Chapter 11
1713 Words
The Search
JJ had made his decision.
He was going to find Ricky.
The problem was that he had no idea where to start.
Ricky had disappeared without leaving a clear trail, and JJ knew better than anyone that his friend could make himself difficult to find when he wanted to.
Still, JJ refused to give up.
He began with the places they had known before their escape.
The first was an abandoned factory where they had once hidden temporarily after leaving Orion Division.
JJ remembered the cold nights, the broken windows, and the empty rooms where he and Ricky had slept.
Back then, they had survived by using JJ's abilities carefully.
JJ could move objects without touching them, allowing them to take food from supermarkets without being noticed. It wasn't a comfortable life, but at the time, it had felt like freedom.
Now, standing outside the factory again, JJ wondered whether Ricky had ever returned.
He pushed the rusty door open.
Dust covered the floor.
The building was completely empty.
JJ walked through the rooms.
Nothing.
He searched every corner.
Nothing.
He finally reached the room where they had spent most of their time.
A small smile appeared on his face.
He remembered Ricky sitting against the wall, reading JJ's thoughts and making jokes about whatever was going through his mind.
JJ had hated it.
At least, he pretended to.
He looked around.
"Ricky?"
His voice echoed through the empty room.
No answer.
JJ lowered his head.
He had known there probably wouldn't be one.
Still, hearing his own voice call Ricky's name made the emptiness feel worse.
---
Across the city, Ricky was searching too.
He had spent months moving from place to place.
He avoided crowded areas whenever possible.
His ability made crowds uncomfortable.
Everywhere he went, he could hear thoughts.
Some were ordinary.
I need to get home.
What am I going to eat tonight?
I forgot to call Mom.
Others were louder.
Did I lock the door?
I hope nobody notices.
That guy looks suspicious.
Ricky had learned long ago that being able to read minds didn't mean knowing everything.
Thoughts weren't organized.
They came and went.
Sometimes people thought about things they didn't mean.
Sometimes they didn't even know what they were thinking themselves.
But Ricky had become very good at separating useful thoughts from meaningless ones.
That skill was helping him now.
He was looking for one person.
JJ.
---
Ricky had heard rumors.
A young psychic had joined a private organization.
A teenager with extraordinary abilities.
Someone who could move objects without touching them.
Someone who had recently received advanced medical treatment.
Ricky immediately suspected it was JJ.
But suspicion wasn't enough.
He needed proof.
So he started investigating.
He visited places where people with connections to intelligence organizations gathered.
He listened.
He asked questions without revealing why.
He learned that the organization JJ had joined was secretive.
Very secretive.
Nobody seemed to know much about its members.
That made Ricky nervous.
He remembered JJ's decision to accept their offer.
He remembered telling him not to go.
JJ had wanted his voice back so badly that he had ignored Ricky's warnings.
Ricky wondered whether JJ regretted it.
He hoped he did.
Not because he wanted JJ to suffer.
Because he wanted his friend back.
---
JJ's investigation was moving slowly.
He visited another location from their past.
An old train station.
It had been one of the places they had considered using when planning their escape.
JJ stood on the platform.
People moved around him.
Nobody recognized him.
That was something he had grown accustomed to.
He had spent most of his life being watched.
Now he could walk through a crowd without anyone knowing who he was.
He found that strangely comforting.
JJ sat on a bench.
He remembered Ricky sitting beside him years ago.
Ricky had been nervous that night.
JJ hadn't been able to hear his thoughts, but he could tell.
Ricky had kept looking around.
JJ had written in their notebook:
Are you scared?
Ricky had answered:
Terrified.
Then he had smiled.
But I'm going anyway.
JJ smiled at the memory.
He looked around the station.
Ricky wasn't there.
Again.
---
That evening, JJ returned to headquarters.
He found Marcus waiting outside his office.
"You've been busy."
JJ stopped.
"How do you know?"
Marcus smiled.
"You're not very good at hiding where you've been."
JJ's expression changed.
Marcus noticed.
"I'm not accusing you of anything."
JJ crossed his arms.
"Then what are you saying?"
"I'm saying you seem distracted."
JJ looked away.
"I'm looking for someone."
"Ricky?"
JJ froze.
Marcus had never heard him say the name.
"How do you know about him?"
Marcus didn't answer immediately.
That silence told JJ enough.
"You know something."
"I know the organization has information about your past."
"How much?"
"More than you think."
JJ stepped closer.
"Where is he?"
Marcus shook his head.
"I don't know."
"You're lying."
"I'm not."
JJ studied his face.
Marcus seemed genuine.
"I've seen his name in old reports," Marcus continued. "But nothing recent."
"Can I see them?"
Marcus hesitated.
"Some of them are restricted."
JJ's frustration grew.
"He's my best friend."
"I know."
"Then help me."
Marcus looked at him.
"I'll see what I can find."
JJ nodded.
It wasn't enough.
But it was something.
---
Ricky's search was becoming more difficult.
He had discovered that several people connected to JJ's old life had either disappeared or stopped talking.
That concerned him.
He found an old contact who had once worked near the organization.
The man refused to answer questions.
Ricky tried again.
Nothing.
Then Ricky used his ability.
He focused.
The man's thoughts became clearer.
Don't tell him anything.
Ricky narrowed his eyes.
They told us not to talk about the boy.
Ricky's heart jumped.
The boy.
JJ.
He listened carefully.
If anyone asks about him, say you don't know anything.
Ricky stopped reading.
The man looked at him suspiciously.
"You should leave."
Ricky did.
He had learned something important.
People were deliberately hiding information about JJ.
But why?
---
A few days later, Ricky found an old newspaper article.
It wasn't about JJ directly.
It was about the collapse of Orion Division.
The article mentioned several former members.
Ricky read every name.
Then he saw one that he recognized.
Someone who had known JJ.
Ricky searched for the person's current address.
He found it.
The next morning, he went there.
The house was empty.
A neighbor told him the person had moved months earlier.
"Do you know where?"
The neighbor shook her head.
Ricky thanked her and left.
Another dead end.
He sat on a nearby bench.
He was tired.
He had been searching for months.
Sometimes he wondered whether JJ was even looking for him.
Maybe JJ had moved on.
Maybe the voice box had changed everything.
Maybe JJ had finally found the life he wanted.
Ricky lowered his head.
Then he remembered something.
JJ had always hated being alone.
Even when he pretended otherwise.
Ricky smiled faintly.
"No," he whispered.
"He wouldn't forget me."
---
JJ received a message from Marcus three days later.
I found something. Come to my office.
JJ immediately went.
Marcus placed a file on the desk.
"These are old records."
JJ opened it.
There were several pages about Ricky.
His eyes moved quickly across them.
Most of the information was outdated.
Old addresses.
Old associates.
Old photographs.
Then JJ saw something.
A location.
A small community on the other side of the city.
"What's this?"
"We don't know if he's there."
JJ looked up.
"Then why give it to me?"
"Because it's the last confirmed location connected to him."
JJ took the file.
"Thank you."
Marcus stopped him.
"JJ."
JJ turned.
"If you find him, be careful."
JJ nodded.
He understood.
---
That afternoon, JJ went to the location.
It was a small neighborhood.
He walked through the streets, checking the addresses from the file.
Eventually, he found the building.
He stared at it.
Someone had lived there recently.
But the apartment was empty.
JJ knocked anyway.
Nothing.
He tried another door.
Nothing.
He asked a nearby shopkeeper whether they knew the previous tenant.
The shopkeeper thought for a moment.
"Ricky?"
JJ's heart jumped.
"You know him?"
"I've seen him."
"Where is he?"
The shopkeeper shrugged.
"He left a while ago."
JJ's heart sank.
"Do you know where?"
"No."
JJ thanked him.
He walked away.
He had missed Ricky.
Again.
Only this time, it had been close.
---
That same evening, Ricky was standing outside another building.
He had found information about a young man who matched JJ's description.
The person had recently been seen in the area.
Ricky entered the building.
He asked around.
Nothing.
Then someone mentioned that the young man had left earlier that day.
Ricky stood still.
"Where did he go?"
"I don't know."
Ricky looked down.
Another dead end.
He walked outside.
The sun was beginning to set.
He looked across the street.
For just a moment, he thought he saw JJ.
A young man walked past.
Similar height.
Similar build.
Similar hair.
Ricky's heart stopped.
"JJ!"
The stranger turned.
It wasn't him.
Ricky sighed.
He rubbed his face.
"Get a grip."
He continued walking.
---
That night, JJ sat alone in his apartment.
He opened the file Marcus had given him.
He looked at Ricky's photograph.
Then he spoke quietly.
"I'm going to find you."
Across the city, Ricky sat on the roof of a building.
He looked at the night sky.
"I'm going to find you too."
Neither knew how close they had come.
Neither knew that they had been searching in the same places only hours apart.
They were following different trails that kept crossing without ever bringing them together.
But neither of them stopped.
JJ had spent most of his life believing that people were always taken away from him.
Ricky had spent months wondering whether his best friend had forgotten him.
Neither was willing to accept that this time.
They would keep searching.
Even if it took months.
Even if it took years.
Because somewhere in the same city, two friends were looking for each other.
And neither of them knew that someone else was looking for them too.
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