A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to post the next chapter. I've been busy.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: See chapter 8
Chapter 9: Satisfaction
"The mortal coil of image
Inner peace and satisfaction"
Miss Parker and Broots tried to quietly crawl through the shaft. It wasn't working too well. Every few seconds one of them would put their knee down too hard, causing a thumping sound that echoed. Miss Parker winced every time it happened. She wanted their mission to succeed, not fail. And she certainly didn't want to wake up the whole Centre.
"Is it much farther?" Broots whispered from behind her. She turned around and whispered her answer back to him.
"Not much. The grate is just around this corner."
"Do you think Sydney and Sam are in position?" Broots questioned as they rounded the corner. Light streamed into the shaft from the grate that was just inches above their heads.
"Let's hope so." Miss Parker replied. They had decided it would be too hard to fit all four of them into the shaft. So, they came up with another plan. Sydney would come back to the Centre claiming he had forgotten some important papers. He would get the papers and then go down to check on Jarod before he left. Sam, being the loyal bodyguard that he was, would go with him to check on Jarod. And that's exactly how they did it.
Miss Parker glanced at her watch. 1:05 a.m. The nurse should have already left. Looking at Broots, she signaled that she was going to knock on the grate, their signal to Sydney and Sam that they were there and ready. Broots nodded his head. Smiling, Miss Parker lifted her hand and knocked on the grate. Several intense seconds followed. Then, the grate was moved away and a hand reached down to pull Miss Parker up. Broots stayed in the shaft.
"Is everything ready?" She asked Sydney. He nodded.
"We've disconnected all the machines except the breathing one. His condition is stable. He is ready for this little trip." He pointed to where Jarod lay on the floor. His face was pale, but besides that he looked okay. Sam was standing over him, checking him over to make sure nothing was amiss. Next to Sam were two squares with wheels on them. Their plan was to lay Jarod on these rollers and roll him through the shaft. Hopefully, nobody would be around to hear the noise.
"Let's do it." Sam said, positioning the rollers next to each other. Sydney moved over to help him lift Jarod on to the rollers. Miss Parker climbed back down into the shaft.
"Are you ready?" She asked Broots. He nodded his head, but didn't look very confident. Before she could encourage him, the sound of wheels moving could be heard above them.
"Here they come." Miss Parker whispered. Sam handed Miss Parker the two rollers, who in turn handed them to Broots. He set them up between himself and Miss Parker.
"Here comes Jarod." Sam said. He gently lowered the Pretender down with Sydney's help. Miss Parker placed both her hands under Jarod's head, lowering him toward the rollers. Once his feet appeared, Broots grabbed them and helped in the lowering process.
"Wait! Stop!" Sydney exclaimed from above. Miss Parker and Broots stopped, only inches away from laying Jarod on to the rollers. There was a squeaking of wheels and then a small thump from above.
"What's wrong?" Asked Miss Parker, arms straining to hold on to Jarod.
"You can finish lowering him." Sydney said. Miss Parker and Broots did that, then secured Jarod to the rollers.
"What happened?" Broots called up to Sydney.
"The cord wasn't long enough. We had to move the machine closer. We didn't want what is keeping Jarod alive to be ripped out of his nose."
"Oh." Broots said. "Are you ready to lower the machine?"
"Yes." Sam replied. "Here it comes." Grunting, Sam and Sydney lifted the machine and placed it over the hole in the floor. With Miss Parked and Broots holding the bottom and Sydney and Sam gently pushing it down, the machine was lowered into the shaft. They were all very careful. They knew the price of dropping the machine. After what seemed like forever, the machine was on the floor of the shaft. Miss Parker breathed a sigh of relief, as did the others.
"Well, the hardest part is done. Are you ready to pull, Broots?" She asked.
"Yes, I guess." Broots said, strapping himself into the harness they had made. Broots would pull Jarod while Miss Parker would push the machine.
"All right. Let's get going. See you boys on the outside." Miss Parker waved good-bye to Sam and Sydney as she and Broots stared to go back through the shaft. Sam put the grate back on.
The trip back through the shaft was frightening. The rollers and machine made a lot of noise. More than they had thought it would. They were so afraid that they would get caught. But, they made it out. Both Miss Parker and Broots were exhausted from pushing and pulling.
Once they made it outside, Sam and Sydney took over, removing Jarod and his breathing machine and putting both into the waiting car. Then, they helped Miss Parker and Broots into the car.
"Well, we did it." Broots said as they drove away from the Centre. "We managed to steal the Pretender from them." Smiles broke out onto all of their tired faces.
* * *
The next morning, Mr. Parker stormed down the hall, raging. How could this have happened? There was no way Jarod could have just upped and walked away. That was impossible. And besides, his breathing machine was missing. Who could have moved both Jarod and his breathing machine without being noticed?
He threw open the doors to his companion's office without even knocking. He was too angry to care. Storming up to the desk, he slammed down his hands on to it.
"How could this have happened?" He yelled, glaring at his companion. "Who did this?" His companion just shook his head.
"I do not know. The security cameras were deactivated, so we won't have any help there. Have you talked to Jarod's mentor, Sydney? According to my sources, he was the last person to be seen in the room. And he was there rather late."
"I talked to him. He said he went home and to bed. He did check on Jarod, but that was all. Someone else must have done it, is what he said."
"What about that techi? Broots, I think his name is."
"He had a good alibi, too. He was spending time with his daughter." Mr. Parker started pacing. "Who could have done this if not them?"
"Have you talked to your daughter? Maybe she had something to do with this."
"My daughter? Nonsense. She hates Jarod with every cell in her body. She would not want to rescue him." Mr. Parker collapsed into one of the chairs. Both men sat there in silence after that, each considering his options.
* * *
Miss Parker woke up early that morning. After getting showered and dressed, she went to check up on Jarod. His condition was stable, but whether or not he came out of the coma was still to be seen.
At 8:05 a.m., the phone rang. Miss Parker had a ten-minute conversation with Broots. He told her that because the cameras had been deactivated, the Centre couldn't blame anyone for Jarod's disappearance. Miss Parker was happy about that information. If no one could be blamed for this, then they and Jarod were safe. After thanking Broots for the information and telling him how Jarod was, she hung up. Grabbing a jacket, she decided to go for a walk. First, she walked over to where Jarod lay. She bent down and kissed him gently on the cheek.
"I love you." She whispered, before turning away and heading for the door.
Jarod's eye lids fluttered open. He blinked, focusing once again on the real world. He moved his mouth, trying to say something. After two tries, it finally came out, just as Miss Parker was opening the door.
"Parker." He whispered.
Disclaimer: See chapter 8
Chapter 9: Satisfaction
"The mortal coil of image
Inner peace and satisfaction"
Miss Parker and Broots tried to quietly crawl through the shaft. It wasn't working too well. Every few seconds one of them would put their knee down too hard, causing a thumping sound that echoed. Miss Parker winced every time it happened. She wanted their mission to succeed, not fail. And she certainly didn't want to wake up the whole Centre.
"Is it much farther?" Broots whispered from behind her. She turned around and whispered her answer back to him.
"Not much. The grate is just around this corner."
"Do you think Sydney and Sam are in position?" Broots questioned as they rounded the corner. Light streamed into the shaft from the grate that was just inches above their heads.
"Let's hope so." Miss Parker replied. They had decided it would be too hard to fit all four of them into the shaft. So, they came up with another plan. Sydney would come back to the Centre claiming he had forgotten some important papers. He would get the papers and then go down to check on Jarod before he left. Sam, being the loyal bodyguard that he was, would go with him to check on Jarod. And that's exactly how they did it.
Miss Parker glanced at her watch. 1:05 a.m. The nurse should have already left. Looking at Broots, she signaled that she was going to knock on the grate, their signal to Sydney and Sam that they were there and ready. Broots nodded his head. Smiling, Miss Parker lifted her hand and knocked on the grate. Several intense seconds followed. Then, the grate was moved away and a hand reached down to pull Miss Parker up. Broots stayed in the shaft.
"Is everything ready?" She asked Sydney. He nodded.
"We've disconnected all the machines except the breathing one. His condition is stable. He is ready for this little trip." He pointed to where Jarod lay on the floor. His face was pale, but besides that he looked okay. Sam was standing over him, checking him over to make sure nothing was amiss. Next to Sam were two squares with wheels on them. Their plan was to lay Jarod on these rollers and roll him through the shaft. Hopefully, nobody would be around to hear the noise.
"Let's do it." Sam said, positioning the rollers next to each other. Sydney moved over to help him lift Jarod on to the rollers. Miss Parker climbed back down into the shaft.
"Are you ready?" She asked Broots. He nodded his head, but didn't look very confident. Before she could encourage him, the sound of wheels moving could be heard above them.
"Here they come." Miss Parker whispered. Sam handed Miss Parker the two rollers, who in turn handed them to Broots. He set them up between himself and Miss Parker.
"Here comes Jarod." Sam said. He gently lowered the Pretender down with Sydney's help. Miss Parker placed both her hands under Jarod's head, lowering him toward the rollers. Once his feet appeared, Broots grabbed them and helped in the lowering process.
"Wait! Stop!" Sydney exclaimed from above. Miss Parker and Broots stopped, only inches away from laying Jarod on to the rollers. There was a squeaking of wheels and then a small thump from above.
"What's wrong?" Asked Miss Parker, arms straining to hold on to Jarod.
"You can finish lowering him." Sydney said. Miss Parker and Broots did that, then secured Jarod to the rollers.
"What happened?" Broots called up to Sydney.
"The cord wasn't long enough. We had to move the machine closer. We didn't want what is keeping Jarod alive to be ripped out of his nose."
"Oh." Broots said. "Are you ready to lower the machine?"
"Yes." Sam replied. "Here it comes." Grunting, Sam and Sydney lifted the machine and placed it over the hole in the floor. With Miss Parked and Broots holding the bottom and Sydney and Sam gently pushing it down, the machine was lowered into the shaft. They were all very careful. They knew the price of dropping the machine. After what seemed like forever, the machine was on the floor of the shaft. Miss Parker breathed a sigh of relief, as did the others.
"Well, the hardest part is done. Are you ready to pull, Broots?" She asked.
"Yes, I guess." Broots said, strapping himself into the harness they had made. Broots would pull Jarod while Miss Parker would push the machine.
"All right. Let's get going. See you boys on the outside." Miss Parker waved good-bye to Sam and Sydney as she and Broots stared to go back through the shaft. Sam put the grate back on.
The trip back through the shaft was frightening. The rollers and machine made a lot of noise. More than they had thought it would. They were so afraid that they would get caught. But, they made it out. Both Miss Parker and Broots were exhausted from pushing and pulling.
Once they made it outside, Sam and Sydney took over, removing Jarod and his breathing machine and putting both into the waiting car. Then, they helped Miss Parker and Broots into the car.
"Well, we did it." Broots said as they drove away from the Centre. "We managed to steal the Pretender from them." Smiles broke out onto all of their tired faces.
* * *
The next morning, Mr. Parker stormed down the hall, raging. How could this have happened? There was no way Jarod could have just upped and walked away. That was impossible. And besides, his breathing machine was missing. Who could have moved both Jarod and his breathing machine without being noticed?
He threw open the doors to his companion's office without even knocking. He was too angry to care. Storming up to the desk, he slammed down his hands on to it.
"How could this have happened?" He yelled, glaring at his companion. "Who did this?" His companion just shook his head.
"I do not know. The security cameras were deactivated, so we won't have any help there. Have you talked to Jarod's mentor, Sydney? According to my sources, he was the last person to be seen in the room. And he was there rather late."
"I talked to him. He said he went home and to bed. He did check on Jarod, but that was all. Someone else must have done it, is what he said."
"What about that techi? Broots, I think his name is."
"He had a good alibi, too. He was spending time with his daughter." Mr. Parker started pacing. "Who could have done this if not them?"
"Have you talked to your daughter? Maybe she had something to do with this."
"My daughter? Nonsense. She hates Jarod with every cell in her body. She would not want to rescue him." Mr. Parker collapsed into one of the chairs. Both men sat there in silence after that, each considering his options.
* * *
Miss Parker woke up early that morning. After getting showered and dressed, she went to check up on Jarod. His condition was stable, but whether or not he came out of the coma was still to be seen.
At 8:05 a.m., the phone rang. Miss Parker had a ten-minute conversation with Broots. He told her that because the cameras had been deactivated, the Centre couldn't blame anyone for Jarod's disappearance. Miss Parker was happy about that information. If no one could be blamed for this, then they and Jarod were safe. After thanking Broots for the information and telling him how Jarod was, she hung up. Grabbing a jacket, she decided to go for a walk. First, she walked over to where Jarod lay. She bent down and kissed him gently on the cheek.
"I love you." She whispered, before turning away and heading for the door.
Jarod's eye lids fluttered open. He blinked, focusing once again on the real world. He moved his mouth, trying to say something. After two tries, it finally came out, just as Miss Parker was opening the door.
"Parker." He whispered.