He finished another bottled water and tossed it onto the ground before running through the checklist he'd been running through for the past ten hours.
-Remain hidden: CHECK
-Remain alert: CHECK
-Take down target at all costs: NO CHECK
Ten bloody hours, and nothing. Yet. He detected movement to his left. The Sniper readied his custom Classic .50 cal rifle, laser cutting through the gloom. He lost his focus as the crate fell out into view, the loaded round firing off into the night. He cursed under his breath before sliding another round into the chamber. Something was definitely back there, he could feel it in his gut...but is it the target? He took a deep breath, making sure it didn't give away his position. The rustling got louder. He put his finger on the trigger. Then the monster jumped out. He sent the round spiraling through the air like it was butter. It landed at the monster's feet, who gave a howl of detection at his hunter.
"Ah, heck." Sniper muttered. Time to pack up.
Later that day Sniper lay in his camper van, listening to the brook burble outside through the open window. Sleep just wouldn't come. It's probably because of that picture he taped above his bed of his target. Poor Soldier, caught rabies from a raccoon two weeks ago at Coldfront. The man had been ravaging battleground after battleground. Heavy wasn't a pretty sight after Soldier was done with him. Lucky a Medic was en route that day.
Sniper sighed and turned over in bed. Medic can bring a man back after he's been blown to a thousand bits by a ten foot tall robot with crits engaged but he can't cure a simple case of rabies. It's almost as if he forgot to learn how to fix simple things, but got a PhD in the hard things. He heard a clank outside, and slid his hand to the Carbine under his bed before listening. Silence. As he slid the cocking lever back he heard another rustle.
"Gotcha now you-" he burst through the door. A raccoon. "Get outta here you little furry-aargh!" he fired into the dawn. He groaned and went back inside. No time to sleep. Time to head back to Teufort. He moved through the living area to the driver's seat before firing up the engine.
It took about a 3 hour drive to get back down to Teufort. Sniper locked up the van while peering through the sun at the red oak fort in front of him. This time of the year the river was almost dried up, and most of the mercs left on a very, very, very short vacation. The only one each year the Administrator allowed them. The place was usually empty, but not this empty. Sniper reached for his kukri. Something was wrong. Very wrong. Light may travel faster than sound, but smell travels faster than light. Death. But not battlefield death. He's been here. Sniper headed into the base, only to run back out to vomit. Every RED comrade that resided in the base was now dead, and half of them were strewn about the walls. Sniper checked their revive packs. Two days without juice. It's too late for them.
Sniper strode through the gory base, giving up hope on finding anyone, when he found the vault door leading down into the basement sealed tight. People must be down there. He flipped on the intercom and stated his credentials to it. The door opened with a hiss and a sentry beep filled the air. Sniper dived for cover and heard a chuckle. "You're still a jumpy boy, Sniper."
"Dell Conagher. Nice to see you again Engi. What the hell happened out there?"
"Out there? Nothin'."
"Nothing?!"
"Absolutely nothing."
"Sniper!" Heavy cried from behind.
"But how-"
"You see my friend. All of this was nothin' but a decoy for that Soldier. Y'know, in case he stumbled into Teufort. Say, you any closer to takin' down that monster."
Sniper grumbled. "No."
Engi gave a smug grin. "Ain't that a big surprise."
"Is there something you wanted, Engi?"
"Well we could use some supplies down here. Scout's resorted to-"
"Okokokokokok. I don't need to hear every bloody detail."
ALERT! ENEMY INBOUND! The loudspeaker boomed the Administrator's voice around the base.
"Back to base boys." Engi said. "Sniper, you're on your own. Take that motherhubbard down,"
"I'll do my best."
Sniper waited up in the sniper post on the second floor waiting for Soldier to show himself. The poor guy. Ever since he went feral the Administrator ordered a cease fire against the BLUs to focus their power on the real threat. A rabid, war-loving, psychopathic mercenary with a blumming Pain Train. Sniper sighed. Why was he so bored? He's trained to wait for hours on end, mostly using his inner monologue to entertain himself until his target showed their head. But today, something was different. Perhaps it was the 28 hours without sleep. The caffeine patches only work for so long. A Soldier's cry snapped him from his reverie. Here he comes.
A wooden club smashed through the barricade on the BLUs entrance to their base. So that's where he's been hiding. He heard his quarry scream in fury as he hacked furiously at the barricade. Heavy obviously made it. Anything that big guy makes doesn't break easily. "There you are." Sniper whispered as he charged the rifle's round. "Just a little closer mate."