Yeah, I didn't want to fall into making the RED Engineer two-dimensionally villainous-- To him, after all, the fight got personal, then it ended when, for all he knew, they both died and respawned... (I did leave his identity somewhat vague-but-hinted-at, so I certainly don't take any authorly offense to people thinking it was someone else.) ~~~9: Sniper~~~ The Spy's been giving me the creeps... He was a competent professional from the start, is the thing. Much as I hated the bastard, I had to respect that much. At what he did, he was a professional. Then this happens. And I figure, whatever it was turns that... I mean, not just professional, but ridiculously just, pulled-together, suave, suit-wearing bastard into a gibbering mess... Suppose if it could happen to him, it could happen to me? His timing's off. His cloak goes or his aim's wrong or he walks up to you while he's wearing your own bloody face and just stands there and says nothing, and... I mean, how does that happen to a bloke? The other day, after the battle, I saw him out on their side... for a long time just standing there, smoking endless cigarettes and not doing a damn thing. Everyone else had gone in, and I wasn't really looking for him, I wasn't looking for anything, just... just looking around, I guess. Bored. Well, working hours were over, so I wandered over. I mean, not all the way over, not into BLU territory or anything, that'd be frowned on. Just over to where I could see him and he could see me. Not sure what I thought would happen. Even now I'm not sure why I done it. I mean, we didn't much know each other outside using each other for pincushions and target practice. But I reckon his going funny has everyone rattled. I just walked over through the no-man's-land like, and waved, nodded to him. Polite, see. He didn't give me much notice, so I called out. Still friendly, I mean. No reason not to be, off the clock. I just meant to ask him what was the matter, I think. We were all dying to know. The BLU Engineer came out and told me off, 'til I said I wasn't anywhere I shouldn't be and wasn't being anything but neighbourly. He steered the man off home like he was his keeper, too. But he showed in no-man's-land after, with a couple beers in hand. All been on edge, that was his excuse, or his explanation. No explanation made for the Spy, mind, just for his own short temper. Grand scheme of things, his temper doesn't seem so short. Most blokes whose job it is to kill you don't come out and apologize for a misunderstanding, not with beer leastways. Today the Spy showed up in my nest and froze up completely over something. I don't know what I should've done, but I know what I did. Just grabbed his arm and made him sit down. Forget what I said exactly... something stupid. A little truce of some kind. Man wasn't in any position to be a threat. He disappeared completely later, and I guess he killed our Medic a while later, so I guess he got better-- temporary thing, now, always is with him since he stopped being himself. But he didn't take me out on his way back down to the fight, so I guess the truce worked out. Hell... I don't even know what I said to him. Don't know if the truce was supposed to last an hour or a day or for-bloody-ever. Guess as long as he doesn't kill me again it doesn't much matter. I mean, I have my pride, whatever may have happened to him, I'm still a professional, and... and there's jobs I don't do. If you hire me for an assassin, I guess I'll kill anyone, but if you hire me for a mercenary, then I got standards. If he can't be a mercenary himself then it doesn't seem right taking shots at him. There's no bragging rights in it, I mean. Rather take out a hard target and feel good about it than a sitting duck and feel... Just feel... Creepy.