"Sydney," the man responded into the phone on his desk after the second ring.
"Why hello there old friend."
"Jarod," It was more of a statement than a question. "Wow, this is certainly a surprise, I haven't seen or heard from you in at least two years."
"Yea I know three years after Ms. Parker and I were on that island you all finally stopped chasing me."
"That is because you disappeared completely. I always told Raines and Ms. Parker that we were only able to find you because you let us and that if you wanted to disappear completely, you could."
"Yea, after all I can do anything I want to do or be anyone I want to be, why not invisible," the still young pretender told his mentor.
"Then you gave me one more phone call almost a year later and that was it. So why have you called again, not that I am not happy to hear from you?"
"Well it is because I just read Mr. Raines's obituary in the newspaper. I just thought I would find out how things are going at the Centre now. How is Ms. Parker, he was her father even though I can imagine they never really bonded."
"You are sure right about that. So I have to ask what have you been up to these past 3 years, you never really told me anything in our last phone call except goodbye?"
"Well, I found my family. That is why I disappeared those 3 years ago. I have been with them, finally experiencing some amount of normalcy. However, recently, I started pretending again. I felt I had to after I read certain newspaper clippings."
"You have always been one to help others," the older man admitted.
"As you taught me Syd. Anyways, I figured it would be ok since you all had pretty much finally left me alone."
"But what about now, you called me at the Centre, "they" will find out about this call and come find you."
"They who? Who is running the show now?"
"Lyle," he said simply.
"Well then, I guess the chase begins again." With that last line Jarod hung up the phone. He then looked around his apartment and at the newspaper clipping sitting on the table in front of him and thought…here we go again.
Two days after Jarod's phone call to his old friend at the Center Ms. Parker stopped unexpectedly into Sydney's office. Although technically the chase for Jarod was still on, Ms. Parker and Sydney really had not had that much reason to speak about it because of the effective standstill imposed by Jarod's absolute disappearance. While these two were still friends, there had been little reason for her to intrude upon his office without knocking as she used to frequently do as of late, until now. She walked in at about two o'clock in the afternoon with Broots on her tail and spoke to Sydney just as if the time were 5 years ago and the chase had never slowed. "So Sydney, anything you, say want to tell me." She not really asked but more commanded of Sydney.
"No, not that I can think of," the older man responded.
"What about, I don't know, a phone call?" she spoke glaring at him.
On that note Sydney looked over at Broots with an accusing face ,"Ordering Broots to listen into my phone calls again Ms. Parker?"
"Actually no."
"Well then how did you know?"
"Me," Lyle interjected while walking into Sydney's office.
"But how did you know Jarod contacted me?" he instead pointed this question towards Lyle this time.
"I have had your calls being monitored for quite a while and instructed the techs to record any calls that were from unrecognizable numbers."
"I see."
"So then," Ms. Parker interjected, "Sorry to break up this conversation but back to this phone call."
"I thought you listened to the recording," Sydney accused.
"We did but I want to hear your opinion of it, you do know Jarod the best, where do we start with this chase again."
"So after all this time we really are going to continue with this? We have not caught him yet, what makes you think that will change now?"
"I'm sure we will think of something," Lyle commented mysteriously.
A week after this conversation Jarod was in the parking lot of "his hospital" saying goodbye to one of his patients.
"Dr. Sparks how can I ever thank you for what you have done for my son and me? You saved my son's life and exposed Dr. Parks."
"Just promise that you will always love and continue to care for your son," Jarod responded.
"Sounds like you are very close to your mom?" the mother responded.
"I am now," Jarod responded with a huge grin on his face. "Goodbye Pam."
"Goodbye Doctor."
Jarod then turned back towards the hospital and walked straight up to his office. He opened his traditional red notebook and glanced once again over the articles contained within it while sitting down in his chair. After he glanced back at Joey's picture in the clipping he put the notebook along with a note in a manila envelope and sent it off in the mail.
The next day in the Centre Broots delivered a package to Ms. Parker. When she saw it, it immediately reminded her of the kind her old genus boy would send her. She refused to let herself admit it, but she had missed him. He had been her friend, her fellow searcher, and someone she actually felt connected to, not to mention her ticket to freedom. That was the reason she had been so happy, although she would let no one else know, when she had heard the recording of Sydney's call with Jarod. He was back, not only could she finally stop with the bad assignments she had had of late, Raines and Lyle had punished her for her inability to catch Jarod permanently it seemed, but now she might get to have some sort of contact with him. She amused herself to wonder whether Jarod would be calling her in the middle of night in the near future. Broots handed her the package which she opened immediately. Inside the manila folder was a red notebook that she immediately recognized as one of Jarod's, with a post-it note of the front that read, "Just a little help to get you started again."
"So who is it from," Broots asked.
"Who do you think, go call Sydney and get him in here pronto."
"Will do Ms. Parker."
Five minutes later Broots returned with Sydney and the three of them began to look over the notebook. "I feel as if no time has passed at all," Sydney stated in his usual physiatrist tone.
"What does it mean Syd? Where is he going next?"
"Your guess is as good as mine Parker, all we know is that he is up to his old pretends again, which means Broots start the tracking again."
"Will do," the younger man responded.
"And it begins," Ms. Parker stated abruptly before walking out of her office. She figured if she were going to begin this Jarod hunt again tomorrow she needed a good night's sleep… and a good drink.
Broots followed Ms. Parker out heading for his office. Sydney took one last look at the notebook and then with a quiet mutter of "Well done Jarod," he left Ms. Parker's office shutting the door behind him.
I cannot believe that this is happening again Parker said to herself. After five years he is back. With that thought her phone rang. "Bet I know who that is," she said with a smirk………..