Chapter 19: Falling Deeper.
- Ashe's Mansion, 11 PM -
Abel sat alongside the guys from the Deadlock gang, drowning himself in God knows how many different types of alcohol. The sniper of the group patted Abel's back as Abel continued rambling "-then i *Hick* then I dragged her through the jungle as the African rebels shot at us... We rea.. reached the transport after a day of running and *Hick* were taken back to our south African Outpost..."
The comms expert was genuinely left speechless, the past few hours Abel had told them about some of his missions when he was back with 29, from the sniper war he and 29 fought at Mt Everest, the battle on Sakurajima volcano when it erupted, and the evacuation of South Africa. All of these stories made the Deadlock gang grow a genuine sense of respect for Abel, but he still had one story for them.
Abel finished a bottle of whiskey, then asked them "You guys wanna know about the time I was sent to Afghanistan?" There were nods, and they all grabbed a beer and listened as Abel told them "I.. it was two... Two years ago? Can't recall right *Hick* now... Well, I was sent to a Talon Prison... But I didn't know that the prison was a detention center for the disobedient members of Talon... Mainly the *Hick* 29th legion.."
The men stopped drinking and stared at him with wide eyes, Abel on the other hand had a drink smile on his face as he explained "Yeah.. *Hick* Well, the mission was very straight forward... The squad I was sent in with and I were initially repelled, but after losing half the squad, and some pride... *Hick* we pushed back... We killed every single one of them until we reached the last courtyard... There we lost our second to last member... Leaving me and the captain Alo to fend off-"
"29..." Muttered the sniper, making Abel nod and chug his beer down in one go.
They watched him with a strange mix of anticipation and forbidding, then listened as he threw the bottle to some random corner of the room and continued "I ordered the captain to leave... He did... Reluctantly, but left nonetheless... After that..."
- Talon Refueling Outpost, Holland -
AB-28 Stood alone in the hangar, his hair pulled back as an old man floated up to him and asked in a bored, possibly irritated tone "AB-28... Why?" Drake chuckled, and replied to the obvious question "Jet was trashed... Wasting bullets and missiles on it would have been just that, a waste."
The old man shook his head, and asked Drake in a rather cold manner "And who put this way of thinking in your head?" Drake shot him a glare, and replied in a serious manner, which was not like him "29." The other pilots looked at Drake, and watched as both him and the old man stared each other down, followed by the old man ordering "You may go... For now..." making Drake growl and mutter "Yes... Sigma..."
Drake left, heading to his fighter plane and ordered the crew to refuel and rearm his plane before he returned. They all gotta work while Drake went behind the hangar and dialed up AB-22, she answered in a half yawn and asked "The hell do you want... Finally got a chance to sleep and you go an ruin it with your stupid call.."
Drake chuckled and asked her in a low tone "You still got a blank pass for a plane to enter Great Britain?" 22 Groaned and muttered "Yeah yeah, I'll pass you the codes, now shut up and fuck you." She hung up, making Drake simply say "Rude." before entering the hangar and finding his plane ready.
He climbed into the cockpit, taxied out towards the runway and waited for confirmation from the radio tower. As he did so he recalled a few flights back during the Crisis, and sighed. Drake then got the green light, and took off towards the skies, flying low to avoid radar as he flew Northwest, towards the english Canal.
- AB-04's Base of Operations, Boundary Peak, Nevada - 1 AM -
Kira gritted her teeth as Hollister relocated her arm back in place, the Russian teen panting as she watched Hollister's left arm continue to reform itself from solid rock. She was gonna speak up, but Hollister cut in and told her "Rest, we'll move out in the morning."
Kira looked down, nodded and slowly limped to the back rooms Hollister separated for her. It was fairly spacious, walls filled with old photos of the old man, some paintings too. Being the curious type, Kira examined the oldest painting, where Hollister was just a baby, and a few of his parents, all labeled with dates between 1830 and 1840.
The next few were drawings of Hollister when he was a teenager, in an old uniform, these were labeled with "Mexican American War." Kira smiled at one drawing of a soldier sleeping beside an old cannon, then continued, finding a brief period drawings and paintings that gave her a wild west vibe, then, one of Hollister and a Woman sitting on a porch together, smiling.
Kira sighed sadly at that last one, knowing that the woman on the painting was dead by now, and moved on, finding the next few labeled "US Civil War." The first few were rather vibrant, soldiers marching, men on horseback, and even some paintings of landscapes. But as she jumped one year after the other did they become muddy, filthy browns and copper reds against a yellow/orange sky, with men hiding or dead in the fields. God forgive her eyes for seeing the painting of Gettysburg, the graphic image almost making her want to vomit.
After these paintings came some nice painting and sketches, along with early photographs of Hollister reaching his older years. These were rather nice works, all of a small ranch, horses, and Hollister with the same woman.
A sense of tranquility was felt from these paintings, then one photo showed Hollister on the same porch, alone, labeled "1902" Kira quickly looked at the next one, finding a photo with Hollister with long white hair getting on a boat, this one was labeled "1908"
It was a nice change, but then, she saw Hollister in a uniform again, the photo labeled "1914" She quickly went through the next few photos, drawings and paintings, all horrid images of The Great War. The next weren't better, jumping towards WW2, mainly the Pacific Theater, along with a photo of a soldier standing on a carrier as a the Atom Bomb fell on Hiroshima, labeled "Classified".
Then the Korean War, Vietnam, Cuban Missile Crisis, Afghanistan, Gulf War, Iraq, Iran, and lastly, The Omnic Crisis.
Kira took a step back, and bumped into something, or better yet, someone. She turned and saw Hollister staring at the walls and boxes full of photos and paintings, and muttered "I don't wanna hear a sound from you..." Kira nodded and watched Hollister leave, then close the door behind him.
- Ashe's Mansion, 2 AM -
Abel groaned as he sat besides the toilet, puking in regular intervals as the Sniper whispered "C'mon, it's alright man..." Abel puked once more, then replied "Huuurk, I doubt it... I killed the only-" Abel stopped and put his head back in the toilet, emptying out in one go.
The other guys all stood outside the bathroom, all waiting for Abel to finish. But then, they heard a growl and looked down the hall, finding Ashe in her pants and a bathrobe on, ordering them "The fuck is happening here? I'm tryin' to get some sleep and-" She was cut off when they heard one last gag and hurl, then listened as the toilet was flushed.
Ashe glared at them, and told them "Go to your rooms, now." They left in the blink of an eye, then Ashe opened the door and found Abel laying on the bathroom floor, groaning as the Sniper tried picking him up.
Ashe ordered the sniper to leave, then walked up to Abel, examined him, the amount of empty bottles, and the horrible smell in the room. She chuckled, knelt down beside Abel, grabbed his hair, then lifted his head and told him in n a cruel, but amused tone "Kid... You are stupid..."
Abel was mumbling nonsense as she did all this, repeating the phrase "Sorry 29…" over and over again. Ashe raised a brow, and asked BOB, who was standing outside "What the hell is he yapping on about?" BOB played his recording of Abel's stories, playing the crucial bits that revealed Abel's heartache. She then looked down at Abel as BOB played the Las story about Afghanistan, she listened, the story of two as close as could be fighting, and Abel killing his sweetheart.
"How cute." Muttered Ashe.
Then she ordered BOB "Take him outside... I'm gonna straighten him out." BOB complied, and dragged Abel out back, to the hard asphalt while Ashe put on something more appropriate for the occasion, mainly her black boots and her white button up and a black leather apron.
She then went outside to find that BOB sat Abel against a tree, blindfolded him, and was still mumbling on and on. She put on her black leather gloves, rolled her sleeves up, and told BOB "Keep the others away..."
As soon as BOB left did Ashe punch Abel in the face, breaking his nose instantly. Abel tried to catch the next hit, but Ashe grabbed his hands and tied them together, then proceeded to punch his face while yelling like a mad woman "WHY'D YOU KILL 29!?" Abel attempted to reply every time she yelled, but she always cut him off before he could speak with hard punches.
Ashe grinned as she rammed her knee into his face a few times, then yelled "C'MON! WHY'D YOU KILL 29 ABEL?! WHY DID YOU MURDER HER?! SHE FUCKING LOVED YOU!" That last part was delivered with a kick to his groin, and by this point Abel was just spitting out incoherent sounds, snot, blood and tears mixing as he tried to answer while crying and beat.
She grinned, then looked at how bloodied her fists and apron were, and knelt down in front of Abel, and leaned close to his ear, and whispered "Shhhhh shhhh quiet down.."
Abel attempted to calm down, but found it hard in his current state, so Ashe untied him, sat on his lap and cradled his head, taking advantage of his crippled emotional state. Abel went silent, and Ashe finally whispered "Don't worry partner, you are alright here... Anyone else would judge you for what happened... Not us... Now... Sleep."
Almost as if by pure suggestion, Abel did just that, and fell asleep by Ashe's order, much to her liking. She then got off him and entered the Mansion, when she ordered to tend to Abel's "Straightening out" BOB complied, and took Abel to his room where he took care of Abel, while the other members of the gang all slept in blissful ignorance of Ashe's actions.
Ashe on the other hand checked off the calendar in her room, going for twenty consecutive days of doing this, and it was working to her favor, Abel was becoming obedient like a dog, and was starting to rely more on her, rather than others.
As he slept, Abel kept tossing and turning, groaning as he attempted every position he could to sleep properly, but nothing, by four in the morning he was already up and moving, getting his weapons ready, and then waiting for the others to wake up.
All the while BOB kept an eye on him, making sure he didn't cause trouble... Again.
- Madeline Bay Hotel, Las Vegas, 9 AM -
Hana yawned as Junkrat, Roadhog, McCree, and Lucio all joined her for an early breakfast, everyone else was either busy with the search or sleeping. Junkrat horked down a bacon & pancake sandwich then asked "Why the bloody 'ell did you wake us up so early? Bad Enough I had to ride on Roadie's sidecar all night..."
Roadhog smacked Jamison in the back of his head, then both listened as Hana asked "You guys know how criminals work, right?" Mako and Jamison looked at her, and grinned, then Jessie replied "Whoa whoa whoa, hold your horses there. Ashe ain't no regular crook... And she ain't stupid either."
Hana frowned at him, then asked in a low tone "What would get her attention then? What is it she likes...?" Junkrat and Mako joined Hana and looked at McCree, for the old cowboy to sigh and ask Lucio "C'mon partner... Don't tell me your in on this too."
Lucio took a sip of his smoothie, fixed his arm's cast slightly, then nodded, making McCree groan and reply "... Alright, but you didn't hear it from me." They all nodded, and watched as McCree finished his coffee, and whispered "Look, Ashe is many things... But the things that define her the most are her search for a challenge... Her need to let everyone know she did it, and most importantly, her scale..."
McCree grabbed a fork, then continued "Give her a challenge, a big old prize, and a nice big crowd... And she'll come to you... Trust me, i know..." Hana nodded, then started thinking on what they could possibly do to get Ashe's attention, then smiled and pulled her phone out. She dialed up her agent and asked "Hey, look, do we still have those charity event sponsorships? We do? Good. I have a plan to fix my recent misbehavior. Yes. Yes, definitely the custom PC companies. Yes, I'll sponsor the new drink. NO, WE ARE NOT PROMOTING ANOTHER PHOTO SHOOT, LAST TIME A CREEP TRIED LIFTING MY SHIRT!"
The guys all looked at her as soon as she said "Lift" and "Shirt" in the same context, earning themselves a scowl from Hana. She listened as her agent listed all the open sponsorships and partnerships she had with multiple companies, then he asked her which ones she wanted to help promote the charity event. Hana smiled, then replied in the sweetest tone she had "All of them. Plus, I'm gonna have Lucio joining me during the stream. Yes, that Lucio. Maybe even the other MEKA pilots too. Glad to see you agree, can we have it set for... Tomorrow or the day after? Alright, the day after... Also, make sure every media outlet knows what's gonna go down. Bye, say Hi to the family for me."
She hung up, then told the guys "We've got work to do." then dragged them to the rest of the team to inform them of a "possible" plan she has.
- Emily's apartment, Kingsrow London, 9 PM -
Lena smiled as Emily finished packing their clothes, and asked her "You sure you don't need a hand love? I can help with the heavier things." Emily pouted, and only replying in a mock hurt tone "You think I'm weak love?"
Both giggled, then Lena helped Emily with the front door, opening it just to find a Drake in a red coat standing there, his white hair messy, and a smug grin on his face as he asked "Evening Lena. Mind if I pass?"
Chapter 19: Over.
God damn, sorry for the wait, took a while longer with so much work falling down on me after the holidays, but i'll manage. Now, i don't got much news this week, mostly writing in the background and working my ass off, so let's go to the reviews:
JamesFames:Thanks man, glad to see you around.
CrimsonBorn: No idea man.
-REDACTED- (For obvious reasons)
BlueN0va:Glad to see you like it, and please don't throw requests at the moment, after the spectacular bombing that was the MHA fic, i'm taking a break from requests. And i think that the Redacted review response should tell you who that review belongs to.
He23t: Don't forget the miserey, that's crucial.
BlueCrimsonFlames:Glad to hear it man, always good to know i got some support (Even if it's little, it's something.)
Panthera Gilt: Glad to see you to PG.
And there we go, reviews are done, i guess there's only one thing left to do.
I'm still in the Trenches, and I Hope You Enjoyed.