JJ Psychic

Chapter 14

The Change

"You're late."

JJ looked at the clock on the wall.

"I'm three minutes early."

Marcus glanced at his watch.

"Exactly."

JJ smiled.

"You're getting dramatic."

Marcus slid a folder across the table.

"Read."

JJ opened it.

A photograph of a man stared back at him.

"Who is he?"

"Daniel Reeves. Former Alpha Corp technician."

"Former?"

"He resigned six months ago."

JJ studied the photograph.

"Why are we looking for him?"

Marcus leaned back.

"He's suspected of stealing classified information."

"What information?"

Marcus hesitated.

"That's classified."

JJ looked up.

"You're sending me after someone for stealing information you won't tell me about?"

"That's the assignment."

JJ stared at him for another moment before closing the folder.

"Where is he?"

"An apartment downtown."

JJ stood.

"Fine."

Marcus nodded.

"Bring him in."

JJ left the briefing room.

---

Daniel Reeves' apartment was empty.

JJ stood in the doorway, scanning the room.

Nothing appeared disturbed.

No signs of a struggle.

No broken locks.

No overturned furniture.

He walked farther inside.

The place looked as though Reeves had left in a hurry.

A half-finished cup of coffee sat on the kitchen counter.

A jacket hung over the back of a chair.

JJ entered the bedroom.

Empty.

He checked the bathroom.

Nothing.

Then he noticed a laptop on a desk.

The screen was still on.

JJ approached it.

Several folders were displayed.

Most were encrypted.

One wasn't.

JJ read the title.

PROJECT ORION

He stopped.

For several seconds, he simply stared at the screen.

Orion.

He hadn't heard that name in years.

But he knew it.

He knew it better than almost anyone.

Orion Division.

The organization that had taken him when he was five.

The place where he had spent most of his childhood.

The place he and Ricky had escaped from.

Why would Alpha Corp have a file connected to Orion?

JJ reached toward the laptop.

The screen suddenly went black.

His communicator buzzed.

Marcus.

JJ answered.

"Found something."

"Leave the apartment."

JJ frowned.

"What?"

"Leave."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

JJ looked at the laptop.

"Marcus, I found a file called Project Orion."

Silence.

JJ's expression hardened.

"You know what that means."

"JJ—"

"Who told you to call me?"

Another pause.

"The mission has changed."

"What changed?"

"We don't need Reeves anymore."

JJ stared at the screen.

"Then why was I sent here?"

Marcus didn't answer.

"Come back to headquarters."

The call ended.

JJ remained still.

He looked around the apartment.

A minute ago, this had been an ordinary retrieval mission.

Now it didn't feel ordinary anymore.

---

When JJ returned to headquarters, Marcus wasn't there.

JJ walked through the main corridor.

Something felt different.

Normally, agents would greet him as he passed.

Today, several people avoided looking at him.

Two analysts stopped talking when he walked past.

JJ slowed down.

He couldn't hear what they had been discussing.

But he noticed the sudden silence.

He continued walking.

He found Marcus in the briefing room.

"Why did you pull me out?"

Marcus looked up.

"The mission was cancelled."

"Why?"

"New information."

"What information?"

Marcus looked away.

JJ crossed his arms.

"Does it have something to do with Orion?"

Marcus didn't answer.

"Marcus."

"I can't discuss it."

"You couldn't discuss the target's information either."

"Because it was classified."

"And now you're refusing to discuss Orion."

Marcus sighed.

"JJ, just let it go."

JJ stared at him.

"Why?"

"Because there's nothing you need to worry about."

"Then why are you worried?"

Marcus looked at him.

For a moment, neither spoke.

Then Marcus stood.

"I have work to do."

JJ watched him leave.

He didn't follow.

Not yet.

---

There was one person JJ could ask.

Director Hale.

JJ had known Hale almost as long as he had worked for Alpha Corp.

Unlike most agents, JJ had always been allowed to enter the director's office without an appointment.

Hale had encouraged it.

Sometimes JJ would walk in while Hale was working.

Sometimes they would discuss missions.

Sometimes they would simply talk.

Hale had once jokingly told him that JJ was his "blue-eyed boy."

JJ had never forgotten it.

He walked toward the director's office.

The receptionist looked up.

"JJ."

"Is Director Hale inside?"

"Yes."

JJ reached for the door.

The receptionist stood.

"Wait."

JJ stopped.

"Why?"

"He's busy."

JJ glanced through the glass.

Hale was sitting alone at his desk.

There was no meeting.

No one else was inside.

JJ looked back at her.

"I'll wait."

"I'm sorry, but he doesn't want to be disturbed."

JJ frowned.

"Since when?"

She didn't answer.

JJ looked through the glass again.

Hale lifted his head.

Their eyes met.

JJ expected him to wave him in.

He didn't.

Instead, Hale looked back down at his desk.

JJ slowly stepped away from the door.

"Okay."

He walked away.

But he couldn't stop thinking about it.

Hale had never done that before.

Not once.

---

The next morning, JJ received another assignment.

Marcus handed him the folder without saying much.

JJ opened it.

Another former Alpha Corp employee.

Another accusation of leaking classified information.

JJ looked at Marcus.

"What's this about?"

"Same as yesterday."

"What's he supposed to have leaked?"

"Information."

"What information?"

Marcus gave him a tired look.

"You know I can't tell you."

JJ closed the folder.

"Does it have anything to do with Orion?"

Marcus remained silent.

JJ noticed.

"That's what I thought."

---

The target was found at a motel outside the city.

JJ entered the room.

The man immediately reached for a weapon.

JJ telekinetically pulled it away.

"Don't."

The man froze.

JJ showed him his Alpha Corp identification.

"I'm not here to hurt you."

The man laughed bitterly.

"That's what Alpha Corp always says."

JJ's expression changed.

"What did you say?"

The man looked at him.

"You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

The man shook his head.

"They really haven't told you."

JJ stepped closer.

"Told me what?"

Before the man could answer, a sharp sound came from outside.

The window shattered.

JJ moved instantly.

He pushed the man to the floor as something struck the wall.

When JJ looked outside, the attacker was already gone.

He turned back.

The former employee was staring at him.

"You see?"

"See what?"

"They're watching everyone."

JJ looked toward the broken window.

"Who?"

The man said nothing.

JJ grabbed his arm.

"Who?"

The man pulled away.

"I don't know."

JJ stared at him.

The man looked frightened.

Not of JJ.

Of someone else.

---

Back at headquarters, JJ handed over the suspect.

Then he went straight to the archive section.

He entered his credentials.

ACCESS DENIED.

JJ frowned.

He tried again.

ACCESS DENIED.

He stared at the screen.

He had accessed this section before.

He tried another terminal.

Same result.

An archive officer approached.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for old mission records."

"Which ones?"

"Orion Division."

The officer's expression immediately changed.

"Those files are restricted."

"By who?"

"The director."

JJ nodded slowly.

"Of course."

He walked away.

Now he had another question.

Why was Director Hale personally restricting files connected to Orion?

---

That evening, JJ sat in his apartment.

The photograph of Daniel Reeves was on the table.

Beside it was a piece of paper containing everything he remembered from the past two days.

Project Orion.

Mission cancelled.

Former employees being questioned.

Restricted files.

Hale refusing to see him.

The attack on Reeves.

None of the incidents made sense individually.

Together, they were harder to ignore.

JJ leaned back.

He thought about the organization he had escaped from.

Orion Division had controlled almost every part of his childhood.

But Alpha Corp had always seemed different.

They had given him choices.

They had treated him like a person.

They had given him a life.

Had they?

JJ stared at the ceiling.

He didn't want to believe Alpha Corp was hiding something from him.

But wanting something to be true didn't make it true.

---

The next morning, JJ returned to headquarters.

He walked toward the director's office.

The receptionist immediately noticed him.

"JJ."

"Is he available?"

She hesitated.

"No."

"Busy?"

"Yes."

JJ looked through the glass.

Hale was alone again.

JJ smiled faintly.

"Right."

He turned around.

Then stopped.

"One question."

The receptionist looked at him.

"When did the director start locking me out?"

She looked uncomfortable.

"I don't know."

JJ nodded.

"Okay."

He walked away.

He didn't argue.

He didn't force his way inside.

He simply left.

And somehow, that made the situation more unsettling.

---

Later that day, Marcus found him.

"You shouldn't have gone to the archives."

JJ looked at him.

"Why?"

"You know why."

"No. I don't."

Marcus lowered his voice.

"JJ, there are things happening inside Alpha Corp that you don't understand."

JJ stared at him.

"Then explain them."

"I can't."

"Or you won't?"

Marcus didn't answer.

JJ stepped closer.

"How long have you known?"

"Known what?"

"That something was wrong."

Marcus looked away.

JJ understood.

He didn't need another answer.

---

That night, JJ stood outside Alpha Corp headquarters.

The building looked exactly as it always had.

Bright lights.

Security cameras.

Agents moving through the entrance.

Everything appeared normal.

But JJ knew better now.

He looked toward the top floor.

Director Hale's office.

The lights were on.

JJ watched the window.

A shadow moved behind the blinds.

Then Hale appeared.

For a moment, he stood there.

Looking down.

Looking directly at JJ.

JJ didn't move.

Neither did Hale.

Then the blinds closed.

JJ remained outside for another few seconds.

He finally turned away.

He didn't know what Alpha Corp was hiding.

He didn't know what Project Orion meant.

He didn't know why former employees were suddenly disappearing from the organization's records.

And he didn't know why the director—the man who had once allowed him into his office whenever he wanted—now wouldn't even speak to him.

But JJ knew one thing.

He wasn't going to ignore it.

He walked into the darkness.

Behind him, Alpha Corp remained silent.

And somewhere inside the building, a restricted file was opened.

The first page contained a name JJ had spent years trying to forget.

ORION DIVISION.