A Cure For What Ails Us
Part 3
Jarod pulls into a rest area off of the main highway. Miss Parker leans over her seat to unfasten Benjamin from his car seat while Jarod walksaround to the other side of the car to open the door for them both.
"Thanks," she whispers while holding her son tightly and stepping out of the car.
"Why don't you let me take him," Jarod offers. "We'll go get a table and you can go get washed up or something."
She smiles as she puts the baby into Jarod's arms. It amazed her sometimes how perceptive he was. He could almost always sense what she needed, although she'd never admit that to him. She follows him into the nearly empty diner and as Jarod heads to a table, she breaks away and goes to the restrooms. A few minutes later, she hears the door to the bathroom open and her heart stops for a minute,afraid that someone had caught up with them already. But her paranoid fears are relieved when two local women begin to speak to each other.
"Did you see that guy? Talk about good looking," gushes the first woman.
"Oh, I know. Definitely the hottest thing to come through here in a while," the second one agrees. "And that baby he has is so adorable." The fear Miss Parker held earlier quickly turns into a feeling just as equally passionate, but far more dangerous. jealousy. At least, more dangerous for the two women talking about Jarod like he was some piece of meat.
"You think he's married? He has the baby, but I didn't see a ring."
"Married or not. I don't care. He's fine. Besides, what kind of woman would let a guy who looks like that out on his own anyway?"
Miss Parker walks from the stall and glares at the two women, an inexplicable anger rising up in her chest.
"The kind of woman who'd do ANYTHING to keep what belonged to her," she growls at them, even more surprised at her possessiveness than they were. She shoots them one more warning glare before washing her hands and walking out of the door. The two women can do no more than stand there frozen, their mouths open in shock. Miss Parker continues towards the table where Jarod was with the baby and was less than surprised to see that they had an audience of adoring waitresses crowded around them. She had to clear her throat to get their attention, causing them all to jump back from the table. She leans down and pries the baby from Jarod, chilling him with the look in her eyes. "Whenever you manage to tear yourself away from your little harem, I'll be in the car with our son."
Jarod watched her storm away and though everyone else was muttering shocked descriptions of Parker's rudeness, he just stood there and smiled. Jealousy wasn't pretty, but it was a damn good sign as far as he as concerned. The smile widened as he watched her climb into the truck and slam the door hard. Well, he thought, it's a good sign, but a dangerous one where this lady's concerned, and with that thought in mind Jarod decided to order some food to go....it couldn't hurt to give her a few minutes to cool off before he got back in that truck himself.
******
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
"Uh oh," Broots says from across the room. Sydney looks up from his file to see what was perplexing the man.
"What is it, Broots?" he asks the computer tech.
"I think we might have a little trouble making our meeting with Jarod tonight," Broots whispers, looking around to make sure no one else was around. "You know that lead in New York we're supposed to be following? Well, I think they REALLY intend on us going. They're sending someone to follow us."
Sydney goes over to Broots' computer and looks over the man's shoulder at the information on the screen.
"What do we do, Syd?" Broots asks him, looking up at the older man with fear in his eyes. "Jarod and Miss Parker need our help, but it wouldn't do anyone any good if we were followed to that warehouse tonight."
"I guess we go to New York," Sydney sighs. "Don't worry, Broots. I'll let Jarod know that there needs to be a slight change in the plan. It'll be fine," he assures the anxious technician.
******
As Jarod paid for the food that he ordered, his cell phone rang, interrupting the silence that had come over the small restuarant thanks to his traveling companion. There was only one person who would be calling him on this phone. Reaching into his leather jacket, he removed the small gadget and with a flick of his wrist he popped it open and brought it to his ear.
"Sydney, I take it there's a problem?"
"Yes. Broots and I are to follow that lead to New York. . . ."
"Accompanied, I take it," a chuckle escaped his lips," Don't sweat it? Sending you two alone to New York together unattended was one of the scenarios that cropped up when I simmed this little plan. I have it covered and truth be told, I think this is much better . . . "
"Better? How do you figure?"
"It means that Parker and I won't have to drive all day to get there. We'll meet you two, the day after tomorrow, no later than that. And Sydney, make sure that Angelo stays out of harms way for now."
"I will and if I need to contact you again, what number should I use."
"Have Broots check his laptop, once in the air. You'll find the new number. I just love modern technology."
"How are Miss Parker and the baby?"
"Benjamin is wonderful, Syd. As for Parker, lets just say that I can't complain, but I always thought that her eyes were blue and not green, where I'm concerned. I have to go, Sydney. Take care and remember to check the laptop later." With that the call terminated, and Sydney replaced his own cell phone in his jacket pocket.
"Well?" Broots asked nervously.
"It's fine, Broots, I think.
"What do you mean you think?"
"Seems that the green eyed monster has made an apperance."
"Huh?"
"Never mind, Broots. Don't forget your laptop."
"Okay."
Jarod strolled out into the parking lot with the bags of food and made his way to the suburban, where he could see Parker sitting in the front passenger seat with Benjamin on her lap. Upon reaching the door of the driver side, he placed the food on the hood, slipped his fingers in the doorlatch and opened the door.
"Hi, honey," he grinned, his eyes twinkling.
"The harem finally let you go, I see." she looked at him as though he should be sedated.
"Now Parker that wasn't very nice of you, you know."
"Umph, never said I was nice."
"Guess not, but I didn't realize that those lovely blue eyes of yours could actually turn green. It was most enlightening. French fry," he said as he held one in front of her and Benjamin, watching as the baby tried to grab for it.
He took a deep breath, and continued to smile. He had the impression of a lot of passion there, kept under disciplined control. The bright blue eyes flickered with a look, then a frown crossed her features. She paused, very briefly, before answering his question. Just a half-beat, but enough to convince him that the attention from the waitresses at the resturant had riled her.
"No thank you," she snapped.
"Are you sure ?", he let Benjamin's chubby fingers gripped the french fry, some of it oozing between his fingers. Benjamin eyed the object in his hand and slowly started to bring it to his mouth. Parker's hand reached up to stop him, only to be stopped by Jarod's hand. Clasping her left hand tightly in his right, he took his left hand and turned her chin toward his.
"Jarod," she said in a low, whispery voice. Suddenly, whether it was due to her words or her voice or her smile, something had changed. His thumb brushed her lips. His own lips moving closer, closer. Mere inches from hers.
"Momma!"
******
Blue Cove, Delaware
The night had been one of the longest and most frustrating as far as Lyle was concerned. Here he was stuck in renewal wing and he had barely eaten since this whole crisis with his sister had started. He was beyond tired--he had to focus, as she had in the early days when he first met Raines in Nebraska. He was running on pure adrenaline. He wasn't going to sleep. Sleeping meant that he would miss something. He had missed something, he could lose his life because of this little mistake. Lyle scratched his cheek. The stubble itched. His fingers were cold. The chill of renewal wing seeped into his bones. Lyle paced the room trying to figure a way out of this mess. The door was locked but as his eyes gazed around the room, catching sight of the ventalition grate in the wall. If the centre idiot could crawl around in the air shafts, why couldn't he?
Lyle struggles in his weakened condition to pull himself up into the airvents. Immediately, he was shocked by the unexpected narrowness of the shafts, bringing up a momentary feeling of claustrophobia. But he pushed the feeling aside and moved forward, relaxing a bit when the walls began to open up more and more the further he got. He crawls for what seems like hours to the tired man, until he can't bear to go any further and rests for a moment. Voices coming through the vent grab his attention and he peeks down into the room below him to see where they were coming from. It was his father talking to someone on speaker phone.
He leans closer to hear what they were saying.
" . . . no more chances for him. Get rid of them both," the voice over the phone demands.
"My daughter is as good as dead," Mr. Parker starts. "There's a price on her head that no one can refuse. However, I'm sending Sydney and Broots to New York to see if they can find her and the baby. We have to have that baby."
"What about Lyle?"
"Renewal Wing. We'll break him enough so that he will no longer be a threat. After that, Raines can have him," Mr. Parker informs the voice emotionlessly. He hangs up the phone and gets back to work, as if he didn't even care that he just signed his own children's death sentences.
Lyle silently releases the breath he was holding. He was as good as dead if he got caught. But if he could get the baby, just maybe they'd give him another chance. With renewed determination he starts his trek back through the tunnels. He had to get to his sister and that baby before anyone else. His life depended on it.
******
Jarod and Miss Parker both turned their heads to stare at their son, who sat on Parker's lap, a wide toothless smile on his face. Shock written on both parents faces, yet Jarod didn't relinquish his hold on Parker's hand.
"Did he . . . .?" Jarod stuttered, at a total loss for words.
"Uh huh, he said Momma," Parker whispered, tears glistening in her icy blue eyes.
Jarod reached out with his free hand and caught hold of his son's chubby one, which Benjamin immediately gripped a finger and brought it to his little mouth, and clamped down upon it.
"Ouch!" Jarod yelped as he pulled his finger out of his son's mouth and reached for another french fry. Parker cast him a wary glance."Ouch, he's just a baby."
"A baby with a tooth." Jarod replied, a goofy grin plastered on his face.
"Really?" Parker placed her pinkie into his mouth, gently feeling the small hard, pointy lumps that poked through his bottom gum. Releasing the hold that Jarod had on her hand, she picked up Benjamin bringing him closer to her, so that she could cover him in kisses. Benjamin giggled in delight at the attention.
"Momma," he squealed as Parker continued to lavish him with praise, kisses and hugs.
Parker laughing. Their son laughing. How he wished it could be like this. Always. He should have been happy but he knew that the danger was still out there. He could feel it, like a cloud on its way to swallow up the sun.
"Parker, we have to get moving if we plan on protecting our son." He was somber and his joy of earlier, replaced with concern," Also we won't be meeting Sydney and Broots, tonight. They've been sent to New York to locate you."
"The Centre won't trust them."
"You don't think I know that. We really have to get to the safehouse, so that I can contact them, like I promised."
Parker reached into the back of the surburban and strapped the still laughing little boy back into his car seat.
"Sorry to you have to eat on the road but. . . "
"It's alright, Jarod. Let's just get to where we have to be. The less we are seen, the safer I'll feel."
"Agreed." Jarod started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot, glancing it the rearview mirror, he caught sight of a black Lincoln town car passing them in the opposite direction. Increasing the speed of that of the limit he headed for the on ramp to the expressway that would take them to the safehouse.
******
The airshaft was dark, cold and he was tired and dirty, a feeling that he didn't like. However the instinct to survive is what fueled him as he continued to creep slowly through the maze of twisted metal tubes. The man was unaware that a pair of eyes watched him from behind, debating on whether to alert the ones inside the building or his friend. Lyle began to wonder just how long he had before some sweeper discovered that he was gone from that tiny cell on renewal wing, when suddenly he was faced with a grate. Staring through the slats into the darkened room, he nearly yelled for joy, he had found the delivery dock. Now to loosen the screws that held the grate in place. The eyes that had followed him, turned back and made his way back to the office that housed two he trusted. Once in front of the grate, he whispered softly to the two inside.
"Bad man loose. Docks."
"Angelo," Sydney replied in a hushed tone, as he came to stand next to the grate, his back to it,"Go keep an eye on Lyle, you know what to do."
"Protect Jarod, protect Miss Parker and baby," Angelo turned and scrambled back up the tunnels.
"Now what, Syd?" Broots asked nervously.
"We have a plane to catch to New York, Broots." Sydney looked at the younger man, then whispered," Is she safe?"
"I can only hope so."
******
Logan Airport
Boston, MA
Early the next morning
Miss Parker feels the car come to a halt and slowly opens her eyes to see where they are. She didn't know how long she'd been asleep, but it was still dark outside - the sun just about to make its appearance. And she had no idea where they were, but from what she could tell, they were at an airport. The car comes to a complete stop in a parking space between two large vans, obscuring it from obvious view. Anyone possibly looking for the car would probably pass it a few times before spotting it. She indulges in her newly formed habit and turns around to check on the baby in the back seat and sees that he's finally sleeping peacefully after a fairly restless trip.
"What are we doing here?" she asks groggily. "I thought we were supposed to be meeting Broots and Syd at the safehouse."
"You were asleep when we got there. But, I ended up driving right past it. Something just didn't feel right to me. Assuming they can manage to lose whoever is tailing them, I figured the next best meeting place would be here."
"And where is 'here' exactly?" she wonders, a bit annoyed at the change in plans.
"We're at the airport in Boston. We're going to ditch the car here and once Syd and Broots arrive, I'm going to fly us all down to Atlanta. I know someone who works with the FBI who can help us," Jarod explains to her.
"We just drove 800 miles north only to fly back south?" she asks. She shifts in her seat to stretch her stiff legs as much as she could. "Who is this guy anyway? And what does he know about taking care of babies?"
"A profiler I worked with before," is all he reveals to her about Rachel, choosing not to correct her assumption that the FBI agent was a male. He vividly remembers how she reacted to those waitresses at the rest stop. The last thing he wanted was to set her off again. "Benjamin will be safest with someone who has the survival skills to protect him."
"And you think this FBI agent can do that? You'd trust him with our son's life?"
"I think this is our best alternative," he says, purposefully evading her question. Now wasn't the time to get into it with her about Rachel.
Hours after talking to Jarod, Sydney and Broots were in the air, Broots checked his computer, attached to a miniature speaker-earphone set. He flipped a switich on a small box attached to the computer, and opened his mail. . . ." Satisfied taht his listening and rerouting epuipment was working, he clicked off and then switched to an outside line. The male voice that should answer did.
"It worked. I'm connected to the mainframe, and I've got the set to alert either of us to any information that we would need."
"We are heading back south as soon as the plane is fueled," Jarod revealed,"You have the newest number, also watch your back seems that Lyle's on the loose."
"He's loose," The computer tech said nervously as he cast a sideways glance at Sydney," Does Miss Parker know?"
"No, she's back in the airplane settling in, I'm up front, in the cockpit checking the airplane's instrurments."
"I've to go, we're due to land."
"Take care, just follow the plan."
The condo that Miss Parker had supposedly stayed at was three blocks away. Parked up the street, sat the sweeper that had been ordered to follow Sydney and Broots. He watched as they stepped inside and ten minutes later the entire contents of the house was debris as the explosion ripped it to shreds. Hitting the speed dial on his car phone, the sweeprer reported that the good doctor and faithful computer technican were dead.
"How long before we reach Atlanta?", Parker had joined him up in the cockpit, taking a seat in the empty chair.
"We have a few hours. Why?"
"I want the truth, Jarod. All of it."
"What truth would that be, Parker?" he cast a sideways glance at her.
" Let's start with the email that you received earlier. You didn't look to happy."
"Lyle's free."
"So daddy's changed his mind, big deal. We'll deal with him."
"No, he didn't change his mind, in fact he wants Lyle dead as well."
"That's means that Benjamin isn't safe at all, explains why you want to go to this FBI agent friend of yours. He must. . . ."
"She," he said softly," and I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but your reaction from the waitresses was still fresh in my mind. And no you can't parachute off of the plane, you'll listen to what I have to say."
Lyle checked over his shoulder again, hopeful that his view was still free of black-suited men or Lincoln Towncars. Again, he found that he was alone. Smiling, he approached the small cabin and, since he did not have his set of duplicate keys, he jimmied the door open. Once inside, he surveyed the old, damp wooden building. This had been one of his favorite hunting grounds over the years. Yes, the Cabins of Love had provided him with ample victims to fill his appetites, but today he was here for a different reason.
Carefully, he found the loose floorboard and tugged at it until it gave way in his hand. Then he reached down and retrieved the laptop and DSA player he'd hidden here for just this kind of emergency. The Centre had locked him out, but the Centre didn't know he had kept his own "files" on Jarod over the years, files that included information the Centre did not have. He quickly accessed the computer and ran down the list of names of Jarod's contacts, names he had never given to his sister or his father. After careful consideration, he decided on the one most likely to give Jarod assistance in his current situation. Yes, he knew Jarod was still out there. He wasn't fooled, and he knew that if he found the pretender, he would find his sister and the baby.
Minutes later, Lyle was on his way again, this time headed to Atlanta.
Dawn broke grudgingly in Atlanta, giving the city a kind of reprieve from the perpetual gloom that more than ever seemed to match the character of its inhabitants. This morning was no exception. As the sun rose above the towering buildings to the east, filtering its was through the eliptical window of Rachel Burke's apartment, it cast an early morning shadow that drifted slowly across the wood floor and, like a dark cloud, settled on the hunched figure on the couch. Were it not that shadows were a natural part of each morning's ritual, it would indeed have seemed like an omen. Perhaps it should have been. For the past eight hours, the mood inside the VTCF was as dark and as solemn as a funeral mass. Rachel, disheveled, exhausted, dressed in grey sweats and a Caniuis College sweatshirt, was staring at the files in front of her. Only one hour earlier, she sat locked in that same position, waiting anxiously for that sudden flash of insight regarding the most recent string of missing persons. Three Asian girls missing in the past three nights. The first turned up dead not twelve hours ago. The body of the nineteen year old girl was found dumped just on the outskirts of the city. Gruesome, described the scene. The only lead, the drawing of a snake eating its own tail.
Framed gracefully by wide, hundred-year-old oaks, the stately green-and-white two story colonial was lined along its front and sides with meticulously trimmed hegdes that made the fresh coat of paint glow white through the dense fog. Encircling the house like a foreboding wall of deep green was coniferous forest. The cold mist refused to let up and instead seemed to thicken into white soup, drifting into Jarod's nostrils like heavy smoke and searing his lungs as he inhaled the moist droplets. It was precisely 9:15 A.M. when the car arrived. He watched as Sydney and Broots emerged and walked up the steps of the house, which for the past three days was as silent as a tomb, since disembarking from the plane. Parker had not spoken to him, only to Benjamin. He would have prefered her witty one liners, instead of the silent treatment.
"Sydney," Jarod smiled, nodding his head to acknowledge their presence," Mr. Broots. It's good to see you, things have been rather tense around here for the last three days."
"May I ask why?" Sydney inquired.
"I tell you why," the voice belonged to the woman who had given him the silent treatment for the last three days. She walked out the screen door, little Benjamin nestled in her arms, a small smile on her face.
"Come on, Parker," Jarod quickly stopped as he caught Parker's eyes narrow.
"Jarod thinks that I'm going to let some ex-hussy of his, protect my son, even if she is an FBI agent."
"Damn you, Parker," Jarod bellowed, " He's our son. And if I have to give up my life to protect his, I will. I can't believe you'd let petty jealousy interfere with what's important here."
"I'm not . . . . ." Parker replied, as she bounced their son in her arms to keep him from crying. Jarod rubbed his pointer finger against his son's cheek, and leaned in closer to Parker.
"I don't believe you," he whispered, then turned to their guests," Come inside, get settled." The two men started to follow Jarod inside the house, when Miss Parker laid a hand gently on Broots' shoulder, detaining the man.
"Broots, I need all the information that you can, on one Rachel Burke," she said softly.
"Sure, Miss Parker, I'll get right on it," Broots said as he walked inside the house leaving Parker on the front porch.
"You do that," she looked down at her son's face, a smile appearing on her face, "Your father may be a genius, my sweet angel, but he doesn't have a clue." She placed a tender kiss on the dimpled cheek.
******
Blue Cove, Delaware
He knew the secrets. All of them. They wieghed on him like invisible shackles, and the more he learned of them the greater the burden. It was an awesome charge. A knock interrupted the chairman's thoughts.
"Mr. Parker, " Cox spatt," He's gone."
"You're certain?"
"Yes, sir. Quite certain."
The chairman leaned forward in his black leather chair, his fingers steepled in front of his lips.
"Surveillance?"
"We lost him."
"Damn!" The chairman sank into his chair and, after a moment of stunned disbelief, banged his closed fist against the desk, furious that he hadn't given orders to secure Lyle in his cell in Renewal wing." We need to locate him. He's going to try and get that baby, hoping if he has him that it'll offer him some leverage with the triumvirate as well as me."
"Yes, sir."
"Keep me apprised of the situation. Anything else."
"We received notification that the good doctor and the computer technician are dead, as ordered."
"Good, the fewer the people my daughter has to turn to for help, the sooner we'll have her back, along with the baby."
"I take it that you don't want her terminated then."
"Not at the moment. With Jarod dead, she's become a valuable asset to the Centre."
"I understand, Mr. Parker. I'll let the sweepers know and issue an order of termination on Mr. Lyle."
"Good, very good," he waved a hand to dismiss his underling.
Writers:
Nicky
Niceole
Nicky
Trish
Michele
Shannon
Nicky
Shannon
TrishM
Nicky
Michele
Niceole
Shannon
Trish
Michele