JJ Psychic

Chapter 16

Eligible

JJ couldn't stop thinking about the archive.

The words PROJECT ORION had followed him since the night he discovered them. Every attempt to ignore them had only made the questions louder.

Why did Alpha Corp have records connected to Orion Division?

Why had his access suddenly been restricted?

Why had Director Hale refused to speak to him?

And why had everyone become so uncomfortable whenever he mentioned Orion?

JJ knew he couldn't keep waiting for answers.

If Alpha Corp wouldn't give them to him, he'd find them himself.

---

It was late when JJ returned to headquarters.

The building was quieter than usual. Most of the agents had already gone home, leaving only the night staff and a handful of security personnel.

JJ entered through the main entrance wearing his normal Alpha Corp uniform.

Nobody questioned him.

He walked through the corridors casually, just as he had done hundreds of times before.

He passed two agents talking near the elevators.

"Evening."

They nodded.

"Evening, JJ."

He continued walking.

When he reached a quieter section of the building, he slipped into an unused maintenance room.

He closed the door.

Then he opened a small bag.

Inside were a dark jacket, gloves, a cap, and a face covering.

JJ removed his Alpha Corp jacket and changed into the disguise.

He pulled the cap low over his head and covered the lower half of his face.

He looked at himself in the small mirror.

His usual uniform was gone.

So was most of his recognizable appearance.

"That should work."

He put his Alpha Corp uniform into the bag.

From this point forward, he wouldn't use his powers.

Not once.

If a security camera recorded an object moving without being touched, Alpha Corp would immediately know who had broken into the archive.

His telekinesis was too distinctive.

He couldn't afford to leave that kind of evidence behind.

Instead, he would rely on something else.

Knowledge.

He had worked inside Alpha Corp for years. He knew the building better than most people.

He knew which corridors were heavily monitored.

He knew where cameras were positioned.

He knew which security guards usually patrolled certain areas.

And he knew which routes were rarely used.

JJ left the maintenance room.

He walked calmly down the corridor.

When a guard appeared ahead, JJ turned into another hallway and waited.

When a security camera moved in his direction, he stood completely still until it turned away.

He continued.

No powers.

No unnecessary movement.

No mistakes.

Eventually, he reached the restricted archive.

---

The electronic lock stared back at him.

JJ took out a small access device.

He had obtained it during an earlier mission.

He inserted it into the panel and waited.

Nothing happened.

JJ tried again.

A small light turned green.

The lock clicked.

He opened the door and slipped inside.

The archive was enormous.

Rows upon rows of files stretched across the room.

JJ moved quietly between them.

He searched through the labels.

Historical operations.

Special projects.

Classified experiments.

Restricted personnel.

Nothing.

Then he reached another section.

RESTRICTED — HISTORICAL OPERATIONS

JJ scanned the shelves.

His eyes stopped.

OR-05

His heart skipped.

He pulled the file out.

The cover contained almost nothing.

Just the code.

JJ opened it.

The first page contained a photograph.

A five-year-old boy.

Black hair.

Wide eyes.

A nervous expression.

JJ stared at it.

He knew that face.

It was his.

He turned the page.

Medical examinations.

Physical evaluations.

Psychological reports.

Scientific observations.

His childhood had been turned into a collection of data.

He kept turning the pages.

Age six.

Age seven.

Age eight.

Every year was there.

Every experiment.

Every test.

Every change in his abilities.

His telekinesis.

His strength.

His ability to teleport objects.

Even his inability to speak.

JJ's hands tightened around the folder.

"They kept everything."

He continued reading.

Then he reached the final pages.

AGE: 17

STATUS: ESCAPED

JJ stopped.

That was the year he and Ricky had escaped Orion Division.

The final report described their disappearance.

Then there was a section he hadn't expected.

TRANSFERRED TO ALPHA CORP

JJ stared at the words.

Why had Alpha Corp received his records?

Before he could read further—

BEEP.

JJ froze.

A red light flashed above him.

Then another.

SECURITY BREACH.

An alarm began blaring.

JJ immediately closed the folder.

Footsteps echoed outside.

He couldn't take the whole file.

If security found the folder missing, they'd know exactly what someone had been searching for.

He needed something smaller.

His eyes moved across the shelves.

Then he noticed a small black flash drive inside a compartment.

A label was attached to it.

OR-05 / COMPLETE RECORD

JJ grabbed it.

He slipped it into his pocket.

The footsteps were getting closer.

He put the folder back exactly where he found it.

Then he ran.

"Stop!"

Security personnel entered the archive behind him.

JJ didn't use his powers.

He couldn't.

He knew that if he did, the entire purpose of the disguise would be pointless.

Instead, he relied on the building's layout.

He turned down a narrow corridor.

A security officer appeared ahead.

JJ immediately changed direction.

Another officer entered from behind.

JJ ducked through a side passage.

He reached the emergency exit.

He pushed the door open.

Cold night air hit his face.

JJ stepped outside.

He didn't stop until the building was several streets behind him.

Only then did he remove the face covering.

The flash drive was still in his pocket.

He had it.

---

JJ still had one problem.

The flash drive was encrypted.

He needed equipment capable of accessing it.

Fortunately, Alpha Corp had exactly what he needed.

Not inside headquarters.

Alpha Corp secretly owned several businesses throughout the city, including a small electronics and hardware store that appeared to be an ordinary retail shop.

JJ knew about the store because he had occasionally been sent there to collect equipment.

That night, he went there wearing the same disguise.

He entered after closing.

He avoided the cameras as much as possible and took only the equipment he needed.

Before leaving, he made sure the security cameras captured his disguised appearance.

Dark jacket.

Dark trousers.

Cap.

Gloves.

Face covering.

He didn't use his powers.

He didn't want anything connecting the robbery to him.

Then he disappeared into the night with the equipment.

---

The next morning, Alpha Corp was already treating the incident differently.

JJ was sitting in his apartment when his phone rang.

Marcus.

"Hello?"

"Where are you?"

"Home."

"You need to come in."

"Why?"

"One of our facilities was robbed."

JJ's expression changed.

"One of our facilities?"

"The hardware store on Westbridge."

JJ said nothing.

Marcus continued.

"Someone broke in last night and stole classified equipment."

JJ looked at the equipment sitting on his desk.

The same equipment he'd stolen.

"We're treating this as an internal security matter," Marcus said. "I want you to find whoever did it."

JJ's stomach tightened.

"Do you have a description?"

Marcus began reading it.

"Male. Dark jacket. Dark trousers. Cap. Gloves. Face partially covered..."

JJ closed his eyes.

It was him.

The exact disguise.

Marcus continued.

"Approximately your height. Similar build."

JJ opened his eyes.

"I'll handle it."

"Good. Bring him in."

The call ended.

JJ stared at the equipment on his desk.

He had expected Alpha Corp to investigate the robbery.

He hadn't expected himself to be assigned to catch the thief.

And now the situation was even more dangerous.

If he refused the mission, Marcus might wonder why.

If he failed to find the thief, Alpha Corp might investigate further.

So JJ had only one option.

He would have to find someone else who looked like him.

And make Alpha Corp believe they had caught the right person.

---

JJ arrived at headquarters shortly afterward.

Marcus was waiting for him.

"You came quickly."

"I was nearby."

Marcus handed him a case file.

"Everything we know is inside."

JJ opened it.

The description was exactly what he expected.

Dark jacket.

Dark trousers.

Cap.

Gloves.

Face covering.

He closed the file.

"Anything else?"

"Not much."

Marcus looked at him.

"Think you can find him?"

JJ nodded.

"I'll try."

He walked away.

He couldn't catch himself.

So he needed someone else.

Someone who looked close enough.

---

Later that night, JJ found a petty criminal he'd encountered during an earlier investigation.

The man had roughly the same build.

He was around the same height.

And, conveniently, he owned a dark jacket and cap.

JJ arranged for him to be caught near the area where the robbery had occurred.

When Alpha Corp security arrived, the man immediately protested.

"I didn't steal anything!"

JJ stood nearby.

He felt a strange sense of guilt.

The man wasn't responsible.

But JJ couldn't allow Alpha Corp to discover the truth.

Marcus approached after the suspect was taken inside.

"You caught him?"

JJ nodded.

"Yes."

Marcus looked toward the security officers.

"Good work."

JJ gave a small nod.

"Thanks."

Marcus walked away.

JJ watched the innocent man disappear through the doors.

He knew what he'd done wasn't right.

But he also knew that if Alpha Corp discovered he had broken into the archive, stolen the flash drive, and robbed one of their facilities, they would start asking questions.

And he wasn't ready for that.

---

JJ returned home later that night.

The equipment was sitting beside his laptop.

He connected it and inserted the flash drive.

The screen flickered.

A security prompt appeared.

JJ entered his Alpha Corp credentials.

ACCESS GRANTED.

A single folder appeared.

There was only one file inside.

JJ clicked it.

The screen went black.

Then an image appeared.

JJ stopped breathing.

It was his face.

A photograph of himself at five years old.

Underneath it was his name.

JJ

Then:

SUBJECT: OR-05

JJ stared at the screen.

"No..."

He clicked the next page.

AGE: 5

STATUS: ACQUIRED

LOCATION: ORION DIVISION

His eyes moved across the screen.

The records continued.

Medical examinations.

Physical tests.

Psychological evaluations.

Telekinetic experiments.

Strength measurements.

Everything.

JJ scrolled faster.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

His entire childhood had been documented.

He saw records he didn't remember.

Tests he had forgotten.

Experiments he hadn't even known were being conducted.

At twelve, his telekinesis had developed significantly.

At fourteen, his ability to teleport non-living objects had become more precise.

At sixteen, his strength had reached levels considered highly unusual.

Then he reached the final record.

AGE: 17

STATUS: ESCAPED

JJ stared at the screen.

The file continued for another few lines.

Then he reached the bottom.

There was one final word.

Large.

Bold.

Written in block letters.

ELIGIBLE

JJ frowned.

He leaned toward the screen.

"Eligible for what?"

The laptop remained silent.

JJ sat back.

His mind raced.

Why had Alpha Corp kept his entire Orion record?

Why had they received it?

Why had his access been restricted?

Why had Director Hale suddenly changed?

Why were former employees connected to Orion being investigated?

And why—

after everything he had been through—

was he marked eligible?

JJ stared at his younger face on the screen.

Five years old.

A child who had no idea what was coming.

A child who had been turned into an experiment.

A child whose entire life had apparently been planned and documented by people he didn't even know existed.

JJ leaned closer.

"Eligible for what?"

There was no answer.

Only the silent photograph of the boy he used to be.

And beneath it, that one word.

ELIGIBLE.