The young woman in the purple dress opened the door nervously. "Mr Mann."
The old man at whom the question was directed coughed and shifted one of the ancient wires attached to his muscles.
"What do you want?" he said rudely.
"Well, sir, it's about the Team..." She was referring to a team of elite mercenaries that Mann had assembled in the 1880's to assassinate his brother.
"What about them?"
"Well, sir, they're sort of dead..."
"What? Since when?"
"I'm not sure. The pigeon that carried the notice must have gotten lost. Someone found it in a chimney in Germany last week."
"How does a pigeon get lost?"
"Sir, it's only a bird..."
Mann coughed and looked at an old, sepia-colored photograph on his desk. It depicted an old man in a bed, surrounded by a group of people: an old woman in a purple overcoat, a tall, thick-set man dressed in leather and carrying a rifle, a much, much younger version of Mann himself, and another who had once been Mann's twin brother, Blutarch. A tarnished pushpin had been stuck through Blutarch's face. "Well, we can't have a gap that my infernal brother Blutarch could exploit. Not even for a second. Find a new team. And a new pigeon while you're at it."
"Sir, pigeons are obsolete. We could conceivably receive all updates by Email nowadays."
"We'll never get anywhere if you keep questioning me, now, will we, Miss Pauling?" Mann scowled angrily at the woman.
"...No sir."
And there's the first chapter. It's a little short, but it is my first fanfic. I'm hoping I'll improve with time. Feedback is much appreciated, and I'll get Sniper's chapter up on Monday or Tuesday.