i) Thanks to Michelle, Nancy, Phenyx, and Miss Dynamite for your encouragement - hope you enjoy this chapter too.
ii) 'And how do you see when the light isn't shining, where you could be if you worked out the timing' (OCS, The Downstream)
Chapter Two.
Sydney walked wearily along the corridor, it had been a long night and it wasn't over yet - he still had his own interrogation to endure. But he wasn't content to wait for them to come to him, instead he was taking it to the them. Sydney was innocent of any involvement with the boy's disappearance but that would mean nothing to The Centre. The best action to take, he decided, was to continue with the idea that he was looking forward to working with the boy and that he was disappointed he had lost that chance. He wondered briefly how Broots was holding up and what exactly he was telling Lyle. Though Broots had not mentioned anything about Miss Parker's disappearance to Sydney he felt that he was involved some how. Thanks to the stance he was taking over Project Gemini he doubted that Broots would be talking to him for some time. It was an approach he hoped Broots was taking with Lyle.
When he finally reached Mr Parker's office Sydney paused for a moment and took a deep breath. He could hear voices inside and instead of knocking strode into the office brazenly, hoping he could pick up some of the conversation that he was obviously being excluded from. Mr Parker was sat at his desk, Brigette sat at his side, perched on the edge of the desk. Raines sat opposite Mr Parker with Lyle standing at his right side.
"Ah, Sydney. I was just going to send for you." Mr Parker intoned.
Sydney stalked further into the office. "Has there been any news on the boy yet?" Sydney kept his focus on Mr Parker but he could feel Raines glaring at him.
Mr Parker's face remained neutral, the simmering anger he felt kept in check. "No. Did you know she was going to do this?"
Sydney winced at the use of 'she'. Obviously Mr Parker was already disowning his daughter. "No. Miss Parker was barely speaking to me on account of my involvement with the boy." As much as he hated playing these games he was a master of them, a skill that had kept him safe for some time. "She did voice her concerns to us all when we tested the boy."
Mr Parker grimaced at this. "Yes." Just like her mother had all those years ago.
"Morality issues." Brigette chipped in after extracting the lollipop from her mouth for the briefest of moments.
Sydney stood back a little as Raines leaned forward from his seat. "I said she was too much like her mother, you said you could handle her and now she's gone." Raines paused to regain his breathing. "Gemini was my project, you let Sydney take control and now the boy has gone too." He was squarely laying the accusations at Mr Parker. "If I had been..."
"Well you are not, are you?" Mr Parker cut Raines off. He rubbed his head in frustration, she had betrayed him just as Catherine had. Now he had nothing - no Jarod, no clone and no daughter. The only thing that was in his favour was the child that Brigette was carrying and that meant holding on to the reins until the birth.
Lyle stepped into the debate. "Look she can't have got far. I sent sweepers to her house and they found nothing amiss; this looks like a split second decision to take the boy and run so she won't be prepared. We find her, we find the boy. We get them both and Jarod will come running back to us." Though he said this confidently he wasn't all that certain. He had read his sister's file, knew how smart she really was - he just hoped he was smarter.
"What if she had help?" Raines looked to Sydney when he said this.
The question remained unanswered as Mtumbo chose this moment to announce his presence. He had listened to their bickering long enough and time was wasting. "I am most disappointed in this turn of events." He walked further into the office. "Jarod is with his father and Miss Parker has the boy - I was assured everything was in hand." He raised his hands to silence the protests and turned to face Lyle. "You will track down Miss Parker and the boy." Lyle nodded his consent, though he couldn't really refuse. Facing Brigette Mtumbo ordered her to find Jarod and the Major. She accepted with a smile. He took a few paces out of the room and turned again to face the other occupants, "If there is no sign of progress, heads will roll. I'll be observing you all."
Mr Parker's shoulders sunk a little lower, everything was unravelling around him. He, nor anyone else in the room, noticed the camera recording from the safety of the ventilation shaft.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charles paced nervously in the half light of the morning and checked his watch yet again. Jarod was late. He debated going back for him even though they had agreed to meet elsewhere if something didn't go according to plan. He made up his mind, he was going back - he'd already lost his son once and he wasn't prepared to take that risk again.
"Go!"
Just as Charles had made the decision to go back he heard, and saw, Jarod. Silently saying a prayer to whichever deity was looking out for his son he headed back to the car, Jarod following behind. He sat down and started the engine just as Jarod opened the other door and slung in his back pack.
"Let's go Dad", Jarod urged as he slammed his door shut. As his father floored the engine Jarod released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. His father caught his eye but Jarod looked away to the window and concentrated on calming his breathing down - he'd had to run faster to get back to the car than he had anticipated. In a very short time Donoterase would no longer exist.
"Mission accomplished?" Charles asked, noting his son's reluctance to look him in the eye.
Jarod breathed in deeply, trying to quell the feeling of nausea. He almost wished he hadn't returned to the facility, or that he hadn't stopped to look so closely. The plan was to set the explosives and get out as quickly as possible, hopefully detracting The Centre's attention away from other matters. He had disarmed the sensors to give him ample time but what he had witnessed in one room had stopped him in his tracks. "Yes. I triggered the fire alarm as well so any personnel on site have a chance to escape."
As if on cue Charles observed the evidence of the explosion in his rear view mirror. Jarod had still to make eye contact with him. "Do you think it will distract them?"
"Hopefully it will give them something else to think about other than Miss Parker and the boy. And ourselves." Jarod closed his eyes but he could still see the specimens - the dark side of Project Gemini. In his disgust he had set more explosives than actually necessary. He would not tell his father what he had uncovered, not if he didn't have to. Opening his eyes he focussed on the back pack that lay at his feet. Half an hour ago it had been full of explosives, now it contained files. He had grabbed whatever information had seemed pertinent, he had a feeling Donoterase was holding more secrets than his clone. He shuddered to think exactly what those files might reveal. He finally looked over to the older man. "You look tired Dad. Let me take over."
Charles smiled at his passenger, "I'm fine." They were both tired, neither willing to admit it. "What next?"
Jarod allowed himself to relax a little in his seat. "Same as always, find my family. I've already made a start." He smiled back at the Major. "That includes the boy, he's part of our family too."
"And Miss Parker?" Charles was still hesitant to believe her part in all this. It was only his son's unswerving belief in her that swung it for him. He made a mental note to ask Jarod exactly what their relationship entailed.
There was no doubt in Jarod's mind that for the time being the boy was safe with Miss Parker. And he was doubly sure it wasn't some elaborate hoax by The Centre to entice him back. "We find her, we find the boy", was the only explanation he offered his father. If the truth was known he feared it would prove as difficult tracking them down as it had been trying to find his parents. Miss Parker was a red file and, coupled with her Centre training, she could disappear for good taking the boy with her. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, he didn't want to lose either of them.
Charles glanced at Jarod, who appeared to be deep in thought. He allowed himself a swell of pride to rush over him; his son was a good man despite what The Centre had done to him, but he couldn't really take the credit for that. However he would do all he could to put his family back together. "How's your shoulder, son?"
Jarod stirred from his thoughts. "It's okay." He hadn't really given it much thought as he had been running on adrenaline since he'd been shot. He stifled a yawn and tried to plan out their next move. He would contact Angelo, the almost mute Centre inmate had a knack of knowing what was going on in The Centre and had often provided him with information. He would contact Sydney as well, and maybe Broots. Jarod wanted to know exactly what was going on as a result of Miss Parker's escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lyle sighed as he entered the kitchen of Miss Parker's house, their mother's house. The sweepers hadn't missed much though he had decided to check himself just to be sure. The problem was he couldn't be sure, he could count the number of times he'd been here on one hand. He did know where she kept the scotch though and, despite the early hour of the day, poured himself a drink. "Cheers Sis", he murmured as he raised his glass. Now that she was out of the equation things were looking up for him, he just needed to make sure he tread a fine line with both Mr Parker and Raines. At the end of all this one of them was going to be in charge and he intended to be right there with them. Then he could have some fun with Parker and Jarod.
First things first though, he had to find them. Sitting down on the sofa he flipped through the report he had ordered into the camera 'failure'. He had some IT guys look into it while he was interrogating Broots. The report however failed to draw any real conclusions as to what happened, only that it was unlikely that the sytem had been tampered with. Either she was very smart or very fortuitous, and he hoped it was the latter as all good luck must eventually come to an end. His cell phone rang disrupting his thoughts and the news, about Donoterase's downfall, made him reach again for the bottle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miss Parker pulled up otside the bank and, turning off the engine, glanced over at the boy. He was staring out of the window and she followed his gaze to a nearby park. Though it was early, barely nine - thirty, there was a group of children organising a game of baseball.
"Are they playing?" He asked, enthralled.
Miss Parker smiled at this question. She had worried at first as he had remained silent throughout their escape and continued that way for the first couple of hours on the road. When she asked him if he was okay he would merely nod his head and continue staring out of the window causing her to fear that the whole experience was too overwhelming for him - after all he had never been outside before. Even when she had stopped at her lock up to swap cars and pick up some belongings he had not uttered a word. It was only when they were back on the road and the sun began to rise that he found his voice. It was his first sunrise, real anyway, and it literally blew him away. Sharing the experience with him had been an eye opener for herself. After that he wouldn't shut up, asking questions every five minutes. To her surprise she found she didn't mind, as if by leaving The Centre she had finally shed the skin she had been hiding behind.
The boy turned around to face her when she didn't respond. She seemed lost in thought so he repeated the question, knowing she would answer. She never got angry at him once for asking questions, not like Raines would.
Miss Parker snapped out of her thoughts and began to explain what they were doing. He turned back round to watch them when she had finished and her heart wrenched at his longing looks. She got out of the car and the boy followed obediently. The lock up had also contained some casual clothing that she was now wearing, her suit had been grubby from crawling around the vents anyway. Unfortunately though she was prepared for the day when she left The Centre she had nothing for the boy except for one of Tommy's faded black t-shirts that she'd hung on to. It was a little baggy on the him but it would suffice for now.
"Where are we going now?"
Miss Parker explained about the safety deposit box and it's contents as they walked into the bank. She got the idea from her mother, but hers contained cash and some false papers she had set up. The money had been slowly syphoned from her bank accounts and she was certain The Centre were unaware of her contingency plans. She had set these plans in motion almost two years ago when it became apparent she would never escape The Centre, despite her agreement with her father. Though she had protested that she could never walk away she knew one day she would have to, she never suspected it would be under these circumstances. Fleeing for her life maybe, not walking out of her own accord. She had persevered with the game of cat and mouse with Jarod only to find out more about her mother's death. And for her father, clinging to the hope he would return her love even though she knew he never would. Or never could.
She pushed thoughts of disloyalty to her father to one side as they were ushered into the vault. Opening up the box she poured the contents onto the small table in the centre of the room. The boy watched her place, what he assumed was currency, into her bag. When she noticed him staring she grinned at him.
He couldn't help smiling back at her. Though he had only known her a short amount of time he felt he could trust her implicitly, he felt safe with her and most of all she spoke to him as a real person. She didn't get angry with him when he asked questions or when he showed emotions, in fact she seemed happier when he did those things. He had seen the pain in her eyes, felt the hurt there but he had also witnessed her tenacity, her strength and her kindness. And her smile. Their escape together had created a bond he hoped never to lose. "Nicole Clarke? That's not your name."
Miss Parker looked up to see the boy holding one of the false drivers licenses she had created. As she put the rest of the documentation into her bag she replied, "A little white lie to make it harder to find us."
The boy considered this, "Oh."
Taking the license off him she slipped it into the pocket of her jeans. "It also states I'm a couple of pounds lighter but don't tell anyone, ok?" He nodded his head and Miss Parker slipped her arm around his shoulder, guiding him out of the vault. It was only when they had wrapped up business in the bank and had settled back into the car did the boy speak again.
"Why would you lie about your weight? How would that help?" He was puzzled as to how it could aid their escape, the change of identity he could understand. He waited patiently for Miss Parker to finish laughing so he could get his answer.
ii) 'And how do you see when the light isn't shining, where you could be if you worked out the timing' (OCS, The Downstream)
Chapter Two.
Sydney walked wearily along the corridor, it had been a long night and it wasn't over yet - he still had his own interrogation to endure. But he wasn't content to wait for them to come to him, instead he was taking it to the them. Sydney was innocent of any involvement with the boy's disappearance but that would mean nothing to The Centre. The best action to take, he decided, was to continue with the idea that he was looking forward to working with the boy and that he was disappointed he had lost that chance. He wondered briefly how Broots was holding up and what exactly he was telling Lyle. Though Broots had not mentioned anything about Miss Parker's disappearance to Sydney he felt that he was involved some how. Thanks to the stance he was taking over Project Gemini he doubted that Broots would be talking to him for some time. It was an approach he hoped Broots was taking with Lyle.
When he finally reached Mr Parker's office Sydney paused for a moment and took a deep breath. He could hear voices inside and instead of knocking strode into the office brazenly, hoping he could pick up some of the conversation that he was obviously being excluded from. Mr Parker was sat at his desk, Brigette sat at his side, perched on the edge of the desk. Raines sat opposite Mr Parker with Lyle standing at his right side.
"Ah, Sydney. I was just going to send for you." Mr Parker intoned.
Sydney stalked further into the office. "Has there been any news on the boy yet?" Sydney kept his focus on Mr Parker but he could feel Raines glaring at him.
Mr Parker's face remained neutral, the simmering anger he felt kept in check. "No. Did you know she was going to do this?"
Sydney winced at the use of 'she'. Obviously Mr Parker was already disowning his daughter. "No. Miss Parker was barely speaking to me on account of my involvement with the boy." As much as he hated playing these games he was a master of them, a skill that had kept him safe for some time. "She did voice her concerns to us all when we tested the boy."
Mr Parker grimaced at this. "Yes." Just like her mother had all those years ago.
"Morality issues." Brigette chipped in after extracting the lollipop from her mouth for the briefest of moments.
Sydney stood back a little as Raines leaned forward from his seat. "I said she was too much like her mother, you said you could handle her and now she's gone." Raines paused to regain his breathing. "Gemini was my project, you let Sydney take control and now the boy has gone too." He was squarely laying the accusations at Mr Parker. "If I had been..."
"Well you are not, are you?" Mr Parker cut Raines off. He rubbed his head in frustration, she had betrayed him just as Catherine had. Now he had nothing - no Jarod, no clone and no daughter. The only thing that was in his favour was the child that Brigette was carrying and that meant holding on to the reins until the birth.
Lyle stepped into the debate. "Look she can't have got far. I sent sweepers to her house and they found nothing amiss; this looks like a split second decision to take the boy and run so she won't be prepared. We find her, we find the boy. We get them both and Jarod will come running back to us." Though he said this confidently he wasn't all that certain. He had read his sister's file, knew how smart she really was - he just hoped he was smarter.
"What if she had help?" Raines looked to Sydney when he said this.
The question remained unanswered as Mtumbo chose this moment to announce his presence. He had listened to their bickering long enough and time was wasting. "I am most disappointed in this turn of events." He walked further into the office. "Jarod is with his father and Miss Parker has the boy - I was assured everything was in hand." He raised his hands to silence the protests and turned to face Lyle. "You will track down Miss Parker and the boy." Lyle nodded his consent, though he couldn't really refuse. Facing Brigette Mtumbo ordered her to find Jarod and the Major. She accepted with a smile. He took a few paces out of the room and turned again to face the other occupants, "If there is no sign of progress, heads will roll. I'll be observing you all."
Mr Parker's shoulders sunk a little lower, everything was unravelling around him. He, nor anyone else in the room, noticed the camera recording from the safety of the ventilation shaft.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Charles paced nervously in the half light of the morning and checked his watch yet again. Jarod was late. He debated going back for him even though they had agreed to meet elsewhere if something didn't go according to plan. He made up his mind, he was going back - he'd already lost his son once and he wasn't prepared to take that risk again.
"Go!"
Just as Charles had made the decision to go back he heard, and saw, Jarod. Silently saying a prayer to whichever deity was looking out for his son he headed back to the car, Jarod following behind. He sat down and started the engine just as Jarod opened the other door and slung in his back pack.
"Let's go Dad", Jarod urged as he slammed his door shut. As his father floored the engine Jarod released a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. His father caught his eye but Jarod looked away to the window and concentrated on calming his breathing down - he'd had to run faster to get back to the car than he had anticipated. In a very short time Donoterase would no longer exist.
"Mission accomplished?" Charles asked, noting his son's reluctance to look him in the eye.
Jarod breathed in deeply, trying to quell the feeling of nausea. He almost wished he hadn't returned to the facility, or that he hadn't stopped to look so closely. The plan was to set the explosives and get out as quickly as possible, hopefully detracting The Centre's attention away from other matters. He had disarmed the sensors to give him ample time but what he had witnessed in one room had stopped him in his tracks. "Yes. I triggered the fire alarm as well so any personnel on site have a chance to escape."
As if on cue Charles observed the evidence of the explosion in his rear view mirror. Jarod had still to make eye contact with him. "Do you think it will distract them?"
"Hopefully it will give them something else to think about other than Miss Parker and the boy. And ourselves." Jarod closed his eyes but he could still see the specimens - the dark side of Project Gemini. In his disgust he had set more explosives than actually necessary. He would not tell his father what he had uncovered, not if he didn't have to. Opening his eyes he focussed on the back pack that lay at his feet. Half an hour ago it had been full of explosives, now it contained files. He had grabbed whatever information had seemed pertinent, he had a feeling Donoterase was holding more secrets than his clone. He shuddered to think exactly what those files might reveal. He finally looked over to the older man. "You look tired Dad. Let me take over."
Charles smiled at his passenger, "I'm fine." They were both tired, neither willing to admit it. "What next?"
Jarod allowed himself to relax a little in his seat. "Same as always, find my family. I've already made a start." He smiled back at the Major. "That includes the boy, he's part of our family too."
"And Miss Parker?" Charles was still hesitant to believe her part in all this. It was only his son's unswerving belief in her that swung it for him. He made a mental note to ask Jarod exactly what their relationship entailed.
There was no doubt in Jarod's mind that for the time being the boy was safe with Miss Parker. And he was doubly sure it wasn't some elaborate hoax by The Centre to entice him back. "We find her, we find the boy", was the only explanation he offered his father. If the truth was known he feared it would prove as difficult tracking them down as it had been trying to find his parents. Miss Parker was a red file and, coupled with her Centre training, she could disappear for good taking the boy with her. He hoped it wouldn't come to that, he didn't want to lose either of them.
Charles glanced at Jarod, who appeared to be deep in thought. He allowed himself a swell of pride to rush over him; his son was a good man despite what The Centre had done to him, but he couldn't really take the credit for that. However he would do all he could to put his family back together. "How's your shoulder, son?"
Jarod stirred from his thoughts. "It's okay." He hadn't really given it much thought as he had been running on adrenaline since he'd been shot. He stifled a yawn and tried to plan out their next move. He would contact Angelo, the almost mute Centre inmate had a knack of knowing what was going on in The Centre and had often provided him with information. He would contact Sydney as well, and maybe Broots. Jarod wanted to know exactly what was going on as a result of Miss Parker's escape.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lyle sighed as he entered the kitchen of Miss Parker's house, their mother's house. The sweepers hadn't missed much though he had decided to check himself just to be sure. The problem was he couldn't be sure, he could count the number of times he'd been here on one hand. He did know where she kept the scotch though and, despite the early hour of the day, poured himself a drink. "Cheers Sis", he murmured as he raised his glass. Now that she was out of the equation things were looking up for him, he just needed to make sure he tread a fine line with both Mr Parker and Raines. At the end of all this one of them was going to be in charge and he intended to be right there with them. Then he could have some fun with Parker and Jarod.
First things first though, he had to find them. Sitting down on the sofa he flipped through the report he had ordered into the camera 'failure'. He had some IT guys look into it while he was interrogating Broots. The report however failed to draw any real conclusions as to what happened, only that it was unlikely that the sytem had been tampered with. Either she was very smart or very fortuitous, and he hoped it was the latter as all good luck must eventually come to an end. His cell phone rang disrupting his thoughts and the news, about Donoterase's downfall, made him reach again for the bottle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miss Parker pulled up otside the bank and, turning off the engine, glanced over at the boy. He was staring out of the window and she followed his gaze to a nearby park. Though it was early, barely nine - thirty, there was a group of children organising a game of baseball.
"Are they playing?" He asked, enthralled.
Miss Parker smiled at this question. She had worried at first as he had remained silent throughout their escape and continued that way for the first couple of hours on the road. When she asked him if he was okay he would merely nod his head and continue staring out of the window causing her to fear that the whole experience was too overwhelming for him - after all he had never been outside before. Even when she had stopped at her lock up to swap cars and pick up some belongings he had not uttered a word. It was only when they were back on the road and the sun began to rise that he found his voice. It was his first sunrise, real anyway, and it literally blew him away. Sharing the experience with him had been an eye opener for herself. After that he wouldn't shut up, asking questions every five minutes. To her surprise she found she didn't mind, as if by leaving The Centre she had finally shed the skin she had been hiding behind.
The boy turned around to face her when she didn't respond. She seemed lost in thought so he repeated the question, knowing she would answer. She never got angry at him once for asking questions, not like Raines would.
Miss Parker snapped out of her thoughts and began to explain what they were doing. He turned back round to watch them when she had finished and her heart wrenched at his longing looks. She got out of the car and the boy followed obediently. The lock up had also contained some casual clothing that she was now wearing, her suit had been grubby from crawling around the vents anyway. Unfortunately though she was prepared for the day when she left The Centre she had nothing for the boy except for one of Tommy's faded black t-shirts that she'd hung on to. It was a little baggy on the him but it would suffice for now.
"Where are we going now?"
Miss Parker explained about the safety deposit box and it's contents as they walked into the bank. She got the idea from her mother, but hers contained cash and some false papers she had set up. The money had been slowly syphoned from her bank accounts and she was certain The Centre were unaware of her contingency plans. She had set these plans in motion almost two years ago when it became apparent she would never escape The Centre, despite her agreement with her father. Though she had protested that she could never walk away she knew one day she would have to, she never suspected it would be under these circumstances. Fleeing for her life maybe, not walking out of her own accord. She had persevered with the game of cat and mouse with Jarod only to find out more about her mother's death. And for her father, clinging to the hope he would return her love even though she knew he never would. Or never could.
She pushed thoughts of disloyalty to her father to one side as they were ushered into the vault. Opening up the box she poured the contents onto the small table in the centre of the room. The boy watched her place, what he assumed was currency, into her bag. When she noticed him staring she grinned at him.
He couldn't help smiling back at her. Though he had only known her a short amount of time he felt he could trust her implicitly, he felt safe with her and most of all she spoke to him as a real person. She didn't get angry with him when he asked questions or when he showed emotions, in fact she seemed happier when he did those things. He had seen the pain in her eyes, felt the hurt there but he had also witnessed her tenacity, her strength and her kindness. And her smile. Their escape together had created a bond he hoped never to lose. "Nicole Clarke? That's not your name."
Miss Parker looked up to see the boy holding one of the false drivers licenses she had created. As she put the rest of the documentation into her bag she replied, "A little white lie to make it harder to find us."
The boy considered this, "Oh."
Taking the license off him she slipped it into the pocket of her jeans. "It also states I'm a couple of pounds lighter but don't tell anyone, ok?" He nodded his head and Miss Parker slipped her arm around his shoulder, guiding him out of the vault. It was only when they had wrapped up business in the bank and had settled back into the car did the boy speak again.
"Why would you lie about your weight? How would that help?" He was puzzled as to how it could aid their escape, the change of identity he could understand. He waited patiently for Miss Parker to finish laughing so he could get his answer.