Miss Parker barged into her father's office in time to hear the end of a phone conversation.
"And I told you thirty years ago what would happen to you if she ever found out. Did you think I was bluffing?" Mr. Parker paced by his desk as he listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. Then he caught sight of Miss Parker in the doorway. "Look, just handle the situation the best you can, and I'll talk to you later."
He hung up the phone and smiled at his daughter. "Angel..." He leaned down to kiss her, and then he looked into her eyes. "What's the matter? You look unhappy."
She walked away from him, toward a chair by the desk. "Who were you talking to, daddy?"
"Just a colleague, sweetheart."
"It sounded fairly urgent...anything I can do to help?"
He smiled at her, though it never reached his eyes. "No, Angel, it's nothing for you. Tell me, how is the search for Jarod progressing? Any news?"
"Not really, although I suspicion Jarod's close-by right now."
He frowned at her, "What makes you say that?"
She shrugged and half-smiled at him. "Nothing, daddy, it's just a hunch."
His eyes narrowed, suspicion filling them. "Now you wouldn't lie to your father, would you, Angel?"
"Of course not, daddy." She smiled dangerously at him, "No more than you would to me."
He chuckled nervously, "Now sweetheart, you know I wouldn't do anything like that to you."
She moved away from him, and played with the sculptured rabbit on his desk. "Daddy.... is today any kind of....well, anniversary?"
He tried to cover his agitation. "What do you mean?"
"Some kind of anniversary for mom."
He turned away from her, and walked toward the window, his hands clasped tightly behind his back. "No, no...not that I can recall. Why?"
"I don't know. I sort of remember something, but...."
He turned sharply toward her, "But what?"
She looked up at him. "But it's just out of reach. I keep thinking I remember something, but then, it's gone."
He walked over to her, holding his arms out for her. "Angel," he pulled her into him, "you just miss her, that's all. So do I."
"Do you, daddy?"
"Of course I do. What kind of a question is that?" She shrugged, but didn't respond. He pat the back of her head. "You go on now, sweetheart. If you think that Jarod is in the area, you shouldn't wait. You know how slippery he can be."
"He's not the only one...." She muttered as she walked out the door.
Parker frowned at the off-handed comment. Harnessing the power of the inner sense by carefully cultivating it had been part of his original plan thirty years ago; but it had fallen apart before his eyes, along with his marriage, and the hold he had on those around him. Perhaps Sydney was right; maybe they needed each other as allies at this point in time. Mr. Parker sat down in his desk chair. It required careful calcuation; after all, Sydney could be very dangerous if not handled properly.
Syd removed the file folder and DSA from the hidden panel in the wall behind the cabinets. He walked over to his desk, sat down, and opened the folder. The yellowed papers were all there, and dryly reported the events much as he remembered them. But a conversation not recorded there floated into his mind....
"Sydney, please....."
"Catherine, you mustn't ask this of me."
She grabbed a hold of his arms. "There is no one else, Sydney. You're the only one who can help me. You're the only one I can trust."
As he looked into the dark grey eyes, he felt himself melting inside. He looked away.
"Do you know what they'll do if they catch us?"
"Fear, Sydney? I wouldn't have suspected that from you."
He walked away from her in anger. "Not for me, Catherine. And not for you." He turned to face her, his eyes blazing with fury. "For the child."
"They wouldn't harm her, she's too valuable to them. She is at the heart of everything that Mr. Raines and my husband have done here."
He reached out, putting his hands on her shoulders. "After everything they've done to you, knowing what you know, and still, you would consider taking this action?"
"She's my DNA, Sydney. My....child."
He felt the sting of tears in his eyes as he looked into the--
--sea of dark grey, realizing that Miss Parker was leaning across the front of his desk, staring at him. He started, and quickly shoved the papers into the folder, leaning across it with his arm. He looked down, trying to wipe the moisture away with his sleeve. Parker stood up straight, putting her hands on her hips.
"Water works, Dr. Jekyll? Please spare me."
"Is there something you want, Miss Parker?"
She was slightly taken aback by the cold steel of his timbre, and couldn't completely cover the hurt in her own voice.
"What's in the file folder?"
He looked up at her, his eyes a dark mist of intimidation. "It's personal."
Parker smiled at him, and reached for it, only to have him pull it away. "Sydney...."
"No. I told you it's personal. I meant it."
"If you're hiding something to protect Jarod--"
"--I told you to drop it, Parker."
The unbridled anger in his voice, hinted at a danger that Miss Parker had rarely witnessed in him, but it instinctively frightened her in a way that she couldn't explain. She backed up a few paces toward the door. But the inner sense screamed to be heard, and she blurted out her thought before she could stop herself.
"What haven't you told me about my mother?"
It was more of a statement, than a question, and he perceived her deep-seated fear; Sydney softened slightly. He stood slowly, and walked over to her.
He pitched his voice low and soft, "Miss Parker, there is nothing I can tell you that you don't already know."
She looked at him, a slight frown coming across her brow. A moment later, she was filled with a sudden, overwhelming sense of dread. And Miss Parker turned on her heel, to quickly leave the room. Sydney watched her go, his stomach clenched in a thousand knots of sadness and guilt. He couldn't erase the visions from his mind, nor the emotions associated with them: they were so very much alike.