Winters Family Psi Chronicles 2: Project Onyx

by John O'Riley

  “What happened to you?” Brian asked. “Why is your hair turning brown?”

  “Because that’s my natural hair color,” Jason said.

  “You’ve been dying your hair gray?” Brian said sardonically.

  Jason laughed and his eyes flashed with amusement.

  “My brown hair is growing back! My wrinkles are fading away! I’m getting younger!” Jason said exuberantly.

  “That’s great!”

  Brian gave his grandfather a quick hug then stepped inside the house. They gathered in the living room.

  “I told you I would get you out of there,” Jason said.

  “I’m amazed!” Brian’s eyes gleamed with enthusiasm. “Mom and Dad didn’t think it was possible and neither did I.”

  “This is a powerful organization. There are a smattering of companies like this one that are a lot smaller but none have the clout that this one does,” Jason said.

  “So the Zen Network has reversed your aging process?” Brian asked.

  “It must have!” Jason said and shook his head with amazement. “I’m still astounded by how my energy and health has improved.”

  “It’s almost like you’re a self-regeneration psi,” Brian said.

  A wave of dizziness flooded his senses and he clutched the side of the couch for support. Confusion and chaos whirled in his mind as his multipathic senses fired unexpectedly. A flood of psychic impressions danced in his mind but something was blocking the ideas and images which prevented them from showing up as coherent information.

  “Are you all right?” Jason asked.

  “I feel really strange,” Brian said. “My senses are malfunctioning or something.”

  “You’ll be better tomorrow when you see Melissa at the Wellness Center. She’ll get you connected with the Zen Network and you’ll feel much better,” Jason said. “Too bad you couldn’t get that done tonight.”

  The strange and overwhelming sensations abruptly left and Brian felt oddly off-center. He shook his head and smiled reassuringly at his grandfather.

  “It’s good to be back,” Brian said.

  Chapter 26

  Brian gazed around the waiting room of the wellness center as he waited for Melissa to show up. The sea green walls and three, plush emerald green chairs and paintings conveyed a sense of peace and tranquility. It was similar to the waiting room he’d been assigned during his previous stay at the wellness center. Melissa breezed into the room before too much time had passed. She wore a turquoise sweater and blue pants. She’d gotten a new pageboy haircut and a large green amber pendant suspended on a silver chain dangled over her chest.

  “It’s good to see you, Brian,” she said cheerfully. “I hadn’t realized you’d be returning so soon.”

  “There has been a surprising turn of events,” he said.

  “That’s putting it mildly,” Melissa said and gave him a quick, affectionate hug before stepping back. “Let’s go ahead and get you connected to the Zen Network and cut off the Global Net.”

  She crossed the room to the CD player and turned on some soft classical music. She seated herself in the chair facing Brian and instructed him to close his eyes. It didn’t take long to connect him to the Zen Network. A pleasant serenity flowed through him when she’d finished her work. It wasn’t possible to sever the tie to Global Net in one session so she’d merely placed a block on it. Brian marveled at the change in his body and mind now that he’d established a link with this new network.

  “It’s really amazing,” he said.

  “It really is.” Melissa beamed at him. “There is a team that was already dispatched to San Francisco to help Director Sorenson locate Samantha Reynolds. I established a temporary link among them before they left and I’m going to add you to that. It will help them and you in your work.”

  “You can do that from here when they’re already in San Francisco?” Brian asked.

  “Yes because I established the link with them already and I’m part of that link. I’ll merely be extending it to you,” Melissa said. “You’ll be able to do the same thing once you’ve received your training.”

  “Cool.”

  Melissa’s eyes closed and a strange floating sensation took hold of Brian. He gazed down at his feet just to make sure they hadn’t lifted off the floor. He looked up to find Melissa watching him.

  “It’s done,” she said. “I merely have to maintain it throughout the day to keep it active. The next step is for us to report to our workroom. It’s in a different building. It’ll be a nice walk.”

  They emerged from the wellness center and the crisp, fragrant scent of evergreen trees as well as lavender greeted them. Brian inhaled appreciatively and gazed at the beauty surrounding them. Clusters of vibrant purple lavender bushes dominated the landscaping of the compound with various multicolored flowers mixed in. Evergreen trees surrounded the perimeter outside the campus and gave the illusion that it was tucked away in the wilderness. Melissa and Brian strolled leisurely down the stone walkway and eventually came to a large dome building boasting a large quantity of offices. Sparkling, white terrazzo comprised the floor and green marble with flecks of silver lined the walls.

  “Your office is here next to mine,” Melissa said.

  “I have my own office?” Brian asked.

  “Of course,” she said. “And they’re sound-proof so that you can work in peace.”

  She handed him a magnet card which he used to gain access to the locked office. They stepped inside the spacious room furnished with a massive mahogany desk and two filing cabinets. Two plush, sea green office chairs faced the desk and another one was positioned behind it.

  “Try it out.” Melissa motioned at the desk.

  Brian eagerly scrambled over to it and seated himself in the most comfortable chair he could ever remember experiencing in his entire life. A goofy grin curved his lips.

  “I’m glad you like it. We can work in here for most of the day,” Melissa said.

  “Thanks. That would be great,” Brian said.

  Melissa pulled one of the other chairs and pulled it around behind the desk so she could position herself beside him. A large, flat silver DPU rested on the polished surface of the desk and he turned it on. The holographic keyboard and a large blue holographic monitor materialized. Melissa told him his temporary password and instructed him on how to choose his permanent password. Brian pulled up the file on Samantha Reynolds and was amazed by the huge volume of information that filled the screen. The blue monitor expanded until it reached a height of four feet and a length of six feet.

  “This DPU must have cost a fortune,” Brian whispered with awe.

  “We work with the best,” Melissa said. “We’re going to begin by becoming aware of the temporary link of our team. Besides the two of us, there are five more.”

  “I can sense them,” Brian said.

  “Good. Close your eyes and just let your mind float and be aware of their presence for a few moments,” Melissa said.

  Brian closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. After awhile, he could sense their minds more keenly.

  “Now, it’s time to bring your connectivity sight up,” Melissa said telepathically.

  Beautiful shimmering lights danced around him.

  “Focus on your team until you can see our network,” Melissa said.

  Almost instantly, Brian saw his teammates as large stars of bright luminescence link by a gleaming silvery web of energy.

  “Now, focus very gently on Samantha. Picture her in your mind and see if you can locate her. Don’t try to force it. Be patient. You have all the time you need,” Melissa said.

  With the overwhelming sense of tranquility and peace that embodied his mind due to his link to the Zen Network, it was easy to just float along. His mind reached out gently for any trace of Samantha. He was so relaxed that at times he would forget his purpose but then it came back to him and he’d begin again. Without warning, her sickly green energy floated in front of him. He forced
himself to relax and focus without straining himself. An image of Samantha snapped into place in his mind’s eye. She was driving a green sedan on a busy one way street with three lanes. Her cold blue eyes shifted over to pin him with a dangerous, menacing expression. He felt a pressure pushing against him and he allowed himself to fall back so he could see the road better. He took note of the street sign before the vision blacked out.

  “Excellent work, Brian!” Melissa exclaimed. “I broadcast your vision as you were having it to the others. They’re entering the information into their QD tracking system now.”

  Brian was surprised that he’d succeeded when he’d failed on all his other attempts with Driscol and it had seemed his abilities were shutting down. He yawned and fatigue settled into his body. He checked the time and was surprised to discover it was late in the afternoon.

  “Is this right?” Brian asked. “It’s four twenty-eight?”

  “Yes, it is. We’ve been tracking her down all day. I was about to wake you up when you located her,” Melissa said.

  “How could it have been that long?” Brian shook his head with incredulous disbelief.

  Melissa’s eyes shifted and she stared off into space. Brian felt a brief surge within the link between his teammates.

  “Sorry, I was helping them to coordinate their efforts. They believe they’ve located her general vicinity and are on their way over. Director Sorenson is sending some of his own team down as well.”

  “Are they going to be in danger confronting her?” Brian asked.

  “Actually, no. Our team is better equipped to handle Samantha than Sorenson’s field agents,” Melissa said. “Hopefully, we’ll reach her first. Let’s see if you can focus in on her again.”

  “Okay.”

  Brian closed his eyes but the second sight wouldn’t activate. He yawned again as fatigue continued to seep into his body.

  “Let’s call it a day. I should have known better than to press you for more without a break. I’ll buy you dinner in town if you’d like,” Melissa said.

  “I’d like that,” Brian said.

  She drove them to the small town which was only a short distance away from their campus. They stopped by a local fast food restaurant for bacon burgers and onion rings and walked over to a small local park just down the road. Melissa and Brian sat in one of the benches overlooking a large pond. Ducks swam amiably in the murky water and crowded toward the side where Melissa and Brian sat eating.

  “I think people like feeding the ducks. It looks like they’re begging,” Brian said.

  As if they knew they’d become the topic of conversation, several of the ducks quacked hopefully. Melissa laughed as she tore several pieces of her bun and threw them into the pond. The ducks immediately rushed over to it in a race for the offering. The fastest ducks scooped it up in their beaks while the others swam faster in preparation for more food. Brian threw in a couple more pieces of his bun which were consumed in mere seconds.

  “I do like feeding the ducks,” Melissa said cheerfully.

  The two of them continued to throw pieces of their hamburger buns in between bites until they finished their meal. It didn’t take the ducks long to figure out that dinner was over and they quickly spread back out evenly through the pond again.

  “How did you like your first day of work?” Melissa asked.

  “I loved it. It didn’t feel like a whole day,” Brian said.

  “That’s the way it should be.” Melissa smiled pleasantly.

  “I think my favorite assignments will be ones that I use my connectivity psi,” Brian said.

  “Lin will ask for your input so that would be a good thing to tell her. I’m sure they’ll do their best to accommodate you. It probably won’t be hard because that’s one of the most rare talents and also one of the more valuable. There are only three of us at Phoenix Enterprises when we include you.”

  “I was surprised that the FBI and military received approval so quickly to test out the retrovirus that was used on me and Russell,” Brian said. “They haven’t approved testing in over fifty years.”

  “The reason it doesn’t happen often is because the public is still afraid of high level talents and especially multipaths. It’s not as bad as it used to be. Over time, things will change but it will take many years. The FBI used fear to get approval. They presented a case that made Samantha look out of control and they didn’t have to exaggerate much. Fortunately, it isn’t very easy to tinker with genetics to get specific results so people like her will only come up once in a life time. Once she’s taken care of, there won’t be any more sanctions to continue testing the retrovirus or mass producing it like the FBI and military are wanting to do,” Melissa said.

  “How can you be so sure of that?” Brian asked.

  “The House of Commons will never continue to sanction it. They’re just regular, average citizens, after all. And the average American is still very much suspicious and afraid of multipaths,” Melissa said.

  “Almost half of the House of Commons are citizens from Canadian states and they aren’t nearly so afraid of high level talents,” Brian argued.

  “That’s true but the last polls taken a few months ago show that the majority of them still favor the current laws controlling high level psychics,” Melissa said. “Even if seventy percent of our citizens in the Canadian states approved of experimenting with genetics, it takes seventy percent approval from the House of Commons to pass any action from the government and the vast majority of citizens in the American states are still opposed. So there really isn’t any chance at all of the experiments continuing once Samantha is apprehended.”

  “I guess it makes me nervous how quickly the FBI got approval,” Brian said.

  “Believe me. They’ll lose their permission just as quickly,” Melissa said emphatically.

  When Brian returned to Jason’s home, he found his grandfather practicing Tai Chi as he copied the movements of the instructional video playing on his television in the living room. It still shocked Brian to see his grandfather looking twenty years younger.

  “How was your first day?” Jason asked as he turned away from the television.

  “It was great! I can’t wait until I can work full time,” Brian said.

  “There’s no rush,” Jason said.

  “You don’t have to stop. I don’t want to interrupt.”

  “I’ve been practicing for a couple of hours now. I have more energy than I’ve had in many years,” Jason said. “Even when I was in my thirties, I don’t remember feeling so good.”

  “I’m happy for you,” Brian said. “It was really lucky that you discovered this place.” His attention strayed over to the television where the instructor continued to speak briefly before fluidly moving from one pose to another. “That looks fun. Mind if I join in?”

  “Sure but I can stop it if you want to talk.”

  “I’m good.”

  The two of them practiced for awhile then chatted amiably before Brian went to bed. He slept soundly until the visions started. At first, he glimpsed small flashes but then a stable scene coalesced of a small, stark white room with few furnishings other than a bed. Samantha looked quite a bit younger and was dressed in a gray blouse and black pants with a white lab coat. An older man in his thirties sat beside her on a flimsy wooden chair to her left. His name drifted to Brian’s mind, Dr. Ferguson. Dr. Ferguson wore a white dress shirt with a dark blue sports jacket and crisp black pants. He had black hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Disapproval and impatience flashed in his dark eyes. Tracy, a woman who was about his age sat in a chair facing the mental patient, Agatha Peterson. Her red hair was secured in a pony tail and she wore jeans and a pink blouse. She was a level seven connectivity psi who’d been recruited to test out Samantha’s theory on mental patients. Two orderlies stood behind Agatha in case she became violent.

  Samantha considered herself lucky she’d received approval to try the experiment but was also frustrated that the connectivity psi they
’d given her was only a level seven. She’d requested a level ten and wasn’t sure Tracy would be strong enough to achieve the desired results. Dr. Ferguson had rejected the proposal but Samantha had gone to his supervisor. She realized that was probably a mistake but she knew she was right and this would be such a big discovery that her career would skyrocket. She would be rewarded with more funding for bigger and better research projects.

  “Nothing is happening,” Dr. Ferguson said dismissively. “We’ve been waiting for fifteen minutes.”

  “She’s calming down. I can tell,” Samantha said fervently.

  Agatha huddled over on her side and drool was dripping down her cheek. Her green eyes were no longer crazed but simply curious. She continued to twist her brown hair and still avoided gazing directly at anyone in the room. This condition remained unchanged after a long silence stretched out.

  “This is getting us nowhere,” Dr. Ferguson said with finality. “It’s been almost thirty minutes. Tracy, you may stop.”

  “Okay,” Tracy said with evident relief.

  Her shoulders slumped with fatigue and she slowly straightened in her chair while breathing deeply.

  “Obviously, your theory was wrong,” Dr. Ferguson said snidely.

  “I know I’m right and I won’t stop pursuing this matter until I prove it!” Samantha said passionately.

  “I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure you end up on the most mundane and worthless projects imaginable,” Dr. Ferguson said.

  Samantha’s jaw clenched and her eyes flashed with fury. She silently berated herself for not being more patient. She should have done this on her own first so she could duplicate the procedure without any problems. She’d made a huge mistake in going over Ferguson’s head for approval. He already disliked her but now she’d turned him into an enemy and he had significant influence in this limited field of study. Samantha knew her career would take a nosedive but she would claw her way to the top. She knew this current theory was the key to unlocking the genetic code for multipathic abilities. For now on, she’d pursue it on her own time and in secret. Suddenly, she became aware of how very quiet the room had become. Samantha took stock of her surroundings and realized everyone had frozen in place as though time stood still. The one exception was Agatha who now stood straight up in her bed with her green eyes locked onto Samantha.