Family Time #2: Spy

Chapter 6

Ms. Pauling waited in what she'd assume was the world's longest traffic jam (length and time wise). Her eyes darted left and right, cars were moving centimeters at a time and the honking was incessant. Aside from claustrophobic, all she felt was frustrated.

"I'll pay extra for you to drive around all of these people." she tried to hand her driver an extra twenty.

"Lady, there's a 5-car-pile up. I know you want to get the hospital but that just ain't happenin' right now."

"20."

"Look-"

"50."

"I've already got two strikes at work, I can't-"

"100."

The cab drive paused.

He began slowly veering onto the desert terrain.

---

The last thing Spy remembered seeing was the laminate psuedo-tile at the airport coming ever closer to his face. Through bleary eyes, now he saw fluorescent lights passing above him at a dizzying pace: the hospital. Shit.

He couldn't remove himself from the gurney with this many doctors floating above heard the faint voice of a student nurse struggling to tell his superior there were no files on him. On his other side, they identified his injuries. They noted the bleeding in the torso and the cuts on his arms.

He had seriously hoped this was just a hallucination caused by severe blood loss because if it wasn't, there would hell to pay for it later.

The doctors immediately asked questions as Spy appeared to be on the cusp of consciousness, but Spy simply closed his eyes and ignored them all, hoping all of this would go away.

---

The Blu Spy released Scout from the janitorial closet and quickly disappeared into the crowd. Thank god. It reeked of bleach of baking soda and bleach in there. Scout wandered, slightly disoriented through the masses of people, dragging himself to the place he last left Ms. Pauling and Mel. In their place was a man in a suit, holding a sign for 'Johnson'. Shit. He frantically revisited all the locations he passed upon entering the airport. He stopped abruptly at the food court, the shoulders of a tall, burly man rising above the crowd. "Heavy!"

The merc turned around, peering over the crowds of people, "Scout!" he put the child travelling with them on his shoulders and left the line for the ice cream place, Medic in tow.

"What's goin' on? Where's Ms. Pauling?" he held out his arms, Melissa sliding into his hold lovingly.

"She left for hospital." Heavy growled.

"We were trying to find you." Medic added.

"At the Ben & Jerry's?"

Medic pursed his lips, "That was simply a detour."

Melissa looked up at Scout, "We found Mr. Spy! He's at the hospital."

That was not good news. "Well, where are the others?"

"Outside, searching for Spy's companion."

"Companion?-" the lady from the letter, right, "Have you heard anything from them?"

As if on cue, Demoman and Engineer burst through the crowd right to their location, "We just- sent the lady- to... to the hospital... without realizing it..." Demoman gasped, his words almost incoherent.

"We gotta get moving. Where's Soldier?"

"With Pyro." Engie confirmed.

They all froze.

"I'll hail a cab, you guys grab them." and then Scout ran to the info desk and paid for the biggest cab available.

They waited on a crowded bench for their mini-van cab to arrive.

Melissa nervously tugged at the bottom of her shirt, "I-is Mr. Spy gonna be okay...?" She asked Scout.

Unsure himself, he patted her head, "Of course he will. He's tough as nails! Right, guys?"

"I tried to use nails to harden his skin, it was not easy and it only lasted a week," Medic confirmed.

Scout glared at him, "He'll be fine. That's just how he works; throws himself into dangerous situations and walks out without a scratch. Spy's gonna be okay." He told this to Melissa as if he was trying to convince himself.

Because the truth was he had no clue.

Not a single one.

And despite what he would say, it worried him.