JJ Psychic

Chapter 9

The Underground

Ricky found Daniel's brother two weeks later.

He was alive.

He had been hiding from Orion after escaping from one of their facilities.

Ricky helped him return home.

Daniel's family was reunited.

Ricky didn't stay for the celebration.

He simply disappeared before anyone could thank him.

But word spread.

Someone had found the missing man.

Someone who could uncover secrets.

Someone who seemed to know things nobody else knew.

People began looking for Ricky.

At first, it was only a few.

Then dozens.

Some needed help finding missing relatives.

Some wanted protection.

Some had escaped Orion.

Others had information about criminal organizations.

Ricky listened to all of them.

He couldn't help everyone.

But he tried.

---

Eventually, Ricky realized he needed other people.

He couldn't investigate everything alone.

So he began building a small network.

Daniel was the first to join.

Then came a former hacker who could access information Ricky couldn't.

A mechanic helped provide transportation.

A young doctor helped treat people who had been injured.

Another teenager who had escaped Orion helped gather information.

They weren't soldiers.

They weren't trained spies.

They were ordinary people who had been forced into extraordinary situations.

Ricky became the person connecting them all.

He knew who needed help.

He knew where to send them.

And because he could read minds, he could often tell when someone was lying.

The group slowly became more organized.

They needed somewhere to meet.

The abandoned factory became their headquarters.

Ricky cleaned it.

The others repaired what they could.

They found tables, chairs, old computers, medical supplies and food.

For the first time, the factory didn't feel abandoned.

It felt alive.

---

Ricky didn't call them an organization.

He called them a group.

But Daniel eventually gave them a name.

"The Underground."

Ricky laughed.

"That's terrible."

Daniel shrugged.

"Then think of something better."

Ricky couldn't.

So the name stayed.

The Underground.

It started small.

Their first goal was simple:

Find people who needed help.

Protect them.

Expose Orion's crimes.

And keep themselves hidden.

They didn't attack anyone unless they had no other choice.

They weren't trying to become criminals.

But sometimes, staying alive meant breaking the law.

They stole information.

They entered restricted places.

They exposed corrupt people.

They occasionally took money from criminals and used it to help victims.

From their perspective, they were fighting people who had already broken the rules.

From the outside, however, things looked very different.

---

The police began hearing rumors.

A group of teenagers was operating in the city.

They were interfering with investigations.

Breaking into buildings.

Stealing information.

Helping wanted people disappear.

The police didn't know who was behind it.

Neither did the public.

But someone gave the group a name.

The Underground.

The name spread.

News reports began discussing them.

Some called them criminals.

Others called them vigilantes.

A few people called them heroes.

Ricky hated all three descriptions.

He didn't consider himself a hero.

He wasn't trying to be famous.

He simply didn't want people to suffer the way he and JJ had.

---

One evening, Daniel walked into the factory carrying a newspaper.

"Ricky."

Ricky looked up.

"What?"

Daniel placed the newspaper on the table.

Ricky read the headline.

MYSTERIOUS UNDERGROUND GROUP TARGETS CRIMINAL NETWORKS

Ricky sighed.

"We're becoming famous."

Daniel smiled.

"That's good."

"No, it isn't."

"Why?"

"Because famous people get noticed."

Daniel laughed.

"You have a point."

Ricky looked at the article.

There was a photograph of one of their operations.

The image was blurry.

Nobody could identify them.

That was good.

At least for now.

---

Several months passed.

The Underground grew.

So did Ricky's reputation.

People began referring to him as its leader.

At first, Ricky corrected them.

"I'm not a leader."

Eventually, he stopped.

Someone had to make decisions.

Someone had to keep everyone together.

Someone had to decide when a mission was too dangerous.

That person was Ricky.

He was still seventeen.

Sometimes he still made mistakes.

Sometimes he doubted himself.

Sometimes he sat alone at night wondering what JJ was doing.

But he had become more confident.

His psychic ability had developed too.

He could now focus on several minds at once.

He could separate individual thoughts in crowded rooms.

He could sense when someone was deliberately hiding information.

But his ability still had limits.

Too many minds at once could overwhelm him.

Strong emotions could make thoughts difficult to control.

And there were some people whose minds were difficult for him to read.

Ricky had learned not to depend entirely on his power.

He trained physically.

He learned how to fight.

He learned how to use the environment around him.

He was becoming capable.

But he wasn't invincible.

---

One night, Ricky returned to the factory after a mission.

He walked into his room.

A photograph was sitting on his desk.

Ricky stopped.

It was old.

It showed two boys standing beside each other.

JJ and Ricky.

Ricky picked it up.

He smiled.

"You'd probably hate this place."

He looked around.

The factory was filled with people now.

Computers.

Maps.

Files.

Medical equipment.

Food.

It had become something completely different.

Ricky sat down.

"I hope you're okay."

He stared at JJ's face.

"I really do."

Then Ricky heard a thought.

Someone nearby was thinking about him.

Ricky turned.

Daniel stood in the doorway.

"You coming?"

Ricky placed the photograph down.

"Yeah."

Daniel left.

Ricky followed.

Neither of them noticed the figure standing across the street.

The stranger watched the factory carefully.

Then he took out his phone.

"Found them."

He paused.

"The psychic is here."

A voice answered.

"Which one?"

The stranger looked through the window.

"Ricky."

---

The next morning, Ricky woke to an urgent message.

Someone had discovered their location.

He immediately called everyone together.

"We're moving."

Daniel stared at him.

"Where?"

"I don't know yet."

"Who found us?"

Ricky looked toward the window.

"Orion."

The room went silent.

Ricky had spent months building the Underground.

Now everything could disappear overnight.

He looked at the people around him.

These weren't strangers anymore.

They were his friends.

His responsibility.

He couldn't let Orion take them.

"Pack everything."

Everyone immediately began moving.

Ricky picked up the photograph of himself and JJ.

He stared at it for a moment.

Then placed it carefully inside his jacket.

He didn't know where JJ was.

He didn't know whether JJ was happy.

He didn't know whether JJ even wanted to see him again.

But Ricky knew one thing.

If Orion came after JJ too...

He would protect him.

Even if JJ didn't know he was doing it.

Even if JJ didn't want his help.

Even if they ended up on opposite sides.

Ricky wasn't going to abandon him.

Not again.