>>71 Yeah, even when I'm writing mushy or introspective stuff, I try not to forget that all of these characters exist in the rather morally dark gray area of being professional killers. Even in the restricted setting where they're fighting other mercenaries (and not innocent bystanders or anything like that), it's clear that all of them enjoy hurting their opponents. Also, hark, an update (complete with unresolved helmet-related tension). Not as long as the last, but eh, I'm doing what I can. My beta reader is on vacation in Japan and my clone is hogging my computer to play Fallout, so this hasn't been checked by a second party, but I'll probably badger her to look at it later and repost if there's any changes. Addendum- I deleted the last post after some minor adjustments to the wording. Here it is again! ____________________________________ The noonday sun beat down on the RED team with brutal strength, burning away the rain, and leaving them sweaty and parched. Nobody wanted a drink right now more than Demoman. While his natural inclination was to be drunk for as many of his waking hours as possible, his supply of liquor was limited, being out in the wilderness and all. Since he knew his stash would be restricted by how much he could reasonably carry, Demoman had taken the extra precaution of packing something much more volatile than his usual scrumpy. (I've got to hand it to the locals here, they've certainly perfected the art of distilling. The flavour doesn't really compare with whisky, but the strength? I'm absolutely certain you could power rockets with this fire-water. Never thought I'd find a liquor that I wouldn't drink straight up...) As the group made their way along the main road, he pulled a bottle of extremely potent rum out of his rucksack, then carefully poured some into his canteen. It was a mind-boggling 80% alcohol, and while it didn't improve the taste of piss-warm bottled water, the kick was something Demoman appreciated. Demoman took a drink from the canteen, then looked off towards the estate. He was catching glimpses of it now through the trees, along with the complex of buildings where the team was told they would be fighting. With the way things were going so far, Demoman wasn't sure anymore who they were up against, or what sort of fight he should be expecting. This sentiment was common to most of his teammates as well; although Engineer was pretty quiet as he scanned for traps, the others were tensely discussing the situation. Normally, Demoman would be eager to take part in such a conversation, but he was feeling withdrawn for some reason. He found himself studying a promontory that stood about a hundred yards off the right side of the road. It was an extension of the mountains that covered the centre of the island, a steep cliff tattooed by green streaks of vine and climbing cactus. Trees skirted the ledge high above, and for a moment, Demoman was sure he caught a glimpse of something moving between them. He grimaced, rubbing his eye with the back of his hand, then looked again. Nothing. “Bah, ah must be lettin' this place get t'me,†he muttered. “Whoa, hold up!†Engineer stopped in his tracks, and the rest of the mercenaries piled up behind him in a human traffic jam. The little guy seemed to have developed a sort of tunnel vision with that gizmo of his; all of his attention was on the road ahead, and he didn't even notice the others struggling not to trip over him. “There's somethin' anomalous in the trees over yonder, I don't- I'm not sure what I'm seein'... it's gotta' be man-made, though. Hard to make out its exact shape, but it's about as tall as a telephone pole. Probably metal. Hmm...†As Engineer fiddled with the settings of his visor, Medic suddenly flinched as though stung by a bee. “Zat could be another sentry, like ze one we saw yesterday- ze one zat shot down Spy and Sniper's helicopter. It vas hidden in ze trees, but I studied it best as I could... Very tall and thin, vith metal casing over its entire length.†“Vas probably built as aircraft deterrent. No guns, only rockets,†Heavy added. Soldier opened his mouth to speak, then shut it again, frowning under his helmet. Demoman found himself grinning; the American probably wanted to second-guess his teammates, but didn't really have a more plausible theory about what the object might be. Engineer, on the other hand, had questions. “How close do we gotta' get before it notices us? Any suggestions for takin' it out safely?†“I'm not sure, it might... ah, ze problem is...†Medic suddenly lapsed into uncertainty, which didn't do much for Demoman's faith in him. “Ve don't know.†Heavy was inarticulate, but he managed to relay what they had discovered the day before. “Yesterday, ve land in rough weather. Strong wind, leaves blowing all around. Afterwards, vhen the wind vas calm, sentry become active. Medic say he think it turns off in bad weather, so it von't shoot waving trees. Only people or helicopters move in calm weather.†“Makes sense, if it uses motion sensors. It'd wanna have a long range, though... either it ain't too interested in what's on the ground, or there's enough cover between here and there that it just hasn't seen us yet.†Engineer sighed, tugging off his helmet for a moment and mopping the sweat from his stubbly dome with a shirtsleeve. “Even if it's somethin' else entirely, we're probably better off destroyin' it just to be safe. How are we gonna get closer to that thing without bein' killed?†Pyro perked up, cradling his beloved flamethrower. “Rff hrr shrrd hh frrurr, whh crrn urrh dhh smrrgh hhf crrhfrr.†Engineer sighed, giving the rubber-suited maniac a doting pat on the shoulder. “That's not a bad idea, but smoke might not be enough to confuse it. Not all engineers give their turrets visual sensors to track incoming targets, they can also use acoustic systems, or even eclectic things like molecule sniffers and seismic sensors.†“If I lob enough bombs in its direction, I'm bound tae blow it up sooner or later,†Demoman said. Clearing away landmines had been a decent way to spend the morning, but it was starting to feel repetitive. He was eager to start exploding bigger things. “Demoman's got the right idea! Just point me in the right direction, Engie. There isn't a damn thing on God's green earth that can survive MY WRATH!" Soldier had already shouldered his rocket launcher, and was practically dancing with joy at the opportunity to finally use it. "I dunno if that's the best idea, boys. You start blowin' up big pieces of the landscape around here, and they'll know exactly where we are. There's gotta' be a safer way..." Engineer was still trying to be prudent. Medic expressed his agreement with a nod, but the others were losing patience with the team's careful pace. Soldier seemed particularly frustrated, and he turned to face Engineer with a reproachful expression. His voice was unusually quiet, a monotonous growl in place of the energetic barking that Demoman was used to. "Is there a reason you keep shooting me down, private?" Everyone went quiet as the Americans faced off. Demoman did his best to keep watch on their surroundings, but he listened curiously. Hearing Soldier argue with an "indoor voice" was strange, and Demoman found himself absentmindedly pondering what it might mean. Engineer sure looked taken-aback. "What? ...c'mon, Sarge, I don't mean ta single you out, or anything like that. I'm just- shoot, I just want us to win this thing, y'know? I dunno if we can take that kinda' risk..." His brow creased above the visor he was wearing, and he anxiously bit his lip. “War is all about taking risks, private. You're worried they'll find us out here? The sooner they show up, the sooner we stop sneaking around like a bunch of cat-burglars, and turn this fiasco into something we can win- a real fight.†Soldier spat in the mud; he was practically radiating the disappointment that must have been curdling inside him since yesterday. The fact that he was expressing it without screaming at Engineer, well... it was a little confounding to Demoman. (I wonder what's gotten into him? Maybe that rumour about Engineer slipping him valium was true, after all.) An awkward silence descended on the team as Engineer digested the other man's words. Then the Texan spoke again, wrestling that bulky headset off as he did. “I get what you're sayin'. Don't- dammit, I hope it don't seem like there's no place for you in the plans I make. I've just got a different way of lookin' at some things, I guess... But here. If you're gonna' start shootin' rockets at that thing, put this on first. You'll be able to see it better.†Engineer offered the visor to Soldier. The older American lifted his helmet off, looking dumbfounded, then took the device and finally started returning to his regular self. A smile creased the corners of his mouth. “Well thanks, Engie! I'll put it to good use.†As Soldier prepared to demolish the sentry tower (and everything near it), the rest of the mercenaries retreated to the shade of the roadside. Demoman was feeling kind of sore about being passed by for RED's other source of high explosives, but he kept it to himself, and drank some more to ease his frustration. (This is because I've got no depth perception, isn't it? Bloody unfair...) The destruction was too loud for anyone to carry on a conversation, so the others busied themselves with some canned rations, and ate while they waited. Demoman wasn't hungry, and the closest thing to entertainment was watching poor Pyro wrestle haplessly with a folding can-opener; after taking pity on the firebug and opening the tin for him, Demoman had nothing to do. He found his gaze wandering back to the cliff he'd noticed earlier, but there was no sign of the figure amongst the trees. A strange sense of premonition gnawed at the Scotsman, inspiring him to keep his eye on the sky. Even when the explosions ceased, and the two Americans returned to the team in triumph, he still felt terribly uneasy. Looking back down the road they had already travelled, Demoman thought he saw a spot on the horizon, suspended above the trees. After a moment of determined squinting, he realized that something was definitely coming their way. Demoman could only think of one thing it could possibly be. "Heads up, lads, I think that's a helicopter inbound!" He pointed towards the shape, which was growing larger as it approached. Whether the aircraft was on route to the estate, or coming to investigate Soldier's handiwork, was open to speculation. The other RED team members didn't take long reacting to Demoman's warning. Soldier - who had only agreed to stop for lunch after considerable urging from Engineer and Medic - sprang to his feet and quickly gulped down a can of soup. Then he picked up his rocket launcher and reloaded it hastily, shouting, "I'll blast them out of the sky!" Medic sounded a little uncertain, as though he were trying to work out a few mental equations before passing judgement on the aircraft. "It couldn't be any of our men, yes? Even if one of zem had died in ze past few hours, it is impossible he could heff returned to ze Caribbean so quickly. ...can anyone see vhat colour zat helicopter is? Or its make, for zat matter..." "Oh! Hand me those goggles, Sarge." Engineer scrambled to an upright position as well, pocketing the remainder of the biscuits he'd been eating. After getting his elaborate headset back, he put the thing on and started mucking around with it. The vehicle was still too distant to be clear to the naked eye, but Engineer gave it one look through the visor, and bristled. “Looks like a cargo helicopter, somethin' bigger than our Hueys. Fuselage pods and the cowling up top are painted blue... I'd be pretty suspicious of anything flyin' over this remote island as it is, but that kinda seals the deal – it's gotta be a BLU transport. They probably can't see us down here, but there's no way they'd miss that smoking wreckage up the road.†"Is too bad you destroy big sentry," Heavy said idly, glancing at Soldier. The lantern-jawed American turned to Heavy and opened his mouth for a retort, but was cut off by Engineer. "That just means we'll hafta shoot it down ourselves, don't it? I'll unpack that dispenser again, you boys get your biggest guns ready and wait 'til it's overhead. Any sooner, and they'll have time to split before you can do any serious damage." Heavy had pried open several cans of rations for lunch; he finished the last one, then grinned and rose to his feet, no-doubt eager to ruin someone's day with Sasha. Soldier might have still been annoyed by his huge teammate's ribbing, but the prospect of getting to kill people helped to mend his busted balls. Although there was nothing in Medic's arsenal that could do much to a helicopter, he shouldered the Medi-gun's power pack and joined the others, followed by Pyro; his mask hid his expression as always, but he seemed optimistic about the damage his flare gun might do. For his part, Demoman was just hoping the chopper would fly low enough for him to hit it at all. He grumbled, "Of all the rotten luck... maybe they'll try parachutin' down, an' I can pick 'em out of the air."