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“Disobeying orders is against protocol.
“I’m warning you. If you can’t cooperate with others, you’re as good as dismissed.”
Brimstone's words echo in Chamber’s mind as he downs his drink in the office lounge. The afternoon sunlight seeps through the lounge windows, painting the walls and floors orange. Chamber sits at a bar seat where the light doesn't hit, avoiding the harsh sun glare, gin and tonic in hand. In the dim, he wallows in self pity while the silence amplifies the thoughts in his head.
“What you did, I can’t excuse, and I’ve warned you plenty times before.
“I’ll be forced to retire you, Chamber.”
“Good,” he retaliates, “because I work better alone.”
Chamber presently slouches, resting both elbows on the bar, and hides his mouth behind a gloved hand.
What an embarrassment, he thinks. He’s risked a fellow agent’s life—Neon’s currently recovering, and he’s being rightfully punished for it. Still, the threat stings, and Neon’s pained expression haunts his conscience.
Viper may insist to keep Chamber in the protocol, but her say is only as good as Chamber behaves. Pride aside, Brimstone’s right. Warnings can only pile up so high before his eventual dismissal. Whatever happens, Chamber needs to stay in Valorant.
Suddenly, the lounge door opens with the soft click of the automatic sliding doors and the quiet breaks. Two birds come into sight, loitering on the windowsill. Both birds prepare for flight.
Out of habit, Chamber’s composure returns at the presence of other agents, although his mood doesn’t improve. He’s certainly not going to greet them a good afternoon. Nonetheless, he relaxes his grip onto the glass, forcibly easing the tension on his shoulders, and acknowledges Iso when he sits next to him.
“Chamber.” He’s wearing his usual attire—white shirt, purple accessories, and blank expression—otherwise, nothing appears misplaced.
“Iso,“ Chamber motions his glass casually, “Are you drinking?”
“Not today.”
“It’s bad for your health anyway,” he huffs, and drinks another sip more. The alcohol tastes cheap; he winces at the taste, all while he watches Iso watch him in his peripheral. The attention returns the tension in his back.
“They’re sending another team to Bhutan,” Iso says after a pregnant pause.
Surprise doesn't come as strongly as Chamber expected, “They’re sending you?”
“Yes,” Iso confirms after a beat. “They’re sending Reyna, Sage, Omen, and Cypher too. They're not taking any more chances.”
Placing down his now-lukewarm drink, Chamber finally takes a proper look at the other man. Iso’s eyes are downcast; anxiety is written all over his posture. He’s nervous about a mission, and he’s approached Chamber about it. How fitting. The irony usually makes Chamber laugh, but laughter doesn't come. He’s really tired.
“To clean up the mess we made,” Chamber taps the bar impatiently with his finger. “Should've thought of that earlier.”
“We’re leaving the day after.”
“I can't give you advice, kid.” Irritably, Chamber returns his hand on the glass, his own anxiety manifesting itself in jitters. “You have a team you can rely on. You'll do just fine.”
“I'm not looking for information,” Iso interrupts. “I wanted to spar.”
Silence returns to the office lounge, as abrupt as a bird’s flight. Chamber looks at Iso, hit by sunlight; Iso returns his gaze, looking like how he feels. Doubtful and desperate. For a moment, Chamber's thoughts quiet—except for his wishes to help Iso.
“Is that so?” Chamber finally leans away from the bar and lets sunlight hit his eyes. Its glare is weaker than Chamber expected. That tells him he’s wallowed enough today.
Chamber arrives at the range before Iso, skipping the trip to the lockers. Iso arrives later missing his jacket and wearing a compression shirt, accessorized with straps hanging over his shoulders where his ammunition and gun holster are attached. Chamber feels suddenly underdressed.
“You've prepared. I wanted to go easy on you,” Chamber teases.
“I don't want you to,” confusion furrows Iso's face.
Chamber takes out his personalized pistol, the Head Hunter. The chance to impress is never a chance he denies, “As you wish.”
A gentleman, Chamber doesn't plan to disappoint.
Iso has offered to operate the range system for the drills. They both equip specialized shields for the system to detect a hit, and wear earpieces to communicate afterwards. The rule for their drill is simple: first to get shot, loses. Use all means to win, radianite included.
At the opposite end of the range from across Iso, Chamber takes position.
“Are you ready?”
Chamber taps into his earpiece, “I'm as ready as you are.”
After a click, the system announces through the range speakers, “Initiating drills. Agents ready. Starting in 3…”
Obstacles suddenly appear in the middle of the range, varying in height and width and randomly placed.
“2…1. Agents, you may begin.”
Chamber rushes inside the obstacle course, taking the nearest cover. A duelist, Iso is sure to have rushed past a hundred meters. Strategically, Chamber throws a trap on a corner to his right, his 'Trademark,' and leaves his teleport device, 'Rendezvous,' behind an obstacle from across him. With his Head Hunter, he fires a bullet at a box to take his opponent's attention. Everything's prepared within seconds.
To secure his opponent’s blind spot, he takes his left side away from his trap, readying his pistol. He secures his flank with his back on the box and keeps his eyes ahead of him. When footsteps come from the right, he knows Iso has taken his bait. So, he stays in position, waiting for his next hint of Iso's condition. Soon, he hears the sound of Iso's shield activating and the weight of Iso's boots hitting the cement floor.
Inhale.
Exhale
Boom.
The trap is triggered; Chamber quickly teleports. The seconds that follow passes quicker than Chamber's breath. His gun is pointed at Iso's head. Iso's aiming for his knee without even the chance to look at his opponent.
“Headshot,” Chamber whistles. "That's one.”
The round is over within a minute. It takes a moment before Iso regains his composure, slowed by Chamber's trap. When he does, he sighs and finally relaxes his hand. After pressing something on a tablet, the system announces:
“Agent 24, Iso forfeits. Winner, Agent 18, Chamber.”
Chamber lowers his gun, "Careful. A headshot's fatal.”
“I admit, I wasn't,” Iso returns the tablet on his thigh pocket. “First to 6 wins?”
One out of six, and Head Hunter's chamber is still full. Chamber smiles, “With pleasure.” The drill is going to end quickly.
The next round starts and Chamber doesn't risk repeating the same trap twice. Instead, he places Trademark with Rendezvous on the left side and takes position behind an obstacle. Whichever side Iso rushes into, Chamber has enough time to aim and shoot for another win.
Iso's footsteps are louder this time; he's running, and Chamber's already aiming Head Hunter. Indestructible and bullet-proof, Iso's 'Contingency,' moves towards Chamber’s line of vision. Automatically, Chamber's finger rests on Head Hunter's trigger.
The moment Contingency passes the obstacles; however, Iso is nowhere to be found. Simultaneously, Chamber’s Trademark is triggered. A false alarm.
Chamber quickly turns around before the duelist can compromise his flank, but Iso isn’t there either.
Before Chamber can approach his Trademark, the end of a sheriff’s barrel suddenly touches his nape.
“Careful,” he hears Iso speak behind him. “A headshot’s fatal.”
How did he—?
Iso has used Chamber’s own Trademark and his Contingency as a distraction. One misstep, one shot, and Chamber has already lost the round.
Rather being shocked, a smile tugs the corners of his lips. “Cheeky,” he says, and finally lowers his gun. “Using my own tricks against me, are we?”
“And I won,” Iso lowers his own gun too. “I thought you weren’t taking it easy.”
Chamber turns around, “Pardon me, chéri, it won’t happen again.”
Iso smirks, “We’ll see about that.”
Just like that, another round ends within a minute.
The system announces: “Agent 18, Chamber forfeits. Winner, Agent 24, Iso.”
Equally matched, their scores level after 8 matches. Five to five, Chamber has long since loosened his tie from tension. Iso looks the way he feels, sweat sticking to the hairs on his forehead and heaving chest, but unfortunately for the duelist, Chamber doesn't plan to lose.
With the system’s announcement, their last round begins.
Wasting no time, Chamber rushes into the range, skipping the barriers before the middle. He plants Rendezvous in front of him and anticipates Iso’s arrival while Contingence emerges from the other side. Iso’s steps follow, faster than the movement of his moving shield. The second Chamber sees Iso, the weaponsmith teleports with the snap of his fingers before a bullet nearly grazes his skin.
Where his Rendezvous is placed, Chamber plants Trademark, knowing Iso is sure to shoot it.
While Iso’s impatience gives away his position, Chamber easily parallels his path. After collecting his teleport device, not half a minute into the round, his Trademark expires.
Immediately after, bullets shoot at his direction. Chamber's jumps for a corner to hide while Iso chases behind.
It takes a few seconds before Iso arrives at the corner of the obstacle. Rendezvous’ cooldown luckily finishes then. In a quick maneuver, Chamber throws Rendezvous and snaps his fingers. Not a chance to breathe presents itself since.
In the blink of an eye, Chamber teleports right in front of Iso’s sheriff barrel just as he aims his Head Hunter points on Iso’s head. Checkmate. A bullet to either spot is fatal.
For a moment, neither of them dares to shoot, and neither man moves either. The world seems to have completely stopped.
“It’s a tie,” Iso breaks the silence with a huff. “That makes six to six.”
“Not quite,” Chamber motions his gun at Iso’s sheriff. “Your chamber’s empty, chéri.”
The click of Iso’s gun shoots not a single bullet. Iso’s mouth hangs.
Chamber relaxes his arm and finally allows himself to smile. “Nice try.”
Chamber finds himself lounging in the office lounge again. What melancholy he brought to the room that morning has long since left with the birds’ flight from the windowsill. Self-pity seems ridiculous since Iso got him out of the barstool. It's a surprise, sometimes, how easily the brain forgets. His body feels lighter without the weight of guilt in his shoulders.
Instead of gin, Chamber drinks from a cup of boba tea Iso bought for him.
Iso is a greater surprise. With Iso beside him, his thoughts quiet completely. That morning’s mission seemingly feels weeks away. He's breathing easier, and he's relaxing faster. Chamber thinks less of the corners and more of Iso’s presence—his large, gloved hands; his sharp, lilac pupils; his disheveled hair. The Chinese agent wears silence best, but silence attracts occluded thoughts; Chamber prefers hearing his voice anyway.
“Is it good?” Iso asks after a moment.
Good? Iso's voice is good—face and mind too—and so is Chamber's mood, but Iso isn't talking about that. “It’s sweeter than I expected but I like it," Chamber settles.
The smile that Iso shoots at him feels like a bullet through his chest; his breath skips. Without the pressure of competition, he finally sees Iso clearly. Chamber hasn’t noticed it before, but the hard edges of Iso’s face, his eyes, cheeks, and eyebrows, look significantly softer when he smiles. The French designer can’t find the words to describe the feeling in his stomach, but it’s churning, and it’s churning because he’s looking at Iso.
Huh.
“Valorant needs you, Chamber,” Iso says. “Whatever Brimstone said, he said out of turn. You’re important to the protocol.”
“I’m not immune to making mistakes,” Chamber argues weakly. “Whatever Brimstone said, he had a good reason for.”
“但尽管如此,” But despite that. “His words are as sharp as knives. 认真地,” Seriously, “I believe you have good reasons too.”
The feeling that’s possessed Chamber now is a feeling like radianite. It warms him and gravitates him; goosebumps and hairs erect on his skin. Chamber suddenly remembers the harsh glare of sunlight growing, how it’s faint around Iso’s presence, like his vision had automatically tunneled to Iso and Iso only. As if the only thing that matters to Chamber's eyes is only him.
“Is that so?” Chamber says for the second time that day.
Iso nods, and Chamber's stomach churns again.
Now, Chamber knows for certain, from the racing beat of his heart, he’s falling for Iso.