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?

6. Chapter VI: The Twelfth Hour

 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 VI - The Twelfth Hour

It was that place that brought them together and, inevitably, that place that tore them apart. From there their lives had collided once more to become inextricably combined and both had experienced something so close to hell that it was interesting to wonder what worse things life could throw at them.

But, as they came to learn, there was a lot left to be thrown at them. And as the web grew thicker, she was finding it harder and harder to hold on...

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

It was relatively warm in Florida. Thus the name, no doubt - but then again, she had never really stopped to pay attention. The last time she had visited the place she'd been sprinting down the street hot on the heels of a certain someone. The pursuit had been unsuccessful, of course, but what was new?

Surprisingly enough, her master of incognito had nothing to do with her being there. Something told her that he was still in Florida, but it was not that knowledge that had drawn her to a data annex within the city centre. No - that had been something of an entirely different nature; something that riled her even more than the prospect of playing hide and go seek with Jarod.

The scene was an unusual one. Her, alone. Walking down the street without a black car or suit in sight. No weapons. No chaos. No more than was to be expected on a busy street at peak hour, anyway.

The reason for her appearance in Florida was an unexpected, unplanned trip. She had made her way up there alone, perhaps foolishly, neglecting to tell anyone where she was going. Her presence wouldn't be properly missed until the next day, which hopefully gave her enough time to work out what motives her mysterious benefactor had behind giving her links to Jarod. There was no doubt in her mind that whoever it was had been behind the impromptu shooting several days before.

It was obvious that they were trying to show her that they knew just as much, if not more, about Jarod's wherabouts as she did. It had occurred to her on several occasions that it may be someone from the Centre informing her that they knew exactly what she was up to; that she was holding back with Jarod because of Ethan. The possibility that this were true ate at her to no end. If anyone were to find out that she knew where Jarod was, but wasn't taking action, she could land herself in a difficult position. However, at this point in time, she was much more concerned for Ethan's safety than her own.

The fact that Raines was just as determined as getting him back as Jarod sent chills down her spine at the thought of what the Centre would do to him if they ever did recapture him. She had, over the years, out of necessity, grown somewhat neutral towards Jarod's possible fate. Ethan was a different story. He was her brother and she was damned if he was going back there while she had something to do with it.

Her aloof blue eyes drunk in the city around her. Too much hustle and bustle for her tastes. For a person that valued solitude, the city held few attractions. Feeling that she would very much rather be back home with a cigarette and scotch in hand, she sped up the pace a little, eyes locking on the data annex a mere street away.

* * *

Having finally solved his case, Jarod was taking a final three days to make the most of his break before he left Florida. He took things relatively easy; feasting on some of his favourite sweets and languidly discussing trivial things with Kiya and Ethan, just basking in the feel of what was the closest thing he had experienced to a family in a long while.

Following a short period of immense boredom, Kiya had successfully talked him into hiring some videos from the store and having a family movie marathon, complete with popcorn - something he had definitely never had the pleasure of participating in. He took an instant liking to the Lion King and its musical score, although not quite understanding the concept of talking lions. At this Kiya and Ethan had laughed, which only succeeded in confusing him more. He hadn't let onto this, however, instead choosing to busy himself with a handful of popcorn.

All in all, he was having on of the best times of his life. It was quite apparent to him that he was going to find it difficult to leave it all behind when the time came.

They were onto their third movie - a version of Frankenstein that for some reason caused him to think of Raines more times than he would have liked - when something unexpected happened.

'She's here,' Kiya said suddenly. 'In Florida.'

'Who?' Jarod asked, although he already had a pretty good idea what the answer was going to be.

'Miss Parker,' she responded, eyes narrowing. 'I can sense it.'

Jarod looked over at Ethan, who shrugged.

'I'm not getting anything,' he said.

'Do you know why?' Jarod asked, looking back over at Kiya.

The television screen was forgotten.

'Nope. But she's here all right. Were you expecting her?'

'No,' Jarod replied, standing up. 'I didn't think she'd risk bringing a team out here while she knew Ethan was with me.'

He walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Kiya followed him.

'And you were using that as a shield?' she asked. 'She can only keep things on hold for a certain amount of tome, Jarod. Didn't you think they'd get suspicious?'

'Which was why I sent her to Indiana. To keep things moving,' he responded, pulling on his black leather jacket.

'Where are you going?' she demanded.

'Out.'

'Are you crazy? She's in town, so you're going to go around looking for her?'

'It's better that I find her and keep and eye on her than her finding me first,' he shot back, being harsher than he intended. 'At least that way I can keep her away from here and you and Ethan.'

'What?'

'She's after me, not you. And I'm not having your or Ethan sent back to the Centre because of me.'

'You're an idiot,' she informed him, following him to the door.

'Something's not right,' he answered, his voice gentler. 'I really don't believe she would come here now. Never, not once, have I had an encounter with her in the evening like this. She strikes during the day.'

'Just because I sensed her now doesn't mean that she's planning to come after you now! She might be waiting until the morning!'

'Trust me on this,' he responded. 'Something tells me that something is wrong, and I won't be able to let it go until I've looked into it.'

There was a silence as their eyes locked, staring unblinkingly at each other. Ethan had come into the kitchen after them and was standing in the doorway, watching.

'Fine,' she said. 'Go. Good luck finding her. She could be anywhere.'

Giving her a troubled look, Jarod glanced to Ethan.

'I'll be back soon, I promise.'

Ethan nodded.

'Go.'

And with that, Jarod stepped out into the cool evening air, wondering what on earth had possessed him to go out looking for Her.

* * *

She was armed. Her gun was heavy in its holster, a constant reminder that she wasn't entirely helpless against attack.

It would be a lie to say she wasn't worried.

The longer she thought about it, the more sense it made. Someone was trying to kill her. Someone, perchance plural, wanted her out of the way. The list of possible perpetrators was endless.

She knew the Centre needed her. Without her, and Sydney, they would have no chance of ever seeing Jarod again. It was the Pretender's glee at annoying her and ties to Sydney that kept them only a few steps behind him all along; with the help of Broots, of course. Take away those two connections and they had absolutely nothing. But then again, she thought, it would be possible to function with her out of the equation. As long as Sydney remained, they would always have that unbreakable link to Jarod. Which meant that if someone really wanted it bad enough, her demise would not have too much of an affect on the chase.

All this brought her back to the beginning; that someone had a bounty on her head and she was still none the wiser as to who it was.

When she strode into the building, she appeared characteristically cool and unconcerned. No one seemed to query her being there, so she continued along, not quite sure of where she was going.

The office, despite its size, was relatively empty. She supposed this owed to the time; had she been back in Blue Cove she most likely would have been home herself by now.

At some point she felt eyes on her, which unsettled her further, though she did not show it. Unable to neither shake the feeling nor identify the source of it, she kept moving, weaving in and out of the desks, expecting someone to stop her and ask her what exactly she was doing there. The security guard had eyed her when she had entered, but said nothing.

Someone was still watching her.

Strangely skittish, she spooked and slipped through a door that led to a stationery storeroom. Once inside, she felt extremely foolish at having been unnerved so easily, and took out a cigarette in aggravation. Her right hand quivered, signaling that her body was craving the nicotine, most likely the cause of her edginess.

Taking advantage of the large capacity of the storeroom, she made her way past the shelves to the very back, out of sight. She stayed there while she enjoyed her cigarette and gathered her wits, wondering for what purpose exactly she had been sent to the annex in the first place.

She froze suddenly, thinking she had heard a rustle of paper. After a moment of complete silence she relaxed, releasing a cloud of smoke somewhat shakily. What on earth had gotten into her?

A voice startled her a second time, confirming her suspicions that someone else had entered the room.

'And so the hunter becomes the hunted. How does it feel, having to always look over your shoulder?'

She spun around, not particularly surprised to find Him standing behind her.

'What the hell are you doing here?' she snapped defensively.

'I could ask you the same question, Miss Parker,' he replied, folding his arms. 'But since you asked first, I'm here because I want to be. I happen to enjoy the climate.'

'I was referring to here specifically, not the state,' she informed him coolly. 'But you can enjoy the climate back in Delaware, which is where I'm taking you.'

'Wanna bet?' he asked, nonchalantly raising an eyebrow. He stepped back and nodded towards the storeroom. 'How do you plan on getting us out of here?'

'What do you mean?' she asked, looking in the direction he had gestured.

She made her way back to the door and glanced out. The office was in darkness; all lights out, all computers off. Everyone had left. The doors were shut. The building was empty.

'It looks like we're stuck in here for the night,' he commented, following her out of the storeroom, its florescent illumination the only light source.

'Don't tell me you can't pick those locks,' she replied tersely.

'High security. Electronically locking doors,' he returned. 'I've already tried.'

'Don't give me that crap,' she shot back. 'You've outsmarted Centre security on more than one occasion.'

'I'm sorry if this wasn't quite how you'd planned to spend the evening, Miss Parker, but there's really nothing I can do.'

She sighed and crossed the room. The doors were, of course, shut tight, but it didn't stop her from trying them.

'So was the package from you? Or was it just another pathetic attempt from the person that's trying to kill me?' she asked coolly, pulling out another cigarette.

He watched her warily as she lit it, casting an eerie glow across her features.

'I never sent you anything. I wasn't planning to until I was out of Florida and away from Ethan,' Jarod answered. 'I thought you'd had enough wild goose chases for the time being.'

'I figured as much,' she replied, letting out a cloud of smoke and glancing down. 'That and the lack of hidden meaning raised my suspicions.'

'You came alone?' he asked, sitting down with his back against the wall.

'After what happened last time, I wasn't about to drag Sid and Broots into a battlefield,' was the reply. She perched herself on the edge of a desk and took another puff of her cigarette. 'They're still back in Blue Cove, no doubt wondering where the hell I've gotten to.'

'It evades me as to why your assassin would want you trapped in a data annex,' Jarod commented.

'I think the main purpose of the field trip was to alert me to the fact that whoever it is has a good idea what you're up to. And considering I'm pretty much the only one who could be classified as a step above clueless when it comes to you, it makes me wonder if the Centre has anything to do with this at all.'

'Do you really believe that?' he asked dubiously.

'No,' she said, looking at him. 'They have something to do with everything. I have my suspects.'

'And you're not going to tell me who.'

She grinned at him.

'Where's the fun in that?'

She pressed the cigarette back to her lips. When she took it away, she looked back over at him.

'You followed me in here.'

'What makes you think that?' he asked.

'Why else would you be here, Jarod? Why did you follow me?'

'Because I thought you might be in trouble,' he replied. 'You were making your way to a data annex at night. Alone. I could sense that something wasn't right.'

'Which explains why you didn't skip town at the sight of me,' she said dryly. 'You couldn't resist an opportunity to play the hero.'

There was a short silence as she began to accept the situation she was in. Trapped in a building with little hope of getting out until the morning. She found the fact that Jarod could do nothing to get them out a little suspicious, but she was too tired to argue with him.

Since Carthis, she had only come face to face with him on one other occasion, and even then it had been with him endeavoring to keep as much distance between them as possible. But now here she was, a whole night ahead of her.

'If you sensed something was wrong, why did you come?' Jarod asked her eventually.

'I thought you knew me, Jarod,' she answered derisively. 'I'm not one to sit on the curb and clap. Someone's trying to put a bullet in me and I want to know who.'

'By walking into a trap and getting yourself killed?'

She didn't respond. In all truth, she had no idea why she had come, especially when she had instinctively known that the package, luring her to Florida, was not from Jarod. It hadn't been in possession of the common aura she associated with him and the things he sent her. Yet still she had followed its hints, all of them pointing to the annex. And, whether by intention or chance, had wound up trapped inside.

'I could do with one of those chocolates right now,' she said offhandedly, staring blankly at a wall.

'You liked them, then?'

'Exquisite,' she replied dryly, refusing to let on how much she had really enjoyed them.

A faint ticking began to get on her nerves. She shifted positions, casting the odd glance at Jarod, who had busied himself with a piece of paper.

'Having fun?' she asked wryly.

He looked up.

'Onisius,' he informed her, holding up his creation.

In the faint light coming from the open storeroom door, she could make out the form of the bird-like paper model.

'Greek god of retribution,' she murmured. 'You used to make them all the time.'

After another short silence, no doubt instigated by what she had just said, she moved away from the desk to slowly walk the carpet near where he was seated.

'So how exactly did we end up stuck in here? Didn't you see everyone leave?' she asked.

He blinked lazily, though the movement went unnoticed in the poor light.

'No,' he told her. 'I was in the broom cupboard.'

At another time, in another place, she may have responded with some witty remark. However, given the current situation, her sarcasm was beginning to diminish. One would think that such a morose position would be inspiration for a small novel of biting remarks, but it didn't seem to be the case.

The lack of conversation drew her mind back to the annoying ticking sound. It was seriously beginning to get on her nerves. If it persisted to do so, she might just have to destroy the clock guilty of making such an irritating noise.

'I swear, when I find that clock,' she muttered, her eyes searching for it.

'Clock?' Jarod echoed.

'Can't you hear it? It's driving me insane.'

'Not a thing,' he replied. 'But I do believe it is a proven fact that the sound of a clock ticking has a tendency to irritate the female gender.'

'Irritate is not the word. I'm going to find that time ticker and make it wish it was born a microwave.'

He watched her with amusement as she walked slowly around the room trying to locate the clock.

Noticing, she glared at him. The look was wasted, however, as the dark prevented him from seeing her face properly.

'I'm glad to know I amuse you,' she shot at him instead.

'If it really annoys you that much, I'll help you look for it,' he offered, getting up. 'Since there's nothing better to do.'

She didn't reply but stood perfectly still, listening intently. Finally deciding on some sort of direction, she moved to the left.

'It's over here somewhere,' she informed him.

Sighing, he followed her to the other side of the room. They paused, and she listened again.

'Bingo,' she muttered, tracing it to a desk against the far wall. She stopped short when she identified the source of the ticking.

Jarod followed her glance and froze. They slowly raked their gazes up to each other.

A bomb.

* * *

Kiya was sitting on the couch, muttering a string of curses aimed at Jarod while her fingers formed a braid in her hair.

Right, middle; left, middle; right...

'Where is he?' she growled after awhile, abandoning the strands of hair she had been working on.

'I'm sure he's fine,' Ethan assured her.

They had both returned to watching the movie, though neither were concentrating on it. No matter how calm Ethan remained, she knew he was worried too.

'I shouldn't have told him,' she sighed. 'If I hadn't have said anything, he wouldn't have gone out there...'

'No,' Ethan contradicted. 'Jarod was right with what he said before. It's better for him to know where she is so he can keep an eye on her, rather than have her catch him off guard.'

'He could have waited until morning, instead of going out and walking around the city looking for someone who could be anywhere.'

'Something tells me that he'll know where she is,' Ethan responded. 'They share a connection that not even they understand.'

'I honestly don't get him,' she said. 'She wants to take him back to the Centre! Why is he always trying to help her?'

'What you don't see is that they were best friends a long time ago, and he's lost too many people close to him to let go of that.'

'Things change. People change. He's going to land himself in trouble one day. I can understand why he's reluctant to leave these things behind, but it could cost him his freedom! How can he trust her? How can you trust her?'

'She's our sister,' he said quietly.

The look in his eyes softened her.

'I'm sorry,' she said, turning away. 'Maybe it's because I've never met her. But from what I've heard, I don't think I want to.'

He watched her as she moved to the window, peering out. The effort was futile; it was too dark to see anything.

'She is, in practically every way, just like you,' Ethan informed her. 'You look just like her, yes. But in other ways. Your will, your determination. The passion you put behind the things you believe in. The way you have a sarcastic reply to everything. How you have a dark past, but somehow manage to put it behind you.'

She glanced up at him.

'I suppose that's true to all of us,' she murmured.

'Yes,' he replied.

Her gaze returned to the window, then moved to the clock. It was nearly eleven. Jarod had been gone almost an hour.

Where was he?

* * *

'Today just keeps getting better and better,' Parker commented, coolly stepping away to give Jarod his space as he examined the explosives. 'Give up on trying to shoot me. Let's skip right to the fun stuff and blow me up.'

'There was no guarantee you were going to be trapped inside this building, Miss Parker,' Jarod rationalized. 'It's more likely that there's information stored on these systems that someone wants destroyed.'

'Yeah, OK. So it's just a coincidence that the phone lines are dead?' she asked, holding a receiver to her ear.

They exchanged a glance.

'And what if you hadn't darted into the storeroom? You would have turned around and left once you saw there was nothing here for you.'

'Then why send me here?' she asked, eyes narrowed in confusion.

'I'd wager that someone is trying to scare you for the time being, not kill you. They were probably expecting you to hear about the explosion and realise that you were there only a few hours before it happened. Scare tactics.'

'It doesn't explain why the phone lines are dead.'

He moved his attention from the bomb to the telephone on the desk. There was no dial tone. Sighing, he lowered the receiver and stepped away, glancing around.

'The security cameras are all out. It looks like someone has been trying to cover their tracks.'

'Sounds familiar,' she said tonelessly.

'If our culprit was in the building when we got here, it's possible there was a last minute change in plan,' he continued.

She looked sideways at him, which he only just noticed in the gloom.

'If that's so, someone wasn't planning on you being here. If the Centre is behind this, which I'm willing to bet on, they'd hardly want their prize Pretender blown to smithereens in the process of eradicating insignificant me.'

He chose to ignore her, putting his back to her and re-examining the bomb. It was difficult with the lack of light.

'So can you defuse it, or are our brains going to be splattered on the walls in a few hours?'

'Half an hour,' he corrected. 'There's only twenty eight minutes left. I'm presuming it's set to go off at midnight.'

'That's just the assurance I was hoping for,' she replied sarcastically.

She was going into defensive mode. Her sense of security had been threatened and her reaction was to keep herself calm and collected by enforcing the cool front. The fact that the only other person in the room with her happened to know her well enough to look past her facade meant nothing. She put on a mask for herself rather than for anyone else.

'Rather than me sitting here and merely expecting to be blown to pieces, I now have the confirmation of a certified genius,' she continued. 'Lady Luck is on my side.'

Jarod looked back at her with slight annoyance.

'Could you shut up?'

Genuinely taken aback at what he had just said, she stared blankly at him a moment before smoothing an imaginary wrinkle from her clothes in an attempt to regain some dignity. Realizing that her attitude wasn't doing them any good, she sighed defeatedly.

'Is there anything I can do?'

* * *

'If he goes and gets himself caught, this will all be my fault,' Kiya informed Ethan.

She was practically wearing a hole in the carpet, pacing up and down the room. Every so often she would pause in front of the window and peer out.

When her brother didn't answer, she glanced over at him in annoyance, ready to give him a serve for being so unconcerned. The words never left her mouth.

'What?' she asked, frowning at him as his forehead wrinkled.

He didn't reply, and she didn't press the matter further. He seemed to be concentrating on something and she wasn't about to disturb him. She waited patiently for him to finish.

'The voices were talking to you, weren't they?' she asked softly.

'They're in trouble,' Ethan responded. 'It's not with each other. It's from something else.'

'Which means he found her,' Kiya growled in agitation. 'We have to help him. Them,' she corrected, knowing Ethan would be equally concerned for Miss Parker.

'But we don't know where they are.'

'Maybe not, but I think I'll be able to figure it out,' Kiya answered, pulling on her jacket.

She stopped in front of the door and looked over at Ethan, who was hovering hesitantly.

'We have to try, Ethan. He helped me out and I owe this to him.'

'It's not that,' he replied. 'I'm just wondering if he really needs our help at all.'

* * *     

Jarod frowned, squinting in the dimness of the room. He had succeeded in prying away a panel on the outside of the bomb, but he was too cautious to go any further. One wrong move and it would explode.

      

'I'm presuming you don't have your cell handy,' he sighed.

'No. I left it in the car,' she replied, mentally cursing herself for having done so. 'And I'm presuming you don't have yours.'

'No. This was a spur of the moment thing,' he responded grimly, still focused on the bomb.

'Can you defuse it?' she asked again.

'The light isn't too good, and I don't want to risk moving it. I'm not even going to chance working with it unless I can see what I'm doing.'

'Do you think there's a light switch somewhere?' she asked, making to begin a search for one.

'From the looks of it, the power has been disconnected. For security reasons, the controls are probably located elsewhere.'

'But the storeroom lights are on.'

'Exactly. Which means there has to be another circuit running somewhere.' He looked over at the storeroom, then back to her. 'Go into the storeroom and look for some kind of panel on the wall. If we can find the source of power I might be able to redirect it, but we don't have much time.'

She obeyed without question, still slightly abashed at having been reprimanded by him earlier. She didn't show it, however, and coolly made her way over to the storeroom with as much pride as she could muster.

'Box... panel... panel on the wall,' she muttered, looking around for something that fit the description. 'Great. Now I'm talking to myself.'

She made her way around the walls of the room. Time ticked away as she searched and she could find no panel. She was just about to ask how much time the actually had left before the fireworks started when her eyes finally landed on a shelf, an object catching her attention.

'Jarod!' she called, moving towards the door. 'I found a tor-'

She collided with him in the doorway.

'Get back,' he warned, pushing her towards the far end.

There was a deafening silence before a brilliant flash, and suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

'This way,' Kiya muttered, walking quickly down the street, Ethan a few paces behind her. She paused momentarily at a fork before turning sharply to the left.

Her senses had gone haywire; she was functioning on impulse and praying that her instincts weren't leading her astray. The purposeful way in which it was directing her was what made her trust in it - how could something so compulsive be wrong?

The unmistakable sound of glass breaking up ahead broke the spell she was under and she moved towards it, glancing back to make sure Ethan was still behind her.

When the source of the noise finally came into view, Kiya stopped in her tracks. Two perfect eyebrows crept up her forehead and two blue eyes opened wide.

'Sweet Merlin...'

* * *

Sirens were wailing and the air was filled with smoke. Debris was strewn around the annex and anything in a ten metre radius like cyclone had just ripped through. The ensuing fire had been surprisingly well contained, but the damage was irreparable. Whatever information had been stored on those computers had almost undoubtedly been destroyed.

Jarod kept well back, tempted to jump into pretend mode and slip into the role of an investigator of some sort but refraining. He couldn't afford to stay in Florida any longer.

The storeroom had acted as somewhat of a fort against the explosion, preventing any serious injury. After he was sure that Miss Parker was alright, he had slipped away to avoid questions. Her unconscious form had been loaded into an ambulance and he was prepared to make his getaway.

As alluring as the prospect of finding out the story behind the explosion was, it was essential to several people's safety that he left the state as soon as possible.

His exit went unnoticed by the two people that had just arrived on the scene.

'What happened?' Ethan asked, approaching an officer.

'There was a bomb inside the annex.'

'Was anybody hurt?'

'There was a woman trapped inside, but she should be alright. She's on her way to the hospital right now to be checked out.'

'Only the one person?' Kiya pressed.

'Only one,' the man confirmed before heading over to speak to a colleague.

Ethan and Kiya exchanged a glance, both thinking along the same lines.

'Maybe it wasn't her,' she said, though her tone lacked conviction. 'Maybe he wasn't with her.'

'Your Inner Sense brought you here, didn't it?' Ethan asked.

'He's probably back at the apartment,' she said, to herself rather than to him

And with that, she turned on her heel and headed back in the direction they had just come.

* * *

An aged man was long asleep at his house in Blue Cove when the ring of a telephone interrupted his slumber. It took him several rings to establish just what was making the sound and a further few to locate it.

'This is Sydney,' he said wearily, struggling into a sitting position.

'I apologise for waking you.'

'Jarod? Is something wrong?' He glanced at the clock. 'Jarod, it's after midnight.'

'I know,' the younger man replied. 'Listen, there was an explosion and Miss Parker and I were in it.'

Sydney straightened, concerned.

'Are you both alright?'

'I'm fine. Miss Parker has been admitted to the Florida State Hospital. Unconscious, but for the most part unharmed. I suggest you get down here before the Centre gets wind of it.'

'Of course, Jarod. Thank you for calling.'

'Take care, Sydney,' Jarod responded before hanging up the payphone with a heavy click.

He stepped out of the box and looked around at the empty street before setting off in the opposite direction.

There were matters to take care of and he didn't have much time.

* * *

'You better be here,' Kiya muttered as she stepped back inside the apartment.

She had the feeling she was going to be disappointed.

The place seemed to be just as empty as they had left it. The television, which they had neglected to switch off, was still running. Music from an old rerun of I Love Lucy filled the room.

'Something tells me he's safe,' Ethan informed her, following her gaze as it scanned every corner.

'Then where the hell is he?' she demanded, stepping into the adjacent room.

He couldn't have disappeared. Not now. Not when she was just beginning to get some real answers concerning her past.

She felt Ethan was right. She was relatively calm, which while not unusual was a little unexpected given the current situation. The absence of a sense of foreboding was coaxing her towards believing Jarod was safe and sound.

The note she found on the kitchen table set her mind at ease.

Sorry I couldn't stick around.

– J

'Good luck, Jarod,' she sighed, picking up the piece of paper. 'Wherever you are.'

* * *

She stared disdainfully at the packet of cigarettes lying on the coffee table. Apparently, both her lungs and stomach seemed to have had enough of smoke for the time being.

It didn't stop her from drinking, of course; a glass of single malt was sitting artfully beside the cigarettes, beckoning for her to pick it up.

She refrained from doing so.

Pale blue eyes, weary from lack of sleep, moved to the cell that she now made sure was always nearby.

As if by magic, the phone came alive. She answered it on the second ring and smoothly pressed it to her ear.

'What?'

She knew exactly who it was. She knew exactly what he wanted. The word 'hello' became temporarily erased from her vocabulary when the phone met her earlobe.

'I'm assuming you got away without any major maladies,' he said nonchalantly.

'I survived,' she said wryly. 'And you escaped unharmed and pulled your disappearing act. The world is still turning.'

'You never told me what it was that drew you to the annex in the first place.'

She sighed, running her fingertips over her forehead.

'I received an envelope a few days ago. It was a business card for the annex that had its operating times. The closing time was ten thirty, and it was hilighted. A subtle hint,' she commented dryly. 'I was practically certain it wasn't you. So when I went, I went alone.'

'Probably not the smartest idea you've ever had,' he teased.

'I just wish I knew who it was,' she replied. 'Now that I know what they're capable of, I don't think being in the dark is a promising option.'

'I would have liked to have looked into it further, but I thought it was in everybody's best interests that I moved on. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I've left Ethan far behind.'

'You mean you abandoned your security blanket?'

'I would never consider using Ethan as a shield against the Centre,' he informed her darkly.

'I know,' was the reply. 'And I know you better than to assume such a thing.'

A short silence followed. When she realised that he had not yet hung up and didn't appear to yet have intentions of doing so, she took it upon herself to break it.

'So,' she mused. 'The chase continues.'

'Do you think it will ever really come to an end?'

'Not as long as we're both alive and the Centre continues to function,' she sighed.

'Then for the moment, all we can do is have faith.'

'Faith is hard to come by around here. You get a little and you bury it, Jarod. It's hidden in there somewhere, long lost.'

'Maybe, but it's still there. Never lose faith, Miss Parker.'

She could sense the finality in his voice before she heard the terminating beep and lowered the phone back to the table, the glass of malt assuming its position in her right hand.

'Easier said than done.'

Questa capitolo e molto merde, io conoscere. Mi dispiace.

Excuse my random use of language there :) I've been speaking it all day and it feels weird switching back to English.

Anyways, this chapter isn't that crash hot (but then again I say that every chapter, don't I?) since there's not much Miss Parker attitude in there, but it had to be done because this chapter is essential to the plot later on.

The next chapter is called Without A Trace and basically it's a lot of different people (such as Parker and Kiya) trying to find out where Jarod's disappeared to this time. Miss Parker discovers that Jarod befriended a young girl in Florida and attempts to track her down, never putting two and two together. And she meets up with Ethan for a short while :)

THANK YOU to all my reviewers, but I just wanted to say…

Sauron764: WOW! I think that is the nicest review I have had for this story. I was feeling kinda down when I read it, and then it made me feel all special :)

Anyway, next chapter should be up in a few days… a week at the max.

Cheers & Beers,

SezZie