Old and New Friends Chapter 2: Rescue
From about a hundred yards away Jarod watches in horror as Miss Parker's small sports car flips off the road. Pressing down on the accelerator, Jarod hurries towards the crash scene. The brakes screech as the car halts just a few feet away from where the sports car was run off the road. Calming his nerves, Jarod cautiously nears the car. Bile raises in his throat as he takes in the car's appearance.
With the only thought on his mind being Miss Parker, Jarod throws caution to the wind and runs to the car. Opening the driver side door, Jarod is relieved to see Miss Parker wearing her seatbelt. Gingerly, he unbuckles her and pulls her out of the small car. Looking around to make sure no unwanted eyes are watching them, Jarod carefully lays Miss Parker in the back of his car. Not wanting to stick around, Jarod rushes back to the drivers side and takes off.
Looking in the rear view mirror, Jarod sees the sports car explode. If he hadn't been there to see the crash she would have died. Just the thought of her being dead made him sick. Making sure that she was okay, Jarod reaches back and holds her hand. Knowing that he can't take her back to her house for now, he turns onto the interstate leaving Delaware.
In silence he drives for hours. At about six in the morning he finally pulls the car in front of a homey cottage a few miles away from the city. Here he would hide Miss Parker and take care of her. Eventually, he would call Sydney to let him know that Miss Parker was okay, but right now he had to make sure she was. Hopefully, she wouldn't put a bullet through his head when she woke.
A knock on the door signals the arrival of the day's mail. Sydney, as usual, gets Broots', Miss Parker's, and his own mail. Following his usual routine, Sydney goes and gets his morning coffee. For an odd reason things seem to be off today. Perhaps it was the way people were staring at him. Shrugging it off as anxiety dues to the Triumvirate being there, he continues to his office unbothered.
A few minutes after Sydney had gotten back in his office and settled down, Broots peeks inside. Greeting the computer geek with a friendly smile, Sydney waves Broots in. "Good morning, Broots." Sydney says with his smooth European accent.
"Hey, Syd. Have you seen Miss Parker yet?" Broots walks over and stands in front of Sydney's desk.
"No, why?"
"I might have found a lead on Jarod."
"She'll be pleased." The computer geek's face seems to light up. Smiling, Sydney thinks about how Broots would love the chance to please Miss Parker and receive praise from her.
"She should be here by now. With that meeting and all." Looking at the clock on the wall, Sydney nods in agreement.
"It is unlike her to not be here with the meeting starting shortly." Pondering this for a minute, Sydney comes up with a conclusion. "She's been working late the past couple of days. She probably slept a little late. Have you tried her cell phone?"
"I was going to , but then I came to see if you had seen her. I'll try now." Going back to his coffee, Sydney leans back in his chair whiles Broots attempts to call Miss Parker's cell phone.
"That's odd." The computer geek says as he hangs up the phone. "It says her phone is disconnected." Before Sydney can say anything, a somewhat somber Lyle walks in.
"You seem to be dealing with the news about my sister quite well." As soon as Lyle had entered the office, Broots had been trying to hide from the dreadful man.
"What news would that be Mr. Lyle?" Something wasn't right, Sydney could feel it in the pit of his stomach.
"You mean you haven't heard? Everyone is talking about it. Maybe no one wanted to be the bearer of bad news."
"Mr. Lyle, could you please explain what you are conversing about." Luckily his voice held none of the worry and mild agitation that he was feeling.
"My sister was in a car accident late last night. The car caught fire and blew up. I'm afraid she burned to death, only ashes remain of her now." Due to shock it takes Sydney a minute to let this horrible news settle in.
"No, not Miss Parker. She can't be dead. She can't!" Without having to look, Sydney can hear the tears in Broots voice.
"There won't be any need for either of you today. Why don't you take a couple of days off to mourn or whatever you need to." It was more of an order than a question.
"Yes. Broots, come on." Showing no emotion at all, Sydney stands and pulls his coat on.
"What?" A confused Broots asks.
"Broots, come on. You heard Mr. Lyle. We're taking a few days off."
Without saying another word, Broots and Sydney leave the building and head to a local bar. Only after they had bother consumed a few drinks did Sydney show any emotion. It broke Broots' heart to see the older man so sad. In a way Miss Parker had been like a daughter to him. He could only imagine how the man felt.
As it was Broots was an emotion mess. He had loved Miss Parker despite her mocking him. Now she was gone, never to mock him again. Something just wasn't right. How could such a strong and powerful woman be dead?
"They did that to her. They killed her. Mr. Lyle and all his little buddies at the Centre." A broken Broots accuses just before downing the rest of his beer.
"I want to see where she wrecked. I can't believe she's dead. Not after everything she's been through." Although Sydney had consumed a few beers he was by all means sober.
"Syd., she's dead. Why would Lyle lie about that? If she were alive she would be talking her way to the top at the Centre." Broots knew the fatherly man in front of him was in pain but it wouldn't do either of them any good to pretender she was alive.
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