Law of Retribution

Soldier made the first move. He crouched low and dove for Sniper’s legs, holding out his riding crop. Sniper stepped to the side. He avoided Soldier’s attempts to pin him down. This led to Soldier tackling the folding chair. The chair was not designed for this. He toppled over it. He landed on the smooth surface of the rooftop. The folding chair was now flipped over his head. He sprawled out from underneath. This was not his finest moment. His face grew hot. He brought his helmet further down his face. He should be dishonorably discharged. “That was done on purpose!” Behind him, Sniper laughed. His laughs echoed off the canyons of Dustbowl. Growling, Soldier barked, “It was an advanced military tactic that a camper like you cannot understand!” He shook the folding chair off himself. Then, he stood up. After facing Sniper again, he positioned himself into a low crouch. With a grunt, Sniper ducked down. He swung his kukri at Soldier’s legs. The kukri cut through Soldier’s pants and met skin. Blood was drawn. He smiled. Sniper must have gotten a lot of practice from being the frequent target of the BLU Spy. Soldier hissed at the sting. However, he dealt with worse injuries. Staggering backwards, Soldier raised his riding crop. Taking a step forward, Sniper thrust his kukri at Soldier’s arm. He was intending to disarm him. Before Sniper could hit him again, Soldier dropped down to his knees. In the process, he dropped his riding crop. He could hear the blood rushing through his ears. It was a close call, but it was a relief to have avoided that knife. As Sniper was still following through with the movement of his knife, he was now balancing on one leg. Both of legs were left unprotected against Soldier. Sniper widened his eyes in realization. “Piss!” Now was Soldier’s chance. With full force, he tackled the leg Sniper was balancing on. Knocked off balance, Sniper fell forwards. His face hit the rooftop’s surface with a crack. He groaned. Metal clattered against the rooftop. Sniper must have dropped his kukri knife. Soldier barked out a laugh. “This is what we Americans call the law of retribution!” He then looked over his shoulder at Sniper. “You should look it up sometime!” Sniper was holding a hand to his nose, which was bleeding. Blood dripped on to the rooftop. The dark red colour of the blood blended in with the dark surface of the rooftop. “When you said you were going to push me off the roof, I never though it’d be this one.”  With a grin, Soldier stated, “That was your first mistake, maggot.” Sniper groaned, pressing his forehead into his gloved palm. “You bloody bogan...” “I am not the one with the bloody nose.” As Sniper was in no position to move, Soldier was able to grab both of his legs with ease. He then lifted him up, carrying him over his shoulder. With his legs still sore from the previous cut, his legs buckled underneath the additional weight. He dropped to his knees, only increasing the pain. He forced himself to get up. He had a challenge to complete. With sweat dripping down his face, he dragged Sniper over to the ledge of the rooftop. “Anything left to say before I send you off?” There was a pause. Then, Sniper replied, “This won’t happen again next time.” With a grunt, Soldier heaved Sniper off his shoulder and off the roof. For a few seconds, screaming ensued. Then, there was a thud, followed by cracking. The screaming stopped. Within the base, the respawn system hummed with energy. Soldier cackled, placing his hands on his hips. “One small step for team-building, one giant leap for America!” It was time to take a victory lap. However, as Soldier ran, he stepped on the folding chair near the ledge. The hinge broke beneath his weight. However, it began to slip underneath his weight. He slid across the rooftop, trying to keep his balance. He was in no position to stop himself. He stopped when the folding chair hit the wall. The momentum caused him to fall forwards. He was going to fall off the roof as well. He screamed. Bracing himself, he prepared for death. His feet caught upon the ledges of the roof. The momentum caused Soldier to knock his face into the concrete wall of the base. He groaned. He felt blood on his face. His helmet fell off, hitting the concrete below with a clang. He hung there for a few minutes. His legs were starting to shake and his entire body was becoming sore. He wished Sniper would come back already, even if he only came back to finish the job. Sniper was professional like that. Leather shoes clicked against the rooftop. For a moment, Soldier thought his prayers have been answered. He breathed a sigh of relief. Then, through the metallic smell of blood, he smelled nicotine and smoked cloves. Soldier could feel his stomach lurching. However, he did not know if it was from the blood loss, the smell of cigarettes, or the fact that it was Spy who was now on the rooftop. It was probably a combination of all three. “I will not ask what inspired you to take such unorthodox actions. I’ll find it out myself.” The Spy chuckled. “But I will tell you, although the bushman was cursing you out when he walked up from respawn, he seemed to be smiling. The Sniper’s probably planning his revenge.” Then, he paused. “Of course, he could secretly be a masochist. Take your pick.” “Are you going to help me up, crouton?” “Hm, non. You brought this upon yourself. Besides, I’m interested to see what happens next. However pointless this may be.” “You Judas!” What else could Soldier expect from a Spy, even if he was on their team? Five torturous minutes passed. As if out of mercy, Sniper returned to the roof. He stomped on Soldier’s feet, digging his heel into the soles of Soldier’s boots. After being weakened from the previous scuffle and blood loss, Soldier’s legs gave out. He lost his grip on the ledge and fell. Wind rushed past his ears. If his hair were longer, he would be like the hero of an action movie. Before he hit the concrete surrounding the base, Sniper yelled at him. While Soldier could not hear everything, he did hear him say, “The next time we do this, you better make this harder for me! Wanker!” Then, Soldier felt his neck snap against the concrete below. There was a sickening crack. His vision became dark. When the rest of his body thumped against the concrete, he already died. Within seconds, he respawned, arriving at the white respawn room. Instead of walking out, Soldier kept standing. He pondered over Sniper’s taunt. “‘Next time?’” Then, he gave a short cackle that shook his shoulders. “That maggot better be ready!” It could not be mere coincidence that Sniper mentioned a “next time”. He may have said it in the heat of the moment, but Soldier chose to interpret the taunt as an open invitation to continue this challenge. This was not the standard method of team-building. At least, not any method that Soldier recognized. However, the RED team consisted of mercenaries who died and killed on a daily basis. Society’s rules and standards can screw themselves. All that mattered now was that the method worked. After all, Sniper did interact with Soldier. It was more violent than expected, but that was usual for the RED team. Life would be too boring without the violence. With renewed determination, Soldier marched out of the respawn room. This was only the beginning of something beautiful.