The New Pretender

When Jarod awake the next day it was 1 in the afternoon. He was surprised and happy at the same time. He slept 11 hours straight with no nightmares. He got up and stretched then walked into the bathroom for a shower. He set the shower to the temperature he liked it and peeled off his clothes. Stepping into the shower was pure bliss. The hot water cascading down his back un tightening his muscles. Washing up fast he filled the tub up and sat down letting more of his muscles loosen. He must have fallen asleep because the water was cold.

He stood up and grabbed a towel from the towel rack, wrapping it around his waste he let the water drain and stepped out. He grabbed a small towel and used it to dry his hair. Walking out of the bathroom, he took his laptop out and the picture of his mother and Catherine Parker popped up. He kneeled on his knees and was studying the picture. Shutting his laptop hard, he stood and started to get dressed. Pulling on a pair of jeans and a black muscle shirt, which showed all of the muscles in his back and chest along with his six-pack. Picking up the phone he dialed a familiar number.

"Hello this is Sydney."

"You know I slept 11 hours straight last night with no nightmares." Jarod said happily.

You could hear the relief in Sydney's voice and the smile. "I'm happy for you Jarod. How are you? I haven't heard from you in at least a month."

"I'm fine Sydney. Just been busy with a few new jobs. Hopefully I start a new one in a few days."

"Oh", he asked. "Where might that be maybe you could teach me a thing or two." Jarod chuckled.

"Don't jump ahead of yourself Sydney." He was about to reply when there was a voice from Sydney's side of the conversation. From the sound of it they had to be in their teens. "Sydney I'm finished", said the voice. It was a girl's voice. He sighed and replied. "I'll be right there Charlie."

Now Jarod was more alert and he balled one of his hands into a fist. "Who was that? It didn't sound like Debbie Broots or has she got that big already?"

"No Jarod she's another preten- I mean another one of my projects." No matter how he said it, Sydney knew it would make Jarod angry.

Jarod's whole body tensed on the other side of the phone. "No she's not. She's another pretender. Are you starting that back up? Huh? How long has she been there? How old is she?" Jarod slammed his fist into the wall. "DON'T YOU PEOPLE LEARN? WHAT SHE DOING SYNDEY FINISHING MY DIRTY WORK?" Jarod was getting angrier when he wasn't getting a answer. He took a deep calming breath. "Sydney please answer me."

"No Jarod I'm not starting anything back up. She was handed to me a couple months before you escaped she was eight years old and a small thing. She was born here and handed to Raines straight away. I'm sure we both know what happens when Raines get's a child handed to him. It took me a while to get her to trust me Jarod. She's 15 and very small for her age but she's a good kid. She is a smart pretender Jarod, very smart. I shouldn't be telling you this."

"Who were her parents Sydney?" By this time Jarod was sitting on the bed feeling helpless. Another life lost to the Centre. He shook that thought out of his mind.

"I don't know Jarod. I did my job and never asked questions. Her father obviously had to be a dominate gene for the Pretender gene and her mother was probably a carrier. She has a higher IQ then yours Jarod but she's skittish. I believe when her mother hit a mature level they took her egg's and ran test and found out the child would be an exceptional pretender. So they had to find the opposite male and they found a surrogate mother and killed her after the baby was born. I know that much but I do not know who her father is Jarod I'm sorry."

"Sydney you stole my life and all you can say is 'I did my job and never asked questions'. Now you're stealing her life. Please Sydney find out who her father is."

Sydney sighed "Okay Jarod. I'll have Broots find out for you."

"Thank you Sydney." Then Jarod hung up. He stood up and started pacing around his room. Thoughts racing through his mind. How am I going to save her? I've been in and out of the Centre but that was more or less by myself. How am I going to get her to trust me to bring her out? Sighing he sat down and waited for the e-mail from Sydney.