They set out the next day two hours after lunch. Their driving app has calculated the travel time at around 3 hours, but Brigitte wants to make sure to leave with plenty of leeway. The plan is to arrive in the evening, survey the area and then begin the stakeout at dusk. If they are lucky, they'll catch their quarry tonight.

She slides behind the wheel and hands Reinhardt her holopad so he can connect it to the sound system. Predictably, he selects a Hasselhoff tune. They glide smoothly out of the garage to the tune of Hooked on a Feeling , buoyed by the new repulsors that had been installed shortly after they returned from their last trip.

As the road rolls beneath them, Brigitte reflects on how being on the road again feels almost like coming home. They have spent much of the last four years in this van, only returning to the castle when Reinhardt had been too injured for travel or when she needed to do critical repairs on their equipment.

The journey itself is home.

She's heard that somewhere before, but can't place where. Whoever said it, it fits perfectly with how she feels. Nothing to do but settle back, tap the cruise control and enjoy the ride.

One hour in and Reinhardt is leaning back in his seat dozing. Brigitte angles the holopad towards her so she can change the music to her playlist instead. As she does, her hand nudges the Overwatch comm link that sits next to it. She runs her fingers absently over the hard plastic, wondering. If Reinhardt hadn't kept this thing at full charge religiously, would he have heard the recall?

Undoubtedly. She is sure that one if the other members would have come searching for him, if not her own father. She had had her doubts, but in the end she knew that Reinhardt would never ignore a call for aid. Even when he had used by the callers so appallingly.

Her hand clenches on the wheel reflexively, old anger burning her gut. Anger for him. She couldn't imagine what it must have been like, to give so much of yourself to something and then be cut out. Utterly rejected, without so much as a thank you.

I have been called, I must answer. Always.

He had told her that before, at the resting place of the man who tasked him to the organization in the first place. She glances at the dozing knight briefly. Overwatch is lucky to have him; a man of his unwavering loyalty and conviction. This time will be different, she'll see to that. She won't let that happen to him again.

Reinhardt wakes from his nap about thirty minutes out from their destination, startled by the sudden decrease in speed as she turns the van off of the main road. They are headed southwest of Ulm, into farmlands far outside of any town. They drive through rolling hills broken by dense forest, the paved roads becoming dirt. One final turn takes them onto a long, winding path flanked by more lush forest. The holopad chimes softly as they round a corner, revealing an old two-story house with a sprawling yard. She parks the van next to a large wood pile that backs up to the edge of the forest.

By the time she and Reinhardt have exited the vehicle, she can hear the creak of a door as a man exits the front of his house to meet them. He's wearing faded blue jeans and an off-white shirt, his skin tanned and weathered. He looks every inch a farmer.

"Reinhardt Wilhelm?" He says as he approaches, holding out his hand. "Andreas Mayer. Thank you fer comin'." Reinhardt reaches out to grip the farmers hand, then introduces Brigitte who shakes it also. His grip is firm, his skin tough like an old shoe. "Afore I take ya out back, is there anythin' I can get you folks? Got water inside, c'n make some coffee if ya prefer."

"Thank you, maybe later." She replies politely. She probably will take him up on that coffee before they begin their stakeout. Reinhardt also refuses.

"Alright then," Andreas says, and gestures for them to follow. "C'mon over here and I'll take ya there."

As it turns out, the equipment that is being stolen is quite a ways from Andreas's house. Nearly a mile, if she judges correctly. He has a heavy-duty ATV that they perch cautiously on as he ferries them to the distant location. They pass through the forest behind his house on overgrown tracks that the quad has dug over the years, and she has to hold on tight to avoid being bounced on the rough terrain. Her rump is rapidly beginning to protest, and she thinks longingly of the repulsors on the van. Eventually the forest opens up to an impressive clearing. The grass is quite long in some places, but she can make out mounds of metal through it. They look strangely familiar.

"Ya might be able to see now why I didn't want ta call the police."Andreas grunts, slowing the ATV and cutting the engine.

Brigitte barely manages to stifle her gasp. Though she's never seen one in person, she's seen enough of the old vids and pictures to recognize them immediately: Bastion Siege Automatons. Many of them are rusted or overgrown with weeds but she can still make out the model number on their side plating: 54, the scourges of the Omnic Crisis.

There's only a moments stunned disbelief before the questions come flooding into her mind. How did he get these? Where did he get them? And probably most importantly: Why does he have them? She can't conceive of a single reason that an average person would own outlawed tech like this.

The more she looks, the more her awe grows. He has rows upon rows of them, more than 40 by her count and all in relatively good condition. Not only that he has other omnics too- B37s, pieces if what looks like a Titan, and even two mostly intact OR14s.

She looks wide-eyed up at Reinhardt, catches his gaze. His face is grim, his mouth set. He gives her a short shake of his head, as if to say we'll discuss this later .

"How did you acquire these, Andreas?" The knight asks. His tone is light, curious; carefully avoiding any hint of accusation.

"They're m'son's, actually." Andreas makes his way slowly around the rows of omnic remains, hands slipping into his pockets. "Not sure how he got 'em. He didn't have nowhere to put them so he started bringin' em he was gonna try to sell 'em to museums to earn some money or somethin'. He never really explained it to me. Didn't even know what he was collectin' until...well..." The old farmer trails off, stopping at the end of the furthest row.

"He died. An' when I saw what he'd done, I wasn't sure of the best way to get rid of 'em. So I left 'em here. Thought about buryin' em, but... I never got aroun' to it." He shrugs, turning away from them. The rasp in his voice; if she had been asked to describe grief, it would have been that sound. His son's death is no lie.

When they come to where Andreas is standing, Brigitte can see patches of bare land where something has evidently been moved. It is obvious that this marks where the thieves have been. She can see more exposed dirt in rows ahead. It appears that the bandits have made off with approximately a quarter of the farmer's stash.

"Not sure how they've been stealin' 'em." Andreas remarks, gesturing at the bare ground. He gains control of his voice. "They're pretty heavy, an' there's no tracks or nothing's that I've seen. That night I tried spyin' all I could see was a red light flashin' on and off, an' in the mornin' more were gone."

He turned to face them squarely, hands still wedged firmly in his pockets.

"So, will ya help me?" The hope is evident in his voice. Brigitte looks to Reinhardt, who will give the final answer.

The knights gaze travels slowly over the metal carcasses, his expression neutral. "My squire and I must talk before I give my decision. If you will permit us a moment to speak in private?"

"Sure, sure!" Andreas says, gesturing at them with an open-palmed wave of both his hands. "Take your time."

They retreat a distance from him, partway into the woods so that they can't be overheard. As soon as they are out of earshot, Brigitte cannot contain herself anymore.

" He has siege automatons!" She hisses at Reinhardt, her voice tense. "I thought those were all destroyed after the war!" It is unthinkable that so many could be still laying around, and in such good condition. What if they reactivated?

"I know." Reinhardt sighs heavily. "I can hardly believe it myself." He leans against a tree, folding his arms. "His son must have gone to great lengths to get them."

"Yeah, and that's not shady at all." Brigitte quips sarcastically. She doesn't like this one bit. "This whole situation stinks. What kind of thieves are carting these off?"

Reinhardt strokes his beard thoughtfully. Around his back she can see Andreas picking his way through the rows of omnics. "It could be that the thieves are stealing them to sell. They would fetch a high price, to the right buyer. Or they could be scrapping them, it is impossible to say." He sighs again. "It would do him well to be rid of them, honestly."

As long as they're not falling into the wrong hands, she thinks. How could Andreas even dispose of them now without getting into a whole bunch of legal trouble, short of dumping them into the ocean or burying them? Legal trouble... legal trouble. She has an idea.

"Do you think he would give them to us?" She asks, still watching the old farmer as he walks around the cleaning. "He didn't talk like he was all that attached to them. What if-" She hastens to talk, seeing Reinhardt open his mouth as if to interrupt, "What if we make a deal with him: we'll take care of the thieves, as long as he gives us the omnics? We can either take them ourselves or get Overwatch to. Heck, we could use them for target practice or something." Hah, she thinks she will have to fight her father for possession of them. She's sure he will want to tear them apart, but she would like to study them a little.

"That is..not a bad idea, Shildlein ." Reinhardt sounds a little bit surprised at her suggestion, but not opposed. "It is good thinking. And if he does not agree, we will leave!" He claps a hand on her shoulder and flashes her an approving smile before they head back to Andreas.

The farmer is surprisingly quick to accept the proposal. "Hell, you'd be doin' me a favor, gettin' rid of them things." He grunts, kicking one of the E54's and causing Brigitte to wince. "I'll even help ya move 'em when ya do."

They ride back up to his house and take him up on his offer of refreshment. While there, Brigitte whips up a contract on her holopad, searching the internet to figure out how to make the document legally binding. They don't want to run into any issues down the road, after all. It takes one helpful template and a do-it-yourself website, and in no time at all she has a document that she thinks will cover them decently.

She has Andreas sign and date it, and then they shared a drink. He brews a pot of coffee that is surprisingly tasty and offers them the use of his ATV, which is a pleasant surprise. They both take an extra cup of the coffee with them when they retreat to the van to strategize.

First, they return to the clearing to scout out the nearby woods. It seems logical to Brigitte that the thieves are approaching the clearing from any direction that is not in the direction of Andreas's house, so that is where they will hide before the ambush. Despite examining the ground and woods around where the omnics have been removed, they can find no trace of tracks; it is likely the bandits have repulsors on any vehicles they have. Increasingly as they search she begins to wonder how the thieves found this place at all; the surrounding woods are dense and extensive. Did they perhaps know Andreas's son?

She has Reinhardt stand in the woods, moving him among the trees until he can't be seen from where she stands in the last row of omnics. It will be dark when they lie in wait tonight so that will aid their cover, but she knows that their armor can throw reflections, especially if the thieves have high-powered flashlights.

By a quarter-til 8 they have returned to the van and begin the process of donning their armor, testing their shields and oiling any squeaky joints. Then, it is time. They head back out, the ATV groaning under the added weight of their weaponry. Brigitte stashes the vehicle about a quarter-mile from the clearing, and they take up their posts.

Waiting is her least favorite thing.

One hour in and Brigitte thinks she might fall asleep. It's hot in her armor even though the night is cooling off, and nothing is happening except for the occasional skitter of a squirrel through the trees. She fantasizes for a little while about installing a locking feature into her armor so that she could fall asleep standing up. Perhaps that will be her next prototype...

The night wears on, the half-moon rising high above them. It casts the clearing into a hazy glow, the woods an interminable black around them.

Then, a sound.

There is the rustling of something moving through the trees. Very faint, so quiet that at first she thinks it's just the wind. She perks up, tilting her ear towards the clearing. Sure enough, the rustling becomes louder, and as she watches out of the woods opposite them appears three figures.

They're clad in black, blending with the trees except for the lightness of their exposed skin. They make their way into the clearing, boldly sauntering up to the omnic remains; clearly, they have done this before. One of them pulls something out from a bag that she can't quite make out, while the other two fiddle with their belts. They begin shining lights on the omnics, looking them up and down. She wishes she were close enough to see what they're doing.

One if the-men? She can't quite tell- gestures to an omnic he has been examining and the person with the bag moves forward. He kneels, disappearing from her sight. Next to her Reinhardt shifts slightly. The moment they see them start to move the omnics, they will strike.

Out in the field, a sudden glow of light. A portal winks into being like a huge red eye and the B54 disappears. Her mouth drops open. They have a portal?! That's Vishkar tech! She glances at Reinhardt, who nods to her before donning his helmet. Hard light technology or not, this is the moment they are to strike. They move to the edge of the forest and as they do, her disquiet grows. Normal thieves do not have this kind of advanced hardware. They're working for someone.

The men move on to the next unit, giving it the same treatment. While they are distracted she and Reinhardt close in on them slowly, using the black backdrop of the forest as their camouflage. They are fortunate that the wind masks their approach, otherwise this would be much harder. She fingers the large rock clenched in her hand, waiting for the signal. When the knight gives it with a flick of his gloved fingers, she hurls it hard.

The rock thumps into the grass behind the thieves and they startle, turning toward the noise. At that moment she brings her mace to bear and closes the distance to them with Reinhardt taking the lead. The knight charges and the roar of his rocket booster alerts them; they turn just in time for him to take the closest two out with one sweep of his outstretched arms. She launches the head of the mace at the third man who scrambles out of the way, fumbling for his waist. He pulls out a gun just as she raises her shield.

The sharp reports of gunfire ring out across the field, combining with the resounding crack of Reinhardt impacting the trees. Behind the glow of her shield she can see him recovering from the hit. He had been able to keep ahold of one thief, who lies in a crumpled heap. The other struggles to his feet, halfway between her and the knight. Reinhardt goes after him, hefting his hammer.

She keeps her shield up between her and her attacker, waiting for the right opening. He has his gun pointed at her, and by the flashes of light from the muzzle she can tell he is firing directly at her. He is panicked though and only one bullet impacts her shield, which glows brilliantly as it absorbs the hit. When he fumbles at his waist for a new magazine, she strikes.

Her flail strikes a glancing blow against his arm instead of his head. Damn . Still, it causes him to drop his ammo. The thief glances over his shoulder, sees the gargantuan knight bearing down on his remaining companion-and takes off. He abandons the fight and flees back into the forest where they emerged, giving the preoccupied Reinhardt a wide berth. She alerts her partner with a shout, and he gestures for her to give chase.

Brigitte pursues the fleeing man doggedly. The trees are too close together for her to get a good swing at him, and in the darkness she can barely make him out. She can hear him though, crashing through the brush and speaking urgently in a language she cannot understand. Does he have a comm? Is he calling for backup? Either way, she has to stop him before he escapes!

Ahead of her a light suddenly shines amidst the gloom. A different portal springs up, red light painting the woods in bloody slashes. She can see his silhouette clearly against it, and he is close. This might be her only chance! She takes aim and rockets the end of the flail out, aiming high. She feels the hit connect, sees him tumble onto the ground. Success! As she bounds up to him she jabs him in the back with the butt end of her mace, warning him to stay down and not move.

How does she turn off the portal? She doesn't have time to search him, is certain he would fight her if she tried, which would only delay her. There is only one course of action: she raises her mace and begins to smash at the little white disk on the ground.

It's not working. Vishkar's tech is resistant, she'll give them that. It has to be shielded. If only she had something sharp, she could perhaps pry into the hard-light generator at the center, disrupt the flow-

"Agh!"

Suddenly, a man materializes from the light. Backup! She backs away from the portal as more people pour through, some falling over each other when those that materialize first don't get out of the way. She raises her shield as they spot her, and they aim their weapons in return. The man on the ground shouts in another language; she doesn't need to speak it to understand the tone.

Brigitte retreats, shield up until she's scooted past a large tree. She ducks behind it and turns her back to the men, racing back to the clearing. She anticipates that the trees will provide for her the same cover as it did her target before. She can hear the dull thunk of bullets eating into wood, the ripping sound as they tear through foliage. Once or twice she sees lasers dance on nearby tree trunks. She tucks her chin low, hoping the hard nape of her armor will protect her head.

Through the trees, she can see the hazy glow of moonlight on metal. The clearing! As she stumbles towards it something draws a line of fire on her scalp, but she presses on. Now she can see a brilliant square of light: Reinhardt's shield. He is using it as a beacon to guide her back which is helpful, but it is also makes him an easy target for her pursuers.

"Reinhardt! Your shield!" She calls, hoping the attackers will not understand her. He drops the barrier as she approaches the treeline and she can him standing alone, a crumpled body near his feet.

As she reaches his side she bends over, panting. Running in her armor is very tiring. "They have-backup!" She gasps. "More than four! We-must retreat! I could-couldn't get the portal down!"

"Four? Hardly a challenge!" He laughs, hefting his hammer up from the ground. He has evidently misheard her.

"No, I said-"

But just then there is shouting from the treeline. The attackers have finally spotted them. As more gunfire erupts, Reinhardt's shield bursts back into being. She hurries behind it and readies her mace. She is scared; she doesn't know how many there are, how many more could still be coming.

"Reinhardt!" She yells, sending her flail flying into the chest of a man who gets too close, "We have to go! "

He cannot hear her. The rattle of gunfire and the roar of his hammer as he sends a firestrike into their ranks deafens him to everything around him. Brigitte hunches close to his blind side, thinking furiously. She has to get through to him somehow!

Hot sweat runs down her forehead and into her right eye; she wipes it away, it feels sticky.

Another firestrike topples two of the men. She still can't count how many there are, but if she really focuses on the lasers sights she estimates there are at least ten. She takes their count down to nine by smacking the gun out of another man's hands; by the cracking sound and his pained yell she thinks she might have broken his arm. There's no longer room for fear in her mind. They've dedicated themselves to this fight.

Reinhardt takes another one down with a firestrike aimed horizontally. Brigitte tries to corral the attackers into his hits which proves effective-in dodging her attack, another attacker blunders straight into his, and goes down. She is just beginning to feel optimistic about their chances when a flash of movement catches her eye.

Someone has flanked them! The darkness at their periphery has made her blind to him, but she can see the red dot from the laser as he aims his gun.

Time slows. Her heartbeat rolls like thunder in her chest; booms in her ears. She pivots, bringing her shield to bear just as light flashes from the muzzle of the gun. His bullet misses and she advances on him, mace at the ready. Adrenaline fills her with lightness, quickening her steps.

Her shield glows where his bullets impact, her armor absorbing the shots that skirt the barrier. She darts forward to bring herself into melee range. He tries to back off to a safe distance, but she swings her mace and knocks the weapon from his hands. Heat rolls down her neck, more warmth drips into her eye. Distracted, she raises her weapon again to finish him off but he ducks, reaching for his hip. Brigitte hears a metallic ringing sound as he makes a sharp motion with his hand. When she attacks again, her flail crashes against something hard in midair.

He has some kind of telescoping baton!

Her adversary flicks the baton, trying to tangle it with the chain of her flail and pull her off balance. She reels it back in with a snap. She can't use her mace as effectively anymore, so she goes for something he can't block: a shield bash. She charges in with a yell, and he realizes too late what she's doing. Brigitte hits him full-force, beating at his legs with her mace to take him to the ground. There is a tinny whistling sound in her ear just before something crashes hard into her temple. He's managed to hit her with a wild blow as he drops.

Brigitte isn't even aware of crying out.

Blackness blossoms across her vision; swallowing the rest of her senses. She is able to follow through on incapacitating her grounded assailant through sheer muscle memory; the motion brings her to her knees. Dizziness envelops her; every motion feels like teetering on a tightrope. She tries to fight her way back to her feet, swaying. The ground pitches and yaws; try as she might, she can't regain her footing.

She falls, and darkness takes her.