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A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to post. I've been very busy and waiting for some reviews. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 15: A Step off the Edge

Miss Parker stepped off the elevator and headed for her office. Sleep had eluded her all night. Each time she closed her eyes, images of her mother and Jarod appeared. She knew she was betraying both of them by bringing Jarod in. And bringing Lyle with her would most likely make matters worse. But, there wasn't much else she could do. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

Another reason for her lack of sleep was the fact that Lyle had been right. Miss Parker had found a few bugs located in lamps, cushions, etc and had not been happy. If Lyle was right, then someone (Raines) had been watching her this whole time. What an idiot she had been! You couldn't trust the Centre farther than you could throw it. The only good thing to come out of it was the fact that Lyle was no longer a liar: his slate was wiped clean, once again.

Miss Parker pushed open the door to her office and walked in. A movement made her start. It was Lyle sitting in one of the chairs, a small suitcase leaning against the chair leg. He looked ready for anything.

"What are you doing here?" Miss Parker grumbled, wishing she had thought to grab a cup of coffee on the way to work.

"You told me to me to meet you in your office, so here I am." Lyle said, glancing at Miss Parker with as innocent a look as he could make. She groaned.

"I said in the afternoon, not in the morning. The plane won't leave until 2:30. Why did you come so early?" Lyle looked at his watch.

"Oh, I see. I'm sorry. I just wanted to be here so we could go over anything you needed to brief me on."

"I hate mornings." Miss Parker whispered to herself, heading over to her desk.

"What?"

"Never mind. I'm sorry. I didn't get any sleep last night." Lyle's familiar smirk found its way onto his face.

"What, a late night visitor?" He asked, his usual self resurfacing for an instant. Miss Parker glared at him, knowing he wasn't talking about Jarod.

"Shut up." She reached behind her desk and pulled open one of the drawers. She had spent last night going through most of the files on Jarod again. There hadn't been much in there; mainly it was stuff she had already known.

Jarod was a pretender, a genius who could become anyone he wanted to be by just thinking or reading about it. The Centre had acquired him and used him for various simulations. At thirteen, she, Jarod, Angelo, and Kyle had disappeared along with Catherine Parker. Several searches had been made but nothing was ever found. They had disappeared without a trace.

Of course, Jarod couldn't stay away. Miss Parker thought with a shake of her head. Over the past five years, seven mainframe breaches and ten million dollars stolen had all been attributed to Jarod. No direct evidence, however.

Miss Parker pulled her gun out of the drawer. She didn't take it home with her. Lyle looked at the gun and patted his side.

"I've got mine, too. Do you really thing we'll need them?"

"I don't know. I hope not. Mom wouldn't be too happy. And I don't want to make this any worse than it already is. Jarod will just hopefully comply and come with us."

"Yeah, Mom." A spark appeared in Lyle's eyes. He was anxious to meet Catherine Parker and Miss Parker couldn't blame him.

"The plane takes off around 2:30. We should land around 4:30."

"We'll be home in time for dinner." Lyle said sarcastically. Miss Parker nodded.

"I doubt we'll be the best dinner guests, though. Anyway, why don't you go find stuff to do? I want to go over these reports one more time. Be back here at the office around 2:00. Okay?" Lyle nodded and walked out.

The hours flew by. Miss Parker spent it rereading some of the files with information that was new. Lyle, well, it's probably better left unsaid what he was up to. Miss Parker really didn't want to know. At 2:00 sharp, Lyle stuck his head into the office.

"Ready?" She nodded, grabbed the gun and suitcase she had brought with her and walked out the door. A breathless Broots greeted her outside the door.

"Miss Parker, do you have a minute?" He asked, clutching a few folders of paper work in his hands.

"Not really. We have to go down to the airport and pick up the Centre jet. I don't have time to talk." She moved down the hall. Broots followed her.

"But, it's really important. You're going to want to see this."

"Broots, I'm in a hurry. Please. Can't it wait until I get back?" She asked, stepping into the elevator.

"But…" His last words were cut off as Miss Parker pushed him out of the elevator and the doors shut. She sighed. It probably had something to do with the portals, but she was not in the mood to hear it. All Miss Parker wanted to do was get Jarod and bring him in. Lyle glanced at her but said nothing. Miss Parker shook her head. This day was going to get longer.

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"I don't get it, Sydney. She wanted all this information about portals but now that I have it, she doesn't want to read it!" Broots exclaimed, pacing up and down Sydney's office. Sydney leaned back in his chair and thought about it.

"She's been under enormous pressure since she got here to help them locate Jarod. Maybe she had an important place to be and didn't have time to stop and chat." Sydney suggested.

"I guess so. Mr. Lyle was with her and she probably didn't want him to get too curious. Those two have been really buddy-buddy for the past few days. Have you noticed that?" Sydney nodded, but didn't comment. An ugly idea was forming in his head.

"Did she tell you where she was going?" He asked, looking at Broots. The technician shook his head.

"No, but she seemed really agitated, like it was no where fun. Why? What are you thinking?" Sydney rubbed his chin and glanced up at Broots.

"She knows where Jarod is. I overheard Willy talking to another sweeper that they got Miss Parker to confess. I think she's gone to bring Jarod back." A panicked expression flashed across Broots' face. Reaching over, he picked up the file of papers on the desk and began rapidly flipping through them. Finding what he was looking for, he handed it back to Sydney.

"You better take a look at this." Sydney read the paper and paled.

"We've got to go after her." He whispered, reaching over and picking up the phone. "Broots, you're going to come with me." Broots' protests were silenced by Sydney raising his hands. It would have been impossible to argue with the shrink anyway. A plane left the airport at 3:30 and there were still seats. Sydney bought two seats and hung up. He and Broots were on their way to Florida.