December 10, 1997
Cat looked up from her paperwork. The knock was urgent, yet firm.
She sighed and pushed back her chair. The door opened and Zarah
appeared.
"Cat? We need to talk for a few minutes. I have been ordered to
inquire on a few 'discrepancies' in your recent logs." She paused in the
doorway, looking at Cat and then at the woman half hidden in the
shadows.
"Discrepancies? Such as?" Cat tossed her pencil on her desk.
"C'mon in, cousin. Don't mind the Insider; she's a cousin too."
Zarah stepped forward and shut the door behind her. She sat in
the chair across from Cat and stared at the Insider. Insider in turn
stared at Zarah. After a pause, Zarah smiled faintly at the woman,
drew her dress over her knees, crossed her legs and turned slightly to
look at Cat. "Cat, in October, your log is missing daily entries for 6
days. This is out of character for you. What happened?" Cat looked
slightly uncomfortable. She was silent. Zarah was silent. Then the
Insider broke the chill.
"Zarah, indiscrepancies are the results of errors or of
miscalculations; something you are not immune to," she said smoothly,
smiling sweetly.
Zarah shifted her attention to the standing girl. "Ah, cheré, I
am susceptible to much. Would you care to stay for this? It really has
been too long since I have seen you," Zarah replied, tilting her head
back slightly. She gestured to the remaining chair.
"I will stay for now," Insider said, sitting down. "But, as you
know, I never stay in one place too long. I am sure our cousin will
help you." She spoke with a smile on her face that occasionally
reached her eyes.
Both Zarah and the Insider turned their attention to Cat. She
hesitated, then spoke. "Hmm, oh yes. That was the time I disappeared
for a few days, remember? It was also when you were supposed to have
made that first appointment. Except neither of us made it for that
one," Cat twisted out, flashing a wry grin.
Zarah sighed and leaned back in her chair. "If you disappeared,
where were you?" Zarah saw Cat preparing to answer, but held up her
hand. "Please do not side-step this issue. It is very important. I was
asked to personally deal with this. I would prefer to make it as
painless as possible, but I will expect results."
Cat gazed at a point above Zarah's head. "You know as well as I
do I can't remember. The last thing I DO remember is Mic dropping me
off from dinner. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in my office
and everyone was telling me it was Thursday, not Saturday. And Loki
was here; talk about a shocker."
Insider's look turned serious and she looked at her cousins. "I
would help if I could, but I believe that the day of which you speak
was one when I was between jobs..." Her brow furrowed slightly as she
thought.
Zarah looked at her, then at Cat, and shook her head. "I assume
Loki doesn't know where you were. So you were missing six days?" She
waited for Cat's confirming nod before continuing. "Do you remember
anything? Were you inside the Centre? Any cuts and bruises? Anything?"
Zarah's voice had an edge to it, as if she were losing her patience.
Cat shook her head again. "Nothing, no noticeable injuries, only
some small traces of a mild sedative in my system when I was found in
my office." Her lack of memory was trying her patience a bit as well.
"Hmm," Zarah leaned her chin on her hand and bit her thumbnail in
concentration. "Does any trace remain on the DSA's? Anything on video
surveillance? Cat," Zarah leaned forward again. "Look at me. Think
about waking up. About seeing Loki. What was BEFORE that?"
"I can't remember, and as per usual, security screwed up. No
surveillance pictures, and video was down again, it seems....." Cat
said in a light tone. The force behind her voice was barely
perceptible.
The Insider frowned at Cat. "And you didn't even tell anyone?"
She stood up from her seat and started to pace Cat's office slowly.
"One cannot investigate matters of which they know nothing."
"Mic was the one who found me, and there was an investigation,
but..." Cat's voice trailed off as she shrugged.
Zarah sat silent, watching the exchange.
The Insider turned to face Cat. "You must remember something,"
she said, stressing the last word. She moved back to her chair and sat
down.
"Nothing, and it's very irritating," Cat replied.
Zarah stirred slightly and leaned back. "Hmm, I do indeed wonder.
Cat, tell me how you woke up. How were you lying? Were you wearing the
same clothes?"
Cat thought a minute, then said, "I was in the Lazy-Boy, Mic was
shaking me, and yes, I was wearing the same clothes."
"Did any of them seem different to you, perhaps give you a
strange feeling?" Insider asked.
Cat shook her head. "Only Loki venturing in here, but no," Cat
said with certainty.
Zarah sighed. "Alright. This is getting us nowhere. Insider?
Would you like some coffee? Cat?" Zarah stood and walked to the
counter. "I will just put your pot on. I really do need a coffee maker
in my office. Cafeteria coffee is rather revolting here."
"PB must have snuck that in here, I hate coffee," Cat said,
wrinkling her nose. "But help yourself."
"Thank you cousin. I would rather like some water if you do not
mind. My mind becomes absorbed in any puzzles that must be solved,"
Insider said, picking up a pencil off Cat's desk and staring at it.
Zarah looked at her cousin for a second, glanced at Cat, and put
the coffee on. As it brewed, she prowled Cat's office, Cat shuffled
some papers and Insider stared at her pencil. When the coffee was
finished, she poured herself a cup and sat back down.
"Ah, better. OK, let us get back to the matter at hand. Cat," she
said, "surly SOMEONE saw your return. This IS the Centre, after all."
A sudden scrapping noise from the vent, and a blue notebook
sailed through the air and landed at the girls' feet.
"What the..." Cat exclaimed, looking up at the vent.
Insider just smiled her knowing smile. "A notebook.. It may prove
useful," She said, looking up at the vent. "What is in it?"
Zarah raised an eyebrow. "Ok, that was interesting. Cat? You can
get it if you want," Zarah made no effort to get the book; in fact,
she was rather intent on seeing Cat get it. Cat sighed and got up to
get the notebook.
"Angelo is getting hyper again. Hmm, looks like the pictures
Broots had gotten. Syd said they'd gone missing, but why...." Cat's
voice trailed off for a second. "Yes, looks like the same ones. I
think he's trying to say Kyle took them or something; that he's not
dead. But why give them to me and not Syd? Why...." Cat's voice
stilled and her eyes glazed over.
Insider stared at Cat from across the room and whispered to
herself, "Kyle... Pictures... Angelo... Sydney...Zarah, she is
slipping away...."
Zarah picked up Insider's glass of water and splashed it in Cat's
face. "Cat! Snap out of it! Cat! Can you hear me?" Zarah demanded of
her cousin.
Cat revived and shook her head. "What? Yeah, I guess I'm more
tired than I thought, that's all. I thought I remembered something,
but it isn't all clear... I think I might need to go see Loki, get him
to help me remember better," Cat said, wiping the water out of her
eyes and half-glaring at Zarah with a bemused expression on her face.
Zarah looked at Cat with a questioning gaze. "Are you sure? Ok, I
mean, do you need any help? I want to make sure you're ok, alright
cousin?"
Cat rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess something is buried deep in
there. I'll go see Loki soon. And," she said, holding up the blue
notebook, "I'll give this to Syd tomorrow." She moved to her desk and
looked in one of the drawers. "Rats! Out of Cracker Jacks! Well, so
much for getting anything more out of Angelo tonight," she said with a
sigh.
"Alright then, I will leave you now. Cat, be well. Insider,"
Zarah said, looking at the room's forgotten occupant, "Have a swell
night. And to all, a good night." She turned slowly and exited the
room, pausing in the doorway to glance back once at Cat.
After she cleared the doorway, the Insider stood up and turned to
Cat. "Do what you need to do to find out what happened. I must take my
leave of you now, cousin." She left, closing the door behind her. Cat
sighed again and sat down.
"Angelo," she said, talking to the empty air vent, "I'll have
some more Cracker Jacks tomorrow." She turned her attention back to
her paperwork. Silence filled the room once more.
{above transcribed from original board tease by Zarah}
December 12
"You called?" Cat asked as she entered Zarah's office, surveying
the general disarray.
"What have you been feeding Spyder? She's gone ballistic!" the
younger girl replied.
As Zarah spoke, a small grey form scurried up Cat's leg and clung
there, exclaiming "'Ama!" The kitten's thoughts rang clearly in Cat's
mind; Play!
"Shadow? WHAT are you doing up here??!" Cat looked down at the
michievious grey kitten.
"Shadow? Cousin, your mind is going; that's Spyder."
"No...." Cat replied as she looked around the room. She moved to
Zarah's desk and tapped out a rapid sequence, which was promptly
answered by a soft "Mrrow?" from behind the couch.
"....Spyder's the one hiding behind your couch," she continued.
"This one is her sister Shadow."
"How do you ever manage to tell them all apart??" Zarah asked,
shaking her head wonderingly as Cat unhooked Shadow from her leg.
"They wonder the same thing about us," Cat grinned. "So, was that
the only reason you called me up here? I have to get back to that
paperwork; annual review remember."
Zarah eyed her suspisciously. "I thought you were going to go see
Loki about those holes in your memory?"
Cat ran her hands thru her short hair. "When I get the chance,"
she replied; "I'm as bogged down as I always am."
"You're seeing him tonight."
"Tonight?" Cat looked up, startled.
"Yes," Zarah smiled sweetly at her, "I called and made you an
appointment."
Cat held up her hands in front of her. "All right, all right,"
she relented. "Boy, that pitcher of water wasn't enough, I see. If you
see Syd, tell him I need to see him real quick; and better warn Pat
for my return."
"Patients? Why?"
"Because Loki's liable to shoot me for giving you his number,"
Cat explained as she deposited Shadow in Zarah's lap.
"Wait a minute," Zarah called after Cat as she left. "What am I
supposed to do with her?" she asked, indicating Shadow gleefully
attacking a paper clip on the edge of the desk.
"What you usually do with kittens" Cat replied on her way out the
door, grinning wickedly, "play."
"Cat? Are you here?" Sydney asked as he peered into the seemingly
empty office.
"Up here Syd."
Sydney entered and looked up; Cat was sitting on top of one of
her many bookcases, leaning up against the junction of two walls,
right leg out straight, left bent up at the knee, supporting her left
arm as she tapped a nearby vent. She looked very tired.
"What on earth are you doing up there?"
"Trying to track down Angelo, but he's not answering."
"Zarah said you wanted to see me."
"Yes; I had something for you," Cat said wearily, "but it seems
to have disappeared...."
"Really? What was it?"
"Something Angelo dropped off; I think he was trying to tell me
something, but....."
"What is it Cat? You look as if you have seen a ghost."
"I wonder...."
"Catherine?" Sydney looked up at the young woman in concern.
"What? Oh; sorry Syd; I have to go." With that, Cat scrambled
down from her perch and gathered her things.
"Are you all right?" Sydney asked, worried; he'd never seen her
act so....flighty... before.
Cat paused to grin up at him. "Syd, you have enough to worry
about; don't add me to the list. Bye." And without another word she
left, leaving Sydney to stare thoughtfully after her.
"You're exhausted," Loki said in a disgusted tone without
preamble after opening his door.
"Your point?" Cat retorted wearily.
"You're bloody useless right now and you know it."
"Fine," Cat replied, turning to leave, "then I'll go home."
"Oh no you don't," Loki asserted, grabbing her arm and pulling
her back. "You're not getting out of this that easily. I know you too
well; the room's prepped for your stay."
"Bed better not be short-sheeted."
Loki grinned as he returned from his night of fun. Really, that
Brit the Centre'd brought in was just too pretentious for him NOT to
prank. And returning the "lollies" to her very bed with that rose
should keep her guessing nicely.
He looked in briefly on his guest; out like a light. Two phone
calls to make then....
December 13
"Ready?" he asked Cat the next afternoon.
"No," she said candidly, "but it needs to be done."
"Alright then; let's begin. Think back to the last thing you
remember......"
October 1997:
Mic pulled off as Cat went inside. Now that he was gone, she felt
herself slowly losing the control she'd rigidly maintained throughout
the evening. She wandered quickly but aimlessly about her living room
as doubts and questions assailed her.
How could it have happend? It isn't supposed to be possible! I
can't believe I almost....no! Stop! It was an accident........I need
some air!
She quickly turned and walked outside, not even taking time to
lock her door.
I need some help; someone who might be able to explain what
happened today......
Her mind in a frenzy, she wandered for hours, not realizing where
she was or what she was doing; nor did she notice the car following so
close behind her, until she reached a pay phone and was pulling out
the number she'd come across recently. Delerious, she stood in the
glare of the headlights as her mind shut down even further, the wind
stealing the tiny slip of paper from her nerveless grip. Exhausted,
she slowly crumpled to the ground as the car's occupant stepped out
and came to stand over her. He looked familiar....
"Jarod?......" she said weakly as she lost consciousness.
"Not quite."
She came to tied to a chair. "Definately not Jarod," she
whispered to herself as she surveyed her surroundings. "Nice job," she
said, testing her bonds; "just tight enough." She sighed and looked
around again; no sign of her captor.
How the hell am I gonna get out of this? I wonder......a fire's
too dangerous......who.....Loni! Cat settled herself to "become" one
of the telekinetics she'd known as a child.
Loni/Cat looked up in confusion; what was she doing tied to a
chair? Loki and his damn pranks! She sighed and lowered her head,
concentrating on loosening the ropes.
"What are you doing?"
Loni/Cat looked up, startled; definately not Loki! Reflexively,
she flung a nearby paperweight at the back of his head from behind; he
never saw it coming. As she stood up, she looked at him in confusion;
he looked so...familiar....
As Cat reverted back to herself, she gasped.
"Kyle!"
This time it was Kyle who came to tied to the chair, his injured
leg propped on another on int front of him. He struggled briefly.
"Stop that; you'll only hurt yourself," Cat admonished from
behind him; "besides, I'm having a hard enough time checking this lump
I just gave you. Sorry about that by the way; you might say I wasn't
myself when you came up. And sorry I had to tie you to the chair, but
it was the only way to keep you upright long enough; besides, you
strike me as the 'difficult patient' type."
She sighed as he continued to struggle; Why are men so stubborn?
"Cousin," she said, coming around in front of him, "do stop
struggling; I need to make sure you've not got a concussion."
He stopped, surprised, at the word "cousin."
"Hmm, thought that would get your attention," she chuckled as she
briefly shone a pen light in his eyes. "I promise I'm not going to
hurt you, nor turn you over to the Centre. No concussion; good. I'll
even untie you if you promise to behave; besides, you're no match for
me right now with that bum leg."
He glared at her coldly. "Alright."
"Hpmphf; at least I know I can trust you as long as I hold your
curiosity," she grinned at him. He was surprised when she kept her
word and untied him.
"Now," she said, helping him up, "you need to lie down for a bit;
even without a concussion I hit you pretty hard."
"But you were in front of me," he said, confusion and pain
evident on his face though he tried to hide them.
"Yes, I was," she replied noncomittaly.
"What makes you think you can trust me," he dared her as he
settled onto the bed.
"Well, if you just wanted to hurt me," she answered calmly, "you
would have done so by now. My guess is you want information, something
you couldn't get much of while I was unconscious." She sat down on the
bed next to him. "Let me take a look at that leg." Without thinking,
he moved his leg for her to examine.
"Now," she continued blithely, "I believe that you would have
started questioning me as soon as I awakened, so it's probably a good
thing I awoke on my own. No doubt you would have proceeded in the way
Raines taught you, it never occuring to you that you could just ask.
So, ask away."
Kyle looked at her suspiciously. Unaccustomed to such bluntness,
he was unsure how to begin, and she was giving him no time to think.
"If you're our cousin," he began suddenly, "why are you working for
the Centre?"
"Good enough place to start," she nodded in approval. "First off,
I don't actually work for the Centre; I work for someone who would
like to see them brought down for what they've done to people like
yourself and Jarod. Secondly, I'm sorry, but I'm not really your
cousin. Where I grew up, we were taught to view other Pretenders as
kin; we call each other cousin to reflect this," she explained.
Noting his disappointment and rising anger, she added, "I'm sorry; I
wish I could have been a link to your family, but at least you know
you have some out there; mine are gone. Why haven't you contacted
Jarod?" she asked suddenly, diverting his attention once again.
"He's ashamed of me," Kyle responded bitterly.
"No he isn't, he-"
"Well then he feels sorry for me! I don't need his pity; I don't
need anyone!" Kyle shouted.
"What about your mother and sister? Don't you want to find them?"
"I told you I don't need anyone! I decide who lives or dies; I
decide." His voice grew softer and he started rocking himself back and
forth.
Cat sighed as she recognized the signs of Kyle "slipping away."
Damn Raines! Damn him to hell! She climbed up next to him and held
him; he struggled at first, but soon settled down and accepted the
comforting. She held him until he fell asleep.
Kyle started awake from another nightmare. Someone was rummaging
around in the kitchen. He grabbed a gun from the night stand and crept
out to teach whoever it was their mistake for intruding on him.
The "intruder" was Cat; she was wearing one of his shirts and had
climbed up onto the counter, searching the top cabinets and shelves
for something.
She's still here he thought in amazement, but why?
"Put down the damn gun and help me find something to eat," she
said without turning around. "Typical bachelor," she muttered, "no
damn food."
Kyle stood there for a minute more in amazement before he went
and helped her search.
"I forgot to ask," Cat mentioned as they ate a hastily prepared
meal, "how long was I out?"
"It's Monday," Kyle replied.
"No, it's Tuesday then," she corrected, "since you slept the day
thru."
"I did?" Kyle blinked at her. "Why didn't you leave?"
"I have no idea where I am, and I figured you could use some
company; too much isolation is not a good thing," she responded
flippantly. "Besides," she continued in a softer tone, gazing off into
the distance, "I need some time away from that place...."
The next day they were going thru his shelves, looking for the
phone book. Cat had convinced Kyle that he should try to search for
his family, if not Jarod. "A private detective would be as good a
place to start as any," Cat suggested.
"Ah ha! Found it, " she exclaimed while searching a top shelf
from a ladder. "Heads up!" She dropped the book down to Kyle, hitting
him on the head when he failed to react quickly enough.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said, jumping down beside him. "Are you
alright?"
Kyle swung at her reflexively as she reached up to him. Cat
blocked his blow easily without blinking or changing her expression of
contrite sympathy and concern. "Here," she said calmly, "let me take a
look."
Kyle looked down at her in confusion. "I'm sorry; I don't know
why..."
"Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who keeps beating you up.
Shhh...." she admonished when he started to say more, "Raines's
conditioning still has a fairly strong hold, that's all. But you can
overcome it, and you will, eventually. In the mean time," she said
wryly, "looks like it's time for another ice pack."
That night, they both awakened simultaneously from nightmares; as
they sat there, calming themselves, Cat chuckled.
"What are you laughing at?" Kyle asked suspisciously.
"We are quite a pair, you know that?"
"What do you mean?" he glared.
"The nightmares, that's all."
"I've always had them," Kyle replied. "I've survived."
"Me too. At least this time we have someone here to comfort us I
suppose."
And that night they did comfort each other.
Cat was awakened by crashing noises in the other room. She
quickly rose and went to see what was going on.
Uh oh....grace period's over....
Kyle was in a frenzy, tearing the room apart, a wild look in his
eyes as he chanted his mantra of "I decide who lives or dies." Cat
prudently chose to wait for her opening.
After a while he started to slow down, though he seemed no
calmer.
"Kyle," she called softly.
He whirled to face her, breathing heavily from his exertions.
"Why are you still here? Get out! Don't you know I'm dangerous?! I
decide who lives or dies!"
"I know the last thing you need right now is for another person
to walk out on you again," she said, walking towards him.
"I said get out! I decide!" As she got closer, he launched a
series of blows to ward her off. She parried them as effortlessly as
before.
"Kyle, listen to me, look at me! I'm not leaving you right now."
She grasped both his arms and looked directly into his eyes.
Suddenly, she was seeing his life as if the memories were her
own, and knew he was seeing hers the same way. She felt the pent up
frustration and anger from all the years of abuse he'd suffered, the
self-disgust, the.......the fear he felt as a response to her caring
and compassion; fear of betrayal, of betraying, of caring. After all
these years he still blamed himself for his actions, despite what he
knew had been done to him. But she saw what he could not, that he had,
deep down, fought his conditioning as much as he could, but he knew no
other way to deal with the world around him.
I wonder, Cat thought to herself, if I could feed this back to
him, show him what I saw; maybe then he could finally start healing...
She concentrated on forming something like a feedback loop, while at
the same time trying to shield him from the strain they were both
starting to feel from the link. She did this until the strain overtook
her and she blacked out.
December 13
"That must have broken the link," Cat said wearily, burying her
face in her hands. "Dear god, how could I have forgotten all that...."
"No doubt you overloaded yourself," Loki said tersely. "Did
anything else happen before you awoke at the Centre?"
"I remember a needle, I think.....Kyle talking to someone......
and being carried thru tunnels....it's not very clear. I'm sorry."
"He was there?" Loki exclaimed. "So close."
"I don't think so; most likely, he got a hold of Angelo."
"Yes, quite probably; he needed to get you out of there quickly,
but with as little risk to himself as possible."
"Exactly," Cat concurred. She looked up at Loki's pensive form.
"I'm sorry Lok, I-"
"You weren't thinking clearly; we knew that. I'll get over it.
Besides," he turned to her and tried to summon a cheerful grin, "you
got close to him once; no doubt you'll be able to do so again. But
next time," he said, turning serious once again, "bring him to me; I
know the proper techniques to reverse that bastard's work."
"I'll try. But, I make-"
"-no promises, yes I know; that'll have to be good enough I
guess. Now, you are to rest for 24 hours, no ifs, ands or buts, hear
me?"
"Can I at least eat something first?" she asked, a wry smile on
her lips.
"By all means; go, eat; I need to call someone."
Loki waited for her to leave before turning to the other door in
the small room. The door opened to reveal a very tall, blonde figure.
"I guess it's nice to know last month wasn't the first time she'd done
a link, even if she didn't recall it," the girl said.
"True," Loki replied, "but I still wish she wouldn't do things
like that."
"You and me both....cousin."
December 14
"See you again soon Lok," Cat said, giving him a fierce hug, "and
thanks."
"What are friends for? Besides," he grinned wickedly, "now you
owe me."
Cat groaned melodramaticly. "I knew there was a reason you were
so eager to help. Bye!"
"Farewell for now cousin." He watched until the cab she'd called
had disappeared from view completely before returning inside.
"She's headed back now," he told the person on the other end of
the phone a few minutes later. "Knowing her, she'll probably be back
in her office before 7. Now, about that little sister of yours...."
December 15
Kyle looked up in surprise at the knock on his door. When he
looked out, there was noone there. He cautiously opened the door to
peer outside. On the doorstep was a tiny package with a card attached.
He brought it inside, brushing off the crumbs of candied popcorn on
top.
The package contained an item the likes of which he'd seen only
once before, along with a set of instructions on its proper use.
The card read:
Kyle,
This is one of the items that Jarod left behind at
Wacky World; he'd want you to have it. Merry Christmas
-Cat
