Room 215, Early evening

[izzyalienqueen]

Opening the door to Jack's room was no trouble, even without a key. A half second's concentration and the lock clicked open under her hand. Jack bounded in as soon as she opened the door and ran over to the plant. Isabel laughed and rolled her eyes. "It's fine. You were gone what? Less then twenty-four hours?"

She set a small brown bag on the bed and sat down to wait for Cedric to meet her.

[ooc: Jack's room modded with permission]

Comments

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Xander overshared with me this moring. I dealt with it by covering my ears and singing." Jack whined at Parker. "Hopefully it won't last too long. Oh, by the way, thanks for the phone call. Even if I didn't get it until yesterday afternoon."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"You're welcome." Parker tapped Jack on the nose. "Quit whining, you. Once I figured out you were mad at her too, I warned her so she didn't get caught completely flat-footed." She scratched above his eyebrows again. "And thank god you don't want to know all my secrets. I really don't think you want to hear them."

Oops.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I was still caught. Like I said, I didn't get the call till later in the afternoon when I finally got around to checking my voicemail. I was sleeping." Jack huffed and stared at Isabel. "What?" she asked. "I was. And just be quiet."

Isabel bit her lip, "I'd listen if you wanted to talk. God knows you've listened to me enough."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker rubbed her eyes. "It's not a matter of trust." She laughed suddenly. "Okay. I trust you as much as I trust anyone. Which isn't much, but... I don't want you to get hurt, Isabel. People who know too much about the Centre-- tend to disappear. Like my mom."

Parker couldn't tell if she was being compelled to say that or not. She meant it, but maybe it was already too much.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Not so surprisingly? I get that," Isabel said quietly. "I've got trust issues of my own. Although I'm working on it." She frowned, "But I thought your mom committed suicide."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker sat down on the floor, and Jack put his head in her lap, whining a little again. "No." She swallowed. "She was murdered. They just made it look like a suicide."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Christ Parker. How do you know?" Isabel put her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I'll shut up if you don't want to talk about it."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"I was thinking of telling you anyway, so it's not like this is doing anything but making me spit it out, so--" Parker got her breath back, and said in more careful tones, "A friend sent Jarod a videotape of the day she died." Jack nosed at Parker's hand, his eyes sad. "She didn't shoot herself. She was shot in the elevator where I found her."

Oh, damnit.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Oh Parker..." Isabel whispered. There really wasn't anything else she could say.

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker closed her eyes. "I couldn't watch that part. Just the tape of me being dragged to Jarod's lab, screaming my head off, and Jarod trying to get to me and help me, and Sydney looking scared, and...." She took a shaky breath. "Anyway. That's why I haven't told Rory or Zero or Angela anything more about my mom, and her death. They know what she was doing. They don't know it's connected to the Centre."

Parker slapped her hand over her mouth, looking frightened.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"And the Centre is not the nicest place," Isabel said thinking of what she's seen in Parker's nightmare. "What was she doing that would make them do that to her?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Saving children." Parker took a breath. "Giving them new names, new identities, new lives. Getting them away from people like Mr. Raines and away from people who would hurt them. She tried to save Jarod, I think. But she died before she could get him out of --"

Parker put her hands back over her mouth, mumbling.

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel nodded, some of the things Parker had said and her worries about people mentioning Jarod suddenly making sense. "There was no foster family was there? Jarod came from there. When you said it wasn't that bad the other day...God."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker closed her eyes, and looked at Jack. Now he knew part of it too. "It isn't that bad. But it could be," she whispered. "Raines-- you saw him-- I don't know if he has a single scruple. He lost his medical license in 2003. I don't know why. And he still works there."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Probably because whatever he's doing is making a profit. That's what it always comes down to doesn't it? Money, power." Isabel leaned back against the wall. "What are you going to do?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker patted Jack's head as he started to doze. "Destroy them." She blinked. "Okay, I was going to say? Take over the Centre over the next ten or so years, get a seat on the Board, find enough information to get those responsible arrested, find any other kids that are in danger and get them somewhere safe. But destroying them works for me too."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

Isabel's mouth thinned. "Based on your dream? And some of my own issues? I'm really not going to argue with you. Well, except to say be careful. Because they do sound ruthless. And I wouldn't want to see you hurt."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"Jarod has my back, on this. And Angelo's inside, watching out." Parker paused, fingers tightening in the sleeping Jack's fur. "I don't know if you saw him, in the dream. He's still in Blue Cove."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"I heard you call his name," she said. "But everything was happening so fast then, I didn't really see him."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Just as well. Explaining that Angelo lived *inside* the Centre would be more complicated than it was worth to explain. Except... "He waved to us from the air duct," Parker heard herself say, then continued on: "He's a genius with computers. He got me Angel's fake P.I. license. Well, it's a real license, Angel just didn't do any of the legalities to get it. Angelo's terrified of Mr. Raines but he doesn't want him hurting anyone any more than Jarod or I do."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"You can't get him out?" Isabel asked. "And tell me honestly? Do you want me to stop asking questions? I feel bad. You're entitled to your secrets and I feel like I'm taking advantage of the situation."

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

Parker shook her head. "I was going to tell you most of this anyway. I think this weirdness just makes it a little easier, is all." She paused, then looked away, her voice dropping. "Even if we could get Angelo out, we wouldn't. It wouldn't be good for him. There's nowhere he can go."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"Just as long as you're sure." Isabel sighed trying to process all of the bits of information she's picked up from what Parker has said in , from what she saw in the dream and from what Parker had just told her. "So he's a genius, but he can't make it anywhere else. Not like Jarod can," she said slowly as the pieces fell into place. "And I bet they'd love to get him back wouldn't they?"

[mparkerceo.livejournal.com]

"He's as close to autistic as makes no difference," Parker blurted, hoping that the word Pretender wouldn't slip out. "So no, he's stuck. And yes, Jarod used to work for the Centre. Sydney--" Parker put her hand over her mouth, mumbling, but the word "out" was probably audible. She waited for a second, then took her hand off her mouth. "I can't tell you more about Jarod without telling too much. Please don't ask me."

[izzyalienqueen.livejournal.com]

"That's fine," Isabel said, completely understanding Parker's desire to keep some secrets. "Time for total topic change then. Happy thoughts maybe?"