Chapter Seven (taking a completely wild guess. I could be wrong.)

'A cute and fuzzy Raines. That would just be too weird.' Said Parker, staring at the bald headed ghoul.

'I didn't say he'd be cute and fuzzy, I just said I'd pull his teeth.' Jarod corrected her.

'How do you mean exactly?' asked Broots curiously.

'If I understand what you said right Jarod, you want to change his basic personality.' Sydney seemed rather doubtful.

'Yes. Raines has and intrinsic need to cause pain in other people in order to feel superior. I could just . . .' he paused unable to think of the right word, then ploughed on anyway 'If I could just change that then he would make the Centre a better place.'

'Like a home for people who had special gifts, instead of and institution that uses those gifts for their own greed.' Said Broots, understanding.

Sydney nodded, deep in thought. 'If you're sure you can do it then that would be perfect. But last time he had you in a mental headlock and you would have been toast if Parker hadn't stepped in.'

'Don't worry Syd, he can do it. What we did before was to remove Raines' powers. He's harmless psychically.'

'Nice to see you have faith in me for once' said Jarod dryly. Taking a deep breath to centre himself he closed his eyes and visualised what he needed to do.

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Sydney wandered down the corridor so deep in though that he hardly even noticed the ex-inmates he automatically walked around. A thought had occurred to him a few minutes ago and he was trying to trace the exact moment when it had become so. The Centre was no longer a place of evil.

It hadn't happened right away. The ways of operating had been so set that for a while they had all worried that Jarod's personality change hadn't worked. Eventually though, Raines had started making concessions to the Centre projects. No beatings for disobedience, enough food- basic human rights quite simply. Lyle, who had been left with fully intact memories and personality had opposed him tooth and nail but Raines held all power and there was nothing he could do.

Soon the crueller of the projects were shut down and the subjects were left in their cells while the Centre tried to make money out of more ethical means. Sydney had found himself repeatedly being called to Raines' office to discuss ways to make the inmate's lives more comfortable.

Eventually, through subtle hints and nudges, Sydney had even gotten him to release the saner of the patients, and those that had family on the outside. The final stage had been to go from using the strange people locked away in the sublevels for profit, to using profit to help them recover. The Centre went from corporate giant to part charity. Lyle quit in disgust half a year later.

Now the sublevels weren't locked down and watched by cameras. All those that weren't a danger to themselves or others were free to move around and were looked after by nurses and doctors. Hoards of psychologists studied their abnormal minds in a Freudian heaven. For a while it was all supported on the other earnings of the Centre but soon families with mentally different members began to turn up, asking for treatment at the Centre. The transition to mental hospital had become complete. Raines' opened it up as a public facility.

And the underground corridors no longer radiated the pain and darkness of those that had been trapped for so long. Sydney smiled in his musings then realised that someone had talked to him.

'I beg your pardon Miss Parker?'

'I said, you look like you got into the drug supplies the way you're smiling.'

'I was just thinking how this place has changed.'

'I'll say. I can go for days without once worrying about being shot.'

'Wish I could say the same' grumbled Broots wandering up to join in the conversation. Jarod was with him, a thick file tucked under his arm. The pretender grinned. Parker narrowed her eyes at him in warning.

'If you did what I asked, I wouldn't be tempted to shoot you'

'Hmpf. The most other people get from their bosses is the threat of a pay cut.'

Even if the Centre had altered, Parker's fire and passion had not changed a bit. Of course, only Jarod knew that her gun was not loaded.

Just then a shuffling gait alerted then all to Angelo's presence. It had taken a long time to persuade him to stop using the air vents as his mode of transport but now he could almost be mistaken for a normal person. Still, his verbal skills were very low and both Parker and Jarod found it much easier to talk to him mind to mind. He was clearly excited as he approached the small group that were closer to each other than anyone else in the world.

Jarod asked him.

Angelo's telepathy was strong, clear and elegant.

snapped Parker impatiently as Broots and Sydney waited to be enlightened on the topic of conversation. All they saw was Parker go slack jawed in disbelief and Jarod nearly fall over in shock. Angelo stood there grinning.

'What is it?' asked Broots anxiously, unknowingly mimicking Jarod's earlier question. 'Raines . . .' mumbled Jarod weakly. Broots and Sydney looked at each other in consternation.

'What about Raines? Is everything OK?'

'He's . . . You know the journalist that came a few months ago to see what we do here? Well, some people read his report and now Raines had been nominated for a humanitarian award.'

There was a stunned silence for a moment.

'If I ever doubted your abilities to change someone's personality before Jarod, let's just say you've convinced me.' Said Sydney

The End

Thanx to Ann, story reviewer, Katherine, Rachel, jill, Rem-Cycle, whitefire, B Oots. I never would have taken this story further if you hadn't reviewed. Now look where we are . . . On second thoughts, maybe you shouldn't have reviewed.