*Russia: Volskaya Industries*
Lies. Everything was a lie.
He hasn't felt so betrayed for months. After so many years of admittedly little research, he had assumed from all the media's depiction of this place as an obvious fact, only to have it torn down before his very eyes.
"Did global warming hit this place or something?" he asked Lox, who was smiling slightly at his reaction.
"Nope, apparently it can get quite warm in Russia"
"Could've told me before we left" Quillion said, lamenting at the fact that he only brought winter clothing.
"Oh? I thought you'd know" Lox replied, refocusing on the landing procedures.
Quillion said nothing, trying to cope at the fact that there isn't a hint of snow anywhere but instead was met with the heat wave blistering into the shuttle as it hisses open.
"I'm guessing that's Katya Volskaya?" he asked, pointing towards a lone woman standing next to a lifesize replica of a Mech.
"Yup, it must be so cool to have the most powerful woman in Russia to personally come out and greet you" Lox sighed.
"Hey, you fly Overwatch's heroes in and out of combat at a regular basis, you're the cool guy here"
"That's just the job, plenty of other guys are better pilots" he replied, blushing slightly.
Shielding his eyes, Quillion walked down the ramp and towards Katya, habitually scanning for snipers, as she looked quite alone. Surely she would have some sort of protection by default, which he found almost immediately.
He did a double take when the replica moved, its body turning slightly to face him better. Even when the guns were powered down, they made him stop fully in his tracks, Angela's warning about his injuries ringing in his mind.
If his bones break once more, there will be no recovery, and he does not plan to have her or anyone insert mechanics into him, even if he has to endure the constant grinding sensations every time he moves.
Seeing this, Katya spoke to the machine and the cockpit slid open, revealing a weightlifter of a woman, who showed her hands. Encouraged, he approached, only to realize he does not know whether he should salute, bow, or whatever that should be expected when he meets someone of her status. Thankfully she made the first move.
"Welcome to Volskaya Industries, my name is Katya Volskaya" she said, holding out her hand.
"Ma'am, my name is Quillion and I'm here to join the assault team" he said, accepting the handshake.
"Before we do that, we have a proposition for you"
"You're scrawnier than I thought, are you sure you're joining the right team?" the woman in the Mech said suddenly, leaning over to get a better look at him.
"This is Aleksandra Zaryanova, Zarya for short" Katya introduced.
"Thanks. How do you mean err… Ms Zarya?"
"We've read your file. A soldier from the First Omnic Crisis, frozen, then suffered many hardships because of that hacker, and she even manipulated you into fighting for her" Zarya replied, folding her arms.
"Both of you definitely did your homework" he admitted, wondering how on earth they dug that up.
"It just so happens that Russia has need for soldiers, especially one with your experience"
"And if you do well, we can ensure that the rest of your days will be well compensated" Katya added.
Quillion looked at them both, thinking why they would want to recruit him so randomly and suddenly. Even if they knew all about his activities in the last year, they had to be quite desperate if they thought that he would accept their invitation.
Curious, he decided to play along.
"By experience, do you mean someone who knows how a certain hacker works?" he asked.
"Come to my office, I would like to continue this discussion in private" Katya said.
Either it was the sound of the Mech powering up or the fact that the invitation was from one of, if not the most powerful individual in Russia, he did not protest, and was about to take a step when he felt a slight quake, followed by another. He looked over at Zarya to see if it came from her, but she merely smiled and pointed.
Following her finger, his jaw dropped. He had read and seen about these monsters many times in the past year, but it did little to dampen their awe.
A Svyatogor was making its way to its post, each step declaring its presence and technological marvel, as it moved far quicker and smoother than one would've imagined, almost as if it was a real living being instead of a machine.
It was proud too, its posture obviously designed to declare Russia's defiance and grit, but what really stood out, was the multitude of scars that it proudly bore on its arms and chest, confirming its veterancy.
"We call that one The Mountain. In our last battle with the machines, this was the first to charge in and the last to walk out" Zarya said with pride.
"Must've been a sight to behold" he said.
"It was. Not only the crew had to fight the Titans, but also had to fend off the littler ones that had climbed their way in"
"You mean they had to fight the Titans AND any Omnics that went in?"
"Come along now, we don't have a lot of time" Katya called.
Next stop was the factory.
After a quick security check, his eyes were met with so many moving parts that it would make even Torbjorn blush. Though many operations were automated, it looked like many still required the human touch as hundreds of workers were also there, poring over blueprints or checking the many various metals that pumped out of the machines.
Those who saw them stood at attention, reminding Quillion of some sort of military structure, which was odd because he was sure that she was just a politician or something. Then he realized that since she supplies military grade Mechs, guarded by said Mechs, there must be some military presence here.
Now he felt nervous that he did not salute before and that he is pulling a luggage through the factory, to which he immediately picked up so the rollers won't attract too much attention.
Zarya left them and stood guard when they went up the elevator.
"I see you are relieved" Katya said, looking at him.
"Not going to lie, having a giant walking tank next to you all the time is not what I'd call comforting" he replied, which made her smile.
"It's a pity you had not met her when she still has her legs"
"Why?"
"Cause she's scarier with legs than with the Mech. This way" she said, walking out when the doors slid open.
Quillion didn't know what he was expecting, but it would be anything except the very narrow, 3 square feet wide corridor that leads to nothing but a wall. Keeping his mouth shut, he observed as Katya walked towards the wall and beckoned him to follow.
Interestingly, Katya stopped just a square foot before away from the wall, then turned to the wall on the left instead, pressing into a tile, where a hidden panel clicked out, reminding him of how he used to refuel cars.
In the short span of time, Quillion imagined that a secret door would open in front of them, or there would be a reveal that the walls were nothing more than a hologram, or maybe this would be some sort of maze. However, instead of all that, she opened the panel and turned it over to reveal…
Another blank tile.
"Please stand at least one feet from the walls" she said and waited until he did so before placing a finger on it.
Instantly a wall slid down from behind them, cutting them off from the elevator, and a very brief spray of liquid showered over them, obviously a detection method for invisible people. Once that was done, a bell sound could be heard before Katya moved her hand.
He wondered if it was some sort of a tracing password as her finger slid around the panel, but only when she made a particularly sharp adjustment did he feel the room shudder. That's when he realized that they were not in a hallway, rather they were in a moving capsule that must be sliding across the building.
He couldn't even keep track of the movements before they stopped when a door came into view.
"How do you even build this?" he asked.
"This is nothing compared to a Svyatogor. Besides, it is the least we could do to keep Sombra out"
"Well, since I guess it's all manual, she would have some trouble navigating through this"
"It better be. Drink?" she said, opening the door to her office.
"No thank you… Why am I here?" he asked, looking around and couldn't help but compare that it is far larger than Commander Morrison's.
"Like we said, Russia needs someone like you, and we will make it worth your time" she said, pouring a cup of tea for herself.
"You didn't answer my question"
"Before we get to that, you have to promise that you will not repeat our proposal in any way without my expressed permission"
Quillion was speechless. There was no way that information was shared outside of Overwatch, Athena would've let him know if it was. This was either a major coincidence or somehow… Somehow they found a hacker who was just as good as Sombra? Seeing his shocked face, Katya smiled.
"Common, we're all adults here, we don't need to make promises" he laughed shakily, hoping that this was just a coincidence.
"I understand. Having one last penalty would give me pause too"
His heart sank at her words. They know.
"How?" was all he could manage.
"We have eyes and ears everywhere, even within Overwatch"
"What?"
"Come now, you must've seen a steady increase in Overwatch's employment. Do not worry, their only mission was to find out where Sombra was, you were just additional information" she mused "If you promise, I'll let you know how we got that information, because it really was quite easy"
"And what if I don't and just walk out of here?"
"You may, but just so you know, I have a whole department that's interested in your mind, it's nothing but a computer, no? How hard you'd think it'll be for us to… Adjust a few things?" she said.
When Quillion stood up in anger, he heard a faint clatter coming from outside the door, followed closely by what sounded like footsteps, no doubt a group of armed men were waiting outside. Realized he was trapped, he gulped and slowly sat back down, wincing as his bones grinded against each other.
"You think you can fight them all off without breaking anything?" she asked.
He had been naïve. He should've known that powerful people did not earn their positions by playing fair and now he is completely caught in her game. With no way out, he decided to comply for now.
"I promise" he growled, each word poison "I will not repeat your proposal…"
"In any way without my expressed permission"
"... in any way without… Your expressed permission"
"And once you hear it, you have to accept" Katya added, sipping on her tea.
"What?!"
"Say it or we do this the hard way"
Cursing, Quillion did as he was told, hating himself for putting himself into this situation.
"Excellent, now we may begin" she said, setting down her tea and saw his white knuckles "Come come now, don't be like that, this is for the good of everyone"
"I doubt that" he growled.
"To answer your question. We need you because you are not affiliated to any organization and only fight for yourself, so we needed an outsider that we can trust" she began.
"Or blackmail"
She ignored him and waved her hand over the table, showing files of the Talon agents.
"Now, regardings these three (Reaper, Moira, and Sigma), I can handle them" she said, dismissing their files with nothing more than a wave "Who we cannot handle is Sombra. If she succeeds in this mission, then what? I've hunted her for many years and I can promise you, she never lets go of the things she had beaten. Do you have any idea who she has dancing on the palm of her hand? Imagine the chaos when she becomes the new 'Conspiracy'"
"She's definitely not going to replace It" he said.
"She's a manipulator, blackmailer, everything that 'The Conspiracy' rivals. When such individuals battle one another, we must entertain the possibility that the victor will consume the other's resource"
Quillion felt himself slump into his seat. Though he does not trust Sombra, he does know that she had an unending vendetta against the God Program and wishes to destroy it. However, that's when his opinions about her ends, and everything Katya says started to open up more questions.
What if Sombra was doing this to take over?
"What do you want me to do?" he finally asked.
"What we 'need' is your assurance that you will gain her trust, find out her true intentions, and help her destroy the God Program. Once that is done, kill her and discard her body into space"
He broke into a cold sweat. He tried to speak, but only a croak came out as his throat was dry.
"It would probably be easier to just blow up the station or the rocket after we destroy It" he managed.
"Oh please, even I don't have the influence nor money to stop the fallout if I do such a stupid thing"
"Fallout? Of what?"
"The Space Race. India was already making huge leaps in their attempt to catch up with the US and ourselves. If there is even a hint of a problem in our launch or that we are sending terrorists into space, that would completely ruin our image. Plus China still owns the station, if the Russians just destroy it without provocation, it'll be a declaration of war"
"So that's it? Kill her when this is all done? I'm not a murderer"
"Oh? Then why did you go off trying to kill those Talon agents last year? Was it not because they killed off someone dear to you?"
"That's different. They're killers" he seethed through gritted teeth.
"And Sombra tears families apart with her own methods. Just because she has not affected you yet, does not void the severity of her sins. As I said, this is for the good of everyone"
Unable to think of a response, Quillion sat as still as a statue while Katya stood up, trying not to look too pleased with the outcome of the conversation.
"Tell me, how did you know so much about me? How did you get all that info?" he asked.
"My spies just befriended one of the heroes, McCree I think his name was"
*Overwatch: Morrison's Office*
"- it has also been confirmed that Overwatch has assigned their very best to ensure the success of the ceremony, with spectacular heroes such as Tracer and Genji, great minds such as Winston and Mercy, we can be rest assured that everything will be-"
"If only she knew how chaotic it'll be" Morrison grunted, turning off the news.
"Well don't worry boss, we won't let ya down" McCree said, leaning back in his chair.
"Yes, which is why you are staying here"
McCree didn't move at first, carefully replaying each word to make sure he heard him right.
"What?"
"You're staying in the base, I will be going to King's Row"
"Boss, whatever Genji may had said, I can assure you I ain't gonna mess this up"
"McCree…"
"Was it about what happened in India? You gotta trust me when I say this, but he was the one who started it! You gotta trust me on that at least!"
"It is because the God Program will be adjusting her strategy because now all this is public knowledge"
"I- Huh?"
"Think about it, all this is now public information and our proposal have been sent to the UN, you're the only one who is not compulsory to be there"
Fighting the urge to pull out a cigar and smoke, McCree thought about it for a moment and didn't know how to feel. He had always preferred tasks that require less responsibilities, especially when it involved the security of the world. However, to have the rest of Overwatch out fighting while he is safely secured in the base alone? It was unsettling for him.
"Nah boss, I shouldn't be just sitting around in base when everyone is out there" he said, speaking his mind.
"What you'll do here is just as important than us out there"
"Pray tell"
"You'll be here because I trust you that I am assigning you to protect Athena and Ms Lacroix"
"Huh?"
Knowing full well that McCree had not touched any of the files regarding the mission, Morrison spent the next five minutes explaining how the God Program could potentially control those who ate food from the Shambali and because after the last attack, many of Overwatch's own staff have made trips to the temples out of reflex, so there are good reasons to believe that the base has been compromised.
Morrison had purposefully sent those who he knew for sure were clean out of the base and quarantined those who were affected on the island in an attempt to minimize the damage.
"You can't be telling me to shoot our own guys?"
"No, many of them will be under quarantine, but you have to deal with those who might escape. Knowing the God Program, It will definitely have Athena and Ms Lacriox as targets"
"But… Look, I know I'm good, but aren't there lots of access to Athena 'round the base? To have me protect the Misses by running all round the base alone ain't gonna work"
"You do not have to run around, I will be with you the entire time" Athena said, making her presence known.
"How so?" he asked.
"With this" Morrison answered, pulling out a black cylinder from his drawer and placing it on the desk.
"What's that?"
"Something I had the Tech guys cook up, when the time comes, Athena will insert herself into this"
"Can she? Looks kinda small" McCree said, picking it up and peering into it.
"I am a prototype, I am embarrassed to say that it only requires a few Yottabytes to store me" she said.
"Only a few she says" Morrison muttered to himself, glad that Overwatch had the necessary resources and equipment to build the cylinder.
"I guess now comes the question about how many guys I'd have to deal with" McCree said.
"I have already sent many away, but the hundred that's left don't remember if they ate food from the Shambali or not"
"A hundred?" McCree repeated in shock.
"I trust you'll be fine, I'd suggest you get some practice in once the team is done with the Training Centre"
Dismissing McCree, Morrison spent his time looking at the plans that Winston and Hana had sent him and made some adjustments, thinking how they would react to the fact that he just switched with McCree.
He had already pissed off Angela, he hoped that the others would be more forgiving.
*Russia: Volskaya Industries*
Walking out of the factory, Quillion shielded his eyes from the setting sun. He had no idea if his choice was the right one, but he would have plenty of time to wallow in it later, what he needs to do now is find Reinhardt.
"Quallion!" a voice shouted.
"What?" Quillion thought and saw Reinhardt jogging towards him.
"Have you seen Sombra anywhere?" Reinhardt asked, doubling over and catching his breath.
"Did you just call me Qua- Wait, you lost Sombra?!"
"Quick! Help me find her!" he said desperately and took off.
"What about the others?" Quillion said, quickly catching up to him.
"One thing at a time boy" Reinhardt panted, clearly having run around the area for some time.
So they spent the next hour looking for her, combing through every inch of the area. They search crates, containers, vehicle depots, closets, storage rooms, the factory floor, and even poked slightly into the sewers.
As expected, they came up with nothing, and Quillion tried to tell Reinhardt that she must've left the area, but Reinhardt was adamant that she was still around. Not wanting to argue, he looked through the hastily written list that Reinhardt wrote out and noticed something.
"The Library is not on here, have you checked?"
"That dusty old place? There is no way she is there" he said, not seeing the disbelief on Quillion's face.
"Alright, next?" Sombra whispered, her fingers flicking around the screen.
"Wait wait" Winston said, trying to arrange his notes.
They had been trying to hack this system for almost six hours now and the strain is clearly too much for the scientist. His clean smooth fur is now tangled and drenched in sweat, perfectly arranged notes are all over the place, and he had not had peanut butter since she last called him.
"Ten seconds hurry up!"
"Err… Err…"
"Five seconds!" she said in a hushed harsh tone, looking around and fingers trembling for instructions.
"Hold on! Alright, got it, try-"
"Don't bother" she said, dejected as the words 'Failed' illuminated on the screen.
Sombra rubbed her eyes angrily. She had Athena create three firewalls that hopefully mimicked the Shambli Monks (which they also hoped that it would be a basic 'entry' level to the God Program's firewalls) and they couldn't even hack through the first one, all because Winston kept messing up.
"We need a break. I need a break" Winston sighed, taking off his glasses.
"No. We've only got 11 days left, we just need to hack through the first wall"
As she was speaking, she heard the front doors slam open and a voice that she had hoped to avoid since his arrival.
"See? She is not here, let us go" Reinhardt said loudly, his booming loud voice immediately garnering a lot of 'shh' from the visitors and librarian.
"Fine, we'll continue this later" she said and disconnected the call.
Hoping that Rienhardt would be escorted out by security, she rubbed her eyes again, both burning from staring at the screen too long. It was bad enough that she needed Winston's help to understand the codes, but ever since the big Crusader arrived, his very presence has created a sense of fear in her. She had gambled that someone like him would never suspect that she would be tucked away in one of the study rooms of a public library, purely because he does not look like a reading type, but it obviously failed.
"Never thought I'd find you so easily, or to see you so stressed out" Quillion said.
"Oho? The soldier returns" she replied, not removing her hand.
"Expecting me?"
"Honestly, no. When did both of you change your minds?"
"Both of us?"
"Common, don't play dumb, I bet she's right next to you right now" she said and looked for Amelie "Or not, I guess she went to sleep or… Whatever she does?"
"She's not in Russia"
"Funny, here I thought both of you were inseparable"
"I thought so too" he said, keeping his voice casual.
Sombra eyes him for a second before shrugging.
"Sounds like there's trouble in paradise, just grab a prisoner on Death's Row and let her kill him or something, she should calm down after-"
A clattering sound came from outside the door and before she could dive under the table or turn invisible, Reinhardt strode in, ignoring the librarian clinging on one of his massive arms.
"Aha! There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" he laughed.
"Please be quiet, you are in a library!" the librarian begged.
"This is an important business friend" Reinhardt told him and pushed him out of the room.
"Now, to business, Sombra-" he continued, pulling out something from his pocket that earned a loud groan from Sombra "-something is wrong with my phone. It is so slow!"
"First it was a laptop, then it was the WiFi, then the email, and now this?! I already told you I'm not tech support!"
"I know, I know. I'm just not very good with computers"
Quillion burst out in laughter when Sombra looked like she was about to explode in anger. After everything that has just happened, this was just comical.
"Have you tried turning it off and on...?" she finally sighed, gulping her emotions down.
"Does that actually work? I thought that was a myth, I shall do that!" Reinhardt said, walking away.
"I can't imagine how that girl tolerates him" Sombra said, burying her face into her hands.
"Brigitte? I doubt that he bothers her with stuff like that" Quillion chuckled "Where's the others?"
"Reaper's keeping the other two in check, which is weird. I've never seen him so… Tame…"
"Think his time in the sub had something to do with it? Or Morrison's challenge?"
"Nope. He's up to something"
"Like you?"
"You should know better than to ask me that question. What? Missed us already? Doubt that was the reason why you changed your mind" she smirked.
"After some thought, I realized that this really is the best shot we have to stop the God Program, so here I am"
'Aww well, the more the merrier. Oh, just a tip, best avoid meeting Katya before discussing it with me" Sombra yawned, stretching.
"What do you mean?" he asked, trying not to sound guilty.
"Let's just say that both of us have a complicated friendship, but you know us gals, we always want to kill one another"
"Aha... Well, I guess after this mission you guys don't have to be close to each other anymore eh? Can't imagine what you'd do after all this"
"Well, once we beat The Conspiracy then you'll know" she said, yawning again "Common, let's go, I'll show you where everyone's stayin'"