Coolio, my first soon-to-be multichapter TF2 story! Wow, that was a mouthful. Anyway, I hope you like it. I have no idea where I'm going with this, so give me a day or two to sort it out.
Disclaimer: Yeah, I totally own TF2. It's mine, ALL MINE! MWAHAHAHAHAH!
"Name?"
"Kimberling. Hadley Kimberling."
"Do you have an appointment?"
"Yea."
"Please wait over there. She'll see you in a moment."
Hadley walked over to the chairs the woman gestured to and sat down. In this fancy, high-maintenance building, her dirty, worn jeans and old t-shirt made her feel completely out of place.
"Miss Kimberling? You can go in now. The door at the end of the hallway."
"Thanks." She stood back up and strode over to the hall next to the woman's desk. For a moment, she paused and sighed. She couldn't believe she was actually doing this. Shaking her head, she continued until she reached a tall, oaken door. It loomed over her, and her hand shook slightly as she reached for the knob. She steeled her nerves and pulled it, slowly walking in.
"Ah, Ms. Kimberling! I take it you came to inform me of your decision?" The Administrator seemed kind, but her eyes glinted cruelly and her smile frightened Hadley. Even her assistant, standing slightly to the side, seemed to quiver in fear.
"Yea. I want to take you up on your offer. I have nothing to go back to, anyway."
"Good, good! Ms. Pauling? The contract?" Ms. Pauling hurried forward, holding a clipboard with a small sheaf of papers on it.
"I-it's right here, ma'am." The Administrator snatched it away from her and pulled a pen out of her breast pocket. She held both out to Hadley.
"Sign here, Ms. Kimberling." The young woman strengthened her nerve once more, and grasped them carefully. She scanned the fine print, and then scribbled her name on the line.
"Alright. You have twenty-four hours to pack any belongings. Oh! And one last thing." The old lady snapped her fingers at Ms. Pauling, and the girl handed Hadley a package about the size of a breadbox.
"What's this?"
"Your new uniform. I hope you will like it. Now off with you! A car will pick you up at 6:30 tomorrow night." She turned around in her swiveling chair and began to type up an e-mail to a friend of hers. Hadley slowly strolled out of the room, down the hallway, and to the elevator.
"And, maggots, one more thing." Everyone in the room groaned. They were nursing their wounds from the battle earlier, when the RED team had completely whooped their asses.
"We're getting a new sniper tomorrow. She'll arrive in the morning with her things." Scout cut through what else he was going to say. He looked slightly confused.
"Wait a second, Solly. Did you say she?"
"Yes, maggot, she. The new sniper is a girl," Soldier replied curtly.
"Whoa. Never had a chick on the team before."
"I guess the Administrator wanted a change," Spy added.
"Oh well. We'll meet her in the morning. Now, all of you maggots, to bed! You're no use if you're half asleep tomorrow!"
Hadley woke as the train slowed to a halt. She stood and picked up her duffel, fidgeting with her clothes slightly. She wore a pair of simple blue jeans, a blue t-shirt with a brown vest, brown fingerless gloves, and a brown cowboy hat. The aviators were her own idea, as well as her long, dark blonde hair, tied into a ponytail. The rifle they had given her was slung over her back by its brown strap.
She moved towards the front of the car, going as slow as was acceptable, and waiting for the man who had escorted her here to come back. The door slid open, and he walked in.
"I hope the ride was enjoyable, Ms. Kimberling?"
"Yup, smooth as could be." Her Australian accent tinted her voice a bit, changing around her speech.
"Are you ready to depart?" Hadley only nodded this time. He led her out of the car, into the next, and through a side door with a pair of steps of off the side. She jumped down and examined her surroundings.
They were in an old place, with all wooden buildings, and the ground was all concrete.
"Welcome to 2Fort, Ms. Kimberling. Do you need assistance getting to the BLU base?"
"If you point me in the right direction, that'd be real nice." He smiled slightly and raised one hand to gesture into the alley.
"We're just on the outside of town, so just go through that alley, and find the big blue symbol on the side of a building, and that'll be the base."
"Very good, thanks." She sighed and started walking.
"Oh, and one more thing. Try to get there before sunrise. That's when everyone starts waking up, except for the BLU Scout, who is normally up about an hour before." She turned back and smiled at him.
"Alrighty, thank you!" He got back on the train and it slowly pulled away. She continued to walk. Reaching the end of the alley, she turned, and made her way down the street. She saw absolutely no one. After about a half an hour of walking, she stopped and pulled a canteen of her belt, unscrewing the lid and taking a long drink.
"You must be the new sniper." A voice echoed out of the receding darkness. She tried not to react, but failed to keep away a small jump.
"And you nearly scared the piss out of me." The voice groaned.
"Another Australian? I thought the Admin wanted change!"
"Nope, she found me on the streets of Boston."
"Boston? That's where I'm from!"
"I figured, from your accent. Can I see what ya look like, too?" A figure came out of the shadows. It was a young man, maybe nineteen, with a pair of sweats and a blue t-shirt covering his lanky form.
"I'm the Scout."
"As ya already know, I'm the Sniper. Nice to meet ya."
"Cool. I suppose you wanna come inside?"
"That'd be right good." He chuckled and led her to a large building with the logo for Builders League United on the side. She yawned and followed him. When they got inside, he showed her around a bit, her room, and the kitchen, and everything important.
He let her drop her stuff in her room, then they went to the kitchen, discussing the Red Soxs and what they loved about Boston. After a few minutes of quietly laughing and sipping coffee, another man walked in. He wore a blue balaclava and a neat, blue suit.
"Yo, Spook, this is our new Sniper. Snipes, this is our Spy." Hadley grinned at him and stuck out her hand. He shook it firmly.
"How are you liking it here?"
"It definitely seems like a good place, but I'll decide further when I meet everyone else." He duly noted the accent and her warm disposition. She was certainly different from the last sniper, who had been a complete loner, never speaking to, eating, or associating himself with the others.
"You'll have the chance to soon. Everyone will eventually pass through here as they wake up."
"Good. Can any of you cook, by the way?"
"Scout and Engineer are not bad, but avoid Pyro's cooking."
"Hmm. I can imagine why." Just then, a large, bulky man came into the room. He was easily twice her size, and he peered down at her.
"Who are you, little girl?" He spoke with a heavy Russian accent.
"I happen to be your new sniper."
"Ah! Little sniper! I am heavy weapons guy. I hope we get along well, da?" He smiled and continued to the living room.
"That's Heavy. Don't piss 'im off, 'cause he's got a huge gun named Sasha," Scout advised.
"O...kay. That's not confusing at all." Next, a man with a pair of overalls and a bright orange shirt strolled in. He poured himself some coffee, then reached a hand towards Hadley.
"Engineer. You must be Sniper." She looked at it, then shook it with her significantly smaller, slimmer one.
"Indeed I am." He nodded and made his way back out of the room. She was slowly introduced to each member of the team, already taking a liking to several of them.
"Mission begins in ten minutes!" The Administrator screeched at them.
"Well, time passes quickly when you're having fun. Scout, can you show her to the Sniper's Nest?" Spy turned to the boy expectantly.
"Sure, just lemme change real quick." They both walked away, leaving her sitting there. After a few minutes, Scout came back and quickly showed her to the nest. He made sure she was comfy, and then went down to the battlements to wait.
She stretched and pulled out her rifle, finishing her preparations just as the one minute mark was announced. She looked in the corner of the room, where something shiny flashed at her. As she looked closer, she saw it was an old kukri.
She figured it was the last sniper's, so she grabbed it and tied the sheath to her belt. It would work in case she needed to get up close to an enemy. Sighing, she settled herself in for the awaiting battle.
Well, awesome. What's gonna happen to Hadley? I have no clue, but I hope to know in the next day or so. Either way, thanks for reading, and please review!