CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

March 13,2007

Back in Blue Cove, the stocky dark haired man drove up to the Centre, wondering why it looked so different. He really should not have faked his own death, but it was necessary. He had seen too much and even Miss Parker could no longer protect him.

The change all started with the escape of Jarod. At first, he had hated him, running away from his responsibilities, and when Miss Parker would come in after an unfruitful search with remarks on what the Pretender did, he started to change his mind, but not completely. As far as he was concerned, the Pretender belonged in the lab, preferably in a cage and let out only occasionally for the simulation and whatever the Centre wanted to do to the Centre's most valuable possession.

He had also received information through the Centre hot line, a system of communication that all employees or former employees received that the Centre's new corporation lawyer had unlocked the door to his office and was taking work in the house the Centre provided for him.

All at once, everyone in Blue Cove received broadband, DSL, as well as satellite and DTV, the dark haired man suspecting that the lawyer had some pull in Time Warner, DTV, Road Runner, or one of the other important cable and DSL companies. No one had to depend on fire wire, or steal the Centre's lines (as Jarod had done.) Now, information the Centre had blocked previously flowed freely like mp3s from Kazaa.

He saw videos post- dated over five years earlier, not just the usual ones of Jarod working with Sydney in the lab, but those not even he was permitted to see and he had seen plenty. These were not just of the Tower showing Lyle and Mr. Raines in conversation with certain important types, but the activities going on in The Centre lower levels.

Four Sweepers guarded a set of steel doors. One would leave and soon return with a man whose drab clothes contrasted with the business suits of his guards who would accompany him into the lab and leave, closing the door behind him. A momentary change of scene, and the hefty man now saw several rooms where this man or another worked, one room was flooded, another room was heated to a high temperature, still another showed a bed with a body on it, and another room was filled with ice-cold water.

He was not a fool to believe there was only one Pretender. The Centre was too smart for that, and if Jarod had to go, there were others to take his place, besides the eight that had been "released," and it was these remainders whom he saw performing their tasks for their Masters. He also saw that none of them were Blacks or as they were called by the modern term, African Americans. Had this been the case, the authorities would have closed down the Centre long ago. People hated racial prejudice and bigotry, but they closed their eyes to the injustices visited on these Pretenders because their skin was as white or as beige as their own. They had sympathized with the Jews because of their religion, but no one knew what beliefs or religions these Pretenders had and so the Centre kept its secrets.

One thing about working at the Centre in his job was to make him not sympathize with the Pretenders, to disregard any cries of help, or protect them whenever Raines, Lyle, or one of the staff tortured or did experiments on them. He had even seen Lyle do unspeakable things to a young Pretender girl (she died as a result) and stood calmly by.

He tried Miss Parker's number, disguising his voice with one of those things picked up at Radio Shack, but "I'm sorry, sir, but Miss Parker's left for California with Jarod." With that the line went dead. He redialed. "Do you mean after Jarod? Did he escape again?"

"No sir. You haven't heard. She just let him go for a bit, something about his expertise on a serial murder case. Why are you calling us?"

"I had a brother who worked there. I kept his card, and id., just in case you caught those who did it and wanted me to testify as a bereaved family member."

"Well thank you, sir for your help. By the way, if you'd come to the Centre and go to the main office, and turn them in, I'll take your name and information so we can contact you in the future."

This was just the excuse he wanted. He would be there on Monday. That was two days ago and according to the information, Miss Parker had called back saying she was in San Bernardino. When he arrived at the Centre, he learned that Miss Parker was now in a small town between San Francisco and Los Angeles, something the man who opened the door mentioned after saying, "Hello Sam, I see you're back," in a tone that indicated he would have rather that he burned in hell. He also told Sam about "the advantages of the computer geek and the corporate lawyer being friends. Broots and Mr. Lambourni are both into computers and are at the computer show in San Francisco now. Miss Parker and Jarod couldn't go, because their kids are too young to see the San Francisco sights."

"When did the Centre hired you and what's this about Lambourni?" he asked, wondering why the man blocked the door.

"I have always been here. As for Lanbourni, it has something to do about a birth date in July. Left in a hurry, ordered me, 'Do what Geraldo says. I'll be back." He snickered. "By the way, I watched Red Sonja last night. Couldn't help seeing the irony — The prince of Padluck and his army, Lambourni and his army. Lets see, daughter, son in law, four to sixteen kids — Guns, rifles, dynamite, bazookas. Come in."

He's the one who answered the phone and he knew who I was! Sam felt like Vincent Prince in The Masque of the Red Death, just before Red Death showed his face. This man was scary. "You weren't serious about the guns, were you?"

"Lambourni's very protective. Watch your step. The place's a mess after the cleanup."

Sam almost tripped over a raised tile that still held the blood stains that scrubbing could not remove. There was a smell of Lysol and ammonia, and he could still see the gashes made by knife blades and bullet holes as the man led Sam to one of the offices and something told Sam that his life would be over if he said the wrong thing.

"I heard that Mr. Raines and Mr. Lyle are no more, thankfully. Now what is this about Miss Parker having kids? Did she adopt some?"

"They're her's and Jarod's. Mr. Parker had a certificate designating that Jarod be given to his daughter as a gift. Of course, being a woman, she decided to try him out in bed. I heard she used four handcuffs, two extra large. Was she ever surprised to find that his species did not have the emotional makeup of homo sapiens, but the results were successful."

"Are you telling me that the Pretender gene makes Jarod a different species? He's not human?"

"Not homo sapiens. I suppose you didn't see that announcement on TV by Walter Attwood who used to be a Navy Seal before his injury and weight gain but I do have a DVD." He looked through the series of DVDS that the Centre now used to store its information. "Yes when everyone was using VHS, we already had discs."

This man certainly has been at the Centre, but as a minor worker, thought Sam as he listened as Walter Attwood announced, "The new species will now be known as homo dominants!"

"Jarod was one until the Centre decided to introduce Neogeneis two in his system and make him more compliant and they did it to all of them here except for those who broke out and hid their children," said his host, taking out another disc and inserting it into the player.

"This is another child, Edward. He's dead now. They gave him the drug after his mother weaned him."

Sam saw a small boy kicking at a dog, and then attacking an older child, until two men came over and talked to his teacher who later asked Eddie to go with these gentlemen. A few minutes later, he saw a different Eddie, one very calm and obedient, and sucking on a Popsicle.

They spent an hour, Sam not asking the man's name, seeing the change the drug produced, the children so altered turning out to grow into very helpful teenagers with none of the rebellion If Sam had a son, he wanted him to be obedient, but not like automation. He wanted his son to question him, not act like a faithful, what was it that Miss Parker called Jarod, lab rat? But the Pretenders would have turned on society without the drug. The Centre was doing society a favor, channeling their violent tendencies.

Suddenly the other man turned towards the door, and started to take the DVDs out and pack them away. Sam could not see the rush. He had not heard any footsteps. Five minutes later, the door opened and another man appeared.

"Theodore, what are you doing up here? Did you finish that simulation about the bank robbery and the murder of the teller?"

"I did it an hour ago. It was an inside job and the suspect's height was wrong. The real murderer was five foot six and the suspect five foot eight and one half inches. In order for him to kill the victim, he would have had to bend his knees and wait for an hour until she returned from lunch, at which time his legs would have ached. The police report forgot to mention his rheumatism. I wrote this down. The real murderer's in Chicago visiting his aunt. Since everyone else is busy —"

"Okay, I'll call the FBI." He then turned to Sam. "Sam, I thought you were dead."

"Another Sam, Sydney."

"You have to take Ted at face value. He's our new Pretender or rather Miss Parker's. She's in charge but right now she's busy."

"Yes I heard she's in California with Jarod." The idea made Sam sick.

"Oh Jarod won't harm Miss Parker. Ted are you still here? Then go get the Richards file and study it."

"What did he do? Kill his wife and kids?"

"Stop dreaming Theodore. He embezzled his company out of a million dollars. Unfortunately we don't know how."

"Ah a man after my own heart," Ted said and left, but not before mentioning something about robbing Bill Gats of his millions.

"Why do you let him roam free?" asked Sam,

"We found Ted works better this way. He solved every one of the criminal cases with one hundred percent accuracy and we discontinued Neogeneis Two after finding out the side effects, making one appear older than they are, possibly a shortened life span. Dr. Cox brought in several packages from the fast food chain when the Centre ran out of the allotted food supply designed for the Pretenders and future Pretenders."

"Are you telling me, we wasted so much time snatching those kids?"

"No we did not. Mr. Parker wanted to avoid inbreeding so we trained the ones born here or captured in the nineteen forties, but kept them under-wraps, just in case we could not recruit any from the outside. Oh by the way, do you like my new office?"

Sam did not say anything but whistle.

"They blocked off the lower sub levels and moved everything up. And we saved a lot on sun lamps. Also found out not giving the Neo Genesis, it made the simulations more realistic even without isolation. Oh the Pretenders call what is in the Nutritional Supplement, Neogeneis Two. It seems there is a Neogeneis One which was listed as a dangerous drug," said Sydney, "and we decided to pair The Pretenders, male to female."

"So we get more of them." Sam began to see the possibilities.

"The older ones, those fifteen or older are allowed to go out to see the results of the simulations and Mr. Lambourni has decided that instead of gradually descending the Pretenders to the lower sublevels, he will do the opposite. The policy of no mirrors, unfortunately, stays. It appears that not seeing themselves in a reflection makes them think of themselves as possessions and once they sight themselves years later, it does not change their opinion. Even in Jarod's case, I showed him his reflection too late."

He handed Sam the new policy. "As you note, we decided to vary their diets and allow them regular clothes, sort of a semi uniform. That way, if the Centre is attacked, the attackers won't look for allies in the oppressed."

Sam frowned, showing his disapproval, but asked about Miss Parker's health.

"Miss Parker is in a rather bad state, I'm afraid. She's given birth to four and is pregnant again," Sydney continued, "and you do realize that the Centre kept her ova immature for a longer period of time than normal."

Sam did not hear this. He was still convinced that all the troubles of the Centre had to do with the Pretender running away. "Jarod's responsible."

Sydney handed him the address in the other San Pedro by the Bay. "Miss Parker forced him to get her pregnant; he did not seduce her or attack her. You know that multiple births run in her family and that after thirty, the chance increases so she had four. And do you remember the two children that the nurses fussed over?"

"Yes, their parents died. Mr. Parker took them in, Frederick and Margaret."

"They're Miss Parker's and Jarod's and they've always been at the Centre until they ran off." He gave Sam a booklet, detailing the creation of Frederick and Margaret, the drugging of Miss Parker, the placing of her on top of a naked chained Jarod, along with details as to sperm viability, and time of arousal. Had not Sam been a Centre employee he would have torn the booklet in half and left the room in a fury.

Lady M tried to poison Frederick once," said Sydney

"I never heard of it.'

"A week before he and Margaret left, Lady M gave a party and had him over at her quarters for ice cream. He never had trouble with ice cream before. If I had not been there the night before and left my notes there by mistake, he would be dead. It was a combination of Neogeneis 1 that turned him into a homo sapien temporarily enough so the real poison could take effect. I took him back to his apartment, forced him to drink castor oil, got him to vomit, and called the Centre doctor who pumped his stomach. The next day, he was back to normal and then I had the ice cream analyzed. Luckily, he had just started to eat it so most of the stomach contents were from his breakfast and lunch that day. That's why Mr. Parker had little Jarod or now Jeremiah hidden in the nursery, not only to keep Jarod from knowing he is a father, and Miss Parker that she is a mother, but also to keep Lady M from killing him and I hear she knows where Jarod is and I suspect she might kill Miss Parker as well."

"I'll leave right away. I will make sure she is unharmed. You do not have Frederick and Margaret's address, do you?" He put them in his pocket and as soon as he was out the Centre, lit a match and burned them in the trash. Frederick and Margaret could take care of themselves, and it did not take him long to get a plane to California.