The Things I do…
Chapter II
By Callisto
Parker's lair
Cleveland, OH
Ethan sped towards the spacious loft he and his sister rented as their base of operations. It was in the part of Cleveland's warehouse district slated for and experiencing the beginning pangs of gentrification. The bums and drug addicts who had surrounded and inhabited the lower, less secured floors had moved out in search of the more private and neglected digs that remained immune from police attention.
Ethan was in a state and it showed. The sight of his sister being dragged off by Centre sweepers tore at his heart. Then the shouting pain of the voices in his head began tormenting him. He was sweating heavily, visibly making an effort to keep his emotions in check but was determined to abide by his sibling's instructions. Relying heavily on his instincts, he drove along the accepted route plotted out by his sister which involved numerous short cuts, frequently doubling back and darting down a series of alleys and back streets in order to throw off any pursuers. It was almost two hours later when he arrived with his now frightened passenger in a fresh vehicle at the warehouse. By the time they switched vehicles, Ethan had been reduced to a wild-eyed urgency and brokered no dissent from his father's wife.
Once inside the warehouse, Ethan bolted the door and rested his back against it, breathing heavily. The part of his mind that wanted to dwell on his sister's sacrifice was thrust hurriedly into the background as he set about completing their plan. Not bothering to look at his prize, Ethan walked over to Parker's cell phone and pushed the speed dial. The phone was answered eagerly on the first ring.
"No, Dad it's me. I need you to extract us from the Cleveland site; they've got Morwen. There wasn't anything I could do to help her, I was going to ram their car but the sniper fire surprised me. I hesitated for a few seconds and by the time I looked back they already had her," Ethan rambled wretchedly.
Ethan listened to the phone for a few seconds before answering hysterically, "Please, Dad. Just come and get me, I'm alright, I'll explain everything once we're out of here." Ethan nodded once, said, 'I'll be there' then disconnected the call.
Finally looking up at Margaret, Ethan said in a quiet voice, "Dad is on the way, he'll take us home."
Margaret, having listened to his side of the conversation and watching the guilty, horrified expressions on Ethan's face, mutely nodded and sat down to wait. Wondering who this young man's father was; she waited patiently, having little difficulty in believing Ethan was beyond supplying explanations at this point due mostly in part to having little success in extracting anything beyond a monosyllabic response from him. She unconsciously clasped her hands so tightly her knuckles began to turn white.
Burke Lakefront Airport
Cleveland, OH
The large Towncar sped with arrogant abandon out of Cleveland proper, the driver weaving confidently from one street to the next with the assistance of the expensive vehicle's navigational system. Within a few minutes they were turning into the airport and speeding towards the area reserved for chartered and private jets. The Towncar pulled into a large hanger and the occupants hustled quickly from the car to the waiting jet. Parker by this time had been uncomfortably fitted with a pair of handcuffs; her mouth covered with a large piece of duct tape. Looking around she quickly recognized two familiar figures. The driver had been none other than Raines' personal, enterprising lackey, Willie and standing next to him was a smug-looking Lyle, who was unconsciously messaging his missing thumb.
"Get her in the jet, now. We're leaving in less than 5 minutes," Lyle ordered briskly. Then turning to Willie he said, "Make sure the Towncar is sanitized and get rid of that," he nodded dismissively at the dead sweeper. "Also check with the team assigned to Jarod's mother, I want to know where they are and who was working with Parker."
"Yes, sir. Consider it done," Willie replied assuredly as he turned quickly to another sweeper and began carrying out Lyle's orders.
Once they were in flight, Lyle unbuckled his seatbelt and headed directly for the bar. He made himself a drink and quickly downed the contents. His movements were fluid and well practiced as he efficiently made two more drinks and included ice cubes. Bringing both glasses with him he stood in front of Miss Parker and smiled cynically. He nodded to the sweeper sitting next to her, prompting the man to undo the handcuffs. As she gingerly rubbed sensation back into her hands and removed the duct tape from her mouth, the unmistakable sound of a round being chambered in an automatic pistol directly behind her head, made her look up at Lyle.
"Thanks for the 30 minute head start, Sis. Somehow I feel the need to reward you for your generosity," Lyle said easily as he offered her the drink. When she took the offered beverage, he raised his glass slightly, in a mock salute and continued, "Here's to unexpected reunions. Looks like Dad was right, you just can't keep a Parker down." In one gulp, he polished off the drink. Noticing his twin hadn't touched hers, he nodded thoughtfully and relieved her of it.
"I take it we're going to the Centre. Why? Why not just kill me now and get it over with?" she asked quietly.
"Our new father has a few questions he wants to ask you personally. From what I can gather he has some ideas jumping around in that sick skull of his concerning you. Just a friendly suggestion: try to be your usual quiet self around him and you just might come out of the meeting with a minimum of pain. He was very hurt that you joined forces with Jarod to rescue Alex. Geez, Sis, after you ran off, we all suspected there was a little something going on between you and Jarod but a threesome with Alex, I've gotta say that I'm more than a little surprised."
Parker watched Lyle quietly, letting him drone on uninterrupted. She breathed an unobserved sigh of relief that she hadn't told this flesh-eating nutbag they weren't related. So far his ignorance of the truth had been to her advantage. If he knew the truth, she was convinced that whatever restraints had been keeping him from expressing his physical attraction to her, would disappear and the results would be the stuff of her worst nightmares.
Ferry Terminal
Sandusky, OH
Ethan and Margaret had only to wait a few minutes before another car pulled up behind them. The vehicles remained that way for a few seconds before Ethan's phone began to ring. Pulling it out, he answered, "Dad is that you?"
Quickly hanging up, Ethan got out and ducking back into the car, he beckoned Margaret to follow him. Margaret pulled her dark jacket around her thin body more tightly, then exited the vehicle. Parker's dark blue Hermes scarf continued to obscure her red hair as she followed her troubled and mysterious benefactor to his father's car. He shoved the two traveling bags he packed at the loft into the open rear window of the second vehicle. It was then that Ethan did something unusual. Once he finished with the baggage, he turned and for the first time in their short acquaintance, addressed her directly, looking into her eyes with a mixture of empathy and affection he said, "I'll give you a few minutes. If you need anything, I'll be over there." He then retreated and headed over to the water's edge.
Puzzled, Margaret leaned over and peeked into the car. As she did this she encountered a visage she had long given up hope of ever finding again. Her whole body drew up in surprise. She quietly muttered a name and was gratified by the driver getting out of the car and walking over to her. They stared at each other for several seconds as their immediate surroundings disappeared and the world shrank down to only them.
Ethan looked over his shoulder as his father reunited with his wife. It had been many years and they deserved as much privacy as the circumstances warranted. The voices in his head reassured him that Morwen's evading tactics worked on the team assigned to keep tabs on Margaret, so Ethan breathed a dissatisfied sigh of relief as he went over in his mind how to explain what happened to Jarod.
Green Lake, WI
Two days later, Margaret's reunion with her family had been accomplished. There were so many tears and whispered endearments that poor Ethan could only watch from a distance. After an hour of the family smiling incredulously at each other, Ethan stepped out onto the back patio and ran a hand distractedly through his hair. He missed Morwen terribly but didn't want his depressed sprits to dampen the joy of Margaret's return. He wandered towards the lake where he was surprised to find Emil sitting at the end of the dock, dangling his legs over the side, absorbed in the view.
"Hey, why aren't you inside with everyone else?"
"I guess I'm waiting for the explanations to finish. I can't imagine it will be easy explaining to my mother that I'm a clone of her son. I suppose what I'm really waiting for is to find out where they're going to place me in the family circle. I guess it's the same with you?" Emil asked curiously, finally noticing his brother's distress. "Where's Parker?"
"She was captured by the Centre. It was the only way to get Margaret back, now all I can do is wait," Ethan replied miserably.
"Does Jarod know what happened?" Emil asked anxiously.
"No, but I'm about to ask. What happened? Why didn't she come with you?" asked a quiet voice from behind them as Jarod strolled onto the dock.
Turning, an emotionally exhausted Ethan struggled to retain his composure. Looking in Jarod's face he quietly told his half-brother everything that happened, including Parker's knowledge that their plan would result in her capture and her insistence in keeping the plan between them until Margaret was safely returned. Jarod listened with outward calm, inside he felt his heart seize and blood run cold. Resignedly, he sat down on the dock bench and stared out at the water. After several minutes, he quietly asked Ethan to repeat everything he said. Ethan promptly complied, supplying every detail that came to mind. As he finished, Ethan watched as Jarod lowered his head into his hands. The dock became quiet, only the sounds of the gently lapping water broke the stillness.
"I told you to take good care of her, Genius. So this is your idea of looking out for her? If I wanted her dead, I would have done the job myself," a quietly enraged voice asked from the shore.
Looking up the three men noticed an extremely angry man standing in ankle deep water, pointing a silenced 9mm at Jarod's chest. Ethan stared at the man, wondering who he was and why he was there. He was about Jarod's age, with straight, dark brown hair, fair complexion and slender build. There was a single-mindedness about him and his expression went beyond anger—instead he seemed livid but the emotion stayed in his eyes and didn't effect his aim in the least.
"Alex, if you had been eavesdropping as long as I suspect then you heard what Ethan said, she knew the risks and insisted on going ahead with the plan. She didn't bother telling me about her crazy idea for obvious reasons. There wasn't anything he or I could have done," Jarod said wearily, seemingly unconcerned about the weapon pointed at his chest.
"Why was she out there on her own in the first place!" Alex yelled furiously.
"We wanted to try and locate Margaret, to bring the whole family together. It was something our mother predicted I would do. Morwen knew I needed solitude to concentrate and she wanted to come with me--to pool our efforts. We knew the rest of Jarod's family would keep unintentionally interrupting me so to divert attention away from what we wanted to do; she and Jarod staged an argument so we could leave without anyone becoming suspicious. It was also meant to give Emily and my father some time to adjust to the reality of their relationship. There wasn't any way for us to know the best chance of grabbing Margaret would come up so quickly," Ethan explained.
"Who the hell are you?" Alex asked brusquely.
"My name is Ethan, Morwen is my sister. Who the hell are you?" he asked calmly.
"Alex, she's my twin and someone has to pay for her capture," he said as he pulled back the hammer on the automatic.
"Then blame Lyle. He's the one Raines assigned to watch my family. I thought you had that situation under control," Jarod replied with a touch of his own anger.
"He ran for a while and just when I had tired of the chase and was on the brink of taking him out, he returned to the fold like a homing pigeon. I followed him back from Australia where he was holed up. I was just about ready to grab him up when I saw my sister being abducted by a bunch of his goons. I fired a few shots but it was too late, they already had her."
The despair and horror of his loss galvanized into uncompromising anger, Jarod looked up suddenly, stood and meeting Alex's eyes said, "I want her back alive and you're going to help me. I don't give a damn about anything else."
Lowering his weapon, Alex could see that the Centre had finally pushed their prized pretender into a place they never anticipated. Smiling grimly, Alex thought working with Jarod ought to be interesting.