Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual protective statements
Author's note: Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted an update to this story. Real life is taking its toll and not giving me much time to have my chapters fully written and beta'd. That last chapter was more of a doozy than I ever imagined! What a nice spectrum of opinion and criticism. Since I have no plans of altering my tale in any way, I hope all those doing the me honor of reading this story are truly enjoying it—it is being written for that purpose only.
Time to Consider
Chapter 31
By Callisto
Lyle's residence
Blue Cove, DE
Consciousness came to him slowly as he rolled painfully over onto his back,a splitting headache brought his hand over to the main source of his agony. Surprise filled his eyes when he felt a crusting moisture there. In the far background, he could hear pounding going on somewhere, insistent with just a hint of controlled violence. After some deliberation, he got up to find his ribs ached almost as much as his head when it dawned on him—someone had worked him over. Vaguely, the vision of a lithe girl with long, dark hair swam vaguely into his mind. Along with the vision was the memory of his intense hunger and eager anticipation over cornering this tasty catch when suddenly the world went black. It was hard to decide which body part to hold as he rose slowly to his feet. The ribs won, as he crept carefully down the stairs, keyed in the alarm code and let his insistent guests inside.
The minute the door was pulled slightly ajar, the sweepers outside forced it fully open and filed in with purposeful menace. Beautifully suited, each man held a standard Centre issue 9mm Glock in their fists as they began to systematically search the house. It took a few seconds before the sociopath realized there was someone standing obediently next to him. Glancing sideways, he saw the dark- complexioned Willie staring at him with cold, mildly curious eyes.
"I was attacked. Thought there was only one of them, then came to find out there were….three maybe four after they hit me over the head and worked me over," Lyle replied to Willie's tacit question.
The handsome sweeper's expression didn't change. He had heard Lyle's exaggerations before and was neither surprised nor disgusted. The only reason he and his team were there was because the alarm company had routinely informed security who informed the Chairman. Raines in response had dispatched them to find out why Lyle had failed to show up for work. There were Tower meetings that had been missed and a report on their secondary project, as well as the Ethan search that was supposed to be updated but hadn't been due to Lyle's absence.
"The Chairman would like a word, Mr. Lyle."
"I'm sure he would," Lyle bit back with sudden irritation. Exhaling wearily, Lyle stumbled as he turned back towards the stairs. Suddenly the room began to swim and the sociopath swayed shakily as he passed out.
Reluctantly, Willie caught Lyle before he could hit the elegant Italian tiled floor and calling out to his colleagues, he ordered one to help him with Lyle and the other to go upstairs to get the man a shirt. The lead sweeper had his orders, and nothing was going to delay him in acting them out. When the perimeter sweeper approached and gave his report, Willie nodded thoughtfully.
"Stay here and stand watch. I don't want anyone coming in or out. Don't touch anything. A cleaner team will be out to process the house."
"Yes Sir," came the expected reply.
Willie nodded at the sweeper holding Lyle up and signaling another to help with Lyle's dead weight; he called the driver to meet them at the rear of the house. There they would load Mr. Lyle into the back of the car and return to the Centre. The sociopath's comfort wasn't a concern for him as the other two dragged Lyle's limp form between them and towards the waiting Town Car.
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
For the rest of the workday Sydney had to forcefully control his focus but found his thoughts drifting back to his own home where the two time-shifted people waited. What they were doing and who they might be contacting was all a matter of conjecture for him.
Broots had been extremely inquisitive on the short journey back to the Centre. He showed all the signs of a skilled interrogator in that he wouldn't allow Sydney the luxury of avoiding his direct and pointed questions. 'Do you believe what they were saying about time travel? How could it have happened? Who was this scientist who pulled it off and where was he now? Do you think they want to stay or return?' These and a plethora of other questions followed before the psychiatrist had a chance to finish his brief and sketchy answers. Those answers barely satisfied himself—much less the more inquisitive computer genius.
Sydney stayed in his office for the rest of the day, lost in his own thoughts and wondering about the time shift story, its validity and how to reconcile the impossible into the obviously probable. The answers he gave to Broots were thin at best. He would need more time to think this whole thing through and speak in more detail to both fugitives before coming up with an explanation that would make sense to him—instead of relying so heavily on faith.
Broots received an unexpected distraction from his daughter who called to see if her Dad had come up with some advice. However, his rapidly maturing teenager detected something in his tone that worried her. She picked up on the stress in his voice and asked him gently what was wrong. All he could do was smile at her question. Immediately the concern and love in her voice, banished the cobwebs of confusion and disbelief from his mind as he reassured her that everything was all right. With determined motivation he directed Debbie's attention to her role in the upcoming school play and some ideas he had on how she should approach playing the character. He reluctantly dismissed his unspoken idea of asking for Sydney's help as he had originally thought of doing. The psychiatrist had enough on his plate without adding a school play into the mix. Besides, with what the two fugitives had told him, the tech avoided pointing out the obvious. If Raines, Lyle or the Triumvirate ever found out what had truly happened to them, they both would wind up in Africa faster than either could say Mozambique. Broots made a pact with himself never to mention or make reference to Miss Parker or Jarod because the last thing he wanted was another impromptu torture session with that walking corpse, Mr. Cox. That guy was like a mini Raines in-training. His hand tingled unpleasantly at the very thought.
Sydney's residence
Blue Cove, DE
The night had turned out to be extremely fascinating for the psychiatrist. Over coffee he heard the details of Jarod and Miss Parker's challenging ordeal. Just as far as the science was concerned, the implications were mind boggling. Jarod had been correct; it was a lot to take in all at once. During Jarod's rather technical explanation, the girl, in typical Parker fashion, got up and quietly left the room. It seemed that a great deal had changed in their relationship while they were in the variant time frame. A curious expression settled in Jarod's face when she left them. Normally, he would've glanced over at her and then continue. This time there was something more—a lot more in his eyes.
Parker had quickly become restless during Jarod's explanation. She hadn't bothered thinking about the details of their strange journey through time. Briefly she wondered if her disinterest in the particulars pointed to a type of shallowness in her own character. Losing her mother had become such a watershed event in her life that it colored everything about her. The shock of seeing and then reconnecting with her mother created a joy in her that forestalled any questions. This was a gift horse she was willing to feed rather than waste time looking in its mouth. It was then the voices made themselves known. They had become far more chatty than she ever remembered. This newest development concerned her but since there was little to nothing she could do about it, she decided to listen. That was like opening the floodgates. Luckily she was already alone in the kitchen when she relaxed her mental control. A blinding headache wrapped itself around her mind like a wet blanket of seaweed in the surf. A long minute passed before she could regain control. Forcing her breathing to even out, she found controlling her body slowly allowed her to reclaim control over her mind. Hands covering her eyes protectively, Parker was aware that an information dump had just occurred. It would take a very careful examination to make sense of it. With that in mind, she moved over to the coffee maker and made a strong batch of her favorite potion.
It was late in the evening when Jarod and Sydney finally finished discussing the unusual temporal phenomena that shifted their physical ages. Slyly, Sydney offered the couch to Jarod, explaining that he had only one spare bedroom, which should go to Miss Parker. Jarod effortlessly controlled his expression and quickly nodded his agreement with Sydney's arrangements. The psychiatrist wasn't disappointed. Jarod had a way of hiding his most private thoughts when he knew Sydney was prodding. For that fact so did Parker but she had a tendency of slipping up whenever she was emotionally upset, and Sydney knew exactly how to accomplish that to find out what he wanted.
Several hours later, a few hours before dawn, Sydney got his chance. He woke up after a few brief hours of sleep and made his way to the kitchen. There he found Parker sipping from a thick mug as she sat on the table top with her feet in a chair.
Without looking around she said, "I figured you would be up around now. You never got much more sleep than I did when we worked together."
"I had a great deal of guilt weighing heavily on my mind. There's always been so much to atone for, Miss Parker," he replied as he nodded in agreement with her. He was still undecided on which tactic would be best to get a rise out of her. "What are you drinking?"
"Warm milk", she replied. "I have a lot on my mind as well. Sydney, tell me about your newest pretender."
Astonishment widened his eyes as he took the carton of milk from the refrigerator. "I must've said something out of turn, Miss Parker. You know, it's strange speaking to you like this when you look the way you do. The last time I saw you at this age, I recall you quite coolly told me that Centre training had been very instructive," he replied with a light chuckle. "You were very sure of yourself and the Centre." The topic of Master Parker wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with her. The nimble psychiatrist immediately switched from a carefully paced offense to a staunch mentally defensive posture. If memory served, her initial reaction over his involvement with Gemini was less than favorable.
"My so-called-father's lies were still ringing in my ears and I was too intent on gaining his approval and altogether blind to bother with the big picture. Look Sydney, I don't care if you don't want to discuss your new project. I have neither the time nor the patience for polite discretion or careful lies. If I could find this information out on my own or by standing over Broots, then I would. Right now you're my only source. Something's going on—something big and I need to know what Lyle and Raines are up to these days. As you can obviously tell, I've been out of touch," she replied calmly as she turned her youthful face to look at the back of his head. "You needn't worry about me trying to regain my positionat the Centre by disclosing anything you say—I dislikeRaines too intensely to demean myself by running to that ghoulto inform on you. I'm no longer that blind, little girl trying so hard to be like her father." His stubborn silence persisted when it became apparent that he wouldn't discuss the Centre's latest project.
"What I want from you, Freud is to fill in the blanks. These strange voices in my head have already given me the broad strokes. What I'm aware of is that you're heading the project for basically the same reasons you had for Gemini. What's going on? Are they producing a replacement for Jarod?"
After another long moment of hesitation, Sydney slowly nodded and then turned to look at Parker. He seemed incapable of becoming used to her youthful appearance as he sighed softly. "They already have. Master Parker was born with similar genetic markers as Jarod. He's not quite as gifted but so far he's closer than any other child we've tested, save Gemini."
When he noticed the milk began to lightly boil, Sydney removed the pot from the heat and poured the warmed liquid in his mug and leaning against the counter, began sipping. The sensation was instantly soothing.
"It turns out that Mr. Parker had a group of his own geneticists harvest biological samples from other red file children and after some trial and error they were able to develop an embryo using the successful procedures discovered and transferred from the Ellesmere site before it was destroyed. It turns out that Mr. Parker was also very interested in the research. He openly backed Raines' work while secretly bankrolling his own endeavors. Master Parker's inception was the ultimate result of a secondary application to Raines'research. Mr. Cox was brought in to insure the viability of the fetus and to constantly monitor the birthmother, Brigitte, so she would successfully carry the child to term. Cox is now Master Parker's primary physician and Raines has been regulated to the sidelines."
At Parker's surprised expression, Sydney continued, "I was surprised as well. Mr. Parker left specific instructions to the Triumvirate in regards to the child. From what little Broots and I were able to scare up in the research databases, it was your father's intention to have the boy placed in your care but his training was to continue as usual. The idea being that the boy was supposed to be provided a more varied childhood, much like your brother Ethan, in order to produce a more steady and loyal subject.
"As you can imagine, Raines was highly upset at the shutout. I'm sure his spies tell him everything that is going on with the project but the Triumvirate has taken on a more hands-on roll. They've assigned their own special sweepers to guard the boy and no one except me, my assistant and Mr. Cox are allowed near him. Even his nurse is a direct Triumvirate lackey."
"Why not send him to Africa? That way they could keep watch over him without fearing Raines interference," she asked as the voices in her mind readily provided an answer before Sydney had a chance to formulate his own.
"I thought the same thing. Originally I believe they held off on the chance that you would be found and/or familial sentiment would bring you back for the child. Now, I'm not quite sure what the reasoning is except that it might be some sort of test for Raines."
"That and they want you nice and comfy so you can work your influence on my nephew. They want him to have certain moral sensibilities similar to Jarod but when he's the right age, they'll remove him from your influence so they can twist any inborn, natural decency he has against him," she said with quiet sincerity. "Think of him as a more stable Lyle with better eating habits and Ethan's brains."
Sydney stared at her youthful face carefully. Then he decided to say something that he had never hinted at before.
"You mean yourself. Mr. Parker was trying to recreate you and avoid going the route of his brother with a clone. Your mother's undiluted influence washis main obstacle to converting you into the type of red file operative they had in mind."
The psychiatrist looked at the unfocused glare in her eyes and waited for her attention to return. He breathed a sigh of relief when it appeared that she hadn't been paying any attention to what he was saying. He was curious about the apparent maturity of these voices in her mind and the information they supplied. She already knew that Master Parker was indeed related to her. He had to practically twist Broots' arm to search the Centre's research databases to find out if the child was truly Brigitte's. Instead, much to his surprise he found the child was actually related to Miss Parker—he was Lyle's son. When Parker's focus returned, she smiled self-consciously, surprising him. In one fluid hop, she alighted from the table and placed her mug on the countertop.
"Get some sleep, Freud. It's going to be a long day. Don't worry about us, I'll keep Jarod safe and out of their clutches. We'll need to leave soon; later this morning would be best. Thanks for giving us a place to hide out while we got ourselves together."
"So soon? I was hoping to have you both here for a while longer. There are so many questions," he protested insistently.
"They've already found Lyle and are probably questioning him as we speak. I think he got alook at me before Jarod had a chance to cool his ardor. It'll only be a while before Raines realizes that you have some missing time of your own and puts two and two together."
"Oh, I see. What exactly did you and Jarod do to Lyle?" he asked by way of example of the numerous questions he had for both of them.
"He got all excited when he found me there. A live girl actually stumbled into his lair. Jarod had to knock him over the head to calm him down. Apparently his presence was missed at the Centre," she replied dryly.
"I understand. Please keep in touch. I'm very worried about both of you and this strange 'combining' that you've gone through."
"Things are going to get worse before they have a chance to get better and that's without the Centre's influence," she replied cryptically. Smiling weakly, she touched his shoulder and left him alone in the kitchen.
Upstairs in the spare bedroom, the effects of the age inhibitor made itself known again. The voices invaded her psyche and downloaded another large amount of information. This time she found herself shaking and deeply upset. Instead of getting into bed, she went into the adjoining bathroom and emptied her stomach in the toilet. The time-shifted return to her youthful self had automatically taken away the stress-induced ulcer but that didn't prevent her from reacting as she would when she was an adult. The reason for her upset stomach had everything to do with her return trip through the portal and the fears Angelo was unable to verbally express. After splashing cool water on her face and thoroughly rinsing with mouthwash to remove any traces of nauseating bile from her taste buds, she returned to the bedroom to find Jarod standing near the bed. Without saying a word, she looked at the bed and watched as he silently got in and waited for her. Neither spoke as she turned off the light and joined him. Finding his warmth, she stretched her length against him, found her favorite spot on his shoulder, and then pulling his muscular arm around her body, she rolled away from him pulling his arm along with her. He spooned her and rested his hand flat against her stomach. Finally at ease and feeling both loved and protected she relaxed. Within seconds, she shuddered with relief and fell immediately asleep.
Jarod stared at her and realized she wasted no time in getting to sleep. He came up here for a different reason but when he heard sounds of retching coming from her room he instantly became worried. Luckily he was standing in shadow when she came out. Darkness helped conceal his curious mixture of anxiety and desire for her. The bathroom light illuminated her as she stood in the doorway and once again he felt his heart constrict and the strange possessiveness he experienced before wash over him 10 fold. He would do anything to protect her as numerous questions clouded his mind. And when she gratefully snuggled up to his body, his possessiveness abated only partially as she wrapped him around her and fell asleep. He wouldn't allow anyone to harm her, including himself as he softly buried his nose in her fragrant hair. He would make love to her in the morning when she woke up. He had a feeling after this it would be some time before they would have another opportunity to enjoy each other without distractions.