Yup.
Another day.
More boring camera duty.
Yup… This is boring.
Boring, boring, boring.
"SCOUT!"
The half-asleep eighteen-year old jolted awake, clutching at the aluminium baseball bat that leant against his chair. It wouldn't do to have Soldier yelling at him… again.
"SCOUT! DO YOU READ ME!"
Scout winced, touching his headset and turning the volume down. "Yeah, I can read you. In fact, I think Red Scout heard you too. Not to mention the entire Red team."
He heard the snort of disapproval down his headset. "Scout! You have been falling asleep on the job again, and that is un-accept-able! Do you hear! The next time you fall asleep at the camera screens, I'll set Spy on you! And then you will be royally screwed! Do you understand me!"
"Yeah… Loud and clear."
If only they would stop putting me in for the night watches… I'm sure that's all Spy's fault.
"Then stop lollygagging and get back to work!"
The Soldiers voice fizzled out in a burst of static.
Scout wearily turned his head back to the monitors in front of him, linked to the cameras.
And suddenly one went black.
Just before the one next to it went black, too, he heard a gun blast and an agonised scream.
"Scout!"
Soldier again.
"Scout! Did you hear that! It sounded like a-"
"Revolver."
A pause. Then Scout heard the faint sound of Soldier shouting "A red spy in the base!"
"What is his position?" This was their own spy. His soft French accent was welcome relief after the harsh shout of Soldier in his *sensitive* ears.
"Uh… I don't know. A load of the cameras have shut down."
An impatient tut. "I know that. Which cameras are down?"
"Uh… The three covering the main entrance, the two by the Alert Room…"
"The Alert Room!"
"Uh… Yeah."
Silence. Then- "Get down here. Now. We will require assistance."
Scout shook his head, even though Spy couldn't see it. "You need someone up here."
"That is an ORDER, Scout!"
The earphone once again blinked off in a flash of static.
"Geez, you sound just like Soldier when you say that…"
Another gunshot, accompanied by the cry "Sentry down!"
"That's Engie gone…"
Scout grabbed his bat and his messenger bag, and crossed the room to the door. Opening it, he stepped out…
Just in time to collide with Medic, who was running in the opposite direction.
"Ach! Get out of my way!"
"Sorry, Doc…" Scout stepped out of the way of the Medic, who resumed his frenzied run.
"I hope he's not going to take on the red Spy…" Scout said to himself. "Otherwise, he'd be… Uh…" Scout searched for the right phrase.
"Royally screwed?"
"Yeah, thanks, Spy."
Hang on… Spy?
And everything faded to black as a searing pain blossomed in his back.