CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Sydney was dead. To all appearances, he died in his sleep in the early hours before dawn when man goes to meet his Maker. No one witnessed the inner turmoil, the guilt, the realization that he had been just as evil as the Centre, for all the protests that Miss Parker had said over the years.

When at last, his breath stopped and his soul left his body, Sydney knew he was not a good man.

If he had been alive to see them coming, he could have said, "I'm sorry Jarod for denying you your family, for not being brave enough to go against The Centre," now realizing that he was too valuable an employee for them to get rid of. The Parkers had hired him because of his former internment in the concentration camp, knowing that such a man would heed less the cries of a boy imprisoned and unable to see the light of day than one used to freedom.

They were right.

The Dead know no more. It said that in the Good Book and Sydney did not know when Jarod and Miss Parker entered the room, heard the doctor speak to them silently, say, "That he did not suffer."

He did not hear. "But we were told with treatment he'd get better."

"No Mrs. Angela. Even if he had paid attention to his health, he would not have lived longer. Sure and I'm surprised he made it this long."

"The Centre scientists," whispered Lady Angela, alias Miss Parker.

"Do you mean that Sydney had life extension therapy done on him?" asked Jarod.

"Every staff member gets it. Of course, I remember a time when they went too far. It was about the time, I was stopping smoking."

"How long did it take?"

She let out a sigh. "Don't remind me. It was horrible."

"So how did the therapy work – not the stop smoking – but Sydney's life being prolonged?"

She sat down in the chair, still feeling hot from what went on while Sydney had been dying. Yes, he was gasping for air, and we were making whoopee!

The morning sun almost blinded her, but the nurse considerately closed the drapes. "Can I get you a drink of water or tea?"

"Something strong and Earl Gray for my husband."

"Right away ma'am."

"So what happened?" asked Jarod.

Miss Parker started to correct the nurse, but then looked at Jarod. "You know she called you my husband,"

"Well according to the Official Joining, I am."

She nodded. "It does protect the children, doesn't it?"

"Yes. You were mentioning this treatment before. I don't know why I hadn't heard about it."

"I didn't know about it until Sydney told me. He promised me not to tell anyone until he died, but now I feel I have to."

Jarod sat down. "I'm listening," he said, remembering why Sydney looked younger than the retired soldiers – the ones who had lied about their age to fight the Fuhrer – he had seen on the parade on Veteran's Day.

"When Sydney got to the Centre, our team of scientists experimented on a method to prolong life. Sydney and Jacob were two of the volunteers. The reason was that the Nazis killed their families, not only to secure the boys, but to keep their medical condition secret. They hoped by giving the boys the proper nutrition, the boys would grow up to be good little Aryans and make good little Aryans in the future."

"An ordinary man lives a lifespan of seventy years plus more."

"But Sydney and Jacob would not have. According to their medical history, they would have been lucky to reach sixty, so —"

She grabbed Patricia who had run in from the Hallway and was now touching Sydney's corpse. "Dead man."

"Yes Patricia, Uncle Sydney's gone to heaven."

She shook her head. "Not heaven, mother."

Miss Parker suddenly looked at her daughter as if seeing her for the first time. "What are you?" she asked.

"Patricia, mother." The child looked up at her, her eyes wide with wonder, the innocence in it, but an innocence already clouded with the Dominant streak. "Fight mother?"

"Ask your brother Antonio."

"He says too small."

"The swords are very heavy," said Jarod in a deadpan type of voice.

"Yes and guns are dangerous too, Patricia. Antonio will start you on weapons your size, but you cannot attack people because they'll grab them out of your hands." She continued to exaggerate about bad people, making up excuses as she went along. Finally, Patricia was convinced, when Jarod said there were probably people, meaning Homo Dominants and fighting might bring in the police who would arrest everyone and throw them all in a dungeon. The little girl left with the ward nurse who had finally entered the room after chasing her through the hallways.

"I killed him," said Miss Parker to Jarod.

"We were together and you certainly do not have the towers of transmutation, telekinetic or other forms of mind control."

She shook her head. "Patricia said she sees Angels. I was alarmed at first, but Olivia confirmed it. When children see Angels, it usually means they will die. I kept visualizing Patricia running across the road – you know how they are – and a big truck or lorry running over her, so I prayed."

"You prayed?"

"I prayed to the Virgin Mother and to God that to take me, take my best friend, anyone except Patricia. I prayed that Antonio would run the Centre so it would be a benefit to mankind, and that you would see that it remains on track and they took my best friend instead." Tears were starting to form in her eyes.

"Sydney was old."

"He was my friend."

"And what am I?"

"I own you Jarod, but I also love you. There I said it."

"Then find a way to get that thing out of my head."

"And see you die? Do you really want to die, Jarod?"

His face told her.

She continued with her sorrow. "How many years of life do you have, do we have left? Forty? Fifty? I could take the potion, remain as I am and you, well look at your father, he hardly looks ten years older than you and what about the others of your kind, when they die, they look as if they barely reached sixty and yet how old are they?"

"You're gasping at straws, Miss Parker. It is dangerous and what if Raines had contaminated it.? Besides you'd have to take it every year for the rest of your life and you'll still have the same problems, the ulcer, that bleeding every month …."

"That's the periods, Jarod."

"And you're at the age when you get less fertile even with them replacing your ovaries. There'll be no more babies every five to seven months, you'll be lucky if you get pregnant every five years. Besides we have more important things to find out, find about ourselves."

"Yes and I have to get Olivia dancing lessons," she said, changing the subject

Jarod's heart beat a little slower. He stared at Sydney's dead body, wondering if he saw what he did when he was dead, whether hell was like that in the Divine Inferno with categories as to knowledge and responsibility, then his Dominant trait took over, and he was emotionless again.

"Nicholas must be on the way here. I gave him another call on his cell, to ask if he'd like to come on the search, but he told me he has to get back to teaching as he's missed too many days."

"Jarod, did you tell him that Sydney's dead?"

"He was living at that time, but I informed Nicholas that his father would probably be dead and to bring the appropriate material for internment."

"In those words?"

"I believe as a teacher he understood."

"I hope so and as soon as the funeral is over — Nicholas can then decide whether to have him buried here, shipped to Blue Cove, or in his ancestral home – we can be off to Norway."

"Here's your tea," said the nurse, coming in the door, "sorry I'm late."

"That's all right," said Miss Parker with a smile.

"Oh does the Doctor Green have any relatives?"

"Yes, his son will be here shortly."

"Good," she said, "I'll let the administration know. What's his name?"

"Nicolas," said Jarod.

She thanked them and left the room, leaving Jarod and Miss Parker to say goodbye to Sydney.