Shades of Gray - By Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge Page 0,52
Night smiled again, and this time, it touched his eyes. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
They were all assembled in the main assembly of Squadron headquarters, Teams Alpha through Epsilon, standing at ease as Corp’s latest suit assigned to the extrahumans explained what the latest technological marvel was, how it was guaranteed to make their jobs and lives that much easier. The New Chicago branch should be proud, they were told, because they’d been selected to beta-test the new gadget. That it only made sense for New Chicago—home of Corp global headquarters and R&D—to field-test it wasn’t brought up.
Night stood stoically, counting the seconds until the meeting was over. He was itching to go on patrol, to wrap Shadows around criminals intent on preying on the innocent.
It was a rush whenever he used Shadow in battle.
“So you see,” the suit said happily, “the comlink will put you in touch directly with Operations, in real time. Completely wireless, each with its own unique frequency so that you won’t get stuck on a party line, nor will you have to wait your turn to speak to a free Ops controller. You won’t be reliant on your hover consoles, or on handheld devices that aren’t always conducive to battle conditions. Hard to throw a punch when you’re trying to connect to Ops.”
A few laughs from that comment. Night didn’t roll his eyes, but it was a close call.
Next to the suit, a Runner was displaying a white earpiece that looked distinctly like a slug.
The suit went on with the hard sell. “Designed to fit snugly in your ear canal, you’ll have a constant stream of data from Ops.”
“Sounds like it’ll be an overload of information,” one of the heroes called out.
“You’ll be able to moderate it, of course.” The suit laughed. “You’ll be the one requesting information from Ops, and Ops will get you the data you need directly—whether you’re requesting new equipment or a Runner to be dispatched, or if you need eyes and ears for an upcoming situation.”
“Where is this Ops controller going to be?”
“Ops will be centered in the Academy, right here in New Chicago. Close to your headquarters, close to the Executive Committee, and readily available and in service to all heroes. Over the next few years, Ops will be for all of the United and Canadian States Squadron. But for now, it’s all yours.”
“I don’t fancy having someone yammering at me all the time.” That was Luster. “How’m I supposed to think if there’s a little voice in my head, telling me what to do?”
Night’s lips twitched in amusement.
“Of course, it will take some adjustment,” the suit said. “But once you’re used to having Ops at your beck and call, you’ll wonder how you did your jobs before. Corp wouldn’t have sponsored this technology, let alone given its seal of approval, if we didn’t believe this would be a powerful tool in your arsenal. Try it,” he said like a parent coaxing a toddler to eat. “You might like it.”
“Just what we need,” Blackout murmured. “More voices.”
In a rare burst of humor, Night said, “But this is the good kind of crazy.” And he and Blackout chuckled.
One by one, Runners handed out the comlinks to the extrahuman heroes. Night and the others fiddled with the devices, getting them to sit in their ears just so.
“One of the best things about the comlinks,” said the suit, “is when you’re not tapped into Ops, the device remains on in a default white-noise setting. Completely unobtrusive, and designed to be both a concentration aid and, when you’re not out in the field, something to help you relax.” He tittered laughter. “It’s come to our attention that some of you are a tad high-strung.”
More laughter from the heroes.
“Go ahead,” the suit said happily. “Turn them on. Tap once for white noise, twice to link into Ops.”
Sighing in resignation, Night tapped his device and heard the comforting rush of a waterfall.
In the back of his mind, the place where the Shadow constantly clawed and whispered and giggled, things … quieted.
Night’s eyes widened, and he let out a soft gasp.
Next to him, Blackout trembled. “Rick? Do you hear it? The silence?”
Elated, Night nodded. A smile bloomed on his face as he listened to the joyous sounds of Shadow-free white noise. And he thought that maybe, just maybe, the comlink was the answer to prayers he’d long since forgotten.
CHAPTER 22
VIXEN
We put safeguards in place to monitor the children. Puberty is often the trigger, although sometimes the abilities