She stood and watched the dropship touch down, unbothered by the noise of the engines. The ramp lowered, and three figures approached her, one leading and the other two guarding their leader. The guard on the left sported extensive cybernetics and carried a sword, and the right-most guard…was wearing a cowboy hat and a poncho? How quaint. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, but it quickly faded when she saw the distinctive circular patch on their leader's left shoulder. Overwatch. Her eyes narrowed in disgust, her gaze flicking back to the white-and-red skull-like symbol emblazoned on the dropship's flank. They were affiliated with each other?
No matter. It seemed that the organization that had once decried her was now looking to hire her, to finally leash her for good.
She refused to let it happen.
"Doctor O'Deorain; Gabriel Reyes." The leader spoke, holding out a hand for her to shake.
She drew herself up, ignoring the offered hand. "Mr. Reyes, you bring me out here, to the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, just to mock me? I'm not blind, you know." She glanced pointedly at the Overwatch hoodie he wore under his light armor.
"You don't understand. We're not publicly affiliated with Overwatch."
She scowled at him. "Regardless, my answer remains the same. I'm not Overwatch's toy, and I never will be." She turned away and looked out at the glittering, distant cityscape. "Besides, what use would a bunch of soldiers have for me?"
"Weapons tech, medicine, any innovation you choose to pursue as long as it holds practical benefits for Blackwatch. I can't promise you a free rein, but I can get you plenty of funding. That's what you want, isn't it?"
She grimaced. Reyes was right; she did want funding. But at what cost? Would they make her sell out her commitment to advancement for the money?
"Work with me, and I'll do what I can to help you."
She glanced back at the trio. The two men behind Reyes were eyeing her suspiciously, the cowboy clenching his teeth around the cigar he was smoking, his arms folded across his chest. But Reyes stood there, holding out a hand and an offer.
"You're the best of the best, and Blackwatch needs your help."
He spoke the truth. She was good at what she did, and she knew it. But with her reputation in flames, almost no one would hire her, not even for something as simple as producing the annual flu vaccine. She knew she wouldn't be able to settle for something so mundane, either. Innovation was her lifeblood and sole passion, and this Blackwatch was offering her a second chance. Research as she saw fit, right under Overwatch's overly-long nose.
A slight smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth as she thought it over. Defying the organization that had almost-singlehandedly stripped her of her status was only a bonus.
She turned and took Reyes' extended hand.
"I accept," she said. Behind Reyes, the cowboy grumbled something into his cigar.
Reyes shook her hand twice, then introduced the men with him.
"O'Deorain, this is Genji," he indicated the man with the cybernetics, "and McCree."
Genji nodded at her silently, but McCree didn't respond. His eyes flicked to her scarred right hand. She straightened and tucked her arms behind her back, appraising the cowboy. He didn't even try to hide the fact he didn't like her. That was fine with her; he could have his own opinions as long as he didn't interfere.
"Put that thing out, McCree," Reyes said as he passed the cowboy. The man grunted in displeasure, reluctantly removed the smoldering butt from his mouth and crushed it beneath his boot, then shot her a glare. Ah. Reyes must have asked him as a courtesy to her. How very polite of him. If Reyes remained willing to work with her, she felt quite certain that she and Blackwatch would get along just fine.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
"I don't like this," McCree growled. "We know what she got kicked from the research labs for. Overwatch hates her so much Dr. Ziegler even made a public statement against her. The hell are you thinking hiring her, Reyes?"
"We need an edge. Every time we encounter Talon, they seem to get just a little bit stronger; new armor, improved weapons, better intelligence. Especially better intelligence. I'm not terribly fond of it either, but we have to keep up with them somehow. O'Deorain's our ace in the hole, and she's goddamned brilliant." Reyes leaned forward. "Besides, if we hadn't hired her, I'm sure Talon would have. She's not fond of Overwatch. Probably considers working on their budget right under their radar as a bonus. Now think about if Talon had made contact with her before us."
A silence fell at these words.
"You handled this situation rather well, Gabriel," Genji supplied, breaking the uncomfortable pause. "This keeps O'Deorain from becoming a concern and gives us some help against an ever-strengthening enemy, though I don't believe it a good idea to trust her implicitly."
"I agree," Morrison chipped in. "I'm not a fan, but it's better than the alternative. We'll just have to keep an eye on her."
"Well, you got mine, as often as I can spare 'em," McCree said darkly.
"Your concern is noted, Jesse, and I'm sure we'll need you." Morrison stood up. "For now, report any suspicious activity she gets up to, but don't be too intrusive about it. She's here as part of the team, not as some suspect."
A chorus of assenting murmurs came from each of the men except McCree, who glowered in displeasure and said nothing.
"Dismissed."
Chairs scraped against the floor. Morrison caught Reyes by the shoulder.
"A word, Gabriel."
"You think I did the wrong thing, hiring her," Reyes said, crossing his arms.
"Forget that a moment. You get the results back from Angela yet?"
"No. I was going to give her a call after this."
"All right. Well, I hope it turns out okay." Morrison put a hand on Reyes' shoulder.
"Thanks, Jack." Reyes gave Morrison a tired smile. "Any wonder I keep you around?"
Jack laughed. "Good luck, Reyes."
Gabriel grinned at his friend. "Don't worry about me. I eat bullets for breakfast."
A/N: Technically speaking, this is a continuation of Bottled Lightning, though you don't need to read one to understand the other.
Many of the character interactions are built around the in-game dialogue that a player can find, and I'm hoping to really flesh out Moira's involvement in Blackwatch here.
I freaking love Moira...