The PulseTeam, Book Two: Evolution

Chapter Two: Some Assembly Required

Part One: Explaining StealthOps To StealthOps

T.G.I. Friday's | Cleveland, Ohio
Wednesday, January 12, 2033 | 18:22 EST

At 9:45 this morning, I asked Mom and Dad if it was alright if I take Jessica and my friends out to eat so that we could talk details concerning StealthOps. After Dad checked with all the other parents, he said that we were good to go, but if we needed anything, they would be on the other side of the restaurant.

As we sit down and wait for the waiter or waitress to come and take our orders, I say at a very low volume, "Alright, everyone, listen up: I'm going to be explaining exactly what is going to be happening with us in the StealthOps. I hope you all brought a mechanical pencil and a notepad with you. If not, I brought enough for everyone. For those of you without photographic memories, you're going to need to write this down."

I distribute the supplies as needed, and I say, "Is everybody ready?"

They all nod.

"Good. First, you need to know what 'StealthOps' is short for. Write this down: C, next line; A, next line; T, next line; S, next line; O, next line; T, next line; F. The C stands for 'Covert'. A is 'Assault'; put 'and' after 'Assault'. The first T is 'Tactical'. The S and O are 'Stealth Operations'. The last T and the F are 'Task Force'. Any questions so far?"

Silence.

"Okay, now we are going to be out late at night and early in the morning running reconnaissance and ruining trafficking operations of all kinds. As a direct result of this, like Dad said, we are going to be making lots of dangerous and highly connected enemies. If we do this right, nobody, save for my father and his team, will know that we even exist in the day or the night. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, we're not having this conversation right now, and even better: We're not even here. This very conversation is so classified, the only living person on Earth who would possibly have the security clearance to actually be able to tune in and listen is my father. Understood?"

They all nod their heads again.

"Questions?"

"One," says Rick.

"I'm all ears."

"How do we know someone isn't listening in on this conversation right now? Because we're out in public, and even though this is a private establishment, this is still a public area. And someone could sneak in something to listen to secret crap with."

"We know that no one else is listening in on this conversation right now because SpyderBot is working in tandem with Aunt DEELEX in jamming a network of signals that would try to tune in. Including that of the NSA, CIA, Pentagon, and other government organizations and highly classified programs. That's how. Anything else?"

"Nope, I'm good."

"Good. Now, another serious issue that needs to be discussed is that of our uniforms. We will be going up against firepower of all kinds. Guns, acid, flamethrowers, you name it. Some of us here are not fast enough to dodge said firepower forever, so Rick and I are going to invent a new material that is light, super-stretchy, easily colorable, electro-conductive, insulated-but-breathable, friction-proof, fireproof, shock and impact-absorbent, sound-absorbent, frequency-sensitive, impervious to damage of any and every kind, and machine-washable. These suits, once they are custom-fit to our individual bodies, will then work in tandem with our powers, so that our powers aren't the cause of their destruction out on the battlefield.

"Which actually brings me to my next point: We need to know what each and every single one of each other's powers are so that A.) Rick and I can factor those variables in when we create the molecular sequence for the material, and B.) We're not caught off-guard in the field when you use them."