-Chapter Four : Hello and Goodbye -

Jarod had been in the Bronx, finishing a pretend that evolved a doctor of a free clinic selling babies that he pronounced dead to low income families that in truth was actually being sold to wealthy people on the black market... when he got the email. It was so unexpected, so out of left field. He had talked to her a couple nights ago, and she sounded fine. So what was this? What's happening. He read it again and he almost cringed as the words sinked into his genus brain:

Dear Jarod,

I wanted to tell you before you heard from Sydney or Broots...I think you at least deserve to hear it from me. I'm leaving-- disappearing. I have to, and it's time. Jarod, these last two and half years since we became friends again were the best years of my life. And I will never forget you. I'm so sorry, Jarod, but I can't tell you why I'm finally leaving. or where I'm going, but please know that I love you. I have always loved you. And I love you enough to let you go. After all that the Centre put you through, you deserve happiness. You deserve the life, and the family you always craved. And as much as I want to be with you, I can't. Do me a favor, Jarod? Find some nice girl to settle down with, and have some kids. That will make me happy. By now Sydney and Broots probably noticed that I'm gone. Don't search for me, just love me enough to let me go.

Goodbye,

M.

He felt the tears that had been building up with each word spill down his handsome face. How could she leave him behind? How could he not hear her voice again. Or see her beautiful face again? The thought left him empty inside. It couldn't be true. This had to be some kind of joke, right? Some sick, practical joke.---She couldn't be gone!

Jarod quickly grabbed his cell phone, activated the phone scrambler, and pushed the speed dial that instantly connected him to his mentor.

"This is Sydney." the older man answered with his usual calm voice.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know, Jarod." He didn't even pretend to not understand who 'she' was. The younger man could hear the now evident sadness and worry laced in with his light French accent.

" What do you mean that you don't know? What happened? Please tell me I have to know, Sydney." he uncharacteristically begged.

" Last night Master Parker was abducted from one the sub levels."

"What, do you mean it was another strike by the phantom?"

"How did you know about that?" Jarrod's mentor asked Incredulously. Although they were rumors running rapid about this vigilantes, any true information was deemed the highest classification.

"Angelo."

Why should he be surprised? Angelo, for some one who basically has the mind of a child, but has the intelligence and cunning to get into almost anything that Centre can hide.

"Yes, it was. Raines and Lyle are highly upset at the moment." Sydney said with trace of amusement lingering in his voice.

" Good for him. So what does the Phantom's newest conquest over the Centre, has anything to do with Ms. Parker?"

"Because Jarod, they suspect that Ms. Parker is the Phantom. And the strange part about it is...that I have to agree with them this time." he said slowly.

"What! Ms. Parker is a lot of things, but she would never..."

"Never what? Over the last two or three years I've seen the change. She's not the same person that walked into her father's office eight years ago. And besides, it's completely understandable that she would do such a thing when it came to Master Parker. "

Jarod was confused. Okay, she was close to Master Parker. She was the only person who would show any interest in the child, but why would she abduct him? Last time she checked, she was still under the Centre's thumb. Not voluntarily, but still why would she risk everything to kidnap her brother? Yet what about what Sydney just said. She has changed these past few years. Their late night phones calls, and the email he received today was an example. Jarod still had the burning question of Why? If she was the phantom, why wouldn't she tell him? Why wouldn't she come to him for help?

"Jarod? Are you still there?"

"Yeah, Sydney, I'm still here, but why would she take him Sydney? Why would she wait to till now to take him?"

" You should know that answer, Jarod."

"Sydney, what are you talking about!" Why was this conversation becoming more confusing by the second. And why wasn't he giving him straight answers. He inwardly cringed at the irony. It was usually the other way around for him. He would give the cryptic answers.

"She didn't tell you?" gasped Sydney in shock.

"Tell me what!"

"Master Parker is not her brother as she previously thought, Jarod. Master Parker is her son. Ms. Parker's and Yours."

Lyle and Raines were in seriously in trouble. It seemed like their lives were falling around them like dominoes. And what they didn't know then is that Ms. Parker had acutely engineered their slow and painful demise. They knew that if they didn't get Ms. Parker and her son back that their lives would soon become expendable. Another murder in the line of murders that Centre would never be punished for. For the last week or so, the Centre has been in a relative tale spin. Sydney and Broots were being investigated for any suspension of aiding Ms. Parker with extracurricular act ivies. Lyle couldn't believe it. He was shocked that Ms. Parker got one over him. His sister that couldn't even catch one lab rat! Yet even that came under suspension now. Was she secretly helping him all along? Was she Giving him inside information? He just shrugged. Who knew what the truth behind it was?

He looked at the folder on his desk, and griminced. The new pretender project. What a waste! A complete and utter waste. All the money time and effort, might as well be for nothing if they didn't retrieve him. Master Parker for the last four years was being groomed for the New Pretender project, in light of Jarrod's long absence. And now even that has slipped between their fingers.

So later, when Lyle was summoned that Friday afternoon to Raines office. On the outside he was calm and confident as ever. Yet on the inside he was pent up ball of frustration and fear. He wasn't surprised to be called once again to Raines office. The man was as desperate as he was at this point. Lyle strolled passed Raine's sectary, and through the huge double doors of the chairman's office, and found himself face to face to the ghoul himself. Oh joy.

" Mr. Lyle...any...news...on...Ms. Parker...and...her...son." he rasped through his breathing tube.

Lyle physically gulped. He didn't like this feeling of being completely helpless. Ms. Parker, turned out to be as elusive as Jarod. When the woman disappears, she does just that-- disappears. Like off the face of the earth!

" No, there was no trace of her, since we found her car abandoned in Dover."

The older man's eyes seemed to burn with anger at Lyle's incompetence. His pale skin literally turning red as his anger grew. He knew as well as Lyle that if he didn't find both Parkers that their lives will pay the forfeit.

" Find...them...now!" he ordered. Lyle nodded his head and without a another word he whirled around and marched out of Raine's office. The farther he got away from Raines, the better he would feel.

Sam was glad that she had a nice month long holiday coming to her after the follow up briefing after her return from Belios. SG-1 had been specular busy this past few months. From fighting Anubus's super soldiers, Daniel's detour in Honduras, and other nasty missions that they have been subjected two. Then add the link, and the weird emotions she's been getting lately...and the result was a very edgy Major Samantha Carter. General

Hammond finally realized that his best team was well on their way from being burnt out. And he needed them fresh and bushy tailed encase another world ending event happened. So with the support of Colonel O'Neil, Gen. Hammond gave them a month's leave, after another stimulating debriefing. Once again, (thanks to SG-1) Earth was already on their way of negotiating a treaty with the fair people of Belios.

After the debriefing, Sam quickly said good bye to her fellow teammates and friends Then scurried to her lab, to shut down her experiments she had running, distributing any other work that she wasn't going to take home with her (of course, didn't not completely work when she was holiday. She hadn't completely lost her mind!) to her associates and lab assistants. Sam was just about to leave when she was cornered by the star of her nighttime fantasizes--Jack.

"Hey Carter, you sure are in the hurry to get out here." he stated.

"Yes sir, I am." she replied non chantey.

"Hot date, Carter?" he asked as his curiosity's was peaked by her sudden urgency to leave base, when it usually took the jaws of life to remove her from her lab. And at that point, Sam had a delicious idea. He was always getting one up on her...

"Sorta sir."

She what! Jack suddenly felt the green eyed monster take hold of him. And as much as he had...feelings for her. He shouldn't be surprised that some lucky bastard got her attention. / I mean, we aren't dating...it's against regs and all but still.../

"Are you okay, sir?" she asked as the twinkle in eyes was replaced with something else.

" So anybody I know."

"Um...er...no not really, sir."

"Oh, well I better get going. I'm going up to my cabin for a couple of weeks. I was going to ask if you come up with me, but you have other plans..." Okay now she felt bad for lying, but she had to get him back for last week's practical joke he did on her! Itching powder in her BDU"s . C'mon!

"Sir...er...um... I lied. Look! I really don't have date. Not if you don't count the one my bike."

His eyes crinkled in confusion. /Why did she lie/

" I was just playing around with you, sir. And besides you deserve it for the itching powder. "

" Carter..."

"Yes sir?" She asked as she grabbed her brief case, and headed to the locker room to change.

"You're evil."

"Thank you sir."