Miss Green looked at Lyle in complete disbelief. He was actually going to help them. Even if he was in danger of getting himself caught even assisting them in rescuing the children he would find himself in the Renewal Wing with in the hour. But something was amiss.
She could feel it.
"Why are you helping us?" she asked curiously.
Lyle stared at her for almost 2 minutes without responding.
"Can I speak to you in private for a minute?" Lyle asked calmly.
Miss Green's automatic response was to deny the request and tell him to go to hell...but if he would really show them the entrance to those sublevels...she would do anything to get her children out of that hell...even if she had to sell her own soul to do it.
"Sure." She responded.
Broots straightened at her response. He had been almost positive that she would have told him to go to hell. He didn't trust Lyle enough to leave Miss Green alone with him for a while. Even a minute was too long in his book.
"Miss Green...do you think that's a good idea?" Broots whispered to her.
Miss Green turned to look at Broots. She saw the concerning look to his eyes. She smirked.
"Don't worry about me Broots. I can take care of myself against one thumb."
Broots smirked at the pun on Lyle.
Miss Green began to walk to the opposite side of the van with Lyle following close behind.
As soon as she was around the corner of the van she turned and faced Lyle. She never saw it coming.
Lyle grabbed her by the throat and shoved her against the side of the van. She quickly reached for his hands...but she couldn't budge them. At first it was hard to breath and then his grip loosened...but not much. She looked at him. His face and eyes were radiating an anger that she felt penetrating her through his hands.
"I won't fall for any tricks Parker. If you hurt my children or my wife I will tear off your throat. Sister or not. I won't let you risk them getting caught by Raines...and Daddy dearest. So if I find this is a trap to lure them to the Centre I not only will kill you...I'll make sure Raines has a field day with you first...Now...are you going to tell me the truth on how you know about those sublevels...or am I going to have to extract the information another way." Lyle warned in a low whisper as the grip on her throat increased once more.
Suddenly he pushed away from her and she quickly gulped in the deprived air she needed into her body. When she recovered from the ordeal she looked up into his eyes with an enraged look.
"I...am...not ...LYING!!!" she screamed out with tears forming in her eyes.
She looked away trying to hide the tears.
Lyle just looked on with a scrunched up shocked face.
He couldn't believe his eyes...was she...was she crying?
Right in front of him?
Parker would never cry in front of him.
He was taken back by this. He had thought that she had planned her little trap to lead them into hell. But Parker never cried. She never showed weakness...well at least she didn't in front of him.
It could only mean one thing...she was actually telling the truth. And if she were telling the truth...then he just fucked up big time.
All this time that he had been at the Centre...he had thought that SHE had been on there side, and it turns out that she wasn't. He had disregarded her as his sister for the sake of his family. He had to protect them at all cost. Now...as he watch the woman in front of him cry without hiding the tears from him...he couldn't help but feel angry at himself...and happy at the same time.
He was happy because he actually had a real sister now, a sister that was apparently like him...a prisoner of The Centre. She was a pretender like him. They had to Pretend each day for the Centre...they had to become the best actors on the planet.
But as he watched her break down in front of him...the anger at himself returned and in full force. Angry because he had hurt her...he had physically hurt her. He had not trusted her at all and had let himself become what the Centre had taught him to be...an animal.
But more than anything the reason he was angry at himself was because he had not known. He had not known about those children. He would be damned if he let those sons a bitches touch his sisters children...or any child for that matter. No child should have to go through the hell that he had endured.
His motives to get to those sublevels were of a completely different nature. He knew things about the Centre...and about Parker's past that he wanted to tell her ...but not yet. There were still things that she had to learn...on her own. Things that she would learn soon if she had found out that the Centre had been creating her children without her knowledge.
He snapped out of his thoughts as he watched her slide down the van to sit on the floor and cry. Her body was shaking from the silent sobs her body relieved her of.
"Please," she whispered.
She looked up into his eyes. Lyle saw what was reflecting in her eyes...he saw her shattered soul. What she had endured in this one day...most couldn't endure in a lifetime. He had always known that she loved Jarod, and that Jarod had loved her. It had been that way ever since they were kids. But he doubted that she remembered. That had been a different era. They had all changed. He wouldn't tell her.
And now he was gone...and all that remained of him was the children that he had never known...and the memories of a time when the horrors of the Centre had no faces.
Jarod had been a constant in her life. Jarod was a constant. If Jarod was still in her life...then she had a sense of security. And now...it was all gone. In one second it was taken away. With one bullet...with more than one bullet...it was taken away.
"Please help me Lyle. Just this once...put aside everything of our pasts...I know you shouldn't help me...I know you risk everything if you do...but I can't let them hurt them like they hurt us. Please Lyle." She pleaded as the tears continued to fall down her eyes.
Then she broke down. She looked down onto the ground and she put her hand on her forehead.
He couldn't help it anymore. To her he had always been Lyle. She didn't remember differently. He could remember a time when she was a friend...they didn't know that they were brother and sister back then...and yet they had formed a bond none the less. As he looked at her now...he knew there was only one thing he could do for her.
He had to be Bobby for her.
He slowly kneeled down and began to pull her into his embrace. On instinct she had frozen. She had stopped crying and began to struggle...but he just continued to pull her into his embrace.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." He said.
She now had her head laid sideways on his chest. She tried to pry herself loose from his grasp...but as she took notice in the way he was positioning her...and the way he was holding her...she soon stopped struggling.
"I've never been there for you...let me be here now for you. Let me be your brother." He said.
She blinked against his chest and the tears came once more. She began to cry in earnest once more. He readjusted her to fit her head between his head and shoulder. He held her firmly against him. He wrapped his arms around her and began to rock.
"Shhhhhh. It's ok. It's ok. Let it out. I'm not going anywhere. You can let it out. It's ok." He whispered to her soothingly.
And she let it out. She hugged him back and let herself cry. She let the pain and misery come out in the form of tears and sobs.
Lyle looked beyond her with a look on his face that showed anger- Anger at THEM. Those who had caused her this pain, they would be sorry.
"Don't worry. We'll get them sis. We'll make Them pay." He said determined.
"They won't know what hit them. They'd never expect us to work together. We'll show them. We'll rescue the kids...I swear it." He vowed.
Miss Green couldn't believe her ears. Her crying slowly began to dissipate. She was sniffling...trying to get a hold of herself. Lyle pulled back and looked at her with serious eyes.
"You ok?" he asked softly.
Again she couldn't believe her ears. He really sounded like he cared. His eyes showed concern. She nodded her head while sniffling and looking at him. He stared at her.
"This is the beginning of a new age. From now on its no more lies...no more betrayals...no more you against me, and me against you. It's time for us against them. So...are you ready to go show those sons a bitches who they've messed with?" he asked her.
So this was it, she thought. This is when it all changes. Who would have ever thought that Lyle actually cared? That he would be the key to a new life? And who would have ever thought that she would trust him? Her brother...whom she had been hired to kill...and that had tried to kill her several times.
He slowly began to stand and pulled her up. Let her out of his embrace. But he slid his hand to her upper arms and looked her straight in the eyes.
"Are you ready?!" he asked her with a little enthusiasm.
And in that moment she found something in his eyes that she needed. Something that she was shocked...that HE could give her.
It was strength.
His strength.
And at the moment...it was what she needed most. She felt herself become what she had been trained to be. She felt herself become The Huntress. She felt a second life coming into her...all because of her brother's strength.
He saw the look in her eyes change. He felt the strength and confidence in her body return.
"I'm ready." She said with confidence.
He smiled at her.
"Welcome back." he said.
And her old smile came to her lips...and then it turned into her sincere smile.
"Thank you. Thanks for showing me the way back." She said sincerely.
He removed his hands from her shoulders and put them in his pant pockets and shrugged and smirked.
"I guess that's what brothers are for." He responded.
She thought for a second and really wanted to thank him for everything.
"Ly.."
"It's Bobby." He cut her off while looking straight into her eyes.
She smiled at the name.
"So aren't you going to let me call YOU by your first name?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.
Her smile disappeared.
"No." she answered.
Bobby removed his hands from his pockets as she turned to leave.
"Aww come on. Not even your nickname?" he asked amused.
She turned around.
"I don't have a nickname." She stated.
He smiled at her and returned his hands to his pockets.
"Yes you do...Mona." he whispered her name out.
The expression on her face radiated utter shock. It wasn't that it WAS her nickname. It was who use to call her that.
Jarod. Jarod called her that.
She slowly turned back and faced him.
"How did you know that?" she asked suspiciously.
He smiled at her.
"It's a long story," he whispered, "but now's not the time...and I..." he shrugged his shoulders and looked down at the ground and quickly back up at her, "wanted to know if you'd let me call you it." He responded while looking at her eyes.
She quickly looked down and shook her head no as if in wonder. She looked up into his eyes. His eyes conveyed that he was actually anticipating her approval. She half smirked.
"Yah. You can call me it." She responded.
He smiled.
"Thanks." He said.
She smiled back.
"Then how about we go get your kids Mona?" he asked confidently.
Miss Green's predatory look gleamed in her eyes. She tilted her head to the side with her traditional smile.
"Let's do it!" she stated as she began to walk backwards while still looking at him, then turned around.
He quickly followed her. He knew it was the beginning of a war. And he knew...that the war would eventually be won. But this time...they would win it. And they would win it together.
He smiled at the thought.
As she rounded the corner, with her eyes conveying her renewed confidence, she bumped into Broots and Ethan who apparently had been eavesdropping. Broots and Ethan began babbling the second that she had pulled back to look at them. Ethan began mumbling something and pointed at Broots, while Broots' mouth moved but no sound came out as he flailed his hands pointing at Ethan and around them.
As they continued to babble on Lyle rounded the corner. As soon as both men saw him they both shut there mouths and looked to Miss Green.
Lyle looked at both of them and then to Miss Green.
"Can I assume they were listening to us?" Lyle asked his sister.
Miss Green smirked at the question but continued to stare at Broots and Ethan.
"For once...your assumption is correct." She answered him as her smirk turned into a full out smile. She tilted her head to look into his face. What she saw made her laugh outright. It was his "paaallease" look. As soon as Miss Green looked away Lyle scrunched up his face and silently made fun of her.
Broots looked at Lyle as if he had sprung another head.
Ethan though began to laugh but then caught himself and began to cough as Miss Green looked at him suspiciously.
She turned to look at Lyle, but Lyle had stopped making fun of her the second he saw her head beginning to turn.
Lyle looked at his sister directly in the eyes when she turned around.
"What?!" he asked.
She just kept staring at him.
Lyle rolled his eyes.
"Can we at least get going? We still have to make plans and we have little time to accomplish it, so lets go!" he announced.
Miss Green slowly turned around and proceeded to climb into the van. Soon everyone was back in both cars. It took less than 5 minutes for all of them to get back on the highway.
Lyle stared at his wife that was asleep with there children lying on both sides of her. His face was one of deep thought. The faces of those he loved in secret so close to him was a blessing. It had been a long time since he had seen them.
"There beautiful." Green stated.
Lyle looked to the side where Green sat next to him.
"Thank you. It's just that...I haven't seen them in soo long. They've grown so much." Lyle stated, and the second they were out of his mouth he knew that he had messed up.
A look of pain washed over her face.
"I'm sorry Mona...I wasn't thinking when I said it." He apologized as he lowered his head.
Green shook off the emotions inside her.
"No...it's ok." She told Lyle. She smirked. Correction...Bobby.
"Why are you smmillinng?" he asked as he began to smirk.
"What...oh...I'm ah...I'm just wondering what they look like...you know. I mean...I can only imagine what a combination of me and Jarod would be like. Will they look like him and act like me?" She asked herself, having voiced her question out loud and not to Bobby.
"GOODD I hope not!!!" exclaimed a terrified Bobby.
Miss Green quickly looked at Bobby in her famous "WHAT did you just say" face.
Bobby quickly recovered though and held his hands up in a defensive manner.
"W..What I meant was that I hope that they look like you is all." Bobby lied through his teeth while smiling.
Green just continued looking at him.
After deciding not to get into it with him she turned her head and continued to talk.
"Do you think...do you think they'll blame me...blame me for not knowing?" she asked in a low whisper.
Bobby considered lying to her...but he knew it wouldn't do her any good. He put his arms on his knees and closed his hands as he kneeled on his arms.
"Mona I'm not gonna lie to you anymore...and I have to say...that they are more likely going to blame you... Shit I blame myself." He stated.
At that remark she looked up at him.
He caught her look. She was staring at him to clarify that statement.
He closed his eyes for a second.
"We work there every single day...and yet they were hidden...right under our very noses. I didn't know...and I assure you I've known about those sublevels longer than you have. If anyone should be blamed it's me. I should have just gone in and maybe...just maybe they wouldn't be stock in that hell at this moment. I have a feeling I'm more to blame then anyone. I don't know why so don't ask me. I just have that feeling." He explained to her.
Green considered what he was saying.
"I guess your right. But do you think that they'll forgive me...forgive me for being so blind?" she asked him. Her eyes conveying a need to hear that she would be.
Bobby smiled.
"Yeah...I think they'll forgive you."
"We're here." announced the Major.
Both of them quickly turned to look out of the car.
Miss Green swallowed the sudden lump in her throat. She was more than just nervous. If anything went wrong...it wasn't herself that she was worried about. It was the children she had yet to meet that would suffer the consequences for her failure. She quickly looked at Bobby.
"Promise me something?" she asked him.
He turned to her with raised eyebrows in an expression of confusion.
"Um...ok...What?" he answered.
"Promise me if I don't make it out of there..." she began.
"Now wait a minute, your gonna make it out of there." He stated.
"But if I..." she started again.
"NO. No buts...except yours...it better be back in this van with all of your children along with us. Because if its not, if your dead, I promise to resurrect your ass and kill you for dying on me. Got it!" he told her.
"Yeah..." came the voice of Ethan who had turned around to look at her because of the discussion she had begun.
Both Bobby and Green turned to look at Ethan.
Ethan looked as though he had said something completely stupid, and that he knew it. He slowly turned around.
Green and Bobby smirked.
"Got it!" she said to Bobby.
The Major turned around and looked at Bobby.
"You ready to do this?" he asked Bobby.
"Yeah Joe, I'm ready." answered Bobby.
"Joe?" asked Green with a raised eyebrow.
The Major looked as if he had been slapped.
"Yeah. Joe David Charles. Why? You didn't think I was calling him G.I. Joe or something, do you?" asked Bobby.
Looking at the Major who tried to avoid her gaze responded.
"Nnooo...its just that he told me his name was David." She answered
"Can we please get going before the time frame we have vanishes!" asked a flushed Major.
"Why Joe...you lied to my sister about your name? You should be ashamed of yourself." stated a smirked face Bobby.
The Major looked at Bobby with a murderous stare.
"I didn't actually lie." stated the Major.
"Uhhuh." murmured a smirking Miss Green.
The Major rolled his eyes and proceeded to slowly get out of the van.
The Major along with Ethan, Bobby, and Miss Green were getting ready to enter the Centre.
"Ok guys, it's how we discussed it. Make sure you're not seen and make sure the escape route is clear." Bobby announced.
"I told Emily that if anything happens to get everyone as far away from the Centre as possible and not to look back." The Major told Bobby.
"How long did you tell them to wait?" asked Ethan.
"25 minutes. And on that note...lets move." stated the Major.
"I'll help you." a voice from behind them spoke.
All of them turned around swiftly to find Angelo behind them looking at them.
"I'll help you...get the children to safety." Angelo said.
Miss Green looked with shocked eyes at Angelo. He was speaking clearly.
"Timmy, stay here and guard the tunnel, ok? Make sure that when we come out your ready to close the hatch ok?" stated Bobby.
Angelo nodded his head. He then looked at Miss Green straight in the eye.
"Be careful Mona." Angelo said to her.
Green just stared at Angelo. Jesus, all the secrets that were getting revealed this day could drive anyone insane. She turned to the opening.
"I need a drink." She said to no one in particular.
And so they all entered into the opening as Angelo stood guard. Oddly enough...it was the same one...that Jarod escaped with.