Pretend Squared
Chapter Two
Author's note: thanks to all those who reviewed- you make me kinda nervous that I might stuff this up and then you'll all be angry at me.
Rev2004: This was as soon as possible- I hope it meets your expectations
Pretender fan: thanks for an enthusiastic review- apart from the nervousness factor, it makes me feel I'm doing something right.
Jar-Par Fan: Thankyou so much- there is nothing quite so flattering as a favourites list. Loved your postulations on flowers.
Gemini-M: Have I ever said thankyou for all your reviews? Because thankyou for always reviewing me, even when I'm writing really badly. I think one of yours was the first review I ever got.
Jarod watched calmly as Parker stilled completely, her eyes finally sliding all the way shut. They had to wait down here for approximately two hours before continuing on, via a lower, sub-basement, into the sewers. He put away the hypodermic syringe, and generally cleaned up at bit, erasing any obvious signs of his passage through here. The trapdoor down here was underneath a carpet in Harold's house, one of hundreds of dwellings inside the Centre perimeter- but one could never be too careful.
Having made everything as normal looking as possible, he returned to his seat by Parker's bedside to wait. He allowed himself to slip into a light slumber, but awoke exactly an hour and forty-five minutes later- a skill he had long since perfected. Checking that Parker was still under, he sought out the second hidden trapdoor, opened it, then picked her up again and started downwards. He had to put her down to shut it behind him, but left it up to Harold to come down there later and push the old set of draws back over the top.
Trying not to breathe, Jarod walked the short length of the sub-basement, purposefully ignoring Harold's significant cache of 'substances' and out into the sewer proper. After a short while, his nose numbed against the powerful stench of raw sewage, and he plodded onwards, occasionally shifting the burden in his arms. A long while later he reached a marker that no one else would have noticed, and took a right turn. Once, Jarod put Parker down on a handy, pre-prepared pile of blankets and carefully checked for indicators of consciousness. Chewing on his lip in indecision for a moment, he left the next dose of anaesthetic in his pocket and picked her up again.
It was a long journey, but Jarod had trained thoroughly for the eventuality. Nudging aside a rotting wooden board with his foot, he stepped through into the old sewers- dry and no longer used. Gradually the smell faded, replaced by the faint mustiness of old air. These tunnels were not on the city maps any more, and Jarod had had to break his way in from the surface. It was that same entrance he used now, greeting the fresh night air with relief.
As he strapped Parker into the waiting car, she stirred slightly, so he used the handcuffs again to secure her to the seat. They were out in poor suburbia now, the old sewer entrance in a seriously vandalised and dirty small park. He clipped the seatbelt on and then remembered her gun, which he had taken with them so it wouldn't be found on the scene of the kidnapping. Considering for a moment, he took it out of its holster, removed the clip, threw it away and then returned the gun. He knew Parker was very attached to her gun, and everything would be a lot easier if the minimum of trouble was stirred with her.
Shutting the door, he crossed to the driver's side and started the engine, whisking them off into the night.
End chapter two; to be continued