Disclaimer: Please see chapter 1 for the usual statements
The things I do…
Chapter XI
By Callisto
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
Several days had passed since the debacle in Iowa. Ten minutes after both Erebus and his Control failed to checked in along with the sweepers sent in as back-up, Lyle ventured to the home with foreboding bordering on consternation to see what was happening. Once he and Willie encountered the first two unconscious sweepers, Lyle knew the whole operation had gone south. With swift efficiency, he ordered Willie to get the back-up unit who were still waiting in the van to assist in the clean-up of fallen sweepers. Continuing along on his own, Lyle spotted a few more unconscious sweepers and approached the slightly open window that was Erebus' point of entry. Frowning unhappily, he reached up with his gloved hands and was about to tug the screen off the window when the wail of approaching police units sounded in the distance, disturbing the already unsettled night air. Lyle knew for certain those sirens were headed for this house, so without any further ado, he abandoned Erebus and Control to their fates, and helped Willie with the rest of the sweepers, erasing any obvious traces of their presence. They were able to pull away from their hiding spot in the neighborhood just as the state authorities were arriving.
Leaning back in his office chair, Lyle wondered if it had been wise to return to the Centre at all but of course Willie had been hanging around a lot more than usual which was a sure sign Raines had already considered Lyle's fleeting urge to take a sudden and extended vacation. Nothing had been heard from Erebus and this too was a bad sign. Unfortunately, the Centre had already seen too much of his Control all over television as news of her arrest made the top story across the nation as the second most prolific female serial killer. Her capture was an embarrassing moment for not only the FBI profilers who were certain the suspect was a white male of extraordinary intelligence but for Lyle as well who now seemed incapable of supervising a simple retrieval of a little boy. As one of the most notorious female serial killer to date, Control was paraded as a gruesome and horrifying evolution of the female criminal mind and held up to extensive media coverage. Pundits and pop-psychiatrists came out of the woodwork trying to explain her reasons for committing the gruesome murders, from displaced motherhood theories to early sexual child abuse issues, everyone had an opinion and the media made sure that the public at large would hear, read or watch them all--ad nauseam.
Raines watched the fiasco of Control's capture with unbridled anger. Having his people laid bare to public scrutiny was intolerable. The potential for Centre exposure was unacceptable. The fact that this had occurred at all was unsurprising since it was Lyle who was in charge of the project. Lyle had his uses but this apparently wasn't one of them. Retaliatory ideas of the best way to scale back Lyle's sphere of influence in a manner to cause the most pain to his wayward sociopath project flitted restlessly through the extensive misery database in his mind. Leaning back in his comfortable chair, Raines came to the decision to let things go as they currently were and when the Triumvirate came to feed, he would happily throw Lyle to them as a token of his unflinching loyalty and support. Raines remained sequestered in his office for most of the following week until Willie came to announce that a crate had arrived with Mr. Lyle's name on it. No one had touched it, knowing the Chairman's present mood. Staring balefully at Willie, he ordered the sweeper to bring the crate to the pursuit team's old sim office and to escort Lyle there as well. Ten minutes later, Lyle, Raines, Willie and Miles, the sweeper were assembled in the outer sim room, all of them staring at the heavy wooden crate before them.
Never a patient man, Lyle stepped forward and ripped the shipping manifest off the crate and read aloud, "MidWay Body Shop--Classic and vintage body parts from the golden era of the mid-late 60's." With a small huff of disbelief, Lyle continued, "I can't stand any car over 2 years old, this must be a joke of some kind--probably from Jarod." Casting an anxious and disgusted look at the package, Lyle looked to Raines whose eyes shifted from the crate to Lyle, then back again. Lyle took this look to be that of permission and nodding to Willie, stated in a voice full of weary resignation, "open it."
Miles and Willie used crowbars on either side of the crate and finally working one side loose, managed to muscle it open. A copious amount of styrofoam popcorn tumbled out along with a large package sealed in heavy, green plastic. Willie, grabbed a box-cutter knife from a nearby table and neatly slit a large hole in the bag. An overpoweringly foul odor of decomposing flesh leeched out and immediately permeated the room. The sweepers and Lyle held the noses, Raines seemed completely unaffected by the stomach churning stench.
"Willie, cut away the rest of the plastic and let's see what this is," Raines commanded dispassionately.
When he was done, the bloated face of Erebus, with his mouth still duct taped was revealed. Attached to his chest was a white envelope addressed to "the damned". Willie, no longer holding his nose, snatched the envelope off the dead pretender and looked at his boss. He placed the envelope into Raines' outstretched hand and began to search the rest of the crate for anymore items of interest.
Raines opened the single sheet of paper and began to read. His face turned white as he turned his soulless gaze on his disgraced protégé. Lyle was watching Raines' face as he read, knowing this had to be another taunt from Jarod, though he was surprised Jarod would have expressed himself in this manner. Taking the note from Raines, it read: "By the time you receive this, he should be tenderized to medium-rare. I realized this was an extremely rare and expensive piece of property, so I took care in its delivery. Eat up, Lyle. This will probably prove to be your last meal in quite some time. That is if Daddy Raines doesn't kill you before I do."
There was no signature but the tone and wording could only be from one person--Alex. A controlled burning rage coursed through Lyle's veins. He knew Raines was considering his termination but this insult from that sicko Alex irked him to no end. Swiftly coming to a decision, Lyle decided hunting down Alex would become his focus after tying up a few loose ends at the Centre. With the time left to him, he would get what was left of Project Regeneration off the ground and into the final stages. There wouldn't be any back-ups but they had at least one pretender showing good promise, enough to guarantee the Centre a future and perhaps a little revenge against Jarod and his little helpers well. Lyle looked blankly at Raines, then turned and left the room. Willie glanced at his master who was smiling incongruously. Raines was satisfied with the embarrassment Alex had heaped on Lyle and Lyle's adverse, practically murderous reaction. He had backup plans of his own and there was a contingency plan Mr. Lyle was unaware existed and one that would continue to keep the Centre afloat despite this devastating set-back. This contingency plan was something on a scale that surpassed Erebus himself.
The Renaissance Hotel
Pittsburgh, PA
Parting is always hard to do. It was something Parker particularly hated as she packed up the last of his things. In the past couple weeks she had grown attached to Cyrus, much as she had to Broots' daughter, Debbie. Only this time, the good-bye would be permanent and through their acquaintance had been relatively short, the boy managed to eke a place for himself in her heart.
Jarod had arranged with some contacts in Seattle, for the boy to start a new and anonymous life out there, where he could still enjoy a modicum of normalcy. Today he was leaving, and after saying good-bye to Ethan, Cyrus turned to his friend and first crush. Holding back the tears, Parker folded herself into a squat and allowed the child to throw himself into her arms. She held him tightly, committing every small detail of him to memory. Finally she released him, stood up and took a step away from him, clasping her hands tightly behind her back and turning her face away from the boy. Cyrus stood his ground looking up at her forlornly. It was Jarod who picked the child up and asked him if he were ready to go. Cyrus barely heard the question, he had raised his hand towards Parker, as though trying to touch her hair when Jarod put him down. Alex saw and understood the boy's gesture. Knowing what the boy was reaching for, he picked up Cyrus again as he was walking to the door and said, "Hey, I saw that and I know how you feel. It feels like heavy silk. This is going to be your last chance, so go ahead." Stepping over to his twin with Cyrus in his arms, he nodded to the kid. Cyrus looked at Parker with worshipful admiration. He then looked at Alex and whispered softly, "She's prettier than Princess Jasmine."
Cyrus reached out again and hesitantly ran his fingers through her hair. A pleased expression sprang immediately to his face. She smiled at the two of them as Cyrus shyly returned her smile. Alex put him down and the boy waved his final good-byes to the Centre refugees who had saved his life and sanity, as Jarod led him gently away towards his new life in Seattle.
Two days later, news reports and headlines were shouting that the Orphan-maker serial killer somehow managed to commit suicide in her high security cell. The attorney hired to represent her could not be found to offer a trite sound-bite leaving massive speculation and investigations. Despite the suspect's death, Trooper Vance was commended several times for his excellent investigative and organizational skills and promoted 2 grades to Sergeant. Both Parker and Jarod smiled at the news knowing that Sergeant Vance was wondering who his benefactors were, how they knew or obtained the information they got and when he would be hearing from them next.
The lovers had sat down to a light dinner of Caesar salads. Parker was picking at her plate when she asked quietly, "It was the knish I stuffed in his mouth that killed him, wasn't it?"
"Yes and no. He was still alive after you taped the knish in his mouth. He must have drawn in his breath when he heard our plan to leave his Control behind to take the fall for his crimes. It was then he began to struggle so much. We all believed it was to express his displeasure, which I still believe it was, only in the end he was trying to breathe as well." Jarod paused looking at his companion, then continued quietly, "Alex was right, eventually Erebus would have found a way out of his cell for the criminally insane. In retrospect, this is probably the best outcome."
The next morning, Alex and Ethan decided it was time to get their minds off the Centre and to take in some sights before they headed back to Wisconsin the next evening. They also decided some long overdue family time was in order as well and found themselves pounding on Parker and Jarod's hotel room door.
Slightly earlier, Parker was stretched out on the couch, reading a paperback suspense novel. Jarod came out of their bedroom, showered, shaved and half dressed, looking delectable. His hair had been professionally barbered, his cheeks closely shaven, his shirt missing and the top button of his dress pants left tantalizingly undone. Understandably, Parker hadn't been in the mood for the past few days, which for Jarod was a few days too long. He stared at the beautiful woman concentrating on her book and decided he needed some attention. Barefoot he padded over to the couch and cleared his throat discreetly. Parker lowered her book and looked at her man. The expression on his face made it clear what he wanted. Pausing, she stared at him then invitingly smiled at him. Jarod grinned happily, eased on top of her, kissed her neck, then started to unbutton her blouse. The scent of her perfume practically undid him. He continued to drop kisses on her chest and for good measure lightly scrapped his teeth across her sensitive skin. He was doing this for his own enjoyment but her soft, pleasurable moan was its own bonus. Jarod smiled widely and kissed her mouth, tasting her and relishing the contact, while smoothly untucking her blouse. By the time Alex and Ethan showed up to pound on their door, they were comfortably intertwined and the interruption was more than a little irritating.
"It's Ethan and Alex," she said when the persistent pounding distracted Jarod and curtailed her enjoyment. A determined grin appeared on her face when she turned her lover's head back towards her and said in a sultry voice, "Don't stop, I'll deal with it." Jarod frowned inquisitively, then at the urging of her right hand on his bare buttock, he resumed, eliciting another pleasure-filled moan from her. Remembering what Ethan had told her about the connection she shared with Alex, Parker cleared her mind as Jarod returned to his slow, erotic trek to the right spot. Jarod's efforts were causing a surge of emotion to fill her mind, an emotion she decided to share with her twin.
Alex was enveloped in warmth, pleasure and ecstasy at the same time. The emotion filled his mind and body, almost slamming him into the opposite wall. The sensation departed as swiftly as it came, leaving Alex disconcerted and discombobulated. Swiftly he collected himself, then looking at Ethan's concerned face, stated, "Aw, Hell. That Minx," he said to himself. Then to Ethan, "Come on kid, they want some privacy. We'll catch up to her later."