The Saddest Little Valentine

by notbang

The biggest game of cat and mouse just got bigger. The stakes are higher - lives are on the line and someone else is after Jarod... or so it seems. Who are they, and can they be worse than the Center?

3. Chapter III: Walking On Eggshells

 SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1The Saddest Little Valentine

Summary: The biggest game of cat and mouse just got bigger. The stakes are higher - lives are on the line this time around, and someone else is after Jarod... or so it seems. Who are they, and can they be worse than the Centre?

Rating: PG13

Chronology: Post-IotH.

Genre: Suspense/Mystery/Angst... and a little bit of romance, though short lived.

Disclaimer: Are you the author? I am today. Except I'm only pretending...

Notes: None today...

Chapter III - Walking On Eggshells

The death of her mother plagued her endlessly. It was inescapable; time fell away and it was from then on that the ice began to build. The world was a prison to her. In her eyes, she was alone in the world. Nobody cared about her.

Little did she know that she was not alone. There had always been those who cared for her, though the darkness that surrounded her prevented her knowing.

She had never been alone, but she never got to know. She never got to know just how important she was, especially to one in particular. To a boy that could not remember what it was like to see the sunshine, she was the light. She brought colours into his world of grey and for that, although not that alone, she was his best friend. The one string of hope in his life.

But she never got to know.

          - Jarod Heart, The Saddest Little Valentine, chapter three.

Kiya was brimming with energy. She was stuck inside Jarod's apartment while he was out working his shift. He would be back in a little under an hour, which was too far away in her opinion. She was under strict instruction not to leave until he returned, and this time she was intent on honouring this request. She needed to gain Jarod's trust, and frequently going against his wishes wasn't the way to go about it.

His computer was open on the desk. A DSA was half in the drive. When her curiosity got the better of her, she pushed it in the remainder of the way. The computer made a faint buzzing sound, and the screen came to life.

'SL-27,' she said with contempt, recognising the level.

The footage was insignificant. When it became apparent that it was a blank, she ejected it.

'Why would Jarod want a blank surveillance record of SL-27?'

* * *  

'Broots, I want you to dig up everything in the Centre records about Parallax. It has to be a project of some sort.'

'I'll get right on it,' the tech sighed, scuttling out of the office.

'And you're absolutely sure that you haven't heard of it?' Parker asked Sydney, watching him intensely. He had yet to earn back her complete trust since the incident with the DSA.

'Nothing, Parker. I don't think I've ever heard it mentioned before now.'

'Well it meant something to my mother, and I want to know what.'

She strode coolly over to the other side of the room, surveying the foyer outside, though for what she did not know. Raising a cigarette to her vibrant vermillion lips, she turned slightly to look at Sydney.

'Heard from rat boy recently?'

'No. I haven't spoken with Jarod since we organised to exchange the DSA.'

'Strange. He hasn't called since New Year's Eve. The last time he sent anything was some whimsical birthday gift over a week ago. We've got no leads. What is he up to?'

'I don't know.'

'Maybe he's had enough of this game of catch me if you can and jumped off the radar. He's threatened to do it in the past.'

'It is possible that Jarod has decided to sever all ties he has to the Centre, completely, though it seems unlikely. Nothing to our knowledge has happened to trigger such a decision.'

'Who knows what's going on inside that overrated mind of his,' she said dryly. 'For all we know, it might just take one good look in the mirror for him to snap. We've been walking on eggshells with him from the beginning.'

'It could simply be that Jarod is merely occupied with his own affairs. We gave him his space. Perhaps he's just giving us ours.'

'It sounds like something he would do,' she admitted with a sigh. 'He's one big case of give and take.'

Sydney observed her a moment, and she could just about see the wheels turning in his head. Sensing that he was about to go into psychology mode, she braced herself for the impending round of questions.

'Have you opened the box Jarod left for you?'

'No,' she said, her lips remaining in the rounded shape long after they had formed the word.

Sydney seemed surprised.

'Is there a reason why?'

'Because something tells me that it's not the right time. I can't explain it, but somehow I just know. It's not meant to be opened yet.'

'Your Inner Sense?' Sydney suggested, leaning forward in his chair, hand cupping his chin.

'It's more like intuition, though I suppose it could be connected. But this has nothing to do with voices in my mind... it's a feeling in my heart.'

'The gift of the Inner Sense allows you to perceive things by other means than the basic senses. You should trust your instincts. Even more so now that there may be danger lurking for you.'

'Speak of the devil, has there been any word of this supposed stalker of mine?' she asked, letting go of a small chuff of smoke.

'Angelo said that it was someone you thought you could trust,' Sydney said thoughtfully, leaning back. 'Has anybody's behavior seemed suspicious to you?'

'This whole place is crawling with candidates,' she replied caustically. 'How can you notice things out of the ordinary when there is no normal?'

As if in acknowledgment of this point, Broots slipped into the office and leaned against the door, looking as if he had just seen the ghost of Catherine Parker.

'You owe me so big,' he said.

Miss Parker raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner. Broots took the cue and went on.

'That new guy Raines brought in to do all his dirty work. He almost caught me snooping around.'

'You mean his goon Anderson?'

'You know him?'

'We've met. So what did you get me?' she asked.

'Well, you were right. Parallax was a project. But you'll never guess what kind. Parallax was a part of the Pretender program.'

'What?' she asked, brows shooting skyward.

'And that isn't the half of it. Parallax is still in progress!'

'All of the Pretender projects were terminated not long after Jarod escaped,' Sydney said, eyes narrowed in a confused fashion.

'Parallax was put on the back burner after Jarod escaped, but was never actually terminated. On the contrary, it's been in full swing for the past four years!'

Miss Parker perched on the edge of the desk, soaking up this new revelation.

'You're saying there's a Pretender inside the Centre somewhere?'

'No, that's the strange thing. According to this, he was released not long ago.'

'Why?' she asked, drawing out the word.

Broots looked up at her.

'The Centre released him to go after Jarod.'

* * *

Kiya had been lying peacefully on the sofa, not thinking about anything in particular, when she was overcome by a powerful buzzing inside of her head. Her first reaction was for her fingers to fly to her temples and attempt to massage the noise away, but when this failed she was forced to take a different approach.

Once she got over the initial confusion that the noise invoked, she chose to take a deep breath and make an effort to figure out what exactly was happening. The moment she relaxed, things became a hell of a lot clearer.

With a slightly troubled look gracing her features, she picked up the telephone receiver and dialed the number Jarod had given her, praying that he had his cell on him.

* * *

Jarod was on his way to the depot with an empty cab when his cell rang. The roads were somewhat crowded with vehicles rushing to get home. He frowned as he pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. The person on the other end spoke before he had a chance to.

'Where are you?'

'Kiya? On my way back. Why?'

'Who's Ethan?'

His frown deepened in confusion as he turned a corner.

'Your cousin. Why?'

'I don't know how, I don't know why... but he's in trouble.'

'Has he called you?'

'No. Jarod, listen... you need to go to the airport. He's there somewhere.'

He gave a heavy sigh.

'Alright. I'm on my way.'

The tyres screeched as he slammed on the breaks and changed direction, heading for the airport. He terminated the call and immediately dialed another number.

* * *

'Come on!' Parker growled, growing impatient at a set of traffic lights. She made an even louder noise of frustration when her cell decided to ring. A colourful string of obscenities were muttered under her breath as her right hand scrounged around, finally getting a grip on the phone.

'What?'

'Have you heard from Ethan?'

'Long time, no see. It's noisy where you are. At an airport, rat boy?'

'I need to know if you have heard from Ethan.'

'Not for nearly a year. He seems to have vanished. Why?'

'I have reason to believe he's in danger.'

'And what brought you to this conclusion?' she asked. He had successfully gained her full attention.

'Something that I don't fully understand. Which is why I'm searching for reassurance that I'm not being sent on a wild goose chase.'

'Well, I can't help you there,' she said, taking a corner with aggression.

'Miss Parker, when you were in trouble once, Ethan sensed it. It has to work both ways. Please, just try.'

'What do you want me to do? Hold a seance in the middle of the street? I'm driving for God's sake!' she said testily, but attempted to focus despite her words. 'Nothing, Jarod! I'm not getting anything!'

'Is the Centre still tracking him?'

'I don't know. Maybe. There's a hell of a lot going on that I know nothing about. It looks like I'm out of the loop. All I know is that Lyle ordered a sweeper team to Florida today. I figured he was off looking for you.'

'Florida? So they're at the airport?'

'Maybe. Why?'

'Thank you, Miss Parker.'

'Jarod, what -'

She stopped when she realised he had hung up. Giving a noise of extreme annoyance, she closed the phone and tossed it onto the passenger's street, cursing peak hour traffic to the high heavens.

* * *

The airport was crowded; very, very crowded. A large flight had obviously either arrived or was about to depart, because there were people everywhere. It was good in the sense that it meant that Jarod and, hopefully, Ethan, would have no trouble blending in. A team of sweepers, on the other hand, would stick out like a sore thumb.

Jarod wasn't entirely sure on what he was going to do if he did by some chance find himself cornered by Centre personnel. It was risky for him to even be there while he knew there was a possibility they would be around. If lady luck was on his side, he'd find Ethan and get them both out of there.

One problem: he had no idea how he was going to locate Ethan.

He was in the process of contemplating this small hitch in the plan when he saw the first sweepers.

After all their years of chasing him, they still hadn't mastered the art of being inconspicuous. This was fine by him; if it weren't for their bluntly obvious black suits and unlimited numbers he'd have probably been caught more times than he'd have liked.

He was scanning the room and calculating the distance to the nearest exit when a hand touched his shoulder, startling him slightly.

'Brother,' Ethan said, sounding out of breath.

'Ethan!' Jarod exclaimed without thinking. Realising his mistake, he glanced around and lowered his voice.

'Am I glad to see you,' he said.

'There's sweepers here,' Ethan answered, turning his gaze to where the Centre employees were breaking up to search the room. 'Are they after you?'

'No, you. We need to get out of here. This way. Come on.'

They slipped quietly through the doors without being stopped, but Jarod made sure they were in the cab before he let down his guard.

'What are you doing here?' Jarod asked, casting a sideways glance at Ethan as he pulled out of the lot.

'I've been trying to catch up with you, brother. Why are there sweepers after me?'

'My guess is that they were hoping you would lead them to me.'

'Then I apologise for leading them to you. How did you know it was me they were after?'

'Because I was alerted that you were in some kind of danger. Not exactly the kind of life threatening peril that I had imagined, but I suppose for that I should be thankful. At least you're smart enough to stay away from a team of sweepers.'

'Alerted that I was in danger? How?'

'By a friend of mine that I'd like you to meet,' Jarod replied with a heavy sigh. 'Because I don't quite know what to make of her any more.'

'I don't understand.'

'Neither do I. She's one big question mark.'

Relaxing with the knowledge that they were out of danger, Jarod took his time driving back. He radioed into the depot, apologizing profusely for his late return, and dropped off the cab. While he made his way back to his apartment, he jumped on the opportunity to catch up with his half brother whom he had not seen nor heard from on the border of a year.

Ethan's sudden disappearance had been, as Jarod suspected, on a whim; a sudden impulse directed by his Inner Sense. It had taken him far away from Blue Cove, setting him on a reclusive search for their sister Emily.

'The last time I saw Emily, she was still in hospital,' Jarod said. 'Did you find her?'

'Our father and Emily are both safe and sound,' Ethan informed him. 'Once I had tracked them down, my search for you began. You're not an easy man to find, brother. I don't envy Miss Parker, that's for sure.'

'Neither do I,' Jarod said grimly. 'Especially if Lyle finds out she told me about the sweepers.'

* * *

When Jarod's red convertible pulled up outside, Kiya was relieved to see two people in it. Whoever this Ethan was, he appeared safe and sound and that set her mind at ease. Unfortunately, it left her free to ponder exactly what had happened a few hours ago.

The afternoon's experience had been a new one for her. While she was accustomed to being able to sense things without explanation, she had never heard voices - save her impetuous subconscious - in her head.

But now it had happened once, she knew it could happen again. If she focused carefully, she could still hear the faint whispers in the back of her mind. Nothing ascertainable, but they were there.

She didn't know how she was supposed to present this contentious explanation to Jarod. It was doubtful that he would believe such atrocious nonsense, and while she wasn't one to care what others thought, it didn't seem to be in her best interests that he thought she was off her rocker.

Finally deciding that being casual and upfront was her strong point, she adopted a nonchalant position on the couch, waiting for them to come inside.

'Hi,' she said offhandedly, examining the ring on her finger. 'Everything OK?'

'Yes,' Jarod said, eyeing her. 'Everything is fine. Ethan, this is Kiya. Kiya, Ethan.'

As Kiya observed Ethan, she got the strange sensation that she knew him.

'Kiya, how did you know Ethan was in danger when you didn't even know who he was?' Jarod asked.

'I heard voices,' she said with a shrug. 'In my head. No big deal.'

Jarod stopped short.

'No,' he said, glancing at Ethan. 'It is.'

'She hears the voices too?' Ethan asked.

'When you spoke of this sensory perception of yours... I never saw it before,' Jarod said. 'Maybe we've been looking in the wrong place all along. I don't know for sure, but I think the answers you're searching for aren't with your father, although he may be a good place to start.'

He sighed and perched on the arm of the couch. Things were, in a terrible way, making wonderful sense.

'You have the gift of the Inner Sense. Miss Parker and Ethan, they have it as well.'

'It must run in this insane family of ours,' Kiya replied, looking skeptical. 'Inner Sense? You mean I'm not the only nutcase?'

'The voices,' Ethan said, watching her. 'I never heard them so young.'

'Kiya was a prodigy at the Centre,' Jarod explained. 'Her mother, or so she was told, was your aunt.'

'Why do you say or so I was told?' Kiya asked suspiciously.

'Because I have reason to believe that you were lied to. About a lot of things,' Jarod replied, his brown eyes meeting her blue ones. 'It's the Centre's speciality.'

'But it's impossible that she's not my mother. We look exactly like each other. I'll show you the photo.'

Kiya disappeared into the adjacent room momentarily, returning with a worn photograph. The image was of a woman with shoulder length dark brown hair and blue eyes, and Kiya indeed bore an unmistakable resemblance to her. There was no questioning that they were related.

'You've never shown me this before,' Jarod commented, smiling at her. 'She's beautiful.'

'I know,' Kiya replied.

'You look just like her,' Ethan added, seeing the picture.

'And there's no questioning that they're tied to Miss Parker and your mother,' Jarod told him. 'But something doesn't add up.'

He stood, heading towards the bedroom.

'Ethan, you should come with me. I think your sister is expecting to hear from us.' His eyes moved to Kiya. 'You stay here. The last thing we need is someone at the Centre finding out your whereabouts.'

* * *

It wasn't until nearly midnight that Miss Parker received the call she had been edgily awaiting for the majority of the afternoon. She wasted no time in accepting when her computer chirped out that she had an incoming video phone call.

'Miss Parker,' Jarod said lazily as his face appeared on the screen.

'You took your time,' she snapped.

'It was unavoidable,' he replied.

'Apologies,' Ethan added, coming into the picture behind Jarod.

'Ethan. You're alright,' she said with noticeable relief.

'Nothing serious, just a little too close to a sweeper team for comfort,' Jarod answered. 'But thank you for informing me.'

'How did you know he was in danger in the first place?'

'I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Miss Parker.'

'And why doesn't that surprise me?' she asked bitterly.

'Listen, I need to ask you something. It's important. Did your mother have a sister?'

'No,' Miss Parker replied. 'Until recently, I had no uncles or aunts. Then again, one can hardly rely on their family tree around here.'

'Look up anything you can on Rosie Jamison,' Jarod advised. 'And maybe you'll have another blank to fill in on your family tree.'

'That's all you're going to give me?' she asked, glancing up from inspecting her fingernails. 'A name? Aren't you even going to tell me why?'

'Now,' he said teasingly. 'Where's the fun in that?'

Sensing that he was about to terminate the call, her mood immediately turned serious. He wasn't going to cut her off that easily without giving her some answers.

'You wait a second,' she snarled, putting her hands down either side of the computer screen, leaning closer. 'What do you know about Parallax?'

Jarod's casual demeanor faded slightly.

'No more than you do. I'm counting on you to do the research on this one. Good night, Miss Parker.'

She straightened up, not bothering to contain her frustration. Slamming the computer shut, she reached for a cigarette and lit it, taking, in her opinion, a well earned drag.

'I think you know more about Parallax than you're letting on, Jarod. You're hiding something and I'm going to find out what.'

* * *

'Did you get me anything?' Miss Parker asked Broots, stepping out of the elevator.

'Well, I spoke to Andy in congenital studies. You know, the one with the twitch in his eye? I bumped into him and we were having a discussion about -'

'Broots,' she said warningly, still looking straight ahead as she strode towards the large glass doors at the end of the corridor. He took the hint.

'Anyway, he'd never heard of Parallax. But,' he said, glancing around as if in fear of being overheard, 'he told me that Raines has been making quite a few trips to the next floor up lately.'

'And this is of importance?'

'Miss Parker, congenital studies is on SL-28. Which means...'

She came to a stop, turning to look at him.

'That Raines has been setting up shop again in SL-27,' she said slowly. 'Broots, I want to know what he's doing down there.'

'But Miss Parker, the only way to do that would be to follow him!'

Noticing the look on her face, his eyes widened.

'Oh no, no... no, come on, Miss Parker! That's like signing my own death warrant!'

'Better you than me. Run along now,' she said with a smile, pushing open the door to her brother's office.

'Lyle, you son of a bitch. I want to know what you think you're doing sending a sweeper team down to Florida after Ethan,' she snarled, changing ambiances the second she crossed the threshold.

Her twin seemed unfazed by her accusations.

'Mirage was a big project. Raines wants Ethan back, especially since he's in cahoots with Jarod of late,' he said insouciantly. 'I suppose you're the one that tipped him off?'

'He doesn't need me to tip him off,' she replied coolly, crossing her arms. 'Any person with good eyesight can see a bunch of bozos in black. And you can hardly say Jarod and Ethan don't have the brains to avoid them.'

'Sweepers are a necessity when dealing with lunatics like those two. They're dangerous.'

'Because they can think and you can't? I see your problem,' she said with fake sympathy. 'What are you doing trying to rope in Mirage, anyway? I would have thought Jarod would have been your number one at the moment.'

'He is,' Lyle replied, searching his desk. 'But Raines seems to be just as concerned with bringing in Ethan as Jarod at the moment. And a sub-par experiment gone awry is obviously an easier hake to handle than a full-fledged Pretender.'

'Looking for something?' she asked, dangling his keys off her index finger.

He made a grab for them, but she snatched them away.

'Where are you going?'

'None of your business,' he said stiffly, beginning to lose patience.

'Tell me where you're going, Hitler, or there won't be enough Nazis this side of the North Pole to protect your sorry ass.'

Lyle sighed, watching her a moment. When it became clear she wasn't about to back down, he rolled his eyes in defeat.

'I'm going to Florida. Where you should be, unless you're looking to be the hiatus in this manhunt. The Triumvirate is getting agitated, and I for one don't want to be in Raines's shoes if Jarod isn't brought in soon. Not that things are looking good for us at the moment.'

He made another snatch for the keys, but she withdrew them again.

'What do you know about Parallax?' she asked through gritted teeth.

'It was part of the Pretender program. It was top secret; I don't know anything else about it.'

'But you knew it was in progress,' she said, holding the keys further out pf his reach.

'Now don't go getting bent out of shape,' Lyle said with a sigh. 'Parallax is destitute. Raines terminated it three weeks ago.'

'Bullshit,' she hissed. 'I know that he's been sent out after Jarod.'

'Well if she has, that's the first I've heard about it.'

'She?'

'Parallax is a Pretender by the name of Kiya. She was part of an extensive exploitation into the skills of the red file prodigies. Dad was experimenting with the abilities of the female gender. Seeing if there were any variations in endowment. Kiya was the result. She was intended to be a criminal mastermind. That's all I know.'

She extended the keys and he took them.

'If you know what's good for you, you'll stick to finding Jarod,' he informed her.

'I'll look after myself, if you don't mind,' she replied coldly, pushing open the glass doors and stalking out.

* * *

Jarod and Ethan were seated at the table in front of the laptop, searching fruitlessly through Centre records for information on Rosie Jamison. Kiya had bored of the small conversation set herself up in front of the television, braiding her hair absent mindedly.

'She's just like Miss Parker,' Ethan said quietly, looking over at her.

'An awful lot like Miss Parker,' Jarod agreed. 'It's unnerving at times.'

'I can understand why you're wary of her, but something tells me you can trust her.'

'There's no denying her heart's in the right place. But she's hiding something, and it bothers me,' Jarod sighed.

Rich, coming from a guy who's always pretending to be something he's not, he thought to himself.

'I can't explain it, but I get the strange feeling I know her from somewhere,' Ethan confided.

'What worries me is how much she knows,' Jarod said. 'About her family. About the Centre. About me. Especially when the Centre is so fond of keeping secrets.'

'I only wish I could stay around and help you. But something tells me you're not going to be here for long. And wherever you're going... you're going alone.'

Jarod sighed.

'When I'm finished in Florida, I'd like to find Dad again. I have so many questions and no answers. I'm hoping he can give me some.'

'And he'll be pleased to see you. Emily as well. But does Kiya know?'

'No,' was the troubled reply. 'And I don't plan to tell her. When I leave, it has to be in secret. I can't afford to leave any clues pointing towards where they're staying.'

'So you're going to disappear,' Ethan said, glancing at Kiya, who was still lazing in front of the television across the apartment.

'Not until I can provide her with some answers,' Jarod responded slowly, following his brother's gaze. 'Once I've helped Kiya as much as I can; yes.'

'If you're worried about leaving her, don't be. She's a survivor,' Ethan said quietly, sensing Jarod's ambivalence towards leaving.

Jarod smiled slightly, his eyes still on her.

'I know.'

* * *

Miss Parker stepped carefully out from behind a pillar, her blue eyes watchful and her ears pricked. Carefully, she slipped closer to the car she was observing, taking care to minimize the click of her heels on the ground.

Lyle was standing beside the car, his cell pressed to his ear. She couldn't discern what was being said, but assumed it was his team in Florida. Wanting to move closer but refraining out of risk of being discovered, she strained her eats to pick up bits of the conversation.

She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn't notice the tall, intimidating Centre employee come up behind her. Her reaction to the hand placed on her arm was barely noticeable, but a slight start nonetheless.

'Miss Parker,' the man said, his lips curving into a small smirk. 'It confuses me as to why you're down here when you should be in your office, tracing Jarod.'

Recognising him as the Mr Anderson from Raines's office, her lip curled back in distaste as she snatched her arm away.

'God must love assholes. He made so many,' she said with venom. 'But why is it they always seem to end up here?'

'I've been informed of your sunny personality, Miss Parker, and I must say, Mr Raines's description didn't do you justice,' Anderson replied, unfazed.

'Believe me, Mr Hyde, you'll be seeing a lot more of my sunny personality if you plan on sticking around this three ringed circus, so I'd watch out,' she said icily, her eyes locking his with cold indifference.

'Thank you for the warning,' he replied, dipping his head at her before continuing along the car park.

She followed his movement with her gaze a moment before turning her attentions back to Lyle.

Both he and the car were gone.

'Ugh!' she groaned, stomping her foot in frustration.

* * *

'Have you found anything else on Parallax, Broots?' she asked, storming into her office and throwing herself down in the chair the tech had just jumped out of.

Broots looked to Sydney, who had his eyebrows raised.

'Uh, no. Not really,' Broots answered, glancing at Miss Parker, who was glowering at something only she could see.

'All of the Parallax files seem to have been relocated.'

'I shouldn't have mentioned it to Lyle,' she sighed, rubbing her temples. 'What about Jarod? Any leads?'

'No,' Sydney replied. 'We still haven't heard from Jarod. I'm beginning to get worried.'

'Well you can save yourself the ulcer,' she said dryly. 'I spoke to him yesterday.'

'Jarod called you?' Sydney asked.

'He wanted to know if the Centre was tracing Ethan. Little brother number two had a run in with a sweeper team in Florida yesterday, it seems. And guess who sent them out there? Little brother number one. Which once again proves how much this family is full of members that really love each other.'

'Why would Mr Lyle be trying to catch Ethan?' Broots asked, confused.

'Raines wants him back,' she said dismissively, standing to walk the room. 'But while we're

class=Section2

on the subject, three guesses who's flying out to Florida today, and the first two don't count.'

'Lyle,' Sydney supplied, his hand going to his chin.

'Lyle seems to be under the impression Raines is in big trouble with those in higher places, which would be to our advantage if it keeps him tied up awhile. Speaking of the old wheeze bag,' she said slowly, suddenly remembering something. She turned to look at Broots. 'What did you find me?'

Broots's eyes widened slightly, and he glanced towards the door before speaking. When he answered her, his voice was just above a whisper.

'Andy was right,' he hissed.

'Andy from the accounting division?' Sydney asked.

'No. Congenital studies. You know, the one with the -'

Broots faltered under Miss Parker's withering glare.

'Raines has been doing something down there, but I don't know what,' he quickly continued, averting his gaze. 'He's been making frequent trips down there, but he never seems to stay for long. I didn't have time to find out where he went. It was too dangerous. The only way to find out what he's up to would be to find a surveillance record. But since the fire, SL-27 has gone unmonitored.'

Miss Parker stopped at the window, her brain ticking.

'No,' she said slowly, looking at Sydney. 'It hasn't. The DSA Jarod wanted... it was of SL-27. It was a blank, and I couldn't figure out why. But now I think I know.'

Sydney observed her, eyes slightly narrowed with interest as she continued.

'Jarod knew I would look at the DSA,' she said, her lips starting to form a smile at the irony of it. 'He wanted us to know that they were still making DSA's of SL-27.'

'Which would mean he would have to have some idea of what Raines is doing down there,' Broots said.

'And I think it has something to do with Parallax,' was her reply. 'Find any DSA's close in number to the one Jarod wanted. I want any DSA's that have been made of SL-27 in the past three weeks.'

'I'm on it,' Broots sighed, exiting her office.

Her gaze immediately turned to Sydney.

'Jarod's being cryptic,' she told him. 'And when Jarod gets cryptic, I rely on you to decipher his clues. What do you get from this?'

'At the moment? Nothing,' Sydney replied. 'But Jarod is definitely trying to tell us something, and his obvious nuance tells me that he's warning us to be discreet.'

'When you spend enough time in this place, you tend to embrace discretion as a middle name,' she said evenly. 'In a world where everyone makes it their business to make your business their business, going unnoticed is a subtle art.'

'Just make sure you're careful, Parker,' the older man warned.

'Oh,' she assured him with a steely glint in her eye, 'I'm going to be very, very careful.'

* * *

Jarod had been looking forward to his shift the following day, mainly because he felt he needed to put some more thought into the whole Kiya mystery, and it was generally easier to think when a mordant seventeen year old wasn't attempting to instigate a battle of the wits for personal amusement.

His day was, for the most part, uneventful. This was up until around four thirty, when he picked up a most interesting passenger.

The young woman appeared to be in her late twenties; an attractive brunette with sea green eyes. Jarod exchanged a polite greeting with her when she first got into the cab, and turned onto a street that would set them in the right direction to where she wanted to go.

After a few minutes of silence, the brunette spoke.

'I hope you don't mind me asking... but did you by any chance know Davy Reynolds? It's just that he used to work with your company...'

The woman looked uncomfortable as Jarod surveyed her in the rearview mirror.

'Yes... I did. Thought not through the cab company. I'm actually his replacement.'

'But you knew him?' she asked, brightening slightly.

'He helped me out a few years ago,' Jarod replied.

The brunette smiled weakly.

'Davy was always helping people out.'

'You knew him too?'

'I... I'm his fiancé.'

Even more so interested than he had been before, Jarod kept the conversation going.

'Do you think he was responsible for what happened that night?' he asked gently.

She looked shocked.

'I don't want to believe it, no. But Davy was tested. He was over the limit, and he hit that girl,' she said.

'But Davy didn't drink.'

Her eyes widened somewhat, meeting his in the reflection in the mirror.

'No. Never. At least, not before that night. I don't understand why he would start all of a sudden.'

'Had anything happened to Davy earlier that day? Something that may have depressed him into drinking?'

'No, nothing that I know of,' she sighed, looking out the window.

'My name is Jarod,' he informed her, rounding a corner.

'Leishelle,' the woman replied, giving him another small smile.

'Leishelle, I'm glad I got to meet you,' Jarod said. 'I could use your help.'

'Help?'

'I think Davy was set up that night,' he explained. 'And I want to clear Davy's name.'

Leishelle blinked a few times, looking thoroughly confused.

'You think Davy was set up? How? By who?'

'I don't have the who,' he answered her, taking another corner. His gaze fell randomly on the armrest to his right, coming to a stop over the Styrofoam coffee cup sitting in its holder.

'But I think I have the how.'

OK, I finally got that one finished. I got up to the bit where Jarod picks up Ethan and got a little stuck, but I got over it.

I was also going to have Miss Parker et al continue to assume that the Parallax Pretender was male, but then that scene with Lyle kind of just wrote itself.

I'm not especially happy with the ending, but it will do.

The next chapter, Web of Lies, should be somewhat humorous. It involves a situation with Lyle, Miss Parker and Jarod's warped sense of amusement.

I was feeling a little down that I only got one review for the last chapter, but anyways. Better than nothing :) I'm going to do some thank yous now:

Ann

Sauron764 – Is she still looking Mary Sue-ish?

Olin

Ginger6

Zsazsa1

Pretend03

Pretender Fanatic

Anonymous

A pretender fan

Nia – There is no way I could kill her! There'd be no fun in the story without Miss Parker's sarcastic comments to write! :)

Well, thank you to you ten people that reviewed. The next chapter should be up quite soon. I don't have quite as much time on my hands as usual since school has just started up again, but I'll manage.

Cheers & Beers

SezZie