Victor was just as she remembered him, platinum blonde hair that hung just past his ears, and bright blue eyes that saw through her. His facial features were delicate, he was pretty as a peach and all the girls back at home had fawned over him. He didn't look any different from the last she saw of him, ripping out of the grasp of a police officer before running into the night. Tracy felt her throat go dry as she stared at him, unsure what to say.
"It's been awhile." His voice was warm, but not friendly. She couldn't tell what his intentions were. "I hope you got my note?"
She blinked and nodded, working up the nerve to speak. "Y-yeah... what are you doing here?"
"What, I can't drop in on an old friend?" He smiled, "I saw you at the party and thought I should keep an eye on you. After all, it has been such a long time."
Tracy glanced at her team, not wanting this conversation to continue in front of them. "Why don't we catch up outside?"
They walked outside and into the dim light of the evening, the sun having seeped below the horizon. She took baby steps after him, unsure how to continue the conversation. It had been so long since she had spoken to him, and that look on his face made her stomach curl up with anxiety. Something was definitely wrong here...
Breathing in the night air, she remembered that night. It was Christmas, winter all around them as they made their way to the mall. Snow peppered down from the sky when they decided to raid that mall. They thought they were sneaky, splitting up into pairs as they slipped items into their pockets. Just when they were walking back to their truck, two police cars screeched to a halt and ordered them to the ground. Tracy had complied, but the others. Victor had ran off into the darkness, not looking back.
They were a couple yards away from the door, Victor stopping in front of a large oak tree that was completely devoid of leaves. The branches looked like the hands of the dead reaching out to the moon peeking through the clouds. Taking a deep breath, she leaned against the tree, unsure how to hold her body in front of him. S-So... umm... yeah."
"No need to be so nervous, Trace. We're just talking..." He let the sentence hang as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He took out two, reaching out his hand to offer her one.
With a bit of hesitation, she took it. She had smoked a cigarette once or twice back in high school, but she didn't want to get addicted. But right now she just didn't want to upset Victor. She put it between her lips and allowed him to light it for her, despite being scared he might light her hair on fire. She coughed immediately after her first inhale, instantly regretting it. A familiar taste soaked into her tongue, smoky but sharp, bitter but in a pleasant way. It was smooth, not like the overpowering oder Spy always emitted.
Victor laughed, "Man, it's been awhile hasn't it? Don't throw up like that one time." It had been her first time hitting a blunt, and she had coughed so hard she threw up on his couch. He never let it go.
Her mouthed dried as she took another inhale, and coughed again but not quite as hard. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Oh, I was on the run for awhile, as you know. While I was out there, I was jumping from house to house. Some friends I knew from school, not the ones you're thinking of obviously." He rolled his eyes, smoke trailing off his words. "But eventually I had to skip town. Made my way up to Colorado, and spent some time going from condo to condo. You'd be surprised how many are empty during the summer and fall seasons. I ended up stumbling into a very important man. A short fight later, and he offered me a job. You might of heard of him, he's one of the Mann brothers."
Tracy wanted to ask which one, but he spoke up. "I saw you at that party, but I was at work and didn't have the time to catch up. I must say, I didn't expect you all the way out here."
"Heh, I-It's like 'whos following who?'" She chuckled nervously.
"Quite."
She coughed. "I'm not saying it's not nice to see you again, but what is it you wanted to talk about?"
"I didn't follow the case against the crew... what happened with them?" He asked, puffing on his cigarette without meeting her eyes.
Sighing, "Twins got parole, Zach got a couple years for hitting that cop."
"And what about you?"
She paused, her eyes flicking towards the door inside. It was slightly ajar and she could see someone standing near the door, but she could not see their face as they were but a silhouette. "I..."
"Save it." He suddenly stood up, crushing his cigarette against the tree. His fingers were long and thin, perfect for slipping into pockets. His blue eyes practically glowed in the dark. "I heard from a little birdie you got off scot free. Took a deal huh? What happened to 'the team' Trace?" He spat out her nickname as if it were poisonous.
Standing up and backing away, Tracy kept her eyes trained on him. When Victor was happy, he was a great friend to have around. He was the life of the party, and practically the only reason she had friends in the first place. When he was angry, he looked at you with those soulless blue eyes as if you didn't matter. As if he had no problem killing you and wouldn't feel sad afterward. Her heart started to pound, and she realized she was reaching for her pistol that wasn't there.
"You'd be a pretty good spy, but why didn't they just call you the Traitor?" He snarked, taking a step towards her. Tracy's hand went from her where her pistol holster usually was to her belt, where she always kept her trusty screwdriver. "Ooooh, big MAN now huh?"
"The fuck do you know?" She tried to sound tough, but the syllables were stuttered out as her teeth chattered. Her hand shook as she held the handle of her screwdriver. She didn't know what to do. This was Victor. She didn't want to hurt him.
"My benefactor is one of the Manns, remember?" He gestured with his hand, as if she were an idiot. "Have you been listening at all?" Despite how irritated he sounded, he had never once raised his voice. That was what really scared her. He never got loud when he got mad. She suddenly remembered the time when he threatened the life of another classmate who had tripped her on her way out from class. It had genuinely been an accident, but he either not known or didn't care as he described how he would snuff out his life and make sure his corpse was never found.
"Man Trace, I really thought you were better than that. I didn't believe them at first, but when I saw you walking free, that's when I knew." Victor began, muttering at her as he took another measured step forward. He wasn't a particularly large man, but something about him was just not right. In the way that, not knowing what he was thinking, he was unpredictable. "Remember that dumb little name we gave ourselves? Order of Thieves?"
It was a dumb little name given after they played a war game called Middle Earth. The name didn't make sense for the game itself, but they made believe they were a pack of thieves stealing from passing armies, decimating them in the process. When they started their robbery in real life, the name rung true. Now she cringed at the title, the audio equivalent of viewing a photo of yourself.
"I guess you were the only one to remember that there is no honor among thieves."
The air stilled for a moment, and for a single second that took forever, they just looked at each other. She didn't know what was going to happen, but whatever it was, Tracy knew it might be a awhile before she saw him again.
The second passed, and Victor sprung to life, pulling a revolver out and pulled away the hammer. For a split second, she recognized the name of it. It was his old Enforcer, which he had stolen from his father. It was called a "Mann Stopper" for a reason.
Leaping out, she slapped it from his hands and with her off-hand pulled her screwdriver out. Using her shoulder, she pushed him away from the gun and to the ground. Tracy fell with him, their feet having been caught up in the scramble. They wrestled back to their feet, his left hand gripping her right, which was holding the screwdriver. From behind them, she heard the door open. She had time to look as the person pulled them apart.
It was the Spy, who had become involved in hand to hand combat. Tracy saw as Victor's hands easily slipped inside the Spy's inner jacket pocket and pull something out, but she couldn't see in the darkness. From his other hand, she could see him pulling out a blade, glinting in the moonlight.
Without hesitation, Tracy raced forward and collided with Victor, tumbling deeper into the forest as they fell down a small hill. She got to her feet as soon as Victor struck out with his blade. She fell back just in time, the blade nearly kissing the skin of her neck. As he brought his arm up again, time slowed for the Thief. It could have been the nicotine high, but she felt herself dancing around him as he struggled to attack her. He might have been on the run, but not literally. She had been training for the battlefield and in the short time, she had become much more acclimated to combat.
That and, she had been trained by Soldier, and Victor had not.
In that last moment, everything became a blur as the adrenaline hit her, time coming quicker. By instinct, her fist collided with his body, sending him to the ground. She jumped on him, her fist meeting his jaw with a sickening crack. Tracy couldn't feel it, she couldn't tell if it was his bones breaking or her own. All she knew was she needed him gone. She wanted to stop but her body wouldn't listen to her. It was like she was a third person, watching someone else pilot her body.
She hit him, again and again, just now realizing she had the screwdriver in her hands. Just realizing that after having planted the sharp end in his chest. She shook violently, at once noticing the coat of blood all over her hands. Noticing how pale Victor was, how lifeless his eyes were...
"I think he's dead partner."
She flipped around, ripping the screwdriver from the corpse, ready to defend herself when she realized it was her Engineer. Behind him, the Spy fast approached. The door to the base was wide open, as the Heavy and Soldier turned on flashlights.
Looking at her blood soaked hands, she nearly giggled. She'd been caught red-handed. Tracy dropped her tool and took a step out of the brush, raising them awkwardly.
"C'mon now, let's go get you cleaned up. Spy, I'm sure you know how to handle this?" The Texan pointed a thumb into the spot she just left.
"Oui." and without another moment, he stepped into the dark to examine the body. Shaking, Tracy let the BLU guide her inside and into the bathroom. After he got the water hot, he gave her a nod and left her alone.
Looking into the mirror, she guessed why. She was covered in blood and flesh, from her face, hair and chest. Instantly, she lurched forward and released her dinner into the sink, not caring if the drain couldn't handle the amount. God, she had killed someone. Really killed someone. Victor didn't have a heart like her's, didn't have a respawn he could pop out, good as new. She had really ended someone's life for good. She retched, spewing out bile until she dry heaved.
"God, I can't believe I killed someone..." She gasped, a sob escaping her lips.
"I don't believe so." A knock at the door and the door opened, an unpleased Spy greeting her. "I think your friend might have taken something of mine."
He lifted his jacket, displaying his empty inner pocket. Tracy knew at once what that meant...
The Spy's Dead Ringer was gone.
HOLY SHIT SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG FOR ME TO UPDATE I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS
also yes sorry for the fake out at the end there, I wanna do something different from the original fic, so i hope you were surprised ;P
also remember: more reviews = more likely to update
yes i am an attention whore
