Repudiating

January 22, 2001

4 weeks to go.

Twenty-eight days.

Six hundred and seventy-two hours.

Forty thousand, three hundred and twenty minutes. Or so.

Two million, four hundred and nineteen thousand, two hundred seconds. Or thereabouts.

Jarod grinned as he climbed into bed. More amusing was to work out the number of times that he had made those calculations in his head. At least once a week and often more. Not that it helped, he thought ruefully, any more than any other device helped to make time move faster.

He suddenly remembered the occasion when Miss Parker had brought in an Advent Calendar, which she and her mother had made, and which had been when Jarod had first learned about Christmas. He smiled faintly at the memory and tried to suppress the urge to share the memory with the other person involved. He was trying to avoid her having to suffer any more than he knew she was already.

In his mind, he thought through the various stages of the plan to destroy the Centre. He had every stage mapped out and he had simmed every situation to try and cover every possibility. He was looking forward to some things more than others, particularly the chance to extract some revenge for the wrongs that had been committed against him.

'Be careful, Jarod. Don't let it overwhelm you.'

'Is it so wrong to want revenge?'

'If it makes you as bad as them, yes.'

'All I want is the chance to…'

'You’re assuming that it will make you happy. But it won't.'

'And you know this how, Miss Parker?'

'I just do.'

January 22, 2001

Miss Parker shut down the communication between herself and Jarod and sat back against the pillows on her bed with a sigh. In some ways it was nice to have some of their old confidences restored and she enjoyed the conversations they had now, and which reminded her poignantly of her childhood. Her thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of Sydney in her doorway.

"It's ironic."

"What is?"

"You urging Jarod not to seek revenge. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."

"You were listening?"

"I was asleep and your conversation woke me up. You'll have to put up better barriers next time." Sydney's mouth half twisted and Miss Parker had to smile.

"I suppose it is a little ironic, me saying that. But I've been searching for revenge for years. It's taken me all this time to realize that it doesn't help."

"So why destroy the Centre?"

"So that it can't destroy other lives the way it destroyed ours. I couldn't bear to think that other people could have to go through the losses that we have."

"Just because the Centre will be destroyed doesn't mean that you won't suffer loss," the man reminded her softly.

Miss Parker looked up at him from the pillows, her face calm. "I know. But at least I will know that loss will be natural. It’ll be such a relief to know that I can stop looking over my shoulder."

Sydney ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, sadly and wearily. "I know exactly what you mean."

January 25, 2001

"How can they still be missing?" the bald man growled.

"Oh, don't worry, Raines. We'll find them."

"Don't worry? How can I not worry? These are the people that know most about every occurrence within the Centre and you're telling me not to worry? Anyone would think that you don't care. They've only got to drop a few hints and this place will be swarming with government agents. I don't know about you, but I don't plan to languish in a cell for the rest of my life and you know as well as I do that it could well happen."

Raines walked over to the other side of the office and sat down in the chair. "And while you're at it, where's the other half of our leadership group. I haven't seen him for weeks."

"He disappeared after we took over his accomplice," Lyle reminded him.

"I know that, you imbecile. I want to know where he is now."

"I think he’s down in SL-21. That's where he has been seen to go on the odd occasion that he is actually here."

"Anyone with him?" Raines demanded.

"Last I heard, that idiot albino was keeping him company."

"Well, watch him. If anything happens, I want to know about it. We can't let him have a chance to destroy any of our projects."

"Do you want to review the one we were working on yesterday?" Lyle plucked a manila folder from a pile on his desk and flipped it open, looking down at the photo taped to the inside cover of the dark-haired man, whose dark eyes glared out from the picture.

"Is there any change?"

"None, unfortunately."

"I always knew he was stubborn, but even I'm surprised at how long he's been able to hold out. Nearly two years and he's still fighting."

"Incredible, isn't it? Willpower is an amazing thing."

Part 26

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