Free Nightstalkers by Bob Mayer

and dissipates. I know this is all a bit much, but like I said, Doc can explain it better and more thoroughly. Okay?”
    Kirk nodded.
    “Some other basics,” Moms said. “We don’t do ranks here, but I’m your team leader and Nada is the team sergeant. Go to him before you come to me. That’s not because I’m big on chain of command, but because he can usually solve more things than I can. He has more time on the team than anyone. His focus is you, the team. My focus is Ms. Jones and the mission. Got it?”
    Kirk nodded.
    “But, as they say, my door is always open, except sometimes it’s not. If that sucker,” she nodded toward the big steel door, “is shut, there’s a reason for it. We do not want to be disturbed.”
    “Unless it’s a Zevon,” Nada added.
    “Unless it’s a Zevon,” Moms confirmed. “You’re going to be the team commo man,” Moms said. “
My
commo man. Whichmeans you can hear everything I hear if you choose. I ask you not to listen in when you give me a channel to Ms. Jones. If I want the team to hear Ms. Jones, I’ll put it on the team net. Clear?”
    “Clear.”
    “I ask you to keep to yourself anything else you hear that isn’t on the team net. If I want the team to hear it, I’ll put it on the net. Clear?”
    “Clear.”
    She reached into a drawer and pulled out a device that looked like an iPhone except it was attached to a wristband. “You’ve used the PRT before?”
    “I trained on it, but they weren’t issued.”
    “I know. Ms. Jones set that training up.” Moms tossed it to him. Kirk caught the state-of-the-art device. The screen was active. He strapped it on. “Now you’ve been issued one. Our commo goes through you and that for security reasons.”
    Moms reached into a pocket on her fatigues and pulled out an acetated pad similar to what Nada was thumbing through. “This is the team Protocol. We don’t call them SOPs here. We call them Protocols.”
    “More scientific,” Nada threw in. “Makes the Acme geeks feel better.”
    Moms opened it to the first page. “Ms. Jones gave you her spiel. I just want to highlight a few things from my team leader Protocol for you.”
    For once, Nada remained silent.
    Moms began reading, but it was obvious she had the words memorized. “
The most basic tenet of teamwork is honesty
.” She paused and glanced at Nada. He raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything. “Except when you have to lie to someone outside the team to accomplish a mission,” Moms finished her first rule.
    “
Everyone on the team is a leader
. Except when I make a decision.
    “
We do everything as a team
. Except when I tell you to do something alone.
    “
Don’t get in a pissing contest with someone on a balcony. You just end up pissed on and smelly
. If you have a problem with someone, especially one of the Acme Assets, let me know and I’ll deal with it. Which reminds me.” Moms reached into her drawer and pulled out a badge case and tossed it to Kirk. “You’re now a senior field agent of the FBI. Your photo ID will be here within an hour or so. That badge and ID will be enough to keep pretty much anyone you have to deal with who is on the outside off your ass. Someone thinks they outrank that badge, you send them to me.”
    She looked back down at her Protocol. “
Keep a positive attitude
. Except when something has to be wet. Then you get nasty.” Kirk opened his mouth to ask, but she was quicker to the answer. “We’ve got three levels of missions here as determined by Ms. Jones. Dry, damp, and wet. Dry is something to be contained and further studied. So we want whatever it is intact.
    “Damp is it’s to be contained, and if you can’t contain it intact, then you can break it.
    “Wet is it’s to be contained by being utterly destroyed. Fireflies and Rifts are always wet.”
    She had said the last without looking down. She glanced at the page once more to find her place. “
Discipline and accountability stays inside the