Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 for the usual statements.
Author's note: I hope everyone who does me the honor of reading this story, truly enjoys it. Thanks
The things I do…
Chapter V
By CallistoThe Centre
Blue Cove, DE
Wakefulness stole into her consciousness with steely efficiency. Her internal alarm clock was usually doggedly accurate, assuring her that the time had to be just before 6 a.m. She allowed a lazy yawn to escape her lips and stretched each limb purposely. If the guards had been watching, they would have assumed that she was completely at home in confinement. In stark contrast to her dungeon like cell these comfortable rooms she had been returned to were adequately heated, the bed reasonably comfortable. She knew she had only an hour before the lights in the room were automatically switched on, so she got up slowly, giving the appearance of being groggy.
The baggy Centre issued pajamas flapped loosely on her thin frame as she padded over to the bathroom, which provided her minimal privacy from the watchful eyes of the cameras. She splashed cold water on her face and drank some of the liquid to soothe her dry throat. Her nails tapped in staccato rhythm on the side of the metal sink. A soft answering tap assured her the plan was still in place and her residence in her lover's former rooms was about to come to an end.
Returning to the main rooms she sauntered as quickly as she dared towards the thickly upholstered chair that was sitting near the bed. In the small space between the bed and chair was a night stand and an area in which Parker had gotten her handlers used to seeing her curl up in when she had been returned here after a long day of putting up with Raines' never ending tests. Without pausing, she eased the nightstand aside with her feet while slowly using her back to shove the chair further away from the bed, clearing the way and making more room for her to maneuver. Behind the nightstand was an air vent grate, securely attached to the wall. Jarod had never attempted to escape through these vents, so the powers that be had left this opening untouched. Frowning slightly, the last time she had a good look at this vent, she had been twelve years old and it had been a great deal larger. Mentally shrugging she hoped Angelo was right and she would be able to squeeze her way through the opening. 'At least during the past 2 weeks I can't complain about gaining any weight,' she thought grimly, completely unaware that she had dropped several pounds.
It took her a bit more time than she had originally allowed to work her body, feet first through the opening, then hanging partially out of the opening she pulled the furniture back into its original position and replaced the grate carefully. By the time she was done, 10 minutes had elapsed and she was winded. For a few seconds she bowed her head, wondering how she thought she was going to squeeze through this part of the vent backwards. When she was a child, it was a maneuver she could perform in under a minute, now she suspected it would take at least another 10-15 minutes to get to the junction she needed to reach in order to start her journey. The going was slow as she began backing up through the vents. She had gotten about 2 feet away from her cell vent when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her ankles. A light tapping on the bottom of her foot caused her to relax her body completely. Immediately she began to slide effortlessly backwards through the vent as Angelo pulled her towards the roomier juncture.
The Centre – outer access road 5A
Blue Cove, DE
Wrapped securely in industrial grade protective clothing, the two men entered the heavily secured sewage tunnel that connected to the less secured county access tunnel. The men worked in concert as they sloshed purposely towards the grand edifice almost half a mile away. Daypacks wrapped in thick plastic were strapped to their backs. Goggles and heavy-duty facemasks protected their eyes and faces from whatever horror the Centre saw fit to flush down the sewer. They easily got past the intermittent electronic security installed in the Centre's sewer tunnels and trotted double-time through the passageways towards their goal. Fifteen minutes later the men arrived at a vertical access channel, which led into the interior bowels of the Centre. Neither man was breathing heavily, the time they had spent together in the Wisconsin barn had been partially used in training for the physically demanding task they had been planning in order to retrieve a person who had recently become extremely important to both of them.
Without speech or much sign language, they quickly climbed the metal ladder embedded in the concrete wall and found themselves in a small room secured by an impenetrable steel studded door with a convenient key-card panel on one side of the lock. Jarod turned his back to Alex, who relieved his unlikely partner of his backpack and held on to it, while Jarod efficiently unwrapped the plastic covering and started rummaging through it. Instead of pulling out a gadget that would go through a set of computations to figure out the correct code, Jarod pulled out a tiny pen light, a small canister, a tiny square of aluminum and a pair of tweezers.
If he had bothered to look at his companion, Jarod would have noticed Alex suddenly relaxing his shoulders in defeat and roll his eyes in disgust. It was obvious Jarod was going to pull a MacGyver on the lock. In less time than an electronic lock pick would have taken finding the code, Jarod had the door open and the backpack restrapped to his back as they continued their journey through the lower levels of the Centre.
Minutes later they had reached the main mezzanine level using the boiler access tunnels. It was just after 6 a.m. when they cautiously opened the curiously well-oiled door and entered a deserted corridor. They hurried down a hallway and found an empty room with a conveniently placed air vent. After divesting themselves of their heavy gear and hiding it from casual view, they entered the air vent and crawled resolutely towards Raines' office.
Lyle arrived early at the Centre. After his now usual punishing early morning workout at the gym, he quickly dressed and headed towards his recently repaired office suite. He strode confidently through the hallways, humming tunelessly to himself. If he knew that the noise he was making would attract the attention of the man he had been barely successful in avoiding, he no doubt would have stayed in bed at least another hour rather than facing Alex's uncompromising wrath.
As the two intruders were nearing their goal, they heard someone's pathetic rendition of Mozart. Jarod winced at this butchering of the timeless classical tune and crawled over to a ground level vent opening. Looking around he spotted Lyle sauntering towards his office. Jarod tapped quietly, attracting Alex's attention, causing the other to join him. Alex's eyes glittered darkly for several seconds as he watched Lyle walk into his office. Once Lyle entered his inner sanctum, Alex turned his empty gaze on Jarod and nodded. Jarod looked at his new ally with a sinking heart. He understood Alex's sense of guilt but couldn't help but be unsettled at the expression in the other's eyes. Jarod clinched his jaw and returned the nod, forgoing Raines' office they quickly exited the vent and followed Lyle.
The memory of the blast that ripped his office apart encouraged Lyle to look around cautiously. A new habit was being formed as he stared at his desk, almost expecting to find another note warning him of impending danger. His brief surveillance found nothing amiss and he breathed an unconscious sigh of relief. The last thing he wanted to encounter was Alex. The cleaners assigned to find out how Alex got into his office undetected concluded that the only unsecured opening into the room was the air vent. In response, Lyle had the vent wired so the next time someone crawled within several feet of the opening, the alarm would alert security immediately.
Shaking himself mentally, Lyle started extracting files in preparation of a conference call he needed to make to his contact in Düsseldorf. Project Regeneration was going to be a far-reaching masterpiece of his forward thinking over self-will and determination. To top this all off, it was going to do the Centre a whole lot of good and re-secure his rightful place in the Triumvirate. Happily busying himself with the small details necessary for the meeting to go smoothly, Lyle was unaware that while his vent had been properly alarmed, he never anticipated that the bane of his existence would walk brazenly through his office door. Jarod stood to one side of the entrance while Alex soundlessly walked up to Lyle who was concentrating on finding a file he had stored in his bottom desk file drawer. The slight noise of Alex deactivating the cameras inside the office drew the dapper sociopath's attention and absently glancing around he saw a man's pants leg. Looking up in irritation, Lyle was stunned speechless to find himself face to face with Alex's madly glittering gaze.
The bracing scent and feel of fresh sea air on her face was a welcome sensation. She had spent only two weeks in confinement which she realized ahead of time wouldn't sit well with anyone of her particular disposition but it was the small, inconsequential things associated with freedom that she had taken for granted. Kneeling at the grate, she breathed in the salty air deeply. Angelo paused considerately; his empathy allowed him understanding of her immediate feelings. After a minute, he tapped her on the shoulder, gently pulling her away from the immovable grate and onto the egress point he found years ago.
Emerging into the awakening day, Parker stretched gratefully and lifted her face to the sky. She could never have imagined that being caged in the Centre could be so limiting on so many levels. After years of chasing him and taunting him with her intentions of returning him to this place, Parker finally understood a tiny part of Jarod's horror at the notion of ever returning. A hard, spirit-weakening slap of shame pierced her heart. Looking sheepishly over at Angelo, who tilted his head in confusion at her sudden embarrassment, she turned and walked past him through the trees towards the rarely used outer access road. Through the trees she spotted the car she had seen in the vision provided by her mother. The domestic brand SUV was partially hidden by the adjacent forest. Parker walked up and stared at the vehicle. There, leaning on the driver's side front fender was Ethan, his head was down and he seemed desolate. Smiling, Parker placed her finger to Angelo's lips, signaling him to remain silent. Circling the SUV stealthfully, she sneaked up on her half-brother and placed her hand on his back, lightly rubbing it.
Ethan raised his head in alarm and turning he was shocked to find his sister standing before him. Without thinking he immediately embraced her, lifting her off her feet. When he finally released her, she smiled affectionately at him and lightly cupped his stubbly cheek in her hand.
"Mom showed me this. She said everything would be all right and I saw her leaning against a car. When I saw your truck here, I thought for a minute I would see her. It's weird. This is almost exactly the way it was when I had the vision of almost being decapitated in that crumbling building and there you were. I'm sure there's some significance in it but right now I don't care. It's great seeing you again, Ethan."
"She told me that you would need me. I insisted on coming along but they wouldn't listen when I tried to tell them that you would come out on your own. I've been waiting so long, I was beginning to doubt myself," he replied with obvious relief. He stared into her eyes unwilling to break the contact he had with her. "Are you alright? Did those people hurt you?"
Smiling away his concern, she said reassuringly, "I'm fine. Emil's serum worked like a charm. They were too afraid of harming the potential new slave they thought I was carrying. Besides being a little chilled, I'm fine."
"I brought along a change of clothes for you," Ethan said hurriedly as he opened the rear door of the SUV. Reaching in he brought out a neatly folded bundle of clothing including underwear. "I wasn't sure which way they would bring you out but I was certain that it would be probably be dirty. There's a thermos of hot water you can use to freshen up. It's not much but at least it's a start."
"Thank you. This is more than I had planned on," she said quietly, deeply surprised at his anticipation. Movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention and hastily she reached out to her companion. "Ethan, this is Angelo. Without his help it would have been next week by the time I found my way out of there." At the mention of his name, Angelo stepped forward and looked at Ethan curiously.
"Young Son, like Daughter," Angelo said with wonderment in his voice.
"Yes, Angelo. This is my youngest brother," Parker said softly. "Ethan, who else came with you? Is Jarod here?" she asked a little uncertainly as she walked to one side of the vehicle to change clothes.
Ethan saw her intent and turned his back dutifully to give her some privacy. He found himself facing Angelo while he answered her question. "Yes. I had to force them to bring me along. Jarod and Alex went inside to get you out. Why didn't they return with you?"
"Because I got out on my own. I haven't seen them. Are you telling me those two geniuses thought I couldn't manage this on my own? They came here to 'rescue' me, didn't they?" she asked angrily.
"Yeah. They both were pretty freaked out when I told them what happened. I believe they went in there for some revenge as well as getting you out. And before you ask, yes, I did tell them that you had planned on being taken prisoner."
"Tell me what are they planning on doing?" she asked grimly. Finished dressing, she walked over to her brother with a set expression on her face. Ethan smiled at her and handed over a light jacket for her to put on.