Jarod's second safe house
2192 Mitchell Van Buren & 65th street
West Chicago, IL 60652
9:34 p.m.
The buzz of the 9 o'clock news on WGN was the only sound throughout the house besides the dishwasher. The living room light was on, although the main kitchen hanging light out shadowed it. "Today was the arraigning day for one of the top, prestigious law firms in the metro-area: Parker, Weiss, and Morgan. WGN's own Anthony Davidson has the story...Anthony," the anchor sent it over to the man in Bloomington Park.
"Is this a Chicago style 'Enron'? That's the question that's been on everyone's mind-""Turn it off," Jarod's tired and dark voice came from behind the couch. Jarod's son that he took from the Centre right before Carthis (was 11 years old when Jarod took him) sighed and did as he was told, sighing loudly to make a statement.
"So what're we gonna do?" he turned to Jarod. Jarod had named the kid Jeremy Charles Russell; Jeremy after a friend of his who's son died and Charles after...well, you know. "I'm tired of moving, Jeremy. So..." "Does that mean we can't move to Phoenix now?" Jeremy got up and went to the kitchen. He stood on a stool and opened the top cabinet above the fridge, pulling out 2 Twinkies and tossing one to Jarod. "Afraid so."
Before Jeremy could suggest something, there were keys jingling in the lock from outside, and the door came open with quick speed and closed at the same. "How could this have happened?!" Terryn "TJ" Jacobs exclaimed," Toss me one, short man." Jeremy tossed her a Twinkie and sat next TJ at the kitchen island.
"I don't know. I mean, I'm on top of the game and investments one minute and then I'm...well, you've seen the news," Jarod turned back to the computer. "Have they indicted you yet?" TJ asked with a mouthful of Twinkie. "No...as far as tonight goes, I can delete my records of ever being there and disappear-""But you're face'll be on everything and so will your name. You're the key witness-""Which is why I might go for something much less attention grabbing," he decided. "Like what?" TJ and Jeremy asked at the same time. "Blue collar man. I need the simple life." "Don't bet on it. At least your collar won't have to be pressed or ironed," TJ nudged Jeremy slightly.
"Ha ha. Get out," Jarod's sarcasm got serious. "Well, I did have some documents...""Ooh, what'd you get me?" Jarod smiled, his face turning bright with cheer like a kid on Christmas morning. "Chill, pop," Jeremy got off the stool and sat in front of the computer, "It's probably something about the case hearing in South Africa next month." TJ and Jarod both looked at him. "How do you know?" they asked simultaneously. "I'm a genius...I can read stuff fast," he defended.
"You're ½ me," Jarod thought aloud, and then it hit him. "TJ, last time you babysat-""Friday.""Yeah...um, what time did you go to sleep?" "On the couch? Uh, 11:30. Why?" "He was up when I got home," Jarod looked directly into Jeremy's eyes. It seems he was good at this parenting thing," And that was 2. You read it, didn't you?" Jeremy knew this family thing was important, so he decided not to lie.
"I was curious," he looked at the ground. Before Jarod or TJ could say anything, keys once again jingled in the lock and this time, Jarod's girlfriend Rachel came in. "Hey Jeremy," she said, smiling, receiving a nod. "Hi ya doin', Teej?" Same from TJ. Nobody really like her...except for Jarod. That's why he was with her.
"So, uh, dad, when are we leavin' for Boston?" Jeremy broke their conversation. "When are we going to Boston?" Rachel's' eyes lit up. Jarod gave a 'If I could kill you look' to Jeremy and turned to Rach. "Um...You wanna go? Well, I didn't say anything because I didn't think you'd like to be there." "Why wouldn't I? Your family loves me," she pouted in a low voice. "See, that's the thing. It's not all of my family, it's just...me, Teej, and Jeremy." "TJ's going?" Rachel asked in hurt voice, her voice barely below a whisper.
"Listen, Rach, if I told you why we were going-""Then you would think I wouldn't go? Why all the secrets, Jarod?" she crossed her arms. "You really don't wanna know." "You'll be holding yourself tonight if I don't get an answer." "It's Parker's birthday," he blurted out in a soft, but serious voice. "You're flying all the way to Boston to spend a week with his mother? Alone?" "No. They'll be there," Jarod pointed to the two laughing at a Quizno's Sub's commercial.
"And they are toasty...because they toast them!" they both laughed. "Oh, yeah, like the two cartoons will be watching over both of you the whole time." "I was invited. We have to at least be civil around J. He's the best of both of us-"" But she'll want you when she finds out we're dating! I'm a girl, I know these things." "But she already knows I'm involved. And you don't trust me?" "We can't get into this right now." "Why not-""It's time to get ready for tomorrow. We can't go to bed mad at each other, so..." "So, what?" "You are so cute when you pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about," she gave him a passionate kiss. "Well," he smiled, "pretending is what I do best."
"Well, when you will plan to be back from the trip?" she said, saying goodnight to everyone and leading Jarod to his bedroom. "A week in a half. I already talked to my bosses about it...they said I could make it up by doing desk work for a week, but oh well, if it makes Jeremy happy..." "You'll sacrifice everything. You are so...so...I love you, too." "Whoa, whoa wait. Did I miss something? Did I say I loved you already?" "I heard you the other day. You said it when I came in the room and you hung up the phone. You are so romantic," she sat on his lap. "Uh...yeah," he uneasily said, going over the SIMs of what would happened if he told Rachel that he was talking to Parker. Not a good outcome.
The house quieted down around 11:30 with TJ's soft snoring from the living room and Jeremy's nightmares with the turning of his sheets way down the hall. Jarod wanted to go desperately to help his son, but he knew he'd have to get through them on his own; Jarod had to. By now, it was 4:32 (AM) and Jarod's cell on the counter had brought the still room alive with 'Hey Ya'. "Get the damn phone," Rachel's sleepy and annoyed voice came.
"What?" Jarod answered the phone like his...well, Parker. All he heard on the other end was a quivering voice and whimpers. "Hello?" "I-I can't breathe. Jarod...I need you." "What's the matter?" his voice full of concern. "My-my nightmare had gotten to the point where I couldn't even wake myself up...an- and when I did...there was blood-""What happened?" "I-I don't know," Parker replied. "Are you okay?" he quickly grabbed his wallet and flipped on the bathroom light. "I can't...I can't..." then the line went dead. "Shit!" he muttered under his breath, "Um, Rachel, babe, wake up.""Huh?" "I gotta go...I'll be back later," he kissed her on the cheek and rushed out the door.
He had on a down jacket with the fur lined hood, a pair of white/white low- top Air Force One's, regular black jeans, an open white shirt and a black beater underneath. Of course, he did his hair in spikes. He grabbed a duffle bag and woke TJ up. "Hey, Terryn, come on, you gotta drive me to the Midway. Parker's in trouble." "She says jump, you put on moon boots," TJ sleepily got up and grabbed her jacket.
TBC...you think its good so far? Well, review and let me know-
J-Phoenix/The Juggernaut
2192 Mitchell Van Buren & 65th street
West Chicago, IL 60652
9:34 p.m.
The buzz of the 9 o'clock news on WGN was the only sound throughout the house besides the dishwasher. The living room light was on, although the main kitchen hanging light out shadowed it. "Today was the arraigning day for one of the top, prestigious law firms in the metro-area: Parker, Weiss, and Morgan. WGN's own Anthony Davidson has the story...Anthony," the anchor sent it over to the man in Bloomington Park.
"Is this a Chicago style 'Enron'? That's the question that's been on everyone's mind-""Turn it off," Jarod's tired and dark voice came from behind the couch. Jarod's son that he took from the Centre right before Carthis (was 11 years old when Jarod took him) sighed and did as he was told, sighing loudly to make a statement.
"So what're we gonna do?" he turned to Jarod. Jarod had named the kid Jeremy Charles Russell; Jeremy after a friend of his who's son died and Charles after...well, you know. "I'm tired of moving, Jeremy. So..." "Does that mean we can't move to Phoenix now?" Jeremy got up and went to the kitchen. He stood on a stool and opened the top cabinet above the fridge, pulling out 2 Twinkies and tossing one to Jarod. "Afraid so."
Before Jeremy could suggest something, there were keys jingling in the lock from outside, and the door came open with quick speed and closed at the same. "How could this have happened?!" Terryn "TJ" Jacobs exclaimed," Toss me one, short man." Jeremy tossed her a Twinkie and sat next TJ at the kitchen island.
"I don't know. I mean, I'm on top of the game and investments one minute and then I'm...well, you've seen the news," Jarod turned back to the computer. "Have they indicted you yet?" TJ asked with a mouthful of Twinkie. "No...as far as tonight goes, I can delete my records of ever being there and disappear-""But you're face'll be on everything and so will your name. You're the key witness-""Which is why I might go for something much less attention grabbing," he decided. "Like what?" TJ and Jeremy asked at the same time. "Blue collar man. I need the simple life." "Don't bet on it. At least your collar won't have to be pressed or ironed," TJ nudged Jeremy slightly.
"Ha ha. Get out," Jarod's sarcasm got serious. "Well, I did have some documents...""Ooh, what'd you get me?" Jarod smiled, his face turning bright with cheer like a kid on Christmas morning. "Chill, pop," Jeremy got off the stool and sat in front of the computer, "It's probably something about the case hearing in South Africa next month." TJ and Jarod both looked at him. "How do you know?" they asked simultaneously. "I'm a genius...I can read stuff fast," he defended.
"You're ½ me," Jarod thought aloud, and then it hit him. "TJ, last time you babysat-""Friday.""Yeah...um, what time did you go to sleep?" "On the couch? Uh, 11:30. Why?" "He was up when I got home," Jarod looked directly into Jeremy's eyes. It seems he was good at this parenting thing," And that was 2. You read it, didn't you?" Jeremy knew this family thing was important, so he decided not to lie.
"I was curious," he looked at the ground. Before Jarod or TJ could say anything, keys once again jingled in the lock and this time, Jarod's girlfriend Rachel came in. "Hey Jeremy," she said, smiling, receiving a nod. "Hi ya doin', Teej?" Same from TJ. Nobody really like her...except for Jarod. That's why he was with her.
"So, uh, dad, when are we leavin' for Boston?" Jeremy broke their conversation. "When are we going to Boston?" Rachel's' eyes lit up. Jarod gave a 'If I could kill you look' to Jeremy and turned to Rach. "Um...You wanna go? Well, I didn't say anything because I didn't think you'd like to be there." "Why wouldn't I? Your family loves me," she pouted in a low voice. "See, that's the thing. It's not all of my family, it's just...me, Teej, and Jeremy." "TJ's going?" Rachel asked in hurt voice, her voice barely below a whisper.
"Listen, Rach, if I told you why we were going-""Then you would think I wouldn't go? Why all the secrets, Jarod?" she crossed her arms. "You really don't wanna know." "You'll be holding yourself tonight if I don't get an answer." "It's Parker's birthday," he blurted out in a soft, but serious voice. "You're flying all the way to Boston to spend a week with his mother? Alone?" "No. They'll be there," Jarod pointed to the two laughing at a Quizno's Sub's commercial.
"And they are toasty...because they toast them!" they both laughed. "Oh, yeah, like the two cartoons will be watching over both of you the whole time." "I was invited. We have to at least be civil around J. He's the best of both of us-"" But she'll want you when she finds out we're dating! I'm a girl, I know these things." "But she already knows I'm involved. And you don't trust me?" "We can't get into this right now." "Why not-""It's time to get ready for tomorrow. We can't go to bed mad at each other, so..." "So, what?" "You are so cute when you pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about," she gave him a passionate kiss. "Well," he smiled, "pretending is what I do best."
"Well, when you will plan to be back from the trip?" she said, saying goodnight to everyone and leading Jarod to his bedroom. "A week in a half. I already talked to my bosses about it...they said I could make it up by doing desk work for a week, but oh well, if it makes Jeremy happy..." "You'll sacrifice everything. You are so...so...I love you, too." "Whoa, whoa wait. Did I miss something? Did I say I loved you already?" "I heard you the other day. You said it when I came in the room and you hung up the phone. You are so romantic," she sat on his lap. "Uh...yeah," he uneasily said, going over the SIMs of what would happened if he told Rachel that he was talking to Parker. Not a good outcome.
The house quieted down around 11:30 with TJ's soft snoring from the living room and Jeremy's nightmares with the turning of his sheets way down the hall. Jarod wanted to go desperately to help his son, but he knew he'd have to get through them on his own; Jarod had to. By now, it was 4:32 (AM) and Jarod's cell on the counter had brought the still room alive with 'Hey Ya'. "Get the damn phone," Rachel's sleepy and annoyed voice came.
"What?" Jarod answered the phone like his...well, Parker. All he heard on the other end was a quivering voice and whimpers. "Hello?" "I-I can't breathe. Jarod...I need you." "What's the matter?" his voice full of concern. "My-my nightmare had gotten to the point where I couldn't even wake myself up...an- and when I did...there was blood-""What happened?" "I-I don't know," Parker replied. "Are you okay?" he quickly grabbed his wallet and flipped on the bathroom light. "I can't...I can't..." then the line went dead. "Shit!" he muttered under his breath, "Um, Rachel, babe, wake up.""Huh?" "I gotta go...I'll be back later," he kissed her on the cheek and rushed out the door.
He had on a down jacket with the fur lined hood, a pair of white/white low- top Air Force One's, regular black jeans, an open white shirt and a black beater underneath. Of course, he did his hair in spikes. He grabbed a duffle bag and woke TJ up. "Hey, Terryn, come on, you gotta drive me to the Midway. Parker's in trouble." "She says jump, you put on moon boots," TJ sleepily got up and grabbed her jacket.
TBC...you think its good so far? Well, review and let me know-
J-Phoenix/The Juggernaut