Chapter 2: What has been lost...

Sniper sat out in the cold as night started to fall. The marksman loved the silence ; it had a kind of metaphorical space for his own thoughts. Just him and his mind, even if there was someone sitting right next to him. It kept him calm. His breath converted into something visible, smoke-like, as the temperature was dropping as the night progressed, and it danced in front of his face up to the sky. Right now there was a storm in his head.

Medic joined him after a while, dropping himself next to him with a soft thump. They sat there for while before Medic finally broke the silence.

"Engi is still checking our respawn system."

Sniper nodded slowly.

"Are you sure, that he- that there was no sign of respawning?"

Sniper let out a sigh. He had seen the other Medic. He had seen his face. He had worked here for about 3 years now, and knew that face. The widened empty eyes, lips pressed into a thin line, looking like he forgot to breathe. Terror.

Sniper nodded.

Medic pushed his glasses up and rubbed his bridge of his nose as he pressed his eyes shut. He didn't say a word, just kept gazing over to the other side together with Sniper.

"If the respawn system has a failure we are all in big trouble." The doctor broke the silence again. "And we don't know if they already contacted someone about this...incident."

Sniper sniffed and scratched his neck. It was way too cold right now to be only dressed in an undershirt.

"Ach verdammt. What should I say? I don't know, I really don't know. I have never witnessed an accident like this before.-"

"It was murder. Not an accident." It was the first time since the last hour that Sniper spoke.

"You just said -... he was dead?"

"He was beheaded and then was placed there. There was way too little blood." Sniper's words nearly ran into each other as they spilled out of his mouth. "It was definitely murder. A planned one."

Medic looked at him with an inscrutable expression. Sniper was not bad at reading faces but it was hard to tell right now, what the doctor was thinking. His own mind was somewhere else entirely. He nearly forgot to swallow, but somehow noticed how frozen his face felt.

"If that's true, that person was a professional as well."

When had the Engineer joined them, Sniper wondered.

"The respawn system is fine, for now. But you should come in for a moment. The rest are already at the dining hall."

Medic exchanged a look with their Engineer while Sniper ignored them and just stood up. The pat on his back felt a bit misplaced right now, but the Texan had meant well of course.

To his surprise, everyone from his team was already seated at the large dining table, but as usual, it was loud. Very loud. Scout tried to spit out every detail of the incident he could think of, while Demoman tried to correct him every second or third sentence. Soldier mumbled his conspiracy theories in between which led to a loud gasp and 'Mmph!' from Heavy and Pyro. Spy was the only one who was dead quiet, silently listening to their every word.

"Alright guys, listen up!"

Sniper found his seat next to Demoman and as soon as the doctor sat down, too, Engineer continued.

"As y'all probably know-,... we just witnessed a respawning failure at the BLU side."

"I knew it!" Soldier shouted out, but was quickly 'shhd' by the rest.

"And as a logical precaution, I checked our respawn system, which is the same as the BLU's. Now, don't worry, because as it seems, everything is fine. It's not broken and was working perfectly when I tested it."

The room filled with sighs of relief. But Sniper watched the Spy's face, which was still unmoved and dark. Medic looked back and forth between the team and their Engineer, who stood at the head of the table.

"Now, there is something ya'll should know. Something did happen. I would call it, well, a 'technical hiccup'. And about 2 hours and 43 minutes ago, the respawn had that. It was deactivated."

"Deactivated?!" Soldier yelled, to be 'shhd' again by everyone.

"Yes, for about seven minutes. If it was not an accident or a technical failure, then the person who did this had very few time to kill anyone. Less than two minutes even under the best circumstances, I guess."

This time, the room stayed quiet. Engineer pressed his lips together as he was unsure what about to say next. Instead, Medic got up and raised his voice.

"For what we do know, the BLU Spy is dead and that he was decapitated. As Sniper noticed, there was little blood on the scene where he was found, which indicates that he was killed somewhere else and placed out in the open later. That and the fact that our Engineer found out that the respawn system was deactivated for that time, can only mean that this was a planned murder."

"And who-..?" Scout started to ask what everyone was thinking, but stopped as everyone else remained silent.

However, everyone did turn to look at Spy, whose eyes were focused somwhere on the dining table. A minute passed before he noticed everyone watching him. Coming back to the now, he quickly cleared his throat.

"I have no idea who it could be."

"But-, you are a Spy, you normally know what is going on here!" Scout exclaimed.

"Scout, an assassination like this is more a personal statement than simple murder, and as far as I know, no one held a grudge against the BLU Spy. Not anyone on BLU or any of us."

Something personal, Sniper furrowed his brows at the thought.

Scout tried to argue with Spy again, but the Frenchman was already done with this conversation. Medic sat down again with a long sigh as Heavy placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to calm him down with his little English.

"I wasn't really finished here." The sudden voice of Engineer broke off any argument, and everyone settled back down. "We don't know where he was killed, but somehow he got on the battlefield again. Someone placed him there. So I checked the cameras, and..." He paused, everyone tensely waiting for what he had to say.

"Nothing."

"What?!"

"The whole seven minutes weren't recorded. All cameras went offline right at that time."

And it was dead quiet again. Soldier got up and stormed his way to the records room, most likely to check the cameras for himself. Scout slouched down into his chair instead of spilling out his every thought.

Sniper just sat there wondering if it was really personal. And not an overall statement, as in 'I can kill you all and you can't do anything about it.' From what he saw as he looked up at his teammates' faces, he was sure that he wasn't the only one thinking that.

"We fight men every day. Death is normal. And we can take on that man who killed BLU Spy." The big Russian may not have been the most eloquent, but his attempt to lift up the mood was surely appreciated. "We find out." And again, he placed his hand on Medic's shoulder and squeezed it. "We find out. This won't happen to us."

Sniper combed his fingers through his hair, and his mouth twitched a bit as he slowly got up. Spy had already left this place, probably going off to the smoking room. And he was not to let down as he found that very room filled with a calm crackle and flickering light, as the Frenchman blew some air into the fireplace. Even though he was already in, Sniper knocked on the wooden door to announce himself. No need to be completely rude.

"I know you are here."

Of course he did. Sniper let the door close behind him and continued to slowly walk over to the antique armchairs. A bottle of wine along with a fitting glass was already placed right next to them.

"Can I talk to you for moment?" The other man didn't decline, which normally meant 'yes'.

"Ah, I know you were friends."

"Colleagues."

"Or that, ehm, you knew him." He watched his teammate pace to the little table, and for once, not meet his eyes. "You said it was personal." He added slowly.

"That doesn't mean that I know who it was."

"No offense Spook, but maybe he's after you, too."

"Maybe."

"And I know you can defend yourself very well."

"Certainly."

"But... Spook, c'mon. Just talk to us." Sniper let out a soft sigh.

An old wine was poured into the glass, and Sniper waited for Spy to bring the glass up to his nose to smell the light red fluid, eyes closed, appreciating its scent.

"I didn't say that it was something personal towards the BLU Spy." He finally said.

Snipers face fell into a confused frown. He stepped closer and accepted the offer to sit down.

"What do you mean?"

Spy took a little sip. "If this had been a grudge against him, he would have met a different end. No, this was a message for someone else."

Sniper hadn't had a drink for a while, but he was sure he could use that wine right now.

"I still had contact with René. There was nothing indicating that someone was on his trail. He surely didn't tell me everything, but if it were something related to this-" Spy took another sip."-, he would probably have told me."

"So he wasn't targeted." Sniper finished the thought. "He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time." He concluded.

"Maybe. Maybe not." Their eyes finally met. "It surely is a bigger statement to kill off an assassin than a simple mercenary. The others might be good fighters, but they are also easy targets."

Sniper nodded slowly in agreement.

"You would like to have some wine, no?"

Sniper answered that with a quiet chuckle, gazing over to the small table as their Spy poured a second glass in. He wasn't sure how wine tasting worked, so he just took a shy sip from it.

"To be honest, I think that is what's getting to us right now. Hell, have you seen the others? I mean, we literally die everyday. But this-...this is, uhm-."

"Alarming." Their eyes met again. "I do not have enough information to deactivate the respawn system so neatly. Even manipulation would need more intel and preparation. My 'sapper' would not do. If the murder and the moving of the body both happened in those few minutes- I have no idea how." Spy gestured shakily. Sniper noticed how nervous his teammate was at this point. "I don't know how that was possible."

There was no ceasefire. The Announcer's call came as usual, as if nothing had ever happened. They lined up at the gate, ready and set.

Spy ground his cigarette butt under his heel.

"Five, four..."

Medic re-positioned himself behind Heavy and Soldier, as Scout fastened his weapon bag.

"...three, two..."

Pyro stood absolutely still. Demoman puffed and stepped forward impatiently.

Then the gate opened and everyone ran. Except for Sniper and Engineer. They took it easy, no need to hurry.

Except this time, Engineer did run right after them.

"Going to the front?" Sniper shouted after him. A simple gesture was his only answer.

Today they all gone to the offense. No halt, no mercy. And so did BLU. With one man short they made sure to give everything to make up for it. Sniper wondered if they knew that the RED team knew.

The BLU Scout surely seemed to run faster than usual, as if he'd stirred up a hornet's next and had the whole swarm after him. But today he was shot anyway.

Sniper didn't miss that one.

The RED Medic was shielded by Heavy and Soldier, sometimes even Pyro, as he would be more important than normal. Not that he wasn't always important; his medical assistance was crucial for every step to success. But today, life seemed more important to the REDs than ever. Engineer had even decided to build a Dispenser first, right near the battlefront. His teammates behavior was really contrary to their aggressive rushing earlier.

Sniper decided to camp at an open space, his normal nest holding no attraction for him today. Even though that it was as hot as yesterday. His hat may be not very fancy, but he kept his neck and face from melting down and his aviators took care of the bright daylight. At least his vest was light enough to not make him swim in his own sweat as he lay down onto the dust and sand between some rocky cover. There he was again, the BLU Scout.

Sniper didn't miss that shot, either.

The hours passed slowly. And even though half of the day was already over it seemed that there was no progress at all. The BLU team did well, all things considered, but he was sure that they couldn't held that up for long. The Australian eventually found himself panting and slowly drained just by laying in the sun, so he retreated a few times to refill his water bottle and cool down in the basement. But he still stayed away from his nest. He didn't quite feel like being in a closed space right now.

Noon had passed and he found himself at their kitchen sink for the fifth or sixth time, or had it been even more? He'd lost count. He made sure to fill his bottle up to the brim before he took a swig directly from the tap. The day was passing far too slowly. He just wanted it to be over. He wanted his own space.

As he walked out again, the air greeted him with its thick layer of heat, and he had to let that sink in for a moment before he could continue. From far away he saw Heavy, carrying Demoman and Medic out of the fire-line as both seemed to be wounded. The Russian always took good care of the others, knowing that he was the larger target.

Sniper squinted over to find a hint of the enemy that was shooting at them, but a faint blue-ish smoke to his left suddenly caught his eye. Enchanting green eyes meet his for only a second and then disappeared as fast as they were noticed. Sniper blinked for moment. Maybe BLU wasn't a man short.

Back in his perch, Sniper remembered the device on his belt and sent out the alarm: 'Spy near intel'. Whoever that was, he was way too close to their main base, and even if it was his heat-addled imagination, it was still better to call it out. Just to be sure.

He fired two shots and the BLU Engineer was finally down. The first to lure him back to his building, the second to make the kill. Now his Spy could easily apply his sapper to their Sentry. He saw the Frenchman looking back to him and appreciated the thankful nod from his teammate, but quickly put it out of his mind, now he needed to concentrate. He pressed another button on his device. An alert for 'Stickies' as he saw some blue bombs placed at an important corner. To his irritation, he couldn't see the Demoman who was placing them. But at least his team was on the lookout, so he could scope to his next target.

The BLU Scout, again. The young man was choosing the same route over and over again and Sniper began to wonder if he even cared that he was being picked off at nearly the same spot every damn time. Everyone was so reckless today. He wanted to take his breath in, but let out a heavy sigh instead. He missed the shot. Maybe he had a bit of pity after all.

Scoping back to the deck to see if the BLU Engineer had decided to rebuild his Sentry at the same spot, he saw the body of his team's Spy already dissolving into thin air. He zoomed in hastily but couldn't see any enemy around. A deep cut on Spy's neck and a large puddle of blood. He sniffed. Hopefully it was just a coincidence. He quickly surveyed the area but still couldn't find any hints of an enemy. Probably a coincidence. The body of his teammate was gone now, respawn had taken him in.

There was a sudden noise on the steps that caused Sniper to look up, but it was already too late as he found himself looking right down the barrel of the BLU Scout's shotgun. He took a sharp breath in and looked into the young man's widened and empty eyes.

To hell with this.

Luckily the Scout had gotten too close and Sniper kicked his feet away from his position on the ground. His rifle was useless at this distance, so he had no choice but to draw his knife for this fight. The younger man got back to his feet and tried to re-aim, but Sniper foiled his shot by swinging his Kukri onto his shotgun. Another quick swing and the gun was out of Scout's hands, leaving him with less chances.

"You camped the whole time for this?!" The Scout grabbed his bat and stormed forward with rage and fury. "Ya got anything smart ta say now?!"

It was hard to keep up with Scout's fast hits and his knife surely wasn't meant to fence with a metal bat. Making a split second decision, Sniper moved and took a hit to his shoulder, rolling with the blow, and getting a free shot at Scout's side with his knife.

"That'll slow ya down, ya twitchy hooligan!" Sniper panted out as the youngster fell down with a cry of pain.

Suddenly, an exploding pain at his forehead brought him down as the Scout hurled his bat into his face. With his last breath he tried to grab his shotgun, but the marksman was already up and finished him off.

That was close. Sniper stumbled forward and tried to keep standing, holding onto a nearby boulder, his knees weak and vision blurred. His head felt like he'd fallen on it from two stories up. The ache spread down to his eyes and nose as his mouth filled with the taste of vomit. As he dropped to his knees, he closed his eyes and tried to let the wave of pain pass.

Screams, something exploded, gunfire, battle cries, a breeze blowing across the nape of his neck - everything felt so numb. He slowly opened his eyes, watching the corpse of the other man disappear. At the edge of his sight there was a little blue flash. Something moved, and he looked up. His own blue eyes met green. And then it was gone.

"Get up and fight, maggot!" Sniper jolted up to the sudden scream right next to him as Soldier ran past his camping spot. Blinking the dust away, he went to re-position his hat but found it misplaced, knocked away when he'd been hit by the bat. His glasses were broken as well. At the very moment he tried to grab his hat a rocket exploded nearby, sending shrapnel showering over him and bringing on an entirely new wave of pain and distress. The power of the impact caused a piercing ringing in his ears, but it was gone fast.

He woke up.

He respawned.

As frightening death was, he was relieved as there was only a faint memory of pain left in his body. And of course, relief that their respawn worked. This system was them laughing into the face of death and everything that tried to keep people like him from their work. Not that he had much choice.

He grabbed some new ammunition, his respawn-repaired rifle and took off to rejoin his team again. No time to think about this nonsense. For a moment he thought about to return to the same spot up the hill, but he had camped there for a while now and had already been spotted by two BLU's. Another spot it was then, but not the sniper nest. He needed open space.

As he ran down the water side of the mill he noticed a terrifying silence. And as he thought about that, a little crack startled him, made him stop and turn around just to watch a whole lot of – nothing. He held his breath, stayed still and strained his ears, but there was nothing.

No time for this, he had to get forward and so he turned around again, just for his face to meet a metal barrier. There was it again, that exploding pain. The BLU Scout had come back, but instead of running to the intel, he had come back for him.

"That's what you friggin' get!" The youngster said as he raised his bat again.

Sniper growled in response. Just fresh out of respawn and already a dead man. His vision was blurry again and he wasn't able to get his hands on his Kukri in time. Sniper let himself fall back, giving up on this round. But the strike was yet to come, as it was the Scout who was crying in pain. The marksman looked up again; Medic had wounded the BLU with his crude bonesaw and offered him his hand to get up.

"Fuck you! Fuck you all!" The Scout was still alive.

Medic was known to kill his enemies at a rather slow pace if he wanted to, as unnecessary as Sniper found that to be.

Back on his feet he let out a sigh. "Watch your mouth, wanker, fair game for everyone."

"Yeah, as if, ya knuckleheads think you are so great, eh?" He spit out. "Sore cowards!"

Sniper wasn't sure if he wanted to listen to the pain induced rage of the BLU and decided to finally reach his Kukri, but Medic took a step forward.

"Let's zee if you have enough Schadenfreude after I show you how much 'cowardice' I really have!"

Medic didn't seem to be in the mood for mercy, so the marksman held himself back. He was thankful that he had saved his life, but he wasn't here to watch him torture that young man.

"Tell that him! That friggin bastard!"

"Oi!" Don't let emotions sink in, Sniper thought to himself, the Scout was just taunting him."I just do my job as a sniper, got a problem with that?"

"You got a problem with us? Spy didn't deserve this stupid shit!" Scout yelled as he threw his bat at him again, but this time, Sniper dodged.

"You think I did that?! That's ridiculous!"

Now Medic had to hold him back. Sniper was a professional. He respected the BLU Spy.

Scout was coughing up blood, the deep wound in his back surely damaged his lungs too.

"Yeah, who else carries a huge knife, huh? That saw can't do that! Did your Engi helped you, huh?! Did he?"

"No one of us killed him!"

"You don't know what happened there?" The Medic joined in again. "Oh, this is getting interesting. So he is dead, for real?-"

"He really didn't respawn?" Sniper added after a short pause, giving Scout time to answer. He saw that face before.

"No." Scout coughed, his face pale.

Sniper wiped some sweat from his neck and exchanged a look with his teammate. The BLU Spy was really dead.

"And your replacement? He doesn't know a thing?"

"Replacement? We are still eight friggin people, there is no new Spy!" The BLU started to yell again which resulted into a heavy coughing fit. It also didn't helped the fact that he was slowly bleeding out.

"What replacement?" The German asked as well.

"The-... the other BLU Spy. I saw him today." Sniper was sure he saw something.

"Fucking hell, are you shitting me? Is that a friggin mind game or what? Do you think this is funny?!"

"Now wait, you saw another Spy? I thought you pressed that button on accident. Are you sure- I mean, ..."

"Yeah, hell, I AM sure!" He looked back at the BLU, slowly turning transparent as the respawn took his body.

"I know what I saw."

And as always, I hope you enjoyed reading.

I'll try to update as soon as possible!