Vanished
By Gemini-M
Chapter 11
Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in posting, but I hope this long chapter will make up for the wait. Thanks to Rev2004, Nans, bloodymary2 and phi4858 for reading my story and sharing your thoughts and ideas. They are very important to me and to the development of my story. Writing this story has been a lot of fun and now is almost done, but there are still a few more surprises ahead, so read, enjoy and review. Thanks.
"If a thousand old beliefs were ruined in our march to truth we must still march on." Stopford Brooke
Miss Parker's home
12:30a.m.
Parker burst through the kitchen door, making the paranoid techie nearly jump out of his skin. Trying to remain calm, Broots took a deep breath and returned to his frenzied typing on the keyboard, while he cautiously eyed the tall woman, waiting for her angry demands, but they never came. Instead, Parker walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself another cup of the dark liquid.
While sipping her coffee, Parker paced around the small kitchen for a few minutes before she approached the table and sat across from Broots without saying a word. Broots gave her a quizzical look and asked with concern, "Are you alright Miss Parker?
"Yes, I'm fine. Have you found anything?"
"Not yet Miss Parker, but I found something very strange."
"What?"
"I can't find anything about this bounty in the Centre's mainframe. I think that whoever placed this bounty on Jarod did it from outside the Centre and then erased all his tracks, but I think I can find out the source."
"How long will it take?" Parker asked impatiently.
"Not very long...I think." Broots replied nervously. "I'm running a tracking program and it's almost done." Broots paused momentarilycalculating his next words. "Miss Parker...whoever did this is very clever and knows his way around the Centre's mainframe and its firewalls...like Jarod."
Broots and Parker stared at each other momentarily as if reading each others thoughts, and then said simultaneously, "Alex!"
"Broots, if Alex posted this bounty a few hours ago, he might still be at that location with Sydney."
"And Jarod." Broots added.
Parker shot Broots a surprised look but quickly averted his eyes to hide the concern that was so visible in them. She took another long sip of her coffee then slowly placed the mug back on the table and sighed tiredly. "What's important right now is that we find Sydney in time, but if we manage to capture Jarod in the process, that would be a nice bonus." Parker said dryly. "Plus the Lab Rat owes me a good explanation for stealing my car."
"Miss Parker, I'm sure Jarod had his reasons." Broots said timidly. "Miss Parker, Jarod was very concerned about this guy, Alex, coming after you...us."
"YEAH RIGHT AND HE SHOWS HIS CONCERN BY LYING TO US ABOUT ALEX AND THEN RUNNING OFF WITH MY CAR." Parker growled. "WHICH I KNOW, HE PROBABLY DID JUST TO ANNOY ME."
"But Miss Parker..." Broots tried to object.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BROOTS; HERE YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE EXCUSES FOR HIM AFTER HE PUNCHED YOU!"
"OH NO Miss Parker is just that..." Broots said hesitantly. "J...Jarod didn't really want...uh..."
"WHAT?" Parker asked with exasperation as her eyes bore daggers at the suddenly mute Broots.
"MISS PARKER HURRY SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH ANGELO!" Sam's panicked voice interrupted the tense exchange, making Broots breathe out a sigh of relief.
Immediately, Parker abandoned her argument with Broots and leapt from her chair completely ignoring the pain that radiated throughout her bruised body. The tall woman drew her gun from her holster and dashed towards the family room with Broots at her heels babbling something about Alex finding them and being marked for termination.
"WHAT'S WRONG SAM?" Parker asked with concern as her eyes scanned the family room for signs of the empath or any intruder. "WHAT HAPPENED TO ANGELO?"
"I don't know Miss Parker. I just walked in and found Angelo sitting by the front door hugging his knees with a terrified look in his eyes." Sam explained puzzled. "I called his name, but he didn't react, then all of the sudden he flipped out. He covered his face with his hands, screamed something and fell to the ground."
"WHERE IS ANGELO NOW?" Parker asked almost in a panic.
"I don't know Miss Parker. When I reached for the little guy he panicked and crawled away from me, then he got up and ran towards the bedroom."
"Damn." Miss Parker cursed as she headed toward the bedroom leaving Sam and Broots staring at each other bewildered and confused.
In a matter of seconds, Parker reached the guest room where Jarod had been kept. The door was slightly open and the room was in total darkness. When Parker turned on the lights, the first thing she noticed was Thomas' clothes at the foot of the bed. As if hypnotized, she approached the bed and gently touched the nicely folded items. At first she was surprised to find them there, but she knew that Jarod had sensed how important these items were to her, despite her effort to hide her pain. Jarod knew her too well and that always bothered her. Parker snapped out of her trance and refocused her attention on the search for the distraught little man. She moved away from the bed, returned her gun back to its holster and continued to scan the room for signs of Angelo. In the far corner of the room, behind the dresser, Parker found Angelo. The empath was in a crouched position, hugging his knees close to his chest and rocking back and forth. Very slowly, Parker approached the terrified little man and kneeled in front of him, immediately noticing that he was holding something in his hand. When she looked closer, she recognized the item; it was Jarod's sunglasses. Suddenly, a chilling sensation traveled down her spine and paralyzed her with fear as she realized that Angelo's panic reaction might have come from the item he was holding.
"Angelo what's wrong?" Parker whispered, her voiced laced with fear.
Terror-stricken and with tears streaming down his face, Angelo raised his head and looked at the woman kneeling in front of him. His eyes reflected so much pain and fear that it made Parker gasped in shock.
Blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes, Parker insisted, "Angelo, please tell me what are you sensing?" Parker moved closer and carefully placed a hand on his arm. "Angelo has something happened to Jarod or Sydney?"
At that precise moment, Sam and Broots burst into the room in search of their boss. "Miss Parker...Miss Parker, have you found Angelo?" Shouted Broots but immediately froze in place when he received one of Parker's icy glares.
Startled by the men entering the room, the panicked empath shrank away from Miss Parker and resumed his monotonous rocking and mumbling while leaning against the wall in the corner.
Frustrated by the interruption, Parker turned around with fury in her eyes and waved at the two men to leave the room. Realizing their mistake, Broots and Sam nearly tripped over each other as they scurried out of the room.
Once they were alone again, Parker approached Angelo very slowly and sat in front of the shy and mysterious little man. Silently she prayed that her childhood friend would trust her enough to help them find Jarod and Sydney. Angelo was her only hope to find the two people that meant so much in her life. It had taken her too long to accept the importance of these two people, now she hoped that she would not be too late to tell them. Parker was overwhelmed with a feeling of fear and total helplessness, and even though she had the gift of the inner sense like her mother, she refused to embrace it for fear of discovering more lies and betrayal that would send her remaining sanity spiraling into madness.
Deeply absorbed in her thoughts, Parker didn't notice that Angelo had stopped rocking and had focused his attention back on her. Suddenly, Angelo reached forward, grasped her hand firmly and asked, "Daughter afraid?"
Parker gasped in surprise, momentarily unable to answer the question. She hesitated for an instant then lowering her eyes, she answered softly, "Yes Angelo, I'm scared for Sydney and...Jarod."
As soon as Jarod's name left her lips, Angelo curled into a tight ball and covering his face with his hand began to weep.
"Angelo, please tell me what's wrong?" Parker begged. "Did something happen to..."
"NOOOOOO!...LIES, LIES...PAIN...SAD." Angelo screamed in agony. "Friend...hurting bad."
"Please Angelo tell me where they are?"
"NO...NO...Friend lost...Pain...Giving up...Giving up." Angelo continued, his lips trembling with fear. "Can't say...Friend afraid...for you...and others."
Parker felt completely lost. She just could not reach the terrified empath. "Maybe it was too late already and once again she had waited too long to share her feelings with those most important to her." Parker thought to herself with a heavy heart as she reached up and wiped a stray tear from her cheek. When she looked down, Parker's eyes rested on Jarod's sunglasses next to Angelo. Cautiously, as if picking up a delicate flower, Parker gathered the glasses and looked at her friend with sadness in her eyes.
"Angelo is there anything you can tell me." Parker paused trying to control her emotions. "I will not hurt Jarod, I promise."
Angelo just shook his head crawled back to the corner and resumed his rocking.
"Miss Parker...Miss Parker." Broots whispered, peeking into the room.
"What is it Broots?" Parker asked jumping to her feet and approaching the man hiding behind the door.
"I KNOW WHERE THEY ARE!" Brootssaid excitedly.
"WHERE?"
"The bounty message was posted from Sydney's computer...his home computer!"
"THAT BASTARD! He was hiding right under our noses." Parker hissed. "Broots tell Sam to get the car and I'll bring Angelo out."
"Miss Parker what do you want me to do?" The techie asked nervously.
"You stay here in case Jarod tries to contacts you." Parker spoke over her shoulder as she approached the distraught little man and began to speak to him softly, "Angelo I need you to come with us. Jarod and Sydney might need your help."
"Find Jarod?" Angelo asked eagerly; his eyes blinking the tears away.
"I hope so Angelo. Will you help us?"
Angelo nodded and smiled slightly. Without further remark, he stood and began walking towards the door with Parker at his side.
"Miss Parker, do you think is a good idea to take Angelo with you?...I mean, he's pretty confused and panicky.
"I have no choice Broots. I might need Angelo's empathic abilities, in case they're gone when we arrive at Sydney's home."
"Yeah, I guest you're right." Broots agreed as he followed Parker and Angelo down the hall. "Miss Parker, please call me as soon as you find them."
"I will Broots."
"Good Luck Miss Parker."
"Thanks Broots." Parker gave him a sad smile and closed the door behind her.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sydney's Home
At the sound of the gun shot, Jarod flinched in sudden panic and sucked in a sharp breath, expecting it to be his last breath and a quick end to his miserable life. Then to his surprise, everything went totally silent. The only sound Jarod could hear was that of his labored breathing and racing heartbeat. Confused, Jarod wondered if his life was slowly slipping away or was this one of Alex's sick little games.
Forcing himself to face what had just happened; Jarod opened his eyes and gasped. A nauseating feeling overtook the pretender as his eyes landed on Alex's body stretched out on the floor a few inches away from his feet. When Jarod looked up, his eyes met those of his mentor. Sydney was kneeling by the couch, still aiming Alex's gun at the dead man, and for the first time since his arrival, Jarod noticed how terribly pale and fatigued Sydney looked.
"Sydney?" Jarod's concern voice made the psychiatrist look up in shock, just before exhaustion defeated the old man and he collapsed to the floor.
While holding his bleeding arm, Jarod leaned heavily against the front door and pushed himself to his feet. Once on his feet, and still a little wobbly, Jarod walked over to his mentor as quickly as possible.
"Sydney, let me help you." Jarod carefully helped the old man off the floor and sat him on the couch. Jarod could see that Sydney needed medical attention. He didn't appear to have any broken bones, but he had been beaten pretty badly and had several lacerations and bruises on his face and arms, plus he was very dehydrated and could be suffering from a concussion.
"Wait here and don't get up." Jarod ordered simply and disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later, Jarod returned holding a glass of water. "Here, drink some water, slowly."
"Sydney, I need to take you to a hospital. Can you make it to the car?" Jarod asked distressed.
"NO, I'M NOT GOING TO ANY HOSPITAL!" Sydney protested.
"Sydney, you need medical attention." Jarod argued softly.
"All I need is some rest, besides you look like you're in worse shape than me." Sydney said staring at his protégé's bleeding arm.
"I've survived worse than this Sydney. You should know of all people." Jarod said giving the old man an icy glare. The moment the words left his lips, Jarod felt regret, but the damage was done. The two men stared at each other silently for a moment then Jarod lowered his eyes and moved away from his mentor as he continued to apply pressure over the wound in his arm.
"Jarod, you need to take care of your arm." Sydney went on ignoring the young man's angry words.
"There is no time. We're not safe here." Jarod said agitated.
"Jarod, at least put a dressing on the wound to stop the bleeding." Sydney insisted, his voice laced with concern.
"Alright, do you have some bandages?"
"Yes, there is a first aid kit in the bathroom at the end of the hall." Sydney pointed in the direction of the hall.
Without any remarks, Jarod crossed the room and disappeared into the hall. Sydney followed his protégé with his eyes and shook his head tiredly. What was he going to do now to keep Jarod from disappearing forever? In a few minutes, Alex had destroy what had taken him a lifetime to achieve; Jarod's trust. But what he feared the most was Jarod's state of mind. Sydney could never forget the look of despair and pain in Jarod's eyes. The pretender had been shattered by this revelation and once again Jarod had lost the only family he thought he had.
Completely lost in his thoughts and overcome by exhaustion, Sydney began to doze off and didn't notice when Jarod re-entered the living room. The pretender approached the old man and tapped him on the arm. "Sydney wake-up."
Sydney woke with a start and gazed at his protégé with concern. "Jarod!...Are you alright?...How's your arm?"
"Fine." Jarod replied dryly. The tall man slowly walked to where Alex's body laid and picked up his gun from the floor. Jarod looked at the body of the fallen man and felt pain. He should be glad that Alex was gone, but instead he felt sadness. Alex might have been evil, but that was not his choice. The Centre exploited him and had stolen and mangled his life, just like they had done to him, and so many others. Yes, Alex was just like him, a man without identity or past; a mere science experiment and property of the Centre. Closing his eyes, Jarod whispered, "Rest in peace Alex, you're finally free."
Without a trace of emotion on his face, Jarod walked back to the old man and said, "Sydney, we have to get moving."
"Okay Jarod, but where are we going?"
"Some place safe but not too far." Jarod said as he started to help Sydney off the couch.
"We can go to my cabin in White Clouds." Sydney suggested quietly. "Is less than two hour drive, and Jarod, you're welcome to stay there as long as you like. You'll be safe there plus you can use the rest as well."
"NO, I have to get back to the Centre and find Ethan."
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" Sydney stopped suddenly and faced the pretender; his eyes wide with panic. "JAROD, WITH RAINES AND LYLE DEAD, THEY WILL BE LOOKING FOR YOU NOW MORE THAN EVER. YOU CANNOT GO NEAR THE CENTRE. THAT'S PLAIN SUICIDE."
"SYDNEY, I HAVE NO CHOICE." Jarod spat back angrily. "Ethan is my brother...half-brother. I have to stop him before he goes through with Alex's plan and kills more innocent people and himself."
"Jarod, there must be another way." Sydney begged. "You're in no condition to..."
"Not now Sydney." Jarod interrupted. "But there is someone who might be able to help me." Jarod said thoughtfully.
"Who?" Sydney asked carefully.
"Wait here." Jarod released the old man's arm and left him leaning against the front door. "Where is your computer?"
"It's in the den." Sydney answered with a frown, but chose not to push the pretender for answers.
Jarod rushed into the den and sat behind the desk panting. After logging in, he began typing feverishly. Once again he prayed that Angelo could come to his aid. Right now, the empath was the only person he could trust and the only one who could locate Ethan in the depths of that catacomb. Angelo had never let him down and Jarod knew that his friend would do his best to keep Ethan safe until he could reach the Centre. After sending the message, Jarod silently thanked Angelo again and left his mentor's peaceful den.
When Jarod returned from the den, Sydney gave him an expectant look, hoping that the stubborn young man would share his plan, but Jarod ignored his mentor's silent request and helped him out the door. "Do you need to take anything with you?" Jarod asked before closing the door.
"No, I have everything I will need at the cabin."
"Good. Wait here, while I get the car." Jarod said and disappeared in the darkness.
Sydney leaned heavily against the front door and closed his eyes. He could not believe that his ordeal was over and that he had survived, thanks to Jarod, but now he was faced with a bigger problem. Jarod was not dealing well with the shocking truth he had received. The pretender was angry, confused and was starting to isolate himself. "Catherine, I hope that we can save him this time." Sydney murmured sadly. Life had never been kind to Jarod and once again it had delivered another painful blow, but this time he was not going to cower away or allow the Centre's dark past to destroy this kind and gifted human being that he had raised and loved as a son.
The sound of the roaring engine and the bright beam of light from the car moving up the driveway brought the tired old man out of his reverie. Sydney stared at the little sports car wide-eyed and with mouth agape. Finally when he found his voice, Sydney frowned at the approaching pretender and asked, "Jarod, why do you have Miss Parker's car?"
"Necessity." Jarod said simply.
"She's going to be furious." Sydney mumbled under his breath.
Jarod heard his mentor's comment, but ignored it. Instead the pretender sighed tiredly and helped the old man into the little car. The sooner they were away from here the better, in case the authorities had been informed about the gun shot.
Once on their way, Jarod looked at his watch nervously. It was 12:45a.m and it had been over an hour since he last spoke to Mr. Broots. He had promised Broots that he would call him as soon as he had news on Sydney, but right now he needed to know about Miss Parker's fate. He felt a paralyzing fear taking over him as Alex's sinister words kept echoing inside his head, "I believe that by now Miss Parker is probably roasting inside her luxurious Centre town car...Gone forever."
Trying to repress Alex's torturous words and image from his mind, Jarod rubbed his eyes tiredly and shot a quick glance at the old man sitting next to him, but when this one tried to initiate a conversation, Jarod directed his attention back to the road ahead and on his search for the cell phone. Jarod reached inside his leather jacket and retrieved the small device. Without any explanation, Jarod quickly dialed the pre-programmed number for Mr. Broots and waited for the line to connect.
"He...llo?" A timid voice answered.
"Mr. Broots, I found Sydney."
"JAROD!...IS SYDNEY OKAY?...ARE YOU OKAY?...WHERE ARE YOU?"
"We're fine, Mr. Broots." Jarod said with weariness. "I'm taking Sydney to a safe place."
"WHAT ABOUT...ALEX?"
"Alex is dead." Jarod said completely detached.
"OH MY GOD!"
"Mr. Broots...is...Miss Parker...alright?" Jarod asked, fear evident in his voice.
"Jarod, Miss Parker and Sam are on their way to Sydney's home at this moment. Is that where you are?"
"SHE'S ALRIGHT?" Jarod repeated with shock.
"Yeah...yeah, she's fine. Thanks to Angelo. Man, she was very lucky. This guy, Alex, is a real PSYCHO, he tried to blow-up..."
"MR. BROOTS, I need to talk to Miss Parker, but she wouldn't answer her cell phone earlier." Jarod interrupted Broots' ramblings. "Do you have Sam's cell phone number?"
"That's because she forgot her cell phone at the Centre...Yes, wait a second. I'll give you Sam's number." Broots put Jarod on hold and quickly searched his cell phone directory. A few seconds later, he reconnected the call back and gave Jarod the number.
"Thank you, Mr. Broots."
"JAROD WAIT!" Broots called before the pretender ended the call. "Miss Parker is really...mad about her car, but she's also very concerned about the both of you."
"Good-bye, Mr. Broots." Jarod said flatly and disconnected the call.
Jarod placed his phone down and thanked his friend quietly, "Thank you Angelo." He was glad that Parker was alive, but the nightmare was far from over. Now came the hardest part, telling Miss Parker about Ethan's involvement in Alex's twisted plans and saying good-bye.
Nervously, Jarod raked his hand through his tousled hair, then cautiously looked over at the old man on the passenger seat, but was relieved to find him snoring softly. He would wait a few more minutes before placing the call to Miss Parker. To be on the safe side, he needed to put a little more distance between them and his relentless huntress.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Sydney's Home
1:00a.m.
Sam brought the Centre's black sedan to a sudden stop at the end of the shadowy driveway. The quiet neighborhood was shrouded in darkness and the only light illuminating their path was that of the faint moonlight peeking through the heavily clouded sky. The rain had stopped briefly, but the storm was far from over. Before exiting the car, Miss Parker turned towards the empath in the back seat and requested softly, "Angelo, you stay here. I'll be right back."
The strange little man looked at Miss Parker with sadness in his eyes, and after nodding his agreement he said in a tortured voice, "Jarod gone forever."
Parker was taken by surprised with Angelo's remark, but pushed it aside in her mind. Right now her only concern was to save her old friend and stop this madman. Parker gave Angelo a reassuring smile and stepped out of the car.
"Sam, take the back." Was all Parker said as she stalked towards the front door with her 9mm ready at her side.
When Parker reached the front door, she tried the door knob and to her surprise found it unlocked. Preparing herself for a deadly confrontation with the devil, Parker took a deep breath, pushed the door open and threw herself on the floor while frantically looking for her target, but instead she found herself lying a few inches from Alex's body. Terror-stricken, Parker covered her mouth with her hand to stop her piercing scream and quickly crawled away from the body, coming to rest against the front door. A few seconds later, Parker heard Sam's heavy footsteps coming from the hallway. When Sam reached the living room he immediately aimed his gun at the downed man. Very cautiously, the big man walked towards the body and checked for a pulse in the man's neck. "He's dead." Samassured the shaken woman. "Are you alright Miss Parker?"
"Yes... I'm fine...Sam." Parker answered trancelike, her heart still racing.
"Miss Parker, are you bleeding?" Sam asked concerned.
Not until Sam asked did she notice that her pants were covered with blood. When Parker looked down, she found herself sitting by another puddle of blood. "OH MY GOD!" Parker gasped as she jumped to her feet. She quickly closed the front door and looked around the room in shock. Suddenly, Parker noticed for the first time all the destruction in the room and a trail of blood across the floor.
"No Sam, this is not my blood. It must be..." Parker answered, her voice shaking with fear.
"Jarod's or Sydney's" Sam finished for her. "Miss Parker, this doesn't look good. Where do you think they went?"
"I don't know Sam." Parker answered, her eyes wondering around the room nervously before she met the sweeper's questionable gaze.
"Sam, check the other rooms in the house. Maybe they left something behind that can tell us where they went."
"Yes Ma' am!" Sam replied and quickly disappeared back into the dark interior of the house.
Still shaken up, Parker lowered herself down into the nearest chair she found, but her eyes continued to scan the living room, searching for any clue that could help them locate the wayward pretender and Sydney. When she looked at the couch across from her, Parker noticed something underneath. Temporarily ignoring her growing fatigue, Parker rushed over to the couch, kneeled down and retrieved the mystery item.
"MISS PARKER, I FOUND SOMETHING!" Sam called from the hall.
"Me too Sam." Parker replied, showing the surprised sweeper the gun as he entered the living room.
"Is that Sydney's gun?"
"I don't know Sam, but I'll find out. What did you find?"
"OH Yes, I found this backpack in one of the bedrooms." Sam said and handed the backpack to his boss.
Parker moved to the coffee table and emptied the backpack. "This is weird." Parker saidfrowning. "These are blueprints to the Centre's sublevels."
"MISS PARKER, LOOK AT THIS!" Sam exclaimed, giving Miss Parker a file.
"This is very weird. This file is all about Jarod's family; Names, Dates and locations of latest sightings and current addresses."
"Miss Parker, I don't understand. Jarod has been frantically searching for this information since he escaped from the Centre and now he leaves it behind. Why would he do that?" Sam asked puzzled.
"That's a very good question Sam."
Parker didn't like this at all. Something bad must of happened to make Jarod leave this file behind and, to make matters worse, they still had no clue about their whereabouts.
The room became eerily silent as Parker and Sam stared at each other confused and stunned by their discovery. Then at that precise moment, Sam's cell phone shrieked loudly, interrupting the uneasy silence and startling both occupants.
"It's probably Broots." Sam said nervously and quickly reached into his jacket's inner pocket to retrieve the noisy device.
"This is Sam."
"Sam, is Miss Parker with you?" The voice was faint, but Sam recognized it.
"JAROD?" Sam said alarmed, capturing Miss Parker attention immediately. The tall woman stared at the sweeper, her icy glare demanding the small device.
"Sam, let me talk to Miss Parker." Jarod asked simply.
"Yes, she's right here...Wait a second Jarod." Sam replied handling the phone to his boss.
"IS SYDNEY ALRIGHT?...WHERE HAVE YOU TAKEN HIM?" Parker shouted into the small phone, her voice laced with concern.
"Miss Parker...Sydney is okay" Jarod said almost inaudibly. "Are you alright?"
"ALRIGHT?...THAT PSYCHO, ALEX TRIED TO BLOW ME UP! THEN, I FIND OUT THAT YOU LIED TO ME ABOUT ALEX BEING THE KIDNAPPER, AND ON TOP OF EVERYTHING YOU PUNCHED BROOTS AND STOLE MY CAR!" Parker screamed angrily. "OH YES I'M JUST PEACHY, BUT YOU WON'T BE THE NEXT TIME I RUN INTO YOU."
"Miss Parker, not now please...I'll explain later." Jarod's voice was subdued. "Please listen."
"LISTEN TO WHAT JAROD?...MORE LIES?" Parker snapped at him.
"Miss Parker, I'm sorry I lied to you...I had no choice...Please listen."
Suddenly, Parker noticed something very strange in Jarod's voice. The pretender sounded tired and broken. He was apologizing to her and he was not teasing her or acting in his usual cocky way. This was not the Jarod she knew and her latent senses were telling her that something was very wrong. Taking control of her anger, Parker asked in a much calmer voice "Jarod, are you alright?"
There was total silence on the line and for a moment Parker thought that Jarod had ended the call again. "Jarod, are you there?"
"Miss Parker, Ethan...is involved." Jarod said, ignoring her previous question.
"WHAT?...WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S INVOLVED?" The panic was back in her voice. "DID SOMETHING HAPPEN TO ETHAN?"
"Miss Parker, please listen." Jarod pleaded, his voice filled with concern. "Alex managed to control Ethan with some kind of hypnosis and...made him set the explosives in Lyle's apartment and..."
"OH MY GOD!" Parker was now pacing the room like a caged animal. "JAROD, WHERE IS HE NOW?"
"Miss Parker, I'm afraid that Alex sent Ethan to the Centre to..."
"BLOW IT UP!" Parker finished for him.
"JAROD, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?"
"Miss Parker, we have to find Ethan and stop him before more people die." Jarod sounded desperate. "Miss Parker you need to evacuate the Centre and I'll go after Ethan."
"NO JAROD, YOU CANNOT GO NEAR THE CENTRE!" Parker cried out.
"WHAT?" Jarod was baffled by Parker's odd request.
"Jarod...There is a Bounty on you for twenty million dollars...Dead or Alive." The fear in Parker's voice betrayed her ice queen demeanor.
"The Triumvirate?" Jarod said simply.
"That's what we thought, but Broots discovered that the transmission came from Sydney's home."
"ALEX" Jarod's voice was emotionless.
"JAROD, I'LL FIND ETHAN."
"PARKER, YOU CAN'T..."
"NO JAROD!" Parker interrupted angrily. "YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LEAVE ME OUT THIS TIME. ETHAN IS ALSO MY BROTHER, AND SO HELP ME GOD, I'LL FIND HIM AND GET HIM OUT OF THAT HELL ALIVE."
There was another long pause before the pretender spoke again, "Okay Miss Parker...But try to find Angelo...He will help you search for Ethan." Jarod finally said defeated.
"Don't worry Jarod; I got Angelo and Sam with me. Together we're an unstoppable team. Parker said with a smile glancing at her surprised body guard.
Jarod closed his eyes for a second and sighed relieved. He knew that Angelo and Sam would protect Miss Parker and would not let any harm come to her. Now, he prayed that they would find Ethan before it was too late. Jarod glanced at his mentor fearing that he had heard their exchange or seen his reaction, but the old man was still dead to the world. Mournfully, Jarod thought about the last contact he would have with his friends. The pretender knew that when this nightmare ended, he would go his separate way and never see them again and strangely that idea weighed heavily in his heart. Even though, Miss Parker and her team hunted him across the country and made his life a living hell for the last six years, in a bizarre way, he cared about them. They were the only family he had ever known, but now he felt completely alone and lost.
"JAROD, HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE TO FIND ETHAN?" Parker's demanding tone jolted Jarod from his reverie.
"I don't know Miss Parker." Jarod said, but then he remembered something in Alex's cryptic e-mail. "WAIT, I remember something in Alex's e-mail. He said that The Centre would not see another sunrise." Jarod was silent for a moment.
Parker looked at her watch and said nervously, "Jarod...is 1:30a.m."
"Sunrise is at 5:23a.m...Miss Parker, you have less than 4 hours to find Ethan and get everyone out of the Centre...MISS PARKER, ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN...?"
"JAROD, YOU JUST TAKE CARE OF SYDNEY, AND I'LL FIND ETHAN AND EVACUATE THE CENTRE. Parker said with confidence. "JAROD, REMEMBER OUR TRUCE...DON'T YOU TRUST ME?"
"Yes Miss Parker, I trust you." Jarod said wearily.
"Jarod, can I talk to Sydney?" Parker asked softly, surprising the tired pretender.
"Sorry Miss Parker, he's asleep at the moment."
"Jarod, where are you taking Sydney?"
"I'm taking him to a safe place...Sorry, but I cannot tell you the location."
"I THOUGHT YOU TRUSTED ME?" Parker said annoyed.
"I'M THINKING ABOUT SYDNEY'S SAFETY." Jarod spat back frustrated then exhaled deeply trying to calm himself. "Miss Parker, I don't trust the safety of this line and I have a strange feeling that Alex was not working alone."
"Jarod, who else do you think is involved?" Parker whispered.
"I don't know Miss Parker, but I'll find out."
"Okay Jarod, but promise me you'll call back when Sydney is safe, and hopefully I'll have news on Ethan by then."
"Alright Miss Parker, I'll contact Mr. Broots." Jarod sighed tiredly, then after a short pause he spoke again, "Miss Parker, please be careful."
All of a sudden, Parker felt her stomach twist into knots. Something was not right and she had a gut feeling that Jarod was hiding something from her. Overwhelmed by the anxiety, Parker demanded answers; no longer hiding the panic in her voice, "JAROD WHAT'S WRONG?...YOU'RE NOT TELLING ME SOMETHING."
"Good bye Miss Parker." Jarod murmured softlyand then the line went dead.
TBC