Work Text:
The morning sun shone through the foggy window, lighting up the comfortable space. There sat Spy, sipping a glass of wine in his smoking room. He sighed and settled into his seat, but his relaxation was interrupted as a voice sounded over his speaker.
"Spy? Miss Pauling here."
Spy sat up and shifted closer to his microphone.
"Ah, Miss Pauling. Quite early in the morning, non?"
"Well, it's urgent. We've been informed of some important intelligence locked in a briefcase in the BLU base. The Administrator needs you to bring it back here."
"Hm, sounds quite manageable. This mission is being done alone?"
"About that.. The Administrator has carefully selected a partner to go along with you. She wants you to go with Scout."
Spy nearly choked on his wine. Of all people, why Scout?
"Scout. You're kidding me."
"Look, I can't really say anything. That's what the Administrator has decided. She needs you to leave as soon as possible."
"Tu plaisantes... Okay. We will be out soon."
"Thanks. Good luck you two."
Spy groaned as he got up and left his smoking room. He made his way through the corridor and towards the barracks.
He entered the room and took a quick glance around, all beds unoccupied except for one. There laid Scout, his sheets tangled on the floor and loudly snoring away. Spy approached him and nudged his shoulder.
No response.
"Scout. Wake up." Spy grabbed his arm and gave him a good shake.
"Huh?" Scout sprung awake in a panic.
"We have a job to do. Miss Pauling contacted me, there is a briefcase in the enemy base that needs to be brought here. We have been paired together to get it."
"Seriously? Why would we get paired together?"
"It was courtesy of the Administrator."
"Hey, and why did Miss Pauling call you instead of me?"
Spy rolled his eyes. "Just pack your things, we are required to leave as soon as possible."
"Yeah, yeah." Scout stood out of bed and stretched. "Gimme a second."
Scout began gathering his things and stuffing them in his bag as Spy took off to pack for himself.
Scout came scrambling to the base's exit. "Alright! I'm ready!"
"Took you long enough..." Spy said as he sighed and looked at his watch. "Come on, we have quite the travel ahead of us."
Spy and Scout got into Spy's car and began driving towards their destination.
"What is this?" Spy asked as he noticed an ornament dangling from his rearview mirror. It was the figure of a man and certainly did not belong to him.
"Oh yeah! It's a Tom Jones ornament. Pretty freakin' sweet, ay? I put it in here last time I borrowed your car, this thing really needs more decoration."
Spy took the ornament off of the mirror and tossed it into Scout's lap.
"I don't need your clutter in my vehicle." Spy grumbled. Scout frowned as he watched one of his many pieces of Tom Jones merchandise undergoing such disrespect.
A couple of hours had gone by, Scout now completely reclined in his seat with his feet up on the dashboard.
"Are we almost there?" He whined. Spy scowled and increased his grip on the steering wheel.
"No, Scout. We still have hours, don't ask me again."
Spy rolled down the window and lit himself a cigarette. As he put the cigarette to his lips, Scout sat up and began coughing dramatically.
"Scout, please. Do us both a favour and shut up." Spy blew his smoke towards Scout's face.
"What happened to no smoking with kids in the car, huh?" Scout said sarcastically.
As night time fell, Spy pulled the car off of the road and parked it hidden within some large rocks.
"We must walk from here to remain unnoticed." Spy exited the vehicle and waited for Scout to do the same.
"Walk? It's dark as hell out!" Scout complained.
"Relax. There should be shelter not too far from here, don't be such a baby."
"Hey, I'm not a baby!" Scout retaliated as he stepped out of the car.
The two made their way through the desert by the light of a flashlight. After an hour of walking and Scout jumping at every noise, they made it to a small, abandoned shack underneath the hills of the landscape. They got settled into their dingy shelter and Spy lit a small fire.
They sat in silence for a long while. Spy thought carefully about the plan for stealing the briefcase, and Scout chugged back his Bonk! Atomic Punch.
"That's your third can now. Those things can kill you, y'know?"
'Yeah? And I could say the same about your cigarettes!" Scout crumpled the now empty can and tossed it alongside the others.
"C'est ridicule..." Spy rubbed his temples before lighting another cigarette.
'Why the hell did the Administrator stick me with you? I mean we don't even work well together! I coulda done this just fine with Snipes, or Engie, hell, I woulda taken Pyro over this!"
"I ask myself the same thing... but clearly there is a reason for her to make such a decision." Spy blew his smoke out into the wind.
"Tomorrow, let's get that briefcase and get outta here!" Scout fluffed up his pillow and covered himself in the blanket he had brought.
"Let's just hope it's that easy." Spy laid down on the hard ground, staring up at the dilapidated roof.
As dawn broke over the barren desert, Spy and Scout were awake and preparing to execute their mission.
"Scout, I need you to scout out the area and find out what obstacles we may face. Please, do not be seen. Report back to me when you're done, then I will go in and get the briefcase while accommodating appropriately."
"Oh, so you get to do all the cool stuff, huh? I'm just the sidekick here?" Scout complained.
"Well, that is simply how this arrangement works. Now go."
Scout rolled his eyes as he equipped himself with his scattergun and baseball bat. Spy gave him a reassuring nod as he ran out towards the base, kicking up a trail of dust behind him.
Spy waited back in the shelter, anxiously awaiting Scout's return. He passed the time by devising a plan for every possibility and smoking cigarettes. The silence got him thinking - despite being so harsh towards Scout, he worried for him. He never expected that one day he would be working alongside his estranged son, let alone in a job such as this. As the time reached noon, Spy's concerns grew stronger. He began deciding whether he should go out and find him, however, just then he spotted Scout sprinting back towards the shelter.
"Ah, Scout. You are unharmed?" Spy asked.
"Yeah, I'm good, but it ain't looking good over there. They've got like, hella guys everywhere. They didn't see me though, I musta been like a flash of lighting goin by!"
Even in tough situations, Scout couldn't hold back his cocky demeanor.
"I see... This will be trickier than expected." Spy pulled out his disguise kit and began browsing through his options. "I will cloak and go in. Once I come back with the briefcase we must be prepared to run for the car."
"Yeah, alright. I'll just stay back here and do nothing then." Scout fussed sarcastically.
Spy nodded, "Yes, it would be best if you did that. Just stay alert and make sure nobody finds you."
Scout scoffed as Spy took off for the BLU base.
Spy cloaked as he entered the base. He peered around the corner to see an enemy Heavy and enemy Engineer walking down the hall. He slowly turned the corner and snuck past them, remaining unnoticed. He continued to move through the corridors and eventually approached the room holding the briefcase. He carefully avoided the sentry guarding the door and entered the room. As he went to grab the intelligence, he heard footsteps sounding down the hall. As they neared closer to him, Spy grabbed his disguise kit and swiftly took the face of a BLU soldier. He turned around, briefcase in hand, as the enemy Sniper stood in the doorway.
"The hell do you think you're doing with that?" The Sniper asked.
"The Administrator instructed me to move it!" Spy replied, giving his best Soldier impression.
The Sniper kept his eye on him as he moved past him through the doorway with the briefcase. As he turned the corner, his blood ran cold. He watched as the real BLU Soldier walked past the corridor. The Sniper grunted as he pointed his rifle towards Spy and took a shot. Spy sprung to the side and dodged the shot, dropping his disguise in the process and revealing himself as the RED Spy.
"Ay! We've got a spy here!" The Sniper yelled, alerting the other mercenaries in the area. Spy made a break for it and sprinted down the hall, dodging more shots along the way. He clutched the briefcase as he evaded the enemy Sniper, Soldier, Heavy, and Engineer. As he ran towards the exit, he took a glance out the window.
"Oh f@#%." Spy muttered as he saw scout running towards the back entrance of the base. He took in a deep breath before hurling himself out the window. As he quickly got up and brushed the broken glass off of himself, he heard the distinct sound of a gunshot, followed by Scout's scream.
"Mon Dieu!" Spy panicked. He immediately cloaked and ran towards the sound, losing the enemy mercenaries behind him.
When he turned the corner, he was met with the sight of Scout, writhing on the ground and clutching his leg. He uncloaked and knelt down to him.
"Scout! What the hell are you doing here?!" Spy exclaimed
"I just wanted to help out! I got bored waiting around and wanted to prove that I'm capable too!" Scout spoke between sharp, pained breaths.
Spy picked up Scout and tossed him over his shoulder, still holding the briefcase in his other hand.
As they approached the front of the base, a loud, unintelligible voice yelled out to them. Spy turned around in fear to see an enemy Pyro staring them down, aiming his flamethrower directly at the two. As the flames burst outward, Spy dove down the hill, closing his eyes and clutching the injured Scout tightly. He opened his eyes at the bottom of the hill, still holding Scout closely. He spotted the briefcase dropped halfway up the hill, however the voices and running from the base grew louder. He sighed, turned around, and continued making a break for the shelter.
As dusk fell, Spy and Scout sat around a small fire lit in their shelter.
"I'm no medic, but I should know how to use this..." Spy examined the first aid kit he borrowed from Medic before the mission. "Hold still."
Scout inhaled sharply as Spy disinfected the wound before wrapping it tightly.
"Hey Spy, uh, thanks for, y'know, helping me out back there."
"Hm, well it could have been avoided if you stayed here..." Spy taunted as he continued applying the bandages.
"I just wanted to show you that I'm worth somethin'! It kinda felt like you saw me as weak."
"You're not weak, Scout. This type of job just requires us to follow different roles..."
The sounds of the wind and the crackling fire could be heard as Spy continued treating the wound. Scout took in a deep breath before breaking the silence.
"Spy, let's talk. Man to man... Why did you leave Ma and I?" He asked. Spy came to a pause.
"...Not now, Scout."
"Come on, you never talk about it!"
"Scout, this really isn't the time."
"I just really need to know-"
"I said not now, Jeremy!" Spy raised his voice.
Scout was taken aback. It was very rare that Spy referred to him by his real name. Spy slouched back and rubbed his hands over his face.
"I needed to protect you..." Spy started. "I've always been in this line of work, but when I met your mother, well, I thought I was ready to settle down." He felt a lump building in his throat. "I didn't want to go... I didn't want to leave... But there was always somebody after me. I couldn't keep putting you in harms way..."
Spy removed his mask to wipe away his tears. "I never wanted it to come to this..."
With the little strength he had, Scout reached forward and wrapped his arms around his father. Spy's hands trembled for a moment. It had been ages since he had hugged, well, anyone. He closed his eyes and held his son tightly.
This was a feeling that Scout missed - a fatherly embrace.
"I'll always love you and your mother dearly, remember that."
"Thanks, Pa."
"Mon petit garçon..."
The two sat back, Scout now admiring his fully bandaged up leg.
"Ay, nice job! Almost as good as Medic's work!"
Spy chuckled. "Well, I try my best."
"Hey, what about the briefcase? We never did get it here!"
"Ah, merde..." Spy remembered his main objective of the mission. 'It's dark now... I guess it can wait until tomorrow."
"Oh, great! So I've gotta spend more time with you!" Scout jested. Spy laughed and gave him a light, joking punch in the arm.
"We've got a big day tomorrow, rest up that leg and get some sleep." Spy made himself comfortable laying on the ground.
Scout grabbed his pillow and blanket and bundled himself up.
"Ey, when we get back do you think we could go visit Ma? It's been a while and she'd love to see you."
"Of course we can." Spy closed his eyes and began to doze.
"Thanks, love ya' Pa!"
Spy smiled. Even after all that had happened, he was happy to be back with his son.
"I love you too, Jeremy."
The two drifted off to sleep under their dilapidated shelter, prepared for the next day of their mission. They knew that they would succeed - They had already infiltrated the base once and could do it again, and most of all, they had each other.