Following General Aleksander's words, the rest of the flight passed with Representative Shira running through the diplomatic side of Levi's role in Overwatch, as well as the overall do's and don'ts as its newest member.
After their speeches were finished, the general departed into the main cabin, and Shira left to her own private quarters, leaving Levi alone. With nothing else to do, he laid his head down on his seat, closing his eyes and hoping sleep, or the closest thing to it would find him. One of his friends from the Sayeret Golani always said that sleep was God's greatest gift to a soldier, and one should embrace it as much as possible. All in all, his shut eye amounted to little over three hours of nothingness with the sandman, the time only coming to an end when the plane touched down in New York City. The general wasted no time in shaking the scout awake and preparing him for his second flight, which would take him to the Overwatch headquarters in Gibraltar.
The UN representative said her goodbye to him, wishing him the best of luck, while the ruach only nodded in Levi's general direction. The term man of few words came to mind, while two Israelis left for the UN summit taking place later that day. The scout on the other hand waited for his next departure, which he had been told would be aboard a new, small dropship dubbed "the Bird" by its American creators. For the next twenty minutes, he remained inside the airport near one of the flight gates, watching other aircraft land and take off one after the other endlessly. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Levi Kohen was guided towards his final means of travel.
"The Bird" was not overly pleasing to the eye. The metal was of a darkened gunmetal grey, enveloping the whole vehicle in a hexagonal prism like shape. Large doors on both its left and right side, below its short wings, which stretched atop the dropship's roof, were slid open for passengers to enter the vehicle. No seats greeted the scout, only handlebars, dangling from the interiors ceiling. The pilots waved him over from inside their cockpit, which jutted forward before curving down beaklike, ergo the dropship's name. The two men, clearly British, as seen by the Union Jacks on their helmets greeted the new Overwatch member with toothy grins to match each other. Levi treated them similarly.
"Welcome aboard UK airlines' nonstop flight from New York to Gibraltar. Ladies and gentlemen, remember to keep all hands and feet inside the bucket of bolts at all times, and now just sit back and enjoy the ride."
The scout chuckled lightly at the pilots' antics as he grabbed onto one of the handholds dangling from the ceiling, while the doors groaned to a close and the engine started. It shook against its metal housing, coughing its way to life and finding equilibrium in a simple stammer. What "the Bird" lacked in aesthetic or in smoothness of running, it more than healthily made up for with its durability, or so the makers advertised.
===line break===
Deep within the Iberian Peninsula, Watchpoint Gibraltar lay hidden among the cliffs facing out towards the sea. Military personnel and some scientists milled about the complex, as "the Bird" made its approach for landing at the recently installed landing pad atop one of the buildings out in the air. The small ship clunked to a stop against the asphalt plate of black, its smooth, landing gear-less underbelly smashing onto the building with a resounding thunk!
The doors of the bucket of bolts creaked open and the single soldier stepped out into the daylight, smelling the sea air and feeling the wind against his face. Two military personnel sprinted towards him, only stopping to salute before grabbing his suitcase and large military supply bag and directing him towards his quarters.
To the Israeli, Gibraltar was nothing like what he expected—it felt older, and less advanced compared to some of the bases he had served at during his time. The metal buildings were stained with signs of use and the constant beating of the sun and sea, whilst the narrow roads, assuming they could even be called that, were made of cracked concrete. Above them, the lights which stuck to the building were all dim and of some variation of white, any coloring they once held having faded away or cracked until finally falling off. In short, Levi though this place felt aged and in dire need of refurbishment.
In steep contrast to the place itself, the personnel were all carrying or dressed in the most recent of kit and uniform, as well as possessing modern firearms and vehicles. Two tanks rolled past him into the interior of the cliff itself, while a large pink mech thundered into the open air, playing Korean music from its speakers.
"So where are you taking me?" the scout said to his escorts, who remained straight faced.
"You're not going to snuff me are you? I feel like you're leading me to a court martial."
The MP's lips twitched up ever so slightly.
"We have to first check you in with Commander Morrison, sir, we are to led to your quarters and the shooting range."
Levi nodded, not questioning who Commander Morrison was. Soldier 76 needed no explanation to him. Other than that, the escorts said nothing else, returning to their stoic states of silence. It wasn't until they had arrived at their destination did they speak, telling him that the commander was within his office.
Soldier 76's office was plain to say the least. No signs of decoration or personal style were within it; everything was neat and tidy. A single dark brown wooden desk stood close to the farthest wall, hiding the swiveling chair behind it, which the owner of the office currently sat in. A small pile of papers rested on the desk and beside them, a pistol and a few rounds of ammunition. The man of the desk didn't cast so much as a slight nod towards the guest who just entered. His eyes were to the papers before him.
"Have a seat," his voice boomed, commanding and sure of his authority.
The scout did as was asked.
"Captain Levi Kohen, I presume."
"Yes, sir."
The commander grunted and then scribbled something on the paper. He didn't say anything, barely acknowledging the existence of the young man before him. Finally, he spoke.
"Where do your loyalties lie, captain?"
"Sir?" Levi asked, taken off guard by the question.
"It's a simple question. Answer it."
The scout did not hesitate.
"Israel, sir."
Commander Morrison looked up from his papers.
"Why?"
"I swore to God to protect my people against all enemies."
The commander did not miss a beat.
"I want the real answer, not the poster boy answer."
"My family, sir."
"Expand," he said, leaning back in his chair behind the desk.
"My family is the reason I fight, why I wake up each morning and go to work. I do everything for them; they mean everything to me, sir," Levi explained, looking directly into the older man's eyes. They seemed distant while he spoke, until they refocused on him, seeming to look directly into his soul.
"Fighting for family is a liability. Remember that."
Commander Morrison got up from his chair and strolled over to the younger man.
"But that doesn't make it wrong. Keep in mind there may one day be a time when you have to choose between your family or your country. Your enemy will do whatever they can to kill you or wound you."
The scout nodded obediently, secretly dismissing the older man's advice. Representative Shira had assured him on his flight with her that the secret service would be watching over them now that they were potential targets for Talon as well as the fact they would be payed for his services too. He had enough faith in his countries spec ops to feel relatively at ease about the home front.
"Tell me, how long have you been fighting?"
"Eight years, sir."
"Where?"
"Gaza, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq, sir."
"Wounded?"
"Only once, sir. God has blessed me with luck."
The commander scoffed.
"You should do fine here, then, you are dismissed."
Levi Kohen rose from his chair and made his way to the door.
"Oh, and Captain."
He stopped. "Yes, sir?"
"There is no god; it'll do you good to internalize that. Makes the job a lot easier."
"I believe what I believe, sir, just as you do."
===line break===
The scout aimed down the scope of his IWI Dan, slowing down his breathing as he leveled his crosshairs towards the targets head. His finger snaked around the trigger while his left hand, gripping the stock and being used as a rest for his cheek, gently angled the barrel ever so slightly to the left to account for the heavy wind blowing in. He counted each heartbeat that passed before he pulled the trigger, feeling the blood pump through his hands against the cool metal of the gun.
A loud crack erupted into the air as the bullet soared towards its target.
The effect of the aiming was instantaneous, a single headshot.
Levi Kohen pulled back the bolt, not noticing the solitary empty shell being flung out of the receiver. Within seconds, his eye was back in the scope and the cross hairs aligned to the target.
Another crack.
The smell of gunpowder drifted to his nose from the barrel, sweet as candy to him in a metallic way. He repeated his loading trick, not hesitating to pull the trigger, once his eye was in the scope.
Crack!
Crack!
Crack!
He continued to pull away, until he heard the familiar click of an empty barrel. Taking one last look in his rifle's scope, he admired his handiwork on the target dummy, some 300 yards away. Three headshots, five body shots, one shot at the edge of the shoulder, and another in the crotch region.
A single bullet of sweat dripped down his face. For a place near the ocean, Watchpoint Gibraltar was pretty hot and his green fatigues barred the marks of his time out on the shooting range—a grand total of three hours, his practicing ranging from long distances at a slow pace, to a little less than 100 yards away and as fast as his finger could pull the trigger. The first tended to maintain his best results, but he was still improving. Every day, the space between shots minimized bit by bit, until one day…
Levi's thoughts came to halt as he realized the sun was setting and he had still not called his family. Like any self-respecting person, he prided himself on always keeping his promises, and so, shoving his sniper into the bag he brought it in, he left the shooting range, immediately pulling out an old flip-phone he had fixed up and dialing for home. All he was met with was with an old pre-recorded voice, saying there was no connection. He was so focused on the device that he did not notice the flash of blue or the person who suddenly crashed into him.
"Crap!" the person yelled the moment she hit Levi, sending him flying backwards onto his butt.
"Sorry, luv. Didn't your mum ever tell you to watch where you're going?" the voice said in a British accent, a slight humoring tone in the words.
"No harm no foul," the scout said getting to his feet, and picking up his bag.
The woman before him was, in his mind, a sight to behold. Her hair was brown and spiky, sticking off in all directions. Her face was angular in nature, and her eyes large, hidden behind goggles. Her legs were long and curved, gently flowing into her waist and body. The last thing Levi noticed was the blue glowing device on her chest, reminiscent of Iron Man's arc reactor in a larger, less advanced way.
"You alright there, luv, you're staring," she smiled mischievously.
"Sorry, but what exactly is that," he answered pointing at the device on her chest.
"That is a chronal accelerator; it keeps me anchored here."
"What do you mean anchored?"
"Well, there is a long, boring, scientific answer, but in short, if I don't wear it, I go bye-bye, luv."
"Why?"
"Well, aren't you curious? It has something to do with time, and of course a plane."
Before she could explain, she raised her hand to her ear, pausing for a moment, undoubtedly listening to a message coming from a small device there.
"Well, looks like I got to go, Winston says I'm late," she said, chuckling again, before dashing off in blur of blue, leaving the scout alone, watching the trail of blue slowly fade to nothing.
And the first Lena and Levi interaction is complete. It was meant to be short, and an actually long one should come with the next update. Also, next chapter brings in Pharah, as well as the return of the Ruach and Levi's dad. Until then, peace out.