The night had gone in almost a haze. She had returned to her room in the hotel, had packed up her stuff and a car had brought her to her small mansion in the outskirts of the town.
From then on, she had spent the rest of the night making the odd phone call and writing a flurry of emails to various lawyers, legal advisors and people of importance on whose support she thought she could count or who at least owed her a favor.
Her refusal to open her nanotechnology for weaponization had made her a lot of enemies, but she had saved too many lives for them to outnumber her friends.
And yet it doesn't look good.
Since it was after one in the morning, the number of people she could reach in Switzerland was limited and the news from those she could reach hadn't looked promising.
"You're telling me that ridiculous document is truly legitimate?"
"Yes, ma'am," replied the tired voice of Sandra Holtz. Ten years her junior, long, curly black hair, a mousy face and a hardworking member of the ministry of justice, she had the required access to check on decrees like this that had been formally handed into the system. "I checked and rechecked. It has been approved by several minsters and the chancellor himself." Angela could hear her rubbing her eye. "The national stuff is legit. You'll be arrested, declared a traitor and terrorist and all your holdings and offices will be raided and ceased." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Can't really say anything about the international thing though. Doesn't really sound feasible. I mean, the claim that every nation, even if we go by the meaning of every nation that matters, well, that's a difficult pill to swallow. Doesn't really make sense, really. Can't think that the two things they all agree on are the Geneva conventions and, well, you."
It didn't, and yet she had never seen Bixel make a threat she couldn't follow through. Then again, this might be why she might get away with it once or twice.
"We'll see in the coming days, it seems. Thank you so much for your help, darling. I apologize once more for troubling you at this ghastly hour."
"Of course Dr. Ziegler, I'm always happy to help. Please call me any time you need."
"I'm afraid I'll have to take you up on that sooner than I'd like."
Sandra laughed. "Crazy shit." She paused for a few seconds, "Seriously though, this is seriously fucked up. They can't get away with this."
Sandra, for all her legal expertise, also only had limited experience with the more obstinate types of individuals that tended to be put in charge. Her advice on the frameworks of the legal code was invaluable as her knowledge there far exceeded Angela's, but she was still so young. Younger than Lena, still.
"Oh don't you worry, they won't," she assured her with far more confidence than she had, "This is hardly the first time someone tried to steal from me."
"I guess you're right," Sandra said before a yawn forced itself through. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Ziegler, I-"
But Angela laughed and cut her off, "Oh don't be silly Sandra, of course you're tired. I apologize again for bothering you at this ungodly hour but I simply couldn't wait. Thank you so much again."
"It really wasn't a problem but I think I've got to go now, really need to catch a bit of sleep before another early start today. I've sent you the mail."
"Of course, have a good rest. Thank you again."
And with that, she hung up and made a small note to get Sandra something for her help. It wasn't a small favor she had asked of the girl but she had needed the information. Opening the mail, revealed the full document for at least the Swiss part, revealing what they would accuse her over.
Maybe a few bottles of nice wine? Or an invitation to one of the more prestigious events she usually got tickets to? She still had a bit jewelry and various trinkets lying around in one of the saves in the house but she didn't remember of the top of her head what kind of things Sandra liked. She'd find something.
Reading a bit more of the document, she felt the unease in her stomach getting worse. There were quite a few things on it, some true, some not, but she supposed it wouldn't really matter. She didn't have the impression this would be a fair trial after all, so while she did forward this to her personal lawyer, she had a much more important call to make.
She buried her face in her hands and let out a long and deep sigh.
Fuck.
This was not how she had expected things to go. She had known that Overwatch had been problematic and divisive, especially towards its later years, but she hadn't quite grasped how truly feared it was.
Or, it was less about Overwatch and more about her, that the current situation was so dire, they needed every resource they could get their hands on and Angela's nanotechnology was one such resource.
In the face of human extinction, she might reconsider her stance, but unless that was proven to her, there was no chance in hell she would give anyone access to the core of her technology.
She fished for the cigarettes on her desk and lighted one. It was a habit from her student days, back when she had desperately wanted to appear older than thirteen when she had shared university classes with people who were mostly at least a decade older than her. When stressed, one would calm her down.
It's not like it was harmful to her, anyway.
"Greetings, Dr. Ziegler," a mechanical yet masculine voice suddenly interrupted her thought process and she jumped up, her cigarette falling on the desk, her eyes racing towards the voice, her hand grasping for the caduceus blaster lying on the table next to her phone and she pointed it right at the door.
Outside of her open office door, in the shadows of the hallway, stood the dark silhouette of a person. It stood relaxed and she couldn't discern who it was at all until lights in a green-yellowish hue appeared all over his body, including his visor, revealing his identity.
She would recognize this armor anywhere, she had helped build it after all.
"Genji!" To say she was surprised didn't even cover it. She didn't exactly part on amicable terms with the man. At the time, he had resented the role she had played in putting him into state that he was now and had expressed very clearly how much he had appreciated his life at that point, right before he cut ties with Overwatch. He had written her a letter, years later, expressing gratitude and apologies for his behavior and saying that he had come to peace with his new state, which she had immensely appreciated, but to appear like that in the middle of the night, so soon after coming back here. That didn't bode well.
She didn't lower her weapon.
"How can I help you?"
"Apologies for disturbing you at this hour, Dr. Ziegler," he started, his mechanical voice calm and soothing. He extended the palms of his hands, holding them up as he slowly stepped into the light of the room. The swords on his back remained untouched and Angela didn't saw any of the throwing stars they had built into his arms. Not that it mattered, his reflexes and aim far exceeded hers and he could produce his weapons and throw them in a heartbeat. "I assure you, we mean you no harm."
"We?"
Before Angela could ask more, a blue flash blazed past Genji and materialized right in front of her desk, revealing Lena, wearing those hideous orange leggings and her old fashioned short leather vest. The most eye-catching part of her, of course, was the chronal accelerator strapped to her chest, which still remained maybe the most sophisticated and amazing piece of technology Angela had personally seen.
"Parameter is clean, no one else's here and Angie here had already disarmed all listening devices already. Well done, love. Long time no see."
She lowered her weapon and let out a relieving sigh. If there was one thing she knew, it was that Lena would never do anything to intentionally cause her harm.
"You two just had to do this in such a way that made me age a few years."
"Sorry, Angie. Had to be sure we wouldn't be overheard and your place is so big, that it took a bit for me to check everywhere. It's not like you can't use a few years, though. Hope I'll look this good when I'm forty or fifty."
Angela laughed. "Thirty-seven but who's counting? My security system is exceptional, it registers all intruders and records their every move. Or so I believed before you two broke in as if this was a grocery store."
"It wasn't easy, let me tell ya. But we managed." Lena wasn't quite bragging, but she was amused. "Well, Genji managed. Blackwatch apparently taught a lot more on bypassing security systems than Overwatch did."
I'm honestly relieved that she seemingly didn't change all that much.
"Not that I'm not glad to see either one of you, but you two couldn't have come at a more inconvenient time for me. So, unless it's a medical emergency for one of you two, I would ask to leave as quickly as possible without anyone noticing. I like not being arrested. My lawyers charge exuberant sums for their work and I still need to eat from time to time."
Lena, her orange visor that protected her eyes now resting on her head, raised an eyebrow.
"That's why we're here, actually. To get you out of this."
Of course you are.
"I appreciate the concern, Lena, but I can assure you, it's quite unnecessary. I'm wholly capable to deal with this situation without becoming a fugitive and giving them reason to seize all my research and technology they can get their greedy claws on. "
"This is not a situation in which lawyers and the law will prevail, Dr. Ziegler. Your arrest is imminent and the motivations behind it are unclear," Genji said.
"But hiding in some hole will help?"
Lena was silent for a few seconds, a frown on her face. "Angie, you didn't react to the recall at all. We thought it was this business but…"
It was always hard for Angela to see Lena like this. Ever since her failure to help her when she needed her the most, it was difficult for her to allow Lena be sad.
A fact that Winston had no doubt picked up on, which is why he had ordered Lena and Genji, both former patients she had failed in different ways to come and fetch him.
That prick!
"Look, I'm grateful that you two thought I needed help and yes, I won't lie, things aren't looking particularly good at the moment but I'm far from beaten. And I'm sorry, I won't be returning to Overwatch. I wouldn't even if I hadn't in this situation. Overwatch did some good but it had long passed its expiration date . There were good reasons for it shutting down and why it should remain like that."
The shock was written in Lena's face, her eyes wide, her mouth open. Genji was impossible to read due to his mechanic exterior and complete lack of facial cues.
"I don't understand why you seem so shocked, Lena. You were there when I signed the dissolution of Overwatch."
The shock on Lena's face was replaced by anger as she blinked forward, crossing the distance between the two in a flash, her hands gripping Angela by the shoulders, her glaring eyes meeting Angela's.
"You can't believe that! Are you saying that Overwatch can't help anyone anymore?"
"We weren't heroes, Lena! We were a paramilitary organization whose duties got more and more extensive and became something I wasn't exactly proud to be a member off any more."
"Blackwatch wasn't-"
Angela cut her off with an angry wave of her arm.
"I'm not talking about Blackwatch! Blackwatch, Blackwatch! Everyone is putting all the blame, all the attention on Blackwatch. Blackwatch was the least of its problems. I'm talking about how every research project we had, how all of our science divisions ultimately got ordered to focus on military applications for everything they made!" She shot Genji a glance. "Two of the results are standing here and the only reason we don't have more Tracers running around is because what happened was such a fluke, no one could replicate it and believe me, they tried."
"Dr. Ziegler," Genji began, stepping forward, putting a hand on Lena's shoulder, making her let go of Angela. "I don't believe the Overwatch we'll restart right now will have the ability or inclination to pursue those things."
"Not at the beginning, no." Angela admitted. "But for how long? I've seen plans that deeply concerned me. Plans that Morrison and Amari and Reyes had all signed off on. Plans like changing my nanobots to prevent healing, to attack any and all other nanobots in order to ensure that they died even if they were given medical care."
She took a deep breath. "That's the Overwatch you would be trying to recreate and that's not something I want to be part off."
"The world is in danger," Lena said. "Widowmaker killed Mondetta right in front of me. Talon has been putting pressure on the world and they 're getting away with it! We're the only people who can stop them. What you told me is horrible, Angela and I had no idea things had gotten that bad but we don't have a choice. We either step up and start to make things right or we allow people like Talon to triumph and that can't be good for anyone."
"And what would have me do, Lena?" Angela was glaring at the two, her hands crossed over her chest. "Follow you two out and then have the government overtake everything I have worked for since I was sixteen? How is that any better?"
"I want you to stop hiding!" Lena burst out. "I want you to stop running and fight! I want you to come back with us and lead!"
"Lead?" Angela's voice was a rasp but became sharper with each word. "Not only do you want me to come back, turn my back on all the patients I could heal, not only do you want me to forsake my life's work and allow every two-bit hack to tamper with my greatest achievement and condemn countless people to die because of that, you also want me to take personal responsibility for all of your lives and actions?"
"Yeah," Lena was blazing forward, "It's the perfect solution, isn't it? If you're worrying about Overwatch going down the wrong path, you'll just yank it towards the right one. We all know the big guy is just doing the leader thing until someone comes along who'll take the burden from him. He stepped up because he was the one who could initiate the recall. Heck, he already tried to foist things up to old man Reinhardt but he wasn't having it."
"It seems to be the best solution to all, Dr. Ziegler," added Genji, taking a few steps to stand beside Lena. "We would gain qualified leadership and the best medical mind alive and you would gain protection, help and the guarantee to never allow Overwatch to become something it was never meant to be."
"I had gotten guarantees and promises before and they hadn't mattered because I was lied to. What makes you think people won't do the same, simply because they believe me naïve and incapable of understanding what needs to be done? There'll always be a justification for actions such as this. Morrison never believed he was doing what he did for a bad purpose." She met Genji's visor with her gaze. "And I still haven't heard a solution to my government problem. I would be physically safe but I don't believe my health would be in any danger regardless of anything."
"You told me you had a failsafe, once."
Angela froze, her eyes bore into Lena's. "No," she said, her voice pure ice. "I never did. I never told anyone."
Lena attempted a weak smile. "Ah, now that you mention it, it might have been someone else."
Angela took a small step back, then another until she hit her desk. She sat down on it, not trusting her legs to carry her at the moment. Athena. It must have been Athena. Angela had liked the AI but she had never fully trusted her. Not because she was artificial but because of her reach and power into all manners of information that she had stored and that she would obey the orders of people higher in the chain of command than her.
She believed she had taken the necessary precautions. It shouldn't surprise her this much, she figured. Angela knew she was brilliant but she was also aware that she was not necessarily a programmer or hacker. She was smart and outstanding in her field but there plenty of people better than her in countless things.
Still, she had believed that that nugget of information would have been secure under all the fail saves.
But she had been compromised, maybe even for years. If Tracer even knew…
"Who else?" Angela croaked, her hands shaking.
"Who else what?" Lena asked hesitantly, confusion apparent in her voice.
"Who else knew of the failsafe!" she snapped. "Who told you in the first place?"
"Oh, well, the big guy told me. I don't know who else knows."
Morrison knew at the very least, then. Reyes maybe even. But both are dead. Did Reyes tell McCree?
"When did he tell you?"
"Ahm, a few days ago? I think. Told me to tell you that the failsafe is good to go, yeah."
Angela didn't know what to say. She trusted Winston when he said that if she activated it, that it would work but what would be the point now? The original purpose was that it would affect all of her work but now she had learned that that system had been compromised for god knows how long and if Morrison had ordered Winston or Athena to save some for Overwatch for whatever purpose, those two would have done it.
Then again, if the only place was Overwatch, the place she was going to lead, with the three previous leaders out of the picture and herself in charge, it might not be as hopeless as she had feared.
Angela closed her eyes, took a deep breath, exhaled and opened them again. "You're aware that Talon won't be the only one who'll oppose us. Alongside whatever god program is lashing out again, we'll also have to contend with most of the worlds governments?"
Lena, seeing that Angela was at least considering it now, cheered up. "Well, yeah, but no one said being a hero was easy, yeah?"
"My concern would be more the fact that Winston is still in Watchpoint Gibraltar, right? And everyone knows he's there. And that if we want any kinds of facilities, we'd have to use that. So, lacking the resources to defend it, we'd be exposed to any unwanted and armed visitors. It would be just one big bullseye."
"Ah, yeah, Genji said the same thing." She pointed at Genji with her thumb. "Winston, Torb, Rein, Bianca and Jesse are packing as we speak."
Mercy smiled at that. "So, you pretty much got the old crew back together."
"Yeah, we did. Well, except for the fallen, of course." Lena's voice got sadder at that.
"What now?" she asked.
"Well, what do you want, Angie?. Do you want to come with us or are you going to take your chances here?"
"If I run now, my life, the shallow husk that it is, will be over. Everything 've built over my entire life will collapse. People will die if I do what I have to do but if I don't, and someone with unlimited access to everything does crack my protections, countless more might die."
"But if you stay, that might happen anyway and you'll be in prison."
"Maybe there is a way out," suggested Genji. "Have you ever heard the name Sombra?"
"I can't say I have, but please remember, darling, I've spent the last few years mostly off the grid."
Lena, meanwhile, was scowling which surprised Angela since she was usually such a bright soul. "Oh I know that bitch. She's a hacker who does all kinds of stuff. Works with a lot of criminals and terrorists. Well, she's one, so yeah. Stole from Winston. What do you want with her?"
"If we can procure her services, she could access Government records and put them out there. Public opinion would sway if they saw proof of their machinations and treachery. With that in the open, could they really persecute Dr. Ziegler as they intended?"
Angela leaned against her table, crossing her arms. After a few seconds, she reached for her cigarettes and lit one up, ignoring the old one that had gone out on her desk. She knew Tracer didn't smoke and well, Genji couldn't so she didn't offer. "That's the beginnings of a feasible plan, at least," she admitted, after having taken a deep drag. "In which case, let's say I do accept the recall and the overall command of Overwatch, until I'm ousted at least."
"Not as optimistic as I'd like, but I'll take it," chimed Lena in with a small smile and Angela returned it, whilst taking another shallow drag before continuing.
"Let's say I do that, I think it would be more useful for us all to deal with this matter first."
"I concur, doctor."
After a few minutes of silence, as everyone thought about possible further action, Angela spoke up again.
"If I understand things correctly, we have a few goals we have to achieve before we can fully realize a new Overwatch. We have to secure a new base of operations from which we can act with impunity, we need more members and ideally funding, we have to deal with Talon, God Programs and be able to react to them all the while keeping the various governments away. But before all of that, we have to keep me from going to prison and keep my potentially very dangerous technology safe from greedy and stupid lowlifes, is that about right?"
"Yeah, sounds about right."
"In that case, I should stay here, for the time being." Angela knew Lena would protest so just as she opened her mouth to do so, Angela raised her hand and after making sure Lena would let her talk, she continued. "If I go right now, with you two, they'll realize very fast I'm no longer here and start their process, by which point it will be too late. No, it makes more sense for me to stay here and stall. Make plans, improve the nanobots and generally prepare logistics. I'd even use the old communicator with Winston to talk about some details, I do remember him saying these things were rather secure. Meanwhile, Genji, if you could take McCree and try to locate this Sombra and try to hire her, unless she's a true Talon agent, in which case let her be and return to base. Lena, while they are doing that, I'd ask you to look into potential individuals to recruit. Being our only pilot next to Athena, you could travel to them and extend an invitation."
"Hmm, there are a few promising individuals. That Lucio fella looks solid. And the little Amari of course, Commander Ana's daughter, I mean."
"You can have Winston send their files to me." She paused for a second before remembering a particular fact about said little Amari. "Wait, isn't Fareeha older than you?"
Genji laughed, his mechanic voice a pleasant echo.
"Don't sweat the details, love." She was grinning without shame before her smile faltered and she switched to a more serious topic. "On another note, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you being alone here, Angie."
"I can take care of myself, Lena. Besides, I can't have you guys lurking around. Your presence would merely lead to my immediate arrest."
"Being on your own isn't really great either. What if someone gets impatient? I remember you being decent with your little pistol, Angie but you weren't exactly a crackshot."
Angela didn't really fear the prospect of dying, she hadn't for quite a while, for good reason, but there was sense to what Lena was saying. She could still be captured and taken by force.
"What are you suggesting?"
"Genji stays with you."
Angela looked at the cyborg in question. "I mean no disrespect but while I remember you being trained in stealth, can you really remain near enough for an extended period of time when they will be looking out for you and the other former Overwatch members? Forgive me for pointing out the obvious, but you aren't really blending in here. The one person less suited for that would be Winston."
"It wouldn't be impossible but I do admit, it would be…challenging. Which is why I have a better alternative. Rather than a previous Overwatch member protecting Dr. Ziegler in secret, we should assign one or two of the new candidates for that. Having never been part of Overwatch, they could interact with her freely, outright accompany her everywhere."
"That's actually a great idea," Lena cheered, "Who did you have in mind?"
"Only one, for now, and that would be my master."
"Your master?" Angela asked, leaning forwards in curiosity. During the time, she had helped healing and rebuilding Genji, she hadn't heard him mention any master, but then again, he hadn't been talkative at all. He had communicated in sullen silences and curt replies. Completely unlike now.
"Zenyatta, he's a monk of the Shambali who has taught me much over the last three years. He has saved me, very much how you saved me, Dr. Ziegler, albeit in a different way. At the danger of sounding overly dramatic, where you saved my body, he saved my soul. I'm now at peace and I have him to thank for it."
Angela smiled at that. "I'm so very happy about that, Genji."
"It's because of that I trust him implicitly. I've told him of your deeds, both of your hand in saving me and saving countless others and he had expressed an interest in meeting you. He will see the righteousness in our case and I've no doubt that he'll help us. He takes no joy in fighting but he's proficient in it. As a spiritual leader and a healer of considerable skill, him coming here to visit you would by no means be considered strange."
"I've to admit, he's unknown to me but I will of course trust your judgment on this."
"How about this, I go and pick him up. You stay here until then. When I'm back with him, we both go and do our thing and those two can talk about whatever." Lena sounded more chipper than she should, in Angela's opinion.
"So soon?"
"We can't exactly waste a lot of time with waiting," Lena replied. She then turned to Genji, "Do you want to record a message or something? Doubt he will simply pack up his stuff and follow me so easily."
"Yes, I will do so immediately, excuse me." With that, he hurried out of the room.
"I'm not sure I'm grateful for your presence, Lena."
"I actually get that a lot," she quipped, flashing a small smile which made Angela roll her eyes.
"I'm serious."
"Yeah, I know. But I'm not. We're a team, Angie. We're at our best when we all work together and I think we forgot that and none of us have been at our best for a while."
"You make it sound so sweet and simple, my dear, but I'm afraid we just had two fundamentally different experiences at out time in Overwatch. You may remember it as a time of unity and teamwork where we all banded together in friendship and comradery for the greater good but for me it was a constant struggle to do the most good without compromising my ideals and that put me against our leadership and even Torbjörn a lot, who saw things very differently than I did."
"So what? It wasn't exactly all roses for me either, if you remember."
Hot guilt flashed through Angela and she averted her eyes. Lena had lurched forward and gripped her arms.
"I'm so sorry, that was a horrible thing to say, love. I'm sorry. I know that wasn't what you meant. We all got injured at one point or another and mine was really just that, if a bit more extra. You're right, you with your big smart brain had different responsibilities than I did and I wasn't in that position. I was really only a pilot and field agent and I got along pretty well with everyone. Well, I think I got on Ana's and Jack's nerves a bit, and Torbjörn did chase me out of his workshop a few dozen times but yeah. Nailed me good with a wrench once…" She trailed off for a bit, trying to collect her thoughts. "What I'm trying to say is, despite any and all issues, I'm sure we can work things out. As much as I hate to say it like this, and I really, really do, but the big three aren't there anymore and you can't tell me you hated old Torb."
Angela rubbed her left eye, still unable to meet Lena's gaze. "Of course I didn't hate him or anyone there. You're just so optimistic about everything and if you think about it, having a leader who doesn't believe in her organization is probably a bad pick."
"Think you'll be just alright once you're back with us and not brooding alone somewhere, trying to heal too many people at once. Overwatch had gotten rather big over the years and too many people left or had assignments in different places.
A melancholic smile was on Angela's face as she gently let her right hand caress Lena's cheek. "My sweet Lena," she whispered, "how I've missed you and your positive outlook on life." With that, she pulled the surprised girl into a fierce embrace. "I think you might be right," Angela whispered in her ear. She didn't need to see the girls face to know that there was a big smile on it, she could almost hear it in her response, when she patted her back.
"Aren't I always, love?"
xxxx
It was around four in the morning when Angela found herself alone in her house with Genji. Lena had departed and had promised to be back within twelve hours, which would be an incredible feat if she managed to pull it off. Then again, she was an outstanding pilot and her aircraft was exceptional as well.
She just hoped the poor dear wouldn't hurry too much and get some sleep and rest.
"Do you require anything to eat and drink?" she asked after a few minutes of silence. She was exhausted but she also knew sleep wouldn't come for her any time soon.
Genji shook his head. "No, thank you, doctor."
"Thank you again for your letter last Christmas. I'm happy that you made peace with your condition and I once again apologize for not doing a better job."
"It's I who must apologize once more, Dr. Ziegler." She could feel Genji's eyes fixating on her through his visor which she knew was giving her all kinds of information on her body language and temperature. "You performed a medical feat that borders on a miracle. I know had I been in the care of anyone else, I would have perished. Thanks to you, I'm still able to live my life to the fullest, if differently than I had thought. It just took me a while to realize that. My behavior back then was ungrateful and inexcusable."
"You're being too hard on yourself, Genji," she said. "It was a very stressful period in your life and you've had every right to feel as you did. Overwatch didn't do right by you, and I did participate in that."
"I came to terms with that as well, but know that I never blamed you for that, doctor."
"You can call me Angela, darling."
He nodded. "Thank you, Angela." He sat down, leaning against the wall. "If you want, you can go back to sleep. I'll keep watch."
"It's not my first sleepless night, I'm very used to them." She slid down the table and leaned against it, facing Genji. "What did you do after leaving Overwatch? Did you find your brother?"
He shook his head. "No, I only met my brother a few days ago. The recall came in a rather interesting time."
Angela perked up, mentally counting the days. "Oh, that's right. It was the anniversary of your…misfortune."
He chuckled. "That is as good as a word as any for it, I suppose. It's also a day where my brother, every year, breaks into the family compound to burn incense to assuage his guilt."
"That sounds…" Angela trailed off, searching for a word that didn't sound belittling or insulting until she settled for, "dramatic."
Genji let out a mechanic noise that might have been a snort. "My brother likes to pretend otherwise but he's a very dramatic soul. He always has been. Very fond of big, unnecessary gestures like that. Very traditional. Father would have been proud."
Angela laughed. "That sounds like a line one would say either to a psychiatrist or a bartender."
"At one point, I should." He paused for a second. "do you mind if I practice that with a friend?"
"Of course, it's most likely better than stewing in silence, thinking about some rather unpleasant things. Do you want something to drink before we start?"
"I think I do."