CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE

Sept 15 2001

Miss Parker awoke in a bed in the Centre hospital. "Where are my babies?" she asked, seeing her brother and Raines.

"Oh the nurse is bringing them in," said Raines and although his lips were spread apart, there was no approval in them. "They are the cutest things, but remember Miss Parker you must keep your focus." He smiled at Miss Bratlowsky who, knowing his intensions snatched them away from his glare and handed them to Miss Parker.

"Two boy, two girl, very good. You name them good Russian names."

"I think standard American will do," said Miss Parker. She tried sitting up but felt sore. "Could you tell my brother and Raines to leave the room?" she snapped.

"You go now!" said the nurse, clapping her hands.

As soon as they did, Miss Parker asked for her cell phone "I suppose I'd better phone Great Uncle, and then cousin Cedric."

She knew that there were Parkers, descendants of the Parker who killed his family, in Glasgow, San Francisco, and Toronto. She found them distasteful, reminding her of multiple Raines and she had forgotten about them until now. Why she never even told Jarod about them. Her father' had given her the telephone numbers and addresses, just in case a blessed event happened. He forbade her to even think about it until then.

"Let me see. What's the Glasgow exchange? I hope I don't wake them up." She dialed the number and waited for ten rings. That was strange. Someone should be there even though Great Uncle was usually sound asleep at this time, she thought, waiting a few minutes more.

"I guess they're not home, but Daddy was sure there was always someone in. I'll try the number in San Francisco."

However, the same thing happened at San Francisco and when she finally got no answer from the Toronto Parkers, she knew something must be wrong or was it a family reunion. She had the nurse hand her bag and checked her Day Timer. "Right, no reunion, no marriage, no anniversary."

"Children very small," said Miss Bratlowsky adjusting her head. "I bring you book on how nurse tiny babies."

"Thank you," said Miss Parker who now remembered that the Parker in Toronto was a known sex offender and that there was a cop in his neighborhood. "Hello Sergeant McKenzie? This is Miss Parker from Delaware. I've been trying to phone cousin Cedric and—what? The whole family?—and the others?—What is the Inspector's name? Oh when did this happen?—Thank you. Bye." She hung up, just shook for a moment, and then called the San Francisco Police Department and listened quietly as the detective told her the terrible news. All her relatives on her father's and uncle's side were dead, even the baby. She made a long distance call to Scotland Yard, but knew she would get the same information.

"What's going on?" asked Jarod who walked in behind Cox, Lambourni, and Lewison, "Are the children all right?"

She turned off her cell phone. "My father has relatives. Mr. Parker, Daddy didn't want me to have anything to do with them, one's a gambler, one's like Raines, and the other has been watched by the police. They all have families, some normal, and some by certain
sluts. They're all dead even the bastards. All died in one night. The police of all three countries are treating it like a cult murder."

"Your father and uncle's immediate family, and not only that, their descendants," said Jarod, "you are the last Parker. I could find out if that is so, but it seems I haven't anything to do it with."

Lambourni signaled to someone outside the room who brought in a notepad computer. "I'll enter my password. You can take it from there. I suppose you know all the FBI and relevant sites." He touched something that looked like a gun under his jacket.

"Yes, when were they killed?" asked Jarod.

"I have a friend in the New Jersey police department, but I believe it was June the sixth, 200l," said Lambourni, "I was already working here so you can't blame me."

"Excuses?" asked Miss Parker

"I will not give you that satisfaction. I asked Broots for a favor. We're both Everquest' fans."

"…John Parker, married, four children." Jarod left the obvious unsaid. "Here's another, a Sarah Parker, and a Sloan Parker, no. She is not of your ancestral line, that is, the family who adopted her aren't and it looks like John's ancestors were foresters for Queen Elizabeth the First, so they're still alive and this Sarah is his oldest daughter who has an apartment." He went through the list. "That's the names of the Parkers in the Californian area. One family dead in San Francisco, and two brothers died by playing with guns. The latter were black, no relation to you Miss Parker. On the family who died, they say the father was deranged — just a moment while I switch to the Police Investigation site for that area."

They waited until Jarod confirmed what Miss Parker feared. The police came to a dead end and although the father was a violent man, he would have used a more indiscriminate method of slaughter than putting the children in their Sunday best and carving crosses on
their stomach after slitting their throats.' It looked like the Dominants wanted the police to believe a crazy did this and they succeeded.

"I'll now go to Canada, South Africa, Australia, and then Great Britain. For that, I'll need Church records, but that shouldn't be a problem." He continued and then turned off the computer. "Apart from natural causes, unrelated homicides, accidents and the usual,
the only Parkers that died on June the sixth were your relatives, Miss Parker."

"Justice has a sharp sword. If you kill our kind, we go after you. So they had to die." said Lewison.

Miss Parker grew pale. "It isn't about the children my mother rescued from the Centre, was it?" Of course, it was. She could tell by Lambourni's expression. He had access to the Centre legal documents and Lewison's wife, her own daughter, was a Progeny. .Margaret could easily charm one of the Centre henchmen to tell how Raines ordered the multiple murders of several people who did not stand a chance because the Neogenesis the Centre fed them were still in their body.

"I don't know much about our species, Miss Parker," Jarod said, "but perhaps an isolated rescued child being killed, one dying years later from cancer, and the usual human tragedies would bring no swift vengeance. This was a systematic hunting and elimination of young Pretenders after their rescue. The Centre did not even bother to recapture them and perhaps give them employment perhaps as drivers and man servants." He would not have spoken so over a year go.

"Both of you have to be in the best of health for the Merging," said Lambourni changing the subject.

"Merging?" asked Jarod, "It sound rather ominous."

"You realize that we are different, in a sense more intelligent, and yet more limited. Flowers and serenades don't move us. We have to use other methods. I won't tell you what methods they are, but at the end you and Miss Parker will be more agreeable."

Miss Parker stammered as she told Antonio what Lyle had done to Jarod. "My brother—my twin brother—he—it makes me sick to think of it—had a video made of what they did to Jarod which he shipped off to Africa. It was horrible and not just the whipping and hosing him, but that cold woman coming in while they had him chained and pulling down his pants. That cold woman with a little cup and saying, We have to produce more for the Centre,' and Lyle just looking and why Jarod changed, became what he was when he first escaped the Centre— as if all his vitality and rage had left."

"So you worry that Jarod will be more docile, more childlike after the Merging?"

"Yes."

"No because now he is a full Dominant. Before Jarod had been under the influence of that Neogenesis drug, that turns our kind into obedient minions and though obedient minions may resent their controllers, may flee from them, may lash in anger, yet they cannot escape. Did Jarod try to kick at Lyle or struggle against the bonds, No!"

"I couldn't. I was waiting for my chance," said Jarod.

"If you had changed to your true Dominant state then," said Lambourni, "you would have risked death."