Blue Cove, Delaware
The Centre, Sydney’s Office
August 19, 1998
They heard the familiar click of her heels and the smoke of her
cigarette before she even entered the office. The two men
looked up from their work to see her stride into the room with
her usual “don’t mess with me” expression in her cold blue eyes.
She wore her usual black skirt, reaching her mid-thighs, and a
white blouse, and her black hair down and curled perfectly
out.
She strode over to the balding man that had his face on a
computer screen and leaned down to his ear.
“Any news on Jarod, Broots?” she said, no politeness in her cold
tone. She felt the shivers that ran down his spine and held in the
satisfied smile of power she had over him.
“Ah… um, no M-Miss Parker,” he stuttered out nervously. She
enjoyed the power she had over him. Heck, if she wanted, she
would have him going to Hong Kong on foot with one snap of
her fingers.
“Well get some!” she snapped. The sudden bark of orders
startled him and he quickly moved his fingers faster over the
keyboard. She stood up straight and glanced over at the aging
man who sat on the leather couch in the corner of the office. She
gave him an evil smirk and turned on her heel and left the office.
“Jeez. I think her whole job involves being rude and vicious to
everyone,” Broots said looking away from his computer screen
and rubbing his sore eyes.
“She’s a Parker,” Sydney replied, a small accent lingering in his
voice. Getting up from the couch and walking over to the
computer, he peered over Broots’ shoulder.
“You can say that again,” Broots agreed, turning around to the
screen and beginning to work again.
Miss Parker’s office
Same day
She let out a frustrated sigh as she sat down in the soft leather
chair behind her desk. She glanced down at the paper work
scattered about the desk and shook her head in disgust. All this
work and always she turns up empty-handed. She glanced at her
computer and noticed the blinking icon on her screen indicating
she has mail. She reached for the mouse, thinking it’s probably a
message from Jarod, reminding her of her failure and opened it.
It read:
Dear Little Miss Catherine,
Tragic of how you lost your mother, isn’t it? Someday you will
join her. I’ll make sure of that… Like they say… like mother,
like daughter.
Yours truly
She found herself reading it over and over again. The message
scared her. She swallowed hard and looked nervously around
her office, making sure she was alone. Maybe it was a prank
message from Jarod. He is always playing games with her. But
never like this. So many questions ran through her head. She
didn’t want to be alone, so she quickly escaped the file and took
off towards Sydney’s office. Every step she took, she glanced
around her surroundings, seeing if anyone looked suspicious.
She finally reached Sydney’s office and burst inside. Both
looked up in surprise. She quickly walked over to the couch and
awkwardly sat down and crossed her long legs. She gave them
an odd look.
“Something wrong Miss Parker?” Sydney asked worriedly. She
cocked her head innocently.
“No,” she snapped quickly.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“I’m fine Sydney! Now don’t ask again or I’ll…”
“Um… bingo!” Broots interrupted. He waved them over to the
computer. “There was a sighting of Jarod in Granville, Ohio at a
Restaurant on Main Street. They said he works there. Shall I get
us the corporate jet?”
“Yes, you moron! Now!” she ordered and slapped him on the
shoulder. He winced and quickly picked up his cell phone and
dialed. She pulled out a cigarette, lit it and stuck it in her lips.
“This time I’m gonna get him!” she said, thinking of the message
she had received. She is going get her answer of who sent her
that no matter what it takes.
Granville, Ohio
Main Street
Same Day
“Yeah that is Jarod,” the blonde behind the counter said, after
looking at the photo Miss Parker gave her. “He was the nicest
guy. He had the whole package: Handsome, sweet, sexy…”
“Do you know where he went?” Miss Parker interrupted, not
wanting to hear the rest.
“Ah… well. I thought it was odd that he said he was gonna take
off so fast, so I made it my business to know where he was
going. I really liked him and wanted to, you know, get closer. So
I…”
“Well? Where the hell is he?” Miss Parker rudely interrupted
again. The blonde gave her a hard stare.
“Are you his wife seeking revenge or something? Because I
didn’t touch him!”
“No I am not his wife you bimbo! Just tell me what you found
out or I will rip out every single little blonde hair off your empty
head!”
“Is he wanted of crime?”
That was the last strike. Miss Parker leaped over the counter
and grabbed her by the collar and pulled her half way across the
other side.
“Listen you dizzy blonde! Tell me what you found out about
Jarod or I’ll keep my promise and you will be bald by
tomorrow!” Sydney grabbed Miss Parker’s arm and pulled her
away from the scared woman. The blonde returned to the other
side of the counter and straightened her shirt nervously.
“Please excuse my companion here. She is a little edgy,” Sydney
explained, calmly. The blonde nodded softly. “Please, tell us
where you think Jarod might have gone,” Sydney asked politely.
The blonde glanced at Miss Parker, then back at Sydney.
“I, ah, found out that he got a plane ticket to Florida. I also
found out that he had changed his name for some reason to
Wright,” she began.
“Where in Florida?” Miss Parker asked impatiently.
“Um… Winter Gardens I think,” she replied.
“Broots,” Miss Parker said with a snap of her fingers. “Winter
Gardens now!”
Winter Gardens, Florida
Airport
He took off his sunglasses, revealing his dark brown eyes, and
looked around at his surroundings. He had flown to Florida just
because and he was planning on going to a place called Disney
World. People told him it was really fun there and he wanted to
check it out himself. He retrieved his bags and grabbed a taxi to
the closest motel, since it was so late. There he would decide
what to do next.
Winter Gardens, Florida
Motel
“Thank you,” Jarod said, as the clerk handed him his room key.
He picked up his bag and walked to the elevator. Just as the
elevator doors closed, Miss Parker, Sydney and Broots barged
into the front door of the motel. They had decided to go the
nearest motel and were surprised to find an expensive car
outside; obvious that is belonged to Jarod because he always got
the best vehicles.
Miss Parker strode over to the front desk and pulled out a photo
of Jarod.
“Have you seen this man?” Miss Parker asked, no politeness at
all. The young clerk glanced at the photo.
“Yes. He just checked in,” he replied. Miss Parker flashed
Sydney and Broots a smile.
“Room number?” Miss Parker snapped, more of an order than a
question.
“Um… room 31,” he answered nervously. Obviously this
woman was no one to mess with, he thought.
“Thank you,” Miss Parker said evily. She flashed him a wicked
smile and then took off for the elevator with the two others
following close behind.
Motel, room 31
Jarod let out a sigh as he collapsed on the bed. He hadn’t had a
good nights sleep in days. He found it was hard to keep his eyes
open now that he was lying down. Right when his eyelids
drooped down shut… BANG! The door flung open, and before
Jarod could react, he was pinned to the bed. He looked up to
see Miss Parker leaning over him and grinning her evil grin.
“Hello Jarod,” she said wickedly.
“Nice to see you again Miss P.,” Jarod replied in the same
manner. “How did you find me so fast?” he asked calmly.
“Your girlfriend told me.”
“Girlfriend?”
“Get up!” she ordered, ignoring his question, and pulling out her
gun and aiming it at him. He obeyed. She pulled out handcuffs
and threw them on the bed in front of him. “Put those on…
now!” He slowly reached for the cuffs, trying to delay as much
as he can. “Within the hour Jarod!” she snapped.
Suddenly, the cuffs became air born and flew right over Miss
Parker’s head. She had to duck in order to avoid them. When
she recovered she saw just a glimpse of Jarod before he
disappeared on the balcony.
“Get him!” she shouted and leaped over the bed towards the
sliding glass window. Broots and Sydney followed.
She burst through the open door and looked around for any
signs of where he could have gone. She glanced up and saw him
trotting across the roof of the motel with DSA’s in hand and
disappear on the other side.
“Damn! Get down to the lobby. He is not going to get away this
time,” she shouted to the other two and took off for the elevator,
but decided against it. Her own feet were faster than that blasted
contraption.
Two steps at a time she took, hurrying as fast as she could
possible go. She was getting her answers, and she was getting
them tonight! She finally reached the bottom and practically
leaped through the door, causing a guest to spill her coffee in
surprise. Ignoring to help the woman, Miss Parker took off to
the exit. Not caring weather or not her two companions were
behind her, she ran through the darkness in search of Jarod. She
glanced up at the roof every other step she took. Where did he
go? He couldn’t have disappeared off the face of the earth.
Then she spotted him climbing down a fire escape on the far
side.
Not bothering to climb down the five or six steps at the bottom,
he leaped to the ground below. He noticed her running towards
him as soon as he hit the ground. He spun around the opposite
direction and took off running.
“Jarod stop! I swear I will shoot you!” she shouted after him.
She tried to keep up with him, but with his long strides and her
heels, she was no match.
So she aimed as carefully as she could, considering the fact that
she was still running and fired at his left leg. It zipped by his thigh
and she heard him yelp in surprise, causing to fall to the ground.
She ran to him and stopped above him, panting.
“I told you I would shoot,” she explained.
He looked up at her. “But you missed… luckily!” and with that
he knocked her legs out from beneath her with his leg, causing
her to fall to her bottom.
She heard him let out a boyish laugh before getting up and start
running again.
“Jarod!” she shouted after him. She aimed her gun again but was
too late, he had already turned the corner. “Fine… I can play at
this game as well. It’s about time Tom catches Jerry,” she said to
herself. She got up and brushed herself off. She didn’t know
why, but she had a good idea of where he was heading.
Jarod stopped and leaned over and put his hands on his thighs,
trying to catch his breath. It was a good thing he had left the
DSA’s on the roof in a good hiding place or they would have
slowed him down. He glanced around before walking in a fast
pace towards another fire escape on the other side of the motel.
He hoped someone heard the gunshot was smart enough to call
the police. That would stall Miss Parker and the others long
enough for him to get away.
He was so deep in thought that he hadn’t heard Miss Parker
sneaking up behind him until it was too late. He received an
elbow right in the lower back, causing his legs to go limp. He fell
to the ground with a grunt of pain.
“Gotcha!” she shouted from above him. He looked over his
shoulder at the smirking woman.
“You’re getting smart. I’m proud of you,” he said calmly.
“Spare me,” she said in a cold tone. “Now get up!” she ordered
sharply.
He lifted his upper body up with his arms and then let out a moan
of pain and then dropped to the ground again.
“I-I don’t think I can,” he said softly.
“Stop pretending Jarod. Now get up!” she ordered again.
“I’m not pretending Miss Parker! I think you hurt me bad!” he
claimed.
“I’m not pretending when I say get up!” she repeated.
He tried again and received the same results.
“I can’t!” he yelled at her. She noticed the crack in his voice and
began to believe him. She knelt down her haunches and felt his
back. Suddenly he swung around and knocked her on her rear
again, this time causing her to loose her gun. She reached out
and grabbed his legs as he got up and tackled him to the ground.
He broke his fall with his hands.
“Not this time Jarod!” she shouted at him. He tried to kick her
arms away from his legs but she held on with all her strength. She
was amazingly strong for a skinny little toothpick, he thought to
himself. He spun around on his back and tried to use his hands to
get her off.
“Get off me!” he shouted at her.
“No!” she said as she inched her way up. She finally grabbed his
arms and held on with all her might as he waved them around
trying to weaken her grip. She pinned him for a matter of
seconds, but he was stronger than her and pushed his arms from
the pavement.
“Will you let go!” he shouted again.
“No!” was her only answer, still clinging to him. It seemed it was
an eternity as they danced around on the pavement. Finally her
gun was within her reach and she took the risk to let go with her
right hand and grab it.
She managed to get on top of him again and press the gun to his
temple. “Don’t move or you will get a bullet through that big
brain of yours!”
Jarod immediately stopped struggling. He knew she wouldn’t
pull the trigger, but he couldn’t risk bumping her hand and
causing the gun to go off.
“Now you a-hole, you are coming with me if you like it or not!”
she said, struggling to catch her breath. “But before we go
anywhere. Are you the one who sent me that threatening
message?”
A grin came on his face and for a second she believed he had.
“Why Miss Parker, why would you ever think I would do such a
thing?” he said innocently.
She raised the gun suddenly and hit him across the face hard with
it, causing his head to snap to the right. He let out a gasp of pain.
She had hit him harder than she had intended to, but didn’t say
anything.
“Don’t lie to me!” she shouted.
“I wasn’t lying!” he insisted shakily, still aching from the hit he
took.
She had his arms pinned against his side with her legs so he
couldn’t wipe the blood that trickled from the cut on his lip. She
stared down at him and into his fear stricken eyes and for the
first time felt sorry for him. She didn’t know why she had hit him
like that. Maybe it was the fear she had from the message. She
so much wanted it to be a prank from him, but now she
knew it wasn’t.
She leaned up straighter, still keeping eye contact with him and
let out a sigh, not of relief, not of frustration, but of shock. She
couldn’t stand seeing him in pain, especially pain she had caused.
She lifted her hand suddenly and saw him wince. He thought she
was going to hit him again, and that almost made her collapse on
his chest and cry for his forgiveness, but she held it in.
Slowly she brought her hand to his face and wiped the blood off
his lip. He hissed in pain and that was her cue to be gentler. She
noticed the huge bruise forming on his cheek. She finally let him
get up.
“Now… are you coming with out a fight or do I have to knock
more sense into you?” she said wickedly. He stared at her with
his hand on his cheek where she had hit him and nodded slowly.
“Good, now come!” she ordered at gun-point.
He slowly walked ahead of her. They walked in silence. She for
once felt the fear he had of her now. She had been waiting for
this moment a long time, but now that it was here… she
didn’t like it.
“What… what was the message?” he finally said softly. She was
surprised of his voice. It was so uncertain and soft. She had
never heard him like that.
“None of your business!” she snapped back. He kept quiet.
Usually he would have kept asking her about it but he didn’t.
She waited for a while, hoping he would insist more, but he
didn’t speak at all. He just walked with his hand to his bruising
cheek. She bit her lower lip. What now? She so much wanted to
talk to someone about the message. It would have made her feel
a lot better. She wanted convert. She wanted support. She
wanted…
“Jarod?” she said, gathering her courage.
“Hmm?” he said softly.
“I’m ah… I didn’t mean to ah… I didn’t…” she couldn’t get it
out. She paused to get her words straight. “I didn’t mean to hit
you that hard. I’m sorry.”
There she said it. She didn’t know why but it felt good to
apologize to him.
He kept silent for a moment and then answered softly and
cautiously.
“It’s in your job description,” he replied, so soft she barely heard
him.
She swallowed hard and looked to the ground.
“It said that I was going to suffer the same fate as my mother,”
she said suddenly. She so much wanted to tell him, so why not
just go ahead and do it. He was silent for a moment again and
she waited for him to answer.
“What was the return e-mail address?” he asked cautiously
again. She didn’t like him being so uncertain like that, it didn’t
suit him.
“It didn’t have one,” she replied.
“How to the sender sign out?”
“Your Truly.”
“That’s it?” he asked softly.
“Yes.”
He was silent again. She waited for him to reply.
“Well?” she finally asked.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” he said, just a hint of his normal
tone.
“It’s shame I can’t help you.”
“Why can’t you?”
“Well… you caught me Miss Parker,” he said, glancing over his
shoulder at her. She stopped dead in her tracks as he walked
ahead and noticed she stopped. He stopped as well and turned
around.
“No, Rat Boy.”
He looked around nervously before asking, “No what?”
“No, that isn’t going to work. You are not getting away this time.
You can figure out who sent it just fine in one of the Centre’s
labs!”
“Yes, but would if the sender is in the Centre?”
She stared at him for a long moment.
“I am not letting you go!” she said shaking her head. He
shrugged his shoulders.
“All right, fine. I guess you aren’t getting help from me then,” he
said as he spun around to walk again.
She felt steam coming out of her ears as she leaped at him,
knocking him to the ground. She quickly spun him around on his
back so he could see her.
“Listen to me you jerk! I need to know who sent that message!
If you don’t help me, I’ll kill you!”
“Well, if you are planning to kill me, then I guess you really don’t
need my help that badly!” She slapped him across the face, not
hard but it had to be in the same place the bruise was. He let out
a scream of pain and shut his eyes tightly, waiting for the pain to
subside. She let out a gasp of shock.
Why did she have to hit him again? She quickly got off him.
“Fine! You win!” she shouted angrily as she walked away, more
angry with herself then at him. “You know where to reach me!”
she shouted back at him.
He watched her disappear around the corner before getting up
and brushing himself off. The left of his face stung like hell. He
actually couldn’t move his left side of his lips properly. He began
to walk the opposite way.
“Well? Where is he?” Sydney asked as he watched Miss Parker
walk silently towards them with a lost expression on her face.
Sydney began to worry she had shot him.
“He got away,” she replied softly and brushed past him.
Blue Cove, Delaware
Miss Parker’s office
August 20, 1998
She stared at the message that taunted her from her computer
screen. She let out a sigh of fear and looked to the ceiling. She
stared at it for a while and then returned her eyes back to the
message. It read:
Dear Little Miss Catherine,
How are you? I heard about the little run in with Jarod. Shame
huh? Maybe his next pursuer will get him. Since your job is
coming to an end. Don’t worry it will be quick… like your
mother’s. Remember… like mother, like daughter.
Yours truly
She bit her lip and then rubbed her eyes. Who could be doing
this? And why hadn’t she heard from Jarod? Where is he? I
thought the deal was, I let him go and he helps me…
Almost like magic the phone rang. She quickly picked it up.
“What?” she asked sharply.
“Send the messages to shadow@hotmail.com,” was all she
heard and then Jarod hung up. She quickly hung the phone up
and copied the message and pasted in her e-mail to
shadow@hotmail.com, and then clicked send. She let out a sigh
as she leaned back in her leather chair and waited.
Orlando, Florida
Motel room
Same day, same moment
Jarod opened the message as soon as the e-mail icon blinked
once. His eyes danced about the screen as he read. He leaned
back in his chair and stared at the two messages. He was in
deep in thought when he received another message. He couldn’t
help but notice no return address. He opened that one
as well.
Dear Lab Rat,
Jarod stared at the message for a long time. How would he have
Miss Parker waited for him to return with a message and was
Parker-
Miss Parker’s eyes scanned down the screen and read the
Parker-
I hope you do Jarod, Miss Parker thought.
Jarod saw the icon flash again and opened it. No return address.
Dear Lab Rat,
Jarod stared at the message for a long moment and then sighed
She awoke to a loud crash. She flung upright in bed and looked
“Show yourself!” she yelled, unable to hide the fear from her
“Ouch!” went the intruder, followed by a thud as he hit the floor.
“Jarod?” Miss Parker whispered to the shadow that lay on the
“Is that your new greeting… hitting me all the time?” he said, his
“You scared the hell out of me! You know I’m being
“Well yeah, but you aren’t the only one,” he said, getting up from
“What? They are threatening you too?”
“After I sent you that message that I received, I got another one
“Oh great!”
“What? You want to be the one to kill me?”
“No… you are the only one that can help me.”
“Uh huh,” he said, sarcasm in his tone.
“Well name another who can help me.”
“Hmm… well…”
BANG!
The gunshot made both of them jump in surprise. Jarod tackled
“Ouch! You mangy little…”
“Shhh!” he hushed her. They both listened to the silence.
“Where did it come from?” Miss Parker asked.
“I don’t know.”
Silence.
“Get off me!” she whispered angrily all of a sudden. He quickly
Suddenly they heard a window being crashed open. Miss Parker
“What did you do with my gun?” she whispered to him angrily.
“I didn’t do anything with your little pet,” he whispered back.
Suddenly, she heard Jarod let out a gasp of pain, followed by a
“What? What’s wrong?” she asked through the darkness.
“You!” she shouted as she kicked out with her leg. She hit him
“Big mistake Miss P.,” the deep voice called down to her. She
“Jarod?” she asked through the darkness. She turned on her side
She quickly scrambled to her feet and ran her hand on the wall
“Oh thank you,” she whispered as she lifted his head off the cold
Just tying up lose ends,
She shook her head in disgust. She glanced at Jarod and saw
“Jarod!” she yelled, gently putting his head down on the floor
“Don’t do that to me!” she shouted nervously at him.
“What did I do?” he asked weakly. Miss Parker shook her head
“Look, I’m going to pull out the knife, okay?”
“Knife?”
“Yes. You have been stabbed.”
“He stabbed me?” His tone was surprised and sad at the same time.
“Yes,” she replied softly. She wrapped her fingers around the
He let out a painful scream as she yanked the metal from his
“It’s really deep. But I don’t think it’s going to kill ya.”
“So when did you become the doctor?” he said with a weak
“Funny. Remind me to laugh later,” she said with a wider smirk.
She knelt down beside him and opened the kit. She glanced at
“Sorry,” she whispered when he winced in pain. He shook his
With her help, he got to his feet. He slowly limped to the bed
“Why are you doing this?” he asked softly. She stared into his
“What do you mean?” she asked, almost in a whisper.
“Doing this. You said yourself that you wanted to shoot me.
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“What wouldn’t I understand?”
“Everything!” she snapped. She took a deep breath and then
“No way!” he said, getting up. He groaned in pain as she pulled
“You can’t get away from him like this,” she said, gesturing her
“I will if I’m desperate!”
“Stop being silly. You are coming back to the Centre.”
“No!”
“Yes!”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No, no, no!”
“Yes, you bathetic moron!”
He was silent for a moment. “If you want me to go back to that
“Fine!” she shouted, as she leaped to her feet and punched him
He just laid there, eyes closed and breathing heavily, desperately
“Get up, you baby,” she snapped. It took all her might to say
He squeezed his eyes tighter closed and she could hear him
“I’m not going back,” he whispered to her. She barely heard
“I’m not letting you go again.”
He stared at her. She could have sworn he was giving her puppy
“He is going to kill you,” she replied softly.
“So? What do you care?”
She stared at him in silence again.
“I hate you,” she whispered to him. He gave her a boyish grin.
“Are you sure?” she asked, with the phone to her ear.
“Yes I am sure. That is a different phone. No one can track it,”
“Yes, everyday,” she said with a shiver going down her spine. “I
“Well he is in for a surprise.”
“How are you doing?” she asked, a hint of censer.
“I’m fine,” he replied. She could hear the smile in his voice. That
“I’m sorry for hitting you,” she said softly.
“Yeah well, don’t be. It’s in your…”
“Job description. I know, I know,” she finished for him.
“Well I have work to do,” he said. She was surprised he had
Jarod slowly pushed the antenna of his cell phone in while staring
Back at Blue Cove
Miss Parker pulled to a stop in the Centre’s parking lot and
Miss Parker slowly opened her eyes. As her eyes focused on the
“You! Are the one who has been threatening me?” she asked
He finally stood up straighter and began to walk slowly towards
“Hello Little Miss Catherine. And how are we doing today?” he
“Yes!” she snapped.
“Are you sure?”
“Tell me you bafoon!”
He let out a low and dangerous laugh before saying, “But it might
When she was silent, he gave her another grin. “That’s better.
“What?”
“I killed your mother, so now I’m killing her daughter,” he simply
“What?” she whispered shockingly.
“You heard me.”
“You are working for the Centre, aren’t you?”
There was no response.
“You are! You got orders from Raines to have me killed and…”
“Who said anything about Raines?”
She stared at him in complete shock.
“My-my father?” she asked, more to herself then to him. He
“So that means… you are Jarod’s father.”
He stared at her with no expression. “Was,” he simply stated.
“You tried to kill your own son?”
“Tried?”
She opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off.
“He didn’t die?”
Miss Parker stared him. “Yes he did and…”
“No, you are lying. Jarod is still alive. But he won’t be for long.”
“How can you kill your own son?”
As soon as she said it, he slapped her hard across her face. She
Ring… ring… ring… ring… ring… She glanced over to the far
“Hello? Jarod?” she asked into the phone, desperation in her
Jarod became more worried at every ring. He waited and
“Hello? Jarod?” her tone made it clear to him that she was in
“Miss Parker? Are you okay?” he asked, all full of worry.
“No, they got me. It is my mother’s murder, and he is planning to
“No, stay with me!”
“Jarod…” there was no response. She heard him set the phone
She looked up to see him smirking down at her. He lifted the
“Okay, I know where you are,” Jarod paused for a response.
“Miss Parker?”
Click. “Miss Parker?”
Miss Parker watched as he slapped the phone shut.
“Thanks Miss P. Now that Jarod is on his way, we can have a
“Well, if I didn’t know any better, I would think you were the
“So you knew he was alive?”
He nodded slowly.
“Why you little..."
“You know Miss P., if you don’t finish that sentence I might give
“If you are going to kill me, then why not do it a long time ago by
“Because of the added bonus.”
“Oh? And what is that?”
“Jarod.”
She sat in the darkness of the room, thinking of what could
“Why didn’t you stay away?” Miss Parker whispered.
“I’m suborn,” he replied with a boyish grin. He began to untie
“How did you get in here with out being noticed?”
“First thing, I’m a pretender and the second; it’s an abandoned
“This way,” he whispered over his shoulder to her. She nodded
“Oh, how sweet. He’s a genius and loyal,” Jarod’s father
And with that his father aimed the gun up and at a ceiling fan, in
“Jarod!” Miss Parker screamed, as she fell to her knees beside
“Come get me!” she dared, waving both of her hands in front of
“Of course, I promise you that!” he said, as he took off for her.
Suddenly he pulled out a knife. She stared at it in shock as it
“Hey!” they heard a shout come from behind them. They both
“You wouldn’t shoot your own father, would you? You are a
Jarod stared at him, as if staring right through him. “Yeah… isn’t
BANG!
Jarod watched in horror as the bullet escaped the gun and blew
“It’s okay,” she whispered to him in convert, her own voice
“Yes I am having a good time, I will admit it,” Miss Parker said
“See? I told you,” Jarod replied. She smiled. She loved the
“Never!” she replied, a little shocked of her answer.
“Good.” He said softly.
“Jarod?” she began.
“Yes?”
“How did you do it? I mean, I didn’t think you had it in you,” she
“I’m sorry Jarod.”
“Yeah… me too.” There was a pause. “Oh, you better answer
“Answer what?” Miss Parker asked. Just then, there was a
“Go answer it,” he said. She just sat there. “Well? I can’t wait
She then quickly got up and walked to the door. She looked
“Well?” she heard him say over the phone in her hand. “You
There stood Jarod with his phone still to his ear with a huge smile
“What are you doing here?” she asked him, as she leaned on the
“Well, I just couldn’t let you have all the fun at Disney World
She smiled even wider. “Well, of course not!”
“Grab your coat.”
“Why?” she asked with one brow lifted.
“Well, I don’t want to wait in line to see Mickey Mouse, do
She let out a giggle and then quickly grabbed her coat.
As they walked down the hall of the motel, to Jarod’s surprise,
The End
Well, how did you like it? Comments:
your worst enemy? You don’t know what you are dealing with! I
will kill you as well if you even think of helping your Little Miss
Catherine, you hear me?
Yours truly
known? Who is this?
Back at the Centre
about to give up when her icon began to blink. She quickly
opened it, noting it was from shadow@hotmail.com. She read it
carefully, hoping he had something.
I just received this a moment ago… read it.
familiar message. Her eyes became wide with fear. Oh my… she
thought. Now he was threatening Jarod. After the threatening
message it read:
Not safe to communicate by e-mail. I’ll contact you by another
way.
J.
Back in Jarod’s Motel room
Oh no…
I warned you. You will receive an even more painful death than
your lucky Little Miss Catherine will. I’ll make sure of it!
Yours truly
as he rubbed his eyes. He had a problem, a real problem.
Blue Cove, Delaware
Miss Parker’s home
That night
around the dark room. She reached for her gun in instinct and
realized it wasn’t there. She let out a gasp in shock. She reached
into the darkness and turned on the lamp. It wouldn’t turn on.
She flicked it again and again, same results. She gathered her
courage and got out of bed. She tiptoed through the darkness.
The cold wooden floor sent shivers up her spine. Suddenly, she
heard heavy footsteps coming from the kitchen and down the
hall. She froze in fear. Her breathing became heavier as she
listened. The footsteps stopped suddenly.
voice. “I’m not afraid of you! You hear me? Show your freaken
face!” She paused for any kind of response. She heard nothing.
She had the eerie feeling that she was being watched and spun
around to be staring into the face of a shadow. She let out a high
pitched scream and swung out her fist. POW!
The voice sounded familiar.
wooden floor at her feet.
voice muffled.
threatened!” she shouted into the darkness.
the floor.
saying I was going to die also.”
Miss Parker to the floor.
climbed off her, being as quiet as he possibly can.
was about to leap to her feet but Jarod reached through the
darkness and pulled her back to the floor. He felt her slap him on
the hand. He jerked away quickly.
moan.
Silence. “Jarod?” Nothing. “Jarod, what’s wrong?” Then she
saw him, standing over her.
right in the thigh hard. He doubled over and held his sore leg.
was expecting him to hit her or shoot her, but she watched him
disappear into the darkness, silence following him.
and reached into the darkness in search for him. She finally came
in contact. She ran her hand down his chest. She quickly jerked
her hand back in surprise then returned it to his side. There she
felt cold metal sticking up from his left side and blood
surrounding it. “Oh my god, Jarod.”
for the light switch. She let out a sigh of relief when it flicked on.
She spun around to see Jarod lying on his back, eyes closed,
with a knife sticking out of his left side. She noticed the huge
bruise that claimed the flesh on his left side of his face of where
she had hit him the other day. She swallowed hard and
collapsed to her knees and searched for breathing. His breaths
were very short.
floor. He moaned in pain and slowly opened his eyes half way,
and looked up at her through his eyelashes weakly. She stared
at him in shock for a long moment, and then glanced at the knife
that stood out form his leather jacket. There on the handle read:
or shall we say, cutting
up lose ends?
Yours truly
that his eyes were closed again.
again. He opened his eyes in surprise. She let out a sigh of relief.
sadly.
handle. “Okay, on three. One… two… three.”
body. She felt his whole body tense. His breathing was short and
rapid. She glanced at the knife in her hand realizing that it was
longer than it looked. She then leaned over him and studied his
deep wound on his side. She grit her teeth together.
grin. She grinned wickedly back down at him.
She quickly got up and left the room and then returned again
with a first aid kit.
his side and than at his face, which he had his eyes closed again.
She bit her lip and returned her attention to his side again. Not
thinking about it again, she quickly reached for his jacket and
pushed it off as much as she needed it to be and then lifted his
shirt up. As soon as Jarod felt the cold air hit his wound he
hissed in pain. Very gently, she began to clean the stab wound.
He bit his lower lip, keeping himself not to scream and swipe her
hand away. The whole time, she watched his face for his
reaction.
head, still keeping his eyes shut tight. “I’m going to need you to
sit up now.” He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Come sit
on the bed so I can wrap you up.”
and sat down with a moan. “Okay, the shirt goes.” He gave her
an odd look and then painfully slid off his jacket and then his
shirt. She patted the wound gently before putting the gauze on it
and then wrapping it up. She felt his eyes on her the whole time
as she wrapped the cloth around his waist and making sure it will
stay in place. She took a risk and looked up into his dark baby
browns. She had to admit she loved his eyes the most.
eyes, getting lost into their gorgeous glare. She quickly blinked
away finally.
Why not just let me bleed to death? I would think you would
finish me off once you got the chance.”
finished in a lower and calmer voice. “Look, we need to get
somewhere safe. Like the Centre.”
him back down to the bed.
head towards his side.
hell hole, then you will bring me back as a carcass!” he shouted
angrily. He quickly got to his feet, gritting his teeth from the pain.
in the gut. The combination of the blow and the pain from his
wound shooting down his body was enough to make him scream
in pain and fall back on the bed. “Is that what you want?” she
asked angrily.
trying to recover. She watched him lying there and became a
little worried.
that to him.
grinding his teeth. After a long moment he slowly opened his
eyelids and looked up at her. She glared down at him like a cat
looking at its prey. Just her glare made his heart beat faster.
him. She shook her head.
eyes, if not it was working anyway.
Blue Cove, Delaware
Miss Parker’s car
August 24, 1998
Jarod assured her over the phone. She glanced around the road
that zipped underneath her tires. “Have you gotten more
threats?”
think he thinks that you are dead.”
made her smile as well. “I’m healing nicely, from the bruises on
my face and stomach and the stab wound on my side.”
even said that. Usually he would just say something smart and
hung up on her. There was a long pause. “Look on the phone.
My number is on the speed dial.” And with that there was a click
on the other line. She stared off on the road in shock and then
glanced at the little black cell phone. There it was, on speed dial.
Just like he said. He had never gave his number of where she
could reach him. That surprised her the most. She could so easily
could track the signal and then catch him. That was proof that he
trusted her. She finally hung it up and then set it on the
passenger’s seat.
Somewhere in Kentucky
Same day, same moment
Motel room
off into space, deep in thought. Had he done the right thing? He
hoped he could trust her. He was putting his own life in danger
for his enemy. Why? Why would he ever do that? Maybe it was
the way that she was leaning on him for safety. The way she was
depending on him to help her. Or was it that he was desperately
trying to win her friendship again? So many questions… and very
little answers.
The Centre
quickly looked around before getting out. She was just thinking
about how unusually dark it was for daytime, probably a storm
on its way, when suddenly someone behind her wrapped their
arm around her neck and put a cloth with a strong liquid
on it. She desperately tried to scramble out of the death trap but
it was too late. The liquid took its toll on her and she slowly lost
her consciousness.
Where?
Who the hell knows
dark little room, she realized that she was tightly tied down to a
chair. She wiggled with all her might, but it was no use.
Then she saw him. He stood in the corner of the room with his
arms crossed over his chest and watching her with an evil
fascination. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was
rather tall and looked like no one to mess with even though he
looked at the age of Sydney.
angrily. He just stood there, staring at her. She suddenly became
uncomfortable from his endless glare. “Are you going to answer
me? Who are you? What do you want?”
her. He had an evil grin on his face. He slowly bent down as that
his eyes were level with hers and spoke low and evil…
asked in a deep voice, the same she had heard four nights ago.
“Shut-up!” Miss Parker snapped.
“Oh, well I guess I will. Bummer, I was just about to tell you
who I was and what I wanted,” he said in a mocking voice. She
glared up at him. His smile grew wider when she was silent for a
long while. “That’s better. Now do you want to know?” Miss
Parker slowly nodded her head in response. “You really want to
know?”
come as a shock to you? Can you handle it?”
“If you don’t tell me now, I will rip out every single organ in that
body of yours until there is nothing left but your stupid little grin!”
“Tisk, tisk, Miss P. You should be nice to me if you want some
answers.”
Now, where was I? Oh yes, your answers. Well you could say
that I have come to finish what I started.”
said, as if it was another day in the office, in which it probably
was.
nodded with a grin on his face. She stared down at the floor for
a long moment, not believing what she was told. “Why would my
father…” she thought out loud but stopped her self, thinking of
all the answers that she could give herself. She then looked up at
him and gave a cruel face.
let out a gasp of shock and pain.
“Shut-up!” he yelled right in her ear, so loud it startled her. He
quickly spun around and left the room. She sat there in the
darkness for what seemed to be forever when she heard
it…
wall and saw a cell phone on a black table. It was the one Jarod
had given her. Why would they have left it here? She didn’t think
about it anymore. She glanced around the room, checking if she
was alone, and then began to scoot her way towards the table.
Every inch she moved, the chair would make a horrible squeak
sound. She bit her lip, hoping no one would barge in at the
moment. Finally she reached it. All she had to do was flip it
open. That’s not so hard is it? With your hands no it isn’t, but
without them… well it boggles the mind. She glanced around one
last time and then leaned as far as the ropes would allow and
used her chin and the surface of the table to pop it open. She let
out a sigh of relief when it did.
voice.
Back in Kentucky
waited. Where could she be? He just talked to her. Suddenly he
heard scraping sounds and then a huge sigh from the other end.
He waited for a voice.
trouble.
kill me as well. It’s-it’s your father Jarod.”
He stared off into space in shock. Finally closing his eyes to hold
back the tears that screamed to flow, he softly said, “Stay with
me as long as you can. I’m going to track the signal. Okay?”
“No Jarod! He is going to kill you! Just stay away!”
down and began to fiddle with something in the background.
“Jarod!” Just then a hand reached down and picked up the
phone from under her nose.
phone to his ear and listened.
killer party!” he said with a smirk.
“You planned this, didn’t you?” Miss Parker asked. His smirk
grew wider.
genius.”
you a painless death.”
putting a bullet through my head as I got out of my car or
something?”
Assembly morning
possibly happen and all the odds. It didn’t look good at all.
Suddenly, she heard the door’s lock being picked. She sat up
straighter and watched as it quietly flung open. There was Jarod.
He quietly tiptoed towards her.
her.
warehouse. No body is in sight.”
Finally she was untied and they quietly tiptoed out the room and
down the hall. He was right; it was an abandoned warehouse. It
was very old, dust and cobwebs everywhere, and looked as if it
hadn’t seen a paintbrush in years.
in response. They made their way down a flight of stairs and out
a couple doors before reaching the real exit. They picked up
there pace as they came nearer and nearer to the exit, when
suddenly there he was. Jarod’s father stepped out from a corner
and stood right in front of the exit. Jarod and Miss Parker
froze in their tracks. There in his father’s fist was a gun pointed
right at them. Jarod stepped in front of Miss Parker, acting as a
shield.
sneered. Jarod just stared at him with no expression at all. But
his father just stared back at him in the same manner. “Well?
Aren’t you happy to see your old man after all those… lost
years?” Jarod shook his head in disgust. “Tisk, tisk. Wrong
answer!”
which he shot the base right from the wall. It came crashing
down on top of Jarod, hitting him hard on the head and knocking
him to the floor.
him. She heard his father laughing, and she took advantage of the
moment and leaped at his chest, knocking him into the door
behind him. She slammed his hand onto the door, knocking the
gun from his grip. Suddenly the doors swung open and they both
tumbled out and on to the pavement outside. He kicked her off
him and quickly leaped to his feet. “You are so much going to
pay for that!”
her as she rocked back and forth her feet. He suddenly leaped at
her, giving her only a second to get out of the way. He almost
tumbled to the pavement, but kept his footing. “You can do
better than that!” she said with an evil laugh.
She then stepped out of the way, but was too soon. He saw it
coming and grabbed a hold of her arm and swung her to the
ground. She laid there for a second or too, trying to recover and
then quickly got to her feet, proving she can take it. “Oh? You
want more, eh?” he said as he threw a punch. She ducked
and returned with a kick to the gut. He doubled over and quickly
caught his breath.
reflected the sun’s light and almost blinded her. He then took off
towards her with full force and knocked her to the ground. She
laid there and watched as he lifted the knife in the air and was
about to…
glanced back. There was Jarod with the gun in his hand, aiming
right at his father. His father stared at him for a long moment.
part of me! You have my genes boy!”
genetics a bitch?” and with that Jarod pulled the trigger.
his father right off of Miss Parker. Miss Parker scrambled on the
pavement, getting away form the still figure on the ground. She
then glanced at Jarod in shock. He just stared down at his father
with no expression and gun still aimed out. His eyes were as
blank as a white piece of paper. Shock, she thought.
Suddenly, Jarod dropped to his knees and closed his eyes, as a
single tear ran down his cheek. Miss Parker slowly got up and
walked to him and also got to her knees. She gently wrapped
her arms around him as he put his head on her shoulder and
began to cry. She felt a tear flow down her cheek as she
felt him against her shaking with emotions.
cracking from tears. “Shhh… it’s okay.”
Orlando, Florida
Motel Room
August 30, 1998
into the cell phone, as she lay on the bed and stared at the white
ceiling.
sound of his voice. She could listen to him forever. “Are you
going back to the Centre?”
said softly, considering it was a very sensitive subject, but she
had to know. There was a long pause.
"I pretended to be him. He would have shot me, so that made
me able to shoot him,” he replied softly. She caught the emotion
in his voice and so much wanted to be there with him, wherever
that might be.
that.”
knock on the door. She sat up in shock. “Jarod?” she asked into
the phone.
forever.”
through the peek hole and was surprised to see nothing. She
stepped back and thought about not opening it, but if it was from
Jarod, what is she afraid of?
know I hate call waiting!” She smiled at his joke and quickly
unlocked the door and swung it open.
on his face. He waved to her in a boyish manner. Still talking into
the phone, he said, “And I also hate long distant calls as well.”
She smiled at him and hung up her phone, as he did as also.
door frame.
now can I?”
you?”
Miss Parker reached down and grabbed a hold of his hand and
linked their fingers together. He smiled down at her as they
stepped in to the elevator.
My e-mail is:
AngelWings