CHAPTER 4: THE ONES WHO DO DIE
On to chapter number four! How exciting! Picking up from where we last left off, we'll now explore Soldier 76's (Jack Morrison for those more steeped in Overwatch lore) perspective as Rennie visits the watchtower, his interactions with Mercy and his attempts to assuage his guilt in playing part in Rennie's situation. Enjoy!
Some would call me an old hand. A sentimental doddering man still stuck in the ways things used to run. They'd be wrong in some ways. For one, I knew not to coddle, not to put stock in belief too often. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, a lesson I learned the hard way.
I had rejoined Overwatch under a new guise. It would do no good for the new Overwatch to be reminded of the past, to be led by someone who had failed them before. That was how Soldier 76 was born, from the ashes of the man once known as Jack Morrison. Besides, Winston seemed to take to leadership relatively well and I wasn't about to argue with a big guy like him. One day, a little after Mondatta, I was just sitting with Winston in the security room, watching the cameras with a bored look on my face. I hadn't seen anything worth noting for a week or so. No Talon, no call for help. Nothing. Then, I saw Winston sit up in his chair, pushing up his horn-rimmed glasses at something. I saw it soon after, a single kid walking right into view and holding an emergency beacon of ours in his hand.
I looked to Winston for an explanation. He just looked at the screen with surprise. Who was this guy? What was he doing holding one of our beacons? Footsteps echoed outside from the hall behind the door and I heard someone walk in. I was too busy to notice who it was.
"Someone's approaching. Could be Talon..." I said to Winston, only noticing that our new occupant was Lena, considering that no-one wore aviator gloves all the time. She took her own look at the screen and quickly answered my concerns.
"It's Ren. It's okay. He's Matt's brother." Now there was a name I hadn't heard in a long time. Matthew. I still remember that kid. All fresh-faced and bright-eyed... Optimistic to a fault. Poor kid didn't deserve what happened to him. Though I heard his family took the news... rather poorly. I was merely concerned that he had followed in his sister's footsteps. Much as I felt sorry for the kid and what he was going through, I wasn't ready to risk our team for his sake.
"What's he doing?" I asked, seeing him shift his body in a rough circle, his neck craning up and down like an idiot. If he was a spy, he was doing a damn terrible job of it.
"Looks like he's... looking for us..."
"That's out of the ordinary. I thought he didn't want nothing to do with us."
"Come on, luv! He wouldn't hurt us! I'll go get him..." Lena just shrugged off our concerns, that happy demeanour still riding high in her head. She seemed to skip by leaps and bounds to the door, convinced of the lack of a threat here.
"Tracer, be careful. We don't know if... he's legit." I trailed off, Lena having already left the room before I could finish my sentence. I sighed heavily, something Winston was quick to pick up on.
"Do not fret, 76. She has a good heart." Winston chuckled, leaning back in his reclining chair as he watched a blur of blue shift on the camera and come to a halt right next to Rennie.
"Good hearts don't mean anything when you're fighting a war, Winston." I retorted, crossing my arms as I stared at him disbelievingly. Despite his wisdom, he could show some serious sense of naiveté that few rarely saw.
"Maybe... But we'd be no better than Talon otherwise." Winston gave his two cents on the matter. I would have argued with him that Talon does not play by the rules and we shouldn't be so gung-ho about following them all the time, but I knew better than to get into a bickering war with the guy. We'd be here for days and I would probably be bored out of my skull.
"Hmmph..." I grunted, walking away from the room as I tried to take in our new situation. Winston nodded in my general direction as I left, plucking out a banana and a jar of peanut butter from out of seemingly nowhere as he watched the monitors again.
I usually walked around the base, take in the old sights and see what's changed in the years since I was gone. But that soon left me after the first week or so. There was only so many times I could bear to look at old peeling paint and reminiscence about the good ol' days. It was why I decided to go visit the doc today, hoping to get some chatter that wasn't about hiding any secrets.
I knew Mercy or Angela Ziegler to those who know her best would make me the second I walked back into the arms of Overwatch. What I hadn't expected was her amenability to keep my secret during the mandatory preliminary check-up. Doctor-patient confidentiality, she told me. We had a good laugh about that one for a week. When I entered her lab, she was hunched over her desk, working on her staff with a hum in her throat.
"Angela." I said dryly, looking at her as I took a seat in one of the chairs she kept in her lab.
"Jack." She replied back, not taking her eyes off her staff.
"You hear about the kid?" I remarked, crossing my arms as I leaned into the chair comfortably, staring at the back of Angela's form. She shifted only briefly, spinning around to look at me as we continued our conversation.
"Rennie? Yes, Winston wanted to take a look at him before we talked to him. He should be in any minute now." Angela said, looking at the door I had just came through. She then looked up at the clock, seeing the handle spin rather lazily with each second that passed.
"Don't say a word about me." I added, even if I knew she wouldn't be so forgetful. Angela for her credit motioned with her fingers on her mouth, zipping up her lips so to speak.
"My lips are sealed, Jack. Though I wish you would cease keeping yourself from the others. They need you, especially at a time like this." She looked at me now with that telling look. I shirked away, unable to even fathom coming back. I had failed to keep Reyes from destroying us from within. I failed to stop Talon from enacting several of their plans. I failed to keep Overwatch and by extension my family safe. It weighed on me like a burden, a burden I did not wish to pick up again.
"I failed them. They need a soldier, not a figurehead." I expressed my concerns aloud, looking a little downcast as the thoughts continued to race through my head.
"That's not true, Jack. You inspire them, drive them to do better. Goodness knows you've done that before." Angela shook her head, doing her best to shake me out of my rut. Her words were certainly encouraging and I feel a little better, thinking back to it. But Reyes still shadowed my mind and I made such things clear for Angela.
"Not Reyes." I added, considering our history. I knew Reyes had survived, just like I had. What he is now... I looked at Mercy knowingly and she bit her lip in regret. Perhaps there were some 'heroes' that should remain dead after all...
"We could never be lucky forever. Such is the way of life..." she admitted forlornly, turning to inspect her staff once more. Out of shame or guilt, I couldn't tell you then. And I certainly couldn't tell you now.
"We'll see." I snorted, just as Rennie walked into the room. I did a short double take. The guy looked even more haggard than I did, if that was even possible. His hair was just strands of messy clumps of brown, strung together by water, a rinse or a full blown shower I could not tell. Equally clumpy was his goatee, lengths of dirty hair running down to the end of his neck. His eyes were bleary, bags formed under him and the whites barely visible, replaced as it was with a slowly encroaching red around his brown irises. His hands and legs looked almost pared down to just bones and skin, thin as he was. And to top it off, the clothes he was in was ragged as hell, torn in certain places and caked in dust and dirt in others. If you told me otherwise, I'd believe he was some unlucky soul without a home.
"Ah, Rennie. So nice to see you... I'm Dr. Ziegler. You can call me Angela if you like." Angela put on a radiant smile, even if I could tell she was just as concerned with his state of health as I was.
"Just get on with it, Mercy." Rennie grumbled, sliding up onto the examination bed with resignation. I felt my eyebrow furrow down in disbelief. Was he always this rude? If Matthew was to be believed, this was certainly a turn for the man.
"Or Mercy... That's... fine too." Angela smiled, moving to grab her equipment. I felt Rennie's eyes shift in her absence to me, watching me with curiosity. It was... unnerving to say the least.
"It's very nice to meet you in the flesh. Matthew spoke highly of you whenever he got the chance." Angela finally returned, using her hands to peel off his clothes. She kept a silent smile on her face, no doubt rubbing off the kid in the wrong way. He looked up at Angela and started to stare at her. I didn't know what he was expecting from Angela. Validation? Pity? It was only when he spoke again that I realized he was looking at her for recognition.
"This isn't the first time we've met." He casually remarked, which certainly took Angela for a loop.
"Oh, really? I don't recall." She said, clearly rubbing off Rennie in the wrong way. His body visibly tensed and I could see his fingers start to curl inward on themselves.
"Of course you wouldn't. Why would anyone care?" he mumbled. I finally spoke up, unable to take his rather insulting manner with Angela any longer.
"Hey, ease up on the doc. She's trying to keep you in fighting shape." I said, shooting a withering glare at the boy to hopefully scare him into complying. To my surprise, he ignored or just shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"Tell that to my family." He spat back. That really irked my ire and I admit, at the time, I had started to march forward to him, cracking my knuckles in rabid disgust with the whiny moron sitting there and taking our help for granted.
"You'd better show her some respect, you ungrateful little..." I remember Angela firmly placing a hand on my shoulder, steely determination in her eyes. We shared a short look, a conversation that began with questioning her lack of care at his rude behaviour. What could I say? We were good friends before.
"That's enough, 76. Please leave me to tend to my patient." She said sharply. I wanted to protest, but it died down in my throat, seeing just how determined Angela was in protecting him. Resignedly, I shuffled her hold on my shoulder quickly, giving Rennie a mean glare when given the opportunity.
"Now! If you would please..." she said with that sharp tone again. This time, I listened and left in disgust. Rennie was far from the nice little kid that Matthew made him out to be, even considering all that he has been through. But I couldn't help but recall the moments leading up to that moment and think.
What if?
It was a bright early morning back then. I remember sitting at my desk, writing mountains of paperwork to sign off on. I had the experimental jet to sign off on, with a promising young recruit to add to that list on task to fly the thing. Gerard had been hounding me for more resources, no doubt in search of his beloved wife and this crisis with the Omnics was starting to ramp up, a concern that carried most of my attention.
"Sir!" I heard someone cry out, rapt with attention. I spun around and saw Matthew for the first time. Unlike his brother, he had been kempt, dressed in our standard garb and carrying himself like a true soldier, even whilst still a relatively new member to our ranks. I had wanted to tell him that he need not carry himself as a soldier. Just look at Lena and Torbjorn for that matter, but I figured that he chose to be like this so I let it slide.
"At ease, soldier. What's happened?" I asked.
"Lacroix wanted me to inform you that his wife has just been recovered, sir." Now that took me for a loop. For weeks, Gerard had been searching high and low for Amelie, in every corner and in every one of Talon's hiding spots for her. Nothing had come up. To hear that she had been recovered was nothing short of a miracle, especially considering Talon's track record.
"From where?" I asked again, my curiosity now peaked.
"Not sure, sir. All she would say was that she was captured on her way home and that she did not break when they asked her for information on Overwatch." Matthew shrugged his shoulders, handing me the written report. I tossed it gently aside. I was more concerned with figuring out Talon's motives.
"Odd. Talon's never been known to release hostages." I said out loud, shaking my head at any potential pathways that might explain even a fraction of what had occurred. 'Maybe Talon's playing a long con. Or distracting us so they can try something else... Either way, this doesn't fit their usual MO.' I considered, before shaking off my thoughts as Matthew started to speak again.
"Shall I inform Lacroix, sir? It sounds like a potential infiltrator." He said, almost reading my mind for me.
"Yes, here..." I mumbled, fumbling for a pen and paper to write on. Hurriedly, I had scribbled Angela's name and a rather informal letter with my signature on it for Matthew to use as documentation for entering the estate with the good doctor. When I was finished, I handed the scraps of paper to Matthew, who gingerly took it and stuffed it in his front pocket.
"Take this to Dr. Ziegler. Accompany her to the Lacroix estate to check up on Amelie. If need be, you will be assigned to guard duty until we can fully ascertain the nature of the threat." I told him. It seemed like a great idea at the time. If Amelie turned out to be a decoy, Matthew would have been on point to handle the situation or at least minimize the damage caused. How was I to know that Amelie would be the threat itself? Especially considering that Matthew was relatively untrained in the field or equipped to deal with civilian threats...
"Understood, sir. I've been meaning to return home. This is a perfect excuse if ever I saw one." He smiled happily, which I knew to be ulterior in nature. I've never seen anyone as excited to get an assignment for the sake of it. Well, maybe everyone except for Lena. She was far more jubilant than I gave her credit for when word came down on the pilot for the Slipstream.
"Family?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Yes, sir." He replied affirmatively. It was good to keep some semblance of normality. I had told myself that working in Overwatch was a thankless job and that anything to detract from the stress of it all was just good for everyone involved.
"Good. You're dismissed, soldier." I nodded, dismissing Matthew.
"Good day, sir." He said, leaving me to ponder on yet another situation. Had I known what I did now, a lot of things would have changed. For the better? For the worse? I didn't know. But I left that memory behind. A soldier like me shouldn't be too overly concerned with what has passed when I can still fight for our present and our immediate future.
It was about an hour or so later that I was sitting in with Winston and Lena in questioning Rennie. Angela had certainly worked her magic, shaving that mess of a beard down to something a bit more respectable and giving Rennie some new duds to wear. He seemed a little uncomfortable with the garb, tenderly scratching at the Overwatch logo emblazoned on his shoulder. If I had to guess, he was more concerned about its identity rather than whether it fit his body type.
"You took a big risk coming here, Rennie." Winston began, looking at him from across the table.
"Trust me. I'd rather be anywhere else than here." Rennie snorted, glancing around the room. Immediately, I clocked his movement. Was he playing us? Trying to plan his escape? I was paranoid, to be sure but I couldn't tell with him to be perfectly honest.
"Get to the point, kid. Why come here at all?" I asked impatiently. Rennie noted this, leaning his body forward and crossing his arms on the table in front of him.
"I was paid a visit... From our mutual enemy..." Rennie paused briefly in between, his eyes wavering as he pondered just what words to use. Instantly, Lena seemed to pick up on his hesitation and in that also managed to ascertain who exactly visited him.
"Widowmaker?" she said with a short quiver in her otherwise cheerful tone. Rennie nodded in response. 'Amelie Lacroix... After all this time...' I remembered thinking. Amelie was never one for revealing herself so easily. Or letting her targets live for that matter. As if he could read my mind, Rennie answered my burning questions almost right away.
"She offered me a deal. Info for revenge." Rennie told us. I looked at him aghast. 'He sold us out!?' Was the only thing rushing through my brain. I looked briefly at Winston and Lena standing on either side of me. I could see Winston looking rather appalled from behind his glasses, no doubt shattered in his belief in people. Lena on the other hand lost that sheen from her face. Cheerful turned to disbelief, her hands starting to curl inwards into those telltale fists of hers.
"And you took it?!" I shouted, rounding the table as I readied to jump him and check him for any bugs, any sign that he was Talon. I only needed one excuse, one reason to throw him to the wolves and let nature take its course.
"Easy, 76. Let him talk." Winston silenced me begrudgingly. I tried not to snarl, but I retook my original position bitterly. Rennie didn't seem to flinch, only noting just how badly we were misreading the situation simply through his body motion.
"I didn't affirm or deny her request. But I suspect they tracked my movements here. If I'm right, you don't have much time to scarper." He continued speaking.
"You led them to us? Why?" Lena asked, shaking her head and trying to process the info being fed to us. Winston almost seemed to nod imperceptibly at the camera hanging right above us, no doubt scrambling the troops to pack up and be ready to leave. He made the right call. In the event that Rennie was telling the truth, we had to be ready to go at a moment's notice. If he wasn't, then the problem would be simple. Swift and easy to deal with.
"It was either now or later, Lena. I figured I could give you guys a heads up before shit hit the fan." Rennie explained rather briskly. Surprisingly, it seemed to placate both Winston and Lena. A couple of lines and it seemed to melt the tension away from the room. But I knew better. I had seen better. It wasn't enough for me to lower my guard.
"And why should we trust you? Your sister was Talon." I reminded him, still unconvinced that this wasn't a trap. His eyes flared with anger at the mere mention of his sister, his left hand balling into a fist and pulling it up to his head before crashing back down on the table with a resounding thud.
"And my brother was Overwatch! So I would think that straightens things out evenly!" He screamed, neck bulging with veins as he looked at me with his reddish eyes. Winston looked at me, shocked but keeping very calm about it all. Lena winced, eyes blinking to compensate for this sudden outburst of anger from him. I heard his breath puff out and his body lax a little, before he settled back into his seat with a sullen look on his face. 'This is who you're pinning your faith on, Lena?' I looked at her, shaking my head in disappointment.
"Look, do whatever you want. I just came here to warn you." Rennie pushed away from the table, standing up and looking at us with unblinking eyes.
"Wait, Ren... You need to come with us. Talon won't be very welcoming once they figure things out." Lena offered. Rennie didn't answer, slowly shuffling towards the door and almost ignoring our presence entirely.
"And my stuff?" Rennie asked. Now that was a red flag. The fact that he wanted to go back for his stuff. To me, it screamed trap. It shouted classic army tactics to bait enemies into a false sense of security.
"I can go with him." Winston volunteered, raising his hand up like he was called up for latrine duty. A bad call all around...
"Winston..." Lena seemed to catch on that this was a bad idea as well.
"Just get everyone out of here. We'll catch up." Winston waved her off, moving to follow Rennie to his house.
"A moment, Winston..." I placed a firm hand on Winston's armor, pulling him back from following. He gave me a curious look, wondering what I wanted to talk to him about. Rennie for once got the hint and made to leave, Lena following him right behind us.
"I'll wait outside." He said, shuffling away to wherever he intended to be. I waited until he had slinked away and shut the door behind him. Then I waited a little longer just in case. Once I was satisfied he wouldn't barge in unexpectedly, I made my opinions heard again.
"You cannot seriously trust this guy. What if this is a trap?" I told him point-blank, pointing to the door Rennie had left through.
"We must put faith in other people. Hearts and minds, the way we used to work." Winston did his utmost to reassure me, even going with the usual shoulder pat that I usually did when soldiers would piss their pants in fear on the battlefield.
"And keeping Widowmaker's identity a secret?" I said. Even in my guise, most of Overwatch knew about Amelie's sob story. How she was turned in her time of captivity. How she murdered both her husband, my best friend in his sleep in cold blood. How Matthew tried to stop her and hesitated, his mistake costing him his life at her hands. We knew who Widowmaker really was, just as most knew about Reyes. But Rennie didn't. And from his words, his anger was never to the sniper. It was easy to surmise that Rennie knew not the true identity of Widowmaker or the fact that he was sitting in the same room with his brother's killer.
Winston couldn't handle that, it seems. He made for the door. I stopped him again.
"Sooner or later, he'll figure it out. And when he does, there'll be hell to pay. For all of us..." I warned him. Rage and grief will make anyone do anything. If Rennie was really on our side, information like this will turn him into a wild card. As a soldier, the last thing you want is something unexpected.
"I know." Winston sighed, leaving the room with his shoulders slumped. Harsh? Yes, it certainly was. But Overwatch needed to grow some tough skin if it wants to survive. I came back because I believe in Overwatch, in its mission statement. I want this second iteration to succeed where mine didn't. To be the protector of the people I wasn't.
And I'd be damned if I let Rennie ruin all of it. If he's one of us, then he'll be welcomed as part of the family. If he's one of them... It's a soldier's duty to protect his comrades, to do the hard thing. I'll make the hard decision. So no-one else has to...