Disclaimer: I do not own the Pretender or any of the wonderful characters. If I did they wouldn't have been short changed like they were! : ) I love this fandom and I hope there's still some life in it all these decades later! If there's anyone left out there; Enjoy!

Miss Parker's back ached as she shifted in the hard chair. She smelled of smoke and jet fuel, her hair dank and dirty was tied in a messy bun on top of her head. They hadn't the grace to allow her shower or change let alone sleep before she was unceremoniously hauled in front of a T Board. They had called it a 'debriefing'. The hell it was. She was eerily calm Lyle thought. Maybe it was shock. Grief affected some people like that apparently. He wouldnt know. She sure did love 'Daddy' though. He smirked to himself and he felt her turn her head sharply towards him. He smelled just as bad as she did. Her answers had been mostly monosyllabic and the men regarded both her and Lyle with disdain. She immediately noticed the shift in atmosphere particularly between herself and Lyle since they had returned. Although Parker knew what he was she never really feared him before. She had felt insulated by the man she called 'Daddy'. Felt sure Lyle wouldnt be brazen or stupid enough to try anything to seriously hurt her. It had been less than twenty four hours and already he was needling her, prodding her with acerbic comments and invading her space. If he wasnt her brother she would have classed it predatory. She wouldnt put anything past him though and turned her body away from him, crossing her leg across the other knee. Still clad in the same outfit she had dressed in in Glasgow Parker gripped her hands together. Her mind flashed to Jarod's fingers, his hands in cuffs as he reached across the seats. His eyes imploring her to…to what….see sense?,change teams?...run away with him into the sunset? Sunset….what would that 'sunset have looked like?. She examined her fingernails as Lyle warbled on beside her to a statuesque Zulu. A had never seen her before. Parker had refused to meet the woman's gaze as she felt her dark eyes bore into her. Parker had been around the block long enough to know when she had met a worthy adversary. The men she could bluff. This one. This one was a different ball game. She wore a crisp white blouse which Parker recognised by the slightly frilled neckline as one of her favourite designers. Bitch had taste. The blouse was paired with a navy blue skirt, the hem line hit just above her knee. Parker wished she would stop staring at her. She hadn't removed her eyes from her since she'd been deposited into a chair by one of Raines' sweepers, a wiry little fuck who always stood too close to her and smelled of stale sweat and french fries..

"Ever hear of soap?" she spat at him as she wrestled out of his grasp.

"Right back at ya bit-" he stopped himself as he looked around the room but smirked when he saw Raines and Lyle smiling slightly at him, a silent dog whistle to an eager mut. He reclaimed her arm and pinched a piece of tender flesh between his thumb and index finger.

"Motherfucker!" Parker yelped and drove the heel of her hand into his nose which gave a satisfying crunch before he staggered backwards and fell on his ass. Blood had spurted onto her sheepskin coat. Shit. Would dry cleaning be even able to get that out?. The normalcy of thinking about heading to the drycleaners almost made her laugh and she smiled manically.

The backhander came from Raines and it stunned her. It was swift and final, loosening a tooth on her lower jaw and left her in no doubt how precarious her position now was.

She thought of Jarod again.

The turning point was now slapping her in the face and she stared at a shaft of light coming in from the window across the room, ignoring the sting of her face, the pounding in her head and the silent tears that slipped down her face. They were tears of fury. Of humiliation. But they came for a moment none the less. She hated herself in that moment. Another damn moment of weakness she thought. They were coming fast and furious these days. She closed her eyes briefly and wished the previous one hadn't been interrupted. At least it would have been pleasurable. She hadn't felt anyone's skin against hers since Tommy. Jarod would have been a good lover she was sure of that. Boy wonder. Boy genius. How much of a man was he?

This is where her mind was before she realised the room had gone silent and everyone was looking at her expectantly.

"No response to that one Miss Parker?" the Zulu queen stepped forward. She had an American accent and she immediately had Miss Parker's attention.

"Jarod's influence on my sister has been a topic previously addressed. But given their evident cooperation on Carthis it stands to reason that she has some questions to answer. Don't ya Sis?". Lyle appeared almost merry.

"Why did you say cooperation like that?" the woman asked taking another step towards Parker. Parker smelled an obscenely expensive perfume. Killian maybe. Good Girl Gone Bad. Definitely. Parker didn't like that omen.

"Are you fucking him?"

Miss Parker's mouth went dry and she raised her chin in defiance, locking eyes with the woman with a renewed sense of survival. Adrenaline coursed through her and she cursed Lyle.

Parker felt sure the woman could see a flash of something in her eyes, a tell, a giveaway to that little moment of weakness.

"No!" Parker barked. No she thought. No I'm not fucking him. I could have done. But I didn't.

She rounded on Lyle in what she was sure was an obvious attempt to refocus this woman's attention away from her potential compromise with Jarod.

"Why don't we talk about who you're fucking Lyle?! Maybe we will when the cops find the body parts! Or what's left of them…tell me Hannibal what do you do with the tougher cuts? Slow cooker? BBQ?".

The woman pivoted towards Lyle with sudden interest and Parker caught Raines looking murderously at her.

"Enough" he shouted and held up his hand.

"My children are ridiculously competitive. Don't listen to any of that. Simple childhood rivalry. We need to direct all our resources now to the task at hand. Recovering the scrolls. We've sourced a submersible from our French counterparts who are combing the seabed as we speak".

"What about Daddy?!" Miss Parker snapped her head towards Raines and he gritted his teeth.

"What about my father? What efforts are you making to recover him?". She knew she sounded about twelve years old. Grief catching up with her, slugging the other side of her head.

Her breath came in heavy gasps now and Raines rolled his eyes.

"I'm your Daddy Princess" he muttered sarcastically and bounced a knuckle under her chin. She immediately recoiled and almost tipped the chair backwards. Lyle laughed hysterically and the woman slammed a hand on the polished mahogany table. She'd had enough of this freak show.

"What about our Navy contacts? They've vessels close by monitoring undersea cables, have you hit up anybody for intel?"

Raines nodded and spread his hands wide "We're waiting on a number of assets to get back to us. Rest assured. We want those scrolls back as much as you do Nanci. We won't fail".

"Nandi" she hissed in correction and Raines bowed reverently in apology.

"What of the boy? How is he progressing?" she turned towards Raines expectantly and Parker caught the panic in his eyes as she locked eyes with him briefly.

Raines gently took Nandi's elbow and steered her gently towards the door. His voice lowered to a raspy whisper.

"Everything in that regard is progressing nicely. Right on schedule".

An uneasy feeling settled in Miss Parker's stomach. She hadn't eaten in almost two days and she was sure she was going to pass out. An image of her little brother suddenly landed like a bomb in her mind. She was plagued with guilt now. She hadn't thought about him at all. He was an orphan now. Not that he had much parental warmth over the past two years Parker thought mournfully. She spent Fridays with him but couldn't bear longer periods in his company. He had been cracking that shell. Just like Jarod. He had been cracking that shell and she didn't like it. Didn't like the complications of feelings it threw up. The vulnerability. She suddenly realised it had been six weeks since she had seen him. Daddy had him scheduled better than a Tiger Mom and Parker winced as she admitted to herself that she had been jealous. Daddy had been enthusiastic about Xavier's milestones and she had tuned him out. It had always grated on her that he had always wanted a son. That she would never measure up. Not that it mattered now. Not only was he more than likely dead but he wasn't even her father. Did that mean Xavier wasn't even her brother?. But he had her eyes. She lifted her head to look up at Raines. The thought of that cretin being her father made her retch. Her stomach heaved and Lyle scooted away from her in disgust.

"Watch the loafers" he yelped and she met his eyes. Her eyes. Lyle and Brigitte? She thought again to Jarod. Why hadn't she taken his hand?.

Nandi pulled her elbow away from Raines "I'm taking a jet to Cape Town but I'll be back in three weeks. I want some shape put on this shit show by then. A demonstration of the boy's abilities to put us at ease. Three weeks Raines. That's your cooling off period. Not a day longer".

Miss Parker had assumed the two African males accompanying her were sweepers but she clocked the suits and the shoes. They were as expensive as Nandi's. They hadn't spoken throughout the entire T Board but they met Parker's eyes before they left the room and a chill travelled down her spine. She missed Jarod like desert missed rain. Being with him the last few days only reminded her now how utterly alone she was. She made up her mind to go to her father's house and see her brother. He was just a little boy. Utterly alone.

Her bones almost creaked as she made to stand and Lyle used her shoulder to hoist himself out of his own chair. He looked into her face, at her split lip.

"That smart mouth finally got itself broken" he quipped and shouldered her, knocking her sideways into the table. He pinned a wrist painfully to the polished surface "You really should be more careful or you're really going to get hurt".

Raines regarded them both in fury.

"Shut up Lyle just shut up!" he bellowed.

He wheezed his way over to his daughter "I demand LOYALTY do you understand" he whispered. "Do I have your LOYALTY Miss Parker?".

She faced him and slowly gave him a thumbs up. She didn't blink. He smirked in a way that completely unnerved her. Months and even years later she would think back at this moment and the way his eyes had travelled over her. She hadn't understood the look at the time. His eyes had lingered on her lower body. For a moment she feared what he was going to do.

"Very clever Miss Parker" he laughed and looked towards Lyle who was furious "But you've always been more valuable to me intact. Make sure it stays that way". He cast a warning glance at Lyle before wheezing off. Parker faced Lyle and before she realised what she was doing grabbed his shoulder, pulled him towards her and swung her knee into his balls. He dropped like a stone.

Miss Parker stood in her shower until the water ran cold. Wrapping herself in a fluffy robe she padded to the kitchen where she warmed a can of soup. She didn't even have fresh bread in her cupboards to make something of a meal she realised. The doorbell rang. She frowned. Parker pulled the curtain aside and saw a delivery boy. She rolled her eyes. Of course.

She lifted the latch.

"Here ya go maam" the boy said cheerfully and gave Parker the once over. She didn't even bother with the 'I didn't order anything routine'.

"Eyes front Chuckles" she said wearily as she rummaged in her purse for a twenty. She pressed it into his sweaty palm and he looked down chuffed.

"Hey thanks!"

She slammed the door in his stupid happy face. She sighed and inspected the contents of the brown paper bag, still appealingly warm. The smell caused her stomach to rumble loudly. She didn't linger on the wetness that pricked her eyes. Goddammit Jarod don't do this to me now I won't survive it. Don't be nice to me.

He had ordered healthy Thai food. Pad Thai chicken and shredded duck spring rolls. Far too much food for one person. A Jarod sized portion. Pig she smiled. Her beautiful Pig. Parker dispatched the tin of soup down the drain and ate the takeout. She hadn't noticed the silence of her house for a long time but now it suffocated her. She no longer felt safe here. She chewed slowly, her tooth still aching from the earlier blow. She would have to wait until late afternoon tomorrow to have it looked at. Downing two tylenol hadn't done much. She would chase the food with an eighteen year old Glenlivit. After pouring four fingers Miss Parker toasted 'Daddy' and passed out on her couch.