CHAPTER THIRTY SIX

Sept 14 2001 to Wednesday, Sept 19, 2001 to Nov. 20, 2001

Miss Parker now went through the process of finding names for her offspring, since Jarod had no choice in naming them. Charles, Emily, or Kyle would have put them in danger. (It was all right for Mr. Lewison and as for Rachel's Charles, The Centre assumed that someone in the VCTF was the father and she had to keep quiet for fear of being fired. Beside, Miss Parker had horrific nightmares of someone calling out Charles in a school auditorium and at least two hundred hands going up.

Miss Parker did not want any of the children named after the Parkers so she asked for son-in-law for suggestions. He told her not to call them after symbols or characteristics. The New Species were not primitive, for all their predatory nature. In the future, when history recorded them, mankind must not think of them with painted bodies, kilts, and bones through their noses or even with long hair in braids and fringed garments, the men wearing swords. She decided on Adrian, Olivia, Jarvis, and Patricia, the last after a great aunt of Catherine Parker.

A day after she gave birth, she and Jarod talked about having the children baptized.

"I don't; remember mine," he said, "but considering I've changed, perhaps that fact kept me from killing more than I would have."

"I doubt it," said Miss Parker, "but it would embarrass Raines and my brother's face to see that I'm not hiding the babies in the sublevels."

"If the Centre had a large HDTV down there, instead of that old movie screen, perhaps I'd not have left."

She knew he was joking. "It would have made you leave sooner. Some of those shows were terrible."

"I don't mind, although I cannot understand why you used that artificial material that snagged a lot, Now what one's do I have to watch now?"

"Let's see. You've seen all the Hogan Hero episodes, Starsky and Hutch, you have two more episodes of Magnum PI. Can't have my favorite possession miss out on the joys of the seventies and eighties, can I? And then I might get Lambourni to bring over his Cyndi Lauper collection."

"Are you trying to torture me?"

She took her cell-phone and called the Cathedral. "The priest says he'll do it this Sunday. That's tomorrow. And the children have to look presentable. I've only got the christening robe my mother gave me. You didn't learn sewing during your pretends, did you?" Miss Parker looked so sweet when she begged.

"No, unless we ask that lawyer with the extremely large family. Do you want to watch Baby Boom again?"

"Right. I might as well know what I'm in for. While she waited until Jarod found the DVD she dialed the Lambourni residence. "Hello, this is Miss Parker. We're having the babies baptized tomorrow, but it seems I'm short three christening robes.—no trouble. Thank you."

Well as it was, the babies looked rather cute in their long robes, although Miss Parker had to take in Patricia's, Dominant babies being smaller than Sapien babies at birth.

It was a beautiful ceremony even though she had a hard time watching as the priest took each child in turn and baptized him or her in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Lambourni, true to his promise, agreed to be godfather and raise them according to the tenets of the church should something happen to their parents.

When they got home, Lewison said that her children were now free and the Centre could no longer claim them. He also mentioned that a representative of the Council " will come in the next few months, but I am uncertain about the dates." She had no idea what he meant and disappeared before she could question him.

Later that day, The Centre accountant, believing because of her recent birth, Miss Parker was in a more receptive state, informed her that Raines had made a generous contribution to an unknown charity and she should do so in kind.

"I already contribute to several charities," she said, "all legal, so what makes Raines's contribution different?"

"A million dollars," he said.

"Have you considered it to be a bribe for someone not to look the other way?" asked Jarod.

"Excuse me I was talking to Miss Parker."

"Well," said Miss Parker, "Jarod has a great knowledge of financial and legal matters. I always take his advice." She patted him on the back.

Jarod gave the accountant, a "we're in this together" smile and continued. "You all know Raines has a rather dubious past. Perhaps someone threatened to expose it unless he gave a million dollars to a certain institution. Now if this person was in a position where
their death would cause the Federal authorities to take notice, perhaps Raines handed over the money than watch his life turn into a shambles."

The accountant took Jarod's statement as verbatim. After all, the lab rat was Miss Parker's creature now and subject to punishment should he say something she did not first initiate. However, he did have doubts whether the thing perhaps wanted extra treats for his services.

"So you have it straight," said Miss Parker, "I will not increase my regular charitable contributions and as you can see, I don't want my children to be lacking in necessities!" She cursed silently at Jarod when the accountant left. "I'm beginning to sound like you!"

That night, she decided that Jarod had to pay for some reason or another. (Actually she did not need any.) So after they made love, Miss Parker got up while Jarod slept and hid his clothes. Luckily, there was a no fly zone over this part of Blue Cove, the only neighbor behind was Lambourni who had a stone fence, and Sydney had been on strict orders not to teach Jarod that being naked outside, when someone might see you, shameful. She did fondle his private parts every chance she got and Jarod began to feel a little discomfort in that area although he dared not admit it.

Meanwhile The Centre returned to normal as Lambourni and his crew worked on the column, engraving the pictures of what the sky would look at a certain time in the future when those five years old that were destined to be part of the Chosen elite would be ready for whatever the Council planned. No one knew what it would be and perhaps it was not taking over the United States, or killing every member of NATO. Perhaps it was as simple as the first official marriage between their kind and the homo sapiens (that had happened back in 1998.) No matter what, it would change everything. Only it would be a bitter ceremony for their grandparents were marked in the Centre and their own parents being like Lambourni, almost a Chosen but not quite.

Meanwhile those in the Centre noted the presence of several uncontrollable Pretenders and decided someone had to pay. Knowing that Cox's concubine was a Pretender and that Raines gave the good doctor her for his cooperation, the orders in the Centre went out to remove the girl and teach Cox a lesson. Liza had to die.

A couple of nights later on the 18th, when Cox had returned home from his stint at the Blue Cove Maternity ward, he had found Liza near death, shot by a Centre sweeper and the children hiding in the kitchen closet. Although Cox was an evil man, he depended on Liza. It was Liza who was responsible for laying out his wardrobe every morning, Liza who made sure his suit went to the dry cleaners, Liza who made him feel like a king. He had never beaten her, nor talked down to her. He often took her to the theatre and smiled when they mistook her for his daughter.

He opened his black bag, and checked his equipment, but he could use none of his instruments without killing her. He needed someone or rather some people, the same type of people from which his concubine came from. Quickly he dialed a number on his cell phone. The man and woman who came over looked like any paramedics but their eyes had a cold glance. They were Dominants.

"Leave everything to us, Dr. Cox," said the woman who removed the bullets by waving a curved instrument over Liza's body. He watched in astonishment as they departed out the same hole from which they entered. A second later, the woman took out another instrument, and passed it over the holes.

The man than took a hypodermic needle and pressed it into Liza's arm. "This contains a healing substance that will start the repair process. Your kind is not ready for it yet. It's effect is marred by many of the chronic diseases inherent in your homo sapien systems."

There was nothing else Cox could do. He left, but not before making a call to the Dominant Council. "I have information on eight children who are unmarked in the Inner Sanctum." He gave the Council the rest of the message and left for Miss Parker's. .

Lambourni was having some wine with Miss Parker and Jarod when Cox came over.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Someone's shot Liza. Look when I joined the Centre, there was one thing the Centre could not do was to harm anything that was mine." He looked at Jarod. "I wouldn't have killed Zoe. Roughed her up a bit, but I cannot vouch for Lyle. The man's sick, the same as Raines. Never liked them."

Twisted like you thought Jarod, but he did not say anything. He remembered Cox hurt him when he kidnapped Zoe, and no doubt would have killed her, in spite of his denials. Cox was an evil man, but like all evil men, he had the appearance of goodness and Liza and the children were that appearance.

"I know that Raines plans to starve all the Pretenders in the Inner Sanctum. I know how to get in there and that there are eight without the Centre id."

"You do?" asked Lambourni, his eyes glistening. "Oh could you send Gino over? I have an errand for him."

"Why of course."

When Miss Parker and Jarod entered the Centre the next day to show off the babies in full view of the staff, thereby preventing Raines or Lyle from harming them, they received the news or rather saw several bodies carted off to the morgue.

"What's going on?" she asked.

:"It's your fault," said Raines, "If you hadn't been cozy with that lawyer, this wouldn't have happened."

"Oh?" she asked in mock surprise, "This time, Jarod's not to blame?"

"My private Sanctum destroyed. My place of refuge gone and someone used my credit card to charge up several items of clothes from the local Goodwill."

He glared at the lawyer who was talking to Lyle. "The Centre has several unknown Pretenders. Someone must have miscounted, but now that Ted is unavailable, I thought it would be best that they work in the grounds, and in the Centre projects." He said this in front of Sydney, Broots, and of course, Raines, who could not protest.

Soon the Centre had several Pretenders working at various simulations. However, thanks to Lambourni's instigation, none of the results were sold to unscrupulous nations or men—although Raines, Lyle, and the Triumvirate tried to stop it. And those others from Mexico, whom the Centre said were uncontrollable Pretenders "not under our control or direction" got drivers, managers, butlers, or whatever. As for the unmarked, those eight children, these were mingled with the other free Dominant children. The Mentor and the Lawyer could not reveal to Jarod and Miss Parker that these were their offspring yet. It would be too dangerous.

Two months later, Lewison went over to Miss Parker's house, now expanded because of the needs of growing children. He offered to lend one of the women to teach her how to care for her youngsters. The dungeon, excuse me, the wine cellar had several
bottles of wine. The chains and metal bars were noticeably absent.

Just as the Mentor left, the lawyer appeared, staying just long enough to eat half the tin of Almond Roca and warn them that the Merging would happen soon. Miss Parker nodded sleepily and pulled her kimono tighter over her body. He mentioned something about "he's almost ready for the part" That made Miss Parker wonder about the result of the coming Merging, because Jarod was unbuttoning his shirt, his trousers already on the floor.

Jarod and Miss Parker had so many visits from Lambourni that Miss Parker kept having a recurring dream.

She was out in a backyard, and saw behind her a large fence. Behind it Lambourni's head poked partially up and he said, "Hello neighbor!"

"Yes, I had that Home Improvement dream again."

"Perhaps you would consider watching Friends' then your dreams would take a… "

He had not had a chance to finish his sentence. Someone ripped the shirt from his back, another two grabbed his feet and under his arms, and another one threw a blanket over Miss Parker.

The ones that dragged them were Dominants, not Centre goons. They took them out to a van with darkened windows and drove out to a cave. Only this cave had a metal door. It must have taken them months to hollow it out and construct it. Someone shoved Jarod
inside and handcuffed his arms and legs on a bed. He lay there staring up at the ceiling.

It was the time for the Merging.