*Marbella Air Space*
Lena paced impatiently as the shuttle speeds towards Marbella, an action that has not gone unnoticed by the rest.
"She seems a bit more agitated than usual" Brigitte whispered to Winston as they watch.
"Yes... I fear that she has grown somewhat attached to Quillion"
Brigitte cock her head to one side in confusion.
"I thought she's into girls?"
"Maybe I misspoke, I mean she has formed a strong friendship with him"
He had read a few books about the topic of love and discussed it with many different points of view and he concluded that he and Omnics do not, and could not fully understand the human concept of love. In fact, he doubts that even the humans fully understand what it is either.
"How much longer Lox?" Lena asked.
"We are nearly there, I'll let you know when we are over the drop zone"
"Lena, you need to rest, we can handle this" Angela said, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"No, I brought him here, I should be responsible for his well being"
"He knew what he signed up for, you are not his caretaker"
Lena said nothing. There was no need to. They wouldn't understand.
"Excuse me, Mercy? We need you with the wounded" one of the squad leader said, his arm held by a sling.
She gave Lena a soft squeeze before leaving.
"Did someone call a doctor?" they heard her say as she enters the Medical Room.
"What's on your mind Lena?" this time Reinhardt came to stand next to her.
"Nothing. Just the mission"
"Don't worry about him, from what I've heard he is pretty tough, he should be fine" he said encouragingly.
"I hope so..."
"He will be fine" a voice called out.
They looked behind them and recognize it is Quillion's Drill Sergeant.
"Private Zero is one of the toughest and talented man I've ever trained, no Talon soldier will get the better of him" he said confidently.
Lena tried to take heart from their encouragements but she still could not shake off the feeling that something has gone wrong.
*Marbella: Nearby Forest*
"See ya on the other side Tim, die knowing you have failed Overwatch and your friends"
"No!" Quillion shouted desperately as he crawled to the Owl, whose hand reached into the pack.
"Still some fight in you I see? Very well... I got some time"
Picking Quillion up like a ragdoll he forced him against a tree, a hand around his throat. Qullion began blacking out as the fingers cut off the blood circulation to his brain.
"I never liked killing people on their backs" he heard the Owl said as he felt another punch to his ribs "I am going to enjoy this"
Friends...
It was then he remembered Jampang and his squad.
He remembered the time they mourned for the many soldiers who volunteered and died for the Soldier Enhancement Trials.
He remembered how they charged into the fires of the battlefield, screaming as they led the vanguard.
The next memory showed how they gathered in each of their houses, eating and laughing as they shared heroic stories of their accomplishments, how they made fun of Quillion who seemed to always been at the back of the fighting instead of the front after that one time he rescued civilians by leaping across the skyscraper to another.
There they were, shopping with their families as they tease when will he and Ahmad ever start a family of their own.
Those were happy times.
Then the Null Sector came and burn it all away, his friends dying one by one as he alone survived. Finally the memories stopped stopped with Jampang's last words to him.
They must pay.
And he always keeps his promises.
Unable to reactivate his Battle Rage and exhausted all his strategies, he gave into the last numbing thing he knew how to do. Give into his blood rage.
With animalistic rage he surprised his opponent with a sudden display of savagery, completely forgoing a defensive stance, Quillion lashed out with berserker fury, narrowing his entire focus on balance and strength, using the tree as his backbone. His entire body became a weapon, nothing was out of the option for attacking, if his hair was longer, he would've used it to garrote his opponent.
The Owl was stunned, he was not expecting such a retaliation, but he quickly recovered. Matching the punches with his own, both men soon find themselves in an intense contest of endurance, one relying on precise hits and experience while the other relied on his reckless youth and pride.
After what seemed like hours, Quillion felt his opponent's strikes weaken as his unpredictable attacks slipped through the defenses while he was able to shake off the pain he received in turn. Encouraged by this, his attacks become wilder, more feral and he poured the last reserves of his strength into the attack.
Slowly, ever so slowly he is gaining ground, his punches began pushing the Enforcer back through sheer willpower, and despite his injuries, he is winning.
But it was all a ruse.
The Owl successfully lured the desperate man into a sense of confidence before shattering it with a powerful jab to the chest, knocking all the wind out of Quillion. As he doubled forward in pain, the Enforcer grabbed his head and smashed it straight into his knee, breaking his nose and cracking his skull instantly.
The damage was too much for Quillion as he sank to his knees, utterly, and finally, defeated.
"You have spirit I'll give you that..." the Owl panted, exhausted from the fight.
It has been a while since he has been pushed so hard in close combat, without the genetic and cybernetic augmentations he would have lost this fight many times over.
"With more experience you would be a truly dangerous foe... And we can't have that"
Pulling out his knife, he pressed the tip against Quillion's throat.
"Any last words?" he asked.
"I'm... I'm sorry Jampang..." Quillion croaked out, more to himself than anyone else, needing to hear himself say those words out loud.
"I'm sure this Jampang will be joining you shortly" the Owl said.
Quillion close his eyes as he felt the tip of the knife pierce his skin.
Strangely the pain wasn't as bad as he thought.
In fact, it felt as if the knife was pulled away by a huge gust of wind.
"Quillion!" he heard Lena shout.
"Really? The last thing you'd think about is her? Pathetic..." he thought to himself.
"Angela! Get over here! He needs help!" Lena shouted desperately, puzzling him.
Then the darkness embraced him.
*Gibraltar: Watchpoint Holding Cells*
"Let us try that again" Morrison said as he balls up his fist, causing Alex to wince in fear.
"Where. Is. Talon?" Morrison asked, pausing each word with a punch, holding back just enough to keep him conscious.
"Wh-when the squad gets here, I will be free" Alex whimpered.
"My guess is they were a 12 man squad and they were led by someone known only as... The Owl?" Morrison said, causing Alex to look up in dismay.
"Athena, show him"
A holo vid appeared in front of them as they witness each Trooper was quickly eliminated one by one by an unknown gunman in a forest. Finally, an Enforcer, who was kneeling down, was suddenly riddled with a series of blue bolts before he was struck aside by Reinhardt's hammer.
"Talon knows where you are now, when a squad does not respond, they will come for all of you!" Alex said, trying reassure himself.
"How about this, we will give them 2 weeks, if no one comes for you, you tell us where they are" Morrison said as he walks out the door.
"Doomfist will come for you! He will come within the day!"
Morrison paused at the door, looking back over his shoulder before replying.
"I'm counting on it"
*Venice: Talon Base*
"It has been 5 hours since we have lost communication with the squad deployed in Spain and our spy" a Trooper reported.
"Are you sure? You have to be sure" an Enforcer said.
They had spent most of their lives working for Talon and hunted Overwatch agents with a passion. They have killed, lied, and bribed for any information and ever since they intercepted Winston's message, they spent millions to train thousands of spies in hopes to infiltrate Overwatch.
Now could finally be the breakthrough they were looking for. Many squads have reported that they found the base, but each time it was met with a disappointing find.
But this time. This time they may have finally found it.
"I am sure" the Trooper said as he sends the report.
"Try to re-establish connection with the spy and change the status of the Owl to KIA" the Enforcer said coldly, even though they were close friends, his sacrifice was necessary.
"Are you sure? He could still be out there"
"You know him just as well as I do, he will never stops talking unless if he is sleeping or dead and he would rather die than be captured"
"You should've sent me instead" a voice said behind them.
"You will be deployed soon enough Assassin" the Enforcer said.
"You better, if I don't have a kill order soon, I think I'll start with you"
Ignoring the threat, the Enforcer checked the report and was about to walk out when they heard it. Heavy footsteps that sent chills down everyone's spine as it could only belong to one person in the base.
"Why has no one reported to me that we lost communication with one of our scouts?" Ogundimu said as he entered the room.
"Sir, we are just about to report it to you now" the Enforcer said with a salute.
"A scout's average of radio silence is 3 hours, this squad has been silent for more than 4 hours, why the delay?"
"We need to make sure that they have been eliminated before we report it to you sir"
"Well, I am here now so you better have a good reason" he said as he glances at the screen.
A few minutes later after he read the report, he smiled.
"So they found a possible lead, killed an agent, verified Overwatch equipment and went silent?" Ogundimu summarized.
"Yes sir"
"I suggest we send every available agent now, kill them before they could relocate" the Assassin said quickly.
"There is no longer a need to attack them directly" Ogundimu chuckled, shocking everyone in the room.
"Sir?"
"We are changing tactics, this time we will force them to come to us"
"How shall we begin sir?"
"We now know of an agent who will be in London in a few months to meet this girl" he said as he threw a picture on the table, revealing the agent Tracer and a red-hair girl.
"Find the red head and eliminate her"
"With respect sir... Will it not be more effective to kill the agent herself?" the Assassin said.
Everyone held their breath at the Assassin's confidence but Ogundimu merely chuckled.
"Fight the enemy's most capable agent in her own home turf? That will be a waste of time. No. Find the red head and they will come for us, force them to fight on our terms, have I made myself clear?"
"Yes sir"
Hello everyone! Hope everyone has had a good Christmas and will have a good start for the New Year.
So, just as an update I am facing some minor health issues and would need to take some time in the hospital for further checking, so for the next 2 weeks I will be posting only 1 chapter on Fridays until further notice.
So yeah I apologize for that and I hope everyone will continue to have a good week!