Total Recall

Part 6 – The Family Game

 

Jennifer stirred vigorously at the contents of a pot on the stove. As she stood with the wooden door open and only the wire security door between her and the many mosquitoes buzzing around outside, she heard a car pull up in the driveway and two doors slam.

 

"Daddy, that was the best trip. Can we do it again?"

 

"Maybe, but don't tell your mother. She worries enough about that as it is."

 

"Yes," Jennifer turned as the door opened and the two entered the kitchen. "I do worry about the way you drive the car when your son is in it with you." She glared at Jarod, who looked abruptly from her to their son.

 

"Kyle, go and play in your room for a minute."

 

"Are you two...?"

 

"Kyle, go!"

 

As the boy laggingly left the kitchen, glancing back over his shoulder in concern, his mother threw the spoon, with which she had been stirring the pot, into the sink so hard that it nearly flew out again and glared at Jarod angrily. "How many times do I have to tell you not to speed when Kyle’s in the car with you? You know he wants to do everything that you do!"

 

"Jenn, it's..."

 

"I don't want to hear it. I just don't want you to do it again."

 

Jarod leaned against the wall on the other side of the kitchen and waited warily as she stormed around the kitchen, getting out the plates for dinner. The years had taught him that the best way to deal with her was to wait until the anger subsided, as he knew it eventually would. Finally he spoke.

 

"The reason that I drove fast was because Parker was in the car behind."

 

"What?!" She spun around and stared at him.

 

"I saw Parker and Sam in the car behind me."

 

"Are you sure?"

 

"I'm positive."

 

Jennifer stared at him for several seconds before running into his outstretched arms. With a trembling hand, recalling the urgency of the moment, he stroked her shining red hair.

 

"Mommy, Daddy, are you still fighting?"

 

Jennifer and Jarod turned with a slight laugh and Jennifer freed an arm, holding it out to the boy. He moved over and joined in the hug.

 

"No, son, we're not fighting anymore."

 

~~~~~

 

Miss Parker stared out of the window at the setting sun. Her brother was curled up, a sleeping ball in her arms, and it was during moments like these that she wondered what kind of a father Thomas would have made. She had now virtually adopted her brother, her father being totally wrapped up in his work at the Centre and Miss Parker sometimes wondered if he even knew his wife was gone. It was about the same amount of emotion that he had shown when her mother had died. The memory of her mother caused Miss Parker's arms to tighten on the boy until he woke up with a slight squawk. With a small laugh, she loosened her hold and pulled her mind out of the past as she got up to feed her brother and herself.

 

~~~~~

 

Jarod woke with a jump and, heart pounding, gazed frantically around the room for several seconds. He looked over to Jennifer as she slept beside him and, with confused thoughts in his mind, got out of bed. Slowly he walked into the other room, where his ten-month-old son slept in his cot. Jarod remembered hearing that, if you pinched yourself, you would know whether you were dreaming. Doing so and feeling the pain, he realized that this, and not the other, was real. It had been so realistic. He shook his head in confusion before going out into the living room. The sun was only moments from rising as Jarod opened the door and went outside. He sat down on the top step of the porch with his knees curled up in front of him and his hands linked around them.

 

"You're up early." The voice from behind him was bright and Jarod watched as Jennifer came over and sat down on the step below him, leaning against his legs.

 

"I couldn't sleep."

 

"Bad dream?"

 

"Not exactly. It just woke me up."

 

Jennifer rested her head on his knees. "Do you have to leave just yet, or were you planning to stay for a while?"

 

"Well, if nothing interrupts us, I thought I'd give myself a vacation." He put both hands on Jennifer's shoulders, beginning to rub gently, but she ignored it and twisted around to look at him, a smile on her face.

 

"Do you know how frustrated the Centre's getting? You've even stopped calling Sydney, let alone leaving a trail of red notebooks to follow."

 

"I have someone better to talk to."

 

Jennifer smiled fleetingly and then turned back to face the sun, however, when she didn't speak, Jarod became concerned and tilted up her head so that he could see her face. "Look, what's the problem? There's been something wrong ever since I got home. Can't you tell me?"

 

For answer, Jennifer went back into the house and reappeared several minutes later with a gun holster in her hand, from which she extracted the deadly weapon and held it out to him. "See this? Raines came into my office yesterday and told me that I should carry it, just in case I ran into you."

 

"But you told me that you were...?"

 

"A sharp-shooter? Yes, I am, and I don't mind a gun if I'm standing in front of a target. I actually enjoy pumping a piece of paper full of holes. But I have a small problem doing the same thing to another human being. Especially you."

 

"So don't take it."

 

"And what excuse would I give to Raines?"

 

"Hmm. Good point."

 

There were several minutes of silence and then Jarod looked up at Jennifer once more. "What have you done to it? I know that expression."

 

"Oh, okay." Jennifer grinned and opened the gun, dropping the six silver bullets into Jarod's outstretched hand. "The first four are blanks. Only the last two are genuine."

 

"Nice one. But why the real bullets?"

 

"If I aim at something, I want there to be holes in the thing I hit, even if it's not the main target."

 

~~~~~

 

Sydney looked across the table to where Michelle sat and smiled. The early part of the evening had been somewhat difficult, with the two of them unsure what to say to each other. However a few reminisces about their years working together at the Centre had started the conversation flowing. Now, as time moved quickly, he was desperately trying to think of a way to prolong the evening.

 

"Can I see you again?"

 

Michelle smiled. "You said the same thing to me the first time we started going out, remember? But, yes, I'd like that too."

 

"Does Nicholas mind?"

 

"That his mother and father are seeing each other? No, I don't think so."

 

There was several seconds of silence.

 

"Is the Centre going to interfere?" the woman prompted softly.

 

Sydney reached over and took Michelle's hand. "I don't know. But, now that I finally have you back, I'm not going to let you go again."

 

~~~~~

 

Jarod came into the room and looked down at the sleeping woman on the bed as he removed his shoes. He hadn't wanted to leave but felt that the situation had desperately required his attention and he hadn't wanted to ignore it. She had, as always, been understanding, but there were times that he wished he could have a regular job and a normal family. After changing, he slipped into bed and then wrapped his arms around Jennifer, feeling her sigh as she settled back in his arms without waking up. He gently kissed the top of her head and then the back of her neck. Slowly he began to stroke her hair but the exhaustion that he had begun to feel on the long drive back to the farm was setting in again and, as it caught up with him, he gave in and relaxed.

 

~~~~~

 

Sydney walked through the doors of his office as his computer beeped to alert him of a message. His heart leaped at the thought that it might be from Jarod but the screen showed him that it was just an office memo and, as he went down the hall towards Jennifer's office in response to it, he wondered what it was about. Jennifer, at his entrance, picked up a pile of papers and slammed them down in front of Sydney, one hand preventing them from landing on the floor. He looked up, surprised to see the anger in her eyes.

 

"What's all this?"

 

"That's what I should be asking you," she growled softly, her eyes burning with rage. "Raines sent me down to locate a particular file for him and, in the process, I found those."

 

Sydney glanced through the pages and the color drained from his face as he looked up at her. "Jennifer - I...I can explain..."

 

She leaned back in her chair. "I hope so. If other people got hold of those - "

 

"Jarod couldn't...could he?"

 

Jennifer turned the screen of her computer around to face him so that he could see the replicas of the files that he held in his hand. "I've tried to delete them but I can't. They've been downloaded in such a way that I would need to have at least level eight access and I only have level seven. Therefore I would say that it's only a matter of time. In fact, I'm surprised that he hasn't found them already, and I don't know why I shouldn't tell him myself." Her eyes became sad. "Jarod always trusted you, Sydney, and you betrayed him."

 

For several moments Sydney sat and stared at the pages in his hands while the woman closed the files on which she had been working and then turned off the screen. Folding her arms, she leaned back in her chair and waited for him to speak.

 

~~~~~

 

Miss Parker turned over the gun in her hand and stared at the shining metal that gleamed under her hands. She had waited until Robert was asleep before taking the gun from the position in the linen closet where she kept it. By having it there she knew that he wouldn't be able to find it during one of his regular whirlwind dashes through the house. He could now get up a high level of speed and she only had to take her eyes off him for a few seconds for him to be on the other side of the room. A sharp rap caused her to slip the gun into the hall table before she opened the door.

 

"Daddy?"

 

"Angel, I need to talk to you."

 

"Of course."

 

~~~~~

 

"This is Sydney."

 

The voice on the other end exploded almost before he got the words out. "How could you, Sydney? How could you do that to me?"

 

"Jarod - I..."

 

"Well?"

 

"You have to understand - "

 

"I don't have to understand anything, except that you signed a hand-over of the results for every single simulation I ever performed. All this time, when you were saying that you had no idea of their eventual uses, you knew exactly where they were going. You knew how every one would be used - that they would be used to kill people! It wouldn't take a genius to work out their potential results."

 

"Jarod, listen to me - "

 

"Why should I?"

 

"I want you to know the whole situation before you condemn me."

 

"It's a little late for that," the Pretender spat.

 

"Please, Jarod."

 

Jennifer slipped her hand into Jarod's and gave it a gentle squeeze as they sat opposite each other across the table. He looked up at her and his voice, when he spoke, was full of pain.

 

"Okay."

 

"Jarod, when the results of every simulation were complete, I had to write them up. Then I had to sign a document stating that they could be legally given, or sold, to their intended client. At the time, those forms were blank. I had no way of knowing who the results were designed for, any more than you did. But if I, as your guardian, hadn't completed the paper work, none of the deals would have been legal."

 

"That's a joke, Sydney, unless, of course, kidnapping, torture and murder have been legal for the last forty years." Jarod's face wore a bitter smile. "How can you honestly believe that it would be 'legal' unless you signed it? It's a farce, like everything else at the Centre. The only reason they had you fill these out was to shove the blame away from the Triumvirate." The accusing tone faded a little from his voice. "They used you, like they used me. Can't you see that?"

 

Pressing a button, he disconnected the call and stared blankly out of the window above Jennifer's head. She put her other hand on his and waited until he looked at her.

 

"Jarod, I think he's telling you the truth. He would have had no way of knowing for whom those details were designed. I know it's hard to believe, but I did a test on the paper and the details were applied some time after the signature had been written. Of course, the exact times are impossible to judge but, on several of the forms, typing was put over the signature. I tested it myself."

 

Jarod shook his head and the tear that had escaped from his eye slowly began to zigzag down his cheek. "I trusted him, Jenn. I trusted him and he betrayed me."

 

"No, Jarod." She came around and started to gently rub the back of his neck. "It wasn't Sydney that betrayed you. It was the Centre. Sydney played his role but the one at whom you should be directing your anger is the Centre and only the Centre."

 

Jarod allowed his head to roll forward as Jennifer continued to unravel the stress that had built up in his neck.

 

"When I talked to him about this - I've never seen anyone so upset before. And you know as well as I do that he doesn't like to show his emotions. The thought that you might find out and hold him responsible is going to give him nightmares for a long time. And the call isn't going to help."

 

Jarod raised his head stared blankly out of the window. "But he...I'd never have thought that he..." He paused. "How am I supposed to live with this?"

 

"In the same way that you've learned to live with everything else. Sydney, don't forget, has to live with the same guilt that you do."

 

Jarod slammed two fists on the table and pushed back his chair. Jennifer hid the pain as its back slammed into her waist and she moved to lean against the wall as Jarod began to furiously pace the room, his voice full of rage.

 

"How can you honestly say that? Do you really believe that he was really naïve for so many years?"

 

Jennifer watched as he continued to angrily pace, her hands clenched into tight fists as the throbbing in her stomach gradually increased. He hadn't yet had the chance to learn that she was pregnant again and, in her concern for herself, she stopped listening to what he was saying as Jarod continued to stride the length of the room. Finally, as she knew he would, he stopped and glared blankly out of the window. Fighting the pain and nausea that the knock had caused, she came and stood behind him, slipping both arms around his waist.

 

"Jarod, Sydney was the person who taught you everything that you believe about ethics and moral standards. He's not capable of pushing aside his own feelings to teach you something that he didn't believe himself. You know him better than I do, but I know I'm right when I say that. He wouldn't - he couldn't have done that, either to himself or to you." She felt the warm tear splash down onto her hand and was about to pull away when he grabbed her arms and turned her body to face him. Before she could react he lowered his head and kissed her. Then he took her face in both hands and looked into her eyes.

 

"What would I do without you?"

 

She tried to smile but the agony in her stomach was too great. Jarod noticed the pain in her eyes at the same moment as he saw the small flecks on blood on the edges of her fingernails. He forced open one palm and saw where the nails had pierced the skin as she clenched her fists. With a rapid movement he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. Moments later, after a quick examination, he carried her out to the car and, putting Kyle into his baby seat, drove off.

 

~~~~~

 

Miss Parker hadn't moved since her father left. She had remained in the same seat while he had let himself out of the house, unable to believe what he had said. He was backing out of their deal, thus ensuring that she would never leave the Centre. He had, as he always did, relied on her loyalty but now she could see the threats that, although implied, were still obvious. And there wasn't a single thing she could do about it. She knew that he didn't care what she thought of him and wasn't interested in her opinions. Looking back, she could see he never had been. Suddenly she felt lonely.

 

~~~~~

 

The sound of Jarod's footsteps filled his ears as his mind filled with thoughts and regrets over what had happened. But he was distracted as a hand came to rest gently on his shoulder and he turned to find Sydney behind him.

 

"How is she?"

 

Jarod stared blankly at the man for several seconds before a tear slipped down his cheek.

 

"Sydney, I'm sorry."

 

"I know, Jarod."

 

"I really am. I was angry...hurt...I needed someone to blame." Suddenly, unable to help himself, he threw both arms around Sydney and hugged him. Over the other man's shoulder, Jarod saw Michelle kneeling beside the baby capsule in which Kyle lay and, despite the tears in his eyes, couldn't help smiling.

 

~~~~~

 

Lyle stared around the walls and tried to think of a way out. The scars were no longer painful but he wasn't willing to stop taking the medication. Living was still slightly preferable to death. His predicament, however, left him a lot of time to think. The plastic bubble had only one exit and that wasn't accessible to or by him. Raines had shown him a DSA that contained the both design and creation of the thing and it was almost unbearable for him to learn that Jarod had been responsible for its inception. His speech was beginning to deteriorate due to the fact that he had no one to talk to. Sometimes he was certain that he was being watched but the reflective glass of the window, high above his head, prevented him from seeing through it. He never thought to look at the air vent…

 

~~~~~

 

When the doctor walked into the hallway, Jarod was already on his feet, waiting for news. The doctor didn't need anyone to tell him that the young man had been pacing the hallway since the operation began.

 

"Well?"

 

The doctor smiled. "She's going to be fine. We stopped the bleeding and we also managed to save the baby."

 

Jarod's eyes widened in shock. "The...baby?"

 

"She didn't tell you?"

 

"Uh...no. Not yet."

 

"Well, congratulations. She's three months pregnant. I'm going back to help them settle her into the room and then you can go in and see her."

 

As the doctor left, Jarod sat numbly in a chair. Sydney came over and sat next to him. "So the two of you are..."

 

Jarod didn't answer but Sydney's mind had been working quickly. He was about to speak which Michelle interrupted him. "Oh please, Syd." She held up the sleepy baby, who looked at his father and the other man out of drowsy brown eyes. "You only have to look at him to know who his parents are."

 

Sydney began to laugh and Jarod turned stunned eyes to him. "You knew?"

 

"I've had some suspicions."

 

"Since when?"

 

"After Jennifer was shot, I went to visit her. Her medical file was lying open and I thought I recognized the handwriting but, because it was only numbers, I couldn't be sure. Now, of course, I can see that I was right. It was you."

 

"So now what are you going to do?" Jarod's voice was cautious as he examined the floor. "No matter what, nothing will change the fact that you work for them."

 

"Oh, it changes a lot. I can see that I've been wrong, Jarod." Sydney stared at his hands. "I used to think that it would be better for you in the Centre, that you'd be safer there, that if the government found out about you, they'd do all they could to get hold of you. I even tried to convince myself that you could be happy there. And that I could be, too."

 

Jarod finally looked at Sydney. "You admit that you were wrong?"

 

"Now you have someone to depend on, a family. It's what you've always wanted and I hoped that I could give that to you."

 

"But you have your own family."

 

"Thanks to you. I wanted to return the favour."

 

"You provided me with that, too. Please tell me that all those years didn't mean nothing to you."

 

"No," Sydney admitted softly. "They meant a lot."

 

"Jarod," the nurse hesitantly interrupted the conversation. "She's asking for you."

 

Jennifer moved slightly, ignoring the twinge of pain that it caused. Her biggest relief was in knowing that the unborn baby would be all right and, if she took life easy for the next six months, should be as healthy as Kyle was. It would be a shock to Jarod that she was pregnant again. She had just got to the stage of wondering what his reaction would be and, imagining it, had begun to giggle softly when the door to her room opened and he was standing there.

 

"I'm sorry."

 

"Jarod, it wasn't your fault. If..."

 

"It was! If I hadn't been so angry..."

 

She held out one hand and he moved across, taking it as he sat down in a chair beside the bed. "Jarod, I should have got out of the way faster, that's all. And it wasn't even as though you knew."

 

"How long have you known?"

 

"About two weeks. I was going to tell you..."

 

"Why didn't you?"

 

"Because, if you'll remember, you've only been home two days, and you slept for the whole of one. Besides, I thought it was more important for you to find out about the forms first. I wanted you to get over your anger regarding them before you learned about this."

 

He looked down at her in amazement. "You knew what I'd do?"

 

"I guessed. Once a person knows you, you can be a little predictable, as long as you're not pretending to be someone else."

 

"Are you really going to be okay?"

 

Jennifer raised a hand and touched his cheek with her fingertips. "I'm going to be fine, Jarod. And so is our baby." She paused. "Have you talked to Sydney?"

 

He sat back in his chair and stared at her. "How on earth did you...?"

 

"I told the doctor to call him. I knew that he was staying around here, visiting Michelle. Did you talk to him? Did you tell him?"

 

"Yes."

 

"And?"

 

Jarod's eyes filled with tears for the second time within the space of half an hour and he was unable to speak but Jennifer was satisfied. To save him further pain, she changed the subject. "Where's Kyle?"

 

"Outside, with Michelle."

 

"She came too? Oh, good."

 

Jarod looked at Jennifer suspiciously. "Are you trying to match-make?"

 

"I hardly need to. They've been in love for years. I just thought that Sydney ought to have a chance at a life too, now that you've got one."

 

"How far do you think it can go?" Jarod's tones betrayed his curiosity.

 

"Well, marriage would be nice." She smiled at him. "It would even give Nicholas a father again."

 

Jarod stroked Jennifer's hair with his hand as he leaned over, smiling at her. "Are you always thinking about other people?"

 

She kissed him softly. "That depends on who the other people are."

 

~~~~~

 

Miss Parker picked up her brother from his baby seat and carried him into the house. Ben followed with her bags. It had taken a lot of courage to pack her car and drive out of Blue Cove. She'd even disengaged the car's tracking system so she could have a few days before they caught up with her.

 

"You can have your mother's room, if you want."

 

"Thank-you. I'd like that." Somehow, here, it was easy to drop the facade that was so well known among Centre operatives. When he left, she put the baby on the bed and made up the small cot that Ben had placed in the corner. As she placed her small brother onto the blankets and watched him stare solemnly up at her, she realized how powerfully protective she had become towards him. The idea of letting her father or Raines near the child, not even her own, made her angrier than she had been for months. She wondered if this was how her mother had felt, not only about her but also the children within the Centre.

 

~~~~~

 

Sydney walked into the room and sat beside the bed. Within only a few hours, Jennifer's fitness was ensuring that she was recovering from the incident as quickly as possible. He and Jarod had discussed what had occurred and he had done his best to dispel the young man's guilt but had a sense that Michelle would be more effective. So, while he visited Jennifer, he knew that the woman he was now determined to finally marry would talk to the young man he could now admit that he'd always loved as much as if he had been his own son.

 

"Well, you kept this a well hidden secret."

 

She grinned. "It's a shame that I won't get to see Raines' face if or when he ever works it out."

 

"He'll be furious."

 

"That was the idea."

 

Sydney laughed. "And you've kept this a secret from Miss Parker, too. I think that's an even greater achievement."

 

"I kept promising to show her photos of Kyle, or the boy himself, but somehow I never got around to it."

 

"Well, she certainly would have guessed then. He's the absolute mirror image of his father."

 

"Then or now?"

 

"Both. I can see some of Jarod as a boy and there are certainly looks that are very much identical to the man."

 

"I haven't watched too many DSAs of Jarod as a boy but there are certain strong resemblances to the clone."

 

Sydney became a little uncomfortable. Then his mind put together the pieces that he'd been trying to understand since the disappearance.

 

"You helped them escape, didn't you?"

 

Jennifer tried to hide her smile. "Well, I might have helped a bit."

 

"Have you told Jarod?"

 

"No."

 

"Why not?"

 

The smile vanished. "I was supposed to meet up with them two days after they escaped and bring them to Jarod. That would give them time to collect Margaret and Emily and I would have a chance to finish my work without Raines getting suspicious. But of course, thanks to Lyle and Brigitte, I never got the chance to go to that meeting. I have no idea where they are and I couldn't tell Jarod about it, not now. He's had so many disappointments of that sort; I can't bring myself to be responsible for another one."

 

Sydney nodded. "I understand. And he would be disappointed. I'm sure one day, though, he'll find them."

 

Jennifer smiled. "With that much determination, he'll have to get results, and I know he will. At least, he's not going to stop until he does."

 

"Does what?" Jarod's voice interrupted the conversation.

 

"Funny," Jennifer grinned. "I didn't hear you knock."

 

"Neither did I. But I thought I'd left you two alone long enough."

 

Jennifer could hear in his voice that the guilt he'd been carrying was gone. This was the cheerful, bright Jarod that she had originally fallen in love with and the smile he gave her showed that, as usual, he had a pretty good idea of what she was thinking.

 

Sydney stood up. "I'm going to find Michelle." He left the room quickly, but not before he heard the final comments.

 

"Is he going to ask her?"

 

"I hope so. If not, I'm going to do it for him!"

 

~~~~~

 

As Jarod sat beside Jennifer's bed, he looked at a folder that had been lying on the small table in the corner since he had come in. He had originally thought that it was a medical folder but several nurses had entered and left the room without touching it. He glanced over, seeing that Jennifer was still asleep so he stood up and walked over to the table. Seeing a name on the folder that he easily recognized, he picked it up and returned to his seat. Slowly his eyes absorbed all of the information it contained and, after completing it, Jarod looked up to see Jennifer watching him.

 

"Is this for me?"

 

"It was suggested that I find an appropriate moment to give it to you."

 

"By whom?"

 

"The person who gave it to me."

 

Jarod thought for a moment. "Angelo?"

 

"One day, in my office, he showed it to me. That's a photocopy, by the way, not the original. He's keeping them, perhaps for the day when the Centre no longer exists, and then I imagine he'll try and give them back to the relevant people."

 

Jarod looked at her. "Is there one for me?"

 

"Angelo wouldn't give it to me and I only saw it briefly. I had no chance to read anything on it."

 

"And one day...?"

 

She nodded, reaching out to take his hand. "One day, Jarod. One day."

 

Part 7

 

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