TeamFortress2's New Addition

Chapter Five

How much longer is this going to take?

You couldn't lift the feeling of being watched, and you felt more and more anxious to leave. Kathryn better be having a good time right now. You sighed lightly, following your group. You checked your watch, and thankfully lunchtime was right around the corner. Peeking your head around the mass of the group itself, you saw the group leaders saying something you couldn't hear... not that you wanted to hear them, really.

"Finally! We're going to eat," a dude your age celebrated in a way that sounded like he was complaining.

"I am interested to see what the dining halls look like, especially since we have to pay for them regardless of whether we want them or not," an older man, who you assumed to be the guy's father, agreed. I see where the kid gets it from...

Attitude aside, you found yourself agreeing with them. It still bothered you that you were separated from your friends, but hey. Free food... -ish. I think I still paid for this a while ago. Well, it's basically free now.

You entered the dining hall, automatically noticing the lack of free tables and chairs. And a whole new group just beat me inside. Not that you'd usually have issues making new friends, kinda, but you were absolutely not in the mood to talk to new people. It wasn't like you have any cool college things to talk about.

Deciding to deal with it when the time comes, you elected to look around. Not that you were any culinary chef, but the food looked more suspicious than enticing. It didn't help that you didn't recognize most of the food names, seeing as you had a pretty bland diet. I don't want to risk food poisoning here for the sake of exploring new things.

You stuck to a salad with eggs and chicken. At the very least, you'd get some level of protein in this mess. Still, now that you had your food, you had to sit somewhere. Admittedly, you did some sleuthing and saw someone getting ready to leave. He had a small table in the corner, slightly hidden by a big, circular booth. Bingo.

As nonchalantly as you could, you waltzed on up to the table as the guy was walking away with his bag and stole the seat. And the best part is, no one else can sit here unless they want to be squished. I don't know how much time I have here, so I'll just keep an eye out for the group leaders once they get up... I doubt they'd miss me if I just didn't follow, though.

You briefly considered ending your group excursion early, but changed your mind in fear of getting lost on campus. I'd spend more time trying to find my car, much less meet up with my friends. You noticed the shadows of people make their way to the circle booth behind you.

"Did 'ou talk to 'er?" You heard an older voice with a suave, French accent.

"Nein. Somevone couldn't get zhat far," it was the voice of Dr. Ludwig.

"Hey! Nice try, pinnin' the blame all on me as if ya didn't mess up either," DeGroot defended himself, and you heard Ludwig groan in frustration.

"Had you not-!"

"Now boys! We did what we came here for," a familiar, southern voice broke through the ensuing argument. Dell? "We just have to round up Scout and Soldier, and we get on with our days. I ain't a fan of lyin' through my teeth all day anyhow."

"Engineer's right. Not zat I'd particularly mind leaving ze two imbeciles here, we have to bring zem back to Miss Pauling," the Frenchman concluded.

"Funny talk from a guy wearin' a full, red suit on a college campus," DeGroot took a jab at him. A red suit...? Oh my god, it has to be him.

You tried to focus on the rest of their conversation, but you couldn't ignore your revelation. You knew you had stumbled onto something big, weird, but you didn't know what. Are they just professors here? Who's Miss Pauling? But then, why would the guy be sneaking around in the suit and mask? Why have I seen him? You kept trying to reason with yourself that you were just bored and making stuff up for the sake of entertainment, but you couldn't shake the feeling.

"-all have you know, Spy, that I pulled off a labcoat!" DeGroot sounded annoyed.

"Oh please, I saw zat you barely knew 'ow to put it on!" The Frenchman, who you assumed to be "Spy," added an edge to his voice. Are they really going to fight?

"None of this is the point!" Dell, or Engineer, broke up the argument again. "The disguises- or whatever you want ta call 'em -worked. We did our job to look like professors. Spy did his job tracking the girl and makin' sure we were in the right spot. We gonna eat, or not?"

After a round of short agreements, the table behind you settled down. "Tracking the girl?" Was that what... "Spy" did? Is that why it felt like he was following me? I need to get out of here.

It took everything in you to stand up as casually as you could after a bit longer, averting your gaze entirely from the table. You tried to walk a bit faster than you usually do with the caveat of trying not to look hurried. You knew you were being watched. You heard their whispers.

What the hell is going on?