Disclaimer: I can only hope that someday such enthralling and complex characters are my personal creations. Until then, the characters of the Pretender have been borrowed and made to live out various situations at my demand and whim. They are not mine.
Summary: Jarod steals valuable Centre information and puts himself into the public eye, the one place the Centre can see him and not touch him. The directive's the same, his freedom for hers. The field of play, however, is entirely different.
Author's Note: As clarification, this is based on the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair, starring Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo.
Centre Affairs
By Bec-Bec
Chapter 2
Dining with Mr. Crown
"This is Sydney."
"It appears the Centre is ready to counteract my plans," Jarod replied to Sydney's usual phone greeting.
"How so?" Sydney questioned.
"At first, I thought their choice of Miss Parker as negotiator was a bit odd, then I realized she was the perfect person for the job - she knows how to walk the high-wire best. Of course, you can't really fight fire with fire. That's a misjudgment on their part."
Jarod's statement indirectly answered Sydney's question but led him to ask another. "What do you plan to do now?"
"I expected them to send someone sooner, actually. It's the action I've anticipated from them since the beginning. However, it seems they're a bit behind the curve."
"Not all things follow plans or patterns, that possibility for random events is what keeps life from becoming one large equation with set variables and numeric values."
"A clever bit of wisdom, Sydney, but it's fairly irrelevant at the moment."
"Then you assumed Miss Parker would be the operative they would send after you?" Sydney asked with interest.
"Isn't she always?" Jarod replied with amusement.
Sydney chuckled in response, then added, "It will make the game you've begun more challenging."
"I'm counting on it."
"She always has been a worthy adversary for you, ever since you were both children. Your intelligence and her tenacity make the two of you closely matched rivals."
"Indeed."
Sydney smiled softly. "You're enjoying the fact that they've chosen Miss Parker to follow you."
"It's an entertainment." Jarod paused. "For the time being."
"You sound as though very little entertains you, which is quite the opposite, from what I've observed."
"Everyone gets bored eventually, Sydney."
"Boredom can be a dangerous thing, Jarod," Sydney warned. "If you've started this game with the Centre out of boredom, you've taken a large risk just to 'cure the itch,' so to speak."
"That's not why I started this."
"Then why?" Sydney finally asked the question he had been waiting to ask all along.
"To find what I'm looking for: my parents; my family; the truth."
"It's unlikely that the information you've taken will lead you to any of those things. From what I heard, the area of the Centre's mainframe that you breached and deleted was only of financial importance to the Centre."
"I can become anything I want to be, Sydney, disguising information is hardly a challenge."
Sydney smiled; Jarod's plan was incredibly clever, but so fundamentally simple. He couldn't help but be proud of the Pretender. "How much did you take?"
"Enough," Jarod replied simply.
"Have you found what you were looking for yet?"
"Some of it."
"Do you think you'll find all of what you're after?"
"We'll see."
"What will you do when you have all of the answers you're looking for? Will you continue your game with the Centre?"
There was a long span of silence. Finally, Jarod replied, "It depends, some answers lead to more questions." A soft click echoed over the line as Jarod hung up on his mentor yet again.
Sydney contemplated Jarod's odd reply to his question with the phone hanging limply in his hand. Eventually, he placed the phone back in it's cradle and left to go to the Centre, all the while, wondering what answers Jarod had found and what new questions had arisen from their discovery.
****
"What the hell was that last night, Parker?" Lyle stormed through the door and into the tech room on SL-5.
Miss Parker maintained her position, standing over Broots' shoulder as he typed commands into his computer. Without flinching, and barely acknowledging that Lyle had entered the room, she replied, "My job."
Lyle continued on furiously. "Since when does your job involve directly disobeying Centre orders? You waltzed in there without one word to Dad, the Centre, or the Triumvirate."
"I had a chat with Wonderboy, so sue me," Miss Parker sneered, her attention turning to her irate brother.
"You compromised the Centre's retaliation plans," Lyle raged on.
Miss Parker stepped away from Broots computer desk, where the techie was struggling not to stare at the theatrics of the two Parker twins, and closer to her brother. "No, I jump started the Centre's retaliation plans."
Lyle scoffed. "Since when do dinner plans with the Centre's lab rat qualify as part of the Centre's retaliation plans?"
"My orders are to keep track of Boywonder and trip up whatever the hell he's got planned. If the Centre doesn't like the way I'm handling the situation, they can take their retaliation plans and stick them where the sun don't shine."
"Don't piss with the Centre, Parker. You know damn well what your orders are."
Miss Parker moved closer to her brother, until she was standing right in front of him, and hissed, "Yes, I do, and, unless you or the Triumvirate goons can come up with a better way to get close to Jarod, I suggest you stay out of my way."
Lyle smirked as Miss Parker inched closer, an intimidation tactic that had absolutely no effect on him. "God, you're beautiful when you're angry."
Miss Parker sneered in disgust and shoved her brother away from her. He laughed as he stumbled away. "Stay the hell out of it, Lyle. Leave Jarod to me."
"Hey, no skin off my nose. If you want to go traipsing around with the Centre's science project, go right ahead. Just don't do anything to draw any unwanted attention to the Centre."
"Don't worry, dear brother. I would never draw any unwanted attention to you or your," she paused to sneer again, "activities."
Lyle's eyes narrowed. "Like I said, Parker, don't piss with the Centre, we're on this."
"So am I," Miss Parker retorted with a hiss.
"Right, your dinner plans." Lyle's voice was filled with sarcasm.
Miss Parker stalked toward her twin again. "I do my job my way. Jarod likes the high wire, the chase. Keeping him close is the best plan and you damn well know it."
"How close do you plan to get? Close enough for it to become a question as to who's playing whom?"
Miss Parker's eyes flashed and Lyle laughed in his folly. He was enjoying getting a rise out of her immensely.
"Stay the hell out it, Lyle."
"Hey, I'm just trying to look out for you, sis," Lyle said innocently. "You can do whatever you want with boy wonder, just remember that there are repercussions for your actions."
"Aren't there some Asian women on SL-7 to occupy you?" Miss Parker suggested derisively.
Lyle chuckled. "Actually, I have plans to search Jarod's house in Manhattan. Care to join me?" he asked with a smirk.
Miss Parker smirked back. "Of course." There was no way in hell Jarod would allow them to search his house, and Parker knew it. Watching Lyle make an ass of himself, however, made her accompaniment well worth the trip.
****
Jarod's house in Manhattan was located in a dignified neighborhood, tastefully low-key but charming nevertheless. When the Centre's black town cars pulled up on his street, they were complimentary to the richer tones of the buildings, blending in with the dark color of the wrought iron fences that partitioned one house from the next. The blend of color allowed them to enter the area without drawing too much attention to their presence.
Sam stopped Lyle and Parker's car directly in front of Jarod's house, double-parking along the crowded street.
"Motel 6 to the Ritz-Carlton," Lyle commented, as he opened his car door and stepped out. "Apparently the cockroaches aren't Jarod's friends anymore."
Miss Parker stayed in her seat and Lyle stuck his head back into the car. "Coming, Parker?"
"No, unlike you, I prefer not to make an ass of myself."
Lyle sneered. "Suit yourself." Straightening his suit, he shut the door and motioned for the sweepers in the other car to follow him.
Miss Parker watched Lyle knock on the door and subsequently enter the house, as Jarod's housekeeper held the door open for them. A Centre hire, no doubt. Though, she was sure Jarod knew that. Narrowing her eyes, she called to Sam in the front seat, who had stayed behind with her. "Sam, follow them. Keep an eye on Lyle, the twisted little monkey is getting too cocky, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
"Yes, Miss Parker," the sweeper replied, exiting the car. In all honesty, he was anxious to watch his boss' twin get cut down a few notches. After tracking Jarod with Miss Parker all of these years, he was sure entering the Pretender's lair, especially while he was still occupying it, wasn't as simple as Lyle assumed it would be.
Sam climbed the steps to the porch and entered the house without knocking on the door, a bit surprised that the door wasn't locked. When he got inside, he noticed that Lyle and the other sweepers were stopped just beyond the entryway. Standing in front of them, was Jarod, whose brow was furrowed.
"Excuse me, but why are you in my house?" Jarod questioned.
"We're here to conduct a legal search of the premises, Mr. Crown." Lyle replied, accentuating the words "Mr. Crown" mockingly, and flashing a badge along with what Sam assumed was an illegitimate warrant.
Jarod didn't react to the taunt. "Why?"
Lyle glared at the housekeeper, who was standing behind the Pretender. The housekeeper just smirked. "I'm sure it's a mystery to you, but your lawyer will be able to explain," Lyle commented snidely. He had been prepared for this sort of situation, but the fact that his inside man had turned really pissed him off.
Jarod called out to someone else that was apparently in the house. "Wallace!" As the man Jarod had called for walked into the room, from Jarod's den, Jarod gestured to him. "This gentleman happens to be my attorney."
The attorney took the warrant and looked it over closely. A few hushed words passed between the gentleman and Lyle before he motioned for the sweepers to exit the building. Jarod smirked as Lyle turned to him disgustedly. "Good day, Mr. Crown," Lyle again added a mocking accentuation to the words "Mr. Crown."
As Lyle stalked toward the door, Jarod's eyes narrowed slightly as they fell on Sam, who was still standing by the entryway. Sam simply turned and exited the building in response
When Lyle angrily re-entered the car, Miss Parker smirked.
"Apparently, Jarod's gotten to our inside man," Lyle said with disgust.
"Let me guess, Wonderboy was home?"
Lyle eyed her suspiciously. "Yes."
Miss Parker grinned wickedly. "It's Sunday, Lyle. Where the hell did you expect him to be?"
"Out, doing whatever the hell it is that he does. You might have mentioned that you knew he'd be home. We're lucky his lawyer didn't decide to press charges for unlawful entry."
"No, you're lucky," she replied acidly. "If you had been doing your job, you would have known Jarod's schedule."
"So what the hell was this, Parker, some pitiful attempt to get back at me for this morning?"
"No," Miss Parker sneered. "Some of us have more important things to do than spend our time plotting revenge on weaker minds. This was about teaching you to think before you do something stupid and get your sorry ass into a situation that you can't weasel your way out of. Or, do I need to remind you why you're missing a thumb? Never tango with someone who can outwit you."
"Thanks for the dancing lessons, sis," Lyle retorted snidely. "Sam," Lyle called to the sweeper, who had retaken his position in the driver's seat. "Drive back to Blue Cove," he ordered icily. "We wouldn't want Miss Parker to be late for her date."
Sam followed Lyle's orders without question, driving the two Parker twins back to their "office," as Miss Parker chuckled amusedly at a glowering Lyle.
****
"What?" Her phone greeting was nearly a cliché by now.
"It's so hard to find good hired help these days. You just can't trust people anymore," Jarod remarked.
"Your housekeeper seems to be fairly loyal," Miss Parker replied coolly.
"Yes, well, Paul is an exceptional find. It's a pity the Centre got to him first."
"I gather he's been excised from the Centre's grasp, according to the reports I've received anyway."
"I'm sure Sam's report is more than accurate. He seemed to have been there merely to observe."
"Well, I have to keep track of my dear brother's activities somehow."
"Ah, how is Mr. Lyle? Not too upset I hope? After all, a failed plan like that... well, it can have less than positive effects on a person's ego," Jarod replied cheekily.
"Not hardly. He's too arrogant to admit that you outsmarted him this morning. Nice trick with your lawyer, by the way."
"Thank you. Wallace just happened to be over for brunch." Miss Parker was sure he was smirking like the cat that ate the canary.
"I'm sure oiling up your lawyer has its advantages."
"Indeed."
The phone line went silent. "What time am I supposed to meet you," Miss Parker asked after a moment.
Jarod chuckled. "What sort of gentleman would Mr. Crown be if he had you meet him somewhere? I'll be by to pick you up at seven."
"Coming to Blue Cove? Pretty gutsy move, isn't it, Jarod?"
"Not really. The Centre knows better than to try anything. If something happens to me, they'll be exposed. One of the advantages of putting myself in the public spotlight was the fact that the Centre would be forced to accept the possibility of my leaking their business to people who shouldn't be aware of its existence. If my people find out I've been harmed in any way, they have instructions to release everything I've given them through the appropriate channels."
"How do you know you can trust your people?"
Jarod chuckled. "Let's just say they aren't particularly thrilled with the Centre's involvement in their lives either. A few of them owe me a favor or two."
"Isn't all of this putting them at risk as well?"
"Not in the slightest. The Centre can never find them, once the information is released, it's untraceable."
"It would be a pity to find out there's a hole in your plan," Miss Parker suggested
"If there is, I very much doubt the Centre will find it," Jarod replied with amusement.
"We won't give up, you know," Miss Parker said coolly.
"I'd be hugely disappointed if you did." Jarod hung up with a click.
"Smug bastard," Miss Parker said to the dial tone.
****
Jarod arrived at Miss Parker's house at precisely seven o'clock. She would have been annoyed at his punctuality if she hadn't expected him to be irritatingly prompt. His Rolls Royce pulled into her driveway just as the grandfather clock she kept in her den struck the hour. There was a knock on the door several seconds later.
"You sure as hell know how to arrive in style, don't you, Lab rat?" Miss Parker muttered as she opened her front door to the sight of a dignified looking man.
"Miss Parker?" he inquired.
"Yes."
"Mr. Crown said you would be expecting us." He turned and led her to the car, holding open the rear door for her.
Miss Parker climbed in gracefully, thanking the driver.
"You look wonderful tonight," Jarod's voice said from beside her as she settled in. She knew he was admiring her dress, another low cut black number, seductive but simple.
"Thank you. How are you?" She said, turning to face him.
"Popular." Jarod glanced through the rear window at a black town car parked down the street. Parker assumed the car had been following him the entire day. "I seem to have developed some admirers."
"You knew they'd be watching."
Jarod nodded slightly.
The majority of their car ride was silent, broken rarely by chitchat about the weather and other cordial niceties.
Jarod had made reservations at a restaurant in New Jersey, a classy establishment, mildly less flashy than the places Miss Parker knew he dined in Manhattan. His choice of a smaller, more intimate, setting was out of character for Mr. Crown, though entirely in character for Jarod. Some part of her wondered who exactly she was having dinner with- Jarod Crown, the calm and casual businessman, or Jarod, the Centre's lab rat and her childhood friend. Perhaps it was some combination of them both. In either case, she wasn't quite sure what to expect from the evening.
When they had been seated, Jarod commented, "I am a bit surprised you agreed to dinner."
"I'm a bit surprised you asked. People don't usually dine with their enemy."
"I'd hardly call you an enemy."
Miss Parker chuckled. "I'm your adversary, at the least."
"Adversaries aren't always enemies, merely opponents."
"In the strictest sense, I suppose."
"Generally, well matched opponents."
Miss Parker gave a wry half-smile. "I'll take that as a compliment, considering you seem to be in search of something to keep you entertained."
"A good match is fairly hard to find," Jarod replied evenly.
"Indeed."
The waiter came just as Miss Parker responded to Jarod. "Good evening sir, ma'am."
"Good evening," Jarod said plainly.
Miss Parker's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at Jarod's tone. At some points during their conversation, he was Jarod, and at others he was Mr. Crown.
"What would you like to drink, sir?"
"Scotch, neat. And, I guess the lady would like..." Jarod trailed off, staring with a smirk at Miss Parker.
"What?" she asked with tempered amusement.
"That the lady would like champagne," Jarod finished.
The waiter named some rather expensive selection from a particularly good year and Miss Parker smiled as she said, "That sounds great, thank you."
When the waiter had left the table again, Miss Parker commented dryly, "You've been busy."
Jarod chuckled. "Not really. That particular piece of information fell into my lap a few years ago."
"Very few people know that I prefer champagne with my dinner."
Smirking, Jarod said, "It seemed fair enough. You know so much about me, I know almost everything there is to know about you."
"I know everything about your pretend, that's different."
"Perhaps."
"Tell me, Jarod, what else have you learned about me over the years?" Miss Parker asked with tempered amusement.
"Quite a bit. There is one thing that's always puzzled me though."
"Oh?"
"Well, it's obvious that you enjoy male companions but you never keep any of them around for very long."
Miss Parker turned her eyes away for a moment before focusing back on Jarod, "My lifestyle doesn't really allow for lasting relationships. Besides, men make women messy."
Jarod eyed her pensively as the waiter returned with their drinks.
After the waiter poured her champagne, Miss Parker thanked him and picked up her drink. Jarod raised his scotch to her glass.
"Here's to the fear of getting caught."
They both sipped lightly at their drinks and the conversation resumed with its previous formality.
****
"What are they doing?" Lyle spoke into his cell phone.
Willie answered from the other end. "They just received their drinks, sir."
"Do they know you're there?"
"I doubt it. The other sweepers and I have been very discreet."
"Just make sure it stays that way. The last thing I need is for Miss Parker to find out that I sent my own people to watch her."
"Mr. Lyle, sir, with all due respect, from what I've seen, Miss Parker is a formidable woman, I'm sure she can take care of herself."
"I'm not taking any chances. Jarod's changed the rules of this whole goddam fiasco. If he tries anything with her I'll make sure he pays."
"Sir, their dinner just arrived."
"Call me back when she gets home. And, Willie, if anything happens to her, Raines will be in need of a new personal henchman, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
****
"Here's the fish for the lady," the waiter said as he placed a dish in front of Miss Parker, "and the lamb chops for the gentleman."
Before the waiter left, Jarod said, "We'd like to pre-order soufflés and I'd like to send a bottle of burgundy to those gentlemen over there." Jarod gestured to four men in suits sitting at a table across the restaurant. Miss Parker turned her head to see whom he was referring to.
"Of course, sir. Enjoy."
"Thank you very much." When the waiter had left he added, "If I'm not mistaken, Willie is among those sweepers."
"I'm sure my dear brother sent Raines' lap dog to keep an eye on me. He claims to be concerned about the way I'm handling the chase with you."
"You're handling the chase quite well, from what I can see. But then, you always have."
"Complimenting my skills again, Jarod? If I were that good, I'd have caught you already."
"You've certainly come close."
"Close is a lingerie shop without a front window."
Jarod stared at her, seemingly puzzled but with a blank face. Miss Parker merely smirked in response, noting that, even in the character of a playboy, Jarod didn't understand innuendo.
"I presume Lyle objects to your becoming socially involved with me."
"Yes."
Jarod's eyes glittered faintly. "It's not as though you would let that stop you though, you like the chase too much."
Miss Parker nodded.
"I've noticed that not many women get the chase, men don't really let them in the game."
"They don't think we have the mind for it," Miss Parker stated plainly.
"I'm sure you've taught quite a few of them a lesson on just who is doing the running and who is doing the chasing."
Miss Parker chuckled. "I have. Some of them refuse to learn, of course," she said coolly.
Jarod's eyes narrowed as he asked sternly, "May I ask you a personal question, Miss Parker?"
"Yes," Miss Parker said, faintly surprised.
"Would you like an espresso?"
Miss Parker raised her eyebrow, remarking dryly, "That's your personal question."
"Yes," Jarod smiled.
"May I ask you a personal question, Jarod?"
"Yes." Jarod was amused by her response to his incredibly impersonal question.
"Do you really think you can attempt to seduce me this way?"
Jarod chuckled. "I don't presume to be able to make you do anything you don't want to do, Miss Parker."
"Good," Miss Parker said evenly as she stood.
Jarod stood as well. "Shall we?"
"Yes."
Jarod nodded to the sweepers who were all staring grimly at them. One even went as far as to raise a glass of the burgundy they had received to Jarod and nod back with a bemused smile. Jarod contained his amusement as Willie sneered at him. The public area and orders from the Triumvirate limited the sweepers' actions, so they provided little trouble as Jarod and Miss Parker left the restaurant.
Again, their ride in the car was silent, interrupted only intermittently by small talk. It was fairly late in the evening when Jarod's car pulled into Miss Parker's driveway again. Jarod walked her to the door and they paused on the landing.
"I'd invite you inside..." she trailed off
"But the world is watching," Jarod finished.
"Yes, they are."
"I'll call."
"Of course."
Miss Parker leaned into Jarod and kissed him brazenly on the cheek. "Good evening, Mr. Crown."
Jarod smiled. "Miss Parker."
****
"She's home?" Lyle asked
"Yes, sir."
"Alone?"
"Yes, sir."
Lyle disconnected the call, staring pensively into space. Whatever game Jarod and Miss Parker were playing with each other, there was no way in hell he was going to advocate their getting any closer to each other than they already were.
Author's Note: Chapter two decided to grace the pages rather quickly… I dare say that it wrote itself. Thanks to Maestra for giving it a once over *mad huggles* I love her to pieces. Until next time. Adieu.
