The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
"The symptoms are very specific and only happens when a particular person is around."
"Sounds like you're talking about love. Are you referring to yourself or someone else?"
Ignoring the question, he asked one himself, "Is there any way to know when you've made the right choice?"
"There isn't any set formula or physical reaction that can insure that you've found the best choice for you. Your own heart is the only accurate measurement. Have you found a worthy candidate, Jarod?"
"Perhaps, Sydney, perhaps. Despite all my training, pretends and years away from the Centre, women are still an enigma to me."
"If you're lucky, they will continue to be so for the rest of your life," Sydney answered with a fond chuckle. Sobering up suddenly, Sydney remembered what had been concerning him about one woman in his life and wanted Jarod's thoughts on how he could possibly help free her from her present predicament. "Speaking of which, there is someone I am hoping you will assist me in helping---Miss Parker."
"And how is the testy Miss Parker? She seems more demure as of late. Has something changed recently, other than her assigned duties?" Jarod inquired smugly.
Sydney then explained some of the intrigues behind Miss Parker's transfer from hunting him down to a senior executive in charge of Centre operations and the subsequent threats Raines was using to keep her in line up to and including her current assignment. Jarod listened to Sydney's story with interest. The details Sydney supplied filled in the blank spots Parker had intentionally left out. It was during Sydney's dissertation that Jarod came to a decision about Miss Parker.
"Sydney, there is something I would like for you to find out," Jarod began slowly, knowing he would have to handle this request with care.
"What is it? I'll do my best to get the answer to you," Sydney replied with hope showing in his voice.
"From what your saying, Miss Parker is in charge of 3 sweeper teams and is always surrounded by bodyguards. Get me the names and dossiers of those sweepers. The key to approaching Parker will be in that information," he reasoned.
"Of course, though I don't see what good that will do. I've seen you slip past her security teams with ease in the past," Sydney replied with a slight hesitation as he considered the best way to obtain Jarod's request. "Give me a few days and I'll e-mail their files to you."
Teddy's Forest house
Prairie Point, CO
For the tenth time, Jarod checked the bubbling water in the caldron, The lobster was almost ready and she hadn't shown up yet. He sat down at the beautifully set table and considered all the possible reasons for her failure to show. While he was doing this, thoughts of what he had gone through to make this a special evening replayed in his head. The surprise in Teddy's eyes to find out this would be the first time Jarod had taken him up on the offer of the cabin. Then the list of ingredients for dinner. The last piece of the puzzle was the selection of DVD's. He doubted she would hang around long enough to watch any of them, but he got them just in case. The old guy at the video store assured him that the selection he had suggested was guaranteed to melt any woman's heart. He referred to the movie as 'chick flick' and assured Jarod that she would not only love it but was sure it would illicit a tear of two of gratitude. The last part of his statement made Jarod pause as he fleetingly considered previewing the movie first before springing it on Parker. To be on the safe side, Jarod haunted the aisles and picked up a couple other movies that seemed more promising from his own knowledge of Parker's proclivities.
Sighing in frustrated resignation, Jarod got up to remove the lobster from the boiling water when a knock sounded on the back door adjacent to the kitchen. Wary surprise caused his brow to furrow as Jarod peered out and found Moriyama at the back door. Jarod stepped back and opened the door, wondering what excuse she had sent back with her bodyguard. He had sent the invitation to dinner in the note he had hidden within the flowers. There had been no response from her, until a brief message was delivered to him at the office stating that she accepted.
On the back steps stood the imposing figure of Moriyama. The bodyguard looked at Jarod impassively for several seconds before pushing past him and entering the home. Jarod looked at the sweeper in surprise and glanced back through the door to find Miss Parker standing before him, an amused expression gracing a set of eyes he was starting to enjoy staring into immensely.
"Miss Parker, I'm glad you've finally arrived. I was beginning to think that you had changed your mind," Jarod said jovially as he opened the door wider as an invitation.
"Me? Pass up a date with a pretender who was once a short-order cook, sex therapist and a sommelier all in the same life time, not to mention in the same year? Not a chance. I'm no genius but I'm not a fool either." Parker replied with a laugh in her voice.
Returning her smile with a devastatingly charming one of his own, he led the way into the living room. There they exchanged the usual civilities, including taking her coat and offering a glass of pre-dinner wine---all of which were gracefully accepted. During dinner they continued their light banter and much to Parker's surprise she thoroughly enjoyed the meal Jarod prepared. She had heard that he was a fantastic cook from his contacts after he was forced to leave them to avoid capture. She had heard a lot of mostly favorable things about him from all of the people he had left behind but this was the first time she got a chance to personally sample his abilities beyond the aptitude to irritate her.
They didn't speak at all of the case, instead indulged in the recollection of their shared childhood memories. They spoke for a couple hours, often pausing and taking a moment to stare at each other. The attraction building inside them steadily escalated as they continued to banter, needle and reminisce. At last the meal was over and they adjourned to the living room. Jarod cheerfully announced that he had obtained a selection of DVD's for their entertainment. Parker lifted her eyebrows with mild surprise and smiled gently. "Dinner and a movie? I'm impressed. And what exactly are you expecting from me to deserve all this?"
"Your company, Miss Parker, nothing else," Jarod responded quietly as he powered up his DVD player. He stood up suddenly and looked at her questioningly, then strode over to the couch in full view of the television. Parker shrugged and joined him as the screen went blank and the DVD started.
"Is this an action/adventure flick or a horror movie?" she asked coolly.
"Neither, I was told that this is a movie most women would find enjoyable."
"And who is the fountain of knowledge? A fellow female officer or some CSI tech?"
"No, the guy at the video store. Said this show was a sure-fire bet," Jarod replied, then quietly to himself, 'for an evening I will never forget.'
Parker felt the incompleteness of his response and turned to see if he would finish. When he didn't she relaxed back against the cushions next to him and watched as the beginning sequence started. She stared at the screen in utter disbelief as her eyes settled on the screen.
"Oh my God!!" she yelled.
Even Moriyama's eyes had widened in shock. Jarod on the other hand gave her a confused look and sat forward on the couch. It was obvious this wasn't her type of movie. Parker looked at Jarod, her face a study in irritation.
"Exactly how old was the moron who recommended this movie?"
"Uhh, well, he looked like he was in his eighties but he assured me he was seventy-one years young. Why?"
Parker settled back into the cushions and placed her hand over her eyes. Jarod watched her every move, knowing her reaction wasn't exactly what he had been hoping for but still wondering what she would do next. Parker turned and looked at him as though he were a raving lunatic thinking she would sit still through this movie. Rising impatiently from the couch with an energy that surprised him, Jarod followed her and stood in her path blocking her sudden exit.
"Parker, where are you going? If you don't like the movie, I did get others just in case the old guy was wrong. Stay, I have a fairly diverse selection, why don't you chose one?" he asked urgently, as though desperate for some company. Parker paused and stared into Jarod's eyes, taking note of their expression.
"Why? Why is it so important for me to stay? What do you want from me?" Parker asked curiously.
"I've enjoyed having you here, talking, joking and sharing some memories. You're about the only person alive that I can do this with. I know you're as lonely as I am and I'm also aware of your pride," he answered in a lowered voice. "All I'm asking for is another hour or so of your company."
Parker stood still for a few seconds, staring at her old friend. The pull of their mutual attraction was subtly gaining strength as Jarod candidly returned her stare. Internally, she acknowledged that she was very lonely, despite all her bodyguards and never being alone. With her new role as leading executive in charge of Centre operations, she was bone tired. This latest assignment had turned out to be more draining than she expected. So far in the past few weeks she had been able to get about a total of 48 hours sleep. It wasn't the pressure of producing the little weasel turned terrorist but a culmination of events that stretched over the past couple years and started with the discovery of her father's perfidy and cowardly plunge from the airplane. Abruptly understanding her own needs and not wanting be alone any more than Jarod, Parker glanced around at the small stack of DVD's sitting in a cubby hole of the entertainment center. She reached over, removed one of them and handed it to Jarod. "I'll sit still for this, the last time I watched this movie I was 10 and it just happens to be one of my favorites."
Jarod looked down at her selection and forcibly kept the smile threatening to break out all over his face from revealing itself. The movie she had chose was what he suspected would be more to her liking. His mute answer to her was instead a small smile of relief and extending his arm, indicated that he wanted her to return to the couch. For the next 90 minutes the former friends almost effortlessly began reconnecting on a more adult level. Looking over at his dinner companion, Jarod reached over and gingerly took one of her hands, much in the same manner as he had in the back of the limo. Her eyes warily watched what he was doing as Jarod turned over her hand and gently caressed her palm using her own. In return, with more gentleness than she had previously used, Parker removed her hand from Jarod's giving him a light squeeze before returning her attention to the movie. Parker, with unconscious equanimity, explained the meaning of the arcane slang used in the movie and smiled as Jarod offered his ideas on who the murder was before it was revealed. Of course he was correct but hearing the explanation offered by the movie made Parker smile and shake her head.
With a small measure of reluctance, Parker rose from her seat to leave. Jarod sensing the evening was over followed her to the easy chair where he had draped her overcoat and scarf. As she reached out to grab her things, Jarod caught her hand and laced his fingers through hers. Parker stood straight to face him and allowed him to take her other hand.
"Thanks for staying tonight. I've enjoyed every moment," he said in a softly deep voice.
Parker smiled lazily as she gazed into the pretender's dark eyes. Slowly she disentangled her fingers from his, wrapped her hand around his neck and brought his head down for a long, lingering kiss. Jarod was surprised but quickly recovered and returned the kiss passionately. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her body into his. As she pulled away, Jarod tightened his grip on her, dropped his head to neck and began kissing her perfumed skin. She uttered a soft sigh of pleasure, then pulling away again, kissed him again. By this time, Jarod had is other hand in her hair and devoted all his attention to their kiss. While they continued necking, their tacit attraction turned from implicit to distinctly physical. With a great deal of fumbling and chuckling, the pretender and the Center executive made their way into the bedroom. Moriyama watched dutifully as his boss left the room with Jarod, his face a mask of impassivity. Once they were gone, Moriyama took a seat in a club chair next to the couch and settled in to watch the movie Parker couldn't stand and he had never seen: It Happened One Night.
The following morning was bright, beautiful and still. A fresh coating of snow fell overnight, while inside the fireplace harbored cooled embers leaving a chill in the air. Parker woke from her light dose after a wonderfully sleepless night, she found herself surprisingly alert and refreshed. Jarod was lightly napping when Parker pulled his bathrobe around herself, slid her feet in a pair of new looking felt slippers and walked towards the kitchen. There Moriyama was already awake with a pot of coffee brewed and sitting at the table with a steaming mug. Parker nodded to him, found the mug that he had left out for her and filled it up. Jarod followed her a few minutes later, got a glass of juice from the fridge and stepped back, his eyes taking in the whole scene. He thought about having his former huntress and nemesis as a lover while her bodyguard stayed within shouting distance. 'He must have gotten an earful last night,' Jarod mused. He looked over at Parker to find her staring at him. Averting her gaze after reading the look in his eyes, a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips, as she looked into her mug, then turned around to look out the kitchen window at the Currier & Ives-like scenery outside.
A word had yet to be spoken, when Jarod quietly sat down his glass and walked over to Parker. He tugged one shoulder of her robe down, then bent over and started kissing her warm flesh. A wide smile appeared on Parker's face and partially turning she leaned gently against him. The look on Jarod's face as he brought his lover's body closer in was that of deeply satisfied desire. As though he had found the one person who could relieve his loneliness. Unexpectedly, Parker twirled in Jarod's arms with a wide, delighted smile on her face. Jarod, having made it up to her neck before she turned around, changed the expression on his face completely. Parker grinned happily at her lover who was now sporting his usual self-confident grin. Moriyama had never seen anything quite like it. In one moment, Jarod's face held the extreme expression of having found the one precious thing in the world he needed to that of his other persona, the one Miss Parker always saw and accepted. He had seen others conceal their feelings or swing from one emotion to the next in a bipolar episode but what Jarod did was very different. It was fast, controlled, thought out and it alarmed Moriyama to the core. He had heard of pretenders and the project involving them but he had never seen one in action. Now Moriyama was forced to look at Jarod in a thoroughly new light and this concerned him. The fact that Jarod had let him see this transformation was as deeply troubling as it was sinister.
Parker, after trading a few barbs with Jarod, who seemed reluctant to let her go, announced that she was going in the other room to put some clothes on. She eased out of Jarod's grasp and left the room. Both men watched her go, then turned and looked at each other. If Moriyama had been able to show an expression on his face, shock would have settled there. Jarod now was staring at Moriyama as though the 300lb bodyguard were an impediment he wouldn't mind eliminating. To test the pretender's resolve, Moriyama laid a card on the table.
"I will protect her by any means necessary. No one and nothing will deter me or prevent me from fulfilling my duty."
Jarod tilted his head to one side and stared at the bodyguard as though taking his measure. In another bizarre switch, Jarod gave Moriyama a boyish grin and said, "I remember viewing an old newsreel in which Malcolm X gave that speech." The grin slowly faded from Jarod's lips as his expression turned menacing. "But then again, you've never had to deal with me. Don't get in the way of anything I truly want, I have a tendency to become unreasonable. Just ask Lyle."