Chapter Text
Sniper woke with a sense of unease prickling at the back of his mind. Groggily, he sat up, rubbed at his eyes and tried to follow the emotion back to its source.
Ah, yes.
The new BLU Spy was due to join the fight today. Sniper had no idea what he was going to be facing out there today. The BLU who'd retired had been a sour-faced old Spaniard who'd hardly said a word to him in all the time they'd fought against one another.
RED team had a bet going on where they thought the new BLU would be from. Sniper had put his money on him being a Frenchman to match their own. Scout had laughed at that, saying there's no way something as unlikely as that would happen. And then had gone and put his bet on the Spy being English. 'You know, like James Bond,' he'd explained.
Sniper threw the sheets off his bed and sat up. He yawned, showing off a flash of sharp teeth to no one in particular, and then stretched until his spine made some satisfying, yet worryingly loud, cracking sounds.
When he'd finished he let himself slouch forward, eyes drifting towards the mini fridge he kept in his van. Everyone knew Sniper's van was out of bounds. They thought it was because he liked his privacy (which he certainly did), but really, it was because of that fridge. All it would take would be for one of his teammates to open it and it would all be over.
He had his escape plan ready of course (a good assassin was prepared for any eventuality) but he hoped it would never come to that.
New Spy today. New BLU Spy today. That raised many questions, but for Sniper one stood out from the rest: How human do I want to be today?
Maybe 'want' wasn't actually the right question. How human do I need to be today? might be more suitable.
Sniper pulled himself off his bed with a grunt, the thin mattress creaking as he moved. He knelt down in front of the mini fridge and tugged the door open to inspect its contents like he did every single day.
Three full blood bags, type O. One about half empty, type AB. Two sealed containers of deer's blood, fresh. One small, nearly finished cup of rabbit's blood, not so fresh.
A reasonable supply. Enough to last him until he could fudge the records on Medic's next order and get more human blood for himself.
Sniper reached for the rabbit's blood with a grimace. He paused.
New Spy today.
His fingers drifted towards the opened blood bag.
Hmm.
He wasn't supposed to be allowing himself anymore human blood until Wednesday.
Sniper pulled the blood bag out of the fridge.
New BLU Spy today.
He'd allow himself just a little.
Sniper turned up for the battle five minutes early as usual, clutching a thermos flask of coffee, also as usual. It was battered and slightly rusty and perhaps not the cleanest looking of things. Sniper needed to keep it that way though. He couldn't afford one of his teammates deciding to steal some of his coffee. He had no idea if humans could taste the blood lacing it as clearly as he could, but he didn't want to find out.
'Oh come on, you can't tell me you're cold!' Demoman said as he wandered into the room, catching sight of Sniper's fingers wrapped tightly around the hot thermos.
Sniper said nothing. Demoman (and Spy) kicked up a fuss every time he mentioned he felt cold. These days, Sniper tried to avoid bringing it up in case he got more cries of, 'But we're fighting in a desert! You can't possibly be cold!' There was only so many times he could lie and say that Australia was just so much hotter that New Mexico left him feeling chilled.
In reality, his semi-permanently cold hands and feet were down to something else entirely, but not something he could bring up with their dear Medic.
'I'm gonna be the first to bat that new BLU's head in!' Scout assured them when he arrived. In ones and twos the rest of the team turned up, with Pyro and Engineer cutting it close. They talked amongst themselves about the new BLU as they waited for the match to begin, discussing theories and making last minute bets.
Sniper took a hasty sip from his thermos as the Administrator's countdown boomed out over the tannoy system. Warmth flooded through him, leaving his mind awake and alert.
New BLU Spy today. Best to be prepared for anything.
Or anyone.
The administrator's voice sounded across the loudspeaker: Mission begins in 60 seconds. The new BLU Spy took a breath and took stock of himself and the men around him.
So far they were about what he expected. Some of them were battle crazed lunatics, others were cool professionals. He was, of course, in the second category, along with the Sniper, the Engineer and the Heavy. Though, to be fair, he hadn't seen anyone in battle yet. His opinions might be different after today.
He could barely believe the Scout was here, being so young and brash. It seemed like he was still a child. The Pyro set him on edge, that mumbling monster with shiny black eyes like a giant insect. The Soldier and the Demoman's brand of enthusiasm didn't phase him much, though going into battle drunk seemed like a terrible idea.
The one who really set him on edge, besides the Pyro, was the Medic. Firstly, his workspace was an unsanitary mess of pigeons and bird shit, and secondly, the man had no qualms with removing his heart while he was awake. It was an unsettling day, to say the least.
Mission begins in 30 seconds.
He was excited for the new work. This place was new and different. Men were basically immortal. He would experience death, or what passed for death here. He would put all his skills to use here, get to play with the newest technology and kill enemies. The suit and balaclava were uncomfortable for him for now, but he would adjust. Same as he would adjust to disguising as other men.
Mission begins in 10 seconds.
Regrettably, he dropped his cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his heel. That little red glow was practically begging a Sniper to blow his head off.
His hands brushed quickly over his things.
Five
Revolver.
Four
Balisong.
Three
Sapper.
Two
Disguise kit.
One
The door opened and his teammates dashed through. He followed at a more leisurely pace, watching the corners and listening hard.
Time to prove himself.