Chapter 6
The address that Mr. Lyle was sent to, turned out to be the apartment that Jarod, Ms. Parker and baby Abigail, had just vacated.
Mr. Lyle swore, picked up a trash can and threw it against a wall! His standing in this 'New Centre', was being shot to hell and back! And his downfall began the day he was ordered to kill Mr. Raines.
Lyle tried not to think about the fact that that man might have been his father. There was a part of him that still had thought of himself as a Parker. There was also a tiny part of him, that wished he had been able to mourn the loss of their 'father' with his sister.
He moved to the window and stared out aimlessly. What would Mr. Parker have thought of Arvin Sloane's offer for his daughter? Lyle shook his head. Mr. Parker would never have let Arvin Sloane into The Centre.
He heard the door to the apartment open, then slam. Lyle turned to stare into the eyes of one Ms. Sidney Bristow. Her expression was nonchalant, and devoid of any expression. She had beautiful hair, that moved with her when she walked. She was also very young, and couldn't have been any older than 22.
Lyle eyed her, then put out his hand.
'I'm Lyle.'
Sidney Bristow ignored Lyle's hand and looked around the apartment. She then focused in on Lyle.
'You checked the back rooms?' she asked, without much emotion.
'Uh, yeah, there's a crib back there, but not much else. I think we just missed them.'
At those words, Sidney turned from him and began walking towards the door. Lyle hurried after her.
'What's the hurry? We'll be working together for a long time...'
Sidney turned back to him so abruptly, that Lyle was forced to stop short.
'Mr. Lyle, you and I will not be working together for a 'long time', because it won't take us long to find Jarod and Ms. Parker. Your failures are not mine. Do we understand one another?'
Mr. Lyle nodded slightly. Sidney was surly and abrupt, much like his sister. He liked that! And it made him find his new partner, all that more attractive.
'Good. They can't be that far ahead of us. Let's go, and I'm driving.'
Sidney opened the door and left the apartment, walking down the hall towards the elevator purposefully. Mr. Lyle had to struggle to keep up.
While they were riding the elevator down, Mr. Lyle cleared his throat.
'So, I heard that Derevko is your mother? My father used to run The Centre.'
Sidney said nothing, but stared up at the numbers, as they descended. Mr. Lyle looked away. Oh, this new partner of his was quite the friendly one!
When they reached the lobby, the only person there was the doorman. And he looked slightly nervous.
Sidney walked up to him. Mr. Lyle raised a brow. Why were they wasting time with this peon? If Sidney knew where Jarod and his sister was, then they should be out finding them!
Sidney pulled out pictures of Jarod and Ms. Parker, from inside her blazer jacket. She held it up to the doorman's face.
'Have you seen either one of these two?' she asked, watching the doorman carefully.
'No, can't say that I have.' he answered coolly.
Sidney smiled at him, put the picture back in her pocket, then brought out a gun with a silencer on it! The doorman began to reach inside his suit pocket for something, but Sidney fired three quick shots in his chest!
Mr. Lyle reached down into the man's pocket, as he lay there, dead. No one else was around. He pulled out a gun, a particular make that was only issued to Centre Sweepers.
Mr. Lyle looked at Sidney.
'What the hell is going on here?'
'You're on a need to know basis, Mr. Lyle.' Sidney answered, in a flat, detached tone.
But Mr. Lyle had had it with his new 'Zombie' partner! He grabbed her arm! Sidney in turn, managed to evade his grasp, then flip him around, so that now she had him in the painful arm lock!
'If you had bothered to do any checking at all, Mr. Lyle, you would've noted that the doorman, is the only other person in this building.' Sidney hissed into his ear, before letting him go.
Mr. Lyle rubbed his arm, while staring at her quizzically.
'What the hell are you talking about?'
'Before I came to the apartment, I checked a few others, on each floor. The doors are unlocked and the apartments are empty. So, that doorman had definitely saw who we were looking for, because they were the only ones here!'
Mr. Lyle looked away briefly. Jarod, his sister, and their child, end up staying in an empty apartment building? Either they knew it was empty, or SOMEONE else knew it was empty, and helped them.
Mr. Lyle focused in on his new 'partner' again.
'Where to?' he asked.
'Back to the Centre. Someone there is helping Jarod and Ms. Parker. We find that person, we find them.'
****
Ms. Parker tried to drive fast, but yet, not so fast that she would endanger Abigail. Jarod turned to look at his daughter in the backseat. She was asleep.
Jarod then turned to look at Ms. Parker's profile. Feeling his stare, Ms. Parker glanced over at him.
'What?' she asked, a little uncomfortable.
Jarod smiled gently at her, then reached out to touch her hair. Ms. Parker playfully slapped his hand away.
'Jarod, really, I'm trying to drive here!'
Jarod decided to restrain himself. He continued to stare at her.
'What, Jarod?'
'Oh, I was just wondering where we're off to? I thought I knew all the great hiding places.'
Ms. Parker got onto a freeway, staying in the middle lane.
'We're going to see Ethan.'
Jarod almost gaped at her!
'Ethan? Ethan lives in Illinois?'
Ms. Parker glanced over at him and shook her head.
'He lives in Milwaukee. I remembered that he was who I was going to go and see, before the accident.'
'Alright, but how do you know he's still there?'
Ms. Parker shrugged.
'It's just a sense. He always knew when I was in trouble and vice versa. I feel as if he will be there.'
'Where is 'there', Ms. Parker?'
Ms. Parker glanced over at him again.
'I'm beginning to wonder if you shouldn't start calling me by my first name?' she said, in an almost teasing voice.
Jarod lifted a brow, glanced back at their sleeping daughter, then looked at Ms. Parker again. She was trying to throw him off track, with that crack just now. But, Jarod accepted the fact that Ethan and Ms. Parker, because of their mother, shared an inner sense that he could understand, but never have himself. He would just have to trust that Ms. Parker knew what she was doing.
****
Hours later, Ms. Parker, Jarod and baby Abigail, pulled into a parking space, outside the Milwaukee Public Library. Jarod, who had nodded off, checked the backseat. Abigail was wide awake and smiling at him. Jarod smiled back, then looked questioningly at Ms. Parker.
'What are we doing here?' he asked.
Ms. Parker unlocked her seat belt.
'Get the baby and come on.' she ordered.
Jarod sighed, as he watched her get of the car. She had referred to Abigail as 'the baby', as if the child did not belong to her. Jarod got out on his side, reached back and unlocked the backseat door. He opened it and leaned in to unfasten Abigail from the babyseat.
'Come on, honey. Let's follow Mommy and hope she knows where she's going.' he cooed to his daughter.
Ms. Parker had heard Jarod's smart remark, but did not comment on it. This was the place. The Milwaukee Public Library. The place was huge, yet, she knew Ethan was in there somewhere, waiting for them.
The three of them began walking and stopped at a crosswalk. Ms. Parker began to feel somewhat uneasy, since she could feel Jarod and the baby looking at her. But, she resisted the urge to snap at both of them, and stepped out into the street when the WALK sign lit up.
The three of them, along with a handful of others, hurried across the street. By the time Ms. Parker, Jarod and Abigail reached the door to the library, Jarod was now unsure.
'This just seems like a strange place to meet.' he observed, bouncing Abigail around. Ms. Parker glanced over at him.
'Our lives are strange, Jarod. You should know that better than anyone.'
Jarod did not answer her, but continued to follow along. They walked in through the doors. Off to their right, was a staircase. Ms. Parker nodded, then looked at Jarod.
'Up there.'
Jarod lifted a brow, then looked at Abigail, who had begun to stare at Ms. Parker again. Jarod would've sworn, that Abigail now knew her mother was not the same woman she had been this morning.
He also found himself wondering, why after making love to him, over a year ago, had Ms. Parker been going to go see the brother they both shared? Then again, when he and Ms. Parker had agreed to meet in that barn in Decatur, all that time ago, neither one of them had gone there for sex. So, it was possible that Ms. Parker had been planning to meet Ethan, whether she had been intimate with him or not.
Still, he wondered...Jarod stopped wondering. Ms. Parker had taken them down a row about states. Standing there, at the beginning of the row, was Ethan.
Ethan, for his part, was ridiculously giddy, to see his sister alive again! And Jarod...it was at times like this, that he cursed the life they had all been given! Why should they have to sneak around in a public library, just to be with one another? They should be at one another's houses, catching up on one another's lives, their careers...
Ms. Parker threw her arms around him. Ethan returned the embrace, while smiling at Jarod and eyeing Abigail. He let go of his sister, then smiled at the baby.
'Who is this?' he asked, reaching out to touch Abigail's little hand.
Ms. Parker said nothing, looking away. Jarod decided to make the introductions.
'This is Abigail...well, we haven't decided on a last name for her yet, if you can believe that.'
Ethan looked from Abigail to Jarod.
'You don't have to tell me. So, you and Ms. Parker...'
'It's a long story. And one, as usual, we don't have time to get into. We need a place to lay low, until we figure out the next step.' Jarod said.
Ethan nodded.
'I called Sydney. He told me you might need help.'
Ms. Parker, who was rubbing the back of her neck, stared at Ethan.
'You're in contact with Sydney? How is he?'
'Good...better now that he knows you're alright.' Ethan answered. He then walked past her and pulled out a book. He handed it to Ms. Parker. She looked at the cover and frowned.
'What is this?' she asked.
Jarod reached out for the book and she handed it to him. Ethan reached out and took Abigail. Ms. Parker peeked at her daughter.
'Cicily, Alaska?' Jarod asked, opening the book.
Ethan nodded, while Abigail touched his hair.
'Yeah, Sydney has connections there. The town is barely even on the map. He thought that would be the perfect place for you all to hide out for now. I have to say, I agree.'
Jarod looked at Ms. Parker, who was eyeing Abigail. He then put the book back, and looked at Ethan.
'Could you watch Abigail for a moment? Ms. Parker and I are going to be right over there.' Jarod pointed to a table by a window.
'Not a problem! Is it, Abigail?' he cooed. Jarod smiled, hoping with all of his heart, that 20 years from now, Abigail would not have to go through the cloak and dagger crap, that her family had had to go through.
Jarod then pulled on Ms. Parker's hand, leading her over to the indicated table. Ms. Parker pulled out a chair and sat down. Jarod sat down across from her.
'You think this backwater town thing is a good idea, don't you?' she asked him, watching his face carefully.
Jarod nodded.
'I do. It's been my experience that when people are looking for you, in those type of towns, four or five people will let you know if a stranger has been asking questions about you. All we need is warning.'
Ms. Parker sighed.
'Fine. I don't see that we have much choice anyway. Let's go.' she started to stand up, but Jarod's hand snaked out and held her arm. Ms. Parker sat back down.
'Is there a problem?' she asked in a surly tone.
'I feel as if we've taken ten steps backwards, since you regained your memory. You won't look at our daughter...you don't even look at me that much.'
'That's not true.'
'Then what is it? Are you ashamed of what we have together...'
'Damnit, Jarod!' Ms. Parker snapped, then looked around apologetically, at the few people who had overheard her outburst. Ethan looked over at them. She lowered her voice.
'Jarod, we both have to prepare ourselves for the fact that we may not get a happily everafter here.'
Jarod still held her arm.
'You've decided something, haven't you?' he asked.
Ms. Parker finally pulled her arm away from him.
'Yes. I'm going to surrender myself to Arvin Sloane. They still might not know about Abigail...'
'No!' Jarod said emphatically. But Ms. Parker ignored him.
'Jarod, I want you to take Abigail to Alaska or wherever, and raise her. You are her father and you will raise her right. I can help the both of you best, by staying at the Centre and keeping them away from you...and our daughter.'
'No!'
Ms. Parker reached out and touched his cheek. If Abigail's father were anyone else, her decision would've been much harder to make. But her daughter's father was Jarod. And Jarod, along with Ethan and maybe Major Charles and Emily, would help give her little girl some stability. That and if she went back to The Centre, she would make sure that they were all able to live in peace. That Abigail wouldn't have to be moved from place to place, from school to school, just to get away from Center Sweepers. Her daughter deserved a good life. Jarod deserved a life. Jarod and Ethan.
'Yes, Jarod. Look, it won't be forever. Just until we can be sure it's safe.'
Jarod reached up and touched the hand that was on his cheek. Of course this would be forever! His daughter would never know her mother! Just like himself and Ms. Parker, never knew theirs.
But he knew she had her mind made up. And he would pretend to go along with this...for now. Because while Ms. Parker would be working to keep The Centre away from Abigail and himself, he was going to get in contact with Irina Derevko, to bargain for Ms. Parker's freedom.
The address that Mr. Lyle was sent to, turned out to be the apartment that Jarod, Ms. Parker and baby Abigail, had just vacated.
Mr. Lyle swore, picked up a trash can and threw it against a wall! His standing in this 'New Centre', was being shot to hell and back! And his downfall began the day he was ordered to kill Mr. Raines.
Lyle tried not to think about the fact that that man might have been his father. There was a part of him that still had thought of himself as a Parker. There was also a tiny part of him, that wished he had been able to mourn the loss of their 'father' with his sister.
He moved to the window and stared out aimlessly. What would Mr. Parker have thought of Arvin Sloane's offer for his daughter? Lyle shook his head. Mr. Parker would never have let Arvin Sloane into The Centre.
He heard the door to the apartment open, then slam. Lyle turned to stare into the eyes of one Ms. Sidney Bristow. Her expression was nonchalant, and devoid of any expression. She had beautiful hair, that moved with her when she walked. She was also very young, and couldn't have been any older than 22.
Lyle eyed her, then put out his hand.
'I'm Lyle.'
Sidney Bristow ignored Lyle's hand and looked around the apartment. She then focused in on Lyle.
'You checked the back rooms?' she asked, without much emotion.
'Uh, yeah, there's a crib back there, but not much else. I think we just missed them.'
At those words, Sidney turned from him and began walking towards the door. Lyle hurried after her.
'What's the hurry? We'll be working together for a long time...'
Sidney turned back to him so abruptly, that Lyle was forced to stop short.
'Mr. Lyle, you and I will not be working together for a 'long time', because it won't take us long to find Jarod and Ms. Parker. Your failures are not mine. Do we understand one another?'
Mr. Lyle nodded slightly. Sidney was surly and abrupt, much like his sister. He liked that! And it made him find his new partner, all that more attractive.
'Good. They can't be that far ahead of us. Let's go, and I'm driving.'
Sidney opened the door and left the apartment, walking down the hall towards the elevator purposefully. Mr. Lyle had to struggle to keep up.
While they were riding the elevator down, Mr. Lyle cleared his throat.
'So, I heard that Derevko is your mother? My father used to run The Centre.'
Sidney said nothing, but stared up at the numbers, as they descended. Mr. Lyle looked away. Oh, this new partner of his was quite the friendly one!
When they reached the lobby, the only person there was the doorman. And he looked slightly nervous.
Sidney walked up to him. Mr. Lyle raised a brow. Why were they wasting time with this peon? If Sidney knew where Jarod and his sister was, then they should be out finding them!
Sidney pulled out pictures of Jarod and Ms. Parker, from inside her blazer jacket. She held it up to the doorman's face.
'Have you seen either one of these two?' she asked, watching the doorman carefully.
'No, can't say that I have.' he answered coolly.
Sidney smiled at him, put the picture back in her pocket, then brought out a gun with a silencer on it! The doorman began to reach inside his suit pocket for something, but Sidney fired three quick shots in his chest!
Mr. Lyle reached down into the man's pocket, as he lay there, dead. No one else was around. He pulled out a gun, a particular make that was only issued to Centre Sweepers.
Mr. Lyle looked at Sidney.
'What the hell is going on here?'
'You're on a need to know basis, Mr. Lyle.' Sidney answered, in a flat, detached tone.
But Mr. Lyle had had it with his new 'Zombie' partner! He grabbed her arm! Sidney in turn, managed to evade his grasp, then flip him around, so that now she had him in the painful arm lock!
'If you had bothered to do any checking at all, Mr. Lyle, you would've noted that the doorman, is the only other person in this building.' Sidney hissed into his ear, before letting him go.
Mr. Lyle rubbed his arm, while staring at her quizzically.
'What the hell are you talking about?'
'Before I came to the apartment, I checked a few others, on each floor. The doors are unlocked and the apartments are empty. So, that doorman had definitely saw who we were looking for, because they were the only ones here!'
Mr. Lyle looked away briefly. Jarod, his sister, and their child, end up staying in an empty apartment building? Either they knew it was empty, or SOMEONE else knew it was empty, and helped them.
Mr. Lyle focused in on his new 'partner' again.
'Where to?' he asked.
'Back to the Centre. Someone there is helping Jarod and Ms. Parker. We find that person, we find them.'
****
Ms. Parker tried to drive fast, but yet, not so fast that she would endanger Abigail. Jarod turned to look at his daughter in the backseat. She was asleep.
Jarod then turned to look at Ms. Parker's profile. Feeling his stare, Ms. Parker glanced over at him.
'What?' she asked, a little uncomfortable.
Jarod smiled gently at her, then reached out to touch her hair. Ms. Parker playfully slapped his hand away.
'Jarod, really, I'm trying to drive here!'
Jarod decided to restrain himself. He continued to stare at her.
'What, Jarod?'
'Oh, I was just wondering where we're off to? I thought I knew all the great hiding places.'
Ms. Parker got onto a freeway, staying in the middle lane.
'We're going to see Ethan.'
Jarod almost gaped at her!
'Ethan? Ethan lives in Illinois?'
Ms. Parker glanced over at him and shook her head.
'He lives in Milwaukee. I remembered that he was who I was going to go and see, before the accident.'
'Alright, but how do you know he's still there?'
Ms. Parker shrugged.
'It's just a sense. He always knew when I was in trouble and vice versa. I feel as if he will be there.'
'Where is 'there', Ms. Parker?'
Ms. Parker glanced over at him again.
'I'm beginning to wonder if you shouldn't start calling me by my first name?' she said, in an almost teasing voice.
Jarod lifted a brow, glanced back at their sleeping daughter, then looked at Ms. Parker again. She was trying to throw him off track, with that crack just now. But, Jarod accepted the fact that Ethan and Ms. Parker, because of their mother, shared an inner sense that he could understand, but never have himself. He would just have to trust that Ms. Parker knew what she was doing.
****
Hours later, Ms. Parker, Jarod and baby Abigail, pulled into a parking space, outside the Milwaukee Public Library. Jarod, who had nodded off, checked the backseat. Abigail was wide awake and smiling at him. Jarod smiled back, then looked questioningly at Ms. Parker.
'What are we doing here?' he asked.
Ms. Parker unlocked her seat belt.
'Get the baby and come on.' she ordered.
Jarod sighed, as he watched her get of the car. She had referred to Abigail as 'the baby', as if the child did not belong to her. Jarod got out on his side, reached back and unlocked the backseat door. He opened it and leaned in to unfasten Abigail from the babyseat.
'Come on, honey. Let's follow Mommy and hope she knows where she's going.' he cooed to his daughter.
Ms. Parker had heard Jarod's smart remark, but did not comment on it. This was the place. The Milwaukee Public Library. The place was huge, yet, she knew Ethan was in there somewhere, waiting for them.
The three of them began walking and stopped at a crosswalk. Ms. Parker began to feel somewhat uneasy, since she could feel Jarod and the baby looking at her. But, she resisted the urge to snap at both of them, and stepped out into the street when the WALK sign lit up.
The three of them, along with a handful of others, hurried across the street. By the time Ms. Parker, Jarod and Abigail reached the door to the library, Jarod was now unsure.
'This just seems like a strange place to meet.' he observed, bouncing Abigail around. Ms. Parker glanced over at him.
'Our lives are strange, Jarod. You should know that better than anyone.'
Jarod did not answer her, but continued to follow along. They walked in through the doors. Off to their right, was a staircase. Ms. Parker nodded, then looked at Jarod.
'Up there.'
Jarod lifted a brow, then looked at Abigail, who had begun to stare at Ms. Parker again. Jarod would've sworn, that Abigail now knew her mother was not the same woman she had been this morning.
He also found himself wondering, why after making love to him, over a year ago, had Ms. Parker been going to go see the brother they both shared? Then again, when he and Ms. Parker had agreed to meet in that barn in Decatur, all that time ago, neither one of them had gone there for sex. So, it was possible that Ms. Parker had been planning to meet Ethan, whether she had been intimate with him or not.
Still, he wondered...Jarod stopped wondering. Ms. Parker had taken them down a row about states. Standing there, at the beginning of the row, was Ethan.
Ethan, for his part, was ridiculously giddy, to see his sister alive again! And Jarod...it was at times like this, that he cursed the life they had all been given! Why should they have to sneak around in a public library, just to be with one another? They should be at one another's houses, catching up on one another's lives, their careers...
Ms. Parker threw her arms around him. Ethan returned the embrace, while smiling at Jarod and eyeing Abigail. He let go of his sister, then smiled at the baby.
'Who is this?' he asked, reaching out to touch Abigail's little hand.
Ms. Parker said nothing, looking away. Jarod decided to make the introductions.
'This is Abigail...well, we haven't decided on a last name for her yet, if you can believe that.'
Ethan looked from Abigail to Jarod.
'You don't have to tell me. So, you and Ms. Parker...'
'It's a long story. And one, as usual, we don't have time to get into. We need a place to lay low, until we figure out the next step.' Jarod said.
Ethan nodded.
'I called Sydney. He told me you might need help.'
Ms. Parker, who was rubbing the back of her neck, stared at Ethan.
'You're in contact with Sydney? How is he?'
'Good...better now that he knows you're alright.' Ethan answered. He then walked past her and pulled out a book. He handed it to Ms. Parker. She looked at the cover and frowned.
'What is this?' she asked.
Jarod reached out for the book and she handed it to him. Ethan reached out and took Abigail. Ms. Parker peeked at her daughter.
'Cicily, Alaska?' Jarod asked, opening the book.
Ethan nodded, while Abigail touched his hair.
'Yeah, Sydney has connections there. The town is barely even on the map. He thought that would be the perfect place for you all to hide out for now. I have to say, I agree.'
Jarod looked at Ms. Parker, who was eyeing Abigail. He then put the book back, and looked at Ethan.
'Could you watch Abigail for a moment? Ms. Parker and I are going to be right over there.' Jarod pointed to a table by a window.
'Not a problem! Is it, Abigail?' he cooed. Jarod smiled, hoping with all of his heart, that 20 years from now, Abigail would not have to go through the cloak and dagger crap, that her family had had to go through.
Jarod then pulled on Ms. Parker's hand, leading her over to the indicated table. Ms. Parker pulled out a chair and sat down. Jarod sat down across from her.
'You think this backwater town thing is a good idea, don't you?' she asked him, watching his face carefully.
Jarod nodded.
'I do. It's been my experience that when people are looking for you, in those type of towns, four or five people will let you know if a stranger has been asking questions about you. All we need is warning.'
Ms. Parker sighed.
'Fine. I don't see that we have much choice anyway. Let's go.' she started to stand up, but Jarod's hand snaked out and held her arm. Ms. Parker sat back down.
'Is there a problem?' she asked in a surly tone.
'I feel as if we've taken ten steps backwards, since you regained your memory. You won't look at our daughter...you don't even look at me that much.'
'That's not true.'
'Then what is it? Are you ashamed of what we have together...'
'Damnit, Jarod!' Ms. Parker snapped, then looked around apologetically, at the few people who had overheard her outburst. Ethan looked over at them. She lowered her voice.
'Jarod, we both have to prepare ourselves for the fact that we may not get a happily everafter here.'
Jarod still held her arm.
'You've decided something, haven't you?' he asked.
Ms. Parker finally pulled her arm away from him.
'Yes. I'm going to surrender myself to Arvin Sloane. They still might not know about Abigail...'
'No!' Jarod said emphatically. But Ms. Parker ignored him.
'Jarod, I want you to take Abigail to Alaska or wherever, and raise her. You are her father and you will raise her right. I can help the both of you best, by staying at the Centre and keeping them away from you...and our daughter.'
'No!'
Ms. Parker reached out and touched his cheek. If Abigail's father were anyone else, her decision would've been much harder to make. But her daughter's father was Jarod. And Jarod, along with Ethan and maybe Major Charles and Emily, would help give her little girl some stability. That and if she went back to The Centre, she would make sure that they were all able to live in peace. That Abigail wouldn't have to be moved from place to place, from school to school, just to get away from Center Sweepers. Her daughter deserved a good life. Jarod deserved a life. Jarod and Ethan.
'Yes, Jarod. Look, it won't be forever. Just until we can be sure it's safe.'
Jarod reached up and touched the hand that was on his cheek. Of course this would be forever! His daughter would never know her mother! Just like himself and Ms. Parker, never knew theirs.
But he knew she had her mind made up. And he would pretend to go along with this...for now. Because while Ms. Parker would be working to keep The Centre away from Abigail and himself, he was going to get in contact with Irina Derevko, to bargain for Ms. Parker's freedom.