From:  "Kaat 24" <kaat24@h...> 
Date:  Thu Aug 29, 2002  3:07 am
Subject:  Lyle story - WAS: New challenge! :)


 
 

Okie dokie!! Lizzy asks for a Lyle fic, and that's what she'll get! This 
is a story I've had lying around on my harddrive for a while, and since it 
had a good deal of Lyle in it, I figured I'd keep Lizzy happy. Especially 
since I want her to keep posting her Lyle stories. :-) This is only my 
second story that I've posted, so please let me know what you think! 
Thanks!



The only character I own is Aurelia Morgen (so you can't use her without my 
permission!! :-> ). All the other's belong to NBC, or whoever it is they 
belong to.
Rating: PG-13 for violence




Title: Life Or Death




Jarod remained sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment, studying the 
sleeping form of the terrified girl before him. Capping the empty needle, 
he tossed it in the kitchen trash can on his way to the table. He had just 
injected her with something that would keep her out for at least 24 hours. 
It was the only way she would be able to sleep through the drug induced pain 
and get the rest she needed. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. What 
had she gone through for him?

When he had rescued her from the Centre, he had also liberated all the DSAs 
of her 48 hour stay; no doubt turning the Centre into an infuriated swarm of 
bees. He now arranged them in cronologial order, and pressed the first one 
into the slot in his player. The screen flicked on, and he saw Aurelia, the 
girl, being dragged into a room by two Sweepers. They tossed her onto the 
floor, then exited the way they had come, locking the door behind them. She 
tried to get to the door before they shut it, but was too late. Slowly, she 
turned and looked around the room she was in. Jarod knew that room. It was 
one of the sim rooms, but this one doubled as an interroagation room as 
well. It was all dark with the exception of a single spot light shining 
down in the middle of the room.

Jarod watched as Aurelia slowly made her way close to the circle of light 
on the floor, but did not enter it. A loud voice suddenly called out her 
name, causing her to jump. "Who are you?" she shouted. "What do you want 
with me?"

A suited man entered the room from the opposite end and stood within the 
edge of the circle.

Aurelia gasped. "Mr. Lyle?"

Jarod glanced up in surprise. How did she know?

"Aurelia! Good of you to drop by. Care to join me?" He motioned within 
the circle.

Aurelia hesitated a moment, but stepped into the circle. "I have done 
everything you've asked," she began, but Lyle cut her off with a wave of his 
hand.

"We know what you've been doing Aurelia. This is the Centre." He smiled 
cheerfully at her. "We know," he began walking around her. "That Jarod 
stayed at the hotel and that you carried his luggage up to his room. Am I 
correct?"

"Yes sir, but--"

"And he also stayed at the hotel a whole week, giving you plenty of time to 
contact us. Why didn't you?"

"Mr. Lyle--"

"Answer the question!" Lyle returned to his original position.

"There wasn't time!"

"We have just concluded that there was plenty of time. What are you 
hiding?"

"Nothing!"

"Then why didn't you contact us?"

Aurelia clenched and unclenched her fists nervously. "I don't know. I--" 
She searched for the right words, but couldn't find them.

Jarod rested his chin on his fist. Aurelia was a Centre agent?

As if summoning some inner strength, Aurelia pulled herself together and 
faced Lyle, her hands clenched at her sides. "He has done nothing wrong."

Jarod noticed her fists beginning to tremble slightly.

Aurelia moved her hands behind her back, but continued to face Lyle.

Lyle pursed his lips. "I was afraid that you were beginning to feel that 
way, but I was hoping otherwise. You have two choices. One: You tell us 
everything you know about Jarod, and we will re-locate you somewhere else. 
Two: You refuse, and we will keep you here and pull the truth from you one 
way or another. So, what will it be?"

Aurelia's hands were shaking visibly now, and she clenched them tightly 
behind her back. Jarod knew what her answer was.

"I will not betray inoccent blood."

Lyle smiled at her again. "I see. I will see you later then." He left 
the circle, dissapearing into the dark.

The door Aurelia had been brought through opened and the same two Sweepers 
came in and escourted her out.

Jarod fingered the next DSA. He knew what her answer was, but had she 
cracked? He pushed the next record in. It began with Aurelia strapped to a 
steel table tilted at a 45 degree angle in the middle of a large, dark, 
empty room. She tested the restraints on her wrists and ankles and found 
them secure. Behind her, the only door in the room suddenly opened, 
startling her. She began clenching her fists again. Lyle came around her 
right side where Aurelia could see him, followed a moment later by Raines on 
the opposite side.

Aurelia gasped. "Mr. Raines!"

"Good to see you again, Aurelia," he wheezed.

She was obviously terrified now. "What are you going to do to me?"

"Everything," Raines wheezed.

"Unless of course you want to tell us what you know about Jarod," Lyle 
added.

Aurelia said nothing.

Someone wheeled a medical tray next to Lyle and he picked up a syringe, 
looking at it in the light before stepping closer to Aurelia. In smooth 
motion, he ripped her sleeve from her shoulder and emptied the contents of 
the needle into her arm.

A startled shout escaped her lips.

Lyle placed the syringe back on the tray, then reached out and slapped 
Aurelia across the face.

Aurelia cried out again, extreme pain and surprise marking her features.

"You are probably wondering why that hurt so much." Lyle shrugged. "It's 
simple. You have been injected with a new experimental drug that makes the 
nerves very sentsitive and raw for about 24 hours."

Aurelia swallowed.

"Where...Is...Jarod?" Lyle slapped her hard with every word.

Aurelia struggled to keep from crying out and to keep the tears that filled 
her eyes from falling.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tounge?" Raines wheezed.

Lyle punched her in the stomach.

Aurelia squeezed her eyes shut, her tears tracing their way down her face. 
She pulled against the restraints in an attempt to double over.

Lyle pushed her back onto the table, wrapping a restraint across her 
shoulders.

Jarod frowned, disturbed. Sydney had told him that they were interrogating 
her, but he hadn't told him this. He must not have known.

The door to the room opened again.

Lyle looked up. "Ah, Miss Parker! Glad you could join us."

Miss Parker stood beside her brother and looked down at Aurelia before 
looking at him. "What is going on?" she demanded.

Lyle motioned to Aurelia. "This is ex-Centre agent, Aurelia Morgen. She 
was working as a hotel employee until we discovered that Jarod had stayed 
there for a week, and that she had failed to contact us."

"Maybe she didn't know."

"Oh no, she did. We established that fact early on in our converstaion. 
Didn't we Aurelia?"

Aurelia, still trying to catch her breath, said nothing.

"Tell Miss Parker what you told me."

Aurelia pressed her lips together. "I will not betray inoccent blood."

"There, you see?" Lyle slapped Aurelia again. "She did know he was 
there."

Miss Parker glanced at the medical tray and picked up a vial of liquid. 
She raised an eyebrow and looked at Lyle. "Isn't she a bit young to be 
trying out your new experimental drugs?"

"You keep up with the times, don't you?"

Miss Parker smiled a hurmorless smile.

"I'm only trying to help you, Miss Parker."

Miss Parker walked around to stand at the foot of the table. "Does she 
know where Jarod is?"

"That is what we're trying to establish now."

Miss Parker seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Let me know what you 
discover." She quickly left the room.

Jarod replaced the DSA with a new one. It began with Aurelia still 
strapped to the now horizontal table. There were bruises all over her face, 
and blood was in the corner of her mouth. Two days of Centre interrogation 
was a long time for anyone.

Lyle appeared at the foot of the table and again stood to the right of 
Aurelia, near her head. "Good morning, Aurelia! It's turning out to be a 
fine evening isn't it?"

Aurelia was trying not to look at him; confusion flicked through her eyes.

Lyle placed a hand on either side of her head and leaned down close to her, 
forcing her to look at him. "It's not very often that we have someone of 
your stamina," he said quietly. "But when we do, we don't get discouraged, 
we simply keep trying until one of us breaks." He leaned down to whisper in 
her ear. Jarod strained to hear. "And we never break."

Jarod wondered at the pure terror that must have been rushing through her 
then.

"We have decided," Lyle continued quietly, but no longer whispering. "That 
you need a permanent reminder of what has happened here." He moved his 
right hand down and undid the last button on her shirt.

Aurelia's eyes widened. Jarod clenched his fist and wondered if it was 
possible for her to be any more frightened than she already was. "What are 
you going to do?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

Raines suddenly appeared, pushing a tray with a bucket of glowing coals and 
a poker in it.

Aurelia suddenly jerked against the restraints. "You wouldn't!" she 
pleaded.

Lyle undid her shirt about half way, then put his hand on her exposed 
stomach. "Where is Jarod?"

Aurelia was breathing hard. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but 
nothing came out. Her eyes darted back and forth between Lyle and Raines.

Lyle acknowledged her silence with a nod of his head, and reached for a 
syringe on the medical tray. There was more liquid in it this time. "This 
is twice the dosage we gave you last time." He smiled at her. "It should 
make this a more... memorable occassion."

Aurelia winced as the fire spread from her arm to the rest of her body. 
Tears streamed down her face. Everything that touched her, hurt, Jarod 
knew. She was begging them not to do it.

Raines pulled the poker out of the bucket, which Jarod now saw was a brand, 
not a poker.

A look of complete disgust, pain and anger came across Jarod's face as 
Aurelia's screams and sobs echoed around the room. He stopped the DSA and 
slammed the player shut. No wonder she had constantly been on the verge of 
blacking out during the escape. He knew she had been drugged, he just 
hadn't realized how much. He slammed his fist on the table, making the DSAs 
jump.

Jarod walked back over to Aurelia and sat on the edge of her bed. Gently, 
he pulled up the edge of her shirt. There, shouting up at him in inch tall 
letters, was the Centre emblem. Jarod lowered her shirt and sighed heavily 
to himself. He owed his freedom to this girl's silence. What was he to do 
now? They were safe for the time being, until Miss Parker tracked him down 
again.

He didn't want to watch the rest of her DSAs, he had seen enough. He was 
going to bed.


* * *


Jarod was startled awake to the sound of violent thrashing. Looking across 
the room, he saw Aurelia apparently having a nightmare. He ran over and 
grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Aurelia! Wake up! It's just a 
dream!"

Aurelia's eyes flew open and she stared at him, fear written all over her 
face. Then she recognized him and closed her eyes, relieved.

Jarod gently lowered her back onto the pillow, but didn't leave.

For a moment, she just lay there, trying to catch her breath. Then she 
opened her eyes and looked up at her rescuer. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jarod smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been run over by a truck."

"The drug should be pretty well out of you system by now."

Aurelia frowned. "It doesn't feel like it." Painfully, and with a little 
help, she sat up and turned to him. "Why did you save me?"

"Well, judging by your brusies, I'd say that you're no more friend to the 
Centre than I am."

"Now, but before--"

"I know who you were, and I know what you did. Thank you."

Aurelia studied him for a few moments before nodding. She gingerly touched 
her stomach. "Are we safe?"

"For now." Jarod stood. "You must be hungry. Do you like pancakes?"

Aurelia paused for a moment as if listening, then looked back at Jarod. 
There was fear in her eyes, but this time it was backed by determination. 
"Jarod, listen to me. The reason I was a Centre agent is because I was one 
of their experiement children, but the experiment failed. So they made me 
an undercover agent where they could keep an eye on me." Aurelia took a 
deep breath. "What they didn't know, is that the experiments didn't fail. 
I'm Centre made telepath."

Jarod didn't know quite what to say.

Aurelia stepped closer to him. "Jarod, they're coming for us. They know 
where we are and they're coming!"

Jarod glanced out all the windows, then rushed into the kitchen and 
gathered up the few belongings that he carried with him everywhere. "We'll 
be gone before they get here."

"Yes, YOU will."

"I'm not leaving you here."

"I'll only slow you down, Jarod. And besides, I know that my family is 
dead. Yours isn't."

Jarod stopped and stared at her. "Do you know where my family is?"

Aurelia gave him an understanding smile, but her eyes were filled with 
sadness. "I know everything that Miss Parker, Mr. Parker, Raines, Lyle, 
Sydney and Broots know."

Jarod gave a slight laugh, his eyes filling with tears.

Aurelia walked over to him, picked up his hand and looked into his eyes.

Jarod saw his mother and his father. He saw his brother and his sister. 
Places, names and dates, all flashed through his mind at breakneck speeds; 
but he remembered. He heard Aurelia's voice echoing in his mind. 'They 
love you very much, and have been looking for you since the day you were 
kidnapped.' An image of Sydney and Miss Parker appeared. 'Sydney also 
loves you, Jarod. That father's day card meant more to him than he could 
admit. Despite Miss Parker's professed hatred, she also has feelings for 
you. You are not alone Jarod.'

Aurelia released Jarod's hand and smiled up at him.

Jarod took several deep breaths as he tried to comprehend what had just 
been given to him. Two
diamond tears slid down his face, and he smiled back. "Thank you," he 
whispered, wishing there was something more he could say. A simple 'thank 
you' was completely inadequate.

The gratitude in Jarod's eyes made Aurelia feel like she could withstand 
anything the Centre could dish out. She had never felt such love and 
appriciation from another human being. "Go, quickly. You can't afford to 
have them find you now."

Jarod hesitated, indicision clearly written on his face.

"Go Jarod, please! You have people out there who love you. I have 
nothing! I can hold them off for a little while at least. Please, GO!"

Jarod touched her cheek, grabbed his case, and was gone.

Aurelia put a hand to her face where Jarod's had been. She walked over to 
her bed and sat down. It was only a matter of time now. Tears welled up in 
her eyes as she thought about what they would do to her when they got here. 
She shook her head. She must not think about that.

Car tires squealed outside, accompanied by shouts and footsteps.

Aurelia tried to quell the wave of panic that threatened to overwhelm her.

The door burst open with Miss Parker in the lead, gun in hand. She found 
Aurelia immidiatly. "Where is he!" she shouted.

Aurelia said nothing, but stared down the barrel of Miss Parker's pistol 
and almost wished it would fire.

Lyle appeared behind Miss Parker and stared at Aurelia, hatred in his eyes.

A shiver ran through Aurelia, but she pressed her lips tightly shut.

"Where is he?" Lyle demanded. When Aurelia made no reply, he sidestepped 
Miss Parker and delivered everything he had in a punch to her stomach.

The force of the blow sent Aurelia tumbling backwards off the bed, the 
explosion of pain reaching beyond the point of impact.

"Lyle!" Miss Parker grabbed Lyle's arm and stopped him from going after 
her. "You'll have plenty of time to take her apart LATER."

Lyle shook out of her grip. "I look forward to it," he hissed and walked 
over to one of the Sweepers.

Miss Parker turned to Aurelia. "You had better start talking," she said in 
a low and threatening tone. "Or believe me, he will take you apart."

Aurelia pulled herself painfully over to the bed, using it for support with 
one hand while reaching under the bed with the other.

Someone called to Miss Parker and she turned to look.

Aurelia seized the moment. She pulled the gun out from under the bed and 
pointed it at her head.

Miss Parker turned back around and immidiatly brought her own gun back up. 
"Drop it, now!" She commanded.

Lyle and Sydney rushed over and stood behind Miss Parker. "Aurelia, 
don't!" Sydney pleaded.

Aurelia smiled at him. "There is nothing left. He knows, Sydney. He 
knows."

"Knows what?" Miss Parker demanded.

Aurelia gazed into her eyes. "Everything."

Sydney rushed forward to stop her, but she pulled the trigger before he 
could get even close.

Things seemed to move in slow motion. A single gun shot echoed around the 
room, followed by a dull thud as Aurelia fell to the floor, the life slowly 
draining from her eyes. As time resumed it's normal speed, she lay still in 
a growing pool of her own blood.


There are Pretenders among us.