CHAPTER FOUR
Just before Jarod was to come up, Sydney knocked at the door, intending to give her a little talk about making the Centre a place where evil was banished, the usual stuff. He missed being a handler for the Pretenders, but his position as chief psychiatrist for the Centre more than compensated for it.
Besides, Sydney finally realized that having the more experienced Pretenders as trainers for the younger ones was much better. They knew the score and they would not lie to the children, saying they were here because their parents were dead, the Centre was their home, and everyone loved them. No these trainers were blunt. "You are Centre property, slaves in Sapien terms. You might get a good owner, but perhaps not. He will determine your fate, whether you survive or die." So far, The New Centre hierarchy treated these possessions well and there was a good chance that any children they had might be able to buy their freedom. Antonio Waldo Lambourni had ordered the destruction of the machinery that made the bar chip/codes that was inside Jarod and the other Pretenders of the Centre.
The latter was away for a funeral. His adopted father's son, Paolo had died. The little retarded boy, oh mentally challenged boy, thought Sydney. There was another son, Vincente, but he appeared to be going down a wrong path. I hope that seeing his brother dead turns him around.
Miss Parker was making a valiant effort to keep from crying. A tear was falling from her eye.
He saw her face and expressed concern.
"What is it?" whispered Sydney for the children were asleep in the other room.
The clean up crew, consisting of the descendants of the original Pretenders captured by Lamech Parker picked up their tools and left. Sydney wondered why he never saw them before, but then he considered that there was a lot about the Centre he never saw.
Miss Parker was resigned that her grandmother had died. Like Catherine Parker, Margo Celeste Parker, formerly Margo Celeste Raison had been killed by someone she thought loved her but in reality loved power. Like Catherine Parker, Margo Parker the wife of Lamech Parker, had tried to alert others to the horrors going on in the Centre and died because of it.
She could not punish her grandfather. He was dead and according to the priest, burning in hell for all eternity. But there had to be others, others that died just as horrific deaths and it was her job to find out. She went through the old files, not even bothering to ask the numerous help to do it for her. This was something she had to do alone, even though she was feeling rather uncomfortable, her stomach sticking out a mile long — in her opinion — and her bumping into furniture.
She pulled out a list of names, dating from the nineteen twenties, a record of deaths. Only these were not ordinary names, the surnames were missing.
"What is it?" asked Sydney.
"My grandfather killed my grandmother. I don't know what I'm going to do."
"You're going to be strong as usual."
"Daddy friends killed too," said Adrian who came from the other room.
"He's quite intelligent for his age," said Sydney picking the child up.
"Mommy mother dead, mother mother dead, Daddy brother dead, sister almost dead, Ethan almost dead, sweep dead, One two three four five six seven eight like Daddy dead." The child spoke in a monotone, almost as impressing some important facts on the adults present and his words had an effect.
Miss Parker looked at her son as if seeing him for the first time. She didn't want to think about it, her accepting the death of so many Pretenders as nothing while thinking the death of her mother and grandmother a tragedy. Jarod had lost his brother, almost lost his sister. Did he think she thought their deaths were miniscule? A small cinder of compassion started to ignite in Miss Parker's soul. . I need an excuse, she thought, yes those records.
"I've been looking into the old Centre records before my grandfather, when it was first started," said Miss Parker, "The number of deaths. Surely that is high even for Pretenders. I first thought my grandfather only went after the Pretenders, but with the death of my grandmother, I know that he wouldn't hurt to kill—" She handed him the paper.
"His own kind, Miss Parker?"
"Yes Sydney. I don't know who I should feel sorry for more. Jarod's kind being captured, tortured, and killed or those of us who are fully homo sapien. Jarod would expect me to feel sorry for his family, but I can't, not yet.. The Pretender belongs to the Centre, used to. Should one feel sympathy for a possession?"
"He did help you, Miss Parker."
"But you did not help him, Sydney. I believed those lies my father and uncle told and Jarod is property, a slave. I'm not suppose to feel sorry for his fate, but you, you should have done something."
"I couldn't." He didn't want to say that he was afraid, afraid of what would happen not to Jarod, but to him, and besides he too felt Jarod was the property of the Centre, that it was his to obey, and to do what was told. Too late, Sydney realized that instead of sympathizing with Jarod, he had acted just like the Nazi doctor that had kept him and Jacob prisoners and killed the rest of his family. "Nineteen twenty, John, no last name, genius, died after ingesting minute quantifies of arsenic. Nineteen twenty two, Bill, no last name, genius, broke leg leaping over parapet, had to be put to sleep Nineteen twenty six, Leroy, also no last name, died of exposure after put in room with temperature slowly lowered during a month's period. Miss Parker, this is rather long. I thought the Centre was into simulation."
"You know as well as I that the Centre also tests drugs, poisons, and new scientific discoveries. That's why they looked for people with the Pretender gene. They're stronger, more resistant, and more intelligent. Anyway, I had the bodies exhumed and the Medicals examine them." It was then she spoke in a more somber tone. "None of them were of the New Species. They weren't Pretenders. My grandfather killed his own kind, us! I thought the Pretenders were "
Sydney thought to change the subject. "Is Jarod coming yet?"
"Yes he is and you'd better go."
"Why?"
"You'd better." She waited until he left and looked around the rooms. There was still a fresh smell of paint and the clean up crew had plastered the holes in the ceilings and floors. They had also done over and clearly marked the landing pad for the helicopter. The window now opened outside so one could just come in that way without going down the stairs to the main floor. Miss Parker had guard-rails installed around the edges to prevent any fallings downs, or suicides. She had the crew insert Electronic systems in all the walls, although she felt with Jarod interested in the babies, they were unnecessary.
She had one of the workers construct a large bedroom suite, inserting handcuffs inside the top and bottom bedroom posts which were of that Dominant resistant metal just in case she did not want Jarod to struggle. She also made sure the floor surrounding the area heated at an even temperature just in case she wanted Jarod to sleep on the floor. She did debate whether to paint that black or not.
The mattress was rather hard and she had narrowed her side, raising it with foam because Dominants preferred a hard surface to sleep on. She did find the best sheets, and did put a large HDTV television in the room, plus a desk for the computer, monitor, a convection oven to heat the food, a small fridge for emergencies, etc. To the casual onlooker, it looked like a place to stay in case a major storm or work prevented her from going to her own house. However, that casual onlooker would change his mind if he tried to walk out for the doors were electronically controlled. There were sensors on the helicopter pad, and lazar beams operated randomly by a set of controls known by Miss Parker and another person she trusted. No one in the Centre knew who it was.
The lazar beams in themselves, did not cause death, just a slight pain which could be construed as sending an electrical charge through their body. It was harmless in itself, but the recipient did not feel so and Miss Parker had instructed the doctors to magnify the effects so the fugitive or invader would not repeat the experience.
As for the elevator that would bring Jarod up, it too was protected by the rays so that if the Pretender tried to get out from the top, he would get the same shock. In case of an emergency, such as a breakdown, the rays shut off because Miss Parker knew Jarod would try to save as many as he could before trying to escape. Besides that device around his neck sent a ray that recorded on her controller and she had several copies made and put in various locations. At least, she learned this from her uncle and father.
She washed her hair and took a shower while waiting. It would take sometime for Sam to bring Jarod up after he made sure that Ted was back in his old position as Pretender foreman and supervisor, time to make sure that no one else was around. Jarod would have to remove his clothes. They belonged to the Centre and she had a pair of pants and shirts with her. She then turned off the alarm, unlocked the door, and went to bed.
An hour later, she awakened to footsteps, one with shoes, and the other bare. Through the dim light, she could see Sam standing and Jarod kneeling at the side of the bed, the latter asking if she were all right. Of course, he knew she was all right. It was just that the Dominant law said that Favorites were to show respect by placing themselves lower than their owners that meant that if Miss Parker was in bed, Jarod would have to kneel. However, Miss Parker was in no mood for his kneeling, bowing, or nodding his head.
"Jarod get in bed! Sam, you can go and oow!"
"I don't think I'd better get in with you, Miss Parker," said the Pretender.
Miss Parker felt the soaked sheets as another contraction ran through her. "See if the Medicals are coming. Use the video phone." She grabbed for him.
"I doubt that it would be conducive for mating right now," he said.
"Oh!" She quickly let go and reached a little higher, breathed a little easier. By this time, she had reached for the light and Jarod did look handsome minus his clothes. Miss Parker thought of the convenience of having your own particular property to do anything you wanted to but that was overwhelmed by another pain. Jarod was reaching for her.
"Sam, go into the next room, the bottom drawer of my desk — ow! — get the key from it, then go to the cupboard where the cans of food are, —ooo that hurts! — remove the panel behind them and bring them here," she ordered between contractions.
"Yes Miss Parker."
"I'll have to find another hiding place," she said as another contraction came.
Jarod was finished dressing by the time the Medicals came up and Sam had left to buy some small jars of baby food, four nursing bottles, and several soothers.. Two female Medicals held onto Lady Angela and the two male Medicals moved in some rather ultra modern equipment.
"It will be a natural birth," said one of the females, "Just walk around. Some members of your species say you should think soft thoughts, but that is not necessary. The children are strong and not easily influenced."
Jarod nodded at this. "The others are rather mischievous."
"Normal behavior. Strength is needed. A bath will have to be constructed for the children when they come. It will have to be black metal and filled with warm water mixed with olive oil."
The Pretender followed the instructions, bending the black metal that had been brought up in a case, a soft metal that hardened quickly when exposed by light. "Lady Angela did not know of this."
"You were in bondage to homo sapiens and they cat whipped you. You would not know. She was out of it at the birth of the first, but we did it all the same. Bend the bath just so. The oil is one third in proportion and filled to the top. You will drop each child in, and then remove it. Two seconds tops. It is a tradition among us. Humans are unable to perform this. Their speed is lacking."
Meanwhile Miss Parker let out a scream as a boy emerged, followed by his sister. Jarod quickly cut the umbilical cord, grabbed the boy and immersed it in the solution, waited one and a half seconds, quickly scooped him up, and placed him on a small container covered with a soft cloth.
After all four babies were anointed and cleansed, one of the male Medicals told Miss Parker about the ceremony.
"It is to confuse tracking the infants. The combination of oil and water on the skin masks the children's scents. We used it first in Oaxaca. Although humans are unable to detect us, their dogs can. We can flee but our small ones are not fast enough."
"And why could our children escape?" asked Jarod.
"By the time our children are a week old, they can roll over by themselves," said a male Medical. "The oil mixture will stay on their skin and when dried will confuse the animals, if there are any tracking dogs about."
"So that's why the nurse did not want me to bathe the babies," said Miss Parker through her groans.
The Medicals stayed for about an hour, giving instructions on how to care for the infants and for Lady Angela, some which seemed very strange except for the getting her to sip chamomile tea mixed with honey and a touch of wine, the Dominant answer to the chicken soup cure all. She decided that if it did not harm her, it would make her feel more affection towards him.
He had to change the bed, wash the sheets, and replace the mattress. It definitely was soaked and Miss Parker did not help, she just looked haughtily like the princess she was and then expected him to sleep besides her while she hogged all the sheets as she always did. Things had not changed. .