Jarod silently slipped back into the forest. The second phase on the Centre's downfall was now in motion. The economic collapse was well in hand, both in the US and in Africa. Now it was time for a more personal attack on those who had ruined his life.

Sydney was worried; two months with no word from Jarod and strange rumors floating around about his activities. Last week Parker had come back from a meeting both gleeful and concerned. Sydney could not remember ever seeing her in such a state before. And she wouldn't say anything until Broots, Sydney and herself were well away from the Centre. Even a trip to the hydroponics labs was considered to close to the Centre. And after hearing all about the meeting and her impression of Ramos, Sydney found he totally agreed with her sentiment. Jarod was walking a dangerous line and Sydney had no way of warning him.

Sydney thought back to the last conversation he had with Jarod. The surprise party the others had thrown for him was topped by the phone call from Jarod. Unfortunately, the meal had cut the conversation short and Jarod had never called back. It had been nice having his whole 'family' gathered together, even if one member was only there by phone.

A knock at his front door interrupted Sydney's musings. He glanced over at the clock and made a mental bet with himself. The only one who would knock at his door at 10:45 on a Saturday morning was Gregory, the neighborhood paper route boy. He grabbed his wallet and opened the door. Sure enough, the ten-year-old stood there, smiling his gap-tooth grin.

"Morning, Dr. Sydney."

"Good morning, Gregory. How are you today?" Sydney was fond of his paper route boy and that fondness showed in his voice.

"Doing good. Mom says to tell you thanks for the idea for the science fair project. She was totally out of ideas. Didn't win a prize, though. Dad said I probably didn't listen to you enough. But they still took me out to celebrate actually entering this year." The green eyes staring up at Sydney sparkled with a joy that was almost painful to witness.

"Got your bill here. Oh and some guy down the street asked me to give you this."

Sydney handed the young boy the 20 bill he had ready and accepted both envelope and the newspaper with a puzzled thank you. He absently closed the door as Gregory jumped back on his bicycle and raced back down the walkway. Sydney quickly tore open the envelope, hoping that it was a letter from Jarod. His hopes were smashed, though, as a quick glance revealed unfamiliar handwriting.

'Sydney, we need to talk about Jarod. Can you meet me at the Waterside Café in 15 minutes? It's important. Major Charles.

Sydney didn't hesitate. He grabbed his keys and started towards the front door. But then his brain sounded an alert and he knew that rushing off would alert any sweepers watching his house that something was up. He knew that he had to act as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening. He calmed down a little and strolled out the front door, tucking his newspaper under his arm. He hoped that he looked like someone heading out for a weekend brunch; an activity that Sydney participated in whenever he could.

Seventeen minutes later, Sydney pulled into the café's parking lot. He frequently enjoyed the meals here and knew that very few, if any, Centre employees ventured this far from town on Saturday mornings. He was approaching the double entry doors when he caught sight of the Major. The other man waved once at Sydney from the back corner of the building and then popped back behind the wall. Seconds later, a black SUV with tinted windows spun around the building and stopped next to Sydney.

"Quick, get in," Sydney heard from the dark interior. He had barely buckled his seatbelt when the car took off. He looked over at the Major and started to ask a question, but the intense look on the other man's face stopped him. Silence filled the air until, some ten minutes later, they stopped in the parking lot of a local park.

"Has something happened to Jarod, Major? I haven't heard from him in months."

The drawn look on the driver's face got deeper.

"Months ago. Two months ago? Oh God." The Major's last sentence was a plea for help, uttered almost too softly to be heard.

Sydney watched as the blood drained from the Major's face. Something was seriously wrong, he was sure of it.

"What happened two months ago, Major? Where's Jarod?" Sydney's voice the anxiety that he was feeling for his wayward protégé..

The major leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. His face twisted into an expression of pure anguish, a look Sydney had seen on Jarod's face before.

"I found Margaret about two months ago, Sydney, and was finally able to contact Jarod. Their reunion was something I had been dreaming about for years and it was everything that I could have hoped for. Jarod couldn't take his eyes off his mother for the entire evening. And the next morning was almost funny. Watching Jarod facing his mother about proper breakfast foods was a sight to treasure. But, then ..."

Sydney waited for the major to continue, but his heart was starting to pound. He knew that whatever had upset Jarod was coming next.

"But, then," he took a deep breath, "Margaret had some personal time with Jarod. I took Emily and Ryan out for a while and when we came back, I found Jarod huddled in a corner of his room. He was practically catatonic, Sydney, because Margaret had blamed him for everything that had happened. The kidnappings, the family being on the run, even for Kyle's death!"

He took another deep breath and wiped away the tears that were streaming down his face.

"He heard Margaret and me arguing about it and he begged us to stop. Then he took off. He won't answer my calls and my emails are being bounced back. Please, Sydney, you know my son better than I do, tell me how to find my boy. Please." The fact that the Major was asking Sydney for help showed the true desperation the other man was feeling. The Major considered Sydney as one of the Centre's lackeys who stole his son from him all those years ago and Sydney would bet his last dollar that the Major truly hated asking him for help.

Sydney had to swallow several times to remove the lump in his throat. All of Jarod's fears had come true and, when he had called for help, Sydney hadn't caught on. He forced himself steady and answered the Major.

"He called me about two months ago. Some of my friends and family had thrown a surprise birthday for me and Jarod called just as we were getting ready to eat. He hasn't called back since. But," this time is was Sydney's turn to take a deep breath, "last week Miss Parker was forced to attend a meeting in the Tower. The Triumvirate is blaming Jarod for a series of lost clients and they want him back immediately."

Both men were silent for a few minutes; each thinking about the son they had in common. Sydney finally reached a decision that he knew was long overdue.

"I'll help you, Major. We need to find Jarod and stop him before the Centre finds him."

Jarod's biological father eyed the man who had raised his son and wondered if he could trust him. But there was something in Sydney's eye that told the Major that Sydney was finally willing to fight for Jarod. He held his right hand out.

"The name is Charles." And with that, Sydney knew that the Major had forgiven him; at least enough for them to work together to save Jarod.

Miss Parker eyed the FedEx package that Broots had just placed on her desk with trepidation. She knew it was from the rat-boy, she just knew it, and she really didn't want to open it. The little hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up and that meant trouble was approaching. And the trouble was tied in with whatever was in the package. She slowly tore the seal off and slid the single sheet of paper out of the envelope. She looked over at Broots and Sydney and then they all looked down at the one word written on the paper: BOOM!

Sheer terror started to build inside Parker, but she couldn't figure out who she was scared for. She didn't think that the PEZ-head would hurt her, but did that mean that someone else wouldn't. Or was it just one of his cryptic warning about the Centre in general? She banished the terror down deep inside where she buried all her unwelcome emotions and looked over at Sydney.

"Well, Freud, what does it mean?"

"I can answer that, Sis."

Lyle's stood just inside the door to her office, his arms tightly crossed over his chest.

"I guess you haven't heard the news then. Raines' house exploded last night. Happened just as he was pulling up the drive. Official explanation is a gas leak, but Raines and Ramos are blaming the labrat. But then, you wouldn't know anything about that, now would you."

"Back off, little brother," Parker snarled back at Lyle. "If I wanted that walking ghoul dead, he would be face down somewhere unpleasant instead of upstairs in his office."

"What makes you think Jarod has something to do with this, Lyle?" Sydney calmly broke into the twin's staring match.

"Willie says he saw a black jacketed figure disappearing into the woods right after the explosion."

"If it was Franken-rat, Willie wouldn't have seen anything, so forgive me if I have trouble believing him. Now, I have work to do, so don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out," Parker informed Lyle in tones that stated he was an idiot for not knowing that without being told.

Lyle glared at the other three people in the office before storming out of the room. Sydney strolled over to the still open door, looked up and down the corridor, and slowly closed the door. He leaned against the hard wood and pushed his hands deep inside his pockets. Years of experience had taught him how to remain expressionless and he used that skill now.

"So, tell me, Freud, has your little pet declared war on the Centre?"