Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for disclaimer details.
Author's note: Unless otherwise noted, all action in this story is progressive, in that it is occurring in sequence.
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
They were gathered in the debriefing room in the heart of the Centre. On sub-level 3, Raines, Lyle, Sydney and Broots were all in attendance while the team the debriefing had been designed for were excluded. Team 3 Commander Lucien played the tape of Hemmings' capture for the second time. The attendees were all shocked and stunned though in widely varying degrees. After the video played out to the end, Lucien turned on the lights and quietly waited for further instructions. The room remained silent for several minutes while everyone gathered their thoughts about what they had just witnessed.
Lyle was very angry. His twin had found her target, Hemmings, in record time and managed to use Jarod to facilitate her search as well. Instead of bringing him back in chains, she allowed him to go free, obviously to spite her twin. As a result, she let down her guard and was promptly kidnapped. All Lyle's hard work in arranging for his sister to undergo the specially formulated brain washing designed to make her more malleable and useful had gone for naught. This left Lyle empty handed, Jarod free and Parker was the reason behind all of it. Being unable to vent his anger at her left a less than subtle residue of violence in his attitude. His frustration was such that the need to hurt another was becoming unmanageable. The only cure to regain complete control would be to find an unsuspecting victim. His decision made, a subtle calm spread over him like a warm wash. If this whole deal could turn into a bigger disaster, Lyle didn't want to be around to find out. His eyes turned to Raines and waited for the older man's reaction.
Sydney had watched in silence and like the others remained quiet. Leaning back in his chair, he mentally reviewed his prior telephone conversation with Jarod, when he had enlisted his protégé in helping Miss Parker. It was highly probable that there were some drastic changes occurring in their relationship. On the one hand, Jarod could have been referring to Parker. On the other hand, there was the possibility he had been speaking of someone else entirely. If the latter, perhaps Jarod kidnapped her in order to get her to listen to him. Sydney occasionally had been tempted in taking similarly drastic measures when Parker stubbornly refused to listen to reason. However, if it was the former, a cup of tea and some solitude to think this through was in order.
Broots was as confused as Sydney and thought Jarod must be out of his mind. Parker had put up quite a fight and her guards had Jarod surrounded immediately. It was obvious that Jarod was a part of this Colorado Task force and had joined in the search for Hemmings. Why Jarod felt it necessary to kidnap Parker had him puzzled. Ransom would be ridiculous, revenge futile, exchange for information about his family, unlikely but could only be the most likely motive. Broots had seen Moriyama, he definitely wouldn't want that guy hunting him down. Besides, Broots wouldn't want to deal with Miss Parker once she gained consciousness. She would be like a tigress but uncommonly beautiful, all Broots would've asked for is a picture to keep.
Raines was extremely angry. Parker had delivered on her promise to find and return Hemmings. Instead of returning along with him, she managed to get kidnapped by an obviously disturbed pretender. Raines had reached for a more compliant executive who wouldn't insist on negotiating whenever he wanted her to act outside of the boundaries of her position, now all he had was an explosive problem with the potential of exacerbating on the same level as her mother Catherine. Parker still had her uses and he would not be denied access to her or her gifts. Like a malevolent toddler, Raines petulantly wanted his executive back and for that reason he stood creakily, then turned and looked at the assembled pursuit team and said with breathy menace, "Find her. I will not accept excuses or delays. Petty jealousies won't be tolerated. I will be advised of any contact with Jarod." Taking a deep breath from his portable oxygen supply, he continued, "The clock is ticking Mr. Lyle, I suggest you contact Miss Parker's bodyguards and obtain an update from them within the hour."
Raines stormed out of the room, leaving the pursuit team behind. Sydney sighed and looking significantly at Broots, he stood and turned to Lyle, "I'll be checking my machine for any messages from Jarod and correlating his previous patterns to see if we can figure out where he's holding Miss Parker."
Broots, catching on to Sydney's signal, also stood and stated, "I'll start by putting a tap on all our phones, in case Jarod calls."
"Go through the files, Broots. I want to know every habit Miss Parker possesses down to the last detail. I want to know everything from her favorite brand of perfume to her favorite soft drink. I smell a rat and I think Sis is playing us all for fools," Lyle stated quietly. He followed his so-called father out of the room, knowing the odds of them actually tracking his sibling down was slim to none.
Sydney, who had a good idea what Lyle was thinking paused until the sociopath had left the room. He too doubted that they would ever see Miss Parker again. The strange and deeply repressed relationship Jarod shared with Parker had somehow come to the surface and he suspected the two were allowing their mutual curiosity and attraction to direct their personal exploration of each other. Sydney was slowly coming to terms with the fact that the person Jarod had referred to in their telephone conversation was Parker and the Pretender had succeeded in squeezing through the armor she used to protect herself. He watched Lyle carefully, then not bothering to suppress a light chuckle, he followed the sociopath with Broots on his heels.
Lucien watched the group slowly file out of the room with satisfaction. He realized none of them noticed the skillful edits he had made to the tape. Viewing the tape on the return flight to the Centre, the Strike Force commander made the modifications without any assistance, effectively erasing any references Miss Parker had made to her and Jarod's relationship. It was no one's business what Miss Parker did on her off hours. Besides anything Parker did was alright with Lucien and he had already made sure his entire team would keep their mouths shut as well.
Lucien was packing up the video equipment when his cell phone vibrated in his chest pocket. Retrieving the small device, the commander listened, grunted his agreement then ended the call by closing the phone. A large smile creased his craggy face as he thought, 'Ahh, planting a little evidence is a great way to start the day. Let the games begin.'
Off Route 5
Fairmont, DE
Hours later, a nervous-looking man sat uncertainly in his dark blue Volvo sedan and stared out at the frigid expanse of woods. Snow covered everything in sight and the dark skeletal remains of the trees stood in stark contrast like silent sentinels. The waiting had become tedious and his nerves were in a state. Cars occasionally sped by but no one stopped. Finally a set of headlights turned off the main highway and slowly cruised down the snow covered road. Royce turned eagerly in his seat to find the black, imposing Lincoln Town Car pass his vehicle then swerve into a U-turn and park behind his Volvo. A few seconds later, a gloved hand rapped smartly on the passenger-side window and Royce unlocked the door, admitting his guest to share in the overly warm interior.
Lyle settled comfortably in the passenger seat and looked out through the windshield without saying a word. The silence worked on the already anxious man's nerves prompting him to comment, "Rumor has it that Miss Parker was kidnapped by Jarod, is that true?"
"Your contacts are excellent. Yes it does appear that Jarod has her, they must have worked this out together. Though it does seem strange that she went ahead and sent Hemmings back anyway. With a little imagination, she could have made a bundle off his finished product."
"In that case, you no longer need anyone's support. Mr. Raines has only you from his family to assist him in running the Centre. You must be happy," Royce stated bitterly. He had been looking forward to the promised alone time with Miss Parker. She had always treated him like a misplaced detail and took pleasure in ignoring or when she did notice him--denigrating him.
Lyle heard the tone in Royce's voice and turned to look at the woefully pedantic, greedy and arrogant lackey. He smiled at Royce's snappish anger and replied, "No more happy than you are, though I'm sure my motives are very different than yours. We still can be of use to each other, this development is something none of us were expecting. What we both need to do is stay calm and keep our eyes and ears open. Opportunities exist for those with the imagination to take advantage of them." He was about to continue when another vehicle joined them on the deserted road. Both men stared at the uninvited visitor whose vehicle creeped slowly towards them then suddenly swerved in front of the Volvo while a set of rotating police cruiser lights splashed color from behind them.
"What the hell is this?" Lyle asked calmly.
Armed troopers exited their cruisers with guns drawn. Turning in his seat Lyle saw a pair of troopers approach from behind the car in the same manner. The sound of a barking dog was nearby as more troopers joined the scene.
"Get out of the car with your hands up," a loud voice demanded through a loudspeaker.
Royce turned to Lyle questioningly, his eyes wide with confused fear. "What should we do?"
"Get out of the car with our hands up," Lyle answered sarcastically, opening the car door and obeying the trooper's demands. Once the two men had been searched for weapons and handcuffed, Lyle asked with aggravated calmness, "What is this all about? We haven't done anything."
"Sir, whose car is that?" a stone faced trooper asked, ignoring Lyle's question.
"Why do you ask?" Lyle countered quickly.
"The hood is warm and parked directly behind this vehicle. The Volvo is registered to your friend here, so I suspect the car belongs to you. Save yourself some time answer the question."
Lyle considered the statement then answered truthfully, knowing that he had touched the interior with his bare hands, "It's mine. So what's the problem?"
Another trooper had opened the trunk of the Lincoln Town Car and shouted back at his fellow troopers, "It's here. We've found it."
Turning to Lyle, the ranking trooper said grimly, "You're both under arrest. The charge is bio-terrorism and conspiracy to commit treason."
Lyle listened in disbelief to the charges and watched in horror as the troopers retrieved a Halliburton with interior foam padding protecting two large vials full of a white liquid from the trunk of the Town Car. Instantly he knew what was contained in the vials and where they had come from. The only answer could be Miss Parker. Those vials contained the compound Hemmings was being paid to develop which killed several people in Colorado. Somehow she had found out about the plot he had devised against her and this was her revenge. Lyle glanced around searching and found what he was looking for; partially hidden behind a tree, a lone man watched the action with interest. What caught Lyle's eye was the ominous air that surrounded the man. With little doubt the sociopath was certain he was a sweeper, probably one from Parker's team.
Lyle continued to stare at the sweeper as he was led away. An incongruous smile was on his lips as he was forced into the back seat of the cruiser. He was determined to convey a message to this twin that this wasn't over by a long shot.
The mysterious stranger watched the show without emotion. He caught the message Lyle was trying to send. Lucien's team had done their jobs well. Once Lyle and Royce were secured in the back seats of separate cruisers, the stranger slowly turned and disappeared down the main highway. Once he got back to his vehicle, the man turned on his cell phone and spoke quietly, supplying his contact with everything he had witnessed. At the conclusion of the conversation the man started up a Town Car that was a duplicate to Lyle's and headed back to the Centre. His anonymous tip to the State police had led to the Sociopath's capture and that was something the sweeper name Paul was only happy to do. Lyle had tried to use him against his boss Miss Parker. It had been Paul who had informed her of the bugging devices placed in each Town Car in Colorado and whom Lyle relied upon to make sure the recorded discs were returned to the Centre. Today, he had just proven his loyalty to his supervisor, Moriyama. Mr. Lyle would be most unhappy by the unexpected wrinkle Miss Parker had thrown in for good measure.