Chapter Text
Tom Jones was in the back of the van. He was being taken to his new job, not that he knew exactly what it was going to be. The person who hired him did not give much information, but he took the job on the spot. It paid well and his music career was declining. He only had two hit songs and he had writers block so no new songs had been made for the past year. He had a box of personal objects in his lap and a suitcase with clothes. Tom was asked not to bring more than he needed and that uniforms would be given. The van came to an abrupt stop, Tom could hear someone come around the side. The door was opened by a non descript man. He gestured to Tom to get out. He grabbed his stuff and got out of the van and into the hot desert air.
The man said, "All you need to do now is go over to that building."
He pointed to a large building, but it was still a good distance away.
"Why can't you drive me over there?" Tom asked.
The man scratched his head,"Well, getting too close is a bad idea."
This did not make Tom feel good. What did he get himself into. Tom took a few steps away from the van. The van started and drove away. Tom didn't notice the man get in the van. He had no other choice than to walk to what will become his home.
Tom noticed that the building had a similar outside to a barn, it looked old and run down. It had a coat of red paint, but it was flaking so much he could see it even from 100 yards away.
As he got closer to the building, he could hear voices coming from inside. They were too muffled for Tom to understand though.
Tom got to the front porch and placed his things on the ground. He hesitated a moment before knocking on the door. The voices stopped.
"I'll get it," one of the voices said.
The door opened, a skinny young man not much older than 20, stood there. His jaw dropped once he looked Tom in the face.
"Hello," Tom said nervously.
A voice came from inside,"Scout, is that the new guy?"
The man Tom now knew was Scout, finally stammered,"your, your Tom Jones."
Of course his new co-workers would know who he was. He was a famous singer after all.
A figure appeared behind Scout, making both Scout and Tom jump. He was wearing an expensive looking suit and a mask.
"Scout! Don't be rude. Let him in," The man said, putting a hand on Scout's shoulder.
Scout shook his head, "Right, come on in."
He moved to let Tom in. Tom bent over to pick up his baggage.
"Mr.Jones, you do not need to carry those. Scout will take them to your room," the masked man told him.
He gestured Tom inside. The inside of the building was much nicer looking than the outside. It looked like the inside of a house. It was cozy, a bit small, but he was led into a larger room that looked like a living room. It had an odd mix of couches and chairs, none of them matched. When Tom entered the room seven faces turned to look at him.
"Gentlemen, this is our new colleague, Tom Jones," the man said, he turned to Tom,"you can call me Spy."
The men seemed just as shocked as Scout was.
Tom gave a wave,”Hello there,”
A man with a military helmet on jumped up, “HELLO, I AM SOLDIER. I WAS NOT TOLD WE WOULD BE GETTING A NEW TEAM MATE,” he yelled.
Another man stood up, moving in front of Soldier,”Howdy, sorry about Soldier. He was not told anything about a new member. I am Engineer by the way,”
Before Tom could react, someone in a gas mask came up and hugged him. They mumbled something that Tom could not understand.
“That is Pyro,” Engineer explained.
Tom heard a noise behind him, he turned to see Scout entering the room from one of the hallways that branched off of it. He had a large smile on his face as he claimed a chair.
Someone in one of the chairs facing away from Tom said, “I am Demoman, welcome to the team.”
A large man stood up next, “Hello, I am Heavy.”
Tom wondered how many people lived here.
Another man got up,"Hallo tom, I am Medic,"
Thinking everyone had finally been introduced, Tom was about to say something, but again another man stood up, "Names Sniper," he tipped his hat.
He looked around to make sure there were no more men hiding in the corners of the room.
"Nice to meet you all. I just have one question, what exactly do you do here?" Tom asked.
Everyone stared at Tom.
"Were you not briefed on what we do here?" Spy asked tom.
Tom just shrugged. He hadn't been told anything, everyone that had been in contact with him said he would learn more when he started.
“We kill people, son,” Soldier said.
Several of the men in the room sighed. Tom hoped Soldier was joking, he had never killed anyone. Maybe he was just going to work around the base?
"Very straightforward answer, thank you Soldier," Spy said somewhat sarcastically.
Scout jumped up from his chair,"Can I give Tom Jones a tour of the base?" He said excitedly.
Engineer turned to look at Scout, "Great idea! Why don't you take Soldier with you," he gave a quick look at Spy.
Scout groaned,"why do I have to bring Soldier?"
"Scout!" Spy said sternly.
"Fine," Scout said, disappointed.
He got up and walked to the entrance to the hall.
"If you follow me, I'll give you a tour," Scout said to Tom.
Scout gave a gesture to Soldier.
"WOO, I LOVE TOURS," Soldier yelled as he jumped over the furniture to get to Scout.
Tom followed Scout as he started to walk down the hall.
Tom followed Scout and Soldier down the hall.
Scout turned to face him, “so, this hall has the bed rooms, yours is the spare room next to mine,” he pointed down the hallway.
As they walked to the end, Scout pointed out what door led to whose room. Each one had a unique circular symbol on it. They appeared to correlate to the names they go by. Tom wondered why there was a need for code names. Tom Jones wasn't his real name either but it was close enough and that was what the whole world knew him as.
“This is my room,” soldier pointed out as they walked by it, “everything in here is classified and you don't have the clearance,”
“Um, ok,'' Tom said, a bit confused, he wasn't planning on going into any of the other’s rooms.
They got to the end, Scout pointed to the only door without a class emblem on it.
“This is your room,” he said as he opened the door.
The room looked like a small hotel bed room. It had a twin sized bed, a side table with a lamp, and a dresser. Tom's stuff was already there thanks to Scout.
“You can come back later and unpack,” Scout explained.
He closed the door and started to walk away.
Soldier led the way next. Scout kept close to tom.
“This is the locker room,” Soldier said, “it is also the armory.”
Scout lit up, remembering something.
He ran over to one of the lockers and pulled something out, “Hey Tom Jones, look at this,”
Tom looked at what Scout was holding, it was a dented metal bat.
“That’s cool,” Tom replied.
Tom was actually confused. The way Scout showed him his bat made it sound like a family heirloom. There was a noise behind Tom that made him turn, he saw Soldier loading a rocket launcher. He was pretty sure those were illegal.
“Um, what are you doing?” More questions were going through Toms head but that was all that could be put into words.
Soldier just laughed, Scout realized what he was doing.
“Soldier! Rocket jumping in here would hurt Tom Jones!” Scout yelled.
Soldier looked disappointed, “How do you know what I was about to do?”
“I have worked with you for a few years,” Scout rolled his eyes.
Soldier put the rocket launcher away.
“I guess you will get your weapons later. Spy and Engie will help you find what will work best for you,” Scout said.
Tom nodded, he had never shot a gun before and was uncomfortable with the thought of what his new job might entail.
Scout and Soldier continued the tour. They took Tom to the gun range and other training areas, the garage, walked past an operating room that Scout said not to go into, and the kitchen where the tour ended. The kitchen was then connected back to the living room. The layout of the base was confusing and looked like it was not planned at all, just slapped together. The three of them walked into the living room.
“How was the tour,” Engineer asked.
“You have a nice building, but I will definitely get lost,” Tom responded.
“good,”Engineer said quietly, “While y'all were gone, we,” he gestured to Spy, Medic and Heavy,”decided the best way to brief you on what the job you signed up for is,”
The wording made Tom nervous, if they had to discuss the best way to describe a job that was a bad thing. It didn't help that what Soldier said was confirmed by Spy. killing people as a job would be simple, but the job has to be more complex.
Medic started the explanation,”Ve are mercenaries currently employed by Redmond Mann,”
Tom wasn't a mercenary, he didn't even know how to become one.
“Tom, have you heard of the ongoing gravel war?” Engineer asked.
He hadn't, after thinking for a second maybe he had heard of it in passing. Tom shook his head no.
“Well, we fight in it,” Engineer continued.
Did Tom really just sign up to fight in a war that the public didn't know about?
Scout, probably noticing Toms look of horror, said,”We get paid well,”
“Aye,” Demoman said,”most of us could retire now,”
It would make sense that mercenaries would make lots of money.
“What is the war being fought over?” Tom asked.
“It’s in the name, gravel,” Scout said with a smirk.
Sniper let out a small laugh, Tom thought that it was a joke.
“Scout is not wrong, for once,” Spy said, “The Mann brothers want control of all of the gravel pits in the area,”
But why would people fight over gravel, Tom thought.
“It is not as bad as it sounds,” Engineer pointed out.
It did not reassure tom.
“All this might be a bit much for you. Unfortunately while you were on your tour, we got a message from Miss Pauling stating that you are required to work with us for at minimum five years,” Spy explained.
Tom was shocked,“I guess i should have read the fine print,”
Scout smiled, “YES!” he yelled.
Everyone turned to look at him.
“What? I am ready to have a new teammate,” he insisted.
Tom felt like that was not the reason based on the guy’s reaction when he greeted Tom at the door. He decided to leave it, he had five years to figure it out.