Chapter Five

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The next place that Parker and Jarod stayed proved to be less luxurious. He explained that they would be moving frequently over the next little while just to be sure. It was partially because if Parker called the sweepers in they would be gone before they got there. Jarod knew this subconsciously but he told himself that it was mainly so no one would be able to track them.

The next place that they stayed was a few hundred miles away from the fancy hotel by public bus line. It was downtown New York. It was the back room in the house of a homely woman called Marina, one of the many friends Jarod had made in his time on the outside.

Despite the slightly less expensive rooming, Jarod was relieved to be out of the hotel because it meant separate rooms for him and Parker. She let off a delicious scent when she slept that wove its way into his dreams. He felt that it wasn't right to be having those sorts of dreams about a woman that had frequently wanted to kill him.

Once they had arrived at Marina's house and settled in, she made them all a sumptuous meal. The woman seemed prepared for a score of starving people to turn up out of the blue on her doorstop, let alone Jarod and a 'close friend of his.'

Later, Parker sat on her bed and Jarod on a chair whilst he worked away at something on his laptop. Even as he typed he engaged her in friendly idle conversation.

'Oh come on, you can't tell me you didn't enjoy the look on Lyle's face last time he just missed me!' He joked with her. She stifled a laugh and tried to put on a straight face.

'No, it wasn't funny in the slightest. And how where you watching that anyway? He told us that last he saw of you, you were hightailing it pretty damn fast.'

'I stopped once I was out of sight, he didn't bother to chase me though. The amount of running I've saved from lazy sweepers.'

'You have to be kidding me! Are you telling me that if we'd just run a bit harder we would have caught you?'

'No, but you might have gotten closer.' He grinned. She threw a shoe at him in mock anger. He ducked good-naturedly; loving that already she could forget, for a few moments, her Parker heritage.

'So, where to tomorrow?' She asked amiably when he had stopped laughing. With their current mood Jarod didn't even think that she might betray him as he shared his plans with her.

'Actually were staying here for a day. I've got some business here. A mob boss that I put away a while ago has gotten out early through bribery. The gang kinda holds a bit of a grudge against me from last time but I should be safe enough.' He said, rubbing unconsciously at his wounded leg. Parker raised an eyebrow but didn't comment; instead she flipped off her other shoe and flopped back on the bed to stare at the cracked ceiling.

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Jarod limped slowly down the alley, his face stony. Parker had insisted on coming with him, pointing out his injured leg as a weakness that could get him killed. He had pointed out that her lack of Pretender abilities could get them both killed. Jarod had dumped the crutches and was decked out in black leather with an unloaded (not that anyone else would know that) gun in an obvious position. He looked the part of a dangerous streetwise thug.

Parker looked pretty dangerous herself but Jarod was worried that she would accidentally give the game away by saying or doing something that didn't fit in with the part. Giving a half sigh, half growl he narrowed his eyes and indicated a pile of rags bundled next to a dumpster.

He paused for a moment to prepare himself and Parker watched in amazement as he changed completely. All traces of innocence disappeared from his face. His appearance became more ragged and lean. He cracked his knuckles and rolled his shoulders then closed his eyes for a second. Opening them, he focused on the beggar and strode forward.

Parker blinked, feeling like she'd missed something. All traces of Jarod's limp had gone. She shook herself and followed after him, realising it must be hurting him to walk so normally.

Soon he had reached the sorry pile. Not waiting for it to acknowledge him or for Parker to catch up to him he unceremoniously kicked his leg into the dirty bundle of rags.

His foot sunk too deep into the mound for there to be a body in it. Jarod's head shot up and he scanned the street warily. Parker was instantly on edge as she steeped up beside him. 'What happened to your informant?' she asked sarcastically, trying to mask her sudden unfounded fear.

'I shot him' boomed a loud voice down the alley. Jarod didn't flinch but smoothly drew his gun and pointed it down the source. 'Man he's good' thought Parker as she followed his lead and tried to see where the sound had come from in the echoing alley.

As they watched horrified, about twenty gangsters appeared from behind dumpsters or out of doors, blocking both ends of the small alley. They were all holding large guns. None of them were looking friendly.

'Jarod, it's good to see you again,' sneered a large man with a false smile, from behind a row of gunmen. 'Drop the gun my friend. Unless of course you want us to give your girlfriend some ventilation holes.' The man, who was obviously the boss, was oozing artificial friendliness. With his teeth clenched hard, Jarod slowly tossed the pistol to the ground.

He didn't look at Parker but one of the gangsters indicated that she should do the same with the barrel of his gun so she complied. It made a loud clunk as it hit the asphalt.

TBC . . .