Jarod was used to silence. In all his long, lonely years at the Centre,
silence had become somewhat of a friend, a comfort. He was used to the silence
in Corridor 15, the silence as he worked or the silence in his room at night.
But this was a new kind of silence. The silence he was used to was silence
created by white noise, which was a contradiction in terms when he thought about
it - yet still made sense. White noise creating the illusion of silence, white
noise made up of lots of little noises that he was so accustomed to hearing, so
that all these familiar noises faded into the background and became... silence.
A disturbing new silence had fallen, Jarod realised. He raised his head
from his work, standing slowly. This was a disturbing silence because it was
the very definition of silence - a complete and utter absence of noise. There
was no white noise, no vents hissing, no footsteps outside his door, not even
the mechanical grind of the surveillance camera tracking his movement around the
room.
Jarod broke out into a cold sweat. He went to the door, cracking it open
warily. There were no sweepers or other residents in sight. His footsteps
echoed hollowly on the marble floor, and he made his way to the sim lab. There
were no sweepers on the way, and none near the sim lab. In fact, Jarod didn't
encounter one single person on his trip.
****
"There, go back!" Parker barked, and Broots jumped. On the table before them
lay tape after tape of surveillance footage, ready to be copied to DSA. Broots
rewound the tape they had been watching.
"The, uh, date and time says it was the same day they tried to take Eddie,"
Broots stuttered. They all watched as a man dressed in a janitor's uniform
walked confidently into Jarod's room and placed the bugs in position, under the
guise of cleaning.
"Who is he?" Parker asked. She felt like a caged animal, just waiting for the
door to open so she could attack, "And how the hell did he get a uniform? Did
he kill a janitor?"
Joe coughed discreetly, and Miss Parker glared at him. Joe pointed to the
man's face. "He *is* a janitor, Miss Parker. He's been here about three
months."
"Bring up his-"
"Got it!" Broots said. Miss Parker was amazed; the man had known what file she
wanted before she even said it. She filed it away for future reference. Broots
could possibly come in handy some other time.
"Andrew Whitmore, thirty-seven," Parker read. She scanned over his file,
frowning, "Born in Wisconsin, failed high school, used to be a labourer..."
Joe gave a sharp laugh, "Everything in there must be fake. I've talked to
the guy myself; he's got an English accent.
Parker pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk, taking out her gun and
it's holster. She hadn't worn it since she left Corporate, but now attached it
to her pants at her lower back. Miss Parker also secured two more clips to her
belt. She retrieved a knife in its sheath, tucking it into the ankle of her
boot and drawing the hem of her pants down over it. Broots watched her
nervously, while Joe nodded in approval.
"Joe, I want you to go-"
A siren rent the air, cutting Parker off mid-sentence. Broots tapped
furiously at the keyboard for a moment, and then pointed at the monitor, knowing
it was useless to attempt to talk. Parker and Joe leaned over, and she thumped
her fist on the table in frustration. A fire on Sub Level 12. A ruse, Miss
Parker thought. A ruse designed to somehow get Jarod.
****
When the alarm sounded, Jarod froze. He had been sitting in the sim lab,
feeling nervous and vulnerable, and the start of the alarm only compounded his
fears; something was very, very wrong. Hastily he stood up, hurrying out of the
lab. He didn't know where he was supposed to go, he just knew he couldn't sit
around and wait for something to happen.
He was halfway back to Corridor 15 when something hit him over the back of
his head. Jarod tumbled to the floor, his head reeling. He gasped in pain and
shock, attempting to scramble to his knees. Someone laughed behind him, and he
felt panic surging in his stomach.
"Get up, Pretender, it's time to go," a voice said behind him, with a familiar
cockney accent. Andy, he realised, Andy the janitor who had seemed so cheerful,
so unassuming.
Jarod groaned, and slumped back to the floor. He heard shuffling feet, and Andy
cursed. A hand grabbed the back of Jarod's tunic, rolling him over. Jarod
continued to roll up onto his knees, obviously taking Andy by surprise, swinging
an arm out and punching him in the face. Andy stumbled backwards, and Jarod
pressed home his advantage, leaping to his feet and ramming the man in the
stomach with his shoulder. They both fell to the floor, and Jarod rose up,
preparing to make a run for it when he heard the ominous sound of a safety
clicking off. He stopped, raising his hands into the air slowly as Andy stood,
wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"That wasn't smart. Move!" Andy growled.
Jarod considered his options as they headed for the elevator. The lack of
sweepers and handlers on the entire floor, not to mention the still screaming
alarm, suggested this had all been planned. For some reason, the situation
seemed sickeningly familiar to him, although he couldn't understand why.
"They'll find you, you know that, don't you?" Jarod said dangerously as they
entered the elevator car.
"I'm 'fraid all your handlers are a bit busy right now Jarod. We'll be done
'ere before you know it!" Andy leered. He poked Jarod in the gut with the
muzzle of the gun, and then laughed again. Jarod watched the floor numbers
light up as they ascended. They stopped at Sub Level 1, just one floor below
ground, and Jarod held his breath.
"How do you expect to get me out of here?" he asked. Andy shook his head.
"Wouldn't you like to know!"
****
Miss Parker could feel her hands shaking, and she took a few deep breaths
to try and calm her nerves. She had ascertained there was a fire on Sub Level
12, as well as a storage room full of unconscious sweepers. She had come
straight down to Corridor 15, but Jarod was gone.
Parker headed in the direction of the sim lab, but stopped halfway to
study some droplets of blood on the floor. She doubted Specifics would have
wanted Andy to harm Jarod in any way, which probably meant the Pretender had put
up a fight. She smiled grimly, hoping Jarod had pounded the SOB.
She headed for the elevator, watching with interest as the floor numbers
lit one by one, finally stopping at Sub Level 1. Drawing her gun, she hit the
call button and waited.
****
Jarod stepped out of the elevator, carefully placing his foot out to the
side and behind him as Andy stepped out, sending the man stumbling forward.
Jarod gave Andy a heavy thump to the back of the neck and he fell, allowing
Jarod to snatch the gun from his hands and bolt.
Unfamiliar with the level, he rapidly became confused, standing in the middle of
where two corridors intersected and panting for breath. He shucked off the
restraining tunic of his uniform, leaving him in only his undershirt. He saw a
sign on one door, which read 'Staff Pool', and pushed it open, hoping he would
find some staff to help him. He realised his mistake almost immediately, there
was no staff, just a long room with a large body of water in it. Jarod took the
gun and threw it as hard as he could into the depths of the water.
"Aww, now you're going to have to get that for me, ain't ya?" Andy asked behind
him.
Jarod couldn't turn around fast enough before Andy gave him a hard push,
sending him toppling into the water. Jarod gasped in a breath before he hit the
water, and sunk fast, flailing his limbs in attempt to get to the surface.
Jarod felt the pressure on his chest and the weight of his clothes and tried not
to panic, wishing somebody had taught him to swim.
****
Miss Parker saw Andy enter the poolroom and headed after him, pushing open
the door just in time to see Jarod be pushed into the pool. Andy swung to look
at her in surprise, and she trained her gun on him and smiled dangerously.
"Now, are you going to fish him out, or should I?" she asked, nodding at Jarod.
The Pretender's thrashing about was sending him further and further away from
the edge of the pool.
"I would," Andy said, his gaze lingering on Miss Parker's figure, "But I think
I'd really enjoy watchin' you bend over, love. Feel free."
Miss Parker gritted her teeth, edging closer to the edge of the pool.
Jarod emerged from the water, his back to her, gasping for air, and then sank
once again. She realised it wouldn't be long before he didn't emerge at all.
"Turn around, put your hands on your head and kneel down," Parker said. Andy
shrugged, gave her a wink, turned and knelt. The splashes from the pool were
becoming more and more infrequent.
Parker gave Andy a solid thump on the head with the butt of her gun,
hoping it would be enough to knock him out for a good while. Not wanting to put
her gun down on the side of the pool in case he regained consciousness and used
it against her, she threw it into the pool. Parker ripped off her jacket, her
sense of urgency mounting when she noticed that Jarod had stopped moving
underwater.
Diving into the pool, she kicked strongly until she reached Jarod. She
wrapped an arm around his torso, dragging him up with her as she swam to the
surface. He felt like a dead weight in her arms, his head lolling to one side
as she tried to keep both their heads above water and reach the edge.
Getting Jarod out of the water proved to be more difficult than Parker had
expected, and she opted for hauling herself out first and then slowly dragging
and bumping his body over the edge of the pool. Rolling him onto his back, Miss
Parker flicked her wet hair out of her face and checked for a pulse. It was
thready, and the Pretender wasn't breathing.
"Damn you Jarod!" she growled, tipping his head back and pinching his nose. She
covered his mouth with hers, exhaling her breath into his lungs. She lifted her
head, looking for a reaction, any reaction. It had been a long time since her
training, and she couldn't remember if she was doing it right.
Miss Parker repeated the process, checked, and then did it again. On the
fourth time he moved, coughing and rolling his head to the side. Parker scooted
so she sat behind him, lifting his shoulders and patting his back as he
sputtered and coughed up the water he had swallowed.
"Sh, it's okay, everything is going to be fine..." Miss Parker murmured
soothingly, stroking Jarod's broad back as he attempted to sit up, feeling
exhaustion rip through her.
"No... it's not," came a deep, male voice.
Parker winced as Jarod was struck across the temple, supporting him as
best she could as he fell back against her, unconscious.
"Check he's still breathing, wouldn't want him dying on us, would we now?"
"Joe!" Parker spat angrily. She couldn't believe one of her own staff was
involved. She checked Jarod's vitals, and then lowered him gently to the ground
beside her as she stood. Joe smiled and shrugged, backing up slowly, his gun
aimed squarely at her heart.
"The one and only. You didn't really think an imbecile like Andy could have
orchestrated all this, did you?" Joe asked. Parker glared at him.
"No, I guess only an imbecile of your high calibre could have pulled it off,"
she muttered. Joe slapped her, painfully hard, and Parker tasted blood in her
mouth.
"I've been planning this for weeks. You really thought I'd let you ruin it?" he
asked. Miss Parker realised his accent was slipping; Joe, too, was English.
She was beginning to think it was a conspiracy.
"Why Jarod?" she asked. Joe hit her again, the sound resounding in the big
room, her head snapping to one side. Parker felt tears well in her eyes from
the sting.
"Don't ask stupid questions, it doesn't become you!" he snarled. Miss Parker
thought over his words, looking for an advantage.
"What does become me Joe?" she asked defiantly, raising her eyes to meet his.
She set her shoulders back, so her chest stuck out, the wet material of her
blouse sticking to her breasts. Joe's gaze flickered.
"Don't tell me the Ice Queen wants to make a trade?" he asked sardonically. He
stepped closer, his hold on the gun still steady as he stretched out his free
hand. One finger trailed from her throat to her bellybutton slowly.
"Would you really go that far to protect Jarod?" Joe asked, "He must mean a lot
to you. Have a lot of 'one on one' sessions with him, then?"
Joe grabbed her by the hair, dragging her close to him, his gun pressed to
her temple. Parker panted, trying not to cry out as he viciously tugged on her
hair, puling her head back. Miss Parker shuddered with disgust as he nuzzled
her neck, then bit down. She yelled out with pain and fury, aware that blood
was trickling down the side of her throat.
Joe laughed, throwing her roughly to the ground and crouching beside her.
Miss Parker half sat up, sliding her hand down her leg slowly so he wouldn't
notice.
"A pretty little thing like you... but even you aren't worth what Jarod is to
Specifics. They're going to pay good money for him..." Joe said softly.
Miss Parker smiled at him sweetly, yanking her knife from its sheath and jamming
it into his leg. Joe howled in pain, and Parker knocked the gun from his hand,
hearing it skitter across the tile floor. She elbowed Joe in the face,
crouching over him as he fell backwards. She went to kick him in the ribs, but
he grabbed her ankle and twisted, causing her to fall to the floor. She groaned
in pain, rolling swiftly to her belly.
Parker reached for the knife in Joe's leg as he tried to stand, grabbing it in
both hands and twisting harshly. Joe cried out, staggering forward and falling
back to the floor with a thump. She pulled the knife from his leg, crawling up
his body as he stretched out to grab the gun. Joe tried to point it at her, and
Parker sank the knife into his belly.
"Nobody fucks with the Centre on my watch, understand?" Miss Parker growled.
She twisted the knife and Joe's hand clenched, the gun firing. Parker cried out
with pain, the bullet hitting her left shoulder. Joe was shaking beneath her,
and the gun dropped from his hands.
Joe coughed, his blood flecking onto Parker's face. His eyes were wide
and he was sweating, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Miss Parker
ignored the pain in her shoulder and bruised body, her blood flowing freely over
both of them. She jerked the knife again. Joe twitched slightly and coughed
again, then finally was still.
Standing up, Miss Parker clutched her hand over her bleeding shoulder.
She felt faint, and realised she must have lost a lot of blood. She stumbled
back to where Jarod lay, still out cold. She had done it; he was safe.
Dropping to her knees beside him, she checked his pulse again.
"If anyone else comes, you're on your own," Miss Parker mumbled to him. She
desperately hoped there were no more surprises; she didn't think she'd be able
to handle it. Hell, she knew she couldn't handle it.
Hearing distant shouts, the alarm finally shutting off, Miss Parker closed
her eyes in relief. Awkwardly she lay down, her head on Jarod's chest, her
torso covering his, her legs between his; a final effort to protect him.
"This had better be worth it," she mumbled, before darkness claimed her.
****
Signing off on her report, Miss Parker closed the file and pushed it away.
It was finally over; two days ago Andy had named every other Centre employee who
had been in on the conspiracy, and told them where to find the access tunnels on
Sub Level 1 he had intended on taking Jarod out through. Jarod was in
Infirmary, safe and sound, a concussion and two fractured ribs to show for his
adventure. Parker had the sneaking suspicion that the two fractures had
occurred when she was trying to lug his ass out of the pool, but wasn't about to
tell anyone else that.
Miss Parker herself had needed a blood transfusion, and several stitches
where the bullet had badly grazed her shoulder, but had been out of Infirmary
and back in her office before Jarod had even woken up. He had no idea who had
saved him, and Miss Parker wasn't about to let him in on the secret. She liked
the anonymity.
Miss Parker had killed a man. She'd had nightmares ever since the...
incident, she woke up at night screaming, only to realise it was real. What she
had hoped would be an incident without bloodshed and turned into a waking terror
for her; she had held a man and killed him slowly. Parker touched the scar on
her abdomen, remembered the little mob kid smiling while he shoved the knife
into her, and wondered if she had smiled at Joe when she pushed the knife into
him.
When he had heard what happened, Sydney had returned. He had
congratulated her for saving Jarod, and implied that if she needed somebody to
talk to, he was there. She had turned down his offer, hadn't even looked up
from her desk, and once he was gone, presumably to see Jarod, she cried into her
vodka. She had killed a man.
"Angel?"
Miss Parker raised her head, smiling weakly to see her father standing in
the doorway. She stood from her desk, and her father stepped inside her office,
looking her over as he approached. She was a sorry sight, her face bruised and
swollen from where Joe had hit her, a patch over the bite mark on her neck and
her arm in a sling.
"Oh, Angel. I knew you could do it!" her father said approvingly, and Miss
Parker wanted to cry. He enfolded her into a warm hug, and she felt her eyes
sting with tears. She brushed them away before he could see, and smiled up at
him.
"I am a Parker, daddy," Miss Parker said. Her father nodded.
"The best. If anybody could pull through this, you could. That's what I told
the other board members; they didn't believe me, but you sure proved them
wrong!"
Parker felt her warm glow of approval slide away from her. "Daddy? What
are you talking about?"
"That Johnson man was totally inappropriate, why, he failed in the first phase!
Shot in the throat, he died yesterday, I believe," her father said. Miss Parker
stiffened.
"What phase?" she asked slowly, her tone cold. Her father frowned.
"This. The test. We couldn't let just anyone run Security, sweetheart, we had
to find the best. And the only way to do that was if you proved your ability!
Which you did, I might add!" Mir Parker said, and beamed. Miss Parker stared at
him incredulously.
"Daddy! What about Specifics, don't they..." she faltered off as the truth
dawned on her.
"Surely you don't think we'd let a rival like that spring up, do you? The
Centre owns Specifics! Oh yes, the whole thing was arranged, and you passed
with flying colours!" her father boomed. Miss Parker stumbled away, tears
threatening.
"Daddy, I killed a man for this! Jarod..."
"Well whose idea do you think it was?"
Miss Parker felt like she had been hit in the gut. She sat down slowly,
coldness invading her body. "This was... Jarod's idea?"
"In all the ways that matter. I'm sorry it got so out of hand, we didn't mean
for Joe to go as far as he did..." her father said, touching Miss Parker's neck.
He stroked her hair soothingly, "You forgive me, don't you?"
Parker stared unseeingly at her father. Jarod must have known what was
going on all along, played it out like some stupid game. She had risked her
neck, killed a man and almost gotten killed herself, and for what? A test. A
stupid test, one that had come out of Jarod's own twisted head. For a moment
she felt a flicker of doubt, wondering why her father had put her through it
all, then she pushed that thought aside. Her father was all she had left.
Jarod was to blame.
****
Jarod awoke slowly, turning his head and wincing as he drew in a breath.
He had been dreaming about a mystery woman, the one who had apparently saved
him. He had vague memories of hearing a feminine voice while he had struggled
for air in the pool, and of soothing hands on his back before he had been
knocked unconscious, but that was all.
"I'm glad you're awake," a lilting voice stated, and Jarod opened his eyes.
"Sydney! You're back!" Jarod said, then groaned at the pain in his ribs.
Sydney smiled patiently.
"I felt that under the circumstances, it would be best. I've rescheduled my
time away for later this year."
Jarod nodded, "I was almost kidnapped."
"I know." Sydney said enigmatically. Jarod hesitated for a moment.
"Sydney, do you know of the woman who saved me, the new head of Security?" he
asked. Sydney smiled slightly, and something seemed to flicker in his eyes.
"I don't know anything of the person who helped you, and I certainly haven't
heard of a new Security head. I believe it was a sweeper who came to your
rescue."
"I wish I could thank her," Jarod said wistfully. He frowned, "Sydney, something
about this whole situation seemed so familiar..."
"I'm afraid it was a part of one of your simulations, twisted for somewhat
nefarious purposes," Sydney explained, looking genuinely regretful, "Somehow it
got into the wrong hands, and they used it against the Centre. Your very lucky
they didn't get away with it, I've been told the people who were trying to take
you were quite brutal. They'd had several bugs planted in your room so they
knew when you were in there, when they could remove the sweepers without
arousing your suspicions. We're lucky that nobody was seriously hurt."
"Oh." Jarod said.
"I had better go Jarod, you need your rest. It's back to work as soon as you're
able," Sydney said with a smile, and Jarod's face fell.
"Goodbye Sydney," he said.
"Goodbye Jarod," Sydney said.
"Sydney?" Jarod called when the older man was almost at the door.
"Yes Jarod?" Sydney asked, turning back.
"Do you know what ever happened to Miss Parker? The girl I knew when I was
young?" Jarod asked anxiously. Sydney smiled benignly, and was a long time in
answering.
"No. No, I don't know what happened to Miss Parker."
Two weeks later
"And thus it's my decision to return to Corporate. I can continue my duties as
head of Security just as well in the New York offices, focusing on the recent
Mafia interest in our activities. The raid twelve months ago was not their
first attempt, nor will it be their last; I'd like to get to the root of the
problem. It is under doctor's recommendations that I am not in the field at
this present stage," Miss Parker said. She kept her back straight despite the
resulting pain in her shoulder, and her face perfectly serene. Before her sat
her father, Mr Raines and the Madam Director.
"Very well Angel, although I must admit, I'll miss having you around here," her
father said warmly.
"A wise choice, Miss Parker. They could use someone of your integrity in
Corporate to help them clean up their act," the Madam Director said approvingly.
Miss Parker smiled stiffly.
"Thank you. I'll be gone as soon as my things are in order."
Back in her office, Miss Parker placed the last of her personal items in a
box. It was just over a month ago that she had unpacked them, and yet it felt
like an age. She lit a cigarette and looked around. She hoped she'd never have
to come back to this hellhole. She didn't ever want anything to do with Jarod
or the Pretender project again; nothing to remind her of the heinous act she had
committed on Sub Level 1, the blood on her hands.
"You're leaving then?" Sydney asked from the doorway. Miss Parker snorted
derisively.
"Of course. Wouldn't you, if you had the chance?" she asked.
"Our situations are somewhat different," Sydney said calmly.
"I forgot. You've got the lab rat to pander to," Parker muttered.
"He's been asking after you, you know."
Parker felt her heart stop, "You didn't tell him...?"
"I kept my promise," Sydney said, "I haven't told him it was you who saved him.
But he's becoming more and more persistent; he wants to know what happened to
the sweet little girl he knew so long ago. What should I tell him?"
Miss Parker dropped her silver ashtray on top of her other possessions,
then sealed up her box. She met Sydney's gaze squarely.
"Tell him I grew up."
September 1996
Returning to Corridor 15 after three years felt eerie to Miss Parker,
though she did her best not to show it. The plan was simple; find Jarod, bring
him home. She had missed him in Alaska, but vowed that would be the first and
last time she did. Parker hoped to have the rat back in Room 4 before the end
of the month, and then her deal with her father would be fulfilled, she could
finally leave the Centre forever.
"Imagine my excitement at being recalled from Corporate. Only you could have
created a mess big enough to get me back in the field," Miss Parker said to
Sydney, striding confidently towards Room 4.
"I am... thrilled to be working with you as well," Sydney said.
"Not for long," she said quickly, almost reassuring herself, "We've tagged his
account in Anchorage, he uses an ATM anywhere and he's ours."
"Don't underestimate him! If we're to catch him we need to be patient."
"Look Syd, you might be satisfied in your laboratory probing small minds for
solutions to big problems," Parker said, waving her hand to emphasise her point,
"But I have career goals that don't include schlepping across country chasing
after boy wonder."
Career goals, like getting the hell out of Blue Cove, Delaware. As they
approached Room 4, Sydney smiled faintly.
"You were such a happy little girl. What happened to you?" Sydney asked. Miss
Parker, feeling a sense of déjà vu, began to punch in the code for Room 4.
"I grew up Sydney. So should you," she said with a brief, grim smile. Crossing
her arms over her chest, she watched a small child on a tricycle approaching.
The buzzer on the door sounded, and Sydney pushed it open, Miss Parker
following.
"This is a waste of energy, I've been through Jarod's room a thousand times,"
Sydney said.
"I haven't," she drawled.
Sydney moved confidently through the space, while Parker walked slowly, studying
the models, books and paperwork on Jarod's shelves. His room hadn't changed
much since she had searched it three years ago. She was tempted to touch his
things, run her fingers over the models he had created, and imagined him
standing where she stood now...
"What are you hoping to find?" Sydney asked, turning back to look at her over
his shoulder, before heading for Jarod's desk.
"He left a breadcrumb on the tanker, and I'll bet he left one here. Run the
sim!" Miss Parker demanded.
Sydney hit a button on Jarod's desk, and the projector began to play.
Images of a plane crashing and bursting into flames played across the wall.
Sydney watched passively, "This is Jarod's last project. When the black box on
this aircraft wasn't recovered, Jarod simulated the final moments of the crash.
And in using his innate Pretender skills, Jarod effectively became each member
of the cockpit crew and pinpointed the cause of the crash for our clients."
Horrified by the images, Parker hit the off button. The images stopped,
and the overhead lights came back on. She leaned into Sydney, crowding his
personal space.
"Hell of an environment you keep him in, Syd. I mean, with input like this,
maybe we'll find him masquerading as a postal worker..." she bit out
sarcastically.
"He doesn't masquerade!" Sydney protested, "He's a Pretender, he becomes
anything he wants to be."
"Well, the Centre should have stuck to computers for their simulations. They
don't run away," Parker said, walking back around Jarod's desk. She shoved her
hands under her chin, surveying its contents.
"But they're not human. They can't feel what the crew was feeling as the plane
lost power, how their emotions contributed to their own fate," Sydney explained,
but Miss Parker had tuned out.
"Very, very clever," she said, smiling despite herself. She lifted a carefully
folded paper figure from the desk, "Do you know what this is?"
"An origami angel, but I haven't figured out what the emotional connection to
him is yet," Sydney replied. Miss Parker lifted its wings gently, then held it
up in one hand.
"It's not and angel, its wings are bent. It's Onyssius. The Greek god of
retribution. He defends the weak and abused..." Parker said. She had a mental
flash of being covered in both hers and Joe's blood, laying her body across
Jarod's in a last ditch effort to keep him from harm. It seemed Jarod was no
longer the one who needed defending.
"I'm impressed. How come you know so much about Greek lore?" Sydney was asking.
She felt a tinge of pain; Jarod wasn't the only one who could learn quickly.
Miss Parker had studied the mythology of various cultures when she was younger.
"I did a lot of frat boys in college," she said flippantly. She ran her fingers
over the delicate lines of the origami figure, then thrust it towards Sydney
angrily, "Here's your breadcrumb, Sydney. Your sociopath thinks he's some kind
of vigilante getting even for the little guy."
Parker violently threw the figure down onto the table and stalked away.
Jarod might seek vengeance for others, but she would extract hers on him. He'd
issued a challenge and she'd meet it, play his game and win. She'd start by
bringing him home. Out in Corridor 15, she touched her hand to her abdomen, to
the ridged scar nestled between her ribs. Perhaps, after four long years, it
was time to get the scar removed.
****
For the first time since he had escaped, Jarod finally found the time to
do what he had wanted to do for three years. Breaking the Centre's system, he
checked the personnel files, around September of 1993. He frowned; the only
records were of Mr Johnson, deceased. The next Security head had been based in
Corporate, the New York offices, and hadn't operated out of the Centre since.
Jarod clicked on the file, and was surprised at whose face came up. Miss
Parker, thirty-six years old, had been a field agent with Corporate until being
promoted to head of Security. She had never been back to the Centre, and her
file said she had spent the month of September '93 in a Centre facility in San
Diego, recovering from injuries sustained in the field.
Reading through her file, Jarod realised Miss Parker had been a Centre
operative since she was just out of college. She'd trained in martial arts and
various forms of weaponry, starting out as a sweeper and working her way up to
Corporate's top Cleaner in just ten years. Jarod tried to fit this career
history with the child he had known, and couldn't do it. He studied her
photograph; she looked so much like her mother it was frightening, but he could
see the differences. A certain hardness in her eyes, the grim, unsmiling set of
her jaw. It would seem Miss Parker had become a very dangerous woman.
That still didn't explain the woman who had been in the Centre at the time
of the kidnappings. Jarod was sure that Eddie had not created a fictitious
woman to debrief him, and Jarod himself had smelt her perfume after his room was
searched. And, of course, there was the mysterious figure that had saved him
from Andy. He still dreamed about her, and more of his memory of the events
that day had returned. Her soft voice whispering that everything was going to
be okay, her cool hands helping him to sit up and stroking his back before he
was knocked unconscious again.
Perhaps she had been a sweeper after all, and had lied to Eddie when she
had said she was head of Security. Perhaps she had been a ploy by the
kidnappers, to put them all off guard.
Taking one last, lingering look at the photograph of Miss Parker on his
screen, Jarod shutdown the laptop. He was due at the hospital in a view hours;
the Kevin Baily case was slowly unravelling itself to his satisfaction. He
stood up from his desk, taking a Pez dispenser with him, and looked at the
newspaper clipping he had stuck up to one wall, saddened by the death tolls he
saw there.
Before he did anything, he wanted to talk to Sydney.
The End.
Additional Author's Notes: This story is the result of being home sick and
watching my tapes of Pretender for ten hours a day. I couldn't help but notice
that during season one, the character of Miss Parker is both drawn to Jarod and
bitter about him, which was never fully explained. Genesis is my twisted
reasoning behind the situation.
The scene with Miss Parker and Sydney in Jarod's room is taken directly
from the pilot episode, and I cannot take credit for the dialogue, I've merely
put my own interpretation on it. A transcript of the pilot episode can be found
at Pretender Enthusiasts and Zealots (P.E.Z.)
http://members.nbci.com/MargAtHome/ and a quick synopsis and some photographs
can be found here - http://www.loisdailyplanet.com/01-01-pilot.htm at Lois'
Daily Planet.
Thank you,
Mandy.
Feedback to [email protected]
silence had become somewhat of a friend, a comfort. He was used to the silence
in Corridor 15, the silence as he worked or the silence in his room at night.
But this was a new kind of silence. The silence he was used to was silence
created by white noise, which was a contradiction in terms when he thought about
it - yet still made sense. White noise creating the illusion of silence, white
noise made up of lots of little noises that he was so accustomed to hearing, so
that all these familiar noises faded into the background and became... silence.
A disturbing new silence had fallen, Jarod realised. He raised his head
from his work, standing slowly. This was a disturbing silence because it was
the very definition of silence - a complete and utter absence of noise. There
was no white noise, no vents hissing, no footsteps outside his door, not even
the mechanical grind of the surveillance camera tracking his movement around the
room.
Jarod broke out into a cold sweat. He went to the door, cracking it open
warily. There were no sweepers or other residents in sight. His footsteps
echoed hollowly on the marble floor, and he made his way to the sim lab. There
were no sweepers on the way, and none near the sim lab. In fact, Jarod didn't
encounter one single person on his trip.
****
"There, go back!" Parker barked, and Broots jumped. On the table before them
lay tape after tape of surveillance footage, ready to be copied to DSA. Broots
rewound the tape they had been watching.
"The, uh, date and time says it was the same day they tried to take Eddie,"
Broots stuttered. They all watched as a man dressed in a janitor's uniform
walked confidently into Jarod's room and placed the bugs in position, under the
guise of cleaning.
"Who is he?" Parker asked. She felt like a caged animal, just waiting for the
door to open so she could attack, "And how the hell did he get a uniform? Did
he kill a janitor?"
Joe coughed discreetly, and Miss Parker glared at him. Joe pointed to the
man's face. "He *is* a janitor, Miss Parker. He's been here about three
months."
"Bring up his-"
"Got it!" Broots said. Miss Parker was amazed; the man had known what file she
wanted before she even said it. She filed it away for future reference. Broots
could possibly come in handy some other time.
"Andrew Whitmore, thirty-seven," Parker read. She scanned over his file,
frowning, "Born in Wisconsin, failed high school, used to be a labourer..."
Joe gave a sharp laugh, "Everything in there must be fake. I've talked to
the guy myself; he's got an English accent.
Parker pulled open the bottom drawer of her desk, taking out her gun and
it's holster. She hadn't worn it since she left Corporate, but now attached it
to her pants at her lower back. Miss Parker also secured two more clips to her
belt. She retrieved a knife in its sheath, tucking it into the ankle of her
boot and drawing the hem of her pants down over it. Broots watched her
nervously, while Joe nodded in approval.
"Joe, I want you to go-"
A siren rent the air, cutting Parker off mid-sentence. Broots tapped
furiously at the keyboard for a moment, and then pointed at the monitor, knowing
it was useless to attempt to talk. Parker and Joe leaned over, and she thumped
her fist on the table in frustration. A fire on Sub Level 12. A ruse, Miss
Parker thought. A ruse designed to somehow get Jarod.
****
When the alarm sounded, Jarod froze. He had been sitting in the sim lab,
feeling nervous and vulnerable, and the start of the alarm only compounded his
fears; something was very, very wrong. Hastily he stood up, hurrying out of the
lab. He didn't know where he was supposed to go, he just knew he couldn't sit
around and wait for something to happen.
He was halfway back to Corridor 15 when something hit him over the back of
his head. Jarod tumbled to the floor, his head reeling. He gasped in pain and
shock, attempting to scramble to his knees. Someone laughed behind him, and he
felt panic surging in his stomach.
"Get up, Pretender, it's time to go," a voice said behind him, with a familiar
cockney accent. Andy, he realised, Andy the janitor who had seemed so cheerful,
so unassuming.
Jarod groaned, and slumped back to the floor. He heard shuffling feet, and Andy
cursed. A hand grabbed the back of Jarod's tunic, rolling him over. Jarod
continued to roll up onto his knees, obviously taking Andy by surprise, swinging
an arm out and punching him in the face. Andy stumbled backwards, and Jarod
pressed home his advantage, leaping to his feet and ramming the man in the
stomach with his shoulder. They both fell to the floor, and Jarod rose up,
preparing to make a run for it when he heard the ominous sound of a safety
clicking off. He stopped, raising his hands into the air slowly as Andy stood,
wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"That wasn't smart. Move!" Andy growled.
Jarod considered his options as they headed for the elevator. The lack of
sweepers and handlers on the entire floor, not to mention the still screaming
alarm, suggested this had all been planned. For some reason, the situation
seemed sickeningly familiar to him, although he couldn't understand why.
"They'll find you, you know that, don't you?" Jarod said dangerously as they
entered the elevator car.
"I'm 'fraid all your handlers are a bit busy right now Jarod. We'll be done
'ere before you know it!" Andy leered. He poked Jarod in the gut with the
muzzle of the gun, and then laughed again. Jarod watched the floor numbers
light up as they ascended. They stopped at Sub Level 1, just one floor below
ground, and Jarod held his breath.
"How do you expect to get me out of here?" he asked. Andy shook his head.
"Wouldn't you like to know!"
****
Miss Parker could feel her hands shaking, and she took a few deep breaths
to try and calm her nerves. She had ascertained there was a fire on Sub Level
12, as well as a storage room full of unconscious sweepers. She had come
straight down to Corridor 15, but Jarod was gone.
Parker headed in the direction of the sim lab, but stopped halfway to
study some droplets of blood on the floor. She doubted Specifics would have
wanted Andy to harm Jarod in any way, which probably meant the Pretender had put
up a fight. She smiled grimly, hoping Jarod had pounded the SOB.
She headed for the elevator, watching with interest as the floor numbers
lit one by one, finally stopping at Sub Level 1. Drawing her gun, she hit the
call button and waited.
****
Jarod stepped out of the elevator, carefully placing his foot out to the
side and behind him as Andy stepped out, sending the man stumbling forward.
Jarod gave Andy a heavy thump to the back of the neck and he fell, allowing
Jarod to snatch the gun from his hands and bolt.
Unfamiliar with the level, he rapidly became confused, standing in the middle of
where two corridors intersected and panting for breath. He shucked off the
restraining tunic of his uniform, leaving him in only his undershirt. He saw a
sign on one door, which read 'Staff Pool', and pushed it open, hoping he would
find some staff to help him. He realised his mistake almost immediately, there
was no staff, just a long room with a large body of water in it. Jarod took the
gun and threw it as hard as he could into the depths of the water.
"Aww, now you're going to have to get that for me, ain't ya?" Andy asked behind
him.
Jarod couldn't turn around fast enough before Andy gave him a hard push,
sending him toppling into the water. Jarod gasped in a breath before he hit the
water, and sunk fast, flailing his limbs in attempt to get to the surface.
Jarod felt the pressure on his chest and the weight of his clothes and tried not
to panic, wishing somebody had taught him to swim.
****
Miss Parker saw Andy enter the poolroom and headed after him, pushing open
the door just in time to see Jarod be pushed into the pool. Andy swung to look
at her in surprise, and she trained her gun on him and smiled dangerously.
"Now, are you going to fish him out, or should I?" she asked, nodding at Jarod.
The Pretender's thrashing about was sending him further and further away from
the edge of the pool.
"I would," Andy said, his gaze lingering on Miss Parker's figure, "But I think
I'd really enjoy watchin' you bend over, love. Feel free."
Miss Parker gritted her teeth, edging closer to the edge of the pool.
Jarod emerged from the water, his back to her, gasping for air, and then sank
once again. She realised it wouldn't be long before he didn't emerge at all.
"Turn around, put your hands on your head and kneel down," Parker said. Andy
shrugged, gave her a wink, turned and knelt. The splashes from the pool were
becoming more and more infrequent.
Parker gave Andy a solid thump on the head with the butt of her gun,
hoping it would be enough to knock him out for a good while. Not wanting to put
her gun down on the side of the pool in case he regained consciousness and used
it against her, she threw it into the pool. Parker ripped off her jacket, her
sense of urgency mounting when she noticed that Jarod had stopped moving
underwater.
Diving into the pool, she kicked strongly until she reached Jarod. She
wrapped an arm around his torso, dragging him up with her as she swam to the
surface. He felt like a dead weight in her arms, his head lolling to one side
as she tried to keep both their heads above water and reach the edge.
Getting Jarod out of the water proved to be more difficult than Parker had
expected, and she opted for hauling herself out first and then slowly dragging
and bumping his body over the edge of the pool. Rolling him onto his back, Miss
Parker flicked her wet hair out of her face and checked for a pulse. It was
thready, and the Pretender wasn't breathing.
"Damn you Jarod!" she growled, tipping his head back and pinching his nose. She
covered his mouth with hers, exhaling her breath into his lungs. She lifted her
head, looking for a reaction, any reaction. It had been a long time since her
training, and she couldn't remember if she was doing it right.
Miss Parker repeated the process, checked, and then did it again. On the
fourth time he moved, coughing and rolling his head to the side. Parker scooted
so she sat behind him, lifting his shoulders and patting his back as he
sputtered and coughed up the water he had swallowed.
"Sh, it's okay, everything is going to be fine..." Miss Parker murmured
soothingly, stroking Jarod's broad back as he attempted to sit up, feeling
exhaustion rip through her.
"No... it's not," came a deep, male voice.
Parker winced as Jarod was struck across the temple, supporting him as
best she could as he fell back against her, unconscious.
"Check he's still breathing, wouldn't want him dying on us, would we now?"
"Joe!" Parker spat angrily. She couldn't believe one of her own staff was
involved. She checked Jarod's vitals, and then lowered him gently to the ground
beside her as she stood. Joe smiled and shrugged, backing up slowly, his gun
aimed squarely at her heart.
"The one and only. You didn't really think an imbecile like Andy could have
orchestrated all this, did you?" Joe asked. Parker glared at him.
"No, I guess only an imbecile of your high calibre could have pulled it off,"
she muttered. Joe slapped her, painfully hard, and Parker tasted blood in her
mouth.
"I've been planning this for weeks. You really thought I'd let you ruin it?" he
asked. Miss Parker realised his accent was slipping; Joe, too, was English.
She was beginning to think it was a conspiracy.
"Why Jarod?" she asked. Joe hit her again, the sound resounding in the big
room, her head snapping to one side. Parker felt tears well in her eyes from
the sting.
"Don't ask stupid questions, it doesn't become you!" he snarled. Miss Parker
thought over his words, looking for an advantage.
"What does become me Joe?" she asked defiantly, raising her eyes to meet his.
She set her shoulders back, so her chest stuck out, the wet material of her
blouse sticking to her breasts. Joe's gaze flickered.
"Don't tell me the Ice Queen wants to make a trade?" he asked sardonically. He
stepped closer, his hold on the gun still steady as he stretched out his free
hand. One finger trailed from her throat to her bellybutton slowly.
"Would you really go that far to protect Jarod?" Joe asked, "He must mean a lot
to you. Have a lot of 'one on one' sessions with him, then?"
Joe grabbed her by the hair, dragging her close to him, his gun pressed to
her temple. Parker panted, trying not to cry out as he viciously tugged on her
hair, puling her head back. Miss Parker shuddered with disgust as he nuzzled
her neck, then bit down. She yelled out with pain and fury, aware that blood
was trickling down the side of her throat.
Joe laughed, throwing her roughly to the ground and crouching beside her.
Miss Parker half sat up, sliding her hand down her leg slowly so he wouldn't
notice.
"A pretty little thing like you... but even you aren't worth what Jarod is to
Specifics. They're going to pay good money for him..." Joe said softly.
Miss Parker smiled at him sweetly, yanking her knife from its sheath and jamming
it into his leg. Joe howled in pain, and Parker knocked the gun from his hand,
hearing it skitter across the tile floor. She elbowed Joe in the face,
crouching over him as he fell backwards. She went to kick him in the ribs, but
he grabbed her ankle and twisted, causing her to fall to the floor. She groaned
in pain, rolling swiftly to her belly.
Parker reached for the knife in Joe's leg as he tried to stand, grabbing it in
both hands and twisting harshly. Joe cried out, staggering forward and falling
back to the floor with a thump. She pulled the knife from his leg, crawling up
his body as he stretched out to grab the gun. Joe tried to point it at her, and
Parker sank the knife into his belly.
"Nobody fucks with the Centre on my watch, understand?" Miss Parker growled.
She twisted the knife and Joe's hand clenched, the gun firing. Parker cried out
with pain, the bullet hitting her left shoulder. Joe was shaking beneath her,
and the gun dropped from his hands.
Joe coughed, his blood flecking onto Parker's face. His eyes were wide
and he was sweating, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Miss Parker
ignored the pain in her shoulder and bruised body, her blood flowing freely over
both of them. She jerked the knife again. Joe twitched slightly and coughed
again, then finally was still.
Standing up, Miss Parker clutched her hand over her bleeding shoulder.
She felt faint, and realised she must have lost a lot of blood. She stumbled
back to where Jarod lay, still out cold. She had done it; he was safe.
Dropping to her knees beside him, she checked his pulse again.
"If anyone else comes, you're on your own," Miss Parker mumbled to him. She
desperately hoped there were no more surprises; she didn't think she'd be able
to handle it. Hell, she knew she couldn't handle it.
Hearing distant shouts, the alarm finally shutting off, Miss Parker closed
her eyes in relief. Awkwardly she lay down, her head on Jarod's chest, her
torso covering his, her legs between his; a final effort to protect him.
"This had better be worth it," she mumbled, before darkness claimed her.
****
Signing off on her report, Miss Parker closed the file and pushed it away.
It was finally over; two days ago Andy had named every other Centre employee who
had been in on the conspiracy, and told them where to find the access tunnels on
Sub Level 1 he had intended on taking Jarod out through. Jarod was in
Infirmary, safe and sound, a concussion and two fractured ribs to show for his
adventure. Parker had the sneaking suspicion that the two fractures had
occurred when she was trying to lug his ass out of the pool, but wasn't about to
tell anyone else that.
Miss Parker herself had needed a blood transfusion, and several stitches
where the bullet had badly grazed her shoulder, but had been out of Infirmary
and back in her office before Jarod had even woken up. He had no idea who had
saved him, and Miss Parker wasn't about to let him in on the secret. She liked
the anonymity.
Miss Parker had killed a man. She'd had nightmares ever since the...
incident, she woke up at night screaming, only to realise it was real. What she
had hoped would be an incident without bloodshed and turned into a waking terror
for her; she had held a man and killed him slowly. Parker touched the scar on
her abdomen, remembered the little mob kid smiling while he shoved the knife
into her, and wondered if she had smiled at Joe when she pushed the knife into
him.
When he had heard what happened, Sydney had returned. He had
congratulated her for saving Jarod, and implied that if she needed somebody to
talk to, he was there. She had turned down his offer, hadn't even looked up
from her desk, and once he was gone, presumably to see Jarod, she cried into her
vodka. She had killed a man.
"Angel?"
Miss Parker raised her head, smiling weakly to see her father standing in
the doorway. She stood from her desk, and her father stepped inside her office,
looking her over as he approached. She was a sorry sight, her face bruised and
swollen from where Joe had hit her, a patch over the bite mark on her neck and
her arm in a sling.
"Oh, Angel. I knew you could do it!" her father said approvingly, and Miss
Parker wanted to cry. He enfolded her into a warm hug, and she felt her eyes
sting with tears. She brushed them away before he could see, and smiled up at
him.
"I am a Parker, daddy," Miss Parker said. Her father nodded.
"The best. If anybody could pull through this, you could. That's what I told
the other board members; they didn't believe me, but you sure proved them
wrong!"
Parker felt her warm glow of approval slide away from her. "Daddy? What
are you talking about?"
"That Johnson man was totally inappropriate, why, he failed in the first phase!
Shot in the throat, he died yesterday, I believe," her father said. Miss Parker
stiffened.
"What phase?" she asked slowly, her tone cold. Her father frowned.
"This. The test. We couldn't let just anyone run Security, sweetheart, we had
to find the best. And the only way to do that was if you proved your ability!
Which you did, I might add!" Mir Parker said, and beamed. Miss Parker stared at
him incredulously.
"Daddy! What about Specifics, don't they..." she faltered off as the truth
dawned on her.
"Surely you don't think we'd let a rival like that spring up, do you? The
Centre owns Specifics! Oh yes, the whole thing was arranged, and you passed
with flying colours!" her father boomed. Miss Parker stumbled away, tears
threatening.
"Daddy, I killed a man for this! Jarod..."
"Well whose idea do you think it was?"
Miss Parker felt like she had been hit in the gut. She sat down slowly,
coldness invading her body. "This was... Jarod's idea?"
"In all the ways that matter. I'm sorry it got so out of hand, we didn't mean
for Joe to go as far as he did..." her father said, touching Miss Parker's neck.
He stroked her hair soothingly, "You forgive me, don't you?"
Parker stared unseeingly at her father. Jarod must have known what was
going on all along, played it out like some stupid game. She had risked her
neck, killed a man and almost gotten killed herself, and for what? A test. A
stupid test, one that had come out of Jarod's own twisted head. For a moment
she felt a flicker of doubt, wondering why her father had put her through it
all, then she pushed that thought aside. Her father was all she had left.
Jarod was to blame.
****
Jarod awoke slowly, turning his head and wincing as he drew in a breath.
He had been dreaming about a mystery woman, the one who had apparently saved
him. He had vague memories of hearing a feminine voice while he had struggled
for air in the pool, and of soothing hands on his back before he had been
knocked unconscious, but that was all.
"I'm glad you're awake," a lilting voice stated, and Jarod opened his eyes.
"Sydney! You're back!" Jarod said, then groaned at the pain in his ribs.
Sydney smiled patiently.
"I felt that under the circumstances, it would be best. I've rescheduled my
time away for later this year."
Jarod nodded, "I was almost kidnapped."
"I know." Sydney said enigmatically. Jarod hesitated for a moment.
"Sydney, do you know of the woman who saved me, the new head of Security?" he
asked. Sydney smiled slightly, and something seemed to flicker in his eyes.
"I don't know anything of the person who helped you, and I certainly haven't
heard of a new Security head. I believe it was a sweeper who came to your
rescue."
"I wish I could thank her," Jarod said wistfully. He frowned, "Sydney, something
about this whole situation seemed so familiar..."
"I'm afraid it was a part of one of your simulations, twisted for somewhat
nefarious purposes," Sydney explained, looking genuinely regretful, "Somehow it
got into the wrong hands, and they used it against the Centre. Your very lucky
they didn't get away with it, I've been told the people who were trying to take
you were quite brutal. They'd had several bugs planted in your room so they
knew when you were in there, when they could remove the sweepers without
arousing your suspicions. We're lucky that nobody was seriously hurt."
"Oh." Jarod said.
"I had better go Jarod, you need your rest. It's back to work as soon as you're
able," Sydney said with a smile, and Jarod's face fell.
"Goodbye Sydney," he said.
"Goodbye Jarod," Sydney said.
"Sydney?" Jarod called when the older man was almost at the door.
"Yes Jarod?" Sydney asked, turning back.
"Do you know what ever happened to Miss Parker? The girl I knew when I was
young?" Jarod asked anxiously. Sydney smiled benignly, and was a long time in
answering.
"No. No, I don't know what happened to Miss Parker."
Two weeks later
"And thus it's my decision to return to Corporate. I can continue my duties as
head of Security just as well in the New York offices, focusing on the recent
Mafia interest in our activities. The raid twelve months ago was not their
first attempt, nor will it be their last; I'd like to get to the root of the
problem. It is under doctor's recommendations that I am not in the field at
this present stage," Miss Parker said. She kept her back straight despite the
resulting pain in her shoulder, and her face perfectly serene. Before her sat
her father, Mr Raines and the Madam Director.
"Very well Angel, although I must admit, I'll miss having you around here," her
father said warmly.
"A wise choice, Miss Parker. They could use someone of your integrity in
Corporate to help them clean up their act," the Madam Director said approvingly.
Miss Parker smiled stiffly.
"Thank you. I'll be gone as soon as my things are in order."
Back in her office, Miss Parker placed the last of her personal items in a
box. It was just over a month ago that she had unpacked them, and yet it felt
like an age. She lit a cigarette and looked around. She hoped she'd never have
to come back to this hellhole. She didn't ever want anything to do with Jarod
or the Pretender project again; nothing to remind her of the heinous act she had
committed on Sub Level 1, the blood on her hands.
"You're leaving then?" Sydney asked from the doorway. Miss Parker snorted
derisively.
"Of course. Wouldn't you, if you had the chance?" she asked.
"Our situations are somewhat different," Sydney said calmly.
"I forgot. You've got the lab rat to pander to," Parker muttered.
"He's been asking after you, you know."
Parker felt her heart stop, "You didn't tell him...?"
"I kept my promise," Sydney said, "I haven't told him it was you who saved him.
But he's becoming more and more persistent; he wants to know what happened to
the sweet little girl he knew so long ago. What should I tell him?"
Miss Parker dropped her silver ashtray on top of her other possessions,
then sealed up her box. She met Sydney's gaze squarely.
"Tell him I grew up."
September 1996
Returning to Corridor 15 after three years felt eerie to Miss Parker,
though she did her best not to show it. The plan was simple; find Jarod, bring
him home. She had missed him in Alaska, but vowed that would be the first and
last time she did. Parker hoped to have the rat back in Room 4 before the end
of the month, and then her deal with her father would be fulfilled, she could
finally leave the Centre forever.
"Imagine my excitement at being recalled from Corporate. Only you could have
created a mess big enough to get me back in the field," Miss Parker said to
Sydney, striding confidently towards Room 4.
"I am... thrilled to be working with you as well," Sydney said.
"Not for long," she said quickly, almost reassuring herself, "We've tagged his
account in Anchorage, he uses an ATM anywhere and he's ours."
"Don't underestimate him! If we're to catch him we need to be patient."
"Look Syd, you might be satisfied in your laboratory probing small minds for
solutions to big problems," Parker said, waving her hand to emphasise her point,
"But I have career goals that don't include schlepping across country chasing
after boy wonder."
Career goals, like getting the hell out of Blue Cove, Delaware. As they
approached Room 4, Sydney smiled faintly.
"You were such a happy little girl. What happened to you?" Sydney asked. Miss
Parker, feeling a sense of déjà vu, began to punch in the code for Room 4.
"I grew up Sydney. So should you," she said with a brief, grim smile. Crossing
her arms over her chest, she watched a small child on a tricycle approaching.
The buzzer on the door sounded, and Sydney pushed it open, Miss Parker
following.
"This is a waste of energy, I've been through Jarod's room a thousand times,"
Sydney said.
"I haven't," she drawled.
Sydney moved confidently through the space, while Parker walked slowly, studying
the models, books and paperwork on Jarod's shelves. His room hadn't changed
much since she had searched it three years ago. She was tempted to touch his
things, run her fingers over the models he had created, and imagined him
standing where she stood now...
"What are you hoping to find?" Sydney asked, turning back to look at her over
his shoulder, before heading for Jarod's desk.
"He left a breadcrumb on the tanker, and I'll bet he left one here. Run the
sim!" Miss Parker demanded.
Sydney hit a button on Jarod's desk, and the projector began to play.
Images of a plane crashing and bursting into flames played across the wall.
Sydney watched passively, "This is Jarod's last project. When the black box on
this aircraft wasn't recovered, Jarod simulated the final moments of the crash.
And in using his innate Pretender skills, Jarod effectively became each member
of the cockpit crew and pinpointed the cause of the crash for our clients."
Horrified by the images, Parker hit the off button. The images stopped,
and the overhead lights came back on. She leaned into Sydney, crowding his
personal space.
"Hell of an environment you keep him in, Syd. I mean, with input like this,
maybe we'll find him masquerading as a postal worker..." she bit out
sarcastically.
"He doesn't masquerade!" Sydney protested, "He's a Pretender, he becomes
anything he wants to be."
"Well, the Centre should have stuck to computers for their simulations. They
don't run away," Parker said, walking back around Jarod's desk. She shoved her
hands under her chin, surveying its contents.
"But they're not human. They can't feel what the crew was feeling as the plane
lost power, how their emotions contributed to their own fate," Sydney explained,
but Miss Parker had tuned out.
"Very, very clever," she said, smiling despite herself. She lifted a carefully
folded paper figure from the desk, "Do you know what this is?"
"An origami angel, but I haven't figured out what the emotional connection to
him is yet," Sydney replied. Miss Parker lifted its wings gently, then held it
up in one hand.
"It's not and angel, its wings are bent. It's Onyssius. The Greek god of
retribution. He defends the weak and abused..." Parker said. She had a mental
flash of being covered in both hers and Joe's blood, laying her body across
Jarod's in a last ditch effort to keep him from harm. It seemed Jarod was no
longer the one who needed defending.
"I'm impressed. How come you know so much about Greek lore?" Sydney was asking.
She felt a tinge of pain; Jarod wasn't the only one who could learn quickly.
Miss Parker had studied the mythology of various cultures when she was younger.
"I did a lot of frat boys in college," she said flippantly. She ran her fingers
over the delicate lines of the origami figure, then thrust it towards Sydney
angrily, "Here's your breadcrumb, Sydney. Your sociopath thinks he's some kind
of vigilante getting even for the little guy."
Parker violently threw the figure down onto the table and stalked away.
Jarod might seek vengeance for others, but she would extract hers on him. He'd
issued a challenge and she'd meet it, play his game and win. She'd start by
bringing him home. Out in Corridor 15, she touched her hand to her abdomen, to
the ridged scar nestled between her ribs. Perhaps, after four long years, it
was time to get the scar removed.
****
For the first time since he had escaped, Jarod finally found the time to
do what he had wanted to do for three years. Breaking the Centre's system, he
checked the personnel files, around September of 1993. He frowned; the only
records were of Mr Johnson, deceased. The next Security head had been based in
Corporate, the New York offices, and hadn't operated out of the Centre since.
Jarod clicked on the file, and was surprised at whose face came up. Miss
Parker, thirty-six years old, had been a field agent with Corporate until being
promoted to head of Security. She had never been back to the Centre, and her
file said she had spent the month of September '93 in a Centre facility in San
Diego, recovering from injuries sustained in the field.
Reading through her file, Jarod realised Miss Parker had been a Centre
operative since she was just out of college. She'd trained in martial arts and
various forms of weaponry, starting out as a sweeper and working her way up to
Corporate's top Cleaner in just ten years. Jarod tried to fit this career
history with the child he had known, and couldn't do it. He studied her
photograph; she looked so much like her mother it was frightening, but he could
see the differences. A certain hardness in her eyes, the grim, unsmiling set of
her jaw. It would seem Miss Parker had become a very dangerous woman.
That still didn't explain the woman who had been in the Centre at the time
of the kidnappings. Jarod was sure that Eddie had not created a fictitious
woman to debrief him, and Jarod himself had smelt her perfume after his room was
searched. And, of course, there was the mysterious figure that had saved him
from Andy. He still dreamed about her, and more of his memory of the events
that day had returned. Her soft voice whispering that everything was going to
be okay, her cool hands helping him to sit up and stroking his back before he
was knocked unconscious again.
Perhaps she had been a sweeper after all, and had lied to Eddie when she
had said she was head of Security. Perhaps she had been a ploy by the
kidnappers, to put them all off guard.
Taking one last, lingering look at the photograph of Miss Parker on his
screen, Jarod shutdown the laptop. He was due at the hospital in a view hours;
the Kevin Baily case was slowly unravelling itself to his satisfaction. He
stood up from his desk, taking a Pez dispenser with him, and looked at the
newspaper clipping he had stuck up to one wall, saddened by the death tolls he
saw there.
Before he did anything, he wanted to talk to Sydney.
The End.
Additional Author's Notes: This story is the result of being home sick and
watching my tapes of Pretender for ten hours a day. I couldn't help but notice
that during season one, the character of Miss Parker is both drawn to Jarod and
bitter about him, which was never fully explained. Genesis is my twisted
reasoning behind the situation.
The scene with Miss Parker and Sydney in Jarod's room is taken directly
from the pilot episode, and I cannot take credit for the dialogue, I've merely
put my own interpretation on it. A transcript of the pilot episode can be found
at Pretender Enthusiasts and Zealots (P.E.Z.)
http://members.nbci.com/MargAtHome/ and a quick synopsis and some photographs
can be found here - http://www.loisdailyplanet.com/01-01-pilot.htm at Lois'
Daily Planet.
Thank you,
Mandy.
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