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The night was warm and the moonlight was hidden by a cloud, giving the man dressed in black a better chance to climb through the opened window without be seeing by the three sweepers waiting outside the hospital.
He silently entered the room and stood quietly there, waiting for his eyes to get accustomed to the darkness.
After a few minutes, he was able to focus on the form lying in the bed. He just watched her from his standing position near the window. A strange feeling invade him at then. A feeling he hadn’t felt for this person for a long time. He was relived to see that she hasn’t been too badly injured, but there was something else underneath. He couldn’t describe the warmth that slowly invade his whole body as he looked at the woman before him, but it was close to the love he would feel for his sister, or at least his best friend. So strange for a man who had he whole life wasted by their fault, people like her, who were chasing him, who imprisoned him for almost thirty years.
He sighed. No matter what she did, he could never stop to see her like she was when they were children. The only light in his lonely life, the only friend he ever had. Even if she had grown under the evil influence of the men like Raines and her father and became what they wanted her to be, the perfect weapon, she still had an important part of her mother’s legacy inside of her.
As he was here, watching her sleep, she seemed so peaceful, so beautiful, he made a promise to himself to bring back that gentle side and maybe allow her to find some happiness again.
She turned a little in her sleep, bringing him back to reality. His first instinct were to get away before she woke, but what could she do against him? She just went through an operation and was way too weak to fight him.
Her eyes opened slowly and she blinked a few times, a little confused, but sighed as the memory of where she was and what had happen in the last few days came back to her. She never liked hospitals and being here, alone, surrounded by darkness and silence made her heart racing. Alone? She felt a presence and looked around the room. When she saw a shadow standing by the window, she jumped a first and was ready to fight, but then she recognized him.
-"Jarod?" She asked in disbelief.
He made a step toward her and nodded silently.
-"What the hell are you doing here?"
He tried to hide the smile that was forming on his mouth, but couldn’t. Even waking from a long and painful operation, her voice still rough from three days of sleep, she was already back to her own self, the strong Center agent, his nemesis.
-"I needed to see you. You were badly injured and I was worried."
-"For me? Why do you care? The best thing that could happen to you would be to see me dead, so you could get your freedom back."
-"Cut the crap, Parker, we both know that it’s wrong."
-"Really? Well, frankly I don’t care. I just can’t understand why you took the risk to be killed only to check on me."
-"I can’t explain something that I’m not sure to understand myself."
She looked at him pensively, her eyebrows frowned slightly, wondering what he meant, but he lowered his eyes to avoid hers. Suddenly her icy blue eyes sparkled. She remembered that he shouldn’t be here! The Center captured him right after she was shot! She thought about it for a minute, but at second thought, it wasn’t surprising. She knew that he would always be able to escape them, in one way or another.
-"How did you do this time?"
The smile grew wider on his face and he just shrugged.
-"Lets just say that it’s another one of my little secrets."
Her head felt back on the pillow and she muttered with a smile "I should have known." She was still bewildered by his presence and attitude, but mostly by her own reaction. Why didn’t she try to catch him, or at least to call one of the sweeper team that was waiting outside? Jarod was too aware of the fragility of their truce and was searching for a way to break the wall of ice that she kept around her heart to protect herself from any kind of feeling.
-"So tell me Parker." He asked casually. "When did you start thinking about me as your worst enemy? As long as I can remember, you didn’t always act like a bitch with me."
-"It was a long time ago, Jarod, we grown up and the whole situation changed." She sighed,. "But I know you are not my enemy."
-"So what am I? Why do you always shot at me like I was a danger for you? I would never hurt you, so you don’t have anything to fear from me."
-"But I have to do my job!" She shouted angrily. "I have to bring you back, or...."
-"I know the drill, Parker. I know that your father threaten you, that it’s your freedom against mine." He paused a moment to take a long, deep breath. "I would like to give up, to let you live your life and taste that freedom too, you deserves it as much as me, but I can’t. Those people out here need me, I owe that to all those who died by my fault."
She was startled by his revelation. She didn’t know what were his intentions, but still refused to have faith in him.
-"It wasn’t your fault, Jarod. They used you, they trained you for years, but you were a child, you didn’t know what they would do with your sims. They made us what we are...killers, but it wasn’t our fault."
-"You may be right, but why didn’t we changed when we realized what they were doing?"
-"I don’t know. You did it; you had the strength to throw it all away and try to find a better life."
-"You could do it too."
-"No. It’s too soon. Maybe one day, when I’m done with some things, I could consider to leave, but since then, I’ll have to keep on doing their dirty job."
He frowned his eyebrows. What was she talking about? Could it be...
-"I should have known that you would take your revenge on Raines. How are you gonna do this?"
-"It’s none of your business. Stay away from the Center for a while, ‘cause I don’t want you to stand in the way when I’ll shot his sickening bald-head."
-"I won’t stop you. I just wished you would wait a little longer and maybe let me help you. I’m afraid that if you shot him, you’ll lose the last part of you that they hadn’t taken yet. You never executed anybody, and if you do, you let them win. They’ll have what they always wanted: the perfect killer. You’ll lose the last part of you mother’s legacy; your innocence."
She looked at him sadly, but still with a determinate look in her eyes.
-"I don’t care. I can’t care anymore about letting them win. They took too much. Don’t you see that they won years ago? When they stole our childhood, the things and people we loved...I lost my innocence when he killed her, Jarod. I’ve never been able to love since then. That’s why I want to kill that bastard; for her ,for me and all the children’s lives they broke."
Jarod slowly walk to the bed and offered her a comforting look. She was tired, so he needed to calm her, instead of trying to break her. He brought a chair near the bed and watched her intently, fighting his desire to take her hand. She wasn’t ready to share this amount of closeness with him.
-"That’s not what she wanted for you. But I understand your reasons, I often wanted to do it myself, but I knew that it wasn’t a solution. The least I can do is to help you. I wouldn’t want you to be killed." He added softly.
-"Thank you. Even if I can’t accept, it’s good to know that I have someone on my side." She whispered.
She tried to keep her eyes open, but needed to rest. Jarod gently brushed the hair on her forehead and whispered in her ear:
-"I’ll always be there for you, like I’ve always been. Remember, I’m your guardian angel."
Then he stood up and was ready to leave when he heard her asking for him to stay.
-"I’m here." He murmured as he seat back near her and this time, took her hand. "I won’t leave you...Never."
He stayed by her side until he felt her drifting off to sleep, then gently bent down to kiss her forehead. He wanted so badly to touch her, but thought better against it and left.
*****************
Jarod walked aimlessly across the streets for a few hours, lost in his thoughts, overwhelmed by the millions of new and unknown feelings that were scrambling in his mind. What was it? Love? He couldn’t tell. It was so strong, so incredible.... For the first time since the last twenty years, he finally has been able to talk to her, really. Without a gun between them or the usual banter she used to protect herself from anyone who was apt to touch her, to make her feel how human she could be, that she still had a heart. Jarod was the only one who ever went past the bitch crap and saw her like she really was. The child in him had never stopped to love the little girl that came to see him sometimes and took him out of his loneliness. The first, last and only...His nemesis. She deserved to be happy again, and he was the only one who could help her to find a way back trough the darkness of her life.
*****************
Parker woke up in her bed the next morning with a strange feeling. Did she dream of Jarod last night? Maybe it wasn’t a dream. Yes! He really came to see her and they talked for a moment, before she drift off again. She still couldn’t believe he had taken so many risks only to see her.
She decided to not think about it anymore and focus on Raines and her plan, but everything about the Centre leaded her thoughts back to Jarod. ‘Damn it Parker, stop it! Jarod isn’t your problem right now, so forget him and try to concentrate a little more on what’s really important for you.’ She closed her eyes and imagined her mother walking to the elevator for the thousandth times, but now Raines was there too, holding a gun, pointing it to her mother’s head and fired. She jumped as the bangs resounded in her brain again and again. Her eyes flew open and her heart raced for a few minutes. ‘What was that? A pretend on my own? God, it seemed so realistic...’ She took her breath back, stilled her heart and kept her fear inside her, making it grow in her stomach until and turned it into a great anger. Sooner or later, he will pay for that. She’ll be there, waiting in the shadow for a good opportunity, and then...She smile at the thought of her gun pressed against his temple, her finger slowly pushing the trigger, his eyes widening with fear as he waited for the shot and...Bang.... So everything would be over. Everything? Maybe it would be the beginning of other nightmares. She could imagine her mother haunting her dreams, telling her again and again that she was a murderer, a cold blooded killer. But she had to do it all the same.
****************
A few days later, Parker was back in her office. She sat on her chair with a sigh and closed her eyes. She hadn’t felt well this morning. Not really bad either, just weird. She was sure now that she would never been able to like this place anymore. At second thought, she never liked it at all, never felt safe or well in any way. ‘Hang on. Only a few days and it will be over.’
Sydney chose this moment to come in and warmly wished her a good return.
-"Thanks Syd." She spat and immediately regret it. "Sorry. I’m a bit tense today." She apologized more softly.
-"What’s wrong?"
-"You mean other than being back here? I don’t know, a few things..."
She got up and walked closer to him.
-"I have to tell you something important, but not here, there are too many bugs and cameras."
-"So write it. It’s safe if we burn it after."
-"Ok."
She took a paper on her desk and turned her back to where the cameras could possibly be hidden, then wrote a few lines to explain Sydney that she’ll stop to chase Jarod, but without telling anybody at the Centre.
He read and gave her a questioning look. ‘Why?’ He wrote back.
‘Because I have other things to take care of from now on.’
‘But they will know, sooner or later.’
‘I take the risk. Will you help me?’
-"Of course I will. Parker, I hope you wont do anything stupid. I mean like....He wrote ‘ A revenge?’
She didn’t answered and turned her back to him, searching for her lighter.
-"It’s none of your business. Nothing changes for you and Broots; you do your job as usual without asking me anything and it will be fine."
-"I’m worry. For you."
-"Don’t. I’m a big girl, Syd, I can take care of myself. Stay out of my way...for your safety."
Then she lit the paper and watched it burn while Sydney left her office.
****************
Somewhere else, Jarod was lying on his bed, lost in his thoughts. He too was worried for Parker, so he grabbed his cell phone and dialed Sydney’s number.
-"Sydney." A male voice answered.
-"Hi Syd. How are you?"
-"Jarod! I’m glad you called. I’m fine, thanks, and you?"
-"I’m ok. I wanted to ask you if Miss Parker had come back to Centre."
-"Yes, this morning."
-"How was she?"
-"She was tensed and nervous. Why?"
-"I’m afraid she is gonna try something against Raines. In fact, she speaks of killing him to avenge her mother."
-"God...It’s suicidal. Are you gonna stop her?"
-"I don’t know. Syd, this is her business, I can’t interfere."
-"So I will! Jarod how can you let her down? You know that if she kills Raines she wont feel any better. It will destroy her."
-"I know. I wont let her down. Never. You know that I care about her as much as you, and maybe more. Keep an eye on her and contact me if she tries anything. I’ll come up with something soon."
Then he hang up the phone, worrier than ever. He would never let her murder Raines, but he didn’t know how to convince her against it." ‘Once she makes up her mind....’ He though. He knew she was really decided and it will be hard to stop her.