THE LONG ROAD HOME

Alex shot to her feet as Bobby and Jarod finally emerged from the bedroom. She hurried over, and took Bobby’s hands in her own, looking up at him with anxious concern.

“Are you okay?”

“Honestly?” Bobby answered softly. “No. I’m not.”

“Come and sit down,” she urged him, and it was a testament to his state of mind that he never argued with her.

“All right,” Deakins said firmly once they were all seated again. “We need to talk this situation through. Bobby, do you feel up to that?”

The detective only nodded, not trusting himself to speak. Deakins regarded him critically before conceding.

“Okay, then. Jarod, tell us exactly what you know.”

“Well, what do you want to know?”

“How about you start with explaining why you and Bobby ended up in this place… whatever it’s called,” Mike said. Jarod conceded with a nod. Yes, he could do that.

“I’ve already told you a little about the Pretender Project that the Centre ran. Basically, it was a project that had the express purpose of manipulating the intelligence of children. We were put through simulations, like the one I showed you earlier. We were used to determine the possible outcome of numerous scenarios… or to find answers to something that had already happened. For example, I was the set the problem of designing a building that was impervious to earthquakes. I did it, but I warned that explosions at strategic places would bring the entire thing down. My design was used to build the World Trade Centre, but the information about its weakness was sold to the highest bidder. I don’t think I need to remind you about what happened there.”

“So, you used a type of role-playing to get results for these experiments?” Carolyn asked.

“It wasn’t just role-playing,” Jarod said. “When we were given a situation, a new role, we didn’t just play at that role. We became it. It was as real for us as being cops is real for all of you. We were led to believe that the simulations we completed were to be used to help people, but in reality it was the complete opposite. Sim results were sold to the highest bidders, and usually for pure financial gain and evil purposes. I escaped when I finally learnt the truth about what the Centre was doing.”

“Bobby?” Alex asked softly. “How did you end up there? Do you remember?”

He looked around at her slowly, tears rimming his eyes.

“My father. It… It was my father. Mom had just had her first breakdown. I don’t know if Dad couldn’t cope… or if he just didn’t want to try… but he found out about the Centre somehow, and its program… and he handed me over to them in exchange for financial assistance for him, Mom and Frank.”

“Your old man sold you?” Mike asked, horrified.

“Oh god, Bobby,” Alex whispered, slipping a comforting arm around his shoulders as his gaze dropped back to the floor.

Deakins looked questioningly at Jarod.

“Did you know?”

“About that?” Jarod asked. “No. The story I got was that the Centre took Bobby in when his parents abandoned him.”

Bobby gave a strangled laugh that caused them all to cringe.

“The irony is, that’s not so far off the truth.”

“So Bobby was in that place for five years,” Deakins said quietly. “You said Raines shared control of him with Sydney?”

Jarod took a moment to consider his next words.

“I remember when Bobby was brought to the Centre. There was a lot of excitement over him. You see, there were a lot of kids that the Centre had acquired through one means or another, but Bobby was by far the smartest… the one with the most talent for being a Pretender. The Centre… and Raines… would have had big plans for him. When Catherine Parker smuggled Bobby out, it threw the place into chaos for months.”

“Do you have any idea at all what those plans might have been?” Carolyn wondered, but Jarod shook his head.

“Raines was always intensely secretive about what he was doing. Very few people knew the details. The only way we might be able to work it out is if Bobby can remember the simulations that Raines did with him.”

“I can’t,” Bobby said in a soft but determined voice. “Not yet. I… I’m not ready.”

“No one’s going to force you, Bobby,” Deakins reassured him, sparing Jarod a brief warning glance. “You’ll remember it when you’re good and ready to. Right now, we need to deal with the current issue, and that is preventing the Centre from getting their hands on Bobby again. We know for a fact that Centre operatives are already in New York. Jarod, do you have any ideas at all?”

“Well,” Jarod said, “for starters, it’s vital that he never goes anywhere on his own. Not for any reason.”

Mike nodded confidently.

“We can cover that.”

Jarod looked over at Bobby.

“And never go anywhere unarmed. They will shoot you to bring you down, if they feel it’s necessary.”

“How would they be likely to try and trap him?” Alex asked, acutely aware of the way that Bobby tensed at her question.

“I doubt they’ll try and take him in public,” Jarod said thoughtfully. “It isn’t the same as when they were chasing me. Bobby is a cop, and if they try anything in public view, they’re likely to find themselves on the wrong end of a lot of guns. No, they’ll try to trap him in more subtle ways.” He looked from Alex to Deakins, and then finally back to Bobby. “You have to be careful about contact from informants, friends, colleagues… even family. Lyle and Parker will use anyone if they think it will bring you to them.”

Mike looked grimly at Bobby.

“You’re not going to be able to go anywhere near your mom until this is resolved,” he said. Bobby stiffened, but Deakins got in before he could protest.

“He’s right, Bobby. Your mother will be the first one they’ll try to use. We can’t take the risk. Any call that comes from Carmel Ridge could very likely be a trap.” He paused, and then added, “In fact, it might be better if we arranged to move your mother elsewhere for the time being.”

At that suggestion, Bobby shook his head almost violently.

“No. No, we can’t move her. She wouldn’t be able to cope with that.”

“Okay,” Deakins conceded, deciding he would try again when Bobby was less agitated. “I’ll call Dr Shimo, and tell him that no one except me is to be allowed to visit Frances, and I’ll visit her every Wednesday so that her routine isn’t disrupted.

Bobby didn’t look happy, but conceded grudgingly. Little though he liked it, he knew Deakins was right.

“And he can’t go home, either,” Carolyn added. “They’d be waiting for that chance.”

By that time, Bobby was starting to look seriously aggravated.

“Do you think any of you might be able to include me in the decision-making?” he asked heatedly. “You’re all sitting here, making decisions about me… for me… like I have absolutely no say over my own life! Excuse me, but isn’t that what we’re trying to avoid with the Centre?”

A guilty silence reigned as they realised just how right he was.

“All right, Bobby,” Deakins said quietly. “Talk to us, then. What do you want to do?”

Bobby drew in a long breath. What did he want to do?

“I don’t want to stop living my life,” he said softly, but with steel in his voice. “I… I won’t go into hiding.”

“We aren’t expecting you to…” Alex started to protest, but he cut her off.

“And I won’t ride a desk, either.”

“Bobby, be reasonable,” Deakins begged him. “This is a viable threat. These people are going to be watching for an opportunity to grab you, and if you’re out on the streets, it’s just going to make it that much easier for them!”

“These people,” Bobby countered, “are scum, and I won’t give in to scum. And hiding myself away is no solution. Not to mention it’ll drive me up the goddamn wall. I’ll swallow being babysat twenty-four/seven. I’ll cope with not being able to see Mom. But I will not tuck myself away in a corner and hope the situation changes. Because it won’t, and we all know it.”

Grim silence reigned as the others all looked at each other.

“All right, Bobby,” Deakins finally. “You win. But Carolyn is right. You can’t go back to your apartment. It just isn’t safe.”

“I can’t stay here, either,” Bobby pointed out. Alex started to protest, but Bobby went on quickly, anxious to explain himself without insulting her. “When they see I haven’t been back home, what’s the next place they’re likely to try? My partner’s place. I can’t stay here. It won’t be long before they start watching this place, too.”

“He is right,” Jarod admitted. “They’ll start watching here when he doesn’t go home.”

“So where is he going to stay?” Mike asked. “Not that I’d object, but my place isn’t exactly built for two.”

Deakins smirked.

“Relax, Mike. He can come and stay and my place. Angie and the girls are away at the moment, visiting her sister in Connecticut. So there won’t be any need to explain anything.”

“Wonderful,” Bobby grumbled, much to the amusement of the others. Not only do I get to have adult supervision for god knows how long, now I get to have a sleep-over at the captain’s house, too. Whoopee.”

“Careful, Goren,” Deakins warned him, at the same time fighting to suppress a grin. “You don’t want a curfew imposed as well, do you?”

Bobby grimaced. He hadn’t had to obey a curfew since his army days.

“You wouldn’t…”

“Don’t tempt me. Anyway, you won’t be there on your own. Alex, Mike and Carolyn will be joining you, too.”

Startled silence met Deakins’ announcement.

“Hang on a second…” Mike started to protest, but Jarod nodded enthusiastically, seeing where Deakins was going with it.

“There is definitely safety in numbers.”

“Well, it does make sense,” Carolyn conceded.

“Great,” Bobby muttered sullenly, scowling at the floor. “It just graduated from babysitting to a posse.”

“Bobby?”

Bobby looked up slowly from his paperwork at tentative query from his partner. It was a few hours later and, after a roaring argument between Deakins and himself, the captain had finally consented to allowing him to return to One Police Plaza with them. So far there had been no sign of Parker or Lyle, and a lull seemed to have settled; though, how long that would last was anyone’s guess.

“What is it, Eames?”

She hesitated in speaking. He looked tired, and drained, and he sounded it as well. The entire bizarre situation, combined with the resurfacing of some truly horrible memories was just about more than he could cope with.

“Are you okay?” she asked finally, silently berating herself for how woefully inadequate that sounded. He stared at her inscrutably for a long moment before returning his gaze to his paperwork.

“I’m fine.”

She couldn’t bring herself to be annoyed at his clipped reply. The anxiety he had to be experiencing had to be nearly intolerable.

“If you like, I could take some of your paperwork…”

She was startled into silence, along with nearly everyone else in the bullpen, when Bobby suddenly slammed his fist down so hard on the desk that there was an ominous cracking sound beneath the blotter. Looking everywhere but at his partner, Bobby then launched himself to his feet and stormed off towards the interrogation rooms.

“What the hell was that all about?” Mike asked, walking over and lifting the blotter carefully. Alex shook her head, dazed by her partner’s unexpected explosion.

“All I did was offer to do some of his paperwork for him. Normally he’d jump at the offer.”

“Except, there’s nothing normal about what’s going on right now,” Mike pointed out. “Damn, he cracked the wood. Get a load of this!” He paused, and then looked around at the other detectives who were still staring. “Don’t you all have work to do?” he demanded hotly, and they quickly turned back to what they’d been doing.

Alex looked away in the direction of the interrogation rooms, worry creasing her features.

“I should go talk to him.”

“No, let me,” Mike urged her. Alex raised an eyebrow at him.

“You saw how pissed off he was. What if he takes a swing at you?”

Mike shrugged.

“I’ll duck.”

He found Bobby in Interrogation One, pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. Mike watched him from the doorway for nearly a minute before speaking.

“You want to talk about what’s got you so hot under the collar, or should I just lock you in until you’re ready to stop snapping at your poor partner, who’s only concerned about your wellbeing?”

Bobby slowed to a halt and glared around at Mike.

“Lay off the guilt, Logan.”

Mike took a few steps into the room, but was careful to stay beyond arm’s length of his colleague and friend.

“What are you really pissed off about, Bobby? And don’t tell me it was Alex offering to do your paperwork.”

“It wasn’t that,” Bobby muttered. “At least, it wasn’t only that.” He stood silently for a long moment before dropping into one of the chairs. “I won’t deny this has shaken me up, but I’m not going to break. But you’re all treating me with kid gloves, like that’s exactly what will happen! The only thing that will keep me balanced is if I can rely on all of you to act normally around me.”

“Alex is worried, pal. We all are.”

“And you think I’m not?” Bobby shot back. “I… I’m scared, Mike. I’m more scared than I’ve been for a long time. And these memories that are coming back… I don’t want it, not any of it! But I know that’s not an option. So I have to deal with it, and the only way I can do that is by trying get on with things as normal. And that’s going to be damned hard if everyone around me is behaving like… like…”

“Like a bunch of paranoid spooks?” Mike suggested when Bobby faltered. The two men stared at each other for a long moment and then, at the same time, both burst into laughter.

“Yes, like that,” Bobby said finally, wiping at his eyes and chuckling softly. Mike walked over and dropped into the chair beside his fellow detective.

“What do you expect us to do, Bobby? Act like there’s nothing going on? We can’t do that anymore than you can. We’ve all got to keep our guard up now, and if that means acting paranoid, then that’s how it has to be.”

Bobby sighed.

“Just the little things. Like Eames offering to do my paperwork. I just don’t appreciate being treated like I’m fragile. She’d kick my ass if I did that to her.”

Mike grunted.

“Yeah, I bet she would, too. Look, if it’d make you feel any better, you can do my paperwork. I promise I won’t be offended.”

Bobby smirked, and then laughed once more.

“Jerk.”

“And proud of it.”

Bobby sighed softly.

“I suppose I owe Eames an apology.”

“Nah. She’s more likely to give you one.”

“I think I’ll apologise anyway.”

Mike raised an eyebrow incredulously.

“Even when you don’t need to?”

A fleeting grin passed over Bobby’s lips as he got slowly to his feet.

“Sooner or later, you’ll learn that apologising is the best avenue, Mike. Especially when you don’t need to.”

Mike shook his head, but any reply he’d planned on making was lost as Bobby’s cell phone suddenly beeped to alert him to an incoming message. He pulled the phone out, and frowned as he looked at the ID.

“It’s a message from Eames…” He flipped the phone open, and read the message out loud. “Stay where you are. Parker and Lyle just walked in…”

“Oh, crap,” Mike muttered. Bobby promptly started towards the door, forcing Mike to jump in front of him. “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“Out there,” Bobby growled, scowling as he tried unsuccessfully to get around Mike. “I want to see those two clowns with my own eyes.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” Mike argued. “If they see you…”

“Then what?” Bobby shot back. “They’ll try and take me in the middle of our squad room? They’d never make it out of here alive, Mike. Besides, they must know I’m here. Otherwise, why would they have bothered coming in again?”

Mike had to concede that point.

“Okay, maybe that’s true, but…”

“Let me past, Mike. Don’t make me ask you again.”

Mike winced. He knew that tone all too well. He could stand aside and let Bobby past, or face the risk of getting flattened. Deciding to bow to Bobby’s logic and hoping that Deakins and Alex didn’t flay him alive for it, Mike reluctantly let his friend past.

Deakins spotted Parker and Lyle as they came around the corner, and his first reaction was one of relief that neither Bobby nor Jarod were in sight. Bobby had stormed off somewhere not five minutes ago, in a temper over something, and Jarod had gone off nearly two hours ago to meet with someone about the situation – updates pending.

His second feeling was one of anger. How, in the name of God, did the two of them get past security, when he had specifically requested they be prevented from accessing anything other than One Police Plaza’s lobby? Someone’s head was going to roll, without a doubt.

Hoping fervently that Bobby stayed out of sight, Deakins walked out into the bullpen to confront the two head on. Damned if he’d be discreet about it. These two presented a direct threat to one of his detectives, and he was going to make sure the entire squad knew it. Regardless of whether they liked Bobby Goren, Deakins knew beyond a doubt that there was not one among them who would tolerate one of their own being under threat.

“Where is he?” Lyle demanded, and once again Deakins felt a slight chill of fear. A man who had the balls to walk into a place like the Major Case squad rooms and start making demands was either stupid or insane, and Deakins was fairly sure it wasn’t the former.

“Detective Goren is not available to speak to you,” Deakins said heatedly.

“Cut the crap, Captain,” Parker retorted. “We know he’s here. All we want is to talk to him. Why is that so difficult?”

With his peripheral vision, Deakins noted all the detectives currently present in the bullpen slowly abandoning what they were doing to watch the unfolding scene. Good, he thought. Now I have witnesses…

“I didn’t say he wasn’t here,” Deakins threw back at her. “I just said that he wasn’t available to speak to you.”

Lyle’s expression turned dangerous at the perceived evasion on Deakins’ part.

“You don’t understand what you’re dealing with here, Captain. It would be beneficial to everyone if you’d just cooperate with us. That way, we can avoid unnecessary casualties.”

Deakins didn’t flinch.

“Did you just threaten me, Mr Lyle?”

Lyle opened his mouth to respond, only to falter as he realised their exchange was no longer private. He and Parker looked around to find several detectives standing nearby, watching the scene with piercing stares. Visibly unsettled, Lyle looked back at Deakins.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, Captain.”

“Is that all you wanted to say?” Deakins asked, taking care to keep his tone even and emotionless. Lyle started to concede with a nod when his companion suddenly nudged him. Deakins looked to see what had gotten her attention, and nearly cursed aloud when he saw Bobby emerging around the corner from the interrogation rooms, with Mike Logan close behind.

The two detectives halted on the other side of the bullpen, watching Parker and Lyle in silence. Lyle turned towards them, and his hand started to move towards his belt, and the inside of his jacket.

The reaction was immediate, and definitive. All of a sudden, no less than seven Major Case detectives had their guns out and aimed directly at the two of them. Lyle froze for several seconds, and then pulled his jacket open in a slow movement, showing not a gun, but a small clip attached to his belt that held what looked like business cards.

“Easy, people,” Lyle said wryly as he withdrew a single card and pulled his jacket closed once more. “Let’s not get trigger-happy, now.”

He started across the bullpen, acutely aware of the multiple hostile stares that were focused on him. He was almost to Bobby, when Mike suddenly stepped in, blocking his path. Lyle looked up at the detective, visibly annoyed.

“Excuse me.”

Mike didn’t move, forcing Lyle to edge around him in order to come face to face with Bobby.

“Detective Goren?” Lyle asked. Bobby didn’t respond. He only stared at Lyle with an inscrutable gaze. Lyle held out the card to him. “We have a business proposition for you. I’d appreciate it if you’d call me privately.”

For several seconds, Bobby didn’t move. Then, finally, he reached out and took the card, not removing his stare from Lyle.

“What do you want with me?” he asked quietly.

“Like I said, we have a business proposition to discuss with you.”

“You mean, the Centre,” Bobby said. Lyle looked almost amused.

“I have a business proposition for you, Detective. I hope you’ll at least give me an opportunity to explain it fully to you…” He paused, glancing around at the others who were watching with extreme suspicion. “Away from people who might not be so receptive. Call me, Detective. Soon.”

It was less a suggestion than an outright order.

“And if I don’t?” Bobby asked. Lyle’s eyes glinted.

“Trust me, Detective, it’s in your interests to do as I say.”

“That sounded like another threat,” Bobby pointed out. Lyle smiled and laughed softly.

“No, not a threat. Just some friendly advice. I’ll expect to hear from you in the next twenty-four hours. Believe me, ignoring us is not an option.”

Turning, he stalked out of the bullpen, with Parker on his heels.

“All right,” Jackson burst out once they were gone. “What the fuck was that about?”

“That,” Deakins said grimly to the gathered detectives, “was two people from an unknown, illicit agency that is currently presenting a very real and viable threat to Detective Goren. I’m asking you all to be on alert from this point on, and if you see either of those two, or anyone else acting suspiciously, or if you intercept any attempts to lure Goren out on his own, to let me know immediately.”

A murmur of consent swept through the group as they gradually returned to what they had been doing before the disturbance. As Deakins had hoped, they were all more than willing to come to the aid of their colleague, and would keep a close watch for anything happening that seemed out of the ordinary.

Finally galvanising herself to move from where she’d sat frozen at her desk, Alex stormed over to Bobby, thumping him angrily on the arm.

“Goren, you idiot! Did you, or did you not get the message I sent you?”

His cool demeanour vanished rapidly in the face of his irate partner, and he visibly cringed away from her.

“I did, but…”

She hit him again, this time on the other arm.

“Ow, Eames…” Bobby protested. He tried to move away, out of the line of fire, but she had him backed up against the wall and wasn’t giving him an opportunity to escape.

“What the hell did you think you were achieving by letting them see you?” Alex demanded to know. She looked around at Mike, not waiting for Bobby to answer.

“And you! Why didn’t you stop him?”

Mike held up his hands defensively, palms outwards, and took a long step away from her.

“I tried, but he wasn’t having it.”

“All right, Eames,” Deakins said, keeping his voice deliberately low and calm in an effort to encourage her to cool down. “Calm down. Giving your partner matching bruises on his arms isn’t going to make the situation any better.”

Alex conceded and stepped away from Bobby, but the irritation on her face didn’t diminish at all.

“I hope you’re ready to camp out here, Goren,” she snapped at him. “Because after this, there’s no way we’ll be able to get you out of here unnoticed.”

A small grin lit up Deakins’ face.

“I don’t know about that. I think there might be a way to pull it off.”

Bobby regarded Deakins uneasily.

“Why do I have the feeling I’m not going to like this?”

Deakins’ grin widened. Oh, how he was going to enjoy this.

“Well, that depends. How do you feel about riding in the back of the meat wagon…?”

Sydney sat in the darkened coffee shop, absently stirring a long-cold cup of coffee. He’d been less than concerned when Lyle decided he wasn’t to accompany them to One Police Plaza. Lyle seemed to be of the opinion that his presence might tip Bobby off that something was wrong. An amused smile curled up the corners of Sydney’s mouth. As if Bobby didn’t already know something was amiss. He found it hard to imagine that the child prodigy turned detective wasn’t already clued in to the fact that there was trouble brewing. Especially if Jarod was around.

He sighed inwardly. He’d had no contact with Jarod, and had no idea if his message of warning had reached him. He hoped and prayed that it had, because he couldn’t see any way out of the situation without Jarod’s help. The Centre had too many connections in high places – including the NYPD – for Bobby to be protected by his position and public profile alone.

“Can I get you some fresh coffee?”

Sydney started to shake his head, only to freeze as the voice registered in his mind. He looked up, and his face lit up a moment later at the sight that met him.

“Jarod!” Sydney stood up quickly, and embraced the younger man in a fierce hug. “It’s good to see you.”

“You too, Sydney,” Jarod murmured, returning the hug with equal enthusiasm.

“Sit,” Sydney urged him. “Tell me, did you find him?”

Jarod nodded.

“I found him. He didn’t consciously remember anything about the Centre at first, but he’s starting to now. None of it’s pleasant.”

Sydney nodded sympathetically.

“I don’t doubt it. Tell me, has he remembered anything about Raines’ experiments?”

“If he has, he’s not letting on,” Jarod said. “It’s been a pretty big shock to the system for him, and he doesn’t trust me completely yet. Sydney, do you have any idea at all what Raines wants with him?”

“I wish I did,” Sydney answered. “But I don’t think anyone knows except, perhaps, the Director. Even Lyle has been kept out of the loop this time, and he’s not happy about it.”

Jarod sighed softly.

“I don’t know what to do, Sydney. I don’t know how to stop them from chasing Bobby.”

“You’ll think of something,” Sydney assured him, but Jarod didn’t look so certain.

“The problem is that I don’t know who to trust. I don’t know who in the NYPD might already be on the Centre’s payroll. Can’t you get me anymore information?”

“I’m sorry, Jarod,” Sydney apologised. “Broots has been assigned elsewhere in the Centre for the time being, and Raines has been keeping Angelo on a very tight leash. I can’t tell you anymore than I already have. I have nothing more to give you. I’m afraid you’re going to have to work this out on your own.”

Jarod grimaced.

“I was afraid you were going to say that.”

“Tell me,” Sydney murmured, changing the subject, “how is he? Not just with everything that’s happening now, but how is he, generally?”

“He’s made a life for himself,” Jarod answered quietly. “He has good friends… a captain who cares about him… a career that he loves… I don’t want to see him lose that, Sydney. I won’t let it happen.”

Sydney nodded wordlessly. This was why he had contacted Jarod as soon as he learnt of the Centre’s intentions. Jarod alone had the determination and the intelligence to find a way to make Bobby Goren safe. If Jarod couldn’t do it, then no one could.

“What about your father?” he asked, changing the subject yet again. “How is he?”

“He’s good,” Jarod answered. “He and Mom and Emily are safe. When this is resolved, I’m going to go and join them for a while.”

Sydney nodded, but didn’t ask where they were. He was happier not knowing.

“You might like to mention Bobby when you talk to your father next,” Sydney suggested quietly. Jarod raised an eyebrow quizzically.

“Dad knew about Bobby?”

A small smile touched Sydney’s lips.

“When Catherine Parker got Bobby out of the Centre, she didn’t send him straight home to his parents. To do that would have only led to him being taken again. She had him taken to a safe house, and he stayed there for six months before he was sent home to his mother.”

Jarod quickly caught on to what Sydney was hinting at.

“You’re saying Dad was the one who hid Bobby from the Centre after he was rescued?”

Sydney nodded.

“Don’t ask me how I found out. I can’t tell you that. But it might be worth letting him know what’s happening, just in case Bobby is in need of a safe house once more.”

Jarod fell silent, wondering at Sydney’s words. Sydney watched him silently for a few minutes before standing up.

“I’d better get back to the hotel, before Parker and Lyle do. It was good seeing you again, Jarod.”

He started to walk past, but then stopped and spoke softly.

“Be especially careful, Jarod. I received word just a couple of hours ago that Raines is coming to New York himself to oversee this operation. He’s determined to have Bobby back, no matter what the cost. Don’t you or anyone else underestimate him, do you understand me?”

Jarod nodded in wordless acquiescence. Sydney clasped his shoulder briefly in a fatherly gesture before hurrying out of the coffee shop, and leaving Jarod to his thoughts and worries.

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