LJP- I'm so glad you like the chapter. I wish I knew how many chapters I had left. Every time I think I'm nearing the end I think of some thing else to write.
Pretender Fanatic- Hum maybe I should make Jarod buy a bus. That way I could have him and all the kids ride to the Centre to bring it down just like in the series finale of Buffy.
Parker's Pretender- It is getting more interesting and I have I few tricks up my sleeve still.
Mrs. Rhett Butler- The minions was my favorite part to.
CHAPTER 48
THE LONG AWAITED CONVERSATION
January 8, 2004
8:27pm
Charlottesville, Virginia
Russell Family Home
"Jarod what are you doing out here and with no coat on? Why, you'll catch a cold. Come inside." Jarod got up from the swing and followed his mother into the kitchen.
"Are you trying to make yourself sick?" Margaret asked him.
"Of course not Mom. I just needed some place quiet to think." Jarod said placing a kettle of water on the stove.
"And just what were you thinking about out in the freezing cold?"
"What ever it is you're not telling me. Mom, I have so many questions and only... Oh my God," Jarod gasped.
"Jarod, Jarod what's wrong?" Margaret asked concern washing over her face.
"How could I have been so dumb?" Jarod said and then bounded up the stairs to his and his wife's room.
Morgan took one look at her husband and knew that something was up.
"What is it?" She asked him.
"What was the last thing Alex told you?"
"Dinner was good, Mom."
"No, not our Alex, sociopath Alex!"
"Um..." Morgan thought. "Damn it how could I have forgotten!" She said angry with herself.
"Well, you do have a good reason. We have had a truly busy year with breaking our children out of the Centre, you giving birth, and finding my mother. Not to mention Joanna's death and..."
"I get your point." Morgan said interrupting him. "We need to get my Dad here now." Morgan told him.
"Call him now, he's off tomorrow. As soon as he gets here were going to lock him and my mother in a room together with us and find out just what they know." Jarod told his wife.
January 9, 2004
9:17am
Charlottesville, Virginia
Russell Family Home
"So what was so urgent that you two need me here?" Sydney asked sitting down on the chair, across from Jarod and Morgan. Margaret was also in the room, in the chair next to Sydney.
"We need to know what you know." Morgan told her father.
"And what you know as well, Mom." Jarod said from his wife's side.
"What has led you two to believe that I have the answers to the questions you seek." Sydney asked.
"Alex, the crazy pretender not my daughter Alex, told me that my father had all the answers. And well you're my father." Morgan spoke.
"Morgan I was never completely in the Centre fold as you well know. I know many things but I'm not sure I know the answers to your questions. As far as I know, when it comes to Centre secrets I know as much as you and Jarod."
"We believe you Sydney." Jarod told the psychiatrist. "In fact this morning I wondered if Alex even knew that you were Morgan's father. Raines never denied being Morgan's father. Alex may have thought that Raines, very well, was Morgan's father."
"That could be a possibility." Morgan said, somewhat unsure of her husband's theory. "Dad, what if they made you forget, like how Raines made Jarod forget about Momma."
"We could try hypnotism to see if you remember anything...but we would need a place to start." Jarod sighed. "What about you Mom, do you know why the Centre wants me back so bad? Why they didn't want for me to find you?"
"They didn't want for you to find me because I know what the scrolls say. Well most of what they say. Part of the Vespian are missing, burned in a fire." Margaret told them.
"Well what do they say?" Morgan asked impatiently. Jarod placed a hand on her arm, a gesture he used often to calm her.
"They speak of The Chosen, a boy named Jarod. You, sweetheart." Margaret said locking eyes with her son. "It was foretold that with you, Jarod, The Centre will rise to greatness. But with out you it would fall. The Scrolls also go on to mention another child. The child of a seer. This child was to bestow great power upon the Parker family. This child is thought to be you Morgan."
"Explains why Mr. Parker kept me around." Morgan whispered bitterly.
"It is said that the chosen and the child of the seer once united will cause the down fall of the Centre."
"Is that all the scrolls don't go into any detail of how we would bring down the Centre?" Morgan asked.
"No, but years before your mother died she began collecting evidence against the Centre." Margaret told her.
"Her plan." Morgan gasped. "Do you know where she hid it?"
"No, I'm sorry." Margaret said.
"What about the children?" Sydney asked.
"What about them?" Jarod replied.
"Do you think that they may know something about Catherine's plan? We all know that the children know much more than they lead us to believe."
"It's possible. But they know how important it is to me. They would have told me if they found it."
"Would they?" Jarod asked. "Will knew for a long time that we were his parents. Not only did he not tell us he didn't tell the other children. I doubt that if the children knew of your mother's plan they would have told us. Not with you being pregnant anyhow. The kids knew how dangerous your pregnancy was. They probably didn't want you to worry out of fear that you might lose the twins."
"Well then I guess we should ask them if they know anything." Morgan sighed. "William, Alyssa, by chance could you two spare a moment from your eves dropping and answer our questions?" Morgan asked the twins who were hiding behind the door.
"None of us know where Grandma Catherine hid her plan." Will said entering the room.
"Believe us, we've spent the past year looking for it." Alley told her mother
"Alright you two, spill it. What have the two of you and the other's been up to?" Morgan asked.
"Give us one second and we'll show you." Will said. He and Alley ran up the stairs. They returned a few moments latter each with a laptop and an arm full of files. The twins set up their computers. As the laptops booted the children sorted through the files.
"This," Alley began, "is a web site that was constructed a few years back by Jake and the others. It's a means of communication between us and others who want to bring the Centre down. It is unfortunately the way Willard found out about us. But since then the site's security has been upgraded." Alley then went into finer details concerning the site.
"These," Will said indicating the files. "Are all of the incriminating evidence against the Centre we have been able to obtain to date. And not just the Blue Cove Centre but all of the major Centre's whose practices are considered unethical. Contrary to popular belief not all of the Centre's are bad. Quite a few are actually upstanding facilities. Most of them are located over seas. There are one or two in the states." Will finished.
"Wow!" Morgan said amazed.
"You all have been quite busy." Jarod commented.
"Yup." The twins said proudly.
"Thing is, we're still missing information." Will confessed.
"We need something we can tag directly on Mr. Parker, Raines and Lyle along with the Triumvirate that doesn't mention any of our family. Oh and we need to know who the big three are," Alley said. "They will be the easiest to incriminate once we know their names."
"Out of all of them, Lyle will be the hardest because he doesn't rely on computers." Will told them.
"Which means we need hard copies of his documents." Alley continued.
"Thing is, we can't find any of them." Will said.
"We need for someone to check out his office and apartment." Alley spoke.
"Wink, wink Dad." Will finished.
"I'll see what I can do." Jarod commented.
"Oh, by the way William you're grounded." Morgan told her son.
"What!"
"You lied to me, mister."
"About what?" Will asked playing dumb.
"You know what. Keep up that act and I'll make it double the time." Morgan told him.
"But, Mom..."
"No buts. It's straight to school and straight home. No TV. No movies. No video games and no plotting against evil corporations for two weeks. It also means you're on dipper duty for the next two weeks as well.
"But Mom, I didn't tell you because it wasn't time yet."
"Once again, William, that is not the point. I asked you not to lie to me and you did. Ask any of your friends at school and they'll tell you that they too get grounded for lying to their parents."
"Yeah, but when they lie it's because they snuck off to some party they weren't suppose to attend. Not because they were plotting ways to bring down an evil corporation hell bent on imprisoning their family. Dad help me out here." Will begged.
"You're mother has spoken." Jarod told his son, trying not to laugh. He knew Will had a point and made a note to talk to Morgan about cutting Will's punishment in half.
"Why doesn't Alley or the others get grounded too?" Will asked his mother.
"Hey!" Alley said in protest punching her brother in the arm.
"Ow." Will said in pain.
"Serves you right." Alley replied.
"Your sister and the other's aren't getting punished because they didn't lie to me."
"But Mom, they were in on it to." Will whined
"Don't whine William it's not becoming." Morgan told her son. At that moment Zane and Gabe began to cry.
"You're little brothers need a changing. William go and tend to them." Morgan told her son.
"Fine," Will said walking up the steps. "But don't blame me if you're stuck in the Centre and need the cameras to be deactivated and I can't come because I'm changing dirty diapers." Will said stomping up the stairs.
"I'll help, big brother." Alley said and went up the stairs with Will.
"Are you really going to ground him for two weeks?" Sydney asked his daughter.
"No way! Have him up under my foot all day long? I let him off Thursday afternoon. I just like seeing him squirm. Jarod acted the same way when he was Will's age, it's always a good source of entertainment."
"You are sick." Jarod said laughing.
"Please don't tell me you didn't find his reaction the slightest bit funny."
"Well..." Jarod began.
There you all go. I didn't reveal much mostly because I couldn't think of any that they need to know that already didn't. Anyway I look forward to all of your reviews.