Chapter Ten (Yay! Double figures(OK Shutup, I know they're short chapters))

Disclaimer: Mine, all mine! MUHAHA! No, wait, I'm thinking about something else- sorry. *Ehem* Yes, they're not mine.

Jarod lay on the cot in his tiny cell, watched by eleven different cameras, and thought about the only thing he ever thought about these days. Parker. They had stolen her memories. She had no idea that she had agreed to join him. She had no recollection of the night when he had put all his trust in her to extract a piece of lead from his leg. She didn't remember.

He wanted to beat down the walls with frustration. Even with all the things he had planned for, he hadn't anticipated being captured by the very person he had gone into save. He should have waited longer. He should have observed before just rushing in.

The sound of the thick steel door swinging open saved him from another round of self-recriminations. He quickly heaved himself upright on the bed and shuffled back to sit against the corner of the wall. It was a position to defend against random brutality. Of course, if his captors wished, they could put him through seven types of hell before lunchtime.

He had to mentally restrain himself from lunging at the grinning face that appeared in the doorway. It would achieve nothing. He would take vengeance on Lyle later, slowly and painfully as he deserved, for doing this to Parker.

But it was the person following Lyle behind the two large sweepers that had the strongest effect on Jarod. Parker had well and truly reverted back to one of them. 'Only for now,' Jarod promised himself, 'only for now.'

'Morning Jarod' greeted Lyle, looking like all his Christmases had come at once.

'Is it?' asked Jarod, deadpan. He wasn't lying; he had no idea what time it was. Since Parker had captured him in the sublevels he had been locked in this cell, with no contact with anyone. It was a subtle torture technique to make the subject nervous and more willing to open up to his captors. Jarod wasn't going to give them anything.

'Ah yes, of course, it's unlikely that you are ever going to see the sun again so what time of day it is will really start to lose meaning.'

'You really think you can hold me here? Last time you succeeded for all of a week.' Jarod knew that taunting would only get him extra beatings later but right now he was too deep in despair to care.

'They say practice makes perfect' sneered Parker. Jarod didn't reply. He just couldn't manage to speak to her when she was like this- so cold and uncaring. More a prisoner than him, because she was unaware of her cage.

Parker took his silence and pained expression for submission and turned on her heel, no doubt off to torture Broots and Sydney. Lyle, of course, knew better. They both watched her leave and then Lyle spoke;

'Great isn't it? No more worrying about whose side she's really on. And, as an added bonus she works as bait as well as trap.'

'What did you do Lyle?' growled Jarod, threateningly

'Oh just a little technique that was perfected in the renewal wing. A certain drug, combined with verbal suggestions while she was unconscious did it. What's more, she thinks you shot her.' Lyle was practically bubbling over with enthusiasm. Jarod once again restrained the urge to hit him.

'She has no bullet wounds to support that'

'Oh the doctor was only to happy to create a bit of a scar for that'

'You bastard' snarled Jarod, losing his resolve not to hurt Lyle. He went from sitting straight into a lunge right at the evil man's throat. He didn't get there. One of the sweepers whipped out a nasty looking implement and the next thing he knew, Jarod was convulsing on the floor.

Looking down at the pretender's prone form in disgust Lyle sank one expensive shoe into his rib cage once before turning and leaving the room, leaving the sweepers outside the door as guards.

Lyle gave orders as he strode away from Jarod's cell. 'Give him some time to stew. I'll be back in a day or two.'

Jarod didn't watch them leave. He curled into a foetal position around his aching ribs and tried desperately to think of a way out of this.

He could sim Lyle and he knew that there probably wouldn't be any physical torture this time. He also knew that he was in one of the deeper sublevels, under heavy guard with even the air vents watched by cameras and Miss Parker as a hostage against him escaping. Despite his best efforts, despair began to creep into his thoughts.

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When Lyle re-entered the tiny cell an indeterminable time later Jarod had decided to cooperate. It didn't stop them from putting handcuffs on him. He ignored all Lyles' gloating efforts at conversation as he was led to the sim lab.

The two sweeper guards escorted him to a chair at a desk in the middle of the sim lab then went to stand either side of the door. Lyle had entered in front of them and walked over to study on of the many contraptions that littered the large room.

'I almost forgot to tell you. Sydney and Broots have both been dismissed from the Centre.' He said it casually but the words sent shafts of ice into Jarod's guts. It was impossible to tell whether this meant that they were still okay or not. Still, Jarod kept his face impassive and didn't say anything.

Lyle gave a small snort of laughter. 'What, no cocky comment?' Jarod didn't reply. Lyles face lost its smile, suddenly turning into a ferocious snarl. 'I'd start talking Jarod. Every time you make me unhappy, something unfortunate might happen to Parker.'

'How could you do this to your own sister?' Jarod suddenly snapped in disgust. 'Oh, it was easy really' replied Lyle lightly, his mood turned good again. 'Besides, she doesn't know anything about it.'

'That means its okay then' said Jarod, sarcastically. Lyle frowned then strode over to where Jarod was sitting. 'This is a sim we want you to do. Get to work.' He indicated the files strewn over the surface of the desk. Pre-sim research. Jarod gave an inward groan. The day he had escaped he had sworn that he would never do another sim for the Centre. Wracked with self- loathing he began to sift through the information. Lyle left the room, the door locking with a clunk behind him.

Lyle joined his father in the small room behind the two-way mirror on one of the walls.

'See? Nice and cooperative.'

'Well done Lyle,' replied Mr Parker, 'I'm just not sure I like using your sister this way though.'

'We don't actually have to harm her. It's the threat that we might that will hold him here.'

'I'll leave it to you' said the old man, turning and walking out of the room.

Lyle watched the pretender work in satisfaction for another few moments then followed his father out the door.