Take Cover

Austin Davis has been a professional sniper for over a decade, with unparalleled accuracy and composure under pressure. His work has taken him across the globe, from high-stakes military operations to high-profile targets. However, after a string of high-pressure missions and even more high-stakes failures, Austin has begun to feel the weight of his profession bearing down on him. The sound of bullets cracking through the air and the look of desperation in the eyes of those he's been tasked to kill have started to take their toll on his psyche. As a result, Austin has found himself checked out of his job, going through the motions without a single shred of excitement or sense of purpose. His handlers, noticing his shift in demeanor, decide that it's time for him to take some leave and recharge. Austin, however, knows that he's not the type to be out of the game for long. He often finds himself in situations that allow him to rationalize sneaking back in for one more job, one more paycheck. On this particular evening, as the sun sets over the gleaming cityscape, Austin finds himself in a sleek glass-and-steel penthouse apartment, working on his laptop and casually scanning the surrounding rooftops for any potential threats. His eyes roam across the expanse of the metropolis, his trained instincts on high alert, prepared to respond to any situation that might arise. It's in this moment that Austin's phone crackles to life, a gentle buzz that catches him off guard. He's about to ignore it, but something about the steady ringing makes him pause. It could be one of his handlers, possibly with a job that genuinely interests him. Austin's fingers fly over the touch screen, and a message from a sender labeled "Hawk" flashes on the screen. "Hold for pickup at my penthouse," the message simply reads. "You're my guest." The hairs on the back of Austin's neck stand on end as he stares down at the phone in his hand. Hawk is a name he recalls from a few years ago, when Austin was still working on a string of jobs with relative success. Hawk, it seems, was a fellow sniper in their tight-knit community of covert operators. They have shared many a drink and swapped stories about the toughest missions they've undertaken, Austin with some begrudging respect for Hawk's skillset, especially their own extraordinary aptitude for planning sophisticated and deadly strike operations. Austin's mind racing, he takes in the surroundings once again. He has a clear view of the surrounding area from up high – a unique vantage point, normally an asset in his line of work. Yet here, in this vulnerable position, the same view only serves to heighten the danger. The glass spire that he's trying to enjoy as temporary residence suddenly seems precarious – a far cry from his typical concrete bunker or hidden hideaway. Treading carefully, Austin comes to the realization that his former colleague is deliberately taking him hostage from within this elevated oasis – not that the element of surprise caught him off guard entirely – with Austin's vulnerability most manifestly clear and within sight. Austin understands the silent consensus shared by himself and Hank: They never get close to one another. There's an unspoken camaraderie, true – based on mutual regard – coupled, however, with their rigid adherence to their individual safety first policy. Without hesitation, Austin's training kicks in, expertly guiding him out of his numbness as panic would, in a moment like this, be a crippling danger that Austin undoubtedly knew too well. Bringing his exceptional agility and battle-tested wits together, Austin assesses the unfolding situation – and knows why it's merely par for the course as far as Hawk's modus operandi is concerned. He disquietsly recalls how Hawk back in the day took any job where more serious professional rivalries seemed likely to be put to rest with straightforward precision and no elaborate machinations. In Austin's thoughts, Hawk had planned a great many tactical maneuvers whose effectiveness depended on high stake success – all of which displayed Austin that even back in those bygone days – indeed – there had existed a genuine air of calculated vulnerability in the delicate dance of these carefully orchestrated operations by Hawk – which, by itself spoke some of what Austin hoped could save him in an increasingly deadly confrontation unfolding around and with him. Realizing that Hawk is bent on eliminating him with any available munitions, Austin recognizes that evading him – having got well in to ground during his training – must once again come down to mastery of the environments he finds himself displaced within and must use tactical cover to stay alive in this apartment building given Austin knew Hawk much like himself – so would put well known quick solutions to achieving deadly perfection into action. Being outmatched by Hawk wasn't his problem. Austin's issue was a matter of time – and managing to last it out until he figured out and possibly turned the tables on this merciless and completely planned and coordinated pursuit across glass high rise buildings for hours at a time – thus his survival as far as he could possibly be safe to predict would finally depend entirely upon him demonstrating the skills and ruthless strategic prowess his combat legacy hinted of but an ordinary or even mediocre opponent certainly could not have hoped to counter as Austin, an elite among his peers held right at the hands of Hawk sitting up against his own trained expertise and also understanding these odds his entire instinct screams that Austin very quickly at least attempts to locate an opportunity to get out of this apartment: preferably landing himself with another better strategic advantage either among these floor levels and possible clear escape routes hidden away below but clearly Hawk is a persistent enough tactician adept always keen and prepared with enough quick resolve for any objective he sets his mind to execute. To stay level-headed during his confined escape plans amidst the dizzying dread - he needs, then, set aside only his trained sensibility and all the instincts already honed after years in this occupation at last let oneself trust anything more and make sure that whatever choice Austin takes now must, somehow, secure safety. All of this boils down, certainly for Austin, at this moment, to some semblance of 'rebirth.'