Title - Saying The Words (7/?)
Author - Nicky
Rating - PG
Category - JMPR
Summary - Jarod tries to say good-bye, but ends up coming back to 
rescue Miss Parker and finds her in a surprising predicament.
Disclaimer - The characters aren't mine.  I'm just using them for 
my own entertainment purposes.

* * * * * * * * * *

Lyle flips through the folder on his desk.  It was a day by day 
outline from the doctors at Donoterase of the progression of the 
plan so far.  The hard part was over.  If they had just been able 
to keep her for a little while longer, things would have been 
almost done.  He shuts the folder angrily, feeling how close he 
was to victory only to have Jarod ruin it again.

"Don't beat yourself up over it," his father says from the open 
door.  The older man shuts it carefully and walks over to his 
son's desk.  "It's too late for anger.  Anger will only cloud 
your judgment.  Now is the time for clarity."

"We were so close, Dad," Lyle practically whines.  "But then 
Jarod had to go and mess everything up.  He's been out of the 
picture for months. Why did he pick now to show back up out of 
the blue?"

"Jarod and your sister have always been . . . close.  He'll do 
just about anything to keep her safe.  Maybe you should think 
about that.  And then try to find them."

"You think they're still together?" Lyle asks.

"It's possible," Mr. Parker shrugs.  "In any case, we need to 
find her.  He is of no consequence anymore.  But your sister must 
be found and brought back here.  Alive and in perfect health."

"And Jarod?"

"Like I said, he isn't important anymore.  If he gets in the way, 
kill him.  Just make sure we get your sister back."

Lyle can't hold back the satisfied grin that stretches across his 
face.  He'd just been given one of the best gifts in the world.  
He could have been so successful at the Centre by now had it not 
been for Jarod's interference.  And Miss Parker could have been 
the perfect ally had it not been for Jarod's influence.  And now 
he was responsible for the setback with this latest project.  
Lyle has been dreaming of making him pay.  And now, his father 
has given him free reign to do so.  It would almost be worth 
sacrificing Miss Parker and the entire future on the Centre for 
revenge.  

"Mr. Lyle," a breathless sweeper gasps as he rushes into the 
office. "Oh, I'm sorry.  Mr. Parker, I didn't realize you were 
here."

"That's alright, Kevin," Lyle says.  "What do you have for me?"

"That's Clarence, Sir.  And I did what you asked about monitoring 
the shrink."

"Sydney?" Mr. Parker is curious.

"Yes Sir.  Mr. Lyle asked me to keep a close eye on him in case 
your daughter was in contact with him.  Miss Parker didn't call 
him, but Jarod did."

"Jarod?  Did he tell Sydney where he was?  Is my sister with 
him?" Lyle asks excitedly.  

"She's with him," Clarence confirms.  "But he didn't say where 
they were.  We were, however, able to run a trace and although we 
couldn't pinpoint an exact location, we have a general area where 
they are.  The call came from about 400 miles southwest of here."

"Excellent," Mr. Parker says triumphantly.  "We could have her 
back by the end of the day."

"Get a team together, Cameron," Lyle orders the man.

"That's Clarence, Sir," the sweeper corrects again.

"Whatever.  Just get together a team.  We leave in an hour."

The sweeper nods and rushes back out as quickly as he came in.  
This was his first big assignment.  He had to prove himself to 
Mr. Lyle.  He had heard stories about the ever elusive Jarod.  
Finding him would be the opportunity to make his name known at 
the Centre.  He didn't even want to think about the consequences 
should he fail.

* * * * * * * * * *

Miss Parker walks through the dark house, carefully stepping past 
the furniture obstacles she knows will block her path.  The house 
had become a home to her, totally familiar and comforting.  It 
was filled with the things, and the people, that she loved.

"I'm coming," she calls out soothingly to her favorite addition 
to the household, quickening her pace to reach the room in half 
the time.  "I told you I'd be here.  I'll always keep you safe, 
my precious."

She reaches down and lifts a screaming, red-faced infant to her 
chest.  His cries stop instantly and turn to sounds of eager lips
smacking.

"Is my little one hungry?" she laughs, recognizing the signs of 
the voracious appetite inherited from his father.  She unbuttons 
her shirt and brings the baby to her breast, watching as he 
latches on.  He greedily sucks at her, taking in all the 
nourishment he needs.

Eventually, his feeding slacks off and his eyes begin to drift 
shut.  She closes her eyes, as well, in peaceful bliss.  A noise 
startles her and her eyes fly back open. When she looks down, she 
sees that her arms are now empty.  The sounds of a car starting 
can be heard and she runs to the window, fear already filling her 
heart.

"Stop!" she yells at the car speeding away.  "Don't take him 
away!"

She runs out the house after the car, but it's soon just a speck 
on the horizon.

"No," she cries repeatedly.  Over and over like a sad lullaby. 
"No.  No.  No . . ."

"Miss Parker," a voice calls to her.  She feels strong hands on 
her shoulders, shaking her gently.  "Wake up, Miss Parker."

She sits up abruptly and finds her self face to face with a 
concerned looking Jarod.   

"Where is he?" she asks in a panic.  "They took him.  Where did 
they go?"

"Where did they take who?"

"The ba . ."  she stops midsentence, finally looking around and 
absorbing her surroundings.  She was in a house, but not like the 
one from before.  It was all just a dream, she realizes.  
"Nothing.  It was just a dream."

She sits up, making room on the couch for him to sit next to her.  
He puts his arm around her, pulling her to his chest.  They sit 
for a while until she stops shaking.

"Must have been a bad dream," he whispers, kissing her on the 
forehead.  "You want to talk about it?"

"The Centre.  They found us."  His hand was stroking up and down 
her back, soothing her and comforting us until she was peaceful 
and relaxed again.  Just how she was in her dream before it all 
was taken away.  With a suddenness he doesn't understand, she 
pulls out of his embrace and jumps up.

"We have to get out of here."  Her eyes are wide with terror and 
Jarod can see that she's shaking again.

"Just slow down, Miss Parker.  Is this about your dream?"

"Please, Jarod.  Let's get out of here now," she begs.  Not 
waiting on his response, she runs to her room and grabs her bag, 
frantically throwing her belongings inside.  She goes to his room 
next, doing the same thing with his stuff.  Luckily, he's used to 
traveling light.

"Miss Parker, stop," he insists, grabbing her by the arms and 
holding her still in front of him.  She drops the bags and turns 
her frightened glare on him.  "Take a minute and explain to me 
what's going on."

"We have to leave.  Now," she declares emphatically.  "I can't 
explain it.  But they're coming.  I can feel it.  And we have to 
get out of here before they find us."

"Okay then," he says, pulling her into a hug.  "I trust what 
you're feeling.  Let's go."  He pulls away and smiles 
encouragingly at her before bending over to pick up the bags.

She looks around one last time, making sure they weren't 
forgetting anything.  She meets Jarod at the car and finds 
herself looking around again to be sure they weren't being 
followed.  Feeling relatively safe, she releases a sigh of relief 
as the car begins its journey down the highway.

* * * * * * * * * * 

Sydney moves quickly down the halls of the Centre, silently 
cursing his old body for not allowing him to go any faster.  He 
got a call several minutes ago about an emergency.  He was needed 
immediately to help with a situation.  He didn't know what the 
situation was, but he feared it had something to do with Jarod.

He rounds the corner, making his way to the labs when he hears a 
terrible sound coming from inside.  Old bones or not, his pace 
turns into a sprint down the hallway.  He bursts inside, halfway 
expecting to see Jarod strapped inside.  Instead, instant relief 
hits him when he sees that it's Angelo.

"Calm down," Broots says nervously, not sure how to handle the 
agitated man.  "Sydney should be here any minute."

"I'm here Angelo," Sydney calls from the door after he's had a 
moment to catch his breath.  "What's the problem, Broots?"

"I don't know.  He was running through the halls making all kinds 
of noise.  The sweepers managed to corner him in this lab and 
were about to sedate him.  Luckily, I came by and suggested they 
call you instead," Broots explains.  Sydney just nods, taking in 
the information, before moving closer to Angelo.

"Angelo," he gently addresses the man.  "Are you alright?"

"Mr. Lyle trouble," Angelo says.  "Trouble for Jarod.  Trouble 
for Miss Parker."

"What do you mean, Angelo?" Broots asks.  "We know that Lyle has 
it out for Jarod.  But what about Miss Parker?"

"Be careful, Sydney.  They're listening," is all Angelo says.  He 
wraps both his arms around Sydney and hugs him tightly.  Without 
anyone seeing, he slips a DSA into Sydney's hand before quietly 
walking back down the hall to his room.

"That was weird," Broots remarks.  "I wonder what got into him."

"I'm not sure," Sydney says, rolling little silver disc around in 
his hand.  "But I have a feeling this is the way to find out."  
He turns his back to the surveillance camera in the corner of the 
room to hand the disc to Broots.  Without saying a word, Broots 
knows what needs to be done.

"I'll check this out," he says quietly to Sydney.  "I'll get back 
to you when I know what's on it."

The men glare surreptitiously at each other and then head down 
the hall going their separate ways.  Soon they would find out 
what Angelo was trying to tell them.  Until then, Sydney could do 
no more than wait and pray that whatever danger Angelo was 
sensing, would steer clear of his two surrogate children.

To be continued . . .