Chapter 11
"I understand," she replied evenly to the instructions coming through her ear bud. She pressed the device again applying enough pressure to deactivate.
Cold, calculating eyes returned to Alec. Satisfied that he was still sufficiently asleep, she turned her attention back to the computer and entered a search.
DOMINO
The neon green grid of a vector map illuminated the entire screen.
She enlarged one specific area of the map and noted its coordinates.
Objective one completed.
Now, for objective two.
She turned back to the sleeping man on the floor beneath the sofa, his hand extended and resting limply on the top of the seat.
Her brows furrowed.
An unfamiliar feeling settled over her. She felt pity.
But almost as quick as it came, the feeling left and she refocused on her goal.
She walked over to him and stooped at the side of his head.
The arm he used to shield his eyes was in her way…but no matter. She eased her hand between his arm and the side of his neck. She had to time it just right, block the nerve, knock him out. The movement had to be smooth and fast. If he moved or woke up it could be very painful for him if he struggled in any way. She could still overpower him but she realized a small part of her didn't want to cause him any discomfort.
She shook her head and blinked against the uncomfortable emotions that were plaguing her.
She didn't consider the target. She never considered the target. Why should she care if he was hurt? He was a mark, like every other mark she had been ordered to neutralize. Why was this one special? She'd never met him before and she knew nothing about him save the information Sonia had debriefed.
Her hands were shaking.
Her breathing had accelerated.
This never happened before.
Her eyes scanned the length of his resting frame. He was strong. She could see the taunt muscles of his legs and stomach and arms, tight and powerful even as he slept. She imagined he could be formidable if he chose to be but he was no fighter- he was far too trusting. Only an innocent person slept this soundly.
She closed her eyes and refocused.
Satisfied her irrational thoughts were once again under control she straightened up and eased her hand between his resting arm and his neck. She felt the muscle in his arm harden and flex. He was waking up.
Alec turned to see Parker staring at him her hand at his shoulder. The relief rippled through him and a smile began to curl the corners of his lips.
But before his mind could clear enough to form coherent thoughts and assess if he hadn't actually been dreaming he felt the thump and then pressure of something firm and powerful upon his chest. He looked down to see Parker's leg pressing firmly on top of him, pinning his arms at the elbows.
"Parker…wha…?" was all he could say before he felt the pinch against his neck and his thoughts faded.
She watched his brown eyes widen with the shock of her assault, but as he faded into unconsciousness she felt a pang. Something strong yet undefinable. For some reason she did not want to hurt this man.
She eased her leg off of him and stared at his face.
Who are you?
Her unease was building. There was something about this mark that was very different from all of the others. Something about the entire situation nagged at her and she found herself doing something she had never done before- she questioned her orders.
She leaned over the sleeping man and patted his pockets but found nothing.
She turned to the computer and another undefinable something registered fuzzily in her mind. He worked with computers- she knew it from Sonia's disclosure, but there was something else. Something she couldn't quite place her finger on; a connection that teased the edges of her consciousness.
She rose and walked over the computer.
She didn't know what possessed her. She was actually shaking as she stood in front of the screen. She accessed the computer's surveillance cameras and angled them toward her face. She stood still and let the camera capture her image- something she certainly was not used to. She was trained to avoid being filmed at all cost but something told her that this man and his computers had answers.
She felt herself spinning dangerously out of control.
A cold-sweat covered her body. It was as though something inside of her was trying to break free.
She clicked on her photo, prompting the computer to search.
It pinged a match instantly.
Her own face looked back at her and the name below it said 'Parker'.
She dropped herself heavily into the chair.
"Parker," she repeated, testing the word on her tongue. It was a strange name. She wondered if it was the first or last name and why there were no other names listed.
Then her brows furrowed again and the briefest snippet of a memory came to mind. It was a recollection of him, the sleeping man, calling her Parker. The thought was fuzzy though and without its context she couldn't be sure what she'd heard or if she'd heard it at all.
She squeezed her temples between her hands to soothe the throbbing but the flashes strange pictures came hard and fast and with them the pain increased.
She wondered what was happening; why she felt as though she was being torn in two.
She turned back to the computer and surveyed the information about Parker.
She is a thief.
She is an orphan and had no siblings or other family to speak of.
She is a wanted criminal.
The information felt removed as though it was the purview of a total stranger.
She wondered how she could have no connection to any of it.
Then a name on the form caught her attention. An acquaintance she knew even now.
Nathan Ford.
His name was highlighted with three others in the subsection of Parker's bio data.
Eliot Spencer. Sophie Devereaux. Alec Hardison.
Frequent Collaborators.
She sat back in the chair, her throat dry and her heart racing. She had absolutely no recollection of any of these people beside the Ford man and she only knew from hearing Sonia say his name when they spoke on the phone.
She clicked Eliot Spencer's name and his photo and file opened. Much of the information on his file was blacked out but even staring at his face offered no answers. She didn't recognize him.
She clicked on Sophie Devereaux's name and the same thing happened. An attractive woman with a list of criminal activity almost as long as Parker's.
She clicked on Alec Hardison's file and her eyes opened wide when the photo and file opened.
She turned to look at the unconscious man behind her.
"Alec," she mouthed but the word didn't feel right.
Her gaze narrowed as she looked at him, "…Hardison."
She made an instant connection to the word.
Yes. Hardison. That's it.
"I know you," she said softly as she walked over to him.
She knelt at his side and another quick flash of memory stunned her.
She was standing- in almost the very same spot- and she was kissing him. She'd kissed Alec Hardison.
Her fingers touched her lips, curious that they could forget the encounter so readily.
Then she thought back to the call that she'd just made. They knew that she had him and they were expecting her return. Sonia was expecting her- and Sonia did not like to be kept waiting.
Parker stared at Alec for a thoughtful moment before she finally reached up to her ear to remove the comm. She pinched it between her fingers for a moment before she tucked it into her pocket.
"Ok Hardison," she sighed, "it's just you and me now."