Scout had been lying in a tree line for what must have been years at this point. He swore he could feel the years pass him by like his life was just slipping away in front of him while he stared out into the grey alps in the hopes that one of those tankers would show up at some point. Dramatic as he was, the reality was that he had only been there for two, maybe three hours at the most. But it was just. So. Boring.

He tapped his fingers on rocks, scratched at their surfaces to try make drawings in them, tried to catch a bird at one point though he had failed miserably, thrown pebbles at trees, snapped branches, tore leaves, absolutely anything to take his mind off how painfully bored he was. He could feel the numbness sinking into his bones and every muscle as they yearned for some kind of action. He had even radioed back to base to try and talk to someone until Engineer had told him to stop calling unless he saw something of interest. The last time Scout had called was just fifteen minutes ago, but the Texan had sounded annoyed enough to warn Scout not to try again unless he wanted to get hit with a guitar when he finally got back to the others.

Minutes slipped by and Scout huffed, scowling at the mountains like the rocky, snow-capped formations of the earth were to blame for nothing happening. His legs bounced in desperation for something to happen, even if it wasn't a tanker showing up. Maybe a bird or a squirrel showing up so he could try to catch it, or even a wolf if there were any in these mountains. But alas, the only life around him were the trees and shrubs and weeds, and those were no fun if they couldn't run away.

He shifted his posture until he was seated up and reached up for a low branch on the tree his back was up against, snapping it off. He held onto the jagged edge and pulled off the tiny branches and leaves until it was just a stick with a fairly pointed tip, starting to doodle in the dirt around him. He dragged the thin edge of the stick along in the dirt, making hasty scribbles that were less of a reflection of his ability as an artist and more of a very accurate reflection of a need to move or do something. As tempting as it was to get up and try to venture out into the mountains to look for Gray, Sniper had warned him not to do that since it was incredibly easy to get lost once outside the boundaries of Mann Co. territory and no one was going to be able to find him.

He had drawn in a circle around him when a deep rumble came from the mountains. The scrapper looked up expecting to see thunderclouds rolling in from the distance, dropping his stick as he caught sight of a massive blue tanker driving in the distance. Sniper had taught him a few things about approximating distance after multiple times when the boy had tried to use the number of 'medium sized dogs' as a way to measure length, and by the looks of it, the tanker was maybe three hundred yards, which wasn't all that far. It was in the base of the forest below the outcrop he was waiting on, which was exactly where he was told not to go.

But…. Sniper had said not to go down there to look for the tank, right? And if it was right there in view, then it didn't count as looking for it but rather, just going up to it to scout it out like Engineer had told him to. He gripped the edge of the outcrop and bounced a little, considering his options. The tanker looked like it wasn't heading towards the fast lemon factory, slowly drifting along a path carved into the line of trees where the dirt had become so compacted by the weight of the behemoth trodding on it and trampling over any stubborn weeds that forced its way into the cracks of the dirt.

Scout carefully swung his legs over the edge of the outcrop, twisting around so that his body was facing the rock wall. It wasn't that far of a drop, perhaps only sixteen feet or so, but the jagged rocks below made no promise to soften the fall. The BLU instead decided to scale his way down carefully, feet and hands searching for a firm grip and a good foothold as he slowly lowered himself until he was down the sloped wall enough that he could just jump and clear the rocks. He pushed himself off the wall and landed clear of the stones, surrounded by the tall pines of the base of the alps.

While the tanker was no longer in sight from down there, it could still be heard chugging along. Scout had tagged along with Sniper on a few hunting trips when he was bored enough to busy himself with following animals and while he hadn't ever caught anything with his own two hands, he did learn a thing or two about tracking and following things based on sound alone. The boy took a moment to listen to his surroundings and identify the direction the tanker was going, before carefully picking his way through the grass and shrubs to follow it.

He kept a decent pace up, not wanting to let the tanker get too far. While it was a slow thing, it could disappear easily into the forest and once it was gone, Scout would have missed a perfect opportunity to get onto it and likely have completely gotten lost in the forest outside of the factory's gated compound. He jogged along, not wanting to sprint and end up falling into a pit. The sound of the tanker got louder and louder, indicating that he was getting closer until he caught a glimpse of the blue metal plating in the distance. A sense of pride swelled in his chest as he thought of how proud Sniper would be that he had actually learned how to successfully track something, even if his target was less of a small bird or hare, and more of a twenty-two ton machine bulldozing through the forest.

The closer he got, the easier it was to track. Evidence clear as day leading up to it was littered all over, from trees rammed over by the machine's massive hull, to shrubs and branches that were shattered from getting steamrolled. Once Scout got on the path behind the tanker, it was just a matter of sprinting to catch up and getting on board.

Scout loosened up his muscles and sprinted after the tanker, following right behind it as it continued on its path to wherever Gray had planned for it to go. Scout had no idea where the thing was really going, but the only thing that mattered to him was scouting it out and maybe redirecting it if he could get into the driver's seat and steer it. The rest of the team would be in awe of his prowess if he managed to pull it off, even though he didn't even know if the thing had a driver's seat to begin with.

Once he caught up, he pushed ahead and tried to get a few feet besides the tanker while avoiding its wheel chain that was just as tall as he was. He eyed the side that he could see, looking for something he could grab onto like a ladder, or even a pole or pipe. However, the tanker looked like it was hijacker-proof from this side. With a grumble, Scout slowed a little to get behind it, before running up to the opposite side of the tanker to look for an opportunity.

Bingo. There was a ladder on this side of the machine, leading onto a short platform with a door at the end of it. It looked a lot like the engine car of a train, which likely meant that whatever was on the other side of the door was the driver's seat. Scout kept the pace up despite starting to feel the burn in his calves and lungs, lunging for the ladder. He got a firm grip and pulled himself onto it, hooking his legs under one of the rungs of the ladder to keep himself up. It almost felt like the tanker knew someone was on it and was trying to shake him off like an angry bull at a rodeo, though the reality was just that the ground was horribly uneven. Scout tightened his grip and pulled his body close to the ladder, folding his head inwards and wrapping every limb tight. He held on until the tanker got past the rough road and finally smoothed out, no longer making his teeth rattle through his skull and make him feel like they were going to get shaken right out of his mouth.

Slowly, he unfolded himself and climbed up onto the platform, planting himself against the wall of the behemoth and letting himself take a breath to steady himself. He glanced at the door on the side of the carrier and crept up to it, peering through the single, circular glass window that was heavily bolted on all sides. He could see through the glass that there was a Heavybot piloting the whole thing, the mechanical replica of Mann Co.'s Russian force staring ahead out of the two windows that offered a view of the road ahead as the blue carrier continued to plough through just about anything that got into its way. Any animals nearby had long since fled due to the noise and the fact that Gray Industries was quite literally tearing their homes apart.

The Heavybot didn't appear to notice the intruder on board the carrier. Guess Gray didn't account for mercenaries showing up on top of his toys all of a sudden. Scout looked through the glass again, which appeared too thick to punch through with bolts of that size holding the glass to the door. The door was also at least four inches of pure hard steel, so no breaking through that either. He was starting to get a good idea of how hard it would be to break into the driver's room.

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"Where the hell is that boy?"

"How should I know?"

"Good riddance, I say. That puny little runt was just going to walk into a bear trap and we all knew it."

Soldier got a hard glare each from Engineer and Sniper, both of whom had been trying to contact Scout's radio for hours now. As annoying as it was for him to be calling back every few minutes just to satiate his own boredom, he hadn't even attempted to contact them for almost four hours now. Worse still, he hadn't picked up any attempts from base to contact him. There was a very good chance that he too, had been captured, or the damn fool of a boy had defied Sniper's instructions not to venture out into the mountains and was now horribly lost and likely never to be found. Maybe he got eaten by a bear, or mauled by a pack of hungry wolves. Or tripped over a pebble and fallen into a river and drowned like the idiot he was.

Engineer shook his head, trying to clear his mind of the horrid thoughts. If these imaginations had been suggested just three weeks ago, he would have laughed and said that the boy deserved it with absolutely no pity whatsoever for the BLU. However, a cold frost of worry had settled deep into his spine and taken root, where it would remain until he could assure the young man's safety. How drastically being forced to work together with someone, mixed with a little time, could change one's perspective on things.

Sniper tossed out a few pictures of the mountains he had taken from vantage points that only he and Scout had the skills and agility to climb to. They gave a decent view of the territory that went beyond Mann Co.'s borders, with a faded view of the mountains in the distance. Soldier grumbled and joined the group when Engineer pulled him over as they began to solidify a plan to go out and search for their missing teammate, or his corpse.

"We put him on this outcrop, and there's nothing behind," Sniper pushed aside some of the photos and pointed out one. It was a bottom-up view of the vantage point Scout had been told to go sit in, because it had the widest view of the alps and its height was suitable for surveying the landscape below in case Gray decided to have his minions move in on foot. "There's some rocks below it but there's a way to climb down from the back. Chances are if he moved off on his own, he would have gone north towards the mountains. Maybe stopped by the time he hit the river, which is about an hour's walk away."

The river wasn't visible from the photo Sniper had pointed out, but a second image from a different vantage point had a view of the river that split the photo in half like a lightning bolt with how rocky and choppy it looked. Jagged rocks that looked like rough spears stuck out from the waters, white foam and waves frozen in time forever within the photograph. "He wouldn't have crossed it. We might find some tracks from there."

"Remind me why we're going after him?" Soldier lamented. "That old crackhead probably took him and dumped him with the others if he was found. I say we just storm his base and rip out the bastard's lungs."

Engineer frowned. This wasn't the stupidest thing that had left Soldier's mouth, but neither was it anywhere near the smartest thing to say, both practically and while some emotions were running high. "Soldier, just shut it. We don't even know where his base is. Could be in Australia for all we know. Sniper's plan is solid. We go to the river and follow any tracks from out there. It's the best thing we go to go after." He reached for his shotgun and racked a shell into the chamber.

As if on cue, the ground started to rumble, and the familiar sound of a tanker thundered in like a rolling storm. The ground shook harder and harder, prompting the three mercenaries to grab their weapons and run outside.

Lo and behold, a massive tanker was indeed there on horizon.

"Shit, ready up boys! We'll find Scout later," Engineer commanded.

Soldier and Sniper sprung into action, finding positions that were ideal for keeping the base protected. The tanker had stopped at the edge of the alps where it normally did, but instead of opening up to reveal an army of robots ready to storm the facility, its doors remained shut.

Nothing happened.

Then, something did happen. A hatch at the top opened, instead of the back folding down to become a ramp. A hand was just barely recognisable across the distance, wrapped up from the wrist to knuckles in white. Moments later, Scout popped up from the hatch and waved.

"Huh." Engineer lowered his shotgun and headed down the facility to meet Scout, who had run across the last bit of rocks and land, sliding down the short cliffside with a dented Heavybot's head clutched under one arm.

"Check this out, guys!" Scout proudly lifted the metal head up, beaming with pride as he showed off his little prize from his adventures out in the alps. There was no doubt that the boy was incredibly proud of what he had achieved, and he made his desire for praise well known to the team of mercenaries when their stunned silence was met with a look of utter betrayal like they had cursed his mother in front of him. "Hey- come on guys! Say something, I went through all that trouble not for you guys to just stare at me."

Engineer was the first to break the silence as he finally found his words, closing his agape jaw and shaking his head. "Well hell boy, I have no idea how you did it but you sure done it."

Sniper however, was a little less amused. "You went into the mountains, didn't ya? I told you not to go there and ya did anyway. What if you got lost?"

Scout scowled, unable to help himself at the criticism. What he had just done was so cool! None of the others would have been able to pull of what he had, because they would have gotten left behind and never been able to catch up to the tank even if they had tried. He hadn't spent years trying to be the fastest person alive just for Sniper to get up in his lane and drag him down. "The hell's your problem man? I just got you a whole tank! I mean, are you seeing this?" He threw a hand out towards the still, unmanned tanker that sat on the horizon above the cliff. "You could have just said a thank you."

"It was still dangerous. You could have gotten killed."

"So? You ain't my dad."

"No, but y-" Sniper suddenly shut his mouth and looked away, heaving a deep sigh. Engineer got the feeling that something was up, but decided against saying anything.

Meanwhile, Soldier found it fitting to start scaling the short cliff side to investigate the tanker himself. Engineer only realised he was already moving off when a couple of loose pebbles tumbled down the edge from an unsecured footing. The Texan glanced over, raising an eyebrow as Soldier clumsily tried to climb up with his rocket launcher clutched in his elbow. It was clearly a struggle for the man to try keep his rocket launcher in his grip, while also trying to find handholds and footholds he could use to leverage himself up with.

Engineer sighed. Guess this was it. Sniper seemed to have gotten the idea and slung his rifle over his back, heading up to the wall to figure his way up as well. The lankier, more agile man had an easier time getting up the wall despite the thin holds that rock's natural formation provided, and had scaled up to the top of the rock and hauled himself over the top. He turned around and offered his hand to Soldier, the latter accepting it after a moment of getting over his pride. Some things could never change between RED and BLU.

Scout however, appeared to have lost all interest and spark after being put down by Sniper. The boy stood there with his arms crossed and the Heavybot's head clutched upside down in one hand, looking off to the side with a frown etched into his brows. It would have been so easy for Engineer to just ignore him and let him get over it himself, but something within him didn't allow him to just leave it. It didn't feel right, even if they had barely gotten to know each other.

"You alright?" Engineer asked.

Scout huffed. "Yeah." His curt response was an indication to anyone else to just leave him be, but Engineer could read into the way he said it and the tiny glances Scout was giving him that he wanted support. Twenty-something years young, he wasn't mature enough to just move past what Sniper had said.

"It's what Sniper said, right?" The Texan prodded further.

There was a pause as Scout stewed over whether he wanted to tell Engineer the truth. His fingers thrummed against his arm, eyes darting around with thought until he finally settled on agreeing with a small nod in the hopes that it would be unnoticeable.

The tiny gesture didn't slip past Engineer's keen eyes, but he wasn't all too sure on how to go about making it better since he didn't know Scout that well yet. He resorted to a simple pat on the shoulder and a reassuring smile, before he too moved towards the short cliff side to find his way up. Soldier and Sniper had made their way up, with the latter looking over the horizon at the tanker. The rocket-wielding American had turned around and reached his hand down the rock wall to Engineer, who accepted it to let his teammate bear some of his weight to help him up the wall.

Scout couldn't help but feel like RED had better team dynamics than his own. Seeing Soldier and Engineer be so willing to help each other out made him feel as though he was missing out on something with his own team. He couldn't help but think of the times when his teammates yelled at him, berated him, left him to figure things out on his own. Spy wasn't like that and would have certainly known exactly what to say, but he wasn't here now. At least Engineer was trying, and he did find some comfort in that.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when Engineer called out to him from the top of the rock. "C'mon boy, we're going. You wanna drive the tank?"

The way Scout's face lit up at the prospect of getting to driving the giant blue tanker back to Gray like some kind of Trojan horse warmed Engineer's heart, the boy scrambling back up to meet with the rest of them.

Engineer chuckled, "Alright then Scout, you know where you left it. Lead the way."