41: On or Off

Brown paper bags and plastic utensils covered the normally clean glass table in the planning room. Paro scooped up another serving of rice before placing it on his paper plate. “Paro, pass the soup, please,” Sarah said.

“And can you get me a napkin, bud?” Michael asked.

Paro was the injured one, yet everyone seemed to leave the things that needed to be passed around in front of him. “Ah, I need another fork,” Alana said.

“Do you think you could pass the soda?” Deven requested.

They were driving him mad, but he obliged. For the past two weeks, Generals Deven Moore and Alana Harris had been “hanging” out with Paro, Michael, and Sarah. At first, it was nerve wrecking for all of them. To be in the presence of one general was an honor, to be in the presence of two was an occasion, and to sit casually in a leather chair with both and eat lunch together each day, well, that was virtually unheard of.

During the first few days there had been quite a bit of awkward silence and formality, at least from Michael and Sarah. They warmed up to the two generals quickly, though, and in no time at all they were chatting away like old friends. This was nothing new: Alana and Deven had always been like this. The two oddball generals of the Psych Organization.

Alana leaned forward and poured herself some chicken and broccoli, her white, pristine general’s uniform hanging off the back of her chair. Both she and Deven had gone back to their old “coat” rule, something she’d been quite stringent in enforcing nearly a decade earlier.

The rule was simple: when Alana was out of uniform, she was just Alana. She was a friend and someone to talk to, approachable by any. Unlike most of the other generals, there was no status requirement. Even the secretaries could walk up to her and chat away about their personal lives, and many of the older ones often did, remembering her well from their earlier days.

When the coat went on, however, she was General Alana Harris, someone to be obeyed without question, capable of dishing out punishment at the slightest show of disrespect. When in uniform, no one would bother General Harris for any reason other than those deemed the most important. She spoke formally at those times and carried herself differently.

Deven, on the other hand, always seemed to be Deven. He didn’t care about rules, regulations, or formality. It had taken some time, but Michael and Sarah no longer called him “General Moore,” settling instead for just his first name.

“So, Paro, how are you feeling?” Alana asked. “You look like you’re doing much better.”

Paro shivered. “I’ve heard those exact same words before from you, and they don’t bring back good memories.”

Alana laughed, almost dropping the chopsticks in her hands. “Have you ever been beaten as badly since, or before?”

Paro shook his head. “No, you almost killed me back then, Alana. I don’t think anything besides death itself could hurt me as bad as you did.”

Michael and Sarah leaned in, with a look of wild interest on their faces. Paro didn’t care if they knew the truth, though it was still embarrassing. Alana looked at them, apparently noting their interest.

“Don’t repeat this,” she said, “because even though it happened a long time ago, you’re still not supposed to know. Paro here used to belong to a nasty old Op. team, much worse than that lunatic, Cemmera, who tried to kill me.

“Anyway, they were way worse than Cemmera’s team. I was looking into them for some stuff they were up to, which I really can’t mention, but here’s the gist of things: Paro thought that just because he was a gifted young Unrestricted, he could just walk up to me and kill me. He even planned to cover it all up, too!”

Alana’s eyes took on a sly and mischievous glint. Paro wanted to cover his own eyes, knowing that what she was about to say would be humiliating. Michael and Sarah looked at each other, and then they glanced at Paro before grinning. “What happened next?” Michael asked.

“Well, I was actually leaving this very building we’re in right now. I was on the way to my car, because Jack was home with a sitter, and I needed to get back to him.”

Paro tried not to meet Sarah’s eyes. She gave him a look an adult would give to a naughty child. “You were going to kill her?” Sarah asked, crossing her arms. “I’m disappointed in you, Paro. That’s Jack’s mom!”

“Different times,” Paro mumbled. “These were different times. I didn’t even know she had a kid, no one did. If I’d have known, then the whole Jack Harris incident would’ve gone a whole lot smoother.”

Deven laughed and nudged Paro on the arm. “Don’t let it get to you,” he said. “They’re both just delighting in your humiliation. Women do that from time to time. Still, this story is interesting. Keep it going, Alana.”

“Ah, where was I? So, anyway, Paro comes rushing out of a dark corner, throwing everything he has at me, the silly boy. He tried to melt my face, he tried to throw me to the ground, he even tried to convince me to kill myself, but he never was any good at Telepathy. So, what I did was I—”

“Please don’t say it!” Paro shouted, causing everyone in the room to look at him. “I can’t relive this again, not in front of my team.”

If Michael and Sarah seemed interested before, now they looked like a group of passengers that had crash-landed into a desert, and to them the information was the water needed to survive. Deven seemed to be on the edge of his seat as well.

Alana grinned. “I grabbed at both his legs using only a teeny bit of my Telekinesis, more out of amusement than anything else. Who did this boy think he was, attacking a general? I had him upside down in the air, and I floated him over to me. You should’ve seen him. Oh, he was all wiggling, and screaming.”

Paro really did cover his eyes, thinking back to the humiliation.

“I kept him hanging in the air, and I went into my car and got my tennis racket. I pulled his pants down, and I gave his butt the whooping I knew the boy needed.”

Everyone burst out laughing, including Deven. “No way!” Sarah said. “There’s no way you did that to our Paro.”

“I did,” Alana said, choking on her own laughter. “I think that’s what sparked Paro’s dislike of Kinetics. I had him there for almost twenty minutes upside down, and I beat the fear of God into his little tush. Then I dragged him by his ear back into H.Q and forced him to join an Investigative team. Believe me, I knew when I first saw him a year earlier he was wrong for the Op. teams, even if no one but myself realized it at the time.”

Paro’s tried to avoid looking at anyone in the room. It was true what she was saying; he never should have been a member of the Op. teams, but he didn’t really have a choice, either. The Unrestricted were sent to the facilities, where they were trained to be members of Op. teams. As far as Paro knew, only Jack was spared such a fate, also because of the intervention of a general.

There was a knock on the door, and Paro forced color back into his face. “Come in,” he said. Paro turned, and saw his personal secretary, Margret, shuffle inside, her face serious. “Is something wrong?” Paro asked.

Margaret shifted uneasily on her feet as she spotted the two generals in the room. “It’s okay,” Paro said. “Anything you can say to me, you can say to them as well. Please, speak.”

“I’ve got all around bad news,” Margaret said. “Three members of your team, and bad news for all of them.”

Paro didn’t understand the words, and he looked around the room in confusion. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I’ll take it one at a time,” she said, “Starting with Jack Harris.”

Alana jumped up from her seat. “Jack!” she shouted “What happened, is everything okay?”

“He’s fine,” Margaret answered immediately, holding out her hand. “He’s just been roughed up a bit. It happened only a few minutes ago. There was an altercation at school, and Jack got a pretty bad beating. Luckily, I was told that it looks way worse than it is.”

Alana took a deep breath. “How bad? Jack doesn’t know this, but he’s got boot camp next week.”

“From what I understand, he’ll be back on his feet in two days.”

Alana nodded and sat back down. “I don’t understand,” Paro said. “Was it a Psych?”

Margaret shook her head. “No, it wasn’t anything that serious. It was just a bully. I’ve already covered our bases, and from what I understand, Jack didn’t use any of his abilities, and he acted in a way that would make you proud, Paro.”

Michael and Sarah looked at each other. “He’s a good kid,” Michael said. “I should go over there and—”

“Don’t even think about it,” Paro interrupted. “As long as he’s fine, then all is good. I’ll handle this bullying situation. Maybe I’ll have the kid yanked out of school, or worse. Alana, I know you’re a general, and it’s not my place to offer suggestions, but I think you should let me handle this one.”

“All right,” she said. “Besides, you’re right: I can’t be dealing with his high school problems anymore, though I’d love to give that bully a piece of my mind. Margaret, I’m guessing the school called here at H.Q because it’s my emergency contact? Do they want me to pick him up?”

“Yes,” she replied. “They’d like someone to come get him and take him home.”

“Okay,” Alana said. “I’ll head out there in just a few.”

“Margaret continued, “This leads us to the next problem—Melissa Sayre.”

“Ah, crap,” Paro said. “Why do I have a feeling you’re about to say something that I really don’t want to hear?”

Even the usually dry and staunch Margaret chuckled. “She’s been involved in a fistfight, and she’s being suspended. From what I understand, it was pretty one sided. This is what I’ve pieced together: the school is claiming that she, for no reason whatsoever, waltzed into the gymnasium and beat the ever-loving hell out of one of the boys. His injuries are the opposite of Jack’s. They don’t look bad, but he has a broken nose and a broken rib. Putting two and two together, I’m sure it was the boy that hurt Jack.”

Alana raised her fist into the air and cheered. “I love that girl!” Then she looked around, as if realizing how inappropriate her words were. “Ah, I mean, you know, what she did was still wrong and all …”

Paro breathed a sigh. “Tell me she didn’t go all superwoman on him.”

“No,” Margaret answered. “From what I understand everything she did was at the very least possible, given her excellent physical condition and body composition, even if it's hard to believe. I’m not a Psych so I might be out of place by guessing here, but I’m going to venture that if she did use any Psych power, it was minimal.”

It was for reasons like this that Margaret was irreplaceable. She was an intelligent and intuitive woman, and without a doubt just as valuable to Paro as a member of his team. Paro made sure she was always well informed and kept in the loop of things. Paro had told her stuff he wasn’t legally permitted. “Thank you,” he said. “I’m going to have to punish Melissa for this.”

“Why?” Michael growled. “Sounds like the boy had it coming.”

“Still,” Paro said, “I’m sure she must have used at least a little bit of power on him, and that’s a very serious crime, something that if found out could send her to a facility. Now at least I can put down that it was a simple altercation, but I’ll deal with her ‘off the official book’.”

It was almost funny just how comfortable the team had become with Alana and Deven’s presence. What he had just said was treasonous, yet they only nodded their approval. Alana might have liked the girl, but Deven had no such ties, and saying out loud that he planned to lie on an official incident report would be almost as serious a crime as the one Melissa had committed, if not more so.

“Well, if there’s any problems with that, don’t hesitate to contact me,” Deven said. “I’ll second it as general.”

“And I third,” Alana said cheerfully. “Well, at least Jack’s going to be happy he gets to stay home for a few days. I was looking forward to hanging out with you guys some more, but I guess I really need to get going. Ah, before I leave, what about the third member? I hope everything’s okay with that.”

Margaret stiffened. “This one concerns Kazou Takeshi.”

Paro felt sadness at hearing the name, but he forced himself to remember why he’d been removed from the team. “He’s no longer a member of our team, Margaret. Though, by all means, please tell us what’s wrong with him.”

“It’s not him,” she answered. “And I know he’s no longer with us, but this is still something I think you need to hear. I’ve worked for you for almost five years, and I know the bond you share with each other. I think he’s going to need you. His brother, Shou, has been murdered, or at least that’s what we believe.”

Paro felt the color drain from his face. Michael dropped his fork, and Sarah put an arm on his shoulder. “What do you mean?” Sarah asked.

“Well, latest news says they were hunting 90-B, but they haven’t reported in with us in over twenty-four hours. They’re all assumed dead.”

Alana and Deven snapped to attention, and in unison grabbed their general’s uniforms from behind their chairs, slinging them over their bodies. Alana stood up from her chair, straight postured, and with a regal air. “Sarah Blighter, Michael Reed, leave now, please.”

They knew better than to challenge her when she was in uniform. They stood up straight and saluted. “Yes, General Harris.” They about-faced and left the room in a hurry.

Paro wasn’t sure how to act, or if he should even remain seated. He decided after a moment to stand as well and salute. Even Margaret seemed to carry herself with a more formal and attentive posture.

“What has happened?” Alana said. “Details, now.”

Margaret gulped. Paro knew she’d grown comfortable around Alana as well, but when the white uniform came on, she knew she was speaking with a General Harris, not Alana. “Here’s what I know,” she began. “Norm’s Op. team received word on the two-marked target 90-B, and they followed in pursuit. Like most Op. teams, they didn’t bother to send us word of where they were heading, which proved to be a terrible mistake on their part. They haven’t been heard from since.”

Alana looked like a different person while in the white coat, which covered her from head to toe. She stood with her hands behind her back. “Do you believe Sebastian was there?” she asked.

“It’s not certain,” Margaret said.

Paro’s jaw dropped, and he tried to replay the words in his mind, refusing to believe what he was hearing. “P-permission to speak freely, General Harris, General Moore.”

They answered at the same time.

“Permission granted,” Alana said.

“Just call me Deven,” General Moore insisted.

Paro wanted to moan at how confusing it became trying to remember each general’s preference concerning formality. He cleared his throat.

“How does Margaret know about Sebastian? Should we really be speaking of such secrets in front of her? I mean no disrespect to you, Margaret, and in all honesty I’ve told you many things you’re not cleared to hear, but isn’t this going too far?”

Alana looked at him, and her usual amusement-filled eyes were replaced with a darker and more serious gaze. She really was like a different person.

“Margaret has been around longer than you think,” she said. “When you became a team-leader I recommended her for a reason. I knew you’d need someone you can trust, someone who can help you in ways even your own team wouldn’t be able. She used to work for me, and her clearance was at one time even higher than yours.”

Paro couldn’t believe what he was hearing, but he knew that now wasn’t the time to think too deeply on it. “So … what are we going to do?”

Deven was the one to speak. “If Norm was going after 90-B, then it means he’s back in the United States. We need to alert the C.I.A. and get everyone we can on this one. It also means that Sebastian’s plan worked, because 90-B wouldn’t be back in America unless he was led to believe it was his only choice.”

Margaret nodded. “That makes sense, Deven. General Harris’s husband would be the only person able to convince him to come here. We can only assume he’s finally gotten close to him. After more than ten years, he’s found him.”

Paro stared at Margaret in confusion. “Margaret, what are you talking about?”

“I’m not at liberty to say,” she responded apologetically.

She’s my damned secretary! She’s telling me what I can and can’t know? What kind of nonsense is that?

Alana turned to Deven, and the two bowed their heads, as if in some form of understanding. “Paro,” Alana said. “I think you’re going to need to pick up Jack from school. I’ve got work to do.”

Paro couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Alana was overprotective and somewhat insane when it came to Jack. When Paro had first brought Jack to H.Q, she’d broken the door to his planning room and assaulted him with everything inside it. Now, all of a sudden, work came first?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Alana said. “But those were the actions of Alana, not General Harris. This is my job again, and things that wouldn’t have mattered to me a few weeks ago are now my life. Deven and I have got work to do, so I’ll need you to take care of Jack for me.”

“So do you want me to pick him up and take him home?” Paro asked, hiding his anger at being used as a delivery boy.

“Hmm, don’t you think you should take him to see Kazou? You should be the ones to break the news, and I know it’s something Jack would want to be there for. He’s probably upset enough as it is that you kicked him off the team.”

“Ah, see here’s the thing,” Paro said, unsure of how to begin.

“Don’t tell me Jack doesn’t know,” Alana said.

“Everyone knows but him, to tell you the truth,” Paro mumbled. He went on the defensive when Alana gave him an accusing look. “It’s not my fault,” Paro insisted. “You know how your son is. If I told him we got rid of Kazou he’d flip out and start screaming, and I really didn’t want to go through that just yet. He probably wouldn’t even care that Kazou’s actions almost got you and him killed. He’d never let me hear the end of it.”

Alana shrugged. “You’re both a team-leader and a captain, and that’s your responsibility. If Jack is in good enough shape to walk, then take him to Kazou’s apartment. I worry about the man, and this news might just kill him. He’s going to need friends nearby.”

“General Harris, I understand that, but I don’t think he’ll see us. He resents me more than anyone right now. In fact, I don’t think he’ll speak to me ever again.”

“Make him, then,” Alana said. “I don’t know how much research you do on your members before you recruit them, but Kazou Takeshi is a very depressed man, and somehow I get the feeling you don’t read their profiles.”

Paro felt ashamed; it was the truth. “I don’t really need profiles. I can usually take one look at a person and know if they’re right for my team or not.”

“The person you see in the moment is not the person you see in the always,” Deven said. “Those were wise words from my father, and something for you to consider. Go to your friend, and be there for him. He’s not going to take the news well. Trust us on that.”

The two generals left the room, leaving Paro to sit for a moment in contemplation. All right, Jack, You better not flip out when I tell you the news.