Omega Web: Failed Redemption by JayVitolo
Disclaimer: I'm using the Pretender characters without permission. Please don't sue me.
Author notes: This one chapter took FOREVER to write. I started out on schedule, and then I hit a wall.brick by damn brick. Before I knew it, finals week hit and I had to place this story on the backburner. It became my goal to get this damn thing finished by Christmas.so here you go. It may be a little anti-climatic, but hey.it's done ain't it?
Lighter note: I want to thank everybody that read "Riddle of the Flesh." Extra thanks to those that gave me feedback in one form or another. Without you people reading my work, there would be no fun in any of this. Once again, thank you all. Enjoy the final chapter of Omega Web. This story was a trip to write.
***---***
"I don't want to have to shot you Jarod." Marie Parker stares down the front of her handgun as she pulls the hammer back. "But I will to get to Daniel."
"Then you better pull the trigger." His eyes are locked on Marie's. "Because I will not let you take me away. And I promise I will not miss."
***---***
In a separate room, Daniel watches the former lovers locked in their quarrel. A sinister smile crosses his face as he hears the exchange of threats. This is the jackpot he was waiting for, soon the two will open fire and one will fall. Then he steps in. If Marie lives, their love was meant to be. But if Jarod lives, he will be put out of his misery. But not until he is made aware of what he has done.
Daniel leans back in his chair and stares though the mirrored window in front of him. "Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posies." He grabs an open beer and takes a sip before setting it on the chair's arm rest.
"Ashes, ashes." Daniel pulls a cigarette out of a pack resting next to him. After placing it in his mouth, he lights it without diverting his eyes from the conflict in front of him.
He knocks the beer can off the armrest as he leans closer to the window. "We all fall down." The grin on his face widens as Marie Parker and Jarod are still staring each other down.
***---***
Sydney is pacing behind Broots with a look of fear and confusion on his face. One hand is in a vest pocket while the other seems to be holding his head off the floor. Beeping and clicking accompany Sydney's lone march, almost like a soundtrack. He stops and grabs Broots' shoulders, causing the tech to have a near fatal heart attack.
A loud, hollow thunk is heard as Broots' knees strike the underneath of his desk. "HOLY GOD!" The lone technician quickly looks over his shoulder at the surprised psychiatrist standing behind him. "Don't do that Sydney. I'm paranoid enough."
"Sorry Broots. It's just that..." The psychiatrist trails off as he falls deep into thought.
"You're wondering what happened to Miss Parker."
Sydney nods in recognition as a sigh escapes his throat. He rubs his throat as he begins to pace again as Broots goes back to typing away on his keyboard. "Have you tried calling her?"
"Yes. Over and over." Broots' eyes have yet to leave the screen since he started typing again. He stops typing as something captures his eye. "She won't answer her phone."
"What have you found Broots?" Sydney stops walking and stands beside the computer tech, both staring into the screen.
"Daniel seems to be posting pictures."
"Many people do that Broots. What's so important about these ones?"
Broots clicks on one of the thumbnails of the pictures to enlarge it. As the computer loads the picture, he turns to look Sydney in the face. The picture dominates the screen as Sydney's eyes widen. "Because this last one is of Miss Parker and Jarod."
Sydney picks up where Broots stopped. "And they're pointing guns at each other." He looks down to the technician. "We need to get there. Only problem is where 'there' is."
"Already solved."
"What is it?"
"8891 Industrial Drive."
Sydney is already halfway through the door before Broots ends his sentence. "Then let's move."
***---***
"How can you believe that psycho?"
"Why would he lie to me?" Jarod's gun drops slightly, but his eyes still betray his anger. "Daniel has nothing to lose."
"Look around you Jarod. Look at all these pictures of us." Marie steps towards Jarod, but does not lower her gun. "Why can't you remember us?"
"That was all a lie. Daniel told me." Jarod jerks the gun back up to Marie, causing her to stop in her tracks. She visibly sighs at Jarod's attitude.
Against her better judgment, Parker decides to place the safety on her gun and drops it to the ground. "Fine." Marie locks her eyes onto Jarod's. "If you're going to shoot me, then shoot me." She kicks the gun to Jarod's feet. "But I refuse to shoot you."
Jarod looks at the gun as it strikes his foot and leans to the ground to grab it. As he touches the gun, he looks back to Marie's face and sees the sorrow in her eyes. Something clicks in his mind and it becomes visible on his face.
***---***
"No, no, no!" Daniel jumps out of his chair at the sight of Parker dropping her gun to the floor. "That's not what you're supposed to do!"
He throws his cigarette to the ground and leans against the mirrored glass. Daniel's face is pressed against it, but the picture is still playing out the same. His plan is vanishing before his eyes, and he's powerless to stop it. That is unless he does something drastic, of course. Daniel's eyes slowly work their way over to the shotgun resting in the corner. The thought plays in his head as he picks it up.
"One way or another. You both WILL die." He loads the shotgun as Jarod looks at Marie's gun on the ground.
***---***
Jarod slowly works his way back to his feet as his eyes are locked into Marie's. For some reason, he gets the feeling this woman is NOT trying to kill him, and Daniel lied about it. But why? Then his answer comes in the form of a shattered light. A shotgun blast goes off, causing Marie and Jarod to jump backward.
The sound is followed by Daniel's voice. "All I really wanted was to be happy. And the both of you come along to screw it up." He loads the shotgun once again."
Daniel swings the gun around and points it at Marie. "Why could you just accept me for who I am?" When she doesn't answer, he shoots the wall collage next to her.
After reloading the gun, he brings it around to face Jarod. "You just had to ruin my life. I was perfectly fine until you showed up. All you had to do to repay me was to kill the woman that made your life hell for the last seven years." He shoots the ground in front of Jarod's foot as he slowly advances.
Jarod's eyes are locked onto the twisted face of Daniel. So much emotion is being displayed, yet there is so much fear in his eyes. Jarod almost feels sympathy for him, as if Daniel seriously didn't want this to happen, almost like it was all a fluke. As Daniel inches closer to him, Jarod's sympathy slowly drains away and becomes replaced by anger over how he was used.
Jarod's face is now twisted into a look of anger. "You wanted me to kill Marie. Why?"
Daniel slowly grins as he places the barrel of the shotgun against Jarod's chest. "Because if I can't have her, nobody will."
***---***
The car that Sydney and Broots were traveling in screeches to a stop outside an old industrial building. Sydney swings his door open, while Broots slowly opens his, and hurries over to the huge metal door while checking his gun. Broots timidly follows and pulls his coat tightly around him. Sydney manages to kick the door open and is inside before Broots even makes it over to him.
Elsewhere in the building, the group of three hears the loud bang of the door, causing mixed emotions in each. Marie is happy because she thinks it must be Sydney and Broots. Jarod is confused because of the two conflicting stories and this new element may add to it. Daniel is concerned because he never anticipated this; he never thought anybody would find this place.
Daniel has a habit of not showing his true feelings. "Well, it appears we have company. I should leave so the lot of you can get better acquainted."
Unfortunately for Daniel, Marie shows all emotions when she feels like it. She quickly scoops one of the guns off the floor and brings it around to face Daniel. "Not so fast."
Before Parker even gets a chance to think about what she is doing, the gun discharges. Everything seems to hit the slow motion you hear about during bad times. Her eyes involuntarily close as the shot echoes in her ears and the bullet casing strikes the floor. She is completely unaware that Daniel has been shot in the leg. Time resumes the usual pace.
The hollow thump of a human body striking the floor causes Marie to open her eyes again, but the sight of Daniel on the ground causes her to shudder. She can feel Jarod's arms around her, helping her to regain composure as she looks at the body of Daniel. He pulls her close as she instinctively wraps around him, comfortable in his arms. Jarod and Marie run into Sydney and Broots as they leave the small room.
"Miss Parker! You're alive!" Broots is ecstatic at the sight before his eyes. "Although you have looked better."
"Shut up Broots." Parker doesn't even make eye contact as she and Jarod brush past them.
"Where's Daniel?" Sydney starts to look around him trying to find any traces of the man.
Parker manages to stand on her own as Jarod let her go. She turns to face Sydney as her hand paces through her hair. "He's in the next room. It's the one with pictures everywhere."
Broots and Sydney both enter the adjacent room as Marie turns to Jarod. A grin passes her lips. "Okay lab rat, I have two question for you."
"Bring them on. Ice Queen." Jarod teases her, knowing she'll get the hidden meaning.
"Number one. How did you fake your death?"
A broad smile hits Jarod's face as he puts his hands in his pocket. "It's amazing what you can do when a doctor owes you a favor. Figured if you though I was dead, you'd finally act on your emotions."
Marie's face looks to be slightly hurt as she thinks about it. "You put me through that hell, just to make me DO something?"
"Correct." Jarod winks at her before he grabs her in an embrace.
Marie pulls away enough to look Jarod in the eyes. "Now for the second question. Were you really going to shoot me?"
Jarod kisses her before answering. "Come on Marie. You know what I am, I'm a pretender. I can be anything I want to be, and then turn back into myself. If I wanted to kill you, I would have a long time ago."
Marie places her head into his chest as she sighs. "That's what I thought."
Jarod rubs his hand across her back as Sydney and Broots reenter the main hallway. Broots' eyes never leave the floor as Sydney has a puzzled look on his face. His eyes meet with Jarod's allowing Jarod to feel his mentor's confusion, but Jarod has no idea what the source is. Parker notices this and looks back at the psychiatrist.
"What's wrong Syd?"
The older man sighs as he straightens his shirt collar. "Daniel's body wasn't there."
Parker can't believe what she heard. "Excuse me? I shot him, I saw him fall. What do you mean his body isn't there?"
"I believe he means you didn't kill me." Daniel walks out of the shadow behind Broots and quickly grabs him, placing a gun to his temple. "Now if you don't want to see a new floral pattern on my walls, get the hell out of my way."
"Why don't you crawl under a rock and die?" Marie has fully given in to the Ice Queen.
"Only if you follow me." Daniel spits the venom back at Marie. "You see, when this began, I found you invigorating. You were what I always wanted." Daniel smiles as he inches closer to Marie and Jarod, all the while pushing the gun barrel deeper into Broots' temple. "Now I see it's all a façade, a ruse, a mask. You aren't who you pretend to be." He pulls the gun away from Broots and points it at Jarod. "Just like your boyfriend."
Broots takes this moment to do something out of character. So out of character, in fact, that it catches everybody by surprise. With all of his might, he slams the heel of his left foot onto the big toe of Daniel's matching foot. The impact is enough to shatter the toe and cause the man to howl in pain, dropping the gun he held. More importantly, he lets go of the man he held captive, Broots the technician.
Almost on queue, Sydney and Marie each unload two shots into Daniel's chest. Like a puppet without strings, Daniel falls to the floor with no grace or fluid motion. He makes one last attempt to claim Marie as his own by grabbing at her shoes, but she simply kicks his hand away. Broots slowly climbs to his feet staring at Daniel's body but smiles once he realizes he didn't die.
Sydney looks at Marie and the two lock eyes. She is the first one to speak, but a tear starts to form. "It's finally over, Syd." She looks down at Daniel's still bleeding body. "It's finally over."
Sydney and Broots walk past Marie and Jarod as they leave the building. Before passing through the door, Broots casts one final look over his shoulder at Daniel and then looks back at the road outside. "Is it always this hard Syd?"
The psychiatrist looks down at the gun he never thought he'd use again. "It never gets easier. It just happens quicker."
Jarod and Marie are the next two to leave. Marie slowly looks at Jarod beside her and rests her head on his shoulder. "Promise me, next time you'll be saving me."
"Only if you give me the chance."
***---***
In the adjacent room, a video camera zooms in on the dead body of Daniel and then sweeps up to watch Jarod and Marie leave the room. The camera zooms in on their backs and watches them until they leave, allowing the sun to flood the lens. The camera slowly looks back at Daniel and then quietly shuts off.
***---***
In a remote part of Morocco, a small group is watching the camera's feedback on a large screen. The room is dark except for small lamps on the desk and red glows of lit cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. The camera cuts to the final view of Daniel's body before one of the members in the room speaks.
"It is quite unfortunate that another one of our 'projects' has failed." The man clears his throat before speaking again. "I am beginning to tire of these failures."
Another member speaks; this one is standing in the only lit part of the room and is noticeably European in appearance. "Do not worry. This time we will not fail."
A low gruff voice answers his statement. "For your sake, Viktor, this new group better not fail. The Triumvirate will not tolerate further disappointments."
"Have no fear, I am fully versed in the Scrolls. I pledge my life, to assure you the 'Word of Blake,' the man who wrote the scrolls himself, will bring you the pretender."
"See that it is done."
The European turns on his heels and exits the room as the footage of Daniel's death plays again. The first man speaks again. "Unacceptable."
***---***
Jarod, Sydney, Broots, and Marie are sitting in her office recuperating from their final conflict with Daniel St. Brolier. Parker is leaning back in her chair while each of the men is staring at a given thing. Broots is once again fascinated with the marble tiles, Jarod is staring at a picture on the far wall, and Sydney is deep in thought.
Parker is the first to break the silence. She lets the chair fall to the floor as she leans forward on her desk. "Do you boys think this whole thing is over?"
Jarod sighs as he looks at the other members of the room and then down to the floor tile in front of him. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow." His twisted reflection looks back at him with an air of sympathy.
Broots and Sydney lock glances as Marie turns to look out her window. It starts to rain as lighting lights to sky. She doesn't break her concentration as she quietly responds to Jarod's words. "I guess so."
*~ F I N ~*
Stay tuned for "Sphere of Influence." Please Read and Rate.
Disclaimer: I'm using the Pretender characters without permission. Please don't sue me.
Author notes: This one chapter took FOREVER to write. I started out on schedule, and then I hit a wall.brick by damn brick. Before I knew it, finals week hit and I had to place this story on the backburner. It became my goal to get this damn thing finished by Christmas.so here you go. It may be a little anti-climatic, but hey.it's done ain't it?
Lighter note: I want to thank everybody that read "Riddle of the Flesh." Extra thanks to those that gave me feedback in one form or another. Without you people reading my work, there would be no fun in any of this. Once again, thank you all. Enjoy the final chapter of Omega Web. This story was a trip to write.
***---***
"I don't want to have to shot you Jarod." Marie Parker stares down the front of her handgun as she pulls the hammer back. "But I will to get to Daniel."
"Then you better pull the trigger." His eyes are locked on Marie's. "Because I will not let you take me away. And I promise I will not miss."
***---***
In a separate room, Daniel watches the former lovers locked in their quarrel. A sinister smile crosses his face as he hears the exchange of threats. This is the jackpot he was waiting for, soon the two will open fire and one will fall. Then he steps in. If Marie lives, their love was meant to be. But if Jarod lives, he will be put out of his misery. But not until he is made aware of what he has done.
Daniel leans back in his chair and stares though the mirrored window in front of him. "Ring around the rosy, pocket full of posies." He grabs an open beer and takes a sip before setting it on the chair's arm rest.
"Ashes, ashes." Daniel pulls a cigarette out of a pack resting next to him. After placing it in his mouth, he lights it without diverting his eyes from the conflict in front of him.
He knocks the beer can off the armrest as he leans closer to the window. "We all fall down." The grin on his face widens as Marie Parker and Jarod are still staring each other down.
***---***
Sydney is pacing behind Broots with a look of fear and confusion on his face. One hand is in a vest pocket while the other seems to be holding his head off the floor. Beeping and clicking accompany Sydney's lone march, almost like a soundtrack. He stops and grabs Broots' shoulders, causing the tech to have a near fatal heart attack.
A loud, hollow thunk is heard as Broots' knees strike the underneath of his desk. "HOLY GOD!" The lone technician quickly looks over his shoulder at the surprised psychiatrist standing behind him. "Don't do that Sydney. I'm paranoid enough."
"Sorry Broots. It's just that..." The psychiatrist trails off as he falls deep into thought.
"You're wondering what happened to Miss Parker."
Sydney nods in recognition as a sigh escapes his throat. He rubs his throat as he begins to pace again as Broots goes back to typing away on his keyboard. "Have you tried calling her?"
"Yes. Over and over." Broots' eyes have yet to leave the screen since he started typing again. He stops typing as something captures his eye. "She won't answer her phone."
"What have you found Broots?" Sydney stops walking and stands beside the computer tech, both staring into the screen.
"Daniel seems to be posting pictures."
"Many people do that Broots. What's so important about these ones?"
Broots clicks on one of the thumbnails of the pictures to enlarge it. As the computer loads the picture, he turns to look Sydney in the face. The picture dominates the screen as Sydney's eyes widen. "Because this last one is of Miss Parker and Jarod."
Sydney picks up where Broots stopped. "And they're pointing guns at each other." He looks down to the technician. "We need to get there. Only problem is where 'there' is."
"Already solved."
"What is it?"
"8891 Industrial Drive."
Sydney is already halfway through the door before Broots ends his sentence. "Then let's move."
***---***
"How can you believe that psycho?"
"Why would he lie to me?" Jarod's gun drops slightly, but his eyes still betray his anger. "Daniel has nothing to lose."
"Look around you Jarod. Look at all these pictures of us." Marie steps towards Jarod, but does not lower her gun. "Why can't you remember us?"
"That was all a lie. Daniel told me." Jarod jerks the gun back up to Marie, causing her to stop in her tracks. She visibly sighs at Jarod's attitude.
Against her better judgment, Parker decides to place the safety on her gun and drops it to the ground. "Fine." Marie locks her eyes onto Jarod's. "If you're going to shoot me, then shoot me." She kicks the gun to Jarod's feet. "But I refuse to shoot you."
Jarod looks at the gun as it strikes his foot and leans to the ground to grab it. As he touches the gun, he looks back to Marie's face and sees the sorrow in her eyes. Something clicks in his mind and it becomes visible on his face.
***---***
"No, no, no!" Daniel jumps out of his chair at the sight of Parker dropping her gun to the floor. "That's not what you're supposed to do!"
He throws his cigarette to the ground and leans against the mirrored glass. Daniel's face is pressed against it, but the picture is still playing out the same. His plan is vanishing before his eyes, and he's powerless to stop it. That is unless he does something drastic, of course. Daniel's eyes slowly work their way over to the shotgun resting in the corner. The thought plays in his head as he picks it up.
"One way or another. You both WILL die." He loads the shotgun as Jarod looks at Marie's gun on the ground.
***---***
Jarod slowly works his way back to his feet as his eyes are locked into Marie's. For some reason, he gets the feeling this woman is NOT trying to kill him, and Daniel lied about it. But why? Then his answer comes in the form of a shattered light. A shotgun blast goes off, causing Marie and Jarod to jump backward.
The sound is followed by Daniel's voice. "All I really wanted was to be happy. And the both of you come along to screw it up." He loads the shotgun once again."
Daniel swings the gun around and points it at Marie. "Why could you just accept me for who I am?" When she doesn't answer, he shoots the wall collage next to her.
After reloading the gun, he brings it around to face Jarod. "You just had to ruin my life. I was perfectly fine until you showed up. All you had to do to repay me was to kill the woman that made your life hell for the last seven years." He shoots the ground in front of Jarod's foot as he slowly advances.
Jarod's eyes are locked onto the twisted face of Daniel. So much emotion is being displayed, yet there is so much fear in his eyes. Jarod almost feels sympathy for him, as if Daniel seriously didn't want this to happen, almost like it was all a fluke. As Daniel inches closer to him, Jarod's sympathy slowly drains away and becomes replaced by anger over how he was used.
Jarod's face is now twisted into a look of anger. "You wanted me to kill Marie. Why?"
Daniel slowly grins as he places the barrel of the shotgun against Jarod's chest. "Because if I can't have her, nobody will."
***---***
The car that Sydney and Broots were traveling in screeches to a stop outside an old industrial building. Sydney swings his door open, while Broots slowly opens his, and hurries over to the huge metal door while checking his gun. Broots timidly follows and pulls his coat tightly around him. Sydney manages to kick the door open and is inside before Broots even makes it over to him.
Elsewhere in the building, the group of three hears the loud bang of the door, causing mixed emotions in each. Marie is happy because she thinks it must be Sydney and Broots. Jarod is confused because of the two conflicting stories and this new element may add to it. Daniel is concerned because he never anticipated this; he never thought anybody would find this place.
Daniel has a habit of not showing his true feelings. "Well, it appears we have company. I should leave so the lot of you can get better acquainted."
Unfortunately for Daniel, Marie shows all emotions when she feels like it. She quickly scoops one of the guns off the floor and brings it around to face Daniel. "Not so fast."
Before Parker even gets a chance to think about what she is doing, the gun discharges. Everything seems to hit the slow motion you hear about during bad times. Her eyes involuntarily close as the shot echoes in her ears and the bullet casing strikes the floor. She is completely unaware that Daniel has been shot in the leg. Time resumes the usual pace.
The hollow thump of a human body striking the floor causes Marie to open her eyes again, but the sight of Daniel on the ground causes her to shudder. She can feel Jarod's arms around her, helping her to regain composure as she looks at the body of Daniel. He pulls her close as she instinctively wraps around him, comfortable in his arms. Jarod and Marie run into Sydney and Broots as they leave the small room.
"Miss Parker! You're alive!" Broots is ecstatic at the sight before his eyes. "Although you have looked better."
"Shut up Broots." Parker doesn't even make eye contact as she and Jarod brush past them.
"Where's Daniel?" Sydney starts to look around him trying to find any traces of the man.
Parker manages to stand on her own as Jarod let her go. She turns to face Sydney as her hand paces through her hair. "He's in the next room. It's the one with pictures everywhere."
Broots and Sydney both enter the adjacent room as Marie turns to Jarod. A grin passes her lips. "Okay lab rat, I have two question for you."
"Bring them on. Ice Queen." Jarod teases her, knowing she'll get the hidden meaning.
"Number one. How did you fake your death?"
A broad smile hits Jarod's face as he puts his hands in his pocket. "It's amazing what you can do when a doctor owes you a favor. Figured if you though I was dead, you'd finally act on your emotions."
Marie's face looks to be slightly hurt as she thinks about it. "You put me through that hell, just to make me DO something?"
"Correct." Jarod winks at her before he grabs her in an embrace.
Marie pulls away enough to look Jarod in the eyes. "Now for the second question. Were you really going to shoot me?"
Jarod kisses her before answering. "Come on Marie. You know what I am, I'm a pretender. I can be anything I want to be, and then turn back into myself. If I wanted to kill you, I would have a long time ago."
Marie places her head into his chest as she sighs. "That's what I thought."
Jarod rubs his hand across her back as Sydney and Broots reenter the main hallway. Broots' eyes never leave the floor as Sydney has a puzzled look on his face. His eyes meet with Jarod's allowing Jarod to feel his mentor's confusion, but Jarod has no idea what the source is. Parker notices this and looks back at the psychiatrist.
"What's wrong Syd?"
The older man sighs as he straightens his shirt collar. "Daniel's body wasn't there."
Parker can't believe what she heard. "Excuse me? I shot him, I saw him fall. What do you mean his body isn't there?"
"I believe he means you didn't kill me." Daniel walks out of the shadow behind Broots and quickly grabs him, placing a gun to his temple. "Now if you don't want to see a new floral pattern on my walls, get the hell out of my way."
"Why don't you crawl under a rock and die?" Marie has fully given in to the Ice Queen.
"Only if you follow me." Daniel spits the venom back at Marie. "You see, when this began, I found you invigorating. You were what I always wanted." Daniel smiles as he inches closer to Marie and Jarod, all the while pushing the gun barrel deeper into Broots' temple. "Now I see it's all a façade, a ruse, a mask. You aren't who you pretend to be." He pulls the gun away from Broots and points it at Jarod. "Just like your boyfriend."
Broots takes this moment to do something out of character. So out of character, in fact, that it catches everybody by surprise. With all of his might, he slams the heel of his left foot onto the big toe of Daniel's matching foot. The impact is enough to shatter the toe and cause the man to howl in pain, dropping the gun he held. More importantly, he lets go of the man he held captive, Broots the technician.
Almost on queue, Sydney and Marie each unload two shots into Daniel's chest. Like a puppet without strings, Daniel falls to the floor with no grace or fluid motion. He makes one last attempt to claim Marie as his own by grabbing at her shoes, but she simply kicks his hand away. Broots slowly climbs to his feet staring at Daniel's body but smiles once he realizes he didn't die.
Sydney looks at Marie and the two lock eyes. She is the first one to speak, but a tear starts to form. "It's finally over, Syd." She looks down at Daniel's still bleeding body. "It's finally over."
Sydney and Broots walk past Marie and Jarod as they leave the building. Before passing through the door, Broots casts one final look over his shoulder at Daniel and then looks back at the road outside. "Is it always this hard Syd?"
The psychiatrist looks down at the gun he never thought he'd use again. "It never gets easier. It just happens quicker."
Jarod and Marie are the next two to leave. Marie slowly looks at Jarod beside her and rests her head on his shoulder. "Promise me, next time you'll be saving me."
"Only if you give me the chance."
***---***
In the adjacent room, a video camera zooms in on the dead body of Daniel and then sweeps up to watch Jarod and Marie leave the room. The camera zooms in on their backs and watches them until they leave, allowing the sun to flood the lens. The camera slowly looks back at Daniel and then quietly shuts off.
***---***
In a remote part of Morocco, a small group is watching the camera's feedback on a large screen. The room is dark except for small lamps on the desk and red glows of lit cigarettes, pipes, and cigars. The camera cuts to the final view of Daniel's body before one of the members in the room speaks.
"It is quite unfortunate that another one of our 'projects' has failed." The man clears his throat before speaking again. "I am beginning to tire of these failures."
Another member speaks; this one is standing in the only lit part of the room and is noticeably European in appearance. "Do not worry. This time we will not fail."
A low gruff voice answers his statement. "For your sake, Viktor, this new group better not fail. The Triumvirate will not tolerate further disappointments."
"Have no fear, I am fully versed in the Scrolls. I pledge my life, to assure you the 'Word of Blake,' the man who wrote the scrolls himself, will bring you the pretender."
"See that it is done."
The European turns on his heels and exits the room as the footage of Daniel's death plays again. The first man speaks again. "Unacceptable."
***---***
Jarod, Sydney, Broots, and Marie are sitting in her office recuperating from their final conflict with Daniel St. Brolier. Parker is leaning back in her chair while each of the men is staring at a given thing. Broots is once again fascinated with the marble tiles, Jarod is staring at a picture on the far wall, and Sydney is deep in thought.
Parker is the first to break the silence. She lets the chair fall to the floor as she leans forward on her desk. "Do you boys think this whole thing is over?"
Jarod sighs as he looks at the other members of the room and then down to the floor tile in front of him. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow." His twisted reflection looks back at him with an air of sympathy.
Broots and Sydney lock glances as Marie turns to look out her window. It starts to rain as lighting lights to sky. She doesn't break her concentration as she quietly responds to Jarod's words. "I guess so."
*~ F I N ~*
Stay tuned for "Sphere of Influence." Please Read and Rate.