Vanished
By Gemini-M
Chapter 5
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Author's Note: Glad that everyone is enjoying this little adventure, and I hope future chapters will be as intriguing. Thanks for the wonderful reviews to: ICD, pretender fan, phi4858, bloodymary2, and Elisa. Your words are very encouraging.
"Without forgiveness life is governed by an endless cycle of resentment and retaliation." Roberto Assagioli
Mr. Raines' home
"Miss Parker, what happened?" Broots asked with concern while staring at the dazedwoman sitting next to him. "Did something happen to Sydney?"
"Lyle is dead." Parker said emotionlessly.
"What?...How?" Broots said almost inaudibly.
"There was an explosion." Parker paused for a moment still processing the news. "And Sam found Jarod." Parker looked stunned. She tried to avoid Broots' eyes, but for a moment he had seen the emotional struggle in those deep blue orbs.
"J...Jarod?" Broots gasped. "Is he...dead?"
"NO, I'm not that lucky."Parker cursed, bringing her ice queen back in place. Noticeably annoyed she stepped out of the car and spat at Broots, "Lets go Shaggy, we still need to have our little talk with Beelzebub."
"I'll be right there Miss Parker." Broots said embarrassed as he struggled with his seatbelt. "It's stuck."
Miss Parker rolled her eyes annoyed and started walking towards Raines' house, leavingthe nervous techie fighting with the seatbelt. By the time Broots freed himself and caughtup with Miss Parker, she was already at the door ringing the bell.
"Sorry Miss Parker." Broots said almost out of breath. "I think there is no one home Miss Parker."
"Good observation Sherlock." Parker said sarcastically.
When there was no answer, Miss Parker walked to the window and tried to look inside, but the curtains were drawn. Not wanting to waste any more time, Miss Parker walked to the side of the house and opened the fence leading to the backyard.
"Miss Parker, where are you going?" Broots cried in panic.
"Looking for a way in."
"But...but what if a neighbor sees us and calls the police?" Broots whispered as he hurried behind his determined boss. "Miss Parker this is not right. I have a real bad feeling about this."
"Broots, SHUT UP!" Parker snarled.
Parker made her way to the backyard and when she tried the back entrance, fortune smiled upon her. The door was unlocked. Without hesitation, she turned the knob, slowly pushed the door open and drew her gun as she entered the house. Broots could feel his heart racing inside his chest and he felt sick to his stomach, but he could not leave Miss Parker alone now, especially after what Jarod had told him. He owed her and Jarod that much. He tried his best to swallow his fear and followed Miss Parker closely, although he still wished he was invisible or a hundred miles away from Satan's home. 'IF Raines finds us breaking into his home, we will probably spend the rest of our life in renewal wing or worse.' Broots thought to himself as he nervously wiped his sweaty hands on his pants and tried to stop the uncontrollable shaking of his knees.
"Miss Parker, we really could get in big trouble for doing this." Broots pleaded but nothing could persuade his boss to change her plans. The tall brunette just ignored his pleas and continued her search through the house.
"I hope we won't regret this. Wait, I'm already regretting it." Broots muttered to himself. "Am I the only sane person who thinks this is wrong?"
"Calm down Scooby, I don't think the Boogie man is home...yet."
Parker walked agilely past the empty kitchen and proceeded to the connecting dinning room. The house was shrouded in darkness and an eerie silence. The only sound they could hear was the ticking of a huge grandfather clock against the far wall of the dinning room. Beyond the dinning room, there was a spacious living room and a long hallway leading to numerous rooms. Miss Parker walked ahead into the living room and switched on the light on an elegant Tiffany lamp that sat on an end table. The lighting was low but sufficient for them see their surroundings. The room was elegantly decorated with a large Persian rug, antiques and priceless paintings, but it looked uninhabited and cold. At the back of the living room, Miss Parker noticed another door, possibly a den or office.
Before continuing towards the hallway, Parker turned around and grabbed Broots by the arm, making the distracted and paranoid techie jump to attention.
"Yes, Miss Parker?"
"Broots, I'll go check the rooms down the hall. You go check that room at the back of the living room." Miss Parker released his arm and started walking away, but Broots stood frozen on the spot. "NOW!"
"OH...Yes M...Miss Parker." Broots answered, his voice shaking.
As if walking on eggshells, Broots crossed the living room with his eyes fixed on the door of the room in question. As he neared the door, Broots darted his eyes around nervously and called out whispering, "M...Miss Parker, Miss Parker." But silence was all he heard in that vast room. Miss Parker was gone.
"Man, I hate this." Broots complained silently as his trembling hand reached for the doorknob. Slowly he pushed the door open a few inches and peeked in, but the room was in total darkness. Closing his eyes, he reached in with his arm and started to feel the wall for a light switch. "Where is the darn switch?" Broots cursed as he realizes he had no choice but to enter the room now. Finally crossing the threshold, Broots moved cautiously towards the middle of the room and the silhouette of a huge desk, hoping to find some source of light.
Once his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed a small table lamp on the corner of the desk. With a shaky hand he pulled on the small metal chain, and blinked when the brightness assaulted his eyes. The huge mahogany desk before him was covered with files, DSA's, toys, newspapers and red notebooks, like the ones Jarod left behind for them about his pretends. Broots frowned at the strange display and muttered, "What is Mr. Raines doing with all of these things from Jarod's pursuit? Maybe he's planning to put together a new retrieval team? And that means that we are...Oh My God, Miss Parker needs to see this."
Distracted by all the pretender paraphernalia on top of the desk, Broots had overlooked the elegant leather chair behind the desk. When he looked up, he noticed for the first time that the chair was turned facing the wall. Impulsively, Broots reached forward with one hand and rotated the chair around. When the chair completed its turn, Broots looked up and he was petrified. The scene before him was something out of a horror movie and as much as he wanted to run from that room and scream, his legs were rooted in place and his mouth just didn't seem to work at that moment. Broots felt as if his heart had stopped and he wasn't sure if he was still breathing. There before him, sitting on his elegant chair was Mr. Raines. A very dead Mr. Raines. The old ghoul's shirt was covered with blood, and from where he stood, which was too close, he could see at least three gunshot holes. Raines mouth was slightly open as if he was about to speak and his eyes held a cold sickening stare. He could almost feel his dead eyes reaching out for his soul.
"Broots...Broots did you find something?" Parker's voice made the terrified techie snapped out of his trance. Finally able to move his legs, Broots dashed out the door and almost into Miss Parker's arm.
"M...M...Miss...P...Pa...Parker." Gasping for breath and his face livid with shock, Broots tried to speak, but all he could do was stutter uncontrollably, "Blood...Ja...Jarod's...b...books."
"Broots calm down." Parker demanded as she grabbed the spooked man by the arms. "What happened?"
"He...He's...D...Dead." Broots answered, his voice shaking.
"Who's dead?" Parker asked concerned.
"There." Broots pointed to the room, unable to elaborate any further.
Leaving the distraught man standing alone in the middle of the living room, Parker hurried to the room Broots had indicated. When she approached the door and saw the scene inside, Parker gasped as her hand flew to her mouth to stop her scream. Immediately, her professional persona assumed control. She closed her eyes momentarily, slowed her breathing and switched off her emotions. The Centre had trained her well, and she had seen her share of corpses and murder scenes, especially some that would haunt her dreams forever, like her mother's and Thomas. This was just another casualty of the Centre and another job for the cleaners. The dead man before her might have been her fa...; she found it impossible to complete the word, but to her he was nothing more than a monster and the previous ruler of Hell.
"Looks like the Reaper was busy today." Parker said as she looked over her shoulder "First, Lyle's apartment and now this."
"BROOTS PUT YOURSELF TOGETHER AND GET IN HERE." Parker called out angrily.
"Sorry Miss Parker, is just that...finding...Mr. Raines like...that." Broots whispered as he avoided looking at the man behind the desk. "I almost had a heart attack."
"Calm down Shaggy. He can't hurt you anymore." Parker said with a sickly smile. "What were you mumbling about Jarod and the books?"
"All of these things from Jarod's pretend?" Broots pointed at the items on top of the desk. "Do you think Mr. Raines was assembling another retrieval team to remove...us?"
"That's a good question." Parker concurred as she moved around the desk. When she was behind Mr. Raines, she looked down, and her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Well, well what do we have here?" Parker reached down and picked up something from the floor.
"What is it?" Broots asked curiously.
"Looks like someone left us a clue." Parker rose holding an origami figure in her hand.
"What is that?" Broots frowned.
"It's Onisius, the Greek god of retribution." Parker's face turned serious. "Sydney and I found one just like this in Jarod's room at the beginning of the pursuit."
"Do you think Jarod killed Raines and...Lyle?"
Parker and Broots stared at each other in disbelief, as the same questions invaded their thoughts. 'Could Jarod had gone on a rampage and decided to take revenge against all the people who had stolen his life and made his existence a living hell?'
"No, Jarod can be many things, but he is not a cold-blooded murderer." Parker said almost inaudibly. "Besides, Raines and Lyle knew things about his family. Killing them would mean that he has given up and that's not Jarod. He will never give up. Not until he finds his family and the truth."
"Yeah, I don't believe Jarod did this." Broots said cautiously.
"Okay Sherlock, lets get out of here." Parker said annoyed and exhausted, as she ran her hand through her hair. "Sydney is still missing, our two main suspects are dead and I need to call Sam and find out if he got Jarod."
"Wait Miss Parker!" Broots cried out. "Don't we have to call the police or something?"
"NO, I'll call a clean-up team. With Sydney's life on the line, I don't want the police involved right now." Parker gave Broots a stern look and exited the room. Broots glanced once more in the direction of the gruesome scene and then ran after Miss Parker and out of the house.
Outside of Dover
The distinct sound of rain drops spattering on some kind of metal surface brought Sydney out of his mental haze. He felt miserable, and the pain in his head was unbearable. Furthermore to his disappointment, once again his face came in contact with the black material that continued to trap him in a world of darkness. But something had changed, the ground was no longer vibrating and now he was strapped to a chair. As his scattered thoughts began to form some sense of the whole situation, Sydney realized something. They had arrived at their destination. Desperately, he tried to loosen his bindings, but it was in vain. The ropes were very tight and he was too weak. He could not even remember when he had eaten last. Exhausted and frustrated from his lack of success, the old man sighed with resignation. He was at the mercy of his captors.
Suddenly, the sound of a door sliding open and then closing echoed through the room. From the way the sound had traveled, he was in a big empty room, maybe a warehouse, Sydney thought to himself. He turned his head slightly to track the direction of the footsteps as they approached. Then there was silence. He could sense that someone was nearby and watching him, but he remained quiet, waiting for the intruders to speak. He was not going to give them any satisfaction by showing his frustration and fear.
"Good afternoon Doctor." An unrecognizable voice broke the silence. "How are you feeling?"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Sydney asked sharply.
"Doctor, where are your manners?" The voice mocked. "It is impolite to answer a question with a question, and a distinguished professional like you should know that."
Without warning, Sydney's head swung violently to the side as a fist made contact with his forehead. The excruciating pain that erupted inside his head almost made him lose consciousness, but someone grabbed his shirt viciously and shook him until he was alert and back tothis place of uncertainty and pain.
"I'M THE ONE ASKING THE QUESTIONS, UNDERSTOOD?" The voice said furiously.
Sydney nodded obediently hoping that this madman would tell him what he wanted from him.
"Good. See, that wasn't so difficult." The stranger replied as he walked slowly around the bound man, like a predator stalking his prey. "Now; you probably are wondering why we brought you here. Well, the time has come to abolish the Centre." He paused to observe the older man's reaction. "And you are going to help me accomplish this. It is time to put an end to the Parker Legacy."
Sydney thought about the man's remark for a moment. All of the sudden, Sydney felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He was part of the plan. He was being used as bait to remove the main players, the Parkers.
"You are using me as bait to get to Miss Parker and the others." Sydney said more as a statement than a question.
"The Parkers are not the only ones in my list DOCTOR." The voice whispered in the old man's ear. "There is another who is more important to the Centre and to you."
Sydney gasped as realization hit him. "Jarod" His lips divulged the name before he could stop himself.
"Very good Doctor. You are a very clever man."
"Jarod will not fall for your trap." Sydney took a deep breath trying to remain calm. "Besides, we haven't heard from him in a long time. He has vanished."
"Not quite Doctor. I've been in contact with your Prodigy and he is doing everything just like I predicted or like you would say simmed. Once again, Jarod is the knight in shining armor." His captor laughed with satisfaction and then walked away to answer his cell phone.
Sydney remained quiet as this new revelation launched him into a state of shock, anger and desperation. His mind was in turmoil. He just could not perceive the notion that Jarod would jeopardize his freedom and his life to rescue him. 'Why would he do that for me?' Sydney shook his head in disbelief. 'I contributed to the theft of his life. I aided the Centre in their twisted experiments, while keeping him locked-up for over thirty years, and now I'm helping the Centre to hunt him like an animal." I'm a monster just like them.' As he was trying to analyze this inconceivable situation, a distant memory flashed before him, bringing bitter tears to his tired eyes and making his heart ache. It was the image of a young boy looking at him with love and concern, and then he heard his words, "I'll be your family Sydney." The same words he had tried to ignore and forget back then, but he never could because he cared for that little boy. Now he understood Jarod's motives. He was family, the only family that little boy had known during all his years of captivity. As more tears streamed down his face and his throat tightened with emotions, Sydney whispered a silent prayer for the man he had always seen as a son, but was too much of a coward to let him know.
Suddenly, an angry roar was heard across the large room, bringing Sydney out of his troubled thoughts.
"WHAT HAPPENED?"
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY TOOK HIM?" The voice said angrily.
"WHO TOOK HIM?"
"OKAY, FORGET IT." The man paused for a moment, and Sydney could hear him pacing. "Move to the next stage of the operation and don't fail. You know the consequences if you do."
Sydney remained quiet as the man approached him again. He didn't really want to infuriate this lunatic any further, but he had a gut feeling that something had gone terribly wrong with his plans and from his reaction, Jarod was probably involved.
He could hear the man preparing something nearby. He could hear the distinct sound of some plastic packaging being opened. With all his years of experience as a doctor and working for the Centre, it didn't take long for Sydney to figure out what was being prepared. It was some kind of intravenous feeding.
"Okay Doctor, I know you're not going to like this, but we cannot have you getting all dehydrated or starving during your captivity." The man said as he put a tourniquet on Sydney's arm.
"This is really not necessary." Sydney said with as much control as he could. "Why are you doing this, if you are going to kill me anyways?"
Once again Sydney was struck repeatedly across the face without mercy, while the psycho screamed his rules, "I'M THE ONE IN CONTROL HERE DOCTOR. I WILL DECIDE WHEN IT IS TIME FOR YOU TO DIE, AND REMEMBER WHAT I TOLD YOU ABOUT THE QUESTIONS."
Sydney could taste the blood on his lips as he nodded in compliance once again. Trying to ignore the pain, he prayed that this madness would end soon, but most importantly, he prayed for Jarod to stay away from this monster.
"Oh Doctor, I forgot to tell you. Your star pupil has run into some problems in his quest to save you."
"What happened to Jarod?" The old man asked cautiously.
"Well, it seems that he was a little too close to the explosion that killed Mr. Lyle and..."
"IS HE HURT?" Sydney interrupted again with concern clearly evident in his voice. "WHERE IS HE?"
"Doctor, I don't like to be interrupted when I'm speaking." The voice said with annoyance as he jabbed the needle into Sydney's arm, making the old man grimace in pain.
"I was informed that your prodigy is once again under the care of the Centre, and even though that was not part of my plan, it doesn't matter." The man teased. "I have a back-up plan and I can assure you that it will be successful with or without your pretender's help."
Sydney was stunned into silence with this new revelation. His heart sank within him and the pain of his guilt was suffocating. He had sworn to Catherine to protect them and ironically, he was being used as bait to lure them into a deadly trap. And to make matters worse, Jarod was hurt and locked away in that Hell again. "I'm sorry Catherine." Sydney murmured softly.
The sinister man walked around Sydney enjoying the evident torment the psychiatrist was experiencing as a result of his little game. In one swift motion the man reached forward and pulled the hood from his hostage's head. Sydney looked up startled, but the brightness blinded him momentarily. Slowly, his captor's face began to come into focus as his eyes adjusted to the light. The psycho just stood there smirking at him.
"Why are you doing this?" Sydney words trembled with repugnance as he tried to recognize the face before him. "You were the other..."
"I'm glad that you recognized me Doctor." The man interrupted. "That's funny because we never had the pleasure of meeting personally, since you were always too busy with your GENIUS." He paused and laughed. "But after today, Jarod will only be a chapter in your memoirs.
For a few moments, the two men stared at each other with a hatred that was palpable. Sydney could feel his blood boiling in his veins, and if it wasn't for his restraints, he would kill this psychopath with his own hands.
"YOU BASTARD, LEAVE JAROD ALONE. THE CENTRE IS THE ONE WHO KEPT YOU PRISONER NOT JAROD." Sydney snapped furiously at the man. "THEY ARE THE ONES WHO TURNED YOU INTO A SOCIOPATH."
Enraged, the man approached Sydney and punched him on the face. Placing his hands on the arms of the chair, he leaned forward until his face was a few inches from Sydney. He looked at the old man menacingly and said, "I REALLY DON'T CARE DOCTOR. YOUR GENIUS HAS ALWAYS BEEN A THORN IN MY SIDE LIKE THE CENTRE. THIS TIME I WILL BRING THE CENTRE TO ITS KNEES, I WILL DESTROY ALL THOSE WHO BETRAYED ME, AND I WILL KILL JAROD." The disturbed man said with an evil smile. "MY WRATH WILL ANNIHILATE THEM ALL."
Once again Sydney's world almost faded into blackness. Trying to remain conscious after the brutal blow, Sydney blinked and shook his head slightly. "You will not get away with this." Sydney slurred out. "If you hurt Jarod or Miss Parker, I will kill you."
The madman ignored the old man's threats and walked away as his laughter echoed through the huge empty warehouse.
Outside Lyle's apartment.
Sam pulled his cell phone from his breast pocket and glanced at the unconscious man in the back seat of the town car. He still could not believe how well his plan had work, and how quickly he had convinced the paramedics to release the pretender under his care. Sam smiled as he recalled the look of shock in Jarod's face when he saw him standing in the ambulance door.
He raised the phone to his ear and waited for the line to connect. After a few minutes an irritated female voice answered.
"Miss Parker, this is Sam." The man straightened in his seat, as if coming to attention, before giving his report.
"I don't know ma' am, the fire-fighters are still putting out the fire and they had not recovered any bodies yet."
"Miss Parker, do you want me to wait here until I find out something about Mr. Lyle's fate?" Sam listened carefully for his boss' next order.
"No ma' am, Jarod is right here with me. He didn't get away this time." Sam stated proudly.
"Sorry ma' am, but he is out cold." Sam paused for a moment before explaining. "He was a little uncooperative and I had to use some force to restrain him."
"No Miss Parker, I was able to take him away from the authorities without problems." Sam proceeded to explain how his brilliant plan had worked in capturing the elusive pretender. "I told the paramedics that Jarod was my brother-in-law and that he had wondered off after having one too many drinks." Sam grinned widely as he heard Miss Parker's laughter in theline. "Then I added that if something happened to him, my sister would just kill me! After that, they just handed him over to me without any questions."
"Thank you Miss Parker." Sam replied beaming.
"DO YOU WANT ME TO TAKE HIM TO YOUR HOME?" Sam asked surprised. "But Miss Parker..."
"No ma' am, there is no problem, is just that the paramedics told me that he should be taken to a hospital. They said that he had a concussion and he might have a few broken ribs." Sam looked over his shoulder to check on the unconscious pretender. "Miss Parker, he got messed up pretty bad." Sam said with some concern. "From what was left of Lyle's apartment, Jarod is lucky to be alive."
"Okay, Miss Parker." The sweeper replied somewhat confused after listening to his boss' instructions and latest development. Sam looked at his watch; It was already 6:15pm. "Yes Miss Parker, I understand. I'm about half an hour from your home. I'll meet you there." Noticeably puzzled, Sam stared at the ruins of Lyle's apartment while he closed his cell phone and returned it to his jacket breast pocket.
"Now that Mr. Raines and Mr. Lyle have gone the way of the dodo, who's going to be running the show?" Sam asked himself. Before pulling away from the curb, Sam looked back once more to check on his passenger and replied, "Boy, you're in for quite a surprise when you wake up. I wouldn't want to be in your shoes right now."
TBC