Max stood, completely alone in his new room, and just tried to take in everything that had happened.
Reuniting with Angela, telling her about his blindness, agreeing to help Overwatch, and now. Now he was in a completely different country, in a base with people he barely knew, and who tasked him with indirectly saving them.
"Well, I should probably get started." Max mumbled to himself. He decided to check out the schedule Fareeha had spoken about first.
Slowly, Max opened the first drawer in the desk. Empty, apart from one thing: His very own wristwatch. He grapped it, and, quite quickly, found out how to attach it to his arm.
Unlike the first one, the second one had much more than one thing in it, and Max saw that Winston had pulled through, after all. In the drawer was a bunch of papers.
He curiosly picked up the first one, and, with a mix of running his fingers along it and his glasses, he was able to determine that this was the schedule.
As Max was examining it, however, something else caught his attention, out of the corner of his eye. In the drawer, that was still open, a rather large piece of paper was lying. And when Max picked it up, he noticed that, unlike the other papers, which were freshly printed, this seemed older.
At first, Max couldn't figure out what it was saying, but then it dawned on him. This wasn't a bunch of text, this was a map of the base.
Immediately intrigued, Max began to examine the map closely. Not only so he could navigate without relying on the help of others, but also so he could find any rooms, or facilities, that might come in handy.
After almost fifteen minutes of examination, Max had almost memorized every single detail. Both the immediately useful rooms, like the dining hall, training area and the personal rooms, and the seemingly less important rooms, like the interrogation room and the testing site for experimantal tech.
"Now then..." Max continued to mumble to himself, as he packed the map away.
Max was about to close the drawer, when yet another thing caught his attention.
This time, it was a stack of papers, all compiled into one single folder, while another, equally large, stack was lying under it, also in a single folder, with a few loose papers under it.
Curious, Max picked them up, and immediately saw a single label on each of them. The first read 'Background Information', while the second read 'Psych Profiles'.
Max briefly put the one labeled 'Background Information' away, so he could concentrate on the other one. He opened it, and saw that it was a disorganized mess of old and new papers. And as he examined the individual papers more closely, he confirmed that this was a bunch of psychological analyses, of the different members of this Overwatch.
That also explained the different ages of the papers. Some were newcomers to Overwatch, and as such, their analyses were brand new, whereas others were old veterans, that had been analysed years, even decades, ago.
As Max continued to read, he eventually sighed, and put the papers back in the folder. This was something he needed to speak with Winston about.
Now that he was done with that one, Max opened the one labeled 'Background Information', and just as he expected, this was the background for all the members of this Overwatch.
"Now this might actually be useful." He mumbled, as he also packed this back into the folder.
Max quickly searched the rest of the desk, but found nothing of interest. He then quickly grapped the 'Psych Profiles' folder, and turned around, so he could lean against the table.
He briefly looked at it, before looking up, and saying out loud "So that's what I need to do firs..."
However, he was abrubtly interrupted in his talking, when the sound of Angela's voice came from the door. "Max?" She asked, however, Max couldn't hear in what tone.
"Yes?" Max asked back, as he put the folder back on the table.
The door to his room opened, and Angela stepped inside. "Winston just wanted to know whether you had a plan ready?" She explained.
"I do." Max said. "But couldn't he have come here himself?" He added, with a curios expression.
"Yeah, he could, but... I offered to come here instead." Angela explained, as Max noticed he began to move around nervously.
"Is something the matter?" Max sincerely asked, a little bit worried over Angela's behavior.
"No. At least, not yet." Angela explained, before looking straight into Max's eyes. "I just... wanted to know how you're holding up. A lot has happened to you recently, and I was, after all, the one that suggested you. But I don't want to see you overencumbered or pushed too far. Because of me."
"Angela, please..." Max started, with a small grin. "You know me. I'm not one to walk away when my abilities could be of help. Especially when it's as important as this. Besides, I like to think I know my limits."
"I know." Angela started. "But you know I would blame myself if anything happened to you."
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you." Max answered, before adding "But it's not like I'm going into the field with you."
Although Max could see that Angela found his remark funny, it didn't ease her up much, so he tried somehting different.
"How about this?" Max asked, as he got up from his desk, and took a few steps closer to her. "If I ever feel like something's wrong, if I feel overencumbered, or anything like that, then I come to you immediately. No excuses, I just let you know straight away."
Angela let out a low sigh, before admitting "That sounds good."
"Great." Max said, as he gave her an encouraging smile.
Angela smiled back, and ligthly shaked her head, before changing the subject. "So, about the plan you said you had. Are you ready to present it to Winston?"
"Indeed. I just need to grap a few things." Max answered, before turning around and heading towards his desk.
He quickly reached it, and grapped the two folders, but as he was about to turn around, Angela asked "Do you want me to show you the way?"
"No thanks. I already know it." Max casually answered, since his focus was mostly on what he was going to say to Winston.
"You do?" Angela asked. Max quickly grapped the map he'd been studying, and held it up for her.
"Oh, ok." She said, and to Max's surprise, her voice sounded a little bit hurt. At first he didn't know why, but then he realized: The way he'd declined her offer, could've sounded like he shunned her away.
Max internally kicked himself, as he put down the map, and hastily said "But I would still appreciate it if you walked it with me."
Angela immediately lightend up, and smiled at him. But her smile had a little bit of mischievousness in it, and Max realized what she'd done. He let out a sigh, and asked "You were messing wit me, weren't you?"
Angela let out a low chuckle, before explaining "Sorry, but I just couldn't help myself."
"I see there are some things we'll never grow out of." Max exclaimed, as he smiled back at her.
"Apparently not." Angela admitted. "Well, you ready?"
Max nodded, and together they went out of his room, and started heading towards Winston's lab.
"So this is it?" Max asked. Him and Angela were standing in front of the door to Winstons lab, after a rather quiet walk.
"Yes, it is." Angela confirmed. There was a couple of silent seconds, before she turned towards Max.
"I guess I should get going." She said, but as she walked past Max, he unexpectedly grapped her arm, with his free hand.
"I would actually prefer it if you accompanied me, in there." Max said. Angela turned towards him, with a questioning look, but Max simply looked back with an encouraging smile.
"Sure." Angela said, as he let go of her arm. "It's your decision, after all." She added.
"I said I would prefer it. You're free to go, if you so please." Max said, to whitch Angela hastily responded "I'm completely fine with this."
Max nodded, before opening the door, revealing Winston and Soldier 76 in a seemingly deep conversation. "Ah, there you are." Winston exclaimed, as he and 76 began to approach them.
Max simply nodded, and as he entered the lab, he put the 'Background Information' folder on a table, so that he was only holding the 'Psych Profiles' folder.
Winston gestured towards a makeshift table, and Max sat down and put the folder in front of him, as everyone else also took their seats.
"Max..." Winston started, and Max folded his hands in front of him. "I thought it would be a good idea for 76 to be here, so he could answer any questions you might have about anyone's performance in the field." He explained.
Max briefly looked over at 76, before he looked back at Winston, and said "Even though I don't have any questions of that sort yet, he's welcome to stay, in case such a question appear."
Winston nodded, before asking "So, what is your plan?"
"To be honest, it isn't that different from what I said back in the meeting." Max started. "I'll mostly just observe how everyone behaves with each other, and mainly search for any inconsistencies. And when I'm sure, I'll bring it to you. But only when I'm 100% sure."
"That does sound like the most logical thing to do." Winston acknowledged, in a heavy voice. But as he was about to ask another question, 76 interrupted.
"What is that, between your arms?" He asked, and Max looked down at the 'Psych Profiles' folder.
"Oh, this?" Max asked, as held up the folder, letting everyone know what it was. "That was going to be my next point." He added.
"Before I can begin examining anyone, I'll need to know everyone I'm working with. Specifically, their personality." Max said, and as he put down the folder on the middle of the table, he added "That means this folder is completely, and utterly, useless to me."
"Why can't you just use that?" 76 asked, but to Angela's surprise, it wasn't taunting, but merely curious. "Wouldn't it also save more time?" He added.
"While I technically could, I would strongly advise against it." Max admitted.
"Why?" Winston was now the one to ask.
"Because the descriptions, the... way of using words, is different from mine. Take the word 'kill' for example. For you..." Max said, as he gestured towards 76. "... it's a word that doesn't weigh heavily on you, due to how often you kill in the field, how normal the act of killing is for you. But for you..." Max then said directed at Angela. "... it's a much more severe word. It has much more of an impact on you, due to how opposed you are to killing."
Max briefly paused, as he looked down at the folder, before looking back up.
"It may be written in a language I can read, but not one I can understand. At least not when it comes to psychology." He summarized.
"I see..." Winston said, before asking "Well, what do you want to do about it?"
"It's quite simple, in fact." Max said, before leaning back in his chair. "I want a one-on-one conversation with every single member."
There was a brief pause, before Winston spoke. "Okay. I can see how that could work, but... where do we do it?" He asked, and before Max had a chance to answer, 76 added another question.
"It wouldn't be hard to think that a fair few of us wouldn't be up for that. How do you intend to convince them?" He said.
Max took a deep breath, before answering. "As for where we do it, I think the interrogation room, unfortunetly, is the best place to do it."
"The interrogation room?" Winston asked.
"Yeah. I imagine that the two of you could be on the other side of the one-way-mirror, and if you notice anything about the person I'm talking with, you can say so." Max explained. "It would also be a private enough location, so that the they could feel safe enough to discuss some of the more sensitive topics."
Max was quiet for a few seconds, until he added "About how I'll convince everyone, don't worry, I have a plan."
"Well, I'm guessing we don't really have a choice." 76 said, but to his surprise, Max responded. "Actually, you do."
76 looked back at him questioningly, and Max explained. "Everything I'm doing here is technically just advice, for how we should do this. You still have the final say."
Everyone was quiet for a while, as both Winston and 76 got a thoughtful expression. The silence was eventually broken by Winston.
"While that is good to know, I think we'll continue with following your advice." He said. "Anything else?" He then asked.
"Not at this point in time. At least not when it comes to my plans." Mac responded.
"Well then. How do you want to proceed with these 'conversations'?" Winston then asked.
"I'd like you to ask Lena to meet me in the observation room, next to the interrogation room." Max said, as he started to get up from his chair. "I have a proposition for her. Once we've discussed that, I'll call you and tell you we're ready, at which pint you can then tell everyone to meet us in that room."
"I will. Do you want someone to show you the way?" Winston asked. But all he got from Max was a low chuckle, and a "No need. I've familiarized myself with the bases layout."
"Well, then I supposse I'll hear from you soon." Winston said.
"You will." Max said, and with that, he left the room.
"Well, now that this is over, I'll be in the training area, if anyone needs me, before those 'conversations'." 76 exclaimed, before swinging his rifle over his shoulder, and heading out the door.
Now it was only Winston and Angela left in the room, but to Winston's surprise, Angela stayed. "Something on your mind?" The gorilla asked.
"76 seemed much more restrained during this talk." Angela responded. "Was that your doing?"
"Yes." Winston confirmed. "While he's still opposed to this whole thing, at the very least, I made him realize that fighting against it benefitted the traitor more than it benefitted us." He continued.
"I suppose that's all we can do for now." Angela exclaimed, with a slightly heavy voice.
"Indeed." Wisnton said, before heading towards the makeshift table, and grapping the 'Psych Profiles' folder, Max had, likely purposefully, left there.
"Would you mind getting rid of this, on your way out?" Winston nonchalantly asked, as he handed Angela the folder.
"Not at all." She responded, and Winston nodded.
"Well, I better tell Lena to meet Max. I'll see you around." Winston said.
"Likewise." Angela responded, and with that, the last two people in Winstons lab went their seperate ways.
Lena was alone in her room, when her wristwatch suddenly beeped. Curius, she answered it, and Winston's voice immediately sounded.
"Lena." Winston quickly greeted her.
"Hey, big guy." Lena greeted back. "What's up?"
"I'll just give you the short version." Winston started. "Me and 76 just discussed with Max what the next logical move to do was."
"And what did you come up with?" Lena asked.
"In all honesty, I think it would be better for Max to explain it." Winston admitted. "He asked to see you in the observation room next to the interrogation room, as soon as possible."
"Do you know what for?" Lena asked.
"Unfortunetly, no I don't." Winston answered. "But I'm certain he'll explain, when you get there." He added.
For a few seconds, the line was completely quiet. None of them said anything, until Lena finally agreed.
"I'm on my way!" She said, to which Winston simply responded "Good." before the call was ended.
Lena got out of her chair, and started heading towards the interrogation room. As she made her way through the white corridors, she wondered what Max wanted to discuss with her, one-on-one. As she continued to ponder that, she walked past the training area, where she could hear 76's pulse rifle.
She eventually made her way to the interrogation room, but as she was about to enter, she heard something from inside the room. Whistling.
She stood in front of the door, and listened to the unknown melody, for a couple of seconds, until she finally decided to open the door.
Once she opened the door, she saw that Max was sitting at the end of the table in the middle of the room, reading something. To her left was the door and one-way-mirror, that lead into the interrogation room itself, and to her right was the machines that kept recordings of interrogations, and a few cabinets for different things.
"Ah, Lena. There you are." Max exclaimed, when he noticed she'd entered. He quickly closed the book, and got up from his seat.
"Yeah, you asked for me, after all." Lena responded, with a small grin.
"Indeed I did." Max acknowledged.
"Would you mind telling me why, though?" Lena immediately asked. But, to her surprise, it only made Max sigh.
"What?" She asked.
"I see that our previous... conversation, has changed you. Or at the very least, your stance towards me." He explained.
"Care to elaborate?" Lena continued to ask.
"You want to immediately know what this is about." Max explained. "You want to make sure I don't keep any secrets from you, unlike last time, where you trusted me a bit more blindly. And that's not a bad thing, it's just a thing I noticed."
"I see..." Lena said, as she fell into a short thoughtful silence.
"Well..." She eventually said. "... whether I've changed, or not, I doubt the reason you called me here was to give me a lecture."
"You're right." Max acknowledged, before tunring towards the one-way-mirror, and placing his hands behind his back.
"To accomplish this task laid before me, I need to get to know everyone personally." Max started, as Lena listened carefully. "And I've concluded that the fastest way to do that, is to have a private conversation with everyone here. Unfortunetly, the interrogation room is the only facility in the base that meets all the requirements to house such talks. That, or the fact that it's me, depending on the individual, will likely cause a fair few of you to be... unwelcoming, of this."
Max suddenly turned his head towards Lena. "That is where you come in." He said, before turning his entire body towards her.
"If you're willing, then I'd like to have our talk be like a demonstration, to show them, just what this entails." Max said. "That means the entire rest of Overwatch will observe our conversation, whereas it'd normally only be Winston and Soldier 76. However, should you feel the conversation becomes too personal to share with the rest of them, then I can turn off the microphones in the room, meaning they would only be able to see our conversation, not hear it."
Max took in a few deep breaths, before saying, "Now I simply want to ask, are you willing to participate in that?"
A little bit overwhelmed, Lena was quiet for a couple of seconds, until she hesitantly answered "I might be. If you answer a few questions I have."
"I expected you'd have a few questions. Shoot." Max said, as he leaned against the table.
"Well, first off, why me?" Lena started. "Couldn't you do the same with Angela, to the same effect?"
"In theory, I could use anyone for this demonstration. But with Angela, I just know too much about her, to have a real conversation with her. Even though this is a demonstration, I still want it to, at the very least, be as real as possible. But with Angela, I just can't achieve that." Max explained. "And I have a bit more experience with you, meaning it might go more smoothly than if I chose, say McCree for example."
"Okay, that makes sense." Lena acknowledged. "But what about the arguments you made back in the meeting room? You know, about this being predetermined or one of us changing our answers?"
"In all honesty, they can believe whatever they want, about our conversation." Max unexpectedly argued. "To them, it's a demonstration, and whether it's predetermined, changed or none of the above, doesn't change that they still see what they should see."
"But know that if I think you're not being honest with me, then I won't hesitate to call you out." He added, with a small smile.
"As you should." Lena responded. And even though it was with a grin, Max could hear a faint bit of nervousness in her voice. But then again, this must be pretty new for her as well, so nervousness was a sensible reaction, Max thought to himself.
"Any further questions?" Max asked.
"No, I think that's everything I had on my mind." Lena responded.
"Good, then I'd like to repeat my question." Max said. "Are you up for this?" He asked.
Lena was quiet for a few seconds. Eventually, she argued "I am helping you catch the traitor, after all. You bet I'm up for it!"
"Great." Max responded, before reaching down to his wristwatch, and saying "Winston. We're ready."
A/N: So... school's starting again soon. And the unfortunate consequence of that is, of course, that I have have less time to continue writing. *Sigh* I mean, it is an inevitability, but it still sucks. But, I suppose there's nothing I can do about it. See ya next time, whenever that might be.