[These characters belong to Blizzard Entertainment.]
Majime: An earnest and reliable person who acts accordingly under any circumstance.
Bitterly cold and humid, now that's a hell of a combination. The winters in northern Beijing brought on a biting chill, though on this particular cloudy afternoon the city radiated from the abundance of life. The streets were alight with red lamps and warmed by the people who walked them in parades. It was the final day of old habits and the celebration of the new year, you'd be damned to find a cold soul on such a festive day.
Jesse McCree leaned back in his chair and took a long drag of his cigar. Smoke curled through the air and twisted around the brim of his hat. He tilted his head and watched as the plumes rose to join the thin haze of residual smoke that hung in thick curtains over the streets. There were five hundred and forty windows facing inwards on the town square before him, with four streets that led out from there, roughly seventy windows for every one hundred feet in each direction leaving the total around eight hundred and twenty windows. Jesse knew each one, he studied them in preparation, making sure he picked a good spot to observe from. An outlaw like him knows where to look for outlaws, that was his job, and he was mighty fine at it.
Since Overwatch was reinstated, Winston had been allowing clandestine operations almost exclusively. According to the Petras act, it's illegal to for their group to operate under official UN designated terms, but since the Hortus act of 2045, Beijing claimed independence from the republic of China, now acting as a non-UN recognised territory.
They've been dodging legal disputes in attempts to not be labeled as criminals, like trying to catch leaves on a windy day. They had set up their base of operations on the cliff of Gibraltar, another non-UN, two and a half square mile rock on the border of Spain. Overwatch purchased the land around a year before the disband and built a small base there, luckily the rights remained under the organization even after the outlawing of official operations. They've had to play it slow and safe even with the brilliant minds that led them, sending off small teams of no more than six on missions at a time.
The technicalities didn't matter to Jesse, he'd spent enough time as a humble desperado on a hell-bent road to know his way around rules. By now every country started to look, and move the same way, making his job more predictable at least. He glanced through a window at the digital clock on the wall. It read 16:21, not quite time.
McCree sat at an outdoor patio hidden under a red awning, clouded in a sticky smoke from something being cooked and sold to the crowd in the street. Everywhere there was smoke and the smell of sweet and salty foods rose into the grey sky like a mist. It felt hot and damp against the back of his neck. Children were running and laughing in the square ahead of him as their paper dragon kites lifted into the air. The wings illuminated with a shine brought on by the soft red lamps that were strung up in every direction. He noted a group of young men circled together in the street, laughing as they took turns being brave and lighting firecrackers. The city roared with high spirits that hummed all around Jesse, he felt alive.
"Never thought i'd see a Chinese new year first hand." He spoke low to the com in his ear with a small smile.
"Right?" Lena's sunny voice chirped in his ear, "It never even reached my bucket list. But isn't it great? Mei has been telling me so much about it all. She's really brilliant! Did you know it's the year of the rooster? Apparently my chinese zodiac is a rabbit! Oh I really wish the big guy was here to see it. He'd love this so much-"
Jesse looked across the street up to a balcony where Tracer and Mei stood, blending in with the crowd in reds and blacks. He chuckled and watched as Lena started to gesture excitedly to her story which she appeared to be telling to herself alone. She must have noticed too and quickly dropped her voice to just above a whisper, resting her arms on the balcony railing.
"Anyways," she said with a giggle, "the party's going to be here soon, love. ETA in ten, keep those sharp eyes on the horizon for me."
A low hum resonated in the square as fireworks whistled into the sky, drums began a low rhythmic beat as two puppet dragons, one red and white, one black and gold, danced through the streets. The crowd cheered and followed the dancers as they assembled to watch while the drums quickened.
Jesse was not watching. His eyes were surveying the rooftops and the initial five hundred and forty windows of the town square, scanning the street around them down to the last crack in the plaster walls. He knows Tracer is bothered about what happened to Mondatta last year in King's Row. The omnic monk was assassinated under her watch during a peaceful congregation, sparking another wave of outrage in the omnic community during their fight for equality. With affairs so tense between human conservative radicals and omnic civil rights activists, Overwatch agreed to be here tonight to protect the personal friend of Mondatta, an activist and monk from Beijing named Fa Hung Jin. No one would be dying tonight, not on his watch.
He was wrong.
Shadows shifted in the corners of McCree's vision. He looked to his left, across the narrow street and up to the shingled roof where only a tincture of a man knelt, hidden in the darkness of the rooftop's silhouette. Watching the man, Jesse took a shallow pull and let the smoke drift from his mouth, his right hand moved to the gun on his hip. He was ready, itching for a good fight.
But even in the shadows a ribbon of gold flickered catching the cowboy's attention, as a breeze blew between the streets. Jesse hesitated, narrowing his eyes. Then the realization hit him, it was just the archer. He sighed, and leaned back while the noisy world around him crescendoed to life. The new guy, Genji's older brother Hanzo joined them nearly two months ago. Genji disappeared and then returned a few days later telling the team of their soon to be companion. Though, no one had expected that he'd actually respond to Genji's call.
Jesse frowned at the rooftop shade as he recalled meeting the man for the first time. He heard the story of what happened to Genji when Angela revived him all those years ago, it made it hard not to have a vendetta against him. They all had their fare share of sins to atone for, but the man killed his little brother...damn, what does that take? Jesse knew Genji before it all, he was an angry kid, hot headed, it kind of reminded him of his own stupid self before Overwatch. Did Genji deserve what happened to him? Probably not, but Jesse wasn't about to go sticking his nose into other people's personal affairs.
Before Hanzo Shimada arrived, He tried to picture what kind of brute a brother killer looked like. But when Jesse saw him for the first time he was mildly disappointed. In front of the team stood a man, smaller than him in height and size, groomed, and proud as he expected the eldest heir to the Shimada Gumi to be, but there was something off to Jesse about his collected exterior. His body was rigid and his movements were calculated and precise. His eyes were perceptive but wary, it was clear he didn't enjoy being here. That irked McCree more than anything. Why would he show his face here?
Genji was standing next to the archer as they talked in gentle tones. Jesse could just make out that the conversation wasn't in english. When they'd finished speaking, Genji placed his hand on Hanzo's shoulder, a gesture to which the archer paused but after a moment, returned.
Jesse watched as the archer greeted Winston with a small, formal bow that probably made the ape blush under his dark blue skin. Hanzo moved on through the group, thoughtful in his actions, he introduced himself to Lena and Lucio with refined manners, though never holding eye contact. Jessie studied him, curious as to who this man really was.
"Manners, Jesse." Angela whispered into his ear, as Hanzo approached. Jesse chuckled to himself and took a step forward to meet the new member.
"Howdy" McCree drawled, inhaling deeply from his cigar then blowing the smoke into the space between them. Hanzo paused, taken aback as the cowboy shot him a wayward grin and offered his hand.
"The name's McCree."
Hanzo scowled down at Jesse's hand for a moment then took it in a firm shake. McCree stared at him, daring him to meet his eyes, he did not disappoint. Hanzo glared at Jesse, his eyes were cold and distant, dark like hollow bullet shells. Jesse searched them, but the other man was good at keeping himself hidden. McCree was intrigued, but before he could do anything else Hanzo broke their contact and moved on without ever speaking a single word. And after a few more quick introductions Hanzo addressed them all politely, thanked them and disappeared before you could say 'blueberry pie'.
In the past weeks Hanzo proved to be an impressive addition to the team, a sniper that made their work much more efficient. Genji is the only one he ever really communicates with, unless it was essential to their mission. At first it amused Jesse that the great warrior was so shy. But then it slowly began to frustrate him, he regretted his first and seemingly only encounter with the man. After seeing how well he and Genji were getting along these weeks, Jesse began to realise that his vendetta had become his own unnecessary prejudice. So he made it his personal side mission to get a proper judgment of his new teammate, but getting Hanzo alone to have a casual banter with was proving to be much more difficult than he originally thought. Hanzo always slipped away before Jesse ever got the chance to speak to him, gone like the thin smoke from a Tatuaje cigar.
"Showtime love!"
Jessie blinked back into focus as Tracer announced Fa Hung Jin's arrival, realizing he had zoned out while staring up at the archer's hiding place like an idiot. He cursed to himself for losing the time and quickly re-scanned the city scene before him.
"Rooftops and windows clear, no bad guys yet."
"Same on this end." Lena's voice seemed strained. Jesse looked up at her as she faced down into the gathering crowd with noticeable concern.
"Hey cowboy," She hesitated. "Think you could be a dear and be in the crowd tonight? I feel like having someone closer to the client would be better... in case of an attack. Plus Mei and I got point from up here."
Jesse stood up from the outdoor table and adjusted his hat.
"No problem darlin." His voice was sweet like honey as he took one last drag from his cigar and stubbed it.
"Thank you love!" Tracer sounded relieved. And then in her usual chirpy tone, "It won't be that bad, you'll have our new sniper watching your back, eh?"
McCree stole once last glance at the rooftop and then sighed and turned, walking towards the edge of the crowd.
"Now isn't that a peach…" he grumbled.
In the center of the square was a stage set up for tonight's events. Jessie caught a glimpse of the spiritual activist as he took to the stage with a roar of applause. The omnic was the color of obsidian, dressed in a red silk robe. He moved with fluidity, raising his arms to welcome the crowd. Jessie stepped smoothly through them, glancing down each alley he passed as he made his way to a better vantage point. His ears were alert, his eyes were sharp like a broken mirror.
Fa Hung Jin's speech began, his voice rang like bells across the countless heads that faced him. Jessie leaned against an alley wall and searched the crowd. Faces full of emotion laid before him, though none were looking his way he could feel the power and connection formed between the citizens and the monk, and for a long moment there was silence.
"...Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood…" Jin continued. "...Now is the time to understand more...So that we may fear less." The crowd cheered at the inspiring words and Jesse used the moment to move closer to the stage.
A man in the crowd a few yards behind Jesse cheered with the rest. He was average height, average build, maybe a little on the smaller end. He wore glasses and as he clapped, a black bracelet with a green charm clinked against his wrist, a gift from his girlfriend. He took a few quick steps to his right to get a better view when suddenly something slammed into his back, as though someone ran straight into him. He stumbled forward, bumping into the people ahead of him and lost his glasses. After a moment of fumbling on the ground for his glasses he stood and turned around, expecting to see someone waiting to apologise, but everyone was just looking at him with concern evident on their faces.
"Who pushed me?" He tried to sound tough.
"No one did, you just fell...Are you alright?" The woman behind him looked slightly frightened.
"What?" The man's face was red with anger and embarrassment. "No way! Someone pushed me! I'm not stupid, I felt it!"
Jesse could hear the banter in mandarin behind him but chose to ignore it, when suddenly he felt something. He froze just as a cold whisp of air brushed past him. His eyes turned and in a moment of a moment he saw the faintest shift of the world before him like he was staring at it through a glass. Instantly he remembered the spies he met during his time in Blackwatch. People who specialized in being unseen, wearing armor that projected the world on top of it's surface, making them invisible to the naked eye... Something felt wrong.
"We might have a situation." He spoke low to Tracer, making his way faster to the stage.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lena dart down from the balcony, appearing next to one of the bodyguards behind the stage. She whispered something to the man who seemed to com it into the agents around him. Then, it all happened so fast.
A flash of neon light split across the center stage as a young woman dressed in violet appeared just in front of Fa Hung Jin. He stumbled back in surprise and before anyone could make a move, the woman leaned in and pressed a small round silver object against the omnic's forehead.
"Boop."
The silver ball shifted and absorbed into his metal skin, and then with a light *click* she vanished, just as Jesse reached the stage. He shot down where she just had been. It hit nothing, she was gone. Jesse hurried to Fa Hung Jin and led him away from the crowd, blocking him from the public's view.
"Ni shenti hao ma?" McCree asked, glancing sideways at the omnic.
Fa Hung Jin nodded distractedly, touching his hand up to his temple.
"...Thank you." his voice was monotone.
Tracer met them at the stairs with three other men wearing black suits. Jesse guided the monk over to the guards who escorted him down the street, followed closely by Rienhardt and Lucio.
"What the hell was that, do ya reckon?" Jesse asked as he watched them go.
"...I'm not sure." Tracer's voice was quiet. He looked over at her staring off into the distance.
"Jesse, did he tell you anything? Did you see what exactly she di-?" Tracer turned to McCree and froze.
Jesse raised a brow, "...You good?"
Her mousy face drained of color.
"Jesse." She whispered, her eyes widened in horror.
Then Jesse noticed it, a small, clear, red dot of light, hovering over his heart. He was being targeted.
"...fuck."
A thundering bang sounded over the square, its echo reached Jesse's ears twice before he realized he was falling. He shut his eyes as he hit the floor on his back, then the screaming began. All around him he heard screams, then gunshots and shouting. Jesse assumed he was gonna die now, he had just been shot and by the sound of it, by a pretty advanced rifle. He had just been shot… McCree opened his eyes, why didn't he feel any pain?
Tracer.
He sat up in a panic, hoping to god his supposition was wrong, but he wasn't wrong often. Laying next to him, still as a sleeping lamb was Lena with her tiny frame and spunky hair, and a bullet hole in her back.
"No no no shit! Lena…" Jesse gently rolled her over. Her eyes were glassy and her breath was short and strangled. Jesse held his hand against the wound on her belly, knowing it wouldn't do much good, the bullet went straight through her. In the corner of his eye, Jesse saw the blue glow of Reinhart's shield. There must have been more attackers, but he didn't care about being hit in the crossfire.
"Hey kiddo." He spoke softly. "Stay with me sweet pea."
Tracer lifted her head, "Y-you...good?"
Jesse shook his head with a hollow chuckle. "Not with you like this."
She smiled. "Cheers...th-then." Then in a flash of blue she disappeared from his arms and reappeared a moment later standing beside him, completely unharmed.
"Oof, much better." She rubbed the spot on her tummy where the bullet had once gone through then looked up and smiled. "Ever get that feeling of deja vu?"
Jesse deadpanned. Blood dripped from his hands, her blood 'mind you. Just a second ago was a life changing, horrific moment for him, the team, even the world. But nope she's fine, hell she's even making puns. Lena tiptoed in front of him and waved her hand in his face.
"Oi! Snap out of it, there's a fight going on!"
She pulled out her pistols and giggled before darting out of sight and into the battle. Jesse stood up, it seemed he was right. Agents filled the windows and repelled down the walls like spiders, or centipedes. McCree narrowed his eyes, it was the Wu, Talon made a bond with them long ago, they were mutual business partners, just as long as they respected each other's territory. The Chinese terrorist organization was known for their drug empire, Wu assassin's specialize in poisons which the organization creates and sells to Talon, bringing on a new meaning to chemical warfare. They have been rumored to test them on slaves who they traffic and use for free labor. Jesse spat on the ground. His fingers slipped around Peacekeeper and he aimed down his sights ready to kill.
"Step right up."
The battle was messy, there were still civilians in the streets and Jesse had to constantly keep moving so as to not catch anyone in the crossfire. Reinhardt's shield was a god-sent, or else there'd be many dead lying in the streets. Lucio, their field doctor and second newest member weaved between the chaos like a dancer, getting people out of the battle zone while Mei protected them from grounded agents. Jesse was quickly picking off the window snipers. With Tracer alive and the fight leaning in their favor so far, there was nothing that could hold him down. Jesse felt like a man possessed.
He was about to finish off an enemy sniper in the fourth story window when an arrow crashed through it before he could pull the trigger. He watched as it struck the man's head then broke, sending several scattering blue arrows inside apartment. They lit up the room and Jesse could see several other agents he didn't notice before as they were each pierced by an arrow. Jesse smirked, mildly impressed. He took aim at another one on the third floor and twitched his finger to fire just as another arrow shot through the window, taking down the Wu agent in another clean headshot. Jesse huffed and quickly snapped his aim down to a large gunman in the street before him and fir-, an arrow whizzed from the sky and pierced the man's heart. McCree gritted his teeth as he watched the giant stagger and fall.
He looked up and found the archer on the rooftop behind him.
"So you wanna play then?" McCree muttered. "Fine."
The archer and the cowboy chased each other's kills, at first Hanzo bested him easily, but as the sun got lower over the clouded horizon Jesse began to catch up. It was an equal game, Jesse was almost having fun when he noticed they had won. Besides a few stragglers all of the Wu agents had been eliminated, the square felt eerily empty even though it was full of bodies .
His hand went up to his com, "You still alive there kiddo?"
"Still kicking, cowboy." Lena chirped. "So are Lu and Mei, we are heading back to you now. The police have set up barricades on each street about a quarter mile out, if we missed any they'll get them."
Jesse wandered back towards the east side of the square where he sat before this mess began. He looked around at the bodies lying on the ground, unconsciously holding his breath as he scanned for fallen civilians, then he saw him. To his right was the body of a man, average height, average build, maybe a little on the smaller end. He laid on his back, face dirty, glasses askew, his arms were stretched on either side of him. A black bracelet with a green charm rested on his exposed wrist. Jesse sighed and rubbed the wariness away from his eyes. Even if the civilian death count was low, those are families broken, hearts gunned down like their fallen loves. No matter how low it was he had failed them, the innocent dead.
McCree knelt beside the man and adjusted his glasses. Then he heard it, a hushed 'fffp' sound came from behind him. Jesse acted before his mind knew what was going on and rolled out of the projectile's path. It struck the cobblestone, a red feather tipped dart. Jesse whirled around to see a woman standing before him. She was small and dressed in white with long graying hair, and in her hands she held a pale green blowgun. A jade one he guessed based on its appearance. She was already aiming at McCree again when he whipped out Peacekeeper and pulled the trigger.
*...click…* Jesse blinked, he was empty.
A red dart whizzed through the air at him and he threw himself out of the way, just missing it. But now he was off balance, if she shot again he'd be slower. Jesse looked up just as another dart flew from the jade gun. Today just wasn't his day.
He dove to the ground, making it by the skin on his teeth. Now he had nowhere to go now. He was slow on his knees, there was no way she'd miss him. He felt the fourth dart whip across the silent gap that separated them, and then to Jesse's utter amazement, the dart was shot out of mid air. The woman and McCree stared at each other for a moment, neither registering what had happened until Jesse noticed the red dart on the ground to his right, next to an arrow from a certain archer.
Hanzo stood on the edge of the low roof next to him like a statue. His bow was nocked and taut, aiming at the woman. He looked briefly at McCree, and then back to her.
"Reload your gun." He spoke in a low, commanding tone. Jesse watched him with surprise.
"...Yeah." He reached in his pockets and felt around, managing to scavenge his last six rounds and loaded them in. Jesse spun the gun's cabin smoothly, then snapped it back in with a click. "Thanks."
The woman was watching Hanzo, her eyes were large and furious, her body was crouched like a cat. He was her opposite, the archer stood up straight, calm and still. His eyes were cold and subjective as he watched her. Wind blew between the three of them, no one moved. Then the woman wavered and barked out a laugh.
"Nani?!" She laughed louder, stretching the wrinkles across her face. "A, Shimada san, sore wa anatadesu?"
Jesse narrowed his eyes, 'Shimada san', so she knew the archer then. He glanced sideways at Hanzo, but the man was unreadable.
"There is no redemption for you, witch." Hanzo growled.
The woman spat on the ground.
"Sore wa do demo i kotodesu..." Her face darkened. "Watashi wa mada anata o koroshimasu!"
Like lightning she twisted and jumped, just as an arrow struck the ground where she had crouched a second ago. She snapped around and sent a small shower of red darts in their direction and then disappeared down the alley. Jesse shifted out of the way, the darts weren't aimed well as a distraction, the archer didn't even flinch. Hanzo jumped off the rooftop and took chase, running after the woman, Jesse followed close behind.
They chased her through the alley, catching the last of her white dress as it slipped around the bend. Hanzo rounded the corner and jumped back, almost crashing into McCree as another wave of red darts flew by them. She dashed down a stairwell, slamming into the basement door that was locked to the outside. The door cracked and busted open and she ran inside, not bothering to close it behind her. Hanzo wasted no time, jumping over the guardrail and took off down the unlit hallway.
They were inside of an apartment building. Doors with numbered quarters flashed along beside them as they ran. The woman threw open the stairwell door and began to fly up the stairs with surprising speed. Hanzo swung his bow over his back and jumped clear over the stairs, grabbing onto the center railing and began to climb it like a spider monkey.
Jesse halted in the doorway, there was no way he could do that. Cursing under his breath, McCree took to the stairs, running up 3 at a time. By the time she had exited the stairwell, McCree had lost several steps between him and the archer, who was quickly catching up to her. She bounded down the stretch of hall and from the other end, Jesse saw her reach the last door and run inside. She went into one of the apartments? Jesse figured at least now she must be trapped. He sprinted after Hanzo as he vanished through the open door.
McCree turned into the apartment, It was clean with white walls and a wooden floor. There was no furniture, no personal artifacts, only the dim glow of a teleporter which stood in the center of the room. Hanzo was standing motionless before it as Jesse walked up to his side.
"Well shit." McCree whistled. "We can get Winston to track where this goes. There's no good reason to chase her through it. These ones," Jesse tapped the base of the teleporter with his boot, "are a one way ticket only. We wouldn't be able to get back."
He looked over to the archer, "Come on, let's round up the others." Jesse turned to leave, his hand went up to the com in his ear, flicking it on.
"Hey Tracer, we've found a teleporter."
Lena's com buzzed in his ear with shitty reception. "Oh! That's great love, where?"
"The large white apartment building on the north side, room 408."
He could hear Tracer repeating it back to someone beside her.
"Okay, good job cowboy." Her voice was glitchy. "We will be right over. Is Hanzo with you?"
"Yeah." Jesse looked back over his shoulder at the archer...but Hanzo wasn't there.
Jesse's mouth went dry, he leaned out into the hallway, but there was no sign of him.
"No no no nonononnono…" Jesse ran back inside the apartment but all the other rooms were empty, the archer wasn't there.
"Fuck!" Jesse punched the wall with his metal hand, tearing out a good section of the white plaster.
"What's going on Jess?" Tracer's voice sounded worried over the com. "Is everything alright? We are a few minutes away."
Jesse paced in front of the teleporter, what the hell was that guy thinking? He went into the teleporter just after he specifically told him not to. How was this Japanese guy so stupid?! He took out a cigar and lit it, glaring sideways at the teleporter. If he went through he could find Hanzo and hold tight until the team tracked them down, if the sonofabitch was still alive. What if the teleporter led them directly into Wu headquarters? Or worse yet, Talon. Hell, she was speaking to Hanzo in Japanese right? She could have been part of the Gumi, and Jesse wasn't mentally prepared to take on the world's deadliest ninja gang with 6 fucking shots! It wasn't like Hanzo was prepared for that kind of fire either. Jesse pressed his palms into his eyes, today went south so quick.
"Jesse?!" Tracer's voice rang in his ear. Jesse stared into the blue archway, if he died today he was going to be pissed. But he couldn't return to base having left Genji's brother behind to die or be captured.
Jesse lowered his hands and swallowed before speaking calmly to Lena.
"Hey kiddo," His voice drawled. "I've got an archer to rescue. Promise me you'll find us, okay?"
"Wait-What? Jesse- wha- go-ing-on-Jess pl- wai-" Tracer tried frantically to call to him, but it was useless. His com filled with static and then went silent as he walked through the arch. He closed his eyes and felt an intense wind come from every direction as world spun and pulled him into darkness.
McCree opened his eyes and sighed.
"Back into the mix."
End of Chapter 1.