Chapter 20: Jack Harris a Psych Investigator?

It was very difficult to hear the man, being that he only spoke in short whispers. It was further complicated by the constant screech of jets passing low overhead. The airbase in Kuwait was always pretty active, with convoys and planes arriving and departing at frequent intervals.

It was hot too, which made Sebastian grumble every time the heavy wind blew scalding sand in his face. Sebastian pushed the torn brown letter across the small table. The man picked it up and examined it for only a moment before sliding it back across to him.

“You wish to find him, then?” he whispered.

Sebastian had to strain his ears every time the man spoke. He was covered from head to toe in cloth, revealing nothing more than his fierce eyes, which told a great deal about him. Though all his other features were masked, the complex and dark world that lay behind those haunting eyes were enough to send a shiver down Sebastian’s spine.

“I’ve proved my worth, haven’t I?” Sebastian asked. “All that’s left is for you to give me the location.”

Even concealed behind the brown cloth, Sebastian had the uncomfortable notion that the man was smiling. “Check your left breast pocket, Mr. Harris.”

While Sebastian kept a straight face and allowed no sign of fear or emotion to seep through, he calmly reached into his shirt-pocket and felt a small paper folded inside.

When did he—Sebastian ripped the thought from his mind.

“Do you have … any news?” the man whispered.

“Not much, but I do know those kids of yours are causing quite a stir. You ever going to trust me enough to tell me your real name?”

“But I have … Mr. Harris. My name is Redemption.”

“Suit yourself.”

****

Jack was impressed by how much they had done in such a short time. Only two miles from his house, they had rented a large garage to act as a temporary base of operations. Laptops, equipment, and numerous personnel shuffled from activity to activity.

“How did you get all these people?” Jack asked.

Paro put an arm on his shoulder. “Well, murder is a very serious thing, Jack. And the more serious and numerous the crimes, then naturally the more resources we use in stopping them. Come, have a seat, we have a lot to talk about.”

Sarah and Kazou were already sitting at the square table, shuffling through files and discussing notes. Melissa dragged him into a chair next to her, while Paro and Michael sat across from them. Sarah and Kazou stopped whatever it was they were doing the moment Jack sat down and eyed him with interest.

“So,” Jack said, “I’m supposed to learn more about my whatever it is and then I can go home, right? But can we make it quick, please? It’s Friday.”

Jack didn’t know why that tense look Paro sometimes wore appeared on his face. Jack had been cooperating just like he’d been asked. Michael gave Paro an odd, questioning look, and Paro returned a nod. The cowboy then turned to face Jack.

“Buddy,” Michael began, “We got the results of your blood. You’re not a Telekinetic like we thought. That’s why we’re all here today.”

Jack shrugged. “Is that a bad thing?”

Michael stumbled for an answer, so Sarah took over. Melissa bounced on her chair in agitation, and she looked to be as confused as Jack, if not more so.

“It’s not a bad thing, sweetie,” Sarah said. “It’s just not an easy thing.”

Melissa tensed and lost her patience. “What is this about, guys? If Jack’s not a Kinetic then what is he?”

“An Unrestricted,” Paro said.

Jack flinched, because in reflex to the answer, Melissa grabbed his shoulder with the strength of a bull. “Ouch, Melissa! I thought I already paid my pain debt. This isn’t fair. Now I owe you a slap.”

“What do you mean he’s an Unrestricted?” Melissa asked, ignoring Jack entirely. “How can that be possible?”

Jack had no idea why Melissa seemed to care more about this than he did, but from the time he had spent with these people, Jack had learned a few tricks to getting along with them better. Namely, just nod and pretend you knew what was going on. It amazed Jack how much that worked for him in life. It worked for him in school, and now with these people.

Jack tried to imitate Melissa’s behavior. He stood up from his chair and threw his arms around in mock outrage.

“What! How can I be an Unrestricted? Oh no and stuff. This is so bad. I can’t believe it. I guess now we’ll just have to do whatever it is we do now that I’m Unrestricted, right, Paro?”

Melissa dragged on Jack’s arm and pulled him back into the chair with a scowl on her face. Jack didn’t care—he knew he just nailed it. He was becoming a professional at pretending he was informed about things.

“Jack,” Paro began, “do you remember what I taught you about Psychs? Recite it back to me, so I know you understand.”

Jack grinned. He once again stood up and addressed the team sitting around the table. He knew the answer to something for once!

Jack cleared his throat theatrically. “There are four types of affinities people can be born with. Telekinesis, which is what you guys said I was, which lets me move stuff. Telepathic, like Sarah, which makes you do brain-stuff or whatever, and then there’s Manipulators, which can … manipulate stuff? You guys don’t have one of those so I don’t really know. Oh, and then there’s Reinforcers, like Melissa, which makes you strong but also really mean and stupid.”

Even the technicians at the end of the makeshift base of operations turned to look at the source of the popping crackle, as Melissa’s slapping hand whirled across Jack’s face. His cheek lit up in white-hot pain, and Michael started giggling uncontrollably. Kazou for some reason looked wounded.

Paro ignored the ordeal and continued. “An Unrestricted, Jack, is someone who is not born to any type. They still have something that is preferred, such is the case with you and Telekinesis, but they are not limited to simply the basics of the other affinities. They can do as they please, even combining several together in ways that are … for better or worse, astounding.”

Jack nodded. “Got it. That actually makes a lot of sense. So I can use things other than Teleke—aww, man does this mean I’m gonna have to learn even more stuff?”

Michael waved an arm. “No, Jack, we’ve already decided to treat ya as a Telekinetic. In fact, the people of our organization would rather prefer it if you didn’t play around with any of the forces you got at your disposal.”

“The problem, Jack,” Paro said, “is that because of the inherent destruction that you’re capable of causing, you’re not allowed to simply walk away from us anymore. Because of this discovery, I’m afraid that from this point forward, you’re going to have to become a member of our team. It’s either that or a fate much worse, which I can promise you don’t want.”

Jack’s mind reeled in shock. So he wasn’t going to be done with all of this nonsense, after all?

“For how long?” Jack tried to keep his voice from cracking, but he was beginning to feel a creeping fear.

Sarah looked saddened “Forever, Jack. You can never be free.”

Jack tried to find something to say back, some way to respond, but before he could so much as open his mouth he was distracted by Melissa’s fists smashing into the table, causing it to shake.

“Like hell, Paro! Are you telling me that Jack’s not going to be allowed to live his life just because of some formality?”

“Melissa, calm down! I’ve warned you about these outbursts.” Paro stood up from his chair and pointed a threatening finger at her.

“This is more than just a formality—it is law. Do you even know what risks we were willing to take to keep Jack out of the facilities? We were willing to throw down our lives to stop that from happening.”

“Yeah, but—”

“Melissa, it’s okay.” Melissa looked shocked as Jack put a comforting arm on her shoulder and stood up to face Paro.

“What did you just say about putting your life on the line?” Jack asked.

Paro sighed. “Normally they send Unrestricteds off to the facilities where they can be brainwashed and turned into killing machines. We all agreed that we would risk our lives to prevent that from happening. The end result was an agreement that you could still live a somewhat decent life by joining us instead.”

Jack smiled at Paro. It was a pure and honest smile that Jack hoped would communicate his feelings of gratitude. “Thank you, Paro. You did something really great for me, and while I still don’t understand everything, I’ll join you guys. Thanks, all of you, for standing up for me.”

Sarah wiped a tear from her eyes, and Michael simply put his feet on the table and smirked. Kazou nodded in silence.

Paro too seemed to be in good humor now. “That was much less painful than I thought it would be, Jack. Thank you for making this so much easier on us. And look, you’ll get used to waking up at six a.m. Trust me, after the first week it’s like you—”

“What?”Jack shouted. “Six a.m.? I’m out of here!”

Jack tried to flee, but Melissa grabbed him and held him in place. “Sit back down, you idiot! You’ll get used to it, trust me.”

Jack relaxed over the course of the next few minutes, while Paro and Michael for the zillionth time went over everything that had happened since the first murder, ending with the execution of the Davins’ family. Occasionally, they asked Jack a question or two, which he once again answered to the best of his knowledge. Sometime during the middle of the team’s discussion, Jack remembered there was something very important he had to ask.

“Can I ask you guys something?”

“What’s up, Jack?” Michael answered.

“What’s gonna happen to these people if we catch them alive? Like, let’s say we were able to find out who their accomplice is and he agreed to cooperate. Would we be able to let him go free if he didn’t mean to cause any harm?”

Paro looked at Jack with an expression of regret. “No, Jack, unfortunately not. Even if he or she is just an accomplice, they will probably spend the rest of their lives locked away for the massacres they aided in.”

Jack struggled, trying with everything he was worth not to let any worry or anxiety show on his face. “But what if they really, really didn’t mean it? Then could we make an exception?”

“I’m afraid not,” Paro answered. “I don’t know what awaits the two that you and Melissa fought in the park. But as for the accomplice, he or she will have a tremendous punishment waiting for them. But at the very least, they’ll be alive. If we don’t solve this problem soon, the Op. teams will step in and start piling up bodies.”

“Op. teams?” Jack asked.

“They’re a division of Psychs like we are, but they exist as a mirror to us. Their job is to kill what we can’t catch.” Paro spent the next few minutes explaining how the Psych departments worked.

Jack visibly shook at the explanation. So, there were teams that went around killing the criminals that Psychs like Paro couldn’t catch? Jack couldn’t believe something like that was permitted.

“Okay, just to make sure I got this. No matter what the situation is—if someone comes forward willing to cooperate and surrender, they still have go to jail for a long time?”

“Yes, Jack.”

“May I please be excused? I know I’m supposed to get a ride home soon, but there’s something nearby I really need to take care of. I need to pick up something at a grocery store that I promised I’d get for my mom. Is that okay?”

Sarah and Paro were studying him with an almost scientific gaze. Paro nodded. “Well, I guess if you’re going to be on this team then we can at least treat you with the respect of a member. So yeah, go ahead. Just make sure you head home soon. There are still crazy people after you, don’t forget.”

“Thanks, Paro.” He rose from the seat and grabbed his schoolbag.

“Wait,” Melissa said, “have you forgotten once again that you’re not supposed to leave my sight?”

Damn, Jack thought to himself. I need to get to Andy’s right away, but I can’t bring her along with me.

“Umm, can’t I go by myself, for just a little bit, please? If I’m gonna be a member of the team, won’t you have to trust me too, Melissa?”

Melissa growled at this. “Not at all, Jack. You’re not going anywhere with—”

“Melissa, let him go!” Paro commanded.

“But Paro! He’s—”

“I said, let him go.”

Jack didn’t know what was going on between the two, and he honestly didn’t care, either. Based on what they had told him, Andy’s life would be ruined forever if he got caught. Jack had promised to help Andy, and he didn’t intend to break it. He’d head over to his house and get Andy as far away as possible from this place.

Jack sprinted out of the room, running faster than he had ever run in his life. The personnel around the garage-turned-base gave him odd looks as he soared by them.

Andy, hang tight, I’m coming.