The academy's library wasn't like the ones Leo had seen in pictures.
There were no children's books, no bright lights. The shelves were lined with steel drawers, each holding files stamped CLASSIFIED. Every cabinet was locked, and every lock required a clearance level most trainees would never get.
Leo wasn't supposed to be here.
He'd slipped in after lights-out, when most of the instructors were either asleep or patrolling the outer walls. The dim emergency lighting painted everything in shades of blue and gray. His heart beat loud enough to make him certain someone could hear it.
The mission in Sector 9 had changed something in him.
That black envelope. His name. We know who you are.
For years, he'd told himself his past didn't matter — that whatever had happened before the academy was irrelevant to survival. But now, the truth felt like a locked door, and he was holding the wrong key.
He found the cabinet labeled PROJECT ORPHAN. The lock was old; two minutes with a bent paperclip, and it clicked open.
Inside were thin folders, each with a name written across the front in block letters.
He scanned them until he found his own.
---
The first page was a birth record — but the name in the "Mother" field was blacked out. The "Father" field was empty.
The second page made his blood run cold.
Acquisition Date: 14 May. Method: Purchase.
Purchase.
His hands tightened on the paper. He read on. The file described him not as a person, but as asset 17-B. The doctors at Saint Mary's Hospital had been paid a "transfer fee" by a "special client." The client's name was redacted, but the address matched the academy's acquisition wing.
Leo's stomach twisted. His entire life had been bought and sold like a piece of equipment.
---
A voice came from the shadows.
"You know, if they catch you in here, they won't just make you run laps."
Leo spun around. Jack was leaning against a cabinet, arms crossed, wearing that infuriating half-smirk.
"How long have you been there?" Leo asked, slipping the file back into the drawer.
"Long enough to see you reading something you shouldn't." Jack stepped closer. "So… what's 'Project Orphan'?"
Leo hesitated. Jack had every reason to turn him in. They'd been rivals since day one. But something in Jack's tone — not mocking, not hostile, just curious — made him answer.
"It's… me. And probably others. The academy bought us. Trained us. Turned us into… whatever this is."
Jack's smirk faded. He didn't speak for a moment. Then he said, "You're not the only one."
Leo blinked. "What?"
Jack leaned in, lowering his voice. "I found my own file two years ago. Same story. Different hospital. I thought I was the only one stupid enough to break in here. Guess not."
For the first time, Leo saw something in Jack's eyes that wasn't arrogance — it was anger. Not at Leo, but at the people who had raised them.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" Leo asked.
Jack gave a humorless laugh. "Tell who? The same people who locked us in here? No thanks."
They stood in silence for a beat. Then Jack said, "If you're going to keep digging, you're going to need someone watching your back. Whether you like it or not… that's me."
Leo didn't know if he liked it. But he knew he needed it.
---
When they slipped out of the library, Leo noticed a faint red light blinking in the corner — a hidden camera.
And somewhere, in an office deep within the academy, a figure was already watching the footage.