Siege
Transmission to all Talon forces.
"The world changed after the Crisis. While it may have been a victory, every country realised that their best soldiers and weaponry weren't enough. It took the world creating Overwatch in order to bring the war to an end. What was the thanks they were given? They were shut down, told they weren't needed and that they would be arrested for ever helping again. The world took a step backwards that day.
Humanity is always being tested. War is the crucible to which we evolve. Only through conflict will we evolve and become stronger than we ever could imagine. Yet the world has not risen up to the newest test. So we must make them all wake up and rise to the new challenge.
They may take our bases, yet we create new ones faster than they destroy them. Despite their best efforts, our true plan has not been halted or disrupted. Our next attack will not only cause chaos for the United States, but it will also make the world realise Talon's true power.
Each one of you are part of a greater plan to better our world, and once that goal has been completed, your names will be remembered. For all of those who fail to rise up, their names will be forgotten.
We will no longer hide away in the darkness. We will no longer be labelled nothing more than a terrorist organisation. Soon, Talon will become the catalyst for our species evolution. Then nothing will stand in our way. No country. No army. Not even Overwatch will have the power to stop us."
50 minutes after transmission
"What's Talon planning Gabe? Where are they attacking?" Sombra asked, deeply troubled by what she just heard. She was quite a distance away from her villa and was currently hidden out of sight down a small alley. She had no idea where Reyes was currently. She just assumed that he was himself hidden out of sight, making sure Talon didn't find out about his true motives, whatever they may be.
"I don't know. I'm out of the loop since I've been too busy looking for you and Widow. Not that I'm making much progress. Apparently you're a little difficult to track down."
Sombra took that as a compliment. "I decide when I'm found Gabe. How close are Talon to finding out Widow's still alive?"
"Very close. Moira's the one looking at the bodies and she already suspects that Widow's gone rogue. At best we're looking at a few days before she confirms it."
"And at worst?"
"A few hours."
Sombra sighed. She knew this would happen. She just expected to have a little more time before it became a reality. There were many things that she still wanted to know, yet she knew Reyes didn't know the answers to most of her questions. In the end, she had to ask at least some.
"Gabe, can I ask you a few things?"
"Go ahead." Reaper's tone was different to what it normally was. Instead of being harsh and unforgiving, it sounded friendly, or at least as friendly as he could sound.
"You told Overwatch about Widow, didn't you?"
Reyes didn't try to hide the answer. "Yes I did. As much as I hate to admit it, they're likely in the best position to help her. She needs people who knew her before all of this."
"And what about me?"
"They know what you did. That should give you some options for what to do next."
Sombra smiled to herself. She couldn't really imagine herself working with Overwatch or if they'd even want her help. Then again, maybe it was time for her to change her lifestyle. She didn't agree with what Talon were doing and helping Widow actually felt... right. Maybe she should try and help Overwatch. In the end, she pushed the thought aside, deciding that it was something Widow and herself needed to discuss at a later date.
"And what about you? You never said why you were doing this or what happens afterwards."
Reaper didn't answer immediately and a long pause followed as he thought over the answer. It was only after Sombra pushed him again that he finally gave an answer.
"I made a promise a long time ago to get her back. Now that she's free, she has someone else to look out for her. As for what happens to me... we'll see. I have unfinished business at Talon."
"That sounds like you're saying goodbye."
"Frankly Sombra, I hope you never have to contact me again. That means Amelie's safe and out of danger. Is that the case?"
"I hope it is."
"Then record what I'm about to say."
Washington DC- 10:45am the next day
It was business as usual for the city. The sun shone down on the citizens and tourists, occasionally being hidden by one of the clouds in the sky. It wasn't enough to put anyone off visiting the various landmarks and tourists flocked to the area.
Groups of tourists took tours of the area, including some in the inside of the Capitol building and a select few inside the White House. Out of sight however, the President was sitting in the Oval Office, in the middle of an important phone call.
"How much did we learn from Nevada?" The President asked the head of the CIA, who was currently the person on the other end of the call.
"Not as much as we wanted. There's some details about an incoming attack somewhere in America, however we don't know where or when. The surviving British team from the base managed to extract a woman, linked to the attack on Vishkar. However she's in really bad shape and currently's unconscious. To be honest, we're not even sure if she'll survive."
"Damn it! We need to stop this attack before they get the chance to strike. Hundreds could be killed if we don't act!"
"I understand that sir but we don't have any concrete intel to go off. There's various high profile targets that could be attacked and various large profile events going on across the country. It's almost impossible to know where they'll strike."
The President sighed. "Did we manage to find out anything else?"
"No sir. Talon knew we'd found the base. They had someone on the inside and that's why the control centre was rigged to blow. We only got what they wanted us to know. I have all my people looking at this right now, trying to find out where Talon plans to strike."
What no one knew was that trouble was a lot closer than they thought. Inside the Capitol building, a tour group were passing through. They all passed through the security checks and every one of them was clean. However, no one had realised that two of the tourists, a middle aged man and woman that seemed to be a couple, were hiding something. They broke off from the group to go to the nearby toilet. Inside one of the cubicles, which was marked 'out of order,' they found two rucksacks, ready to be collected. Moments later, they left the toilet, joining back up with the tour group and continuing on.
No one caught on to what had just happened. No one questioned why the two had just appeared with two bags they didn't have before. There was many reasons for this. One was that all bags were checked multiple times and with multiple different methods before anyone could enter the building. Another was that the security was not watching the area and the two made sure to avoid any cameras. It was almost like someone had helped them along, someone with expert knowledge on how to avoid the security in the building.
It wasn't until ten minutes later that the couple split apart. They went to two specific points in the building and placed their bags on the floor, opening them. Inside were a large button and a timer, which both of them pressed. The timer suddenly sprung to life, counting down from thirty seconds.
"Excuse me sir. Everything alright?" One of the security guards had now noticed the odd behaviour and had moved over to investigate. The man simply reached back into his bag and removed a handgun, making sure that the guard didn't see it in time.
"Yes. Everything's fine." He quickly spun around and gunned down the guard. Tourists began to scream as a fight broke out between the guards and the couple, the woman also pulling out a handgun and joining with her partner. The fight was short lived, as the man and woman were gunned down in a matter of seconds. It was only then that the security realised what had been placed by them and they had no time left to react.
The Capitol building was suddenly engulfed in flames, as an explosion roared through the centre of the building. The explosion was powerful enough to be seen from a distance and people in view turned and stared in disbelief at what they were seeing. A massive part of the building collapsed soon after, no longer able to hold itself up due to the damage the explosion caused.
"What the hell was that?" The CIA director asked, hearing the loud explosion from the other end of the phone.
Without warning, numerous agents entered the Oval Office, including the security chief of the White House.
"Mr President, there's been an attack at the Capitol. I'm locking down the White House, we need to get you to the bunker."
The call was immediately ended, the security of the President now taking priority. Anyone not important was ordered to leave the building, leaving a small army of agents and police ready to fight.
The President was rushed through the White House, heading towards the location of the bunker while agents and armed guards surrounded him. Within minutes the President was inside the bunker and the door sealed. With his safety confirmed, the staff in the bunker began their reports.
"Sir, emergency services will arrive at the Capitol in two minutes. Military units are on standby, ready to respond if needed."
"How on earth did they get a bomb inside the Capitol?"
"Unknown sir. The situation is developing."
While civilians fled from the area, emergency services rushed towards the burning Capitol building, hoping to save any survivors. The defences in the area were also activated, making sure that no aircraft could get close to any of the key buildings. As the first response units arrived, it seemed that the worst was over.
Unfortunatly for the city, the attackers had other ideas. At one of the defence systems an army truck pulled up and a group of armed soldiers quickly disembarked. However, these were not American soldiers. Anyone nearby had a mere few seconds to look at the troopers before they opened fire and everything suddenly became clear. They were Talon.
One of the troopers was carrying a rocket launcher and fired at the defence system. As the rocket impacted, shards of metal flew away from the explosion, injuring those who were unfortunate enough to be nearby. This was replicated at several other sites, leaving a hole in the airspace that was now open for anyone to fly through. Talon dropships followed shortly after, landing near the damaged Capitol building, right next to a group of police. They had little time to react, some managing to jump behind their cars, while others fell victim to the overwhelming amount of firepower that came as the dropship doors opened.
The ships landed, unloading dozens of squads onto the streets. The nearby police could not hope to stop them and were soon the victims of a one sided battle. More officers appeared, along with numerous agents and armed security in the area. As the Talon soldiers clashed with the defenders, Doomfist emerged from one of the dropships. He didn't bother to take cover, instead walking in clear view as the enemy were forced to retreat, simply unable to deal with the numbers Talon had.
He smirked at the sight he saw. Talon had taken some losses, yet they were nothing compared to the losses that the Americans just took. Phase one of his plan had been an outstanding success. He walked over to a commander, who saluted as he reached him.
"Commander. Continue onto phase two."
"Yes sir!" The commander turned to the small army at his disposal. "Alright, we've broken through and used our element of suprise. Now push on towards the main target. MOVE!"
Everyone acknowledged the order, aiming their weapons and heading in the direction that the fleeing forces ran. Straight towards the White House. Before he followed, Doomfist looked towards the Washington monument, smirking once again.
"All ships, continue with the plan."
Any dropships that were on the ground took off, most falling back so that they weren't destroyed during the fight. However, a small group remained and one of them headed straight to the Washington monument. The pilot primed his weapons and two missiles were fired. For everyone in view, time almost slowed as the missiles flew towards their target, impacting near the base of the monument. It soon crumbled down, demoralising those who were defending the city and killing people who were in the way of the falling debris. Once the monument had fallen, an air raid siren began. The city was now a war zone.
"All forces, Talon are attacking the city. We are under attack! I say again, we are under attack! We need an immediate military response now!"
The chief of security looked at the screens in front of him, seeing the army of Talon soldiers approaching the building. Despite all the forces they had, he didn't like their chances.
"Mr President. I don't think we can hold the White House. They're very well equipped and Doomfist is with them." Everyone in the bunker turned to the chief. They hadn't even arrived and he was already admitting defeat.
The President meanwhile understood why he was thinking this and he honestly agreed with him. Talon possessed military grade equipement and had numbers far larger than expected. On top of that, they just tore through their defences without any trouble. "What do you think we should do?"
"We need to go to plan B."
Meanwhile, the Talon forces had arrived at their next target. The security had fallen back to the main building and snipers had been deployed to the roof. The fence was now the only thing between them and Talon. This offered very little resistance to the heavily equiped Talon forces, who used explosives to blow a large hole in it. They took losses while doing this and while they advanced through the hole. The snipers took shot after shot, only stopping briefly to reload, before continuing with their barrage.
Eventually, the Talon commander ordered his own snipers to return fire, resulting in a drawn out fight between them. Both sides lost troops, however, in the end, the snipers on the roof were forced to withdraw, as the fight had allowed the rest of Talon the chance to move forward.
With the snipers too occupied fighting each other, the Talon forces now had a new issue to overcome. Some troopers managed to reach the door, however, they could not get inside due to how well defended it was. Doomfist could likely break through the door in seconds, yet he was holding back, preferring the soldiers to give their lives over his. Even though he was wearing Talon armour to protect himself, he wasn't suicidal.
In the end, it took two of the dropships to make any significant progress. As two ships approached the area, the anti-air defences turned and engaged. Both ships launched as many missiles as they could before they were shot down. One ship managed to take out a SAM site on the roof, yet this was one of many and it wasn't enough to stop the ships being shot down.
The other ship aimed at the doors and the building itself. Sure enough, the missiles found their mark and the doors were blown to pieces. Several missiles also impacted the building, temporarily stopping those at the windows from fighting back due to the damage. This gave Talon the edge once again and allowed a greater number of troopers to reach the main door. Doomfist also took the opportunity to move up, following the commander into the White House.
With the main entrance compromised, the defending forces now had one single objective. Protect the President at all costs. They managed to delay the enemy for quite a while, however, they were all slowly pushed back further into the building. Even those at the windows now withdrew, having more enemies to deal with on the inside than the outside.
Talon split its forces up, each soldier following the orders they had been given. Take the White House. They certainly had the advantage in the fight. Most of the forces inside were either police or agents and they lacked the training or equipment possessed by a soldier. They did put up a very good fight and Talon were unable to push into certain areas due to how well fortified they actually were.
Doomfist meanwhile walked through the building, followed by his personal squad of highly trained soldiers. They cut down anyone in the way with ease and soon, they were near the entrance to the bunker. However, their easy advance was now halted, as a small group of agnts had moved to protect the bunker, armed with assault riffles and pistols. It was clearly a last ditch attempt to stop them.
As the two sides began fighting, Doomfist grew more impatient. He expected them to put up a fight, however he now just wanted to continue forward. As his elite squad lost a couple of troopers, Doomfist powered up his gauntlet and shot forward.
His sudden appearance caught the defenders by complete suprise and one agent was unfortunate enough to be in the way of the rocket punch. He was sent flying backwards, impacting the wall behind and killing him instantly. Doomfist turned to another two agents, using seismic slam to stun them, before firing his weapon twice, killing them both.
As Doomfist powered up another rocket punch, forcing the agents to try and take cover, the squad of Talon soldiers took the opportunity to move up, taking out some of the agents as they tried to avoid Doomfist. As another two agents fell against Doomfist, their were only three left to hold the line. One was killed almost instantly, being shot in the head by the Talon commander. The other two began to fire at Doomfist, trying to take him down before the inevitable happened.
They weren't able to fire for long, as Doomfist shot forward once again, hitting both of the agents with a single rocket punch. The two agents were sent flying backwards into the wall behind them, which just so happened to be the wall that hid the presidential bunker, causing it to fall apart as the agents flew through it.
While a few shots landed, Doomfist wasn't injured, thanks to his armour stopping the bullets. The agents meanwhile were in far worse condition. One was killed by the impact, while the other was left lying on the stairs down, crippled. As the Talon squad walked past, Doomfist didn't even acknowledge the wounded person below him. The commander on the other hand pulled out his pistol, firing at the agent as he walked past. Now only the door to the bunker was in their way.
"Maybe we should try knocking?" One Talon trooper joked.
"What a good idea."
Doomfist stepped towards the reinforced door, finding the perfect location to hit it. Once he found what he considered a weak point, he powered up a rocket punch and hit the door. The impact ripped it straight off the wall it was connected to and then made it crash into the wall behind it.
"That's disappointing. I thought that door was reinforced?" One Talon trooper commented.
"It was." Doomfist replied, stepping through the large hole and walking down the corridor, his squad not far behind.
As they walked the short distance, they noted how the fighting upstairs had faded. With no radio communication to say otherwise, this meant that Talon had all but won. There was little resistance left in front of them and Doomfist gripped the final door in his way, waiting for his squad to move into position.
Moments later, the door was ripped away and two flashbangs thrown inside the room. Those inside were left blinded as Talon rushed inside and fired. It was a slaughter, with everyone inside being killed apart from one person. Doomfist fired at his legs, incapacitating him while his soldiers finished off everyone else. With everyone else dead, Doomfist picked up the person he injured, gripping his neck as he lifted them up off the ground.
However, this was not the person that Doomfist wanted to get to. That person was no where to be seen. Right now, he had the chief of security in his hand.
"Where is the President?" He asked, his voice showing his frustration.
"I don't talk to terrorists." The cheif replied, trying to free himself from Doomfist's grip. This happened a few seconds later, as the hand around his neck let go.
Doomfist listened carefully, taking note of the lack of fighting. "Talon just took over the White House. I think we just proved were a lot more than terrorists. Now, where is the President?"
The cheif remained defiant, raising his finger at Doomfist. He replied by firing his hand cannon into his chest, the chief dying a few moments later.
With the cheif of security dead, Doomfist looked around the room and noticed a wall panel that appeared to have been moved. He walked over and removed the panel, finding a tunnel behind it.
"The secret tunnels, not even on the official plans. I thought these were just a myth." Before anyone could move into the tunnel, the commander spoke up.
"Sir, US military response is minutes away and they outnumber us three to one. We need to fall back."
Doomfist knew his commander wasn't exaggerating. If he said they had to retreat, they needed to do just that. So he nodded his head. "Very well, order the troops to fall back."
"Yes sir. All units, fall back!"
Doomfist was soon out of the building, followed by his squad of soldiers and a dropship landed on the front garden.
The air defences were now offline thanks to the rest of the Talon army. With Doomfist and his squad aboard, the dropship took off and sped away from the city, activating a special stealth system to hide themselves from the incoming reinforcements. Another three dropships managed to take off, full of Talon soldiers, before the army arrived a mere few moments later.
The army quickly began to attack Talon, jets taking back air superiority and shooting down any dropships they saw. One tried to fly towards the Lincoln memorial, intending to destroy it before it was shot down. However, one American pilot caught onto the plan and moved to intercept. It fired a missile at the ship, forcing it to use flares. They proved to be of little use, as another missile followed shortly after, hitting its target and causing it to crash to the ground in a fiery mess, stopping it from causing any more damage.
With their escape route gone, the remaining Talon forces attempted to fight the incoming military. Despite their equipment, it was a hopeless move, as the military had brought in tanks as well as overwhelming forces. While the fight was long, the Americans eventually retook the city.
The President meanwhile had managed to escape down the tunnel system, being picked up by the military moments after they arrived in the city. Despite everything that had happened, Talon had failed to get to him.
While the army took back control of the city, Doomfist was busy removing his armour. He may not like wearing it but he had to admit that his scientists had done a good job with its design. As the final piece came off, he received a call from Moira.
"Doomfist here."
"We have a problem. I've checked every single body from the base and Lacroix isn't here."
"Are you suggesting that she's gone rogue?"
"Unfortunately, it seems so. Sombra is an extraordinary person but it's very unlikely she managed to take down Amelie. On top of that, I now know the dropship was destroyed using a device that had to be connected to the ships controls. There's no way she could have gotten it inside without someone seeing."
"So, you believe Lacroix had a hand in the bases destruction?"
"It's possible, though I can't confirm it. Either way, Sombra couldn't cause that much damage without help. That means she either took Widowmaker prisoner, something that's also very unlikely, or Widowmaker is now a rogue element."
Doomfist sighed. Widow was their best agent, yet if she was indeed rogue, she could end up becoming a very big problem. Her knowledge of Talon was one thing but if her skills were used against them...
"Inform Reyes of this development and tell him the orders stand. If he cannot bring her back, terminate her."
Watchpoint Gibraltar- One hour after the attack
"Hundreds dead and hundreds more left injured after the worst attack on the United States since the Omnic Crisis. Eye witness accounts state that Talon have directly attacked the city, causing large amounts of damage to iconic landmarks and key structures across the city.
While details are currently sketchy, the Pentagon has confirmed that the President is safe and has been evacuated to a secure location. We will keep you up to date as this story develops."
News of the attack on Washington has spread like wildfire. The entire world was talking about it. Now everyone in the lab was standing, staring at the pictures that Athena showed them. Even the Bastion was watching, letting out long, sad bleeps as it saw the destruction. The only ones absent were Genji, Zenyatta and Hanzo, who had all left the lab to meditate outside after seeing the news.
"Micheal said something big was coming." McCree said, remembering the conversation he had with the former Blackwatch agent back in Egypt. "I just never expected this."
"No one expected it." Torbjorn replied, sitting down towards the back of the lab. "Washington's supposed to be one of the most secure places in the world."
"Talon just showed everyone what they're capable of." Brigitte added, sitting down next to her father.
"Now do you see why I didn't want you involved?" Torb asked his daughter, hoping she now realised what she was getting herself into. "It's dangerous."
Brigitte understood what her father was trying to do. He didn't want her hurt and she was glad he worried about her. Yet her mind was already made up. "I sorry dad but seeing this... all it does is make me more determined. I can't just stand by and let this happen. Not when you're out there fighting to stop it."
Torb didn't try to agrue, knowing that changing Brigitte's mind was near impossible. "I know I've said this before, but please be careful. I can't stand the thought of losing you, or seeing you hurt the way I was."
"I will. I promise."
Torb's concern for his daughter was genuine, however, Morrison wanted to make sure everyone else knew what they were here for. "Torb makes a good point. Talon just showed us all what they can do. They're extremely dangerous and it's very likely that people will die. If you're not up to this, now is the time to walk away."
"No way I am leaving." Lucio instantly replied.
"Me neither." DVa added.
"I will not let that happen to my country." Zarya said, cracking her knuckles as she spoke.
"Our world is worth fighting for." Mei said, while snowball flew around her, clearly agreeing as well.
Morrison now turned to McCree and Reinhardt, who hadn't given their reply. "What about you two?"
McCree simply looked towards Morrison, giving him a questioning look. "You really need an answer? There's no way we're missing this."
"Justice will be done." Reinhardt added.
With his concerns gone, Morrison turned and walked to the upper level, where Winston and Ana were looking for any intel regarding Talon's next move.
"Winston, tell Oxton to get back here ASAP."
"Jack..." Ana began, knowing she needed to tell him about Widow. "She found Amelie and Sombra... if she comes back here, she'll likely bring them as well."
"Isn't that up to Winston? It's his house."
Winston turned to face Morrison. "Jack, you're the strike commander of Overwatch..."
"Was. Past tense."
Winston rolled his eyes. "Can't you see. Everyone listens to you. If Talon truly has that capability, then the world will react... and it's very possible that the Petras Act will be revoked..."
"What he's trying to say is that they need you." Ana interrupted, taking over from Winston since she knew her voice carried more weight for him.
"Overwatch fell under my command. Reyes turned against me because of how I lead things. I'm not the person that should be in charge."
"There were many reason Overwatch fell, none of them were your fault. Gabriel was simply part of a much larger puzzle. You need to stop blaming yourself for the past. You are the best person to lead Overwatch."
Morrison did indeed listen and he did admit Ana had a point. However, he still wasn't convinced. "I don't know..."
"At least consider it Jack."
"I'll think about it. For now, my advise on this situation is that Amelie and Sombra should be brought back here. Both are very valuable assets."
Winston nodded in response, dialling Lena shortly after.
"Hey big guy."
"Have you seen the news?"
"Unfortunately. I didn't know they were that strong."
"No one did. We need you back here."
"Yeah we're almost ready to move. I'll text when we're in the air."
Authors note
Hey everyone
So bit of a shorter chapter this time, hope you don't mind. The reason for this is because it didn't feel right putting anything else after the attack, especially since this was a major plot point. It just didn't feel like it flowed very well. The next chapter should be back to normal length.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and see you next time :)