Roadie's motorbike speeds down the narrow street, swerving round cars and between lanes with a fervent mania. The wind rushes through my hair, making my eyes water. Invigorating. My metal arm is wrapped around his middle as I sit on the seat behind him, my other hand high in the air, feeling the air flow like water through my fingers.

" 'appy birthday, Roadie!" I screech, smiling so wide my face feels like it'll split in half. "Can't wait to show you yer present, mate. Think you're gonna love it."

Roadie of course says nothing, but I can tell he's happy from the way he almost hits a ute as he changes lanes. He's only reckless at the best of times, when my personality gets into his head. The driver lays on the horn as we ride past, and I flip him off, grinning.

I direct Roadie toward the outskirts of the city. I'm barely able to contain my excitement. I try standing up on the seat as he drives, but he reaches round and yanks me down by the arm.

"I like you," he says. "Don't kill yourself."

I stick out my tongue at him behind his back.

I tell him to park several streets off, just to be sure we'll still have the bike when we get back. Roadie locks it up and we set off down the road, him lumbering at a steady pace, me practically skipping ahead of him on my peg leg.

"So," I say, turning round and walking backwards, "y'know how you were mentioning you wanted some new gear?"

I can hear the grin in his voice. "You didn't."

"Not yet," I say. "See, this is more'n just a present. It's a heist. We're gonna blow up the biggest, toughest stash in town, and I'll give you first pick on everythin. How's that for a special birthday, eh?"

"You realize my birthday isn't for a month," he growls.

I shrug. "Whatever, mate. I had the idea and I couldn't just sit on it for another four weeks. So? You excited?"

He grunts, which is pretty much a cheer from him. I giggle and turn round again, loping ahead on my uneven legs. "You won't believe the kinds of stuff they've got in here," I say. "I been collecting rumours and this is bound to be a good haul. We might be able t'upgrade that scrap gun a yours. Hell, you'll be able to get a snipe if you want!" I scratch my head roughly, sending flakes of ash raining onto my shoulders. "It'll be a blast."

"You're nervous," he says softly.

I shrug. "It's yer special day, mate. Just hoping I don't mess it up."

Roadie chuckles and that in itself makes me feel a little better. "Mess it up and it'll be more fun for me," he says.

"Lovely," I say. "I'll be sure and try to screw things up for you then?" He snorts and I stifle a giggle. "Only joking, Hog. C'mon. Step it up."

The place doesn't look like much. Like a warehouse, with huge garage doorways and grafitti splattering the walls. Old crates and moldy boxes are stacked feet high around the building. I stop in front of it and Roadie halts beside me, taking it in.

"Beauty, ain't she?" I say. "I'll blow open the front and distract 'em, and you grab whatever you want."

He nods, and pulls his gun from its side holster.

And then a huge rumble shakes the ground beneath us, and before I know what's happening, Hog yanks me away and shoves me to the ground. Not a second too soon. The moment I hit the asphalt, the front of the building explodes.

I blink away smoke. Coughing, I push myself to my hands and knees, only to have Roadie grab my by the shoulder and hoist me to my feet. "Move," he growls, and I scramble up and make a bolt away from the building, glancing over my shoulder to keep make sure he's following.

"What the hell was that?" I ask, breathless as he catches up and we round the corner. "Cause that wasn't part of the present. You okay?"

But he don't have time to respond before we both spot the motorbike. I let out a shriek and rush forward. Roadie lumbers on after me, gun trained on the girl carrying a stack of weapons under one arm and fiddling with the lock on the bike with her other hand. She's splattered in dirt and blood, her purple dress ripped down one side, her nose destroyed and bleeding all over the expensive seat cushion.

"Oi! Mate! Whatcha think yer doing?" I demand, stalking up to her and ripping her hand off the bike. She startles, then hops away from us, clutching the weapons to her chest.

"Oh," she says, breathless. "Jamie. Long time no see. Help me with these guns, won't you?"

I gape at her. "Who're you, exactly?"

She glares at me in exasperation. "Look, do you want to be found in my company when Overwatch comes, or not?"

Roadie, with a sudden urgency, pushes past me and unlocks the bike, throwing himself into the seat. He pops out the little stash compartment from the side of the bike and gestures to it.

"Gracias," the girl says, and dumps her weapons in before swinging on behind Roadhog. Roadie beckons to me. I shut my mouth and get on behind the girl. Then he boots the kickstand and takes a sharp turn, heading back the way we came.

"Overwatch?" I ask, shouting over the roar of the engine. "What's Overwatch got to do with this?"

"That's their warehouse," she shouts back. "You didn't know that was their warehouse? What were you doing there?"

"Just gonna have some fun," I grumble.

She laughs and I can feel it vibrating through her back onto my chest. "Oh, of course! Why didn't I guess?"

"I still don't know who you are."

She snorts. "Don't remember me, Nino? I saved your life." She reaches over her shoulder without looking and pokes my nose. "Boop."

It all comes back in a rush. Hot damn, but she's grown up. "What're you doing here?" I ask, dumbstruck.

"I could ask the same of you," Sombra says.

"Exploring," I say. "Stealin stuff."

"Well then, I'm exploring too," she says.

"You don't seem like the type to blow up Overwatch stash," I say.

"I didn't," she says. "They did, trying to kill me. I'm a high-value target. That's why I need you to drive faster, Mako," she adds, patting Hog on the arm.

I grind my teeth. "His name's Roadhog."

"What? Since when?"

"Since Mako died," Roadie says. "Security purposes."

"Maybe you outta shut up and let him drive," I suggest.

Sombra laughs at me, but says nothing more until we're several blocks down from the warehouse. "Turn here," she says, and Hog obeys, pulling a sharp left onto a narrow side street.

"Where you taking us?" I ask.

"Home base," Sombra says. "You two can stay with me if you want, at least for a few days."

Roadie grunts, which basically means the decision's up to me. I glare at the back of Sombra's head. "We'll see."

It's a little harder to feel the wind with Sombra sitting in front of me, blocking whatever gets past Hog. I try to enjoy the ride anyway, since this is one of the few times I get to be backseat while he drives. I try to tell myself that Sombra ain't so bad. Roadie seems to trust her, and that's a huge point in someone's favor as far as I'm concerned. And I'll get another day to do something special for Roadie. Hopefully. But damn it, this was supposed to be special.

She continues directing Roadhog through the streets into grimier and grimier alleys, till it looks almost like Junkertown. That makes me a little more at ease. All the clean roads and buildings make me feel a little sick. Nothing honest ever comes from a clean building, I can tell you that much.

When she tells us to stop the bike, I hop off almost before Roadie pulls to a halt, and grab a couple of guns out of the compartment.

"Careful with those!" Sombra says, jumping off and slapping my hand as I reach for another. "Leave that alone. Reaper will kill you if you drop any of these."

"Whoa-whoa-whoa." I take a step back, eyeing her sharply. "Reaper? Who's Reaper?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" she asks. "I'm working with Talon now. This haul is for them. I don't use shotguns or rifles."

"Talon?" Roadhog steps so close to her that he throws her into shadow. "We don't deal with Talon."

She smirks. "Well, you do now. Widow can see you from the cams. In fact, she's probably lining up a shot right now, in case you try anything violent. So I suggest you keep your head down and do as I say."

Sombra turns and struts away, arms full. Roadie and I exchange glances and I can tell he's worried. But we both agree, silent, that it's better to follow. For now.

"Hey! Reaps!" she shouts as she steps up to a molding wooden door. "Open up. I brought guests."