jarod as he drags a table over to the door, trying to blockade it.
"Tell what's happening." She finally manages to speak.
Jarod just looks at her as he wedges the table into place. "The Triumvirate is going to kill you and me unless we can either escape or incapacitate Arube."
A knocking noise is heard at the air duct as Angelo starts to speak to them. "Here. Get out here." Angelo kicks the grate out of the wall and helps both of them through.
As the group passes through the vents, they pass the helipad where Arube and a guard stand. Angelo keeps going but Jarod and Miss Parker stay behind watching Arube and his the guards. Arube walks towards the helipad door as Jarod looks over at Parker. "Now's our chance. We need to get that guard's gun."
They carefully break the grate off the wall while watching the lone guardsman staring at his boss. Miss Parker slips out first followed by Jarod. "Let me handle this." Parker winks at Jarod as she stands up and straightens her suit coat.
She strides over to the guide with a provocative look ad starts to check him out. Her eyes go up and down his body as she begins to speak. "Hey there big boy. You look like you could use some company." She looks him in the eyes and smiles. "And I can assure you, I'm all the company you will EVER need."
His focus on her is so complete; he doesn't notice her reaching for his 9 mm. She leans close to him and whispers in his ear. "I'll be the last woman you'll ever need."
Jarod sneaks up behind him to accept the gun that Parker is holding out. Miss Parker wraps her arms around his neck as she keeps smiling. The guard licks his lips as he focus on Parker's smile. The guard grunts in pain as Jarod brings the handle of the gun down at the base of his neck. He smiles at Miss Parker as the guard crumbles to the ground.
"And you wonder why I'm in love with you." Jarod winks at her.
She gives him an innocent look. "Why Mr. Jarod, whatever do you mean?"
Arube flips his phone open to hear some bad news. "Sir, we can't find them."
"What do you mean?"
The man on the other end clears his throat. "It's like they just disappeared. We followed them into this room. Then they vanished."
He looks back to the helipad to see Miss Parker and Jarod standing over his guard's body. "Come back up to the pad. They're up here." He drops his phone and starts to walk towards them with his gun pointed in their direction. "Jarod and Miss Parker. It comes to this."
Miss Parker and Jarod turn to look at Arube staring straight at them. Jarod tosses the gun to the ground as Arube stops moving. "I'll go. I give up."
Parker stares at Jarod with a look of pure disbelief. "Wha, what?"
Jarod turns to Parker with a smile on his face. "It's okay. I'll end this now." Arube puts his gun away as Jarod looks back to him after winking at Miss Parker. He holds his wrist out as Arube binds them with a zip tie. Jarod is then spun around and led towards a Centre helicopter as Parker watches in disbelief. Jarod looks over his shoulder at Miss Parker. "I love you."
They both enter the helicopter as the engine starts. The chopper is in the air before Miss Parker is able to stop it. As the vehicle rises past the Centre, an explosion is heard causing Parker to jump back in fear. Tears start to form in her eyes as she realizes the explosion came from the helicopter that contained Jarod. "JAROD!" The tears fall down her cheeks. "I, I love you."
It's now a month later and as far as Miss Parker knows, Jarod died that day. No phone calls, no mail, no uncovered secrets. Nothing. If he isn't dead, he simply vanished without a trace. Now she's been haunting the tech room more than usual. "Still no sign of him?"
Broots sighs for what could be the hundredth time and looks up at his boss. "No Miss P. No sign, no trace, no clues. Same story, new day."
Parker lets out a groan of frustration. "This isn't like him. He couldn't have died. He just couldn't." She hangs her head as she leaves the tech room.
Broots looks back at the screen. "I know. You've been reminding me for the past month."
Parker walks back into her office just before her cell phone rings. She flips it open so fast she almost drops it on the floor. "Jarod?"
A laugh is heard on the other end. "Good guess."
Miss Parker sits into her chair as she sighs out of relief. "I'm glad you're still alive. There's so much I want to say."
"I know. There's time now. Meet me at the Starbright Diner in Newark at 7 pm, tonight."
"I'll be there. And Jarod, you're a free man now."
The other line goes silent. "Jarod? You still there?"
Jarod speaks up again. "What do you mean?"
"We aren't going to stop you anymore. I'll even try to help you assemble you're family."
"Thank you Parker. I'll see you soon." He goes to hang up but Parker catches his attention.
"Jarod. I love you." She sighs into the phone at the pressure taken off her chest. She thinks how good it felt to finally say those words.
"I know. I'll see you there." The dial tone rings in Parker's ears as she closes her phone.
Broots walks in as Miss Parker leans back in her chair. He looks at the smile on her face. "Jarod called you didn't he?"
She looks at him while leaning forward. "You bet."
"Shall I get everything ready to get him?" He's already halfway out the door.
"No."
"Wha, what?" Something doesn't make sense. 'We're always chasing him. Why not now?' That thought bounds through his head like a gerbil on speed.
"It's over." She stands from behind her desk as a smile crosses her face. "We have no need for him." She walks over to him and plays with the collar of his shirt.
Parker looks at his face and laughs at the confused expression. "Relax. I'm in charge now."
She lets go of his collar and heads towards her doors. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner date with Jarod. Hopefully a few things will be resolved." She winks at Broots before letting the doors behind her.
A half hour later, she's in the parking lot of the Starbright Diner waiting for Jarod. His car parks next to hers as he gets out smiling. "Hello again Parker." He winks at her and teases running away.
Parker gets out of her car with a wide smile on her face as she grabs his arm. "Call me Marie. Now let's get something to eat." The two walk into the restaurant arm in arm.
* ~ F I N ~ *
Read and Rate. If the results are good, I might pick up here. You never know.
In the tech room, words fly across a darkened screen. Buzzing can be heard as a paper dislodges itself from a printer, falling onto a desk. A darkened figure walks over to the paper and picks it up, reading it over. Broots turns away from his desk printer and walks towards the door of the electronic dominated room. "Miss Parker won't like this."
He stops outside her office doors and begs that she isn't there. His pleading with the Lord is ignored as Parker calls him in. "I know you're out there Broots. I can see you through the glass."
The balding tech sighs as he enters her office carrying a paper. He sets it on her desk as he begins to tell her what it is.
"You wanted me to finish the scrolls. Well, here it is." He slids the paper across the desk as he looks to the floor. "But I don't think you'll like it."
Parker scoops the paper up and starts to read it mumbling to herself. "Child known as Jarod. Yadda Yadda. Blah Blah. Fallen angel's plans." She trails off.
Her eyes grow as she rereads the passage. "And the fallen angel's plans of resurrection will fail." She looks up at Broots with a scared expression on her face. "Broots, what the hell does this mean?"
"I, I don't know. I tried to talk with Sydney, but he's been busy reminiscing with Jarod. I ran a search on it, turned up nothing." Broots has not looked up from the floor since he handed the paper to Parker.
"Look at me damn it." Parker slams he hands onto the table cause the tech to jump backwards. She regrets the words already, wishing she could take them back.
"Miss Parker. If I knew, I would tell you. But I don't." He turns to leave the office as Miss Parker looks at his back.
"Broots, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap like that. It's just." She loses her thought as she turns to the window in her office. 'Why do I always resort to acting cold when I'm scared?' That thought's been stabbing at her for the past six years.
"Frustrating." Broots finishes her train of thought as he lets the doors close behind him.
She goes to follow Broots in an attempt to apologize, but he locks the tech room door behind him. As she stands looking at the door, a scraping noise can be heard in the air vents. She hears the noises and turns to see Angelo looking directly at him. "You don't have to sneak around anymore Angelo." She pulls the grate off as he smiles at her.
Angelo hands her a folder and a DSA, as he looks her in the eyes. "Must read. Must watch." He stands in front of her forcing the document and disc in her direction until she gets the idea.
"I get it Angelo. Thank you." She takes the objects from Angelo and heads back into her office. Once she is there and is sure nobody is watching, she pulls a DSA player out of her desk. The disk is inserted and the machine starts to play. The screen flickers to life, displaying a date of 1- 15-68, with an emotionally disturbed Catherine Parker pacing in an office. Parker leans closer to the screen trying to figure out what is happening, but is shocked to see Sydney walk through the doors in the DSA. He sits in a chair beside a couch as Catherine sits next to him.
"You realize that this is not one of our scheduled sessions, Catherine?" The psychiatrist has a concerned look on his face.
"I am Sydney. But I have to tell somebody this, and you're the only one I can trust." Catherine is playing with a strand of her hair as a tear rolls down her check.
"What is it?"
"I, I've had an affair with a good friend of mine." She looks at the psychiatrist whose mouth is hanging open. "You have to promise me that you won't tell Mr. Parker."
"When was this?"
"December of 1960." Catherine looks at the floor of the office as Sydney walks over to a window.
"That would mean Miss Parker. She's not Mr. Parker's daughter."
Catherine starts to cry as she realizes what could happen. "Please Sydney. Promise me you will never let anyone find out about this. I have to take this secret to the grave with me."
The DSA shuts off as Miss Parker stares at the black screen. A knock is heard at her door, bringing her back to reality. She quickly looks around her office to make sure she is still alone as the case is shut. She wipes tears from her eyes before acknowledging the door.
"Come, come in." Her voice wavers.
Sydney walks through the doors flanked by Jarod. Miss Parker has yet to look up from the top of her desk, but sniffling can be heard. Sydney looks at Miss Parker behind her desk and notices the DSA player in the middle. "Unsettling news?"
She fights the urge of the Ice Queen. "Very." She locks her eyes with Sydney's. "Is there something you want to tell me about my mother and my father?"
"Not that I can think of." The psychiatrist looks at Jarod standing beside him.
"Well then maybe this could jog your memory." Miss Parker spins the case around and flicks the play button.
The exact images that she just saw play for Jarod and Sydney. Halfway through, Sydney is sitting in a chair with his head in his hands and Jarod keeps watching. The DSA finally stops as Sydney raises his head to stare at the wall across from him.
"Now. Is there something you want to tell me about my mother and father?" Miss Parker asks the question again, only this time with more emphasis.
"Nothing you haven't seen already." Sydney manages to answer through a sigh of guilt.
"Who's my father Sydney?"
"I don't know."
"Is it Raines?"
"She never said."
"Is it Mr. Parker?"
"She never told me."
"Who is it?"
"I DON'T Know, Parker. Your mother never told me who she had the affair with." Sydney looks visibly upset at having to say those words. "That was one thing she would never tell me. I tried for two years, she never told me."
"Was it you?" Miss Parker stresses the last word, trying to drive a knife through Sydney's soul. She is now standing and leaning over her desk staring a hole through him.
"What?" Sydney leaps to his feet. "How could you say that? You should know I would never do that to your family."
As this has been going on, Jarod has walked over to the folder sitting on the corner of Parker's desk. He opens it and start to read over the contents, humming as he scans. He reaches the bottom and sighs as he prepares to speak.
"Parker, you may want to read this before you start accusing people." He spins the folder around and thrusts it at her.
She grabs it from his hands and starts to look at it, speaking as she goes. "Adoption papers." She looks back at Jarod.
"Read who the birth parents are."
"Catherine Jameson Parker." She looks up at Sydney with a sad look. "And Ben Miller."
The connection is finally made in Sydney's head as he smiles. Ben always brought a smile to Catherine's face, no wonder she would always go to see him.
"I'm sorry I accused you Syd." She closes the folder and throws it back onto her desk as she walks towards the door. As she reaches the door, tears start to form in the corners of her eyes. Her own mother kept a secret from her; everything in her life was a lie. She makes it to the bathroom before she starts to cry, sliding down the wall. Her whole life just got shattered.
Back at her office, Sydney and Jarod are still looking at the door. Sydney sighs as he realizes what just happened to Parker, she just found out that the one person she always trusted told her the biggest lie of them all. Jarod starts to walk after her but Sydney grabs his arm to stop him.
"Let her be. She needs time now." Sydney looks at Jarod and can tell he is upset.
"But I've been there for her in the past. I have to be there now." Jarod's face surrenders his emotions.
Sydney can't help but feel his pain. "She has to get through this on her own."
Broots bursts through the door with a panic stricken look plastered on his face. "Where's Miss Parker?"
"She just left. Why?" Jarod looks at the tech.
"You and Miss P HAVE to leave."
"Why?"
"Arube is here and he sent his Zulu troopers after you two. They have been ordered to bring you to him under any circumstance." Broots runs his palm over his hair.
"What about Parker?" It's Jarod's turn to look upset.
"Immediate termination."
Jarod runs past Broots and out of the office to find Miss Parker as soon as possible. Sydney looks at the technician with a puzzled look on his face. "How did you find this out?"
Broots' face lights up with pride as he looks to the doors of Miss Parker's office. "I hacked into the cameras on the helipad."
Miss Parker finally ventures from the safety of the women's restroom to see a frantic Jarod running down the hall at her. She wipes the rest of the tears from her face just before Jarod stops in front of her and doubles over sucking in air.
"Miss, Parker. We have to, hide." He manages to choke the words out as he grabs her wrist. "Let's go."
"What? What's going on?" She yanks her wrist out of Jarod's grasp while staring at him.
"Arube is out to capture me." He grabs her wrist again. "And if you don't get out of here too, his men will kill you."
He looks away from her and down the hall to her right. Three men in black suits meet his gaze and stop. They start to come towards him as he starts to pull Miss Parker. "Shit, they're here. Move now." Miss Parker doesn't have a choice as Jarod starts to physically drag her away.
One of the men opens a phone and dials a number while following Jarod and Parker. "Sir, we found them. Main floor. We're in pursuit now."
Jarod and Miss Parker duck into an unmarked room as Arube's men reach the bathroom. Jarod quickly looks around the small room as Miss Parker tries to figure out what is going on. She looks at Jarod as he drags a table over to the door, trying to blockade it.
"Tell what's happening." She finally manages to speak.
Jarod just looks at her as he wedges the table into place. "The Triumvirate is going to kill you and me unless we can either escape or incapacitate Arube."
A knocking noise is heard at the air duct as Angelo starts to speak to them. "Here. Get out here." Angelo kicks the grate out of the wall and helps both of them through.
As the group passes through the vents, they pass the helipad where Arube and a guard stand. Angelo keeps going but Jarod and Miss Parker stay behind watching Arube and his the guards. Arube walks towards the helipad door as Jarod looks over at Parker. "Now's our chance. We need to get that guard's gun."
They carefully break the grate off the wall while watching the lone guardsman staring at his boss. Miss Parker slips out first followed by Jarod. "Let me handle this." Parker winks at Jarod as she stands up and straightens her suit coat.
She strides over to the guide with a provocative look ad starts to check him out. Her eyes go up and down his body as she begins to speak. "Hey there big boy. You look like you could use some company." She looks him in the eyes and smiles. "And I can assure you, I'm all the company you will EVER need."
His focus on her is so complete; he doesn't notice her reaching for his 9 mm. She leans close to him and whispers in his ear. "I'll be the last woman you'll ever need."
Jarod sneaks up behind him to accept the gun that Parker is holding out. Miss Parker wraps her arms around his neck as she keeps smiling. The guard licks his lips as he focus on Parker's smile. The guard grunts in pain as Jarod brings the handle of the gun down at the base of his neck. He smiles at Miss Parker as the guard crumbles to the ground.
"And you wonder why I'm in love with you." Jarod winks at her.
She gives him an innocent look. "Why Mr. Jarod, whatever do you mean?"
Arube flips his phone open to hear some bad news. "Sir, we can't find them."
"What do you mean?"
The man on the other end clears his throat. "It's like they just disappeared. We followed them into this room. Then they vanished."
He looks back to the helipad to see Miss Parker and Jarod standing over his guard's body. "Come back up to the pad. They're up here." He drops his phone and starts to walk towards them with his gun pointed in their direction. "Jarod and Miss Parker. It comes to this."
Miss Parker and Jarod turn to look at Arube staring straight at them. Jarod tosses the gun to the ground as Arube stops moving. "I'll go. I give up."
Parker stares at Jarod with a look of pure disbelief. "Wha, what?"
Jarod turns to Parker with a smile on his face. "It's okay. I'll end this now." Arube puts his gun away as Jarod looks back to him after winking at Miss Parker. He holds his wrist out as Arube binds them with a zip tie. Jarod is then spun around and led towards a Centre helicopter as Parker watches in disbelief. Jarod looks over his shoulder at Miss Parker. "I love you."
They both enter the helicopter as the engine starts. The chopper is in the air before Miss Parker is able to stop it. As the vehicle rises past the Centre, an explosion is heard causing Parker to jump back in fear. Tears start to form in her eyes as she realizes the explosion came from the helicopter that contained Jarod. "JAROD!" The tears fall down her cheeks. "I, I love you."
It's now a month later and as far as Miss Parker knows, Jarod died that day. No phone calls, no mail, no uncovered secrets. Nothing. If he isn't dead, he simply vanished without a trace. Now she's been haunting the tech room more than usual. "Still no sign of him?"
Broots sighs for what could be the hundredth time and looks up at his boss. "No Miss P. No sign, no trace, no clues. Same story, new day."
Parker lets out a groan of frustration. "This isn't like him. He couldn't have died. He just couldn't." She hangs her head as she leaves the tech room.
Broots looks back at the screen. "I know. You've been reminding me for the past month."
Parker walks back into her office just before her cell phone rings. She flips it open so fast she almost drops it on the floor. "Jarod?"
A laugh is heard on the other end. "Good guess."
Miss Parker sits into her chair as she sighs out of relief. "I'm glad you're still alive. There's so much I want to say."
"I know. There's time now. Meet me at the Starbright Diner in Newark at 7 pm, tonight."
"I'll be there. And Jarod, you're a free man now."
The other line goes silent. "Jarod? You still there?"
Jarod speaks up again. "What do you mean?"
"We aren't going to stop you anymore. I'll even try to help you assemble you're family."
"Thank you Parker. I'll see you soon." He goes to hang up but Parker catches his attention.
"Jarod. I love you." She sighs into the phone at the pressure taken off her chest. She thinks how good it felt to finally say those words.
"I know. I'll see you there." The dial tone rings in Parker's ears as she closes her phone.
Broots walks in as Miss Parker leans back in her chair. He looks at the smile on her face. "Jarod called you didn't he?"
She looks at him while leaning forward. "You bet."
"Shall I get everything ready to get him?" He's already halfway out the door.
"No."
"Wha, what?" Something doesn't make sense. 'We're always chasing him. Why not now?' That thought bounds through his head like a gerbil on speed.
"It's over." She stands from behind her desk as a smile crosses her face. "We have no need for him." She walks over to him and plays with the collar of his shirt.
Parker looks at his face and laughs at the confused expression. "Relax. I'm in charge now."
She lets go of his collar and heads towards her doors. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a dinner date with Jarod. Hopefully a few things will be resolved." She winks at Broots before letting the doors behind her.
A half hour later, she's in the parking lot of the Starbright Diner waiting for Jarod. His car parks next to hers as he gets out smiling. "Hello again Parker." He winks at her and teases running away.
Parker gets out of her car with a wide smile on her face as she grabs his arm. "Call me Marie. Now let's get something to eat." The two walk into the restaurant arm in arm.
* ~ F I N ~ *
Read and Rate. If the results are good, I might pick up here. You never know.