Cone of Silence Read online

  Even with her mind spinning, she understood. “Right. I will get my gear and head out once I have some sleep.”

  “Good. I look forward to seeing you.”

  “You are on Liox?”

  “Since the end of the memorial. I didn’t want to wreck the solemnity of the occasion with news of the team trials. So, if I don’t see you on Liox in sixteen hours, you are going to have to do a lot of painting restoration to pay back the Team Project, but I have no doubt that you will.”

  The communication ended, and Maira hunched over her cycle, making a beeline for the secure portal that would get her home within three hours.

  This was the moment that she had been training for, and she really didn’t want to miss it.

  Chapter Nine

  Maira smiled at her code name. It took a bit of practice to learn to answer to it. Cone of Silence was a name that had a silly twist considering what she could do with it.

  She made it through the time trials and obstacle courses with assistance from the months of practice with Lorora and Kekoro.

  Being in the room while Made and Forecast faced off was a little odd, but being chosen for the passive-gift team was damned insulting.

  Their team went into a second room, and Forecast turned to smile at them. “I know that your skills are not passive. Cone of Silence, you can be downright deadly, even at a distance, and Wrapped, anyone who gets close to you can be incorporated into your casing. Made is trying to figure out how to use Port Hole and Mini Max.”

  Maira asked, “How do we prove that we are just as important to the team?”

  Forecast grinned. “Well, we win. So, this is how we are going to act.”

  Cone of Silence took in the words of the seer, and even the sombre Wrapped seemed to have fun with the idea.

  For the mock combat, they were placed at a right angle to Forecast, at the top of a very steep hill. They waited for the signal.

  Wrapped murmured, “Why are we believing her?”

  Cone of Silence chuckled. “Because, like the rest of us, Jianik picked her to be on the team. She has not steered me wrong so far, so I am definitely going to trust her judgment when it comes to personnel.”

  “If you say so. Do you really think that this is going to work?”

  “What? That I ride you down the hill? Yes. I get the front of you to hold onto long grasses, it will cause a slip layer, like to like.”

  Cone of Silence kept her head turned toward the building where the crashing was coming from.

  “What are you listening to?”

  “Made is trying to smash Forecast. Forecast is dodging.”

  “You can hear that?”

  “Yes. I am listening for the signal. She’s not going to be able to talk and breathe as she runs, so I have to keep my senses open.”

  Wrapped was amazed. “Can you hear the others?”

  “Yes, they are getting ready to attack Forecast as well.”

  Forecast emerged, and Cone of Silence heard the click and returned one as well. She looked to Wrapped, and the other woman was lying down. Cone jumped lightly, Wrapped grunted, and they were sliding toward the goal with grass sliding under them as Wrapped provided the slip layer on the surface of her suit. Cone kept herself balanced as she surfed downward on her companion, and the glide took them right to the podium where she jumped free, followed by a grunting Wrapped who was shedding her layer. They pressed the signal pads, and the alarm sounded to end the challenge.

  Forecast swayed as she stood, and she grinned, her blue skin purple from bruises.

  Cone of Silence chuckled and looked at Wrapped, Mini Max who had shrunk down two feet, Port Hole who was checking Cone of Silence to make sure that she wasn’t injured, and Made who was looking around at them all.

  Yes, she could work with these women, these heroes. They did the job and then were actual people the moment the action stopped. She did like the feel of being in a community, even if it was only for a day here and there. How often would one call on the last team, after all?

  Author’s Note

  Yup. Cone of Silence is named after the item that never worked in that beloved 70’s television show.

  The next story is that of Wrapped, a young woman who just wanted to watch the new power centre come online with her family and three thousand other onlookers.

  These books are coming out fast to get the Origins in place, and after that, I will take a month or two until I set their first adventure and the Team Eight series will begin. They will have occasional alternates and specialists with them, but those characters will get their books after their first appearance in a series called Team Eight: Alternates.

  See? I have a plan.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.

  In real life, she now is engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.