Sniper went back to his van, going back to the base and dropping off the beer that was requested by the others, some of them already a little tipsy from the alcohol they already consumed.
"What took ya so long Snipes?" Scout asked.
There was a pause as Sniper was on his way out the door. He slowly looked over to the Scout and smirked.
"They wanted to charge extra just because I was an element of the air." He replied.
Scout started bursting out into laughter.
"What'd they think ya were? Air mail?" He asked, causing the others to laugh.
Sniper nodded, bumping into Demoman.
"Oi mate, where do you think you're goin?" He asked, obviously drunk off his ass.
"I just need to make a phone call to my girl." Sniper replied in a serious toned voice.
"You mean that assistant to..." Engie was about to finish his statement before Sniper cut him off.
"Yeah...her...I'd like to be left alone if that's alright by you lads."
The others agreed to Sniper's request as they let him leave the room. Once by himself, he went to the nearest payphone and made the phone call. He was immediately greeted by an automated message, once it was done he punched in the extension number to get to who he was calling.
"Hello?" A female voice answered.
"Hello Carrie, how are you?" Sniper replied.
A gasp was heard from the other end.
"Lawrence! It's been so long since I heard your voice! How are you darling?" She asked.
"I'm doing well..."
There was a short pause, Sniper took a deep breath before talking to Carrie again.
"Love...your facility experiments on blokes with two elements, right?" He asked.
"We do...Why do you ask?" She replied, suddenly having an idea of where the conversation was going. "Did you find one while at work?"
Sniper felt that a large weight was on his shoulders. He had the opportunity to expose Medic to his lover, but if he did, it would possibly cost him his job. (And possibly his life if Ms. Pauling was going to involve herself into it.)
"I did, but me and the lads killed him on the spot." He lied.
"What a shame, do you know what elements he had?" Carrie asked, in a sort of cheery tone.
Sniper took a deep breath, contemplating whether or not he should give more information about Medic's powers. His silence was quickly noticed.
"Sweetie?" Carrie asked.
"Huh?" He replied, snapping out of his moment of thinking.
"Did you find out what elements this individual had?"
"No...I didn't..."
"Oh, that's okay! I guess it'd be too late to know now. Next time you find a person with two elements, try to convince your fellow mercenaries to spare their life, we could use some more test subjects here."
Sniper smiled, it was cute whenever Carrie talked about her job. However, in thinking of Medic in the situations that she often told him about, he just became worried for the doctor.
"I see...well...I'll let you know if I find another bloke with two elements." Sniper replied, knowing that this was a lie. "By the way, how's the CEO doin'? Last I heard he was dying."
"He's been taking more pain pills, but so far no change." Carrie explained, "He did think of a way to cheat death though."
"He didn't call my employers did he?" Sniper joked.
There was a giggle on the other side of the phone.
"No...But he's decided on putting his consciousness into a computer...but..." Her voice trailed off, sounding full of worry.
"Carrie? Is everything alright?" Sniper asked.
Carrie stayed silent for 3 minutes before finally speaking again.
"He says, that if he dies before he's transferred...I'll be in charge of the facility..." She explained.
It was Sniper's turn for silence, he didn't really know why she was so worried about this.
"Love, I don't think I really understand...what's wrong with becoming in charge of the facility?" He asked.
"If I become in charge...then that means I'll have my consciousness transferred into the computer instead of his."
Sniper's eyes widened as he felt his heart starting to break.
"Love...Don't let that happen...I don't want to lose you."
"I'm trying to convince him to put the responsibility on someone else...but he keeps insisting that I'd be best at taking care of the facility after he's gone." Carrie replied, her words getting a little choked up.
Sniper thought for a while, then had an idea.
"You were born with the element of Water right?" He asked.
There was a slight silence from Carrie as she was wiping her tears.
"Lawrence, what does this have to do with-"
"Find a water source in the facility that leads to the surface, then escape as far away from there as possible. Do you understand me Carrie?" Sniper's voice had a serious tone, he wasn't going to lose the one person who was keeping him sane with what was going on right now for him.
Carrie took a deep breath before speaking again.
"Alright Lawrence, I'll try, but if I don't answer the next time you call...I want you to know that I'll always love you."
"I love you too Carrie..." Snipe replied, having a few tears in his eyes and hanging up.
When he went back to the base, he was greeted by Scout in the nearby pool. His form had changed to look more aquatic to better suit his element. His hands and feet had become webbed for better swimming, and he had also obtained gills for breathing under the surface of the water.
"Hey Snipes, how's your lady friend doin'?" He asked.
"None of yer business fish boy..." Sniper retorted.
"Ya might as well tell me, I'm gonna find out eventually."
Sniper sighed, of course since he had the element of water it also meant that he was cocky.
"Fine...if you really want to know..." He started to say, before pulling his hat over his eyes, "I might be losing her."
Scout's eyes widened, he was going to ask why, but decided not to torture Sniper any further.
"I'm sorry for ya man...I hope you feel better by the time the next battle comes around." He said, in an attempt to help his coworker feel better.
"Thanks mate..." Was all Sniper could reply with.
"Why don't you uh...fly around for a while? Maybe clear your mind?" Scout suggested.
Sniper didn't reply, instead, walking to Medic's office and knocking on his door.
"Who is it?" Medic called from the other side.
"It's me..." Sniper replied.
Medic slowly opened the door a crack, only letting one of his eyes be visible to the Australian.
"Are you here to try and kill me again Herr Sniper?" Medic asked.
"No...I...I came to apologize for earlier..." He replied.
After thinking long and hard about what Sniper had said, Medic fully opened the door and looked around in case anyone else was close to the two of them.
"Well, let's not waste any time, come in." Medic exclaimed, opening the door for Sniper to pass through.
As Sniper went through the door, he got his first real look at the Medic's quarters, taking note of everything that surrounded him. After all, Medic had always kept his office locked from the inside and wouldn't allow anyone to come in after dark. As Medic looked to Sniper, he could sense in his aura that something was wrong.
"What is troubling you Herr Sniper?" He finally asked.
Sniper looked to him with a grave expression, he knew that there was no use hiding anything from the doctor now.
"Doc...I need to ask you a favor." He explained, putting his hand on Medic's shoulder.
"What is it?"
Sniper kept his head down, trying to hide the tears in his eyes.
"Let me know if you meet a spirit who goes by the name of Caroline..." He choked a little as he continued to speak, "And let me know if she asks about me."
Medic was a little confused at first, but soon came to the conclusion that this "Caroline" was really important to him.
"I will let you know...but in return you must promise me one thing." He finally replied.
"I think I already know..." Sniper exclaimed, going to the window and looking out to the night sky. "Ya want me to keep my mouth shut about you having two elements. Right doc?"
The doctor only replied with a simple nod. "Get some sleep Sniper, I'll let you know if I find her..."
Sniper turned and tipped his hat, leaving the room to go back to his camper. As he left, Luna slightly nudged Medic to get his attention.
"Do you think he'll keep his promise?" She asked him, "He seemed to ask for your help awfully quick."
Medic looked out the window at the sight of Sniper returning to his van. As he sensed the aura coming from the marksman, he could feel the sadness that was in his heart. At the same time, he could sense the love that he had for the woman named Caroline.
"I'm sure he will...Love is an element that is stronger than any other element an individual can possess." He explained. "It gains strength over time when you are with the ones you love, yet at the same time it can be weakened. It can be weakened through hatred, or when you are isolated from those you love dearly...but I know that one thing is for certain, love can never be destroyed."
Luna thought for a while and smiled slightly.
"Does this technically mean that even your friends possess two elements?" She asked.
Medic looked to her and gained a smile of his own, chuckling as he made sure his doves were fed and watered.
"If that is true, then that also means that I have three elements." He stated.