Disclaimer: I don't own anyone.
A/N: The verdict is in. The infamous Mr. Lyle shall… live. So everyone can breathe easier. But, beware. For him to live someone else must die! evil laugh
Chapter 19: A Hope Rekindled
Miss Parker drank a sip of hot chocolate that had been handed to her by Sydney. They had been in the waiting room for over six hours while Lyle was in surgery. Nobody could tell them if there was any chance of survival for him. Apparently, one of the bullets had barely missed Lyle's heart while the other one had pierced a lung. She knew, like Sydney and Broots, that the chance of his survival was slim.
The whole trip up to the hospital had been a whirlwind. Miss Parker had watched the paramedics work on Lyle, trying to keep him alive. One of them had treated her head wound, but offers of further help had been ignored by her. She just wanted them to help Lyle. Once at the hospital, they had rushed him into immediate surgery and had told her she had to wait out here. Miss Parker ran a hand through her crumbled hair. It was now a little after 2:00 in the morning. She doubted she'd be getting any sleep tonight.
"Can I get you anything, Miss Parker?" Broots asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She shook her head.
"No, Broots. But, thanks." She offered him a tiny smile. "What was it that you were trying to tell me before I shoved you off the elevator?" Broots opened his mouth to reply but shut it fast as he looked around.
"Oh, no." He whispered.
"What is it?" Miss Parker questioned.
"The papers. I had all the papers with me, but I just remembered that when you aimed the gun at us, they went everywhere. I'm sorry, Miss Parker." Miss Parker wasn't listening. Those papers needed to be retrieved before the wrong person got their hands on them. Lyle would most likely be in surgery for another two hours. This would give her something to do. Something to hold on to while her brother fought for his life.
"Sydney, I need to borrow your keys." She said, striding up to Sydney and holding out her hand expectantly. Sydney glanced at Broots, who shrugged his shoulders. Sydney handed over the keys.
"Where are you going?"
"Someone needs to retrieve those papers Dumbo over here dropped. If the Centre finds out we have them… well, it won't be good for any of us. Call my cell if you hear anything about Lyle." She turned before either could reply and walked down the hall. Broots and Sydney looked at each other, but didn't say a thing. They just watched Miss Parker's retreating form until it turned a corner.
The drive back to the house was short, but suspenseful. Miss Parker knew that sometimes sweepers would come back and look over places to make sure they didn't miss anything. If that had happened, they would know that she and the others had access to the portal files. Gripping the steering wheel hard, Miss Parker cursed silently under her breath, all the while willing her thoughts away from Lyle. She couldn't think of her brother lying in a hospital bed, being cut opened. Tears sprang into her eyes, but she wiped them away.
Pulling up into the driveway, she glanced around, but saw no living thing. Reaching for her gun, she cursed again when she realized it still was in the house. Deciding the best course of action would to be to just walk right in through the front door, Miss Parker stepped onto the porch. The sound of wood creaking made her cringe. She might as well let the whole world know she was coming for a visit.
Pushing open the door, she peeked inside the silent house. Nothing. No bullet shots, no one to greet her, just eerie silence. Confidence building inside her again, she walked on inside. A quick glance to the floor, however, made fear sweep in. Broots had dropped the papers in the foyer. That's where she had challenged them. But the papers were no where to be found.
"Damn it!" She hissed, running a hand through her already disheveled hair. So the sweepers had come back and taken the papers. Damn. Damn. And damn. Miss Parker knew there would be a price to pay when she got back. A sigh escaped from her lips. If the Centre had those papers, she would never be able to get back home. Scooping up her gun from the floor, she turned to leave.
"What are you looking for?" The voice spoke out of the darkness. Miss Parker screamed and turned gun raised. A figure sat on the bottom of the stairs, head tilted. Miss Parker couldn't see who it was, but shivers crept up her spine.
"Who are you?" She demanded, still holding the gun aloft. "Tell me what you want or I promise you, I'll shoot." The creature laughed and Miss Parker lowered her gun. She knew that laugh.
"You want these?" He asked, holding up a stack of papers. "Of course you do. Very important to Miss Parker." He said in answer to the question. Getting up from the steps, Angelo stepped into the light of the lamp burning outside.
Miss Parker looked at him and wasn't sure what to do. Mentally, she slapped herself for not realizing he would be here. Didn't the files say Angelo escaped as well? Angelo took a step toward her and involuntarily, Miss Parker took a step back. Angelo was always unpredictable. There was no knowing what those papers had done to his empathy.
"Here." Angelo said, seemingly unfazed by Miss Parker's retreat. He laid the papers on the floor and went back to sitting on the bottom step. Miss Parker knelt down to retrieve the papers. A quick glance through them showed that they were everything she needed and wanted and more. A smile found its way onto her lips.
"Thank you, Angelo." She said, giving the man her smile. Picking up the papers, she turned to go. A small chime made her look at Angelo. He hopped up from the steps and went into the kitchen.
"It's time for my medicine." He replied to her unspoken question, before he disappeared in the darkness. Memories of another time and place flooded Miss Parker's thoughts. Angelo's treatment. She remembered the formula Jarod had made and how Angelo had given it all up to save the life of another little boy. How her stupidity had cost Angelo his freedom.
Miss Parker walked into the kitchen and watched Angelo retrieve the antidote to his condition. It seemed that this Jarod was just as smart as the one she knew. He had created the same formula to save this man's life. And for that, Miss Parker was thankful. Angelo glanced up at her and smiled. Pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, he handed it to her.
"Here. You need to read this." Angelo told her, while getting ready to stick the needle in his arm. Miss Parker turned the kitchen light onto low and read the paper. It seemed to be a summary of the whole portal project. But it was the last lines that made her gasp.
"We believe that by opening up these portals, we can bring someone back to capture Jarod. It's been proven that other worlds exist out there. In them, we've found that Miss Parker has always been instrumental in Jarod's captivity. Our plan, if approved, will be to see if we can bring one of those copies of her into this world to bring our Jarod back. It will be risky, but the risk will be for Miss Parker and Jarod, not to us.
Miss Parker couldn't breathe. They had purposely brought her here to capture Jarod? Another scan showed that the plan had been approved… by Mr. Raines and Mr. Parker. She clutched the kitchen counter in an effort to stay on her feet. So her daddy knew about this? And this was why they had all accepted her back with open arms. She had played right into their hands. She had done everything they had planned. And now her mother, Kyle, and Jarod were all prisoners. A tear slipped from her eyes and fell down her cheeks. A hand was laid on her shoulder.
"Don't cry." Angelo whispered, tugging a Kleenex out of his pocket. "There's still something we can do. Something we can do to save them all."
"What are you talking about?" Instead of answering, Angelo dragged her out of the kitchen and up the stairs. They entered a room Miss Parker saw must have been his. Kneeling down beside his bed, Angelo brought out a bunch of blueprints. Centre blueprints.
"Angelo, how did you get those?" She asked, kneeling right down next to him and looking at them all. Angelo shrugged.
"Does it matter? They're going to be our way of getting Mom and the others out." Miss Parker thought she should have been shocked by Angelo calling her mother "Mom", but found it didn't bother her. Catherine had to have played mother to all of them.
"There's no way, Angelo." She tried telling him gently. "All Centre exits are guarded and there are no ways for anyone to get in undetected." Angelo vehemently shook his head. Laying out one of the blueprints, he pointed to what looked like a tunnel.
"Secret way. It's how we got out the first time." Miss Parker looked at the tunnel and traced it to its termination point. The blueprint made it look like a small meadow by the back road, but Miss Parker couldn't be sure.
"Angelo, can we get inside from here?" She asked, pointing to the termination point. Angelo nodded.
"Yes, we did it before. It shouldn't be too hard. No one guards. And cells are near that point." Miss Parker nodded, seeing where the cells were located. Folding the paper carefully, she looked at Angelo. For the first time that day, hope kindled its flame within her. There was a way to save her mother.
"You don't have to come. You've been helpful enough."
"No, I'll come. You may need back-up."
"Are you sure? It could be dangerous." Angelo laughed.
"I laugh in the face of danger." He quoted. Miss Parker smiled. They left the room and went downstairs. A quick stop in the kitchen allowed Angelo to gather up the medicine he was taking. Soon they were in the car, on the way to the hospital, to check on Lyle and tell Sydney and Broots the plan.