VALORANT: Stories

Snakeskin 003 (Viper x Killjoy)

Snakeskin 003

Today was the day Sage would rendezvous with Viper at the designated coffee shop somewhere near Grand Hyatt Seattle. She was dressed in a pair of light jeans, plain black boots and a simple grey sweater that was around one or two sizes bigger than her actual fit. The attire was something she bought when she was out on a short vacation with Jett and Neon a few months ago, but never did she think she'd be using the set now for a mission that's considered highly confidential and definitely dangerous.

If her meet with Viper doesn't go to plan, then it would lead to either one of them or possibly both being shot simultaneously. Regardless, failure would likely lead to a trade of bullets. This was no vacation anyway, which would also explain why she chose the aforementioned set of clothing. They were surely casual enough to not draw attention to herself, her disguise also supported by the fact that she forewent her high ponytail and opted on letting her hair flow freely over her back. But underneath the cozy sweater, Sage wore a thin but nonetheless effective bulletproof vest, had her personalized Classic in a holster, a spare clip for said firearm, and of course, a standard butterfly knife.

With the possibility of being compromised, Brimstone was anxious and would have insisted on having Sage bring either a submachine gun or an actual rifle, but having any of those included in her loadout would just be a beacon for attention.

Sage soon stepped into the café they agreed on meeting at, subtly observing her surroundings as she approached the counter. There were two more patrons ahead of her, so standing in line gave her a chance to survey the establishment without looking suspicious. At one of the tables near the window, she spied a woman with the all too familiar haircut, back facing her and seemingly preoccupied with the papers she was reading.

Once Sage ordered and was promised to have her drink be brought to her table, she offered a nod and smile of thanks to the cashier before she headed to the vacant tables the shop offered. Though it was only seven o'clock in the morning where they were, there were already a couple of people in the café, some by their lonesome, while others were with a few companions.

In order not to be too conspicuous, Sage took the table at one of the corners of the shop, not too far from where the chemist was already seated and not too close to arouse any attention. The laptop Sage withdrew from her bag may be functional, but its only use was to add on to her disguise, just like the reading glasses she slipped on once she set up the mentioned tech on her table.

Viper was right there, and Sage knew the doctor had already seen her. She deliberately walked past the woman to make sure of it. But this was where things were considered tricky. Sage watched Viper through her peripherals, waiting for any possible signals.

Rather than getting the type of gesture she was seeking, Sage narrowed her eyes when Viper toyed with the pen she was using to write on the folder she was holding. The doctor kept flicking the ballpoint towards the window, where Sage followed with her gaze. Lo and behold, the driver Kingdom personally assigned to tend to Viper was right there, seated in the car with an earpiece and small cup of his own caffeine.

The so-called chauffeur didn't bother hiding the fact that he was keeping an eye on their new asset and judging from Viper's lack of reactions towards his blatant watch, she was well-aware of the man's vigilant stare.

Sage already had a hunch that she and Viper would not be able to hold even a one-liner conversation with one another, and said hunch was solidified when the sentinel noticed how Viper was deftly withdrawing a couple of folders from her own bag on the floor. It was low enough to be out of the driver's line of sight, so Viper managed to withdraw all the files and the hard drive, which was in a plain black case, from her pack and set them on the neighbouring leather seat beside the one she occupied.