Gabriel sat silently against the tree as he and Jack waited for everyone else to arrive. For some reason, Jack had stopped torturing and talking to Gabriel for the time being, and Gabriel feared the worst. He was chastising himself mentally for revealing how much he cared for his team. That could lead to many possibilities for Jack to instill hurt in him beyond any physical injury.
Gabriel hoped beyond anything that Amelie manged to escape at least with Victoria. He knew the rest of the team could handle themselves in these kinds of situations. But that never takes away from the dangers in them. There was a time when he knew Jack would never try to do any of this, 'interrogations' were never really for him. But Gabriel guessed over the years he changed for the worst. In many ways they both did. Gabriel remained quiet as he saw light through the woods behind Jack.
Illuminating their way into the woods with her glowing caduceus, was Angela leading everyone through the dark of the night. Behind her was Amelie holding Victoria, behind them was Moira and Sombra in a towel, both unarmed. Aiming their pistols at them were Lena and Ana, and behind them was Winston hauling a passed out Akande over his shoulder. They all looked defeated and scared.
They were all presented in front of Gabriel in a row. Amelie had been crying with Victoria in her arms, Sombra was shivering in the cold night air, Moira looked down, as she felt it was her responsibility to have kept everyone else safe while he and Amelie slept, and Akande was laid out next to them. Gabriel wanted nothing more than to reach up to hold Amelie and Victoria in his arms, but he was still bleeding out and beaten from his fight with Jack.
"On your knees, all of you." Jack demanded quietly, noticing that there were never any hostages to begin with, then turning to Amelie with the child in her hands and then to Angela. "What is that baby doing in her arms. Why didn't you take it?" Jack asked with a frown.
"It's her child, according to her, and this way, she will think twice before coming up with any escape plan." Angela said. "So far, she hasn't tried anything." She told Jack as he turned back to look at Amelie and Victoria.
"Who's the father?" Jack asked threateningly. Amelie looked away and turned Victoria away from Jack. No one said anything. "I will ask you one more time, or I will rip her out of your arms if I have to." Jack said.
"Don't you dare touch her..." Sombra said through chattering teeth, the cold getting to her, especially since Moira hadn't finished removing her graph entirely.
"Why? Can't be yours." Jack said before turning to Amelie again. "Who is the father?" Jack asked, his voice darkening.
"Leave her alone!" Sombra shouted, causing Jack to turn to her once again.
"Shut up!" Moira nudged Sombra.
"Get up." Jack said, standing in front of her. Sombra looked up at him defiantly. Jack's brows dipped in anger and he picked her up by force, taking away her towel and tossing it away, leaving her completely naked and vulnerable. Everyone looked in Jack's team looked at him with worry, knowing this was unnecessary. While Moira, Amelie, and Gabriel looked on in fear. "Walk." Jack aimed his rifle at her, Sombra looked at him with anger through her tears as she did as he said, never having felt so humiliated, cold, and weak before. No systems, no clothes, no weapons. She refused to cry in front of them all.
"Stop it!" Gabriel forced out. "I'm the father!" He finally admitted. "Get her something to cover herself with, she'll die out here!" Gabriel said.
"Finally, we're getting somewhere." Jack said as he turned to Ana. "Give her you jacket, make sure there's nothing in there she can use." Ana nodded and checked her jacket before handing it to a glaring Sombra.
"Don't look at me like that, child." She said and made her sit back down, still shivering. Jack walked back to Gabriel.
"So." He began, his voice oozing dark sarcasm. "It was bad enough you tried something on their anniversary all those years ago. Even worse, you joined the organization that turned her against us and killed him. And now..." He turned back to Amelie, staring down at Victoria. "You both are sick." Jack frowned.
"It was never like that." Gabriel coughed blood out. "Only recently did we become..." Gabriel trailed off as he looked back at Amelie and Victoria.
"Augh..." Everyone turned to see Akande beginning to wake up. He began to get up but Winston pressed his full body weight on top of him to keep him down. "Ack!" Akande yelled out.
"Looks like the Doomfist is awake." Jack said as he walked over to him, leaving the topic of Victoria alone for the time being.
"What is going on..?" Akande said tiredly.
"What's going on, my friend, is that you've been captured. You and the rest of your team. And if you do not cooperate, we'll put a bullet in between any of your eyes." He spoke to them all, Gabriel coughed to get their attention.
"He's not the team leader..." Gabriel said weakly. "I am. Any questions you have, I'll answer, just don't hurt them." Gabriel leaned against the tree and stood up for them all.
"Isn't that mighty of you." Jack frowned as he walked back to him. "You're suddenly the caring leader, who will sacrifice himself for his group. It wasn't like that back in Blackwatch now, was it?" Jack said, pressing his fingers into Gabriel's bullet wounds. Gabriel grunted silently, refusing to show anymore pain than he already had. Jack, upon seeing this minor resistance, gripped his fingers inside his wound and began to pull.
"Rah!" Gabriel let out, but tensed to shut out the pain.
"Stop hurting him!" Amelie stood up, only for Ana to kick the back of her leg, bringing her to her knees. "We'll tell you anything, just please don't hurt him." Amelie cried, seeing her love be tortured in front of her. "Just ask us! We're not stalling..." She sobbed, holding Victoria in her arms. Jack ignored her though and was pulling more on Gabriel.
"Stop it!" Angela said, surprising everyone around her. She walked up to Jack and pushed him off of Gabriel. "This is wrong and you know it. They didn't put up a fight! They couldn't and they aren't even now! If you're going to ask them, then do it, but don't let your emotions get in the way of what we need to know!" She slapped Jack with a front-hand and walked back to her position. Everyone looked at her shocked, even Jack was speechless.
"She's right." Winston said. "We already have them, and you haven't even asked them about why we came here." He supported Angela. Jack took a deep breath and looked back at Gabriel.
"They're right. It's pointless to dwell on the past." Jack said as he stood Gabriel up and placed in the row with the rest of his team, Amelie quickly shuffled over to him with care. He was still bleeding out. And had her pistol aimed at Amelie in case she tried something. Though looking at how Amelie shielded Victoria under her body as she glared back at her, she could feel a connection she never thought to have had with her since their encounter so long ago.
This was a mother protecting her daughter as well as her lover who, in the face of danger, would have done anything to protect them, even if harm came solely upon them. As a mother, she could strangely related to this woman who failed to kill her. For a second, she imagined herself and her little Fareeha and how as a mother, nothing could have kept her from keeping her daughter safe. She lowered her weapon, much to Amelie's surprise and nodded to her.
"Do not try anything." Ana said. Amelie nodded in return before focusing back on the two most important people in her life.
"Alright Gabriel. You're going to tell us what we want to know." Jack said.
"Fine." Gabriel said as he took Victoria in his arms, hold her tightly, Amelie in return holding him.
"What was that thing that attacked you in the airport?" Jack asked.
"It's a God Program." Gabriel said, remembering what Sombra had told him. "It came to kill us in particular."
"Who sent it? Vishkar? Volskaya? Numerico?" Jack asked.
"Not them. But it was comprised of their tech." Gabriel answered. "It's the most powerful thing I've ever fought. It took all five of us to bring it down, and even then..." He trailed off.
"Even then, it still got up and obliterated that force sent by the french government to investigate." Jack revealed. "It's roaming, not attacking anyone, everyone said it was likely looking for something. I guess we know who it is then." Jack said.
"So we can assume that it's likely an ally of ours then." Lena asked. "If it was just going after you, it wouldn't have attacked those French." She said, with a frown.
"That's where you're wrong, puta." Sombra said as her body shook from the cold. "That thing is behind Talon, it was behind a lot of other things that made the world hell. It started the Omnic Crisis." Sombra said, catching Overwatch's attention. "She's anything but an ally. Hell, we're not even Talon anymore. We just escaped and met those two along the way." Sombra said, nodding towards Moira and Akande.
"So that thing is what caused the first Crisis." Winston asked.
"Yes. She just said that." Moira said. "And there will likely be a second if we don't destroy it for good." She added.
"Right now, its after us. But we can't fight it. Not the way we are, anyway." Akande said. "We broke our weapons and gear fighting that thing. Most of us anyway." He added.
"Wait, wait." Angela said. "So none of you are part of Talon anymore?" She asked.
"Haven't been for almost a year now." Gabriel spoke.
"But isn't she supposed to be a sleeper agent?" Lena asked, gesturing to Amelie.
"I already did what I set out to do after my reprogramming. I have no more hidden orders to carry out, nor do I suffer from the mistreatment Talon had bestowed on me." Amelie finally spoke. "I am no longer Widowmaker. Anymore than Gabriel is the Reaper." She said confidently as she defended herself and Gabriel.
"You can say everything you want to try and get out of this, but the fact is we don't believe you." Said Jack. "In fact. We find it hard to believe you're even capable of having kids, and with him no less." He pointed to Gabriel before turning to look at Victoria. "Especially considering he shouldn't be alive." Jack said. Gabriel wanted to say something in return, but took his daughter's safety in consideration and kept quiet.
"So this God Program, can it be stopped?" Asked Winston, wanting to move away from any conflict surrounding the child.
"We're not sure. We fought it, all of us and we temporarily kept it down." Moira said. "Emphasis on temporarily." She finished.
"So there has to be a way to stop them." Ana said, walking up to Jack and telling Angela and Tracer to keep their guns on Gabriel's group if anything happened while they discussed. "I don't think we can execute them now." Ana said.
"What are you talking about? As soon as we get more information out of them, we'll get rid of them. If we have to, we'll leave the child on some rich folk's doorstep." Jack revealed.
"I do not think this is an option anymore." She repeated. "They faced that thing, and if they're telling the truth, then they're no longer a priority, Jack." She reasoned, while he rolled his eyes. "Listen, whatever Gabriel did in the past, perhaps we can say that there was a stronger force working against you, not just externally in the battlefield, but if it's a God Program, chances are it meddles with a bunch of other things in the rest of the world." She said.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked. "You saying we join forces with them? Ana, did you forget what Widowmaker did to you?" He said, pointing to her eye.
"Of course I didn't Jack. But I warn you not to speak to me like that again. We're not young anymore." She warned, causing him to sigh apologetically. "What I mean is, that this thing that is after them could do more harm to the rest of the world and they're the only only ones who have survived an encounter with it. Killing them won't help us. But keeping them alive will. They have information on that thing, and if we come up with a plan, we might just be able to do something about it." She explained.
"And just what exactly do you know about fighting God Programs." Jack asked.
"Trust me, I know plenty." Ana replied. "My daughter is in charge of keeping one contained. It is her job." She said matter of factly.
"Shit, you're right, the Helix Prison for Anubis." Jack said as he suddenly remembered.
"I am surprised you still remember her." Ana chuckled.
"Who could forget a sweet girl like her?" Jack smiled, but then, they turned to Gabriel and suddenly remembered how close he was with her, before they excommunicated him socially. "So you think she can help? Fareeha I mean." He asked.
"I'm certain if we bring them to her, we'll be able to do something about to stop this abomination that has been haunting us since we were all young." Ana said. Jack gave it some thought before sighing.
"They're nothing but our prisoners, they're not our friends, we do not communicate with them unless it involves the mission. Got it?" Said Jack. Ana nodded. "Alright then." He said and they began to walk back to the group. "Alright everyone. It appears you're all needed elsewhere. So you better thank whatever deity you believe in that we're taking you in, because this night could have ended a whole lot worse." Jack said as he motion them all to stand up and follow him and the rest of his team to a board ship hidden in the woods.