A huge thank you goes out to my beta reader Cate! :)

I'd like to thank everyone who wrote and encouraged me to continue this story - this is for you! Enjoy yourselves.

The next morning Miss Parker found it harder than usual to return to the Centre. She had lain awake for the better part of the night, fighting her tears, trying in vain to banish Jarod's words from her memory.

And then there was this nagging little doubt. Miss Parker did not even allow herself to acknowledge its presence, let alone think about. But no matter how hard she tried - she could not get rid of it. 'What if he was right?'

"Good morning, Miss Parker."

It was Broots who interrupted her musings. For a long moment she just stared at him.

"I thought you were on a two-week vacation," she said by way of a greeting. Broots nervously shifted his weight from one leg to the other and back.

"They've only granted me one week," he explained but it was plain to see that there was something else weighing on his mind. Miss Parker was sure she did not want to hear what he had to say but there was something in his eyes forcing her to ask. He was relying on her. The relief in his eyes at seeing her told her that he trusted her to solve the problem - whatever that might be.

"What's the matter, Broots?"

She nudged him gently in the back, and they left the entrance hall together, heading for her office.

"It's Sydney," the technician whispered, looking around nervously.

"This isn't a bad spy movie, Broots," Miss Parker reminded him, impatient. "Pull yourself together." There was no trace of sharpness to her tone, though, and Broots merely nodded absent-mindedly.

When he had not said anything else after a whole minute had passed, Miss Parker sighed silently.

"What about Syd?" she insisted.

"I don't know," Broots uttered, visibly worried now. "When I arrived here this morning I talked to him, and everything seemed just fine. Then, half an hour ago, he went past me without so much as a word, and..."

He hesitated, then forced himself to continue. "He's locked himself in his office," he finished his sentence.

Miss Parker stopped dead in her tracks, looking at Broots for some time, then continued on her way, faster than before. "I'll talk to him."

With that, she left Broots behind. It did not take her long to reach Sydney's office. Her gaze rested on the closed door for more than a minute before she finally knocked.

"Sydney? It's me. If you don't open this door for me, you'll force me to shoot the lock off - or maybe I'll only get someone with a master key. In any case there's going to be a lot of excitement. That can't be what you want, right?"

For a long while, there was only silence. Miss Parker's patience was slowly wearing thin but eventually she was rewarded with the sound of steps coming closer to the door. A low, clicking noise told her that Sydney had unlocked the door. A few more seconds passed, then he opened the door to look at her, his face displaying an admirable amount of calm.

"Miss Parker, that was poor psychology," he said softly. "But you may come in all the same."

"It worked," she replied with a shrug of her shoulders, entering his office. She went over to his desk, then turned to face him.

"What's this all about, Syd? This is so unlike you."

He sighed.

"All I wanted was to be alone for awhile."

"Here at the Centre? Not a good idea, Sydney. That's a sure way to draw even more attention to yourself."

Jarod's former mentor looked at her, his full attention on her.

"I'm afraid your method isn't all that much better," he countered.

She knew immediately what he meant. Sydney was talking about her... encounter with Jarod. By now, probably everyone here at the Centre had watched a copy of the surveillance tape. To hell with Jarod.

"Quid pro quo, Sydney. You first. What happened?"

He walked over to the window and looked outside.

"I... I visited Jarod this morning. He didn't want to see me. It's as simple as that."

That wasn't all there was to it. Both his stance and tone of voice made that plain. Even knowing that, Miss Parker merely nodded.

"Strange - why doesn't that come as a surprise to me? I suppose you already know what happened when I went to see him last night?"

Sydney's only answer was a nod, but he turned to face her again.

"I'm not sure what's wrong with him. The Jarod down there is not the one you used to know. He's pulling off some weird kind of stunt. I don't know why, and I couldn't care less. As far as I'm concerned, Raines can do with Jarod whatever pleases him."

"Miss Parker!" Genuine alarm made Sydney's voice quiver. "You can't be serious."

"I'm as serious as his little remark about Tommy," she answered, not quite convincing herself.

Sydney gave her an insistent look.

"You said that Jarod was pulling off a stunt?"

"Come on, Syd, you know that as well as I do. I..."

A knocking on the door interrupted her.

"Yes?" came Sydney's automatic reply. Willie, Raines' personal sweeper, entered his office. His bandages instantly reminded Miss Parker of what Sam had told her about Jarod's capture.

"Miss Parker, Mr. Raines wants you to come down to Jarod. Immediately," he informed her.

She stared at him, speechless for the moment.

"No," she then said.

"Mr. Raines would hate to involve your father in this."

Miss Parker took a deep breath, about to tell Willie what else Raines would hate, but then thought better of it. It would be pointless to waste her rage on him when Raines was the one she was angry with.

"I'm coming," she said flatly. What was Raines up to this time? And why had he expressly asked her to go and see Jarod?

Willie turned to leave, and Miss Parker gave Sydney a dry smile.

"Maybe your method is better than mine after all," she murmured, in a tone that was almost gentle. There was a mixture of worry and compassion in Sydney's eyes. He nodded almost imperceptibly, the hint of a smile playing about his lips.

"Maybe," she heard his quiet answer, when she was halfway out the door.

The way down to Jarod's quarters seemed even longer this time. Her thoughts were revolving incessantly about Raines' motives. There was only one thing occupying her attention even more, and that was the question of what Jarod might have to do with it all.

It wasn't long until she found herself standing in front of the door to Jarod's room again. Sam was not there this time; one of Raines' sweepers opened the door for her.

She could hardly bring herself to walk into the confined space that was Jarod's room. The memory of his hurtful words was so much more vivid down here, the nagging doubt louder, more insistent. 'What if he was right?'

Upset, she shook her head. She really could not let herself get distracted by that now.

"Hello, Miss Parker."

It was Jarod who greeted her, not Raines. Miss Parker stared at him, allowing her gaze to bore into him. He was sitting at a table, a self-satisfied expression in his eyes. Now, in the harsh light of the lamps above their heads, he looked even worse than last night.

"Where's Raines?" she wanted to know.

"Hm, not here, it seems."

"I can see that," Miss Parker said between clenched teeth, barely controlling herself. "What am I doing here?"

Jarod got up.

"Ah, now that's a good question if I ever heard one. It's lonely down here, you know." He paused, looking at her in a way that reminded her far too much of their last encounter. An eternity seemed to go by before Jarod finally continued. "Raines has been generous. He has granted me some... privileges in exchange for my services as a pretender."

"And I am one of those privileges," Miss Parker concluded, laughing out loud. "You must have lost your mind if you believe that I'll agree to that."

The pretender returned her gaze with a calmness that made her even angrier than his last remark. Jarod tilted his head to the side.

"It might interest you to know that your father is a part of my deal with Raines."

His words infuriated her to the point of blind anger, making her forget about caution. She moved towards him, sped up by her fury.

Jarod was hit by surprise. The force of her impact made him stagger backwards until he stumbled against the wall. They bounced against the wall facing the door, as they had last night, but this time it was Miss Parker who held Jarod captive against the hard stone. She pressed her right arm against his throat, putting all her fury in her eyes.

"I won't let anyone use me like that, not even for my father's sake," she hissed.

"Your shoulder," Jarod reminded her, his voice surprisingly soft. Confused, she backed away a bit, so that she could look into his eyes. The strange feeling she'd had the night before returned - and she had had enough of it.

"What the hell is going on here?" she asked him, the icy tone of her voice making it plain to him that she was not going to accept any more excuses. She looked into Jarod's eyes, trying to read in them as she had done so many times when they had both been children.

Last night it had been too dark for her to see anything in his eyes; that's why he had gotten away with his charade. And that's what it had been - a charade. Miss Parker realized that as she saw the compassion and the silent apology in his eyes.

"Jarod?"

Her voice was soft, clearly reflecting her confusion. A small part of her became aware of the fact that they stood just outside the range of the two surveillance cameras - unlike last night.

Jarod was still looking at her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice so low she almost missed his words. Then he leaned into her, getting closer to her again. There was nothing threatening to his posture; it was really rather soothing. His right hand wiped a strand of hair from her brow, his fingertips then wandered gently over her forehead, down to her cheek. Jarod's other hand rested lightly on her injured shoulder.

There was nothing Miss Parker could do, besides stand there and stare at the pretender with wide eyes. The feeling that something was wrong had gone. This time everything felt... right. She studied him intently, saw the dark rings beneath his eyes, his tousled hair and the expression in his eyes. His steady gaze had something desperate to it, as if he were searching for something he could see but not reach. Before she had the time to follow this thought, she felt the touch of his lips on hers.

This kiss wasn't about power or control. Jarod was kissing her gently, tenderly, with a reverence and warmth that made her quiver. His emotions were genuine, that much Miss Parker knew for sure. Still, Jarod's behavior made no sense at all to her.

Her thoughts evaporated into nothingness when Jarod deepened the kiss. She returned his caresses, and for a precious moment she got lost in the wonderful warmth that was pulsing through her body. Then, as if waking up from a dream, she detached herself from him; afraid of what might happen if she didn't.

Miss Parker took a step away from the pretender and watched him, her brow creased. Several questions were vying for her attention, but she uttered none of them. She shook her head in amazement, not quite believing what had just happened, turned around and went to the door.

"Miss Parker."

She did not turn, but hesitated for the briefest of moments before she raised her hand to knock on the door. Then seconds later she had left the room, physically at least. Only on her way back to the ground floor, with the sound of the heavy door closing behind her, did she allow what just happened to play over and over in her head.


End of part 2

tbc

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