Don't ride your bike with sandles. Chances are, you're going to get some supr srs road burn on your foot. Ow.
So maybe New Mexico is onto something. This heat was beating down on the Engineer. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to volunteer walking a good five miles down the road. Still no sign of the broken down billboard. In a few hours, the sun will go down, and leave this desert to the coldest of cold.
What was she doing here, anyways? All of this seemed mighty odd. Maybe there were a few bandits down the road, ready to mug her (not that they would be able to steal much). Or perhaps Miss Pauling was wrong about how far the sign was..? No, that couldn't be it. For the little time the Texan knew the assistant, they seemed to be quite organized and on time. She still couldn't exactly place a finger on the reason why she was currently walking through a hot, dry, desert, on her way to some 'base' that she was hired to work on. But she supposed it was all worth it. The average once a month payout was more than she had ever earned in three total years.
But the company she now worked for was very secretive. They refused to tell her what she'd actually be doing, until someone else operating on the sight would inform her of her duties. In fact.. Eight people doesn't seem like much of a team. And they weren't other engineers, either. What did Miss Pauling say..? She mentioned a few of the classes. But why the Hell would they need a spy for? And a scout? The Engineer gave an exhausted sigh.
The hum of an engine sounded off in the distance. The Texan turned her head slightly at the oncoming vehicle. It looked like a supply delivery truck. Probably coming back from delivering whatever they were carrying back from Tuefort. She got off the side of the road, and onto the flat, orange, desert dirt. After a few moments later, the delivery truck sped past her rather quickly. It kept on driving, and then slowed down. Eventually, it stopped, and began to reverse quickly,before stopping just in front and to her left. She kept on walking, and the car then proceeded to follow her. She gave a sideways look at the window as it began to roll down.
A young man (or was he a boy?) looked at her with an eyebrow raised from it. He had a rather noticeable sharp jawline, and a small nose. He also had brown hair, though that was covered by a deep grey baseball cap. He wore a red shirt, with the sleeves bunched up to his upper arms, and a pair of aluminum dogtags. He spoke after a second, his accent revealing that he was most likely from the Boston area. Definitely.
"Uh.. You the new guy? Er- girl. Whateva'." He asked.
The Engineer gave him a look,"You're talkin' about the RED divsion, right?"
He nodded once,"Yeah, you're the new guy. Wasn't expectin' a chick, but aight'. We weren't expectin' you either, so if you wanna ride, you're sitting in the back, toots."
Toots. Now if he hadn't of had a bored look on that tiny little face and had known how insulting he sounded, she'd of had him in a headlock right about now. A clicking noise from the back of the truck snapped her out of her morbid imaginations, and she simply gave a nod, before rounding the vehicle, and hopping into the rectangular space. She closed the shutter, and the truck began to move again. Two metal benches were attached to the walls of the small space, unoccupied. A door was at the back, that presumably led to the cabin. There were a few crates scattered on the right bench, though she didn't know what they were filled with. Food supplies, probably. The exhausted Texan took her seat on the other bench and closed her eyes.
The squeal of the breaks awoke her from her lazy nap. The Engineer straightened up as the vehicle came to a stop, and the door began to open. The boy stepped through, surprised, and motioned to her.
"Totally forgot you were here, honestly. You're, uh, kinda quiet. I won't ask if ya' a BLU Spy or not, cuz you kinda woulda stabbed us already.. Oh, but hey! While you're here you can help me an' Heavy bring this crap in. The name's Scout, by the way." The Boston boy said.
The Engineer gave a slight nod, already picking up a crate. It was rather heavy. Scratch that, very heavy.. But she could manage. The shutter of the truck opened up, and the Texan's jaw might as well have hit the floor. Before her, a large (to put it lightly) man was standing before her. Not all fat, either. The man had some massive muscles. He had short legs, but man his body was tall. The Engineer was pretty sure if this man took off his shirt in the woods, someone would claim they had seen Bigfoot.
By what she could see, the big man wore a red shirt with the sleeves pulled just about the middle of his upper arms. A red fist laid in the center of an orange circle on both sleeves, so at least he was.. Well.. Friendly wouldn't be the term, given his rather passive, but angry look. The shirt was tucked in to dark grey pants, with a large belt holding them up. The man also wore black trench boots. A very short and faint stubble graced his jaw, extending all the way to his sideburns, that lead to. Well, nothing. He was bald.
"Why does Engineer stare at me?" The large man said in a thick Russian accent.
The gaping Texan quickly cleared her throat and offered the heavy box to the man, giving a friendly smile.
"Pardon my rudeness. I was just surprised at how big an' strong ya' look. Do you mind helpin' me carry this one? It's a bit heavy." She replied.
He only grunted in response, but took the crate along with two others, stacking them on top the first. Yes, he was clearly strong.. As the man walked away, it dawned on her that he probably thought she was making fun of him. Even Scout thought she was, and was chuckling to himself.
"Yeah, these crates are real heavy, right Heavy?" The arrogant Bostonian boy chimed, picking up a single crate.
The Engineer shook her head as Heavy walked off, glaring at Scout. She picked up two light crates and situated them on either side of herself, under her arms.
"Whew. Boy, I wouldn't want t' be you when he knocks the pearly whites right outta' your mouth.." The Texan muttered, following where Heavy had disappeared to. As she glanced around, they seemed to be in a sort of garage, with tools littered here and there. It had the cargo truck, a camper van, a rather fancy looking sports vehicle, and a bike. She now walked through a hall, behind the large Russian, Scout close behind. He had to hold all three crates in one arm to unlock the door, but it seemed very easy for him to do so.
The trio stepped onto a wooden floor, into a small space with a coat rack hanging on the wall. It had a few coats on it (obviously), that belonged to what looked like, different people. Heavy lead them through a large living space furniture by a couch, a large coffee table, with a TV as large as a TV in this year could be. The walls were made out of wood too, same as the floor, and the ceiling.. The Texan hoped all the rooms were like this. Seemed run down and too well worn for her tastes, but then again. She is in the middle of a desert. The living space was also empty, making her question where the other employees were at.
Heavy led them down another set of hallways, until they came across a door, with a tinted window, and a keypad next to it. She watched as he literally pressed the "1" button four times in a row. The door clicked open, and he used his body to push it open fully. The sudden change of scenery was very odd. Machinery and computers here and there, coupled with the occasional empty desk. Eventually they entered a large auditorium-like room, lined with rows of computer interfaces, in front of a large red map of the world, which glowed in the room's barely lit darkness.
Again, they passed through a door below and to the right of the screen. What she saw next, shocked her (to say the least). There were crates filled with bullets and explosives, along with very odd weapons, some of which looked very questionable. And out in the open. Unprotected. Where anything could set them off.
"Ha! I love it! Gets them every freakin' time, ha! What's wrong, hard hat? Ever seen a war room before?" The Scout sneered and laughed.
The Texan tried to find her sense, though she just sputtered words, still in shock,"W-Why in th' Hell are all these damn bombs layin' around waitin' for somethin' to set them off!?"
"Scout was supposed to organize room long time ago." Heavy said in a bored manner, glaring at the boy.
"Aight, so I didn't pick up the war room. Nobody else seemed to give a damn anyways, since they walked in an' outta hea' once every freakin' week afta'."
"Is still your job to clean."
"Do I look like the freakin' custodian to you? Why don't you clean all this shit up?"
Heavy gave a low growl, stepping up to the boy, whom did the same thing (Heavy dwarfed the Scout).
"Heavy will clean up mess. And Heavy is not talking about this mess." The Russian growled between clenched teeth.
"Oo~ yeah, real scary. I'd like to see those meat sacks try an' even hit me!" Replied the Bostonian.
"Awh, Hell- would you two just shut your damn traps and help me clean all this up? Arguin' like a buncha God dang idiots ain't gonna stop this mess from bein' a mess!" The Texan suddenly yelled.
Both the Heavy and Scout looked over to see the Engineer already packing the explosive pills that went into the grenade launcher into a crate. They glanced at each other, and both grunted at each other. Scout began to gently put rockets into a long case. Heavy put spare weapons in their hardened cases. The trio worked silently for hours on end in the dimly lit concrete room, but each minute dissolved the tension in the room. By the time they were done, the Engineer had actually got the two to (begrudgingly) apologize to each other.
After Heavy had showed the Engineer her room late in the night, he left her after she thanked him appreciatively. Her room itself wasn't too big, but large enough to hold a bed, a dresser, and a desk with a small chair. Above the bed was a small window, showing the deep black sky and the now freezing desert land. Della ran a hand down her face and sat down on the edge of the bed, where something crinkled underneath her. She stood up, and on the red bed sheet, was a large orange packet, stuffed with papers. Written in black sharpie on the front of it was,"EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW."
The Engineer blinked for a moment as she set her yellow glove to the side, reclining in her bed, using the not-so-fluffy pillow as a prop. She opened up the orange packet and gave a small sigh.
This is gonna be good.