Chapter 2: A Bit of a Situation

“So, another child has been murdered?” Paro asked his team, his tone filled with regret. He inhaled, calming his nerves and steadying his shaking hands.

“Yes,” Sarah answered, “and this one is just as bad as the rest.”

Paro looked around at his team, each of them sitting at the round glass table in their newly-renovated staging room. Computers and lights blinked and flashed different colors, temporarily brightening the dimly-lit room and indicating various status updates. They had some of the most advanced technology on the planet at their disposal, but it came to them at a steep price.

To his left sat Sarah Blighter, a beautiful, slim woman with black hair tied neatly into a ponytail. She was in charge of gathering intelligence, and her brilliant mind made her right for the job. She passed the report around to Paro and the other two members of the team.

To Paro’s right, sliding the paper off the table and into his massive hands, Kazou Takashi grunted. He was a muscular Japanese man whom Paro had recruited two years earlier. He tracked a finger along the report Sarah handed him and shook his head. Kazou had short black hair and several deep scars running across his face. He looked like a warrior, a man who had seen the depths of hell and lived to speak of it.

Paro sensed a grin burning into the side of his face, and he turned to glare at Michael Reed. He sat casually back in his leather chair with his legs propped on the table. Of all present, Michael had been with Paro’s team the longest.

Despite all the years Paro had worked with Michael, he found him to be quite a troublesome individual. Michael’s inability to take anything seriously, his utter lack of professionalism and playful mannerisms, were a never-ending distraction that often drove Paro to the edge of madness.

Paro’s identity was unknown to the team. Not only his birth name, but where he was from, how he got there and any other information about him.

“So, tell me, people. What do we know?” Paro wasn’t surprised when Sarah was the first to speak.

“The child’s name was Jonathan Herbert. One of ours found him this morning in an abandoned baseball field outside Anker Town. It’s too early to know for sure, but from what I can see he was probably murdered in the same way as the others.” She picked up the remote resting on her lap and projected the images onto the screen.

“As you can see,” she continued, “much in the same way as the other children, our victim had his heart removed from his chest, punctured through his body, and then exited through his mouth.”

Paro remained silent while he watched Sarah shift through the disturbing photos of Jonathan Herbert’s last moments. Kazou was the next to speak.

“And just to confirm with you,” he said in crisp, unaccented English. “There were no cuts or external damage anywhere on the victim?” Kazou had a surprisingly gentle voice, in spite of his scarred face and massive physique.

“That’s right. Because there was no cutting, and because the victim apparently ‘coughed’ up his own heart, there is little doubt that a Psych is responsible. The only question left is which kind? Who or what is responsible?”

The team pondered quietly for a moment. Michael was first to break the silence. “Well hey, isn’t it obvious, fellas? The murderer has gotta be a Telekinetic. I mean, since his heart was ripped through his body and all.”

“It’s not as simple as that,” Kazou said. “Sure, an unusually strong Telekinetic Psych could have that kind of destructive power, but Psychs from that line can only move what they can see. How would this killer be able to dislodge someone’s heart? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Michael grinned. “I’m more concerned with how Sarah is dislodging my heart, with that sexy smile of hers.” He made an exaggerated gesture of blowing a kiss in the air. Sarah shook her head. Paro knew she was used to Michael’s annoying remarks.

“Unless, he was an Unrestricted,” Sarah said, prompting the entire team to once again shift in their seats. She mentioned the one thing the others preferred to be left unsaid.

Kazou leaned forward in his chair. “You can’t be serious. As rare a breed as we regular Psychs are, the chances of someone having the ability to control all the lines are one in a million. In fact, with the exception of Paro here, I don’t know anyone who was born with such a talent.”

Paro, who had been listening in silence, decided to involve himself in the argument. “I agree with Kazou. The chances of the killer being an Unrestricted are slim to none, but there’s another possibility we’re overlooking. What if there was more than one killer?”

“I see what you’re saying, Paro,” Kazou said. “If there were two killers, and one was a Telepath, that would certainly make things easier to accept. I’ve heard some of them are not limited to seeing just inside the mind, but throughout the entire body. With a very powerful Telepath, he or she could project the images directly into the mind of a Telekinetic, and then it would be quite simple for him or her to …”

“Exactly,” Paro said. He folded his hands under his chin. He could see by the look on his team’s faces that they were taking a moment to think of the dangerous possibility of two Psychs murdering people together. It was not a welcome thought.

A knock came from the door. A tall man entered and whispered something into Paro’s ear, handing him a file before leaving.

“We seem to have some new information that may pertain to this case. There have been some … interesting developments that may lead us to be correct about our killer, or killers, being students.”

The three other members of the team exhaled. In the past, some of the bloodiest and most horrifying murders turned out to be the work of mere children.

“Odd,” Paro said. “It seems there was an attack today in a classroom with a probable link to a Psych.”

In one motion, the team turned their heads towards Paro. Sarah exhaled, Kazou tensed, and Michael took his feet off the table and sat up straight.

Sarah exclaimed, “Was anyone hurt?”

“And who were they attacking?” Kazou asked.

“Well, according to the report no one was injured, and it seems the attacker was after …” Paro paused. He double-checked the file. Was he reading the proper information? He checked once more before continuing to speak. “It appears the attacker was after everybody’s homework.”

Michael scratched his nose while Sarah tilted her head like a curious puppy, prompting Paro to recheck the file yet again. He passed it around the room so his team could see for themselves.

“Do you think the attacker is one of the suspects we’re looking for?” Sarah asked.

“I’m not sure. There’s certainly the possibility, but I believe it unlikely. Think about it. Up until now, the murders have been conducted secretively. There’s been little evidence to work with. Why would such a person give away his or her location, especially over something so trivial?”

Kazou rubbed his chin. “Well, Paro, what are the chances of more than one unregistered Psych being in the same area? Personally, I think whoever is in that class is taunting us, daring us to find them. What if our killer is growing overconfident or bored?”

“That’s something we’ll consider,” Paro said. “But for the time being, we’ll need a list of everyone in that class, along with full academic records. It’s very possible we’re simply dealing with some overzealous brat. But, at any rate, let’s at least find out who this kid is and take him or her into custody. I’d prefer to know for sure.”

“Sure, boss,” Kazou said.

“Sarah, I want you at the Herbert crime scene. See if you can find anything they happened to miss the first time around, or anything else that might lead us to something of value. Michael and Kazou will go with you. After all of you have given it a final check, meet me at this Elms High. Even if this fire is an unrelated incident, I can’t have some newbie Psych that just discovered their abilities running loose and starting fires.” Paro looked around the room. “And everyone, please, be careful. If it turns out our killer and this kid is one in the same, we could be dealing with one of our most vicious criminals yet. Take every precaution to ensure your own safety.”

The three members of his team nodded their acceptance. They rose from their seats and left Paro behind in the dim room.

His team was not unique—there were many like it around the world, all part of a government sanctioned organization designed to deal with the growing number of Psychs in recent times. Well funded and well trained, they were responsible for their own kind.

Each member of his team was a Psych. Not that there weren’t many “normal” people assisting in Psych matters, but the people who ran things wanted to keep as little information as possible from leaking out. The world was not yet ready for Paro’s kind, and he didn’t think it ever would be.

The purpose of his team was to manage juvenile Psychs, their behavior, health and everything that fell in between. While others would scoff at their tasks and perhaps laugh it off as the easiest of the jobs, Paro knew the difficulty firsthand. On more than one occasion, they had gone after some of the deadliest killers in the organization’s history. It amazed Paro how people so young could act so violently. But in a way, he understood them. Many were abused, brought into the world without loving parents, and realizing their incredible abilities, they lashed out with violence.

Paro sighed. He was a handsome man, with short black hair and dark eyes. He looked older than a man in his mid-twenties. He was muscular, though not quite to the degree of Kazou. Paro maintained a solid physique, though he wasn’t as persistent in his training as he was a few years earlier. He sat up in his chair, giving the photos on the screen another glance. They caused him to wince.

Thankfully, the majority of their cases weren’t murders or acts of violence. Typically, Paro’s team dealt with youths discovering their abilities and acting out. There were thefts, of course, pranks and other sorts of mischief, but it was usually a matter of finding the kids and scaring them, and then freeing them on the promise of improved behavior—and their silence.

A few minutes went by, and the assistant returned, this time carrying another file containing the list of students, their ages and full academic records. Paro frowned at the man.

“No photo IDs?”

“Sorry about that, but this was all we could get. You’re going to have to go down there yourself if you want to see the kids.”

Paro nodded. “I was going there anyway. I’ll see what I can find. Thanks, Dennis.”