"Sydney, have you talked to Jarod?" I asked firmly as the man with the black bandanna around his head slowly places the phone back down. He smiles and stands up.
"Of course not, sugar." Sydney said as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He did not look like the brilliant doctor and psychologist that THE CENTER had hired years ago to work with Jarod. I was sure that Jarod had influenced the man into this new style.
"You may call me Ms. Parker." I hissed out as I walk to the phone and look at it. It had been scrambled and the answer has been made.
"You talked to Jarod. Where is he? Who is he this week?" I asked firmly as this game was beginning to wear thin. Sydney looked to the side as Broots walked in. The tinted glasses firmly in front of his face as he walked over to Sydney's desk and nervously looked around.
"What is it, Broots?" I asked annoyed of the behavior. I tilt my head and then start to nod. It was simple to see what was going on.
"You have the location of Jarod." I accused and Broots nervously turned his almost baldhead away from me and licked his thin lips. I moved forward and pulled the disk out of his hand. Sometimes it was the smart ones that did the stupidest things ever. I walked over to Sydney's computer as Sydney stared at Broots with a look of concern.
"Oh, now this one is new." I sarcastically remarked as I pulled the disk out of the computer and pull open my own cell phone. I looked directly at Sydney for a few seconds.
"Please, sugar… ah, Ms. Parker, leave this one alone." Sydney said firmly and I laughed.
"I will be going to San Francisco." I said firmly into the phone and looked at Sydney has he looked defeated, finally. I folded the phone up and walk towards the older man. I always wanted to pull that bandanna off of his head, but getting Jarod was even better.
"My job is to retrieve Jarod. I will do that." I stated firmly as I exited the room.
"Nash, this office does get quite busy." Jarod said as he walked over to the desk and smiled at Nash Bridges. Nash smiled back and looked to the men that Jarod has just brought in.
"That's why it is good to have someone like you come in. This case… the HelmetMan, we want him off the streets. I am currently working with Bubba on the Pony Express case… so this one is all yours!" Nash said as he handed the case file over to Jarod. Jarod smiled with his gray-green eyes sparkling as he looked over the file.
"Do you always were black?" Nash asked and Jarod slowly smiled, showing brilliant white teeth that accented his firm but gentle features of his face. His hair curled lightly towards his face, and a strand curled right down his forehead, waiting for some pretty lady to brush it to the side.
"Of course." Jarod replied and Nash licked his lips. This Jarod was sure going to be attracting the ladies. Jarod turned to move down the hallway in his firm stride that looked like a mix of a might warrior with lots of muscles and the grace of a panther. Nash watched as all the women in the area stopped and watched. Jarod was sure the catch of the catch.
"Hello, and welcome to San Francisco." A man said as he opened the limo for me. I looked from side to side, slightly annoyed with the plush arrangements that dear old Daddy had made for me. I could take care of myself, and the less my dear old Daddy did for me, the more likely I was to capturing Jarod and bringing him back to THE CENTER, where he belonged.
"Your father has made arrangements for the finest hotel, Ms. Parker." The driver said as I slide into the back seat of the limo. I pushed the button and watched the privacy screen raise up. Arriving in San Francisco this way was not what I had planned on.
"Has there been a lot of talk about the HelmetMan around here?" I asked slowly as I allowed the screen to fall back down and the limo pulled to a stop.
"Yes. Very nasty case." The driver said and I looked down at the file in my hand. Why was Jarod so interested in this case? I licked my darkly lipstick covered lips and turn back to the case.
"Do you know who Nash Bridges is?" I asked slowly as I looked at the newspaper article. The man was interesting, but definitely too old for me.
"He is the detective of this city. You don't mess around with Nash Bridges." The driver informed me and I slowly nodded my head up and down. I still didn't like the driver, but at least he wasn't as stupid as the cabbies I have found throughout the country.
"But he turned the case over to some other detective…. I think his name was Jarod Russell." The driver said and my head popped up. So now Jarod was running the investigation. I wonder if Jarod had run across a case like this in the simulations that THE CENTER forced him to run, or did he plan the crimes of HelmetMan.
"Do you have a cigarette?" I asked slowly as I pulled the wet bar open, looking for a stiff drink. Jarod always made me come to these vices. He had the power to pull a person to their last sane nerve.
"If I was HelmetMan, who would I be? Jarod questioned himself out loud as he walked around the large apartment that he had been living in while in San Francisco. The apartment was actually a bit too big for Jarod, who was use to sharing apartments with mice and rats. This one was large and furnished with antique furniture. Jarod had taken some time to admire the quality as antique furniture use to be a hobby, but HelmetMan was more important. Nash Bridges had helped Jarod find this apartment, and Jarod knew he could not turn it down for that reason alone.
Jarod pulled at the long strands of his dark bangs back into a ponytail, to stop them from dropping into his eyesight. He looked at the crime scene photos again and frowned. Jarod slowly ran his fingers from the tip to his nose, to his neck. Then slowly, he started to fumble with the bright silver cross chain around his neck. He turned it around in his hands and began to pace, before he frowned once again. He quickly returned to the file on HelmetMan and flipped the page.
He was not gathering a feeling for this man, and it almost scared Jarod. He had to have control of the situation. That was one of the things he had always needed since his escape from The Center. They had controlled every aspect of his life up until the point of his escape. Now he controlled his life. He could totally disappear and never show up again to Ms. Parker and the others, but he wouldn't do that. He wanted to be the thorn in their side to find the truth, and to stop The Center from hurting other children who were pretenders.
"Why can't I see him? Why can't I picture him?" Jarod asked as he continued to pace, not giving up. He would never give up.
I was not happy with the meeting I had with Nash Bridges. I was now standing in my room pacing. Nash Bridges was the quintessential ladies man, until the lady seemed to have some sort of power. Basically he was a jerk. He must have a thing against anyone who was remotely tied to any sort of activities that the FED's do. Then on top of it, I was a woman. Needless to say, I got no more information on the HelmetMan case and Jarod.
The crimes were terrible, and that much I could tell from the basic newspaper and television reports. So far, there had been no known living victims. I thought about living victims for a while. Sydney had once said that for Jarod to take on a persona there was usually a motive behind it. Maybe Jarod had stumbled across a living victim. Maybe Jarod had gone after HelmetMan because he found a victim and saved her. I sighed.
That didn't seem to be Jarod's style. Sooner or later the victim would talk, I was positive of it. Maybe if the woman was someone he had accidentally fallen in love with prior to the attack, but that thought made my laughter louder.
Dreamboat Jarod still didn't realize the raw sexuality he emitted from his body. He didn't realize the women stopping on the streets to look at his smooth and firm body walking down the street in a walk that could only be classified as a graceful stalking. I never liked to admit it, but more than once I had Jarod's tight end invade my dreams at night. Actually, it made the dreams somewhat more pleasant than most, but the thought that it was Jarod was disturbing.
I shook my head from the thoughts and pulled the victim profiles out of the file that Broots had collected for me. I was sure he had been able to hack into Nash Bridge's computer to gather some of the information.
Middle Thirties
Long Dark Brown Hair
Thin and Fit
Uptight Socialite
"Well, at least three out of four are close enough." I sighed as I stood up and looked to the mirror. I sure was thin and fit. In the mirror, the pastel pink business suit stared back at me. I knew it didn't portray uptight and socialite. I turned around to look at the closet for something to wear. Immediately I saw the short purplish-brown business outfit, with a skirt that was probably shorter than what Ally McBeal would wear.
If Jarod was chasing HelmetMan, maybe if I attracted HelmetMan, I'd find Jarod.
Jarod stepped out of the bar and looked at the dark alleyway. He tilted his head as he viewed a lady standing at the end of the darkness. His presence made her leave and he frowned. Jarod picked up the small list from his pocket and crossed the bar's name off. He headed towards the next bar.
"Of course it was cold and wet this night." I thought to my self as I stood in the dark alleyway. I turn and see the chiseled body outlined in the glaring streetlight. I am shocked for a moment as my heart stops at the vision of the man I have chased around the world. I pull out my gun and slowly walk towards him, trying not to appear too happy to see him. I was almost giddy with seeing him. I was to take him back to The Center. I didn't think that if I took him back to The Center that I would get the chance to see him everyday. I never thought that. I watched his macho stance widen; emphasized by the skintight spandex black pants that seemed to be painted to the curves of his body.
If it weren't for the fact that I rationally knew I had been chasing Jarod for three years, I would have thought I was falling for him. I was so close to feeling an attraction to him that I started to sweat.
"Jarod! STOP!" I yelled as I entered the light and pointed the gun firmly towards his body. I was to take him alive, and for a while I would have killed him, now I didn't want to hurt him. Jarod froze as he briefly looked at me, and then ran. I started to chase after him when suddenly something was in front of me.
"BITCH!" I heard before the bright red helmet flew towards my head with a force that I did not know if I hit the ground, or feel through to China.
"Ms, Parker???" a soft French accented voice drifted into my world of darkness. It was a nice darkness, I had no worries and not a thought, but the voice, and it drifted further into my mind, waking me up.
"Ms. Parker??? Please wake up." The voice pleaded with time, but now pain was returning to me. I had been hurt, in the head, but who was speaking to me, was beyond me.
"WHO WAS I?" I thought in a panic. As the panic took over my blackness, I opened my eyes and thought I saw a god. There was this gorgeous man leaning over me, with no shirt on. His shoulders were broad and his chest firmly outlined with muscles. I could almost drool if my head did not hurt so much. I took my hands and placed them near my head, but did not move my eyes away from the bared chest man.
"Ms. Parker? Are you ok?" he asked again and then I noticed his gray-green eyes staring at me. I was lost in those eyes like an ocean.
"Who are you?" I finally asked, worrying that I was missing the ship to heaven. He stood up straight and I found out that the good looks continued down, even where the tight black pants started. They were painted on, and didn't leave much to the imagination.
"Could he be my husband?" I thought as I stared at him and then looked away when I saw the red skin on his face. The turning of my head caused me to gasp out in pain. He looked down at me and handed me some ice.
"Do you know who you are?" he asked slowly and I looked at him blankly. I was surprised with the blank stare that I received back from him. "I am Jarod." He said with the accented voice that made my entire body tingle. I didn't care who he was. I wanted this man and his body. I wanted to use and abuse this man, but knew I couldn't with my head. He looked away and pulled up the phone.
"Sydney.." I heard Jarod say into the phone. I closed my eyes but my hearing attached to the accented voice, as it seemed to give me comfort. "She doesn't know who she is! She doesn't know who I am!" Jarod said in a rushed tone and I slowly opened my eyes.
"Give her a name? She is Ms. Parker!" Jarod said firmly and I could almost smile if I didn't hurt so much. So I had lost my memory. At least I could remember that. How I got to be in the same room as the godlike man was beyond me, but I was blessed this day. I opened my eyes as I heard the telephone being set down.
"Hey… Ms. Parker…" Jarod said as he sat down next to me on the bed. I looked up and smiled. He was perfectly symmetrical in his chest. I was entranced by the deep color of his…
"I need to name you." Jarod said loudly, loosing his accent and making me loose my train of thought. I looked up and looked at Jarod's face that was now almost the color of a red stop sign. He stood up and pulled on a half damp black T-shirt, because I had been staring a bit too much.
"What would you liked to be named?" Jarod asked and I looked at him. My head hurt so badly, I didn't want to think. I wanted to see his bare chest again. That was all that I wanted.
"Ursula?" I asked softly and Jarod wrinkled his nose and frowned.
"I think you would make a good Sarah." Jarod said and I smiled as I closed my eyes. "Get some sleep Sarah…" Jarod, said softly as I drifted back to the blackness that I did not want anymore. I wanted that chest. I wanted that body. I wanted Jarod.
"Man, bubba.. He did a good job on her." Nash said as he looked into the room at the sleeping body. Jarod walked over with some coffee and looked in.
"Yes. She has lost her memory." Jarod said and Nash raised an eyebrow.
"So she has no information on the identity of who HelmetMan is?" Nash asked as he thought about the situation. Before Jarod even called Nash, he was sure that Ms. Parker had been in contact with him. Nash didn't ask many questions about that, but Jarod was sure that it would soon come up.
"No. She doesn't know her own name." Jarod said and Nash nodded his head as he sipped the coffee.
"Parker." Nash supplied and Jarod smiled.
"Sarah Parker." Jarod said and Nash raised an eyebrow.
"So you know her?" Nash asked and Jarod looked in. Although her face was badly bruised, Ms. Parker was still beautiful.
"Yes. We are friends." Jarod tensely said and Nash smiled as he set the coffee mug down.
"Well, you take care of her, bubba." Nash said, letting himself out. Jarod sighed and looked back at Ms. Parker. She was too pretty for this. If there were ever a reason for going back to The Center, she would be it. The only one. Jarod wouldn't go back for Sydney, but he would if he was allowed to be with Ms. Parker.
If he could be with Sarah.
Time heals the body, but time doesn't mean to heal the mind. I didn't know who I was, but Sarah Parker. Jarod seemed to know me, but didn't tell me how he knew me. He talked a lot about a man named Sydney, who I determined was our boss. There was also Broots, who sounded to be a bit like a computer expert. To me, these were people Jarod knew, and I didn't.
"Sarah… do you remember the attack at all?" Jarod asked as we walked the sidewalk slowly. I held the coffee in my hands and looked at the man. He had been so tender during the four days that I stayed inside. I couldn't even recall the place I was staying at. Jarod told me not to worry.
"No." I responded. He had told me that I was currently the only living survivor of a serial killer known as HelmetMan. Because Jarod had taken me to his apartment, no one knew about me, except the killer. Now, Jarod was watching over me like a bodyguard who has sworn to god to protect me.
"It is important Sarah." Jarod said and I sighed. I had heard that comment one too many times. I looked up and down the street. Jarod said he was taking me for a walk, but somehow I thought it was more. It was like he wanted to jog certain parts of my memory but not others. I didn't feel quite right, and then I saw it.
THE RED HELMET!
"Jarod!" I cried out as I felt a panic flood into my body. It was the helmet. A biker's helmet. Jarod directed me to a bench and started out after the man. He looked at me and shook his head and took off. Jarod knew immediately if he could catch this man, he would have HelmetMan. I looked around and trembled. I still couldn't remember anything more.
"Sydney, it didn't bring back her memory." Jarod said as I looked at him. He had caught the man easily and HelmetMan was now off the streets.
"So I am suppose to stay here and play house?" Jarod asked and then sighed. He hung up the phone and looked up to me.
"Pez?" Jarod asked and I smiled. I looked at Jarod's favor candy and ate one as I took in his body.
"Jarod?" I asked slowly as he sat down on the couch, as far away from me as he could. I slowly moved over to him, needing to be near him. I needed to know that somewhere out there, someone cared for me.
"Yes, Sarah?" Jarod asked as he looked at me. I smiled as I saw the now familiar gray-green eyes sparkle at me. They were more emerald today than I had ever seen them. I was feeling safe, and moved closer to his body.
"Tell me what you know about me." I said slowly and Jarod shook his head. I looked away and then pressed a hand against his chest.
"Was there something between us?" I asked slowly and Jarod looked away nervously. I was surprised. I had been the nervous one the entire time.
"No, Sarah Parker." Jarod replied and I looked away and then moved my hips so that they were firmly touching his massive thighs. I felt the firm chest take a sharp breath inward. The tight pants did not hide the fact that I was causing a reaction.
"What about now?" I asked and Jarod looked at me with a soft smile.
"You are going to remember who you are.. And you will regret anything you will do." Jarod said quickly and I knew he had been thinking about the same thing.
"I might never get it back. Do you want to wait forever?" I pushed as I allowed my hand to fall down over his chiseled stomach muscles and dropped to his meaty hip.
"No." Jarod rushed out as he looped his arm around my shoulder and finally pulled me into his sizzling body. His head dropped to my lips and I felt his long hair brush against my face as his firm tender lips pressed against mine.
I moved slowly, to straddle his legs, feeling the firmness that was growing and growled. He easily proved his strength as he stood up and started to walk to the bedroom. I started to unbutton his shirt to nuzzle his chest and he moaned lightly. He tasted like honey and I wanted more. I would get more.
I stretched my arms above my head, knowing that it had to be the best Jarod dream I ever had. It had to be the most realistic. I turn to the side and see the mop of brown hair messed about the pillow and then the firm face that I had dreamt I kissed over and over again. It wasn't a dream!
"JAROD!" I screamed.
"Sarah?" Jarod asked anxiously as he pushed his body up. I blinked my eyes and stared at him.
"Who is Sarah?" I firmly asked.
"CUT!" the director, yelled and I dropped back in the bed. Roy started to laugh as he looked at me.
"This is going to change this show forever." I commented and Roy rolled out of the bed, and three women scurried to his side.
"Yes, but they all wanted to see you in bed either way." Roy commented happily and I shook my head as slowly pulled my body out of the bed, and pulled at a robe and dressed myself.
"You are the star. You have that big interview today on Regis." I said happily.
"Michelle, darling… They love Ms. Parker. You just have to stop being so shy." Roy said as he started to walk with me towards the dressing rooms.
"You'll be the star as long as Jarod keeps his long hair." I commented and Roy laughed.
"Cut my hair! Not for a million dollars!" Roy laughed and I laughed broadly.
"I like it this way, Roy. The PRETENDER, is you. Not me. I'm not the star. I have this nice little house in the middle of the country outside of Pittsburgh. I fly back every weekend, and I don't have to bounce around my schedule to see what talk show I can do next." I explained as he pushed against the wall and looked at me.
"Plus you get to read the thirty tabloid magazines about the amazing things we are doing on the set…." Roy laughed and I laughed hard.
"The only one they got right so far was the super soakers!" I said with an evil grin.
"Do you still have them?" Roy asked as he sternly looked at me. I had ruined the entire scene, but it was worth it. Who would think Ms. Parker would use super soakers!
"Yes… but I was hoping that some of the other tabloids would come true…" I slowly commented and allowed the red flood my face.
"What? The one about the wild sex in my dressing room?" Roy asked and I laughed at the quickness with which Roy answered.
"I was hoping for being thrown out of Disney World because of the wild sex on It's A Small World." I commented and looked away. I couldn't believe I just said that.
"Well.. I have to get on to the interview and then the photo shoot. Are you going to be here for the online chat?" Roy asked and I nodded my head as I pulled up a fat paperback book.
"Yeah. And get my answer to who my favorite author is." I responded and Roy shook his head.
"We have to get you out… meet the fans. They love you and what you do. That's all." Roy said as he waved and left. I nodded my head and went into my dressing room.
Here I was, his co-star, and I had a crush on him. At least now the show allowed us to be in bed together.
DAMN HE WAS A GOOD KISSER.