Disclaimer: see part one

Thanks go to:

Leontine: Leo, Leo, Leo. You want those chapters coming sooner than they already do? You should know better than to ask for something like that. You will get the chapters so don't you worry about that. Thank you for reviewing. I wish you further luck with your exams this week. See ya soon.

Mfkngst: Wow, I'm a bit caught off guard by that compliment. Thank you! I'm really glad that you like the story that much. Thanks for reviewing and now read on and enjoy.

Sango2: Yeah, these similarities. Ironic, isn't it? Glad that you like it. Thank you for the review and now have fun with the next part.

gemini006007: A good ending? Did I hear a good ending? Mercy, we are still several chapters away from the ending. Thank you for reviewing and now go on and enjoy.

pretender fan: I do always consider anyone's ideas just as I'm doing now with yours. I can't promise anything thought. We'll see where the story leads.

QueenTrione: Ok, ok. So here it is #chuckles about the impatience of her reader(s)#. Thank you for reviewing and now go on and enjoy!

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The Call Part 15

Wait and hope for another call

Sydney looked up at her when Miss Parker entered his office.

She let herself drop in one of his office chairs.

"He didn't call again?" She asked, no real hope swinging in her voice.

Sydney shook his head.

Parker closed her eyes briefly and then swallowed.

"Give him time, Parker. He will call you one day", Sydney tried to console her.

"If you have anything that you are certain of, you can tell me but stop saying things you know won't come true", she said tiredly.

Sydney looked down at his hands.

"I take it, Broots didn't find anything either?" Sydney asked.

This time it was Parker who shook her head 'no'. "He just disappeared. There is nothing for us to find. Nothing, not the smallest of clues", she huffed.

Sydney didn't say anything.

"After four weeks of nothing, the PTB's are slowly starting to get the thing. They finally understand that the prized pretender is gone, that their little marionette won't ever come back. There is kind of a resignation in the meetings now", she informed the older man.

Sydney nodded. He had been waiting for that point but he hadn't thought that it would come so soon.

The last four weeks had been busy and dangerous at first.

Those in charge hadn't wanted to acknowledge that Jarod wouldn't come back. They had been breathing down everyone's neck.

Raines had been stepping on their toes time after time.

It hadn't brought them any further.

The pretender had vanished.

It wasn't something that was unexpected to Sydney or Parker.

Jarod had always had the means to disappear completely, without leaving a trace. The only thing that was greatly unsettling was the time Jarod had chosen for his stunt.

The fact that he still thought Parker had had something to do with his capture was unnerving and repulsive.

On the whole the Centre had shooed their prized target away, themselves.

They had constructed the trap after finding out about the number Jarod had given to Parker. The PTB's had secretly created a trap that would arise Jarod's attention. They had done so without anyone's knowledge.

After laying the finishing touches at it, they had left the data's in the mainframe, easily for Broots to find. They merely had to wait so long.

Parker had found out about the trap the day after her final call to Jarod, the day, the rescue should take place. She had been furious and stormed into Raines office right away, after trying to call Jarod again but not getting in touch with him.

They had been prepared for that, too. They had blocked the call and waited for Parker to show up in the office.

They had threatened her life and that of her brother should she not go along with them. They wanted to have Jarod and they promised not to punish her in any way for the betrayal she had committed by communicating with the evasive pretender.

Sydney looked at the tall brunette hunched the chair opposite to his. She had her eyes cast down and her posture clearly showed that she was thinking alone equal lines of thought as Sydney was.

Parker huffed, her thoughts exactly where Sydney had anticipated.

She had hoped to get in touch with Jarod through another way and so she had finally agreed to their conditions. Not that she had had much of a choice anyway.

She had tried everything, trying to call Jarod and sending emails to his server; to no avail. Parker had asked Angelo for help but he hadn't been able to reach Jarod either.

Her last hope had been that Angelo would be able to catch Jarod before he stepped into the final trap.

Her hope was shattered when the sweepers had been able to locate the empath and dragged him away so that he could not interfere.

Cox and Lyle and been close to her all the time, carefully watching her moves so she wouldn't be able to do anything.

When the party had moved off to SL-22 to retrieve the pretender, they had insisted on her coming along.

Hoping that she would possibly be able to spring Jarod somehow, she had moved along, not sensing the hidden agenda behind Lyle's and Cox's insistence.

She had only woken up at seeing the expression on Jarod's face when he caught sight of her. It was that of hurt, anger, shock and betrayal.

A few days later, she had tried to talk to Jarod again in his cell but she was monitored over the cameras and so she couldn't speak openly.

She had hoped to get through to Jarod, hoped to be able to communicate like they had done all those years back without anyone noticing but she had failed.

When Jarod had escaped a new flicker of hope had sparkled but after a week of silence, the fatal call had come to Sydney.

A call, she hadn't been prepared for and that had smashed her world.

Sydney had told her how upset Jarod had been and that he had refused to hear Sydney out when he had tried to tell him about Parker.

He had told her that they could only hope that Sydney had been able to place some dent into what Jarod thought had taken place; that they could only hope… and wait.

And that was exactly what they had been doing up to now.

Waiting… waiting for Jarod to think it over again and place another call.

Waiting and hoping for something she had lost all hope in.

To be continued…