Jesse closed one eye, carefully lining his shot. He was sitting deep in one of the booths of the Panorama Diner, left leg resting on top of his right knees as he manoeuvred his holstered revolver at the target. His objective was a large, fat and wealthy land-owner from the lovely state of Texas named Jacob 'Timmy' Jacobson, who had come to the arid canyon that housed the Deadlock Gang. He had arrived that very day in an expensive jet plane, having orchestrated a meeting with some members of the local gang. His pitch? A great amount of dirty oil money in exchange for a private military, should there ever be another Omnic uprising. He took a breath to stabilize his grip on his gun. If things went according to plan, one bullet would be enough and just like Amelie said, 'A single death can change everything.' Talon was confident that business would be more profitable with Timmy's successor anyway.
Suddenly, the hiss of static and a ping in his ear-com distracted him, causing him to remove his hand from the handle of his revolver and press a finger to activate the communicator, hand lowering back down, mimicking the motion of scratching some stubble.
"Jesse here," He whispered, not wanting to give away his location in the Panorama diner. Hat lowered over his eyes so as to not be recognized, he cast a quick glance at where Timmy sat at. He was currently alone saving for two obvious incognito bodyguards seated at his sides. It was standard procedure for Deadlock to leave the client simmering for a while before going into see what was wanted. Jesse was betting on this still being the modus operandi with the gang, as it would be easier to simply kill the tycoon and leave quickly amidst the commotion.
There was silence for a moment and Amelie's thick accented voice was heard from the other end. "What did I tell you about closing your eye. What are you, a cowboy of your American spaghetti westerns? No it is even worse, you are an idiot. Now, take aim with both eyes OPEN and kill the target." With a sharp click the connection went dead and Jesse let out a sigh, rubbing his eyes. Leave it to Amelie to have eyes everywhere. He lifted his hat slightly and spotted a security camera, an old fashioned 'Homeboy' sitting atop the counter. A red light blinked and he smirked, lifting a middle finger slightly in a clear one finger salute to whomever had hacked into that ancient piece of tech. It was no secret in Talon that Amelie was jealous of Jesse's rising status as one of their best assassins but the animosity went both ways. Now they did not hate each other too much. If paired together for a mission there was no team that could stand against them.
A sharp click in his ear piece let him know that the message had been received and understood, eliciting a large grin from him as he grabbed the cup of caff before him and took a sliver of a sip. Grimacing, he placed it back on the table, the taste of boiled dirt staying on his tongue as he silently cursed the stinginess of the diner owner for not buying decent coffee beans. He was about to return to taking careful aim when a waitress stepped in between Timmy and the bullet that had his name on it. Jesse growled with displeasure before taking a closer look at the waitress. She was new, that much was certain but he had never seen her before in the Deadlock town. Didn't look like any girl he had ever been sweet on. Didn't look like any girl any of his friends had been sweet on.
Strangers were unheard of in the tiny town, only ever passing through because they had taken Route 66 in order to cut on time or something else. He squinted his eyes, more to remove distraction that to see her better. Long brown hair was not that odd, nor was her stature. Women did grow smaller than men in the area. She turned her head slightly to talk/flirt with one of the bodyguards and he saw some pink markings on her cheeks. Jesse could only stare with disbelief as he recognized Hana Song, one of Overwatch's new recruits. Hard to recognize outside of her mech unit but no normal woman would have pink rabbit whiskers tattooed on her face to begin with.
Jesse lifted a hand slowly to his earcom and pressed the button twice, signaling for a mission compromise. Several seconds later Amelie came online, having revised the situation through the camera's in the diner. "I see... our intelligence did warn us about possible Overwatch involvement. Hold on, I will get Gabriel on the line." That caused Jesse to shiver. The Latino ex-Blackwatch leader was in a class of his own when it came to assassination and espionage. Usually he teamed up with Amelie but it was mainly in order to have eyes in the sky to warn him of danger.
A shuffle of what sounded like papers was heard and the velvety voice of Gabriel Reyes' startled Jesse. "Reyes here. Hana Song is the latest addition to Jack Morrison's retinue of super soldiers. She doesn't look like much but her trigger finger is just as fast as yours, Jesse. Do not engage. I wish to see what Overwatch is up to these days..."
It was rumored in Talon that Reyes had handed in his resignation to Strike-Commander Jack Morrison and exited the front door to an awaiting Talon airship that had landed there using Reyes' still active codes. Another hiss of static and Grabriel's voice was heard once more. "Jesse, see if you can see a black haired Japanese man near Hana, or keeping her in sight. That is Genji Shimada, he joined Overwatch about the same time you joined Talon. Find him and keep him in sight. He is dangerous."
With a click the connection went dead and Jesse did as he was told, eyes scanning the diner but failing to spot any such person. He did however spot a green haired young man twirling a throwing star in one finger as he warily looked at the caff cup. 'Found him...' thought Jesse. 'So, two Overwatch operatives and one Jesse McCree... throw in another two to their team and it's a fair fight.' He was debating what to do when suddenly a large monster of a man entered through the diner doors, dressed in some coveralls, a strange looking gas mask, some suspenders... and nothing else, really. Safe for a very sharp and dangerous looking meat hook. Following close behind was a thin male whose hair seemed to be in permanent state of ignition, smoke trailing over his head as he followed the hulking beast to the counter. 'What in the tarnation...' This was clearly not Jesse's day and a click in his communicator let him know that things could possibly get worse.
"Reyes here," Jesse scowled. As if anyone in Talon had a voice like that. "Those two are Mako Rutledge and Jamison Fawkes, also known as Roadhog and Junkrat, they are mercenaries from Junkertown." The shuffling of gloved fingers on tactile screens increased in loudness as Reyes processed new information and modified the plan in conformity. "Alright Jesse change of plans, I've just received information that Ana Amari and Angela Ziegler are en route to your location. Seems they are trying to make a deal with Timmy here and hoping to steal a client from the Deadlock Gang." Fingers busily typed away at a screen and several seconds passed before a faint ping indicated a message received. Reyes scoffed and the sound of his fist hitting the table slipped into Jesse's ear. Off in the distance it could be heard that Amelie was not pleased with this display, as a heavily French accented voice resounded somewhere by Reyes saying, "That is mahogany!"
Jesse could almost picture Reyes waving away Amelie's comment before turning to the microphone to deliver his next instructions. "Jesse, abort mission. Reinhardt Wilhelm is escorting Ana and Angela." Jesse swallowed. Throwing the German crushing machine into the mix leveled the playing field too much in the favor of Overwatch. Mako and Jamison were here too, most likely hired by Overwatch to ensure things proceeded smoothly. He was out numbered, out gunned and out planned. The situation was worsening by the minute. He went to settle his bill and suddenly the form of Hana Song filled his view as she leaned in to pour him some more coffee, sending adrenaline into his body as for just a moment he thought that his cover was blown. "Hey mister," she grinned as she leaned on the table, curving pink whiskers in sharp contrast of her pale skin. "Leaving already?" Jesse flashed a shaky faux grin as he stood up, tipping his hat as a reflex reaction to women. "Mighty fine eyes you have." He said as she smiled at him and placed his plate on her serving tray. "Certainly am. Business calls me elsewhere." He nodded at her and then made a show of pulling a ten dollar tip for her. "For such lovely service..." He flashed his best drop-dead smile as he gave her the dollar bill and once more tipped his hat. Turning to the door, he swallowed as he made his way, spurs clinking in the diner; torturously slow so as to not arouse suspicion on himself. Walking by the two Australians and past the homeboy camera system, he finally reached the doors and opened them, the dry desert air a very welcome change to the stifling interior that the diner had become in the last five minutes.
Now free to talk without giving himself away, he pressed a finger to his communication device, set the line to open until he closed it and waited for the doors to slam shut. "This is Jesse." He said before placing a cigar in his mouth and lighting it with his Zippo, snapping it shut after several seconds and killing the flame as he pocketed the metal rectangle. He cast a look at the large Harley Davidson motorcycle that sported a grinning sidecar. Most like Mako's and Jamison's, so he made sure to steer clear of it. That large man's hook was no good to anyone's health. He puffed a drag and exhaled the smoke through his nose as he turned the key on his own BMW motorcycle. The engine roared to life as the frame lifted itself up by the repulsor lifts that had replaced the wheels at his behest and he set himself on the leather seat, roaring away under the bridge and into the dark tunnel that opened invitingly away from the diner. Just as he entered it, he heard the whooshing sound of large repulsor engines and he guessed correctly that Ana, Angela and Reinhardt had just arrived at the parking lot. He had made his escape just in time.
The hiss of static filled his ear and Reyes' voice was heard from Talon HQ. "Seems you managed to escape in the nick of time, that's good. Head over to extraction point Beta, I'll have a scout-ship pick you up so we can debrief you and figure out what to do from here on." Jesse sighed as he revved the motorcycle and sped away. No rest for the weary. He pressed down his hat on his head and sped up, engine whining loudly as he roared away, wind whistling past, making his short cloak flutter behind as it snapped at the wind. It was forty-five minutes of silent driving before he pulled over to a little used service exit. Soon the light began to fill the tunnel and he slowed down, the familiar hum of a Talon scout-ship nearby as he applied the brakes and turned sharply towards the scant trees on the right side of the road, the shimmering form of a cloaked air-ship visible now that he paid closer attention. Tipping his hat, he revved the engine one more time before shutting down the engine, getting off the seat and groaning as he stretched his legs, knees popping due to being still for that long a time.
The hatch opened and into the dust walked a female agent, face covered in a form fitting helmet with the Talon insignia on her chest. Nodding at him, she grabbed his motorcycle and began to pull it into the ship before releasing it at Jesse's behest. "Man's gotta have some rules... I can do the heavy lifting." He took the frame by the handlebar and pulled it along, the vehicle only offering token resistance when it met with the ramp. The pilot grabbed a hook cable and attached it to the middle of the handlebar, the powerful and silent engine pulling the hefty motorcycle into the extra-vehicular container. Once safely inside, the pilot punched a button on the control board and the door hissed shut, the outside suddenly muted by the hermetically closed interior. Kicking his legs up, he rested his legs and leaned his hat over his eyes, preparing for the long four-hour flight back to Talon HQ. Taking one last drag, he blindly tossed it into the waste bin bolted to the floor, the interior flaring orange as the new item was incinerated. Shifting slightly, he checked once that the pilot did not expect any conversation and settled in for some sleep.