Codename: Ghost

Offduty #2

...

We all sat across Midpoint's big sunken concrete amphitheater. Stadium lights lit us harshly. Sharp shadows were thrown in all directions, blurring together over the distance into fading black suggestions.

Penelope sat beside me. Tall, broad, and powerfully female, she easily overtopped my slender 5'7 frame. "That's all of us," she said gruffly. "Any idea what the old man's got cooked up for us today?"

"No idea," I replied. "Major plays his cards close to the vest, like most of us."

The Valkyrie snorted. "Some more than most".

"Fair point." My head turned.

Clad in his dark fullbody All1 sneaking suit, Zero appeared atop Midpoint's central steps. Our lanky top agent slowly descended towards us. Killjoy (rank 3), Goat (rank 9), Viper (rank 11), and Presto (rank 13) were seated on a granite bench atop our gathered ranks; Zero joined them, lounging idly. Because of his facemask, it was impossible to tell if he was listening to their conversation or watching something else on its interior optical display screens...

"That makes thirty five out of fifty three," Penelope muttered beside me. "The largest gathering of our agents in two years."

"Might be an important meeting," I replied dryly.

She smirked. "Ya think?"

Conversations echoed out into the silent subterranean darkness. Voices gradually quieted. Tension built. Approaching footsteps abruptly sounded. A spotlight activated, shining down. Major marched onstage stiffly, accompanied by his trans woman aide Silent.

My gaze fixed upon him.

Tall, dark, and handsome despite his years, Major was an enigma none of us had yet solved. Our official liaison with High Command, his classified background was a mystery even if his skills were widely known from pride-shattering practice bouts with him in the sparring circles...

This was a man to be respected. Perhaps feared.

After reaching centerstage, Major turned towards us all with military crispness, snapping a salute. "Ten HUT!"

We all stood together, snapping matching salutes. "TEN HUT!!!"

"At ease."

We all sat back down.

Major launched into things without preamble, as always. "Much has changed in the world since our last mandatory group training session." His deep voice echoed in the silence. "This presentation will consist of four parts, all concerning Cabal asset development. Let's begin with your new "Balanced Steroid Cocktail."

We all listened intently.

"Our Cabal's been working long and hard on this upgrade. Standard testing protocols were followed, and all final subjects passed without side effects. You can trust it." Major paused. "The general physical performance increase for this mix is quantified at 6%. Endurance saw an uptick at 8%."

Murmurs broke out amongst us. Surprisingly, it was Tesseract (rank 6) who raised his hand. I rarely saw him anymore. As our theoretical sciences expert, his mission schedule usually kept him off-base.

"Yes, Tesseract?" Major rumbled.

The slender man stood up. A dark All1 sneaking suit covered him, although his facemask was off. Laugh lines edged his bright blue eyes. "Will a full research write-up be available in B Lab after this meeting?"