Chapter 3: Hazardous Occupation

It was widely known, or widely assumed that Talon was an organization of criminals. Terrorists, thieves, murderers and other associated lowlifes. Most of them knew it and many had once been a part of Blackwatch, the secret part of Overwatch that generally handled all the dirty worth the "real heroes" couldn't be associated with. Or in many cases that they weren't even aware of. All those rumors of corruption within Overwatch had to come from somewhere after all.

The point remains that while Talon members and different groups within Talon may work together they also accept the fact that they all operate on the dark side of the law. However, if you were to ask them who among them was the best, the most heroic, many would come up with a single name.

Adriana Weiss.

Not her real name in any way since most people took on pseudonyms upon joining the organization but it was the name many knew her by. She didn't join Talon out of any love for them or hatred for Overwatch. She, like a surprising number within the organization, joined up simply because they paid well and promised three meals a day. The Omnic Crisis had torn many families and homes apart. Finding a place to live that wasn't in a slum, a warzone, or a refugee camp could be hard enough. Getting a job that made enough money to stay in a nice safe place once you found one was even harder.

Adriana wasn't a soldier or a pilot. Her skills with a gun were middling at best but she did test higher then anyone else when it came to negotiation and manipulation. So Reaper saw in her the potential to fill a particular need within Talon. A job that many had tried and subsequently been tossed out of.

To be honest Adriana did many things that most would consider terribly mundane. Shopping, cooking, cleaning, deciding what entertainment to keep the house she worked at stocked with, occasionally choosing new furniture, gardening and other housekeeping needs. The job description itself was exceedingly simple for a criminal organization like Talon, leading many to wonder what the problem was until they realized the client she worked for.

Truly everything that was involved in Adriana Weiss' job could be summed up with one simple phrase.

Keep Widowmaker occupied.

Widowmaker stretched her arms over her head and pulled her tactical visor off as she walked through the door of the sprawling French villa. As expected Adriana was already there waiting.

"May I take your things ma'am?" Adriana asked even as Widowmaker dumped her visor into the woman's hands.

"Clean it thoroughly and make sure to inspect it. One of the screens on the left side seems to be responding a bit slower then the others. I'll clean my rifle myself," Widowmaker responded as her heels clicked on the tile floor.

She was back home again or in what passed for a home. She much preferred to be out on a mission then lounging around here but after Mondatta's death Talon's focus would be shifting to finding and flushing out Overwatch agents as they no doubt responded to the Second Omnic Crisis that would likely arise from this. That meant a long stretch of sitting around doing nothing while she waited for more orders. The thought of it was already making her twitch.

"I saw the assassination all over the news. Was it a good shot my lady?" Adriana asked her. The question made Widowmaker pause as her thoughts were interrupted. It took a moment to drag her mind to process the distraction.

A wicked smile pulled at her lips as she thought back to the chase and to that excellent aerial shot.

"It was magnifique," Widowmaker answered with a growing smile at the memory. "It's been such a very long time since I've had a challenge like that. Truly my finest yet," she added with a sigh. The satisfaction of a successful kill was still pulsing through her. "I can't remember the last time I felt so... alive," she hummed closing her eyes and remembering the flash of surprise and panic in Tracer's eyes seconds before she blinked out of the way leaving Widowmaker with the perfect killing shot just as she predicted. There had been a brief moment, a very brief one, where she worried that she might miss her chance due to that infernal teleporting pest.

"It was a mission truly worthy of my skills," Widowmaker added, pausing to take her long boots off. The flexible metal and fabric had saved her on many occasions and she was sure to take excellent care of them in turn.

"A fine occasion to celebrate then. Shall I make you something? I have a nice steak from the market and vegetables fresh from the garden this morning that I could cook for you as well as a fine white just a year old from the nearby vineyard," Adriana offered once again distracting Widowmaker from her thoughts even as her mood started to sour over the thought of being cooped up here while awaiting the next mission briefing from Talon. That of course was Adriana's job, to keep Widowmaker distracted while she was back here and it was one that she performed splendidly.

"That will be fine. Medium well and the wine lightly chilled. Leave my visor for later and set my boots aside as well. They need to be polished," Widowmaker directed after a moment of thought before heading to her room to change.

On the one hand being an assassin incapable of feeling much emotion, aside from the thrill of the chase and the final kill, meant that Widowmaker accomplished with her missions with brutal efficiency. However that also left her open to something else.

Boredom.

When you can't feel much aside from irritation and pleasure at hunting others it can make what downtime you do have incredibly dull. It could be extremely difficult to keep Widowmaker occupied when she was back at her villa and didn't have a mission to go on. Nothing she did, saw, watched, played, or read could really elicit much emotion from her. At best a faint stirring of interest was as good as it got and by now Adriana had become a pro at keeping Widowmaker's interest on something other then how dreadfully bored and increasingly irritated she was getting.

Widowmaker didn't believe in heroes and she couldn't exactly feel gratitude anymore but she did realize that things would be a lot different and likely a lot worse if not for Adriana's skill at keeping her moods in check. Boredom or not a gilded cage was better then a dark prison in her opinion.

After changing into some more casual clothes Widowmaker followed her nose out to the patio where Adriana was cooking a steak on the grill outside. The smell at least did pique Widowmaker's interest. Eating back here was certainly better then the soldier rations she had to choke down while out on an extended mission. Dulled emotions didn't meant a dulled sense of taste after all.

She stood there for a moment watching Adriana cook until a familiar shiver skittered up her spine.

"Well hello you too, Reaper," Widowmaker said without turning around.

"Looks like you had a successful hunt despite interference from Overwatch," he growled from behind her.

"Technically Overwatch is disbanded," Widowmaker replied evenly as Adriana pulled a bottle of white wine out from a mini fridge and poured a glass for her. By now she was used to Reaper and other high ranking Talon members popping in and didn't even give him a glance over her shoulder.

"You know what I mean," Reaper countered. Turning around slowly, Widowmaker sipped her wine and savored the taste before answering.

"Did you actually have something important to say or is this another, 'kill your toys, don't play with them' speech again?" Widowmaker asked him. She wasn't surprised to see him suddenly appearing out of thin air especially after such a high profile assassination but that didn't mean she felt like feeding his ego either. Still if he was going to glower at her from the shadows then the least he could do was provide her with some momentary interest.

"The girl is going to be a problem if she continues to show up like this. As is that monkey. They need to be eliminated and the locations of all the remaining Overwatch agents discovered," Reaper reminded her. Widowmaker just rolled her eyes.

"Then do something about it. You know where the ape is don't you? Charge in and steal the information. Isn't that what you do? I hardly think you need my approval but if so then I'd be happy to give it," Widowmaker said with a smirk knowing how much it irritated him. She may not be able to have fun anymore but she could seek to alleviate some of her boredom.

"Let me rephrase this then. Why do you keep playing around with the girl? If she becomes a bigger problem..." Reaper began only to be interrupted when Widowmaker put her glass down and sauntered up to him.

"Then I'll shoot her between the eyes personally. But she isn't a problem yet now is she? She's all bark and no bite. A fly buzzing around annoyingly that is doing nothing more then harassing me and distracting you from bigger things," Widowmaker paused and lifted her chin slightly even as Reaper tensed at her invasion of his personal space.

"Tracer... interests me and she's one of the few who can present me with a satisfying challenge. So if you really see that much harm in me toying with her then I can always get rid of her and then find someone else to occupy my time. I have always wanted to know if your Shadow Step is fast enough to outrun my sniper bullets," Widowmaker told him making sure that her warning was clear.

Reaper growled at her and backed up but he didn't argue further. One point in her favor.

"Besides even with Tracer's appearance I still made that shot and got rid of Mondatta as expected didn't I? So I don't believe you or anyone else has anything legitimate to complain about for once. Now go before you ruin what little gray mood I have left," she said dismissing him.

Reaper was clearly not pleased but she really didn't care. Let him pull off a shot like that while chasing down an Overwatch agent and then they could talk. Until then he could find someone else to go pout to.

Besides who did he think he was showing up at her private villa like this? He should be glad she didn't just take her gun and...

"It seems there are some wild boars back in the area. I thought you might be interested in doing some hunting while you're back. I've heard they taste excellent if cooked properly," Adriana suddenly cut in.

Widowmaker dragged her attention away and glanced over at the woman who was now cutting up some vegetables.

"Stop that. I was just in the middle of a wonderful image of how nice it would be to use Reaper as target practice," she chastised.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean ma'am," Adriana replied innocently. She was of course just doing her job. Distracting Widowmaker before her foul moods could develop or deepen as well as finding ways to keep her mildly interested in something.

"Of course you don't," Widowmaker said dryly. "Hunting sounds fine put it on the schedule. Do we still have those jars in storage?" she added as an idea occurred to her.

"The ones that shatter so nicely when you shoot them? I believe so. Would you like me to paint them with Reaper's face and set them up on the shooting range for you later on?" Adriana offered her.

"Mmm, tu lis dans mes pensées," Widowmaker said with a pleased hum.

"I try my best ma'am."

That done Widowmaker went back to sipping her wine as her thoughts drifted back to King's Row. While it was hardly pleasing having Tracer show up like that to interrupt she had still managed to pull off a wonderful shot.

Truly magnifique, she thought lounging in a chair as the smell of steak filled the air. After all the fights they'd had so far she was starting to pick up on Tracer's habits. Annoyance or not she at least provided a break from the usual monotony of her existence. The satisfaction of a good shot, while pleasurable, could be infrequent and was always irritatingly brief. Soon replaced by the dull, empty void inside her that Talon had tried so hard to condition into her. The emptiness she tried her best to ignore.

Widowmaker had no problem admitting that toying with Tracer was the only real indulgence she allowed herself. The only one that Talon frowned upon but ultimately did nothing about. After all everyone knew about the assassin's capricious moods when she got bored enough. Better to let her play with an Overwatch agent like a cat with a bird then to risk her turning and using them for target practice instead. There was a big difference between controlling someone and keeping them on a leash and no one at Talon was foolish enough to believe anything other then that Widowmaker was on a leash. One that could seem very, very thin at times when she was pressed on something she didn't feel inclined to change her opinion about.

Better to let Widowmaker soothe her irritation then to risk being the target of her next "training session." She had gotten away with shooting targets off the heads and out of the hands of Talon agents once before Reaper appeared to scowl at her and warn her away from maiming their best operatives. Who did he think he was anyway? Like she would ever miss a shot that easy.

So Reaper backed off, Widowmaker went back to her job undistracted and the game continued. Not that Tracer seemed to be trying particularly hard to kill her. Probably still holding on to feelings about her past friend. A pitiful weakness that was likely to only result in Widowmaker eventually getting tired of their games and killing her personally or in the woman getting captured and tortured by Talon. Widowmaker didn't stop to dwell on the way her slowly beating heart clenched just the slightest bit at that thought.

One habit that she had picked up on lately was the fact that Tracer could always be counted on to panic and blink away if her harness was damaged or threatened. She couldn't survive normally anymore without it.

Widowmaker had done her research. While she did have a few memories of Lena Oxton, she wasn't fully aware of what had happened after Lena's accident since it took place while Amélie was undergoing a more thorough reconditioning by Talon. So instead Widowmaker had hacked into the network at a supposedly secret Overwatch base and copied all the files she could find on Lena Oxton. It wasn't a lot of information but it did fill in the blank spot about Lena's accident. She hadn't touched files on anyone else though as they were of no interest to her. She certainly hadn't told Reaper about her adventures in hacking either. He was even more of a pest then Tracer was and she did not need him popping up in the middle of the night demanding to know how she did it and why she didn't get the locations of more Overwatch agents while she was in their systems. Somehow Widowmaker doubted the answer "because I couldn't care less about what Overwatch does" would be a satisfying answer.

The memory of how Tracer frantically checked her chronal accelerator had after dodging was still clear in mind. But the more Widowmaker reflected on it the more her satisfaction at making the shot started to slip, replaced by another emotion. One that was decidedly more unpleasant. One that made her insides squirm and her cold dead heart ache just enough to make her squirm the slightest bit in her chair.

Widowmaker scowled as irritation curled within her. Downing the rest of her wine in one long swallow she got up to pour herself some more.

"All done my lady. Would you like some steak sauce to go with it?" Adrina asked handing Widowmaker a plate of steak and grilled vegetables with one hand even as she poured out more wine with the other.

"No this is fine," Widowmaker said pulling away from her thoughts as Adrina nodded and turned back to the task of cleaning the grill. She had just sat down at the table again when she thought of something.

"Adriana?"

"Yes, ma'am?"

"Are you afraid of me?" Widowmaker asked curiously. Adriana paused for a moment and looked over her shoulder.

"Intimidated is the word I would choose. I'm well aware that I'm the only Talon agent to last this long working here. I'm aware that you kill for a living and could easily kill me with or without your rifle if you so desired. I know you have taken part in torturing others before when information was needed and that the only real satisfaction and pleasure you feel any more is from death," Adrina answered honestly and without hesitation.

"But?"

"But you've never hurt me. Never touched me or spoken to me in an abusive manner. Never even raised your voice at me. Never tried to scare me for your own interests, threatened me or my..." Adriana stopped abruptly but she didn't look afraid at her slip up, she just looked sad. Clearing her throat she turned around and started scrubbing harder at the grill instead.

"You've never done anything personally to make me believe that my life would be in danger. So while I am intimidated by you I'm not necessarily scared of being around you, no," she stated instead.

Interesting, Widowmaker considered before going back to sipping her wine. She couldn't say she felt anything in particular but it was... nice in some small way to be around someone who didn't cringe in fear at the sight of her.

Hmm, perhaps not nice but it makes me far less irritated, she mentally corrected. Idly she wondered who Adriana had started to mention. A family member? Lover? Spouse? It didn't particularly matter.

Talon frowned deeply on "personal attachments" but that didn't stop members from secretly, or not so secretly having personal lives. As long as it didn't affect their work then most just turned a blind eye. It wasn't unusual for Talon members to send the money they made back home to friends or loved ones. While no one in the group would claim to be good, not all of them were bent on causing chaos, destruction, or the total elimination of Overwatch either.

Widowmaker slammed the lid on her thoughts before they could even begin to drift to Amélie's past life. There was no place in her heart for that now. Not anymore. Not ever again. Not as long as Talon was...

"I'm going to clean my rifle. Let me know when the shooting range is set up," Widowmaker said sharply. Standing up she walked back inside before Adriana had a chance to answer and try to distract her.

Taking a deep breath, Widowmaker let it out and focused on her slow, cold heartbeat instead. There was no room in her life for emotions. For dwelling on what little she remembered of the past. No space for anything other then the satisfaction of the kill and the anticipation of the next mission. She already knew the price of feeling too deeply and she was not interested in paying it.

Instead she focused on the killing shot she had made in London, on the memory of a job well done and on the satisfaction of getting the better of that annoying pest Tracer despite her interference. She felt nothing else. Could feel nothing else. Only what Talon allowed her. Only just enough to occasionally have the pleasure of feeling alive. Maybe if she kept telling herself that enough she would finally believe it.

AN: Another chapter down! I'm glad I finally got to write about Widowmaker and even Reaper! Yes, I freely admit I am one of those people who primarily uses Reaper while playing the game. There will be more angst, more Tracer coping with her PTSD, and interactions between her and Widowmaker. Hopefully soon.

I also want to take the time to comment on how I plan to develop the tense relationship between Widowmaker and Tracer. I want them to go from enemies to a grudging friendship. Grudging for Widowmaker at least. I do love Widowtracer but I also want to be realistic about what our blue skinned assassin has gone through with Talon, with being reconditioned and with her emotions being dulled or stripped away. She's got some really big steps to make just to be able to view Lena and Angela as equals again, as more then just toys for her own personal amusement. Not to mention eventually coming to terms with what Talon did to her which is going to be a lovely angsty mess in and of itself.

That's not to say that Tracer won't be falling deeper and deeper into her feelings over Widowmaker, much to Angela's increasing panic and dismay, just that I want to be balanced. Not just throw them headlong into things.

It's going to be a tense, emotional and definitely angst filled ride for all involved! Along with cheesy catchphrases from Lena, worried mom Angela and an increasingly exasperated and conflicted Widowmaker. Mostly because of Lena's dogged determination not to play nice and just let herself get shot at when Widowmaker feels like it.

Another chapter will be coming soon!