Well guys, good news and bad news. Bad news is that I am having to push back my next story/timeline/sequenced chapter. Good news is, this short chapter is entirely flashback! Maybe not what you expected or wanted, but hey, character exploration is important!
There was a time in Head Hunter's life where his sniping job was all that mattered to him. This was before Mann Co made collasal profits on stupid hats and such. This was a time where snipers sniped, demomen used explosives, and a frying pan was only used for cooking bacon and pancakes.
Of course, that isn't entirly true, but that is how Head Hunter viewed the world. Targets at the end of his scope. Not a bad existence, not the best, but certainly not the worst. After all, there were plenty of much worse mercs out there. Head Hunter didnt understand how they were even hired in the first place.
All that aside, now we get the story part. Every now and then, people come to the boundaries of the Mann Co arenas and watch through the fences. Not many people do though, mainly because of stray bullets and such. The people who hang around the longest were women. Some grew close to certain mercs, a few going so far as to marry them, but some simply watched. Some, however, get more than a little close...
"No, sorry, I am still busy, ms." Said the Head Hunter, not even looking up from his rifle, which as you may have guessed, was being cleaned.
"My name is Ellen, and I am pretty sure I told you that a few times now!" The women standing over him replied.
"Right, Ellen. Now I remember. You were here last week. And two weeks ago. And three weeks ago..." The marksman replied in a way that implies that the list goes on.
"Well, can I come back later? When your, um, NOT busy? When would THAT be?" She replied with a small smile.
"Never. I will most likely DIE busy." Stated Head Hunter who wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible. She was distracting him from his rifle.
"Oh. Okay. I will come back next time the arena is open to visitors!" She said as she walked off.
Head Hunter sighed. "That doesn't sound like 'never' to me..."
The next week, same day of the week, Head Hunter and his team were stationed at the classic 2Fort, Head Hunter caught a luck break. The enemy team's sniper was sick, and he could not fight. This eased a heavy burden of Head Hunter, as that means he didn't have to have a sniper face off, and he could focus on hitting the Heavy or Medic who tried to cross the bridge.
Head Hunter just headshot a heavy when he heard footsteps behind him. Not the heavy steps of the Russian class, or even the fancy shoes of the French class. It was the distinct sound of low high heels. He turned to see that Ellen was walking up to him in his sniper nest.
"How the Hell did you get in here? And why? We are in secession!" Head Hunter shouted.
She was about to reply, but he cut her off.
"Look out!" He shouted as he pushed Ellen out of the way of a Red Soldier's Rocket. She fell into a corner, and sat there for the rest of the match.
When the Mann Co Announcer declared the fighting finished, Ellen stood back up to walk over to Head Hunter. However, he walked over to her, grabbed her by the throat, and pushed her against the wall.
"What. The. Serious. Hell. Are you doing here?"
"Is this your idea of Foreplay? Cause I kinda like it." She replied.
"You are a messed up person. How did you get in? Why did you think now was a good time to come? And What is wrong with you?" Asked Head Hunter, not wanting to have to play any games with her.
"Uh, I climbed the fence, of course! And I came now, because... Because I am going to Europe... And I wanted to say good bye." She almost whimpered her reply.
"Well, go ahead! Say good bye! Then leave. If you are in Europe, you aren't here, bothering me." He let go, and started to walk away. He thought he heard a snifle, then she was gone. He sighed. "Finally that's over."
Then he looked around to see that his Captain, who was the team's leader and soldier, Doctor, who was obviously the Team Medic, and Dovaheavy, the team's Heavy, were standing in the doorway to the resupply room, watching.
"Uh, son, you know, I think she really-" The Captain started.
"Shut up... Sir." Mumbled Head Hunter as he pushed passed them into the resupply room.
Dovaheavy muttered something about an 'Amulet of Martha.' Head Hunter miss heard what the heavy said, but he didn't care...