Ms. Parker had made the split minute decision, to put her emergency plan into to use. That being, in case Cox ever got fresh, and happened to be armed, she would get to the bathroom, lock the door, pull out the extra set of car keys she hid in her bar of soap, then jump out of the window.
Of course, it always occurred to her, whenever this plan did come to mind, that Cox might kill her before she could reach the bathroom.
So now, she put the plan to use...only it wasn't to escape Cox. And she had been forced to put on a pair of pajamas that were in her hamper, and a pair sandals, to that she would have something to wear when she met Daddy.
Ms. Parker's tires squealed out of the parking lot, as once again, she was left tingling after her second encounter with Jarod. She tried to shove him from her mind, but it bothered her that he made her feel this way. Thomas had never left her 'tingling'. Not that sex had not been good between them...it just wasn't...well, to be blunt, Jarod made her toenails curl!
Thomas had not.
Ms. Parker now sat waiting in a turn lane. She was first, and was quite dismayed to see that she did not get the arrow! She also decided she didn't have time to wait! She took a chance and went anyway, and thankfully, all of the oncoming cars slammed on their brakes! Ms. Parker heard a few curse words, but had no time to give the obligatory middle finger.
She was headed to the airport. A Triumvirate plane was taking Daddy, and herself, away. Ms. Parker was worried sick, that the authorities had seized the plane by now, or worse, arrested Daddy.
Ms. Parker was also no fool. She suspected that by now, Jarod had figured out she was not still in her bathroom. Whether he knew, or had figured out, where she was supposed to meet Daddy...well, time would tell.
Ms. Parker pulled up to a gate that fenced in the Triumvirate airstrip. A surly looking guard, looked her up and down.
"May I help you?"
"Yes, let me in there."
The guard gave her the once over. Ms. Parker leaned forward, out of her car.
"Listen, unlock that gate, or you'll be found in a ditch somewhere, with your balls in your mouth! I guarantee it!" she hissed. The guard decided that it was better not to chance it, considering who's plane was on the airstrip. He went to his post and hit a button.
That gate opened and Ms. Parker zoomed in. As she approached the plane, she could see her father standing with someone else. It did not take long, for Ms. Parker to see that the person was Mr. Cox. And his arm was in a sling. What the hell happened to him? Ms. Parker shrugged. Not like she gave a damn anyway!
Mr. Parker's mouth dropped open, and Cox raised a brow, as they watched Ms. Parker get out of the car and run up to them. She hugged her father.
"Daddy! Oh thank God! You're safe! Let's go. Let's get out of here, okay?" Ms. Parker said, smiling.
But Mr. Parker's eyes swept over her.
"Angel...what is this? Where are your clothes?"
Ms. Parker looked down at herself, then gave her father a sheepish grin!
"Well, Daddy, I was kind of in a hurry."
"You didn't sound as if you were when I spoke with you earlier. Cox here said you probably had to get away from Jarod. Angel, I'm sorry. He was there when I called, wasn't he? Did he beat and torture you?"
Ms. Parker's eyes grew huge!
"Jarod...beat and torture me? He wouldn't beat and torture a squirrel, much less a human being, Daddy."
"Or you." Cox said coolly. Ms. Parker finally acknowledged his presence.
"What are you staring at!" she snapped. Mr. Parker put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Now, now, Angel. Mr. Cox here is just expressing concern for your welfare, that's all."
"Well he can save it for someone who cares! And why is he here anyway? He wasn't part of the plan." Ms. Parker reminded her father.
Mr. Parker suddenly looked shifty.
"Daddy? What's going on? Talk to me!"
"Sweetheart, you really, really blew it by sending Maddie back to her parents."
Ms. Parker blinked. She had forgotten all about the girl Pretender.
"Daddy, we don't need her anymore. This whole thing was about us getting away."
"No," Mr. Parker corrected her, "this whole thing is about the Centre. It always has been and always will be. You gave away property and we still have people to answer to."
"Who? Daddy, I was running everything."
"No, Ms. Parker," Cox said smugly, "you were only allowed to think you were. You were being tested. You failed. But you can make up for your faux pas."
Suddenly, Ms. Parker wasn't liking any of this! Her eyes jumped from Cox's creepy ones, to her father's.
"Daddy, just spit it out! What is really going on here!"
"Angel, Cox is still very high up within the Triumvirate. He can protect you better than I can."
"As my wife, Ms. Parker, you won't want for anything. And you'll be under my full protection." Cox said smoothly.
Ms. Parker began to laugh! Mr. Parker coughed.
"Now Angel...Mr. Cox is practically on bended knee here..."
"Oh please! And if I was insane enough to even consider such a crude proposal, I would want for quite a lot. One of them being a decent man! You can forget it! I'd rather be dead!"
Mr. Parker grabbed his daughter's arm, and dragged her away from Cox a bit.
"Angel, you have made your bed, now you have to sleep in it! Now Cox is offering you a way to stay alive!"
Ms. Parker folded her arms. She was no stranger to betrayal, especially when it came from her father. But it still hurt.
"And what about you, Daddy? While I'm married to a man that I despise, you're going to what? What! What is in this for you!"
"I resent that!" Mr. Parker snapped. "I'm not the one that gave away property! Valuable property! Just like I'm not the one that failed to catch Jarod all of those years! We wouldn't be at this point, right now, if you had JUST CAUGHT HIM!"
Ms. Parker just stared at her father.
"And marrying me off to some homicidal maniac, is going to fix everything for you? It sure as hell won't do anything for me."
Cox interrupted.
"We really need to get going. Reverend Wambua..."
"REVEREND?" Ms. Parker yelled.
Cox looked at Mr. Parker.
"I think you had better explain to your daughter, that she is lucky that I would even bother with her. Considering." he sniffed. Ms. Parker's eyes widened, and she looked to her father for clarification.
"What is he talking about, Daddy?"
Mr. Parker gave his daughter a hard look.
"Angel, please. The pajamas...Cox knew that Jarod was with you. What you've done has disgraced our family name."
"I don't understand."
Cox snorted!
"Please, Ms. Parker! Now I know that Jarod's assault of you, must have been horrifying! But still, you should have shot him before you let him touch you. You certainly didn't allow me to take any liberties with you, so I KNOW you are capable of defending yourself."
Ms. Parker grinned!
"Yes, I am capable. But with Jarod...somehow...I don't know, I just didn't FEEL like fighting him off."
Mr. Parker gasped! Cox's eyes glittered with hatred. Ms. Parker could see, that he knew she hadn't been 'assaulted' by Jarod in the first place, but had been waiting for some sort of confirmation on her part.
"Angel!" Mr. Parker hissed, shocked to the core. "How could you?"
Ms. Parker looked at her father.
"I'm not marrying, Cox, Daddy. And I can't believe you'd sell me down the river this way. I'm leaving. I'm turning myself into Jarod, and letting the chips fall where they may." Ms. Parker said sadly. She then moved to get back into her car when...
Mr. Parker nodded to Cox, who removed a small needle, and plunged it into the back of Ms. Parker's neck! She fell limp, as Cox caught her, picked her up, and carried her to the plane. She need not be conscious when they were married...or when he made love to her.
Mr. Parker shook his head sadly, and hurried after them to the plane. Damn that Jarod! He had been filling his daughter's head with lies since day one of the hunt. And his little girl had not been strong enough to withstand, or resist the pressure Jarod put upon her. It was a damned shame...but the Centre had to live on. They would find little Maddie, kill her parents, then re-claim the girl.
It was not hard to find Ms. Parker. All they had to do was look on the Caller I.D. of her phone. And Jarod knew that Ms. Parker wouldn't go anywhere, without seeing 'Daddy' first.
The airstrip guard was now detained by Interpol. Jarod could see the plane rearing to take off. He convinced Leo Betz not to shoot at it.
He had another plan.
Mr. Parker frowned when his cellphone began ringing. He didn't recognize the number, and that's all that he had, was a number, no name. But somehow, he knew.
"Hello, Jarod." Mr. Parker said smoothly. Cox peered at him. Ms. Parker was positioned upright in a chair, still out of it.
"Mr. Parker," Jarod said coolly. "I'm outside with Interpol, the Tunisia police and the FBI. Let me come aboard and bring yourself, and Ms. Parker out, so that you can turn yourselves in."
Suddenly, an idea came to Mr. Parker.
"Jarod, why don't YOU come aboard? We'll need a witness to my little girl's wedding to Mr. Cox. You'll fit the bill."
Jarod said nothing. There was no way Ms. Parker had agreed to marry Cox! No way in hell.
Something was wrong.
And Mr. Parker knew he would be concerned. Jarod spoke.
"I'll call you back."
"You have five minutes and then we take off."
"The plane will be shot at before it can get in the air."
"You would do that to my Angel, Jarod? I always liked you, my boy. If things had been different, you would've been my ideal son-in-law."
Jarod rolled his eyes.
"I'll get back to you." Jarod replied, hanging up. He walked over to Leo.
"I have to board that plane alone. And chances are, I will only be bringing Ms. Parker out."
"No." Leo said firmly.
"Leo..."
"No! Now this whole thing has went too far as it is! You should never have tried to go around me on this."
"I know, Ms. Parker."
"You THINK you do. In the end, her loyalty is to her father. Look at what she's done just to evade capture. Now, I'm sorry, Jarod. But if that plane tries to take off, we're shooting the fuel tank. I mean it."
"I can't guarantee that I can get us both off of the plane, before it takes off."
"Jarod, your part in the negotiations is over. Call Mr. Parker back and give me the phone."
Jarod's jaw clenched, as he called Mr. Parker back. Leo snatched the phone from him.
"Mr. Parker, this is Special Agent Leo Betz. You'll be dealing with me now. The plane, and the airstrip are surrounded. If you try and take off, no one, including yourself, will survive the inferno. Now, myself and a few of my men, will meet you at the door of your plane, so that your daughter, Mr. Cox, yourself, and whoever else you have in there, can surrender yourselves to us. Am I making myself clear?"
There was an audible click. Shortly after that, the plane did indeed begin to taxi down the runway! Jarod grabbed Leo's gun!
"Don't do this! Please, I am begging you! Don't do this! Let me get to the plane and stop it!"
"How! It's taxiing the runway now!"
"Get in your car and drive me alongside that plane." Jarod said quickly. Leo nodded, told two of his men to follow them in his cars, then proceeded to go after the plane, at breakneck speed. As soon as they were alongside the plane, Jarod began to climb out of the passenger side window...
Cox could see what Jarod had planned. Mr. Parker smiled.
"Let him see if he can get on board. If he can, then we'll have something extra to bargain with." he replied. Jarod managed to grab onto one of the landing wheels. He hung on for dear life, as the wheels were slowly brought up into the plane, and Jarod found a compartment to climb into.
He found Mr. Cox waiting for him.
Jarod looked into Ms. Parker's eyes, then slowly let go of her eyelids. He noticed parachutes on two other chairs. Jarod refrained from asking about them for now, and looked at Cox.
"What did you knock her out with?"
"My daughter's fine." Mr. Parker answered instead. He and Cox both had guns on him. Jarod noticed another man on board. He looked from him, to Mr. Parker.
"I take it this is the man, who will be 'marrying' that piece of dirt to your daughter?" Jarod said gruffly.
Mr. Parker smiled softly.
"No...this is the man who's going to be marrying YOU, to my Angel."
Cox whipped his head around to look at Mr. Parker, when he caught a bullet in the forehead! Jarod flinched. He could not help it. Because even though he knew what kind of man he was staring at, he had never really seen Mr. Parker act in a violent manner, until now.
"What did you say?" Jarod asked thickly.
"You heard me. I couldn't let that man near my Angel. And I know it will be just that much harder to turn my little girl in, if she's your wife. And...it will help me to have you as my son-in-law."
"It's the 'helping you' part, I don't like."
"I don't much like you as a son-in-law, Jarod, despite my earlier words. But we need a bargaining chip. Having you in the Parker family, will do the trick. You're going to tell me that you have no interest in my daughter at all?"
Jarod said nothing, but looked over at Ms. Parker, who was beginning to come around. Mr. Parker could see it in Jarod's eyes...the desire he had for his Angel...it made him sick...but still, it had to be done. It was the only thing he had left to bargain with.
"On your feet, Jarod. I see Angel is coming around too. I think she'll prefer you to her other 'fiancee'." Mr. Parker said, cocking the gun at Jarod.
Jarod nodded towards the parachutes.
"Why do I get the feeling that the Reverend Wambua and yourself, won't be sticking around to wish us well?" Jarod asked wryly.
Ms. Parker was coming around, but managed to say 'I Do' in a sleepy manner. The Reverend Wambua seemed to be taking the whole thing in stride. He himself noted that the groom didn't look as if he minded all that much anyway.
Zoe's face zipped through Jarod's mind briefly. He couldn't think about her now. He had to get through the here and now. Besides, Ms. Parker would probably be the first one to take steps to dissolve this forced marriage.
The Reverend congratulated Jarod and Ms. Parker, who was finally awake. She blinked hard, as she realized she was staring at Jarod. Her eyes met the Reverend's.
Then her father's face came into view.
"Angel, I'm sorry about this, but it had to be done."
"What? What did you do? Daddy...what did you do to me?"
Jarod said nothing, feeling apprehensive about how she was going to react. Ms. Parker's eyes moved from her father, to Cox's dead body on the floor! She jumped up!
"Oh my God! Daddy? What happened?"
"I had to kill the animal, Angel. I made a deal with Jarod. He's going to look after you now."
Jarod noticed that Mr. Parker had set his gun down, while he made 'celebratory' drinks for all of them. Jarod used his slip up to his advantage, to pull out his own gun! Mr. Parker dropped the drinks to the floor and got his hands up! The Reverend did as well.
Only Ms. Parker refused to acquiesce.
"Jarod, don't be like this. You know you're not about to shoot my father. I will turn myself in, if you let him go."
Jarod took his eyes off of Mr. Parker, to gape at his new wife!
"Ms. Parker! Damnit, why do you do these things! Why? He cares nothing about you! He married us off to one another, while you were out of it! He wants to use both of us as bargaining chips! That's all you are to him! I'm sorry to say it, but it's true!"
But Ms. Parker only heard one part of that statement.
"I'm married to you...not Mr. Cox?" she asked softly. Now, Mr. Parker decided to take advantage of Jarod's inattention, and leaped for the gun! The Reverend moved out of harm's way, as Jarod and a surprisingly strong, Mr. Parker grappled for the gun...causing it to go off three times! One of the shots forced the door open!
"DADDY! JAROD! STOP IT! STOP IT!" Ms. Parker screamed, trying to wrest her father away from Jarod! Mr. Parker flung his daughter off of him...which sent her flying out of the plane!
"MS. PARKER!" Jarod screamed, grabbing one of the parachutes, and jumping out of the plane after her! Mr. Parker slowly sank to the ground, as he and the Reverend Wambua hung onto whatever they could. Mr. Parker could not believe he had killed his son, AND his daughter. And Jarod would not survive. The boy may be a genius, but there was no way he could survive...
Mr. Parker looked around for the gun, spotted it and picked it up. He then shot the Reverend, forced himself up, and grabbed the last remaining parachute.
AFTERMATH-One Year Later
Jarod returned home to Zoe and his family. He had managed to get the parachute onto himself, then grab onto Ms. Parker, as she fell through the clouds.
The plane was still in Africa, and as the two got closer to the ground, Ms. Parker suddenly kissed Jarod, then let go of him, falling to the ground long before it was really safe. Jarod knew she was running from him again. And this time, she actually got away. They landed in high brush.
By the time he landed on the ground, Ms. Parker had disappeared.
Mr. Parker's body was found some distance away, half eaten by a family of cheetahs. His parachute had failed to open, and when he crashed to the ground, he was pounced on almost immediately.
Jarod could not marry Zoe, without getting out of his marriage to Ms. Parker first. Zoe seemed almost relieved to hear, that the marriage had occurred under duress. She began making plans for their own wedding. Jarod didn't need a lawyer. He knew that the marriage was not official. It was not real. He just couldn't tell Zoe the truth.
He wanted to find Ms. Parker. He would not be able to rest until he did.
And it was when she called him, in the middle of the night, after he had just made love to Zoe, that Jarod decided that he was going to have leave Zoe. Hunting Ms. Parker, and living a life as Zoe's husband, did not mesh. And it was not fair to Zoe.
Zoe had lain in his arms, after a torrid lovemaking session. So torrid, that for the first time, in awhile, Jarod actually thought that a moment had actually went by, in which he had not thought about Ms. Parker.
He had been wrong.
His cell did not wake Zoe. Not at first. Jarod answered, curious as to who would call at this hour, but never thinking it was Ms. Parker. He figured she was too busy running from him.
"Hello?" Jarod mumbled.
"Hi there, Boy Genius! Guess where I am?"
Jarod's eyes snapped open! He sat up, waking Zoe.
"Where are you? Tell me and I'll come and get you!"
"Sorry, Boy Genius. I can't do that. You have a life to live and so do I. I was calling to give you my congratulations. Zoe will make you happy. You can forget the nightmare that was our life."
"Where are you?" Jarod repeated.
"I'm going to have to hang up now. Jarod, forget about me, okay? Just be happy."
There was a click. Jarod jumped out of bed, and Zoe began to ask a million questions. It was at that moment that he knew, that he could not marry Zoe. It would be the beginning of his hunt for Ms. Parker. Only, he did not know at the beginning of his journey, that he wasn't just looking for a woman.
But a woman and her child. A boy. That would be something Jarod would discover later, after a series of near misses with Ms. Parker...and his son.
THE END