(Dr. Catherine Halsey POV)
The boy looked at both of us in the eyes one to the other and shook his head and replied back, "I am sorry but I can't be adopted." and didn't choose to elaborate. I had expected this much of a reaction based on what the matron had spoken about the boy and the reports that I was able to obtain. Yes, surprisingly, the Utgard Police Department (UPD) was already in the final stages of a sting operation on Big Z's gang. Thankfully, I noticed in time and pulled some strings, and was able to slow down the investigation so that I could get the candidate out first otherwise the he would be at risk of being arrested due to association with Big Z.
But I digress, the reason I chose a straightforward approach instead of easing him into the topic was due to his personality. Which was being shown more prevalently as I continued to communicate with him. Before I spoke again I whispered for Jacob to give us some space. Jacob was frighteningly perceptive and quite intelligent. I am sure he already has his guesses the true nature of the project and has decided not to ask questions, but I would rather not draw him into the depths of the program until I have decided whether to keep him or reassign him.
After a couple of moments had passed I spoke again to get 001's attention and began approaching him, "Actually I think you will find what we have to say worth your while," I watched as his eyes narrow before he began walking away again before breaking out in a sprint. He tore through the obstacle-filled alley like a bolt of lightning. He jumped over bags of trash and over broken crates with what seemed to be instinct and cat like grace. Even as I called out to him I was silently admiring the display of athleticism being displayed by 001.
He continued to ignore me and I had just about accepted that I might need to bring in the use of ONI agents to procure him when surprisingly Jacob came into view at the end of the alleyway. 001 was not at all surprised by his appearance and realized he didn't have the ability to get out of the alley by running and instead opted to brawl it out.
From his dead sprint, 001 leapt off the corner of a crate and proceeded to attempt the round-house kick at the Lieutenant's head that succeeded against the teenagers just minutes before. The Lieutenant had just barely had enough time to guard against the kick. By the time the boy landed, the Lieutenant had already gotten into a basic stance and proceeded throw a jab at the boy's face. Indra barely had time to react as bent 90 degrees backwards and while he was thrown off balance he proceeded to attempt an abdomen kick but was countered by the Lieutenant and had his leg grabbed and tackled on to the ground. Jacob then proceeded to place a knee on his chest restraining 001's physical resistance.
The boy struggled and squirmed for a while looking for a way to be released, then he slowly started to calm down and stop struggling and squirming. Keyes seemed to appreciated this as to his surprise was struggling to maintain control over the boy. "If you listen to what we have to say then I will release you," Jacob said to the boy.
"I have nothing to say to you." The boy spoke back.
"Even if you are able to save your orphanage and will no longer have to work for Big Z?" asked the Lieutenant. Meanwhile I arrived behind him and let him speak to the boy as I had failed to. The boys eyes had widened from the words and asked, "What do you mean? Is that possible?" "I mean exactly what I said," as Jacob pulls out a small metal badge and says, "Take this to that thug you call boss and when he looks at it, I promise that he will crumble like a little bitch." he placed the badge into the boy's hands and stood up before making his way over to me.
The boy was still suspicious of our actions and looked at the badge, the badge itself was a simple silver finished piece with the only remarkable quality being the Office of Naval Intelligence logo that was carved into it.
After a couple of moments the boy put it in his pocked and pulled himself up. He took one last look at us before beginning to walk down the alley but before he could round the corner Jacob said one last thing, "When you are done we will be waiting for you at your orphanage," the boy didn't look back but instead nodded his head while continuing to walk.
Eventually, the kid was out of sight and I turned to Jacob planning to say something, but I stopped when I saw him rubbing his forearm in the spot he blocked Indra's kick. I watched as he pulled down his sleeve and saw a bright red mark in the shape of a child's shin on his forearm.
"I don't know what your plan with these kids is, but this one is a freakish fighter," Jacob lamented while wincing at his light injury. I in turn laughed at his slight misfortune while inwardly the boy's actions further cemented him as a candidate that needed to be obtained at all costs.
(001's POV)
"Those motherfuckers," I mumbled while walking away. "That man and especially that woman seemed very familiar, but after long 5 years, I just couldn't trust them." The whole encounter with them was weird, starting with me thinking they were some undercover cops trying to take me out. According to Big Z, most of his gang started getting targeted after a year of work and if I remember correctly I am only a couple of months off.
But instead, they said they wanted to adopt me and I was surprised to hear that. After my rebirth and being placed here it has been a hard 5 years that do not allow me to trust easily due to me needing to protect the orphanage from some unsavory characters. They might have been genuine but I don't think anyone would come down here to adopt a kid from "The Demon Pit."
I had started reflecting back on their words and pulled out the metal piece I was keeping in my pocket. "I don't think I have ever seen that mother fucker scared before." That man better have been correct with what he said because I hate that bald little fuck with every fiber of my being.
It was about a year ago that I came to find out the orphanage owed a lot of money to Big Z because of "protection money" or whatever bullshit he came up with. While I did not really the caretaker's at the orphanage as parents to me, I considered myself as a "Protector" of the children. I then decided the next day to go and take out Big Z, it failed, and I ended up becoming a debt collector. Big Z said that no one would expect a kid to beat them up over a gambling debt so I just shrugged and moved on as long as he left the orphanage alone.
Now though I apparently had a way out. A way to both never work for that jerk again and to give back to the orphanage that had raised me. The couple seemed to be interested in me for some reason and I started to think of some possible reasons for why they would be. One, this is about my uniqueness due to my EMS, Byakugan, and healing ability. Two, there is a small chance that that was Dr. Halsey here to test and kidnap me. Three, that was a weird couple who wants a poor child who will feel in awe of them for "saving" them and use them as a trophy.
I am beginning to believe that it is a mixture of one and two, as I had always stood out compared to the other kids in the orphanage. I had learned things quicker, I was always stronger than the others and was immensely faster than them too. I was thinking of joining the UNSC to try and get a part of the Spartan-III program as I felt like I was not as visible from Harvest and knew that there was a limit of 75 people for the Spartan-II program due to budget cuts.
"Hey, little man did your bitch ass finally bring in some more dough?" Snapping me out of my thought process I caught sight of the Second-in-Command for Big Z. "That's none of your fucken business bitch." I snarled while gritting my teeth. "You still got that dirty mouth on you. You better keep it shut or next time I will do it for you." I ignored him and continued on into the headquarters and straight to Big Z.
(Dr. Catherine Halsey POV)
On the way back to the orphanage the Lieutenant decided to ask a couple of questions about the purpose of all these interviews. I believe that his encounter with Candidate 001 must have stirred his already extensive suspicions that had been growing. He knew where to draw the line and I...also felt he had earned a bit more of an explanation. Though I kept the meat of the project under wraps I gave him some of the potatoes. I honestly only told him that we were screening for future leadership candidates in the UNSC and he seemed to have accepted that explanation.
Though the purpose of our interviews wasn't exactly wrong per se it was more of a half-truth. I am sure he figured that this screening will only become valuable ten or so years down the line and not ten or so days. If all goes as planned I will be able to order retrieval around September 10th but that will absolutely be the point of no return for the program.
I already accepted that there is no turning back once I replace the children. I along with ONI will effectively be stealing away their childhoods and much more in the name of peace for the UNSC. Nothing I can say or do will justify it, but that is just how it is as my father used to say and these children are the key to the future, but what is the limit of the price that humanity must pay for security? Will these children be the final sacrifice needed to be paid?
I shook my head moving away from second guessing my actions, I instead decided to think about the subject of the day, Candidate 001. I leaned back into the chair in the dining room while sipping on the tea that I was provided, by the woman Amy, and began to recall the screening process back in late July.
When I was alerted of a new candidate just outside of the desired year range, I accepted the results graciously, and began to research the child. As I read more and more into his file and circumstances I found myself becoming much more fascinated with him than the other candidates other than 117.
Just like the other tests and results I first began to dissect his genome which was mapped with the leftover DNA found on syringes during his vaccinations. What I had found was wonderfully strange if I had to describe it in words.
The boy's DNA was a perfect match and held some markers which supported traits that would enhance him ahead of his peers. For example, he had certain genes within his blood that held such life force that I would not be surprised if he was able to be stabbed and not bleed out. There were a couple more of these genes that passively enhanced the boy and paired with the eventual augmentations....if i was able to incorporate his healing genetics into the augmentations then the risk would be reduced by a factor of 97%.
Seeing these anomalies I dug into his family tree, and it didn't take long before I found what I was looking for. Surprisingly, I found that both of his parents were survivors of the ORION/Spartan-I program. Sadly both parents were dead, his father was killed months before on an anti-Insurrectionist Operation and his mother died just after naming her son.
After coming upon these discoveries he along with Candidate 117 were placed at the top of the list for priority observation. 117 was by all markers a perfectly average candidate. Though that conclusion was a bit of an oxymoron because all preliminary candidates were far superior when compared to their peers. They had frightening intellect and superior physical capabilities. Each one possessed a deep desire for success, any one of them could be the next Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, or Cleopatra if left to their own devices.
I couldn't help but silently chuckle to myself thinking back. Candidate 117 or John was a particularly brutal boy. He was the verifiable winner of a string of 45 King of the Hill battles which left him with nothing but a chipped tooth, while his opponents walked away with various broken and fractured bones.
And Candidate 001 ironically was quite similar in that regard. Both the caretakers and the UPD undercover agent described the boy as violent and aggressive. I never agreed with ONI and their reservations when I informed them of his priority and eventually they gave up trying to convince me against his inclusion.
"Oh so the big bad people from the Office of Naval Intelligence using a stupid hunk of metal to trick a kid." said 001 as he walked in the dining room. He looked quite a bit more bruised than when we had last seen him. He sported a black-eye, that to the visible eye was fading away.
Halsey smiled at what he said, "I didn't think a child could know what ONI stands for. What about you Jacob?" I said looking at Jacob who had a smug smile pointed at the boy.
"Is your actual name Halsey?" Indra asked earning a surprised look from Halsey.
"Yes, it is now how did you know that?" Halsey asked me.
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you." Indra said.
"Try me," she challenged.
"I can see through your purse with my eye, and see your ID with the name Catherine Halsey. I can also see that the man you are with has a knife tucked into his belt on the right side of his body." Indra said.
"Fine, but you will be telling me exactly what you mean by that. Can we now we will talk about your adoption." Halsey said. "There is no need. I agree to go with you, but I want you to provide a higher financial support to the orphanage and get them into at least the middle-class district so they will no longer rely on me to pay the gangs or beat away unsavory characters." Indra stated.
"That can be done. The deal does not ask for all that much and if it helps you come without any problems then I will do it." Halsey stated. "You will be the first candidate to begin their training."
Indra relaxed knowing that the orphanage will be fine, even though he wasn't all that close to the caretakers he loved the kids and wanted to know their future will be secured. "Alright, we can leave now that I have said my goodbye's to everyone."
"I guess I could tell you, but do you want Keyes to know about it?" Indra asked.
"Yes, that is fine as he is also a part of adopting you." said Halsey. "Alright if you say so, I have special eyes, one has the ability to predict, memorize and copy things that are observed, the other gives the ability to look "beyond things," crossing any obstacle with the gaze, and to possess an 360° vision." Indra revealed.
Halsey didn't know whether to be shocked or just confused at what Indra just revealed, "So you not only have the ability to predict someone's movements, memorize the things that you see, and the ability to see through things?" said Halsey.
"Well that is one way to put it, but yes that is what I said." Indra answered.
Halsey then decided to look at Keyes next to her on the ship wanting to know his thoughts, but his face was expressionless like how it usually was when he was serious.
"Indra, I am sorry but that seems a little far fetched." said Halsey.
"If you want I can prove it." Indra said.
"Alright so when in the alley Keyes pulled a knife out and pulled him behind you before you, when he did that you took that time to look down at his b-"
"Stop that would be enough" said Halsey cutting Indra off, "I believe you."
"Huh? Well I thought that you would need some more to convince you but alright, whatever floats your boat." said Indra. "WHAT! You actually believe this kid?" said Keyes.
"I think I understand what is going on" said Halsey. "You've somehow got two different pairs of evolved eyes."
"Oh okay cool." said Indra.
"I see I don't have to explain much" said Halsey. "Yes, that is for the best as we have heard enough. Indra you are going to join the program and serve humanity and use your knowledge and abilities to save lives." Halsey said.
"Yes Ma'am. I will do my very best to exceed your expectations." Indra said. "May this be the start of a new age in the Human existence."