The Orphan Uprising (The Orphan Trilogy, #3) (11 page)

Never a fan of resorting to different guises – though she’d had to use them often enough when an active Omega operative – Seventeen had protested when Nine said they must disguise themselves. She’d quickly backed down after her brother reminded her that the agency would be watching out for them and would have guessed the siblings were now in cahoots.

Nine surreptitiously studied his sister in the mirror. He could see she was still a mess – not physically so much, but mentally. Sebastian Senior’s death had left her shattered and even more befuddled than before. Nine knew some drastic action was needed if she was to keep her sanity and be of any use to him. He’d explained to Seventeen what was in store for her. She’d seemed to accept it, but he couldn’t be sure.

Satisfied with their appearance, they left the car and walked up a flight of steps that opened out into Michigan Avenue. It was mid-afternoon and the inner city was predictably busy, which suited them just fine. They quickly merged with the crowds.

Their destination was the office of former FBI agent-turned consultant Clarence Fisher-Tinbull. It was conveniently a stone’s throw from the parking building they’d just left. Exactly who Clarence consulted for, Nine wasn’t sure, but judging by the trappings of wealth that surrounded him, consulting paid handsomely.

As Nine led Seventeen through the ground floor entrance of an office tower, she hesitated. “Can we trust this man?”

“We can trust him. He helped me out before, remember?”

After an elevator took them to the top floor suite, the siblings found themselves in a spacious reception room in the offices of
Clarence Fisher-Tinbull Consultancy
. A pert secretary told them to wait while she advised her boss his next appointment had arrived.

Nine could see Seventeen was becoming increasingly stressed over what she was about to undergo. “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “It’s a breeze.” He concealed the lie behind a smile.

Seventeen wasn’t convinced. She appeared ready to flee.

The office door opened and Clarence Fisher-Tinbull entered the room. Nine almost didn’t recognize him at first. In the intervening years since he’d seen him, the once-fit FBI agent was now decidedly rotund with a set of jowls to match.

Nine stood and extended his hand. “Hey, old-timer. What have you done to yourself?”

Clarence didn’t recognize Nine even though he’d been expecting him. He shook the extended hand. “Hell, is that you, Sebastian?”

“Afraid so,” Nine chuckled.

Clarence glanced at Seventeen.

“Let’s complete the introductions in your office, shall we?” Nine was anxious not to draw any more attention to Seventeen and himself than necessary. Clarence’s secretary was already showing interest in them.

“Of course.” Clarence ushered the couple through to his office. As soon as he’d closed the door, Nine introduced Seventeen. Clarence gave her a perfunctory nod then turned to back Nine. “Forgive me, but can you prove you are who you say you are? I need to be sure.”

It was clear to Nine that Clarence wasn’t yet convinced he was who he claimed to be. That was a comforting reminder of how effective his latest disguise was.

Nine thought of something his opposite would be aware only he could know. “You once said the thirty minutes it took you to deprogram me was a record. Has anyone broken that record yet?” He was referring to when Clarence had deprogrammed him after he’d learnt he was part of Omega’s MK-Ultra mind-control program. The then-FBI agent had told him it usually took at least an hour to deprogram
victims
, as he so aptly called them, of MK-Ultra.

“So it really is you.” Clarence looked relieved.

“Who else?”

Clarence returned his attention to Seventeen. He knew why she was there, having been briefed over the phone by Nine. Clarence invited Nine to make himself at home in his office then ushered Seventeen through to an adjoining room.

Nine flashed an encouraging smile at his sister before Clarence closed the door, leaving him alone. He felt more than a little nervous for Seventeen, for he knew what she was in for.

Four years earlier, in these very offices, Nine had entrusted himself to Clarence’s deprogramming skills. Then, as now, the former FBI agent was the only person in the world he could have turned to for the deprogramming services he provided. After all, Clarence’s knowledge of MK-Ultra was second-to-none.  He’d been directly involved in the controversial use of MK-Ultra mind control among Gulf War veterans and, later, in the deprogramming of many of those same veterans.

While the procedure had only taken thirty minutes in Nine’s case, he swore it was the longest thirty minutes of his life. In that time, Clarence had hypnotized him and forced him to relive some of the worst experiences he’d had when growing up at the Pedemont Orphanage and, later, when an operative in the field. Because Seventeen had been subjected to active mind control over a long period, Clarence had confided that her deprogramming would be more difficult. And so it would transpire.

Helping himself to Clarence’s computer and printer, Nine put his time to good use and printed out copies of the confidential files he’d downloaded to his flash-drive at Naylor’s residence. He then started reading Seventeen’s file at a more leisurely pace than before.

21

While Nine and Seventeen were at Clarence’s office, three Omega operatives were waiting for them in the basement of the car parking building the pair had left the rental car in earlier. Smart detective work by one of Omega’s IT people had connected the troublesome siblings with the car as they left Glen Ellyn after the violent incident at Seventeen’s residence.

The car and its two occupants had been spotted during real-time surveillance of security camera footage back at Omega HQ. That same footage revealed the route the car followed and the parking building it entered.

As soon as the information had been forwarded to Naylor, he ordered his operatives to stake out the building and await the return of Nine and Seventeen. Their orders were to shoot to kill.

Nine would have been interested to know his earlier assessment of Naylor was correct: the Omega boss did believe Nine had been wired when he’d accosted him in his home, and he was paranoid that whoever had been listening in at the other end had recorded the conversation. Naylor wanted Nine dead, and if that mean putting every last one of his still-active, elite orphan-operatives on the case, he’d do it.

#

Ninety minutes later, Nine was still waiting for Seventeen’s deprogramming to finish. He’d been pacing for much of that time. The clock was ticking and every minute’s delay was agony for him.

Curiosity got the better of him and he quietly walked over and placed his ear to the wall of the adjoining room. He could hear Clarence repeating the names of the planets of the solar system over and over in a calm, monotone voice.

“Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars,” Clarence said, “Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.”

Nine knew from experience his friend was reciting the MK-Ultra voice-commands to de-activate the mind-control program Seventeen had been subjected to. The irony was they were the same commands as those recited to activate the program. As Clarence had once explained to him, continuous repetition of the commands was required to desensitize the subject and to successfully and permanently deactivate MK-Ultra.

Resigned to waiting, Nine sat down again.

Finally, the door to the adjoining room opened. Clarence entered the office and closed the door behind him. He quietly advised Nine that the deprogramming had been successful. However, he said the procedure had taken a lot out of Seventeen and recommended she get some rest. Nine concurred, but privately thought that rest was a luxury neither of them was likely to experience in the coming days.

“Oh, one other thing,” Clarence said. “She may never fully recover her memory.”

“Why? I did.”

“Yes, but you weren’t subjected to prolonged mind control like she was. She will have to face the fact that she has amnesia and may always have it.”

As Nine digested this news, the door opened and an exhausted Seventeen joined them. It was obvious she’d been crying. Her appearance reminded Nine how he’d felt after he’d undergone the same procedure. He could only imagine how Seventeen must be feeling, having endured such a lengthy session.

Nine paid Clarence the pre-agreed rate, in cash, and thanked him profusely for his assistance. Anxious to be on his way, Nine led a subdued and shaken Seventeen from the building. Outside, on the sidewalk, he looked at her. “You okay?”

She nodded. Even the effort of speaking was beyond her for the moment.

Nine immediately hailed a passing cab. He’d figured it was time to leave their rental car behind.
No point in taking unnecessary risks
. The cab stopped and the siblings climbed into the rear seat.

“Where to?” the cabbie asked.

“The Loop thanks,” Nine said.

#

Omega boss Andrew Naylor presided over a meeting he’d called at short notice. It was being held in the boardroom at Omega’s underground headquarters. Naylor’s audience comprised seven male operatives –
elites
all of them.

Like Nine and Seventeen, the operatives had been raised at the orphanage in Riverdale on Chicago’s South Side and were graduates of the Pedemont Project. They knew the two former orphan-operatives as well as any siblings knew each other. After all, they’d spent all their formative years living with them day and night, and since then had often worked on field assignments together.

While none of the Pedemont orphans had fond memories of the ever-competitive and cold Seventeen, several had been friends with Nine and all respected him. Or they had respected him until he’d turned his back on them and fled the agency.

Naylor, whose face still bore the fresh scars of his run-in with Nine, was aware there could be divided loyalties among the orphan-operatives. After all, this would be the first time since Seventeen had been tasked with killing Nine that any of the elites had been asked to go up against one of their own.

For this reason, Naylor had solicited Doctor Andrews to reactivate MK-Ultra mind control in all seven elites. Reactivation had been successfully carried out a short time before the meeting. A quick hypnosis session with each was all it took. Now, as he addressed his elites, Naylor was certain they wouldn’t hesitate to carry out his orders to the letter.

Six of the operatives were ordered to catch the first available commercial flights to one or other of the agency’s offshore orphanages. Their assignment was to intercept and terminate Nine and Seventeen should either show up. Naylor was in no doubt Seventeen was now working with her brother. He stressed that one or both would be heading for at least one of the orphanages at that very moment, and reminded the elites that the pair were masters of disguise.

Naylor didn’t consider it likely that Seventeen would be headed for Tahiti to help protect Isabelle. It had crossed his mind, but he thought Nine would be so worried about Francis he’d have recruited her to help find the boy.

The fifteenth operative, appropriately named Fifteen, was ordered to fly to Tahiti to help Twenty Three find the pregnant Frenchwoman and take her and her unborn child into custody. Naylor didn’t explain what Omega’s interest was in the baby.

Fifteen, a strapping Latino, was one of those who had considered Nine a friend when they were growing up at the orphanage. Normally, he’d have had serious misgivings about what he was being asked to do. Under the effects of Mk-Ultra however, he had no misgivings at all.

22

As Naylor continued to make plans to thwart the two siblings, Nine and Seventeen were safely ensconced in the former’s apartment in The Loop, in downtown Chicago. They were filling in a couple of hours until their respective flights departed from nearby O’Hare International Airport. 

The siblings sat on the carpeted floor of the main room, pouring over the contents of the confidential files Nine had printed out earlier. Having showered, changed and then eaten a pizza together, they were finalizing their plans for the coming days and possibly weeks.

Nine was delighted by the transformation he’d witnessed in Seventeen: she was becoming more like her old self. The deprogramming had done the trick. Either that or their grandfather’s murder had galvanized something inside Seventeen and revived her killer instinct. Nine suspected it was a bit of both.

As Clarence had warned, there were still big gaps in Seventeen’s memory, and her ability to recall events was shaky at best, but the mental improvement in her was undeniable.

The documents Nine had printed out included three maps. On two of them,
X
symbols marked the location of Omega’s underground medical labs in Greenland and the DRC, while on a map of Tahiti an
X
marked the location of Isabelle’s safe house near Papeete.

Seventeen’s willingness to fly to Tahiti to help protect Isabelle had come as a huge relief for Nine as he was desperately worried for his wife’s safety. Knowing Seventeen would be looking out for her meant he could focus solely on the all-important task of finding and rescuing Francis.

After going over their plans for the third time, Nine asked, “So, is everything clear?”

“Yes,” Seventeen said without hesitation. “Isabelle and I will sit tight until we hear from you.”

“Good.” Nine was beginning to trust his sister more and more. It felt like he had a real ally on board now that Seventeen had pulled herself together. He looked at her intently. “This mission means everything to me, Jennifer.”

She returned his earnest stare. “Me too, Sebastian. You are the only family I have now. And your son, Francis, is my nephew, right?”

Nine nodded then smiled at his sister.

It was a watershed moment. Each felt they’d connected with their sibling for the first time in their lives.

Nine reached out and took Seventeen’s hand in his. “How much do you know or remember about our mom?”

“Grandpa filled me in on her early years, but he said he lost contact with her when she fell into bad company.”