Unanswered Questions
Overwatch dropship- Ten minutes from Busan
It was a trip DVa didn't want to make.
She wanted to believe that Myung hadn't been compromised, that she wasn't working with Talon. However, she couldn't deny that something wasn't right.
So, here she was. Herself, along with DMon, Casino and Sombra were currently heading towards the MEKA base, intending to get the truth from Myung herself.
The pilots hadn't spoken much during the trip. The three of them knew what their mission was and what was at stake. Their commanding officer going rogue was personal to them. They had to get the truth, no matter what.
Sombra meanwhile had been busy on her computer, digging up whatever information she could find on the MEKA captain. She'd managed to find out some of her whereabouts before the Talon mission to MEKA, yet nothing that confirmed she was up to something. In fact, Sombra could tell that someone had tried to cover up her movements recently.
Due to this, Sombra changed her approach. She began hacking her way into MEKA itself, making sure she wasn't discovered, in order to find out what Talon were after. While she did so, Sombra ran several searches at the same time regarding Myung herself, hoping to find out more about the captain.
As they neared their destination, the searches returned their results. Sombra quickly brought up the relevant information, finally finding images from a camera, along with a profile of Myung herself.
"Now that's interesting."
"What is?" DVa asked, standing from where she was seated and walking over to the hacker.
"Look at this." Sombra replied, as Hana looked over her shoulder. "Myung recently met up with someone and they took great effort to not be noticed."
DVa watched the camera feed, seeing Myung standing on a street corner, well out of the main city. A black car soon drove up, picking her up and driving off. After a few minutes, the car reappeared, dropping the captain off in the same spot, before driving off, leaving Myung to slowly walk away.
"Any idea who's in that car?" DVa asked.
"No. The angle of the camera means I can't see anything that I can search. Someone's gone to great length to try and hide Myung's movements recently."
"Okay. Something's definitely going on."
"Exactly. On top of that, I think I may have found a motive." Sombra brought up another page, containing information on Myung's personal life. "She's married and has a kid, a young boy. They had a decent amount of money coming in and had a pretty good life. That was until recently, when her husband lost his job."
"So, if they're only living off her wages and struggling for money, she might be more than willing to take a payment from Talon." Hana concluded, as the other two pilots now walked over.
"Or maybe Talon just threatened her family and she was forced to work with them?" Yuna suggested, overhearing most of the conversation.
"Maybe." Sombra said, shrugging as she closed her computer. "It wouldn't be too hard for any old hacker to find out about her family, so it's a possibility. However, it doesn't explain why they paid her off afterwards. Why bother if you're forcing her to work with you?"
It was a question that no one had chance to answer, as the dropship began its final approach to the MEKA base. DVa had radioed ahead and the base was expecting an Overwatch dropship, along with a few pilots. What they weren't expecting though was Sombra, something she specifically told Hana not to mention.
"So, how are we doing this?" Yuna asked. "We can't exactly just go up to Myung and accuse her of being a traitor."
DVa thought for a moment. "We need to get her alone, so that she'll be more willing to talk to us. That won't be too difficult, we just ask her to talk 'off the record' and she'll head straight for her office. What I'm worried about is how she'll react when we show her what we know. She could just pull a gun out and try to kill us..."
"Well, I have an idea." Sombra suggested, gaining the attention of the three pilots. "I could go invisible and follow you to her office, then stay undetected while you interrogate her. I've looked over the plans for the base and know I can get there without being detected. If she tries anything, then I'll be in the best position to stop her. Then we can proceed once we know if she's Talon or not."
"It's not a bad idea." Hana admitted, not having many other good ideas herself. "Alright, lets go with that. Yuna, stay with the dropship in your Meka, in case Myung tries to make a run for it."
"What about us?" Casino asked. "If we end up in a fight, we'll only have our pistols."
"Don't worry about it." Sombra replied, answering before Hana could speak. "If that happens, then I'll get your Meka's to you."
As the dropship came in to land, the occupants made sure their weapons were loaded and ready. Sombra activated her computer once again, this time accessing the systems for DVa's and Casino's Meka's and making sure she could control them if it came to it. As the dropship touched down, she activated her cloak, dropped a translocator out of sight and then remained silent, following DVa and Casino out.
Outside the dropship was Captain Myung, standing with her arms folded while being flanked by two soldiers. In the background, several new recruits could be seen training in their Meka's and DVa considered they may have been her teams replacements while they were at Overwatch.
"DVa. I take it this isn't a social call." Myung said, skipping past any pleasantries.
"No ma'am. I needed to speak to you about something urgently."
The captain nodded her head, understanding that it was related to Overwatch. "Very well. Lets head somewhere more private."
The small group made their way to Myung's office, the two soldiers waiting outside while Myung, DVa and Casino headed inside. Hana hoped that Sombra was still with them, though it was something she couldn't worry about right now.
"So, I'm assuming this is an 'off the record' talk then?" Myung asked, sitting herself down behind her desk.
"In a way ma'am."
"In a way? Mind clarifying what you mean?"
DVa reached into her pocket and pulled out a small drive, placing it on the desk. "I was wondering if you could explain any of this?"
Myung was puzzled at first, leaning forward to pick up the small drive and inserting it into her computer. However, after reading through the contents for a few moments, her posture changed, sitting straight up in her chair.
"Interesting intel you have here Song."
"Indeed." Hana dryly replied. "Seems you've got some explaining to do ma'am."
The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence, as DVa saw Myung tense up, assuming she was considering her next move. She folded her arms, while Casino moved his hand over his pistol, ready in case Myung tried something.
The MEKA captain remained seated, staring at the information on her computer, while glancing up at the two pilots in front of her. After a few moments, Myung sighed, knowing what her next move had to be.
"I suppose I do..."
The MEKA captain suddenly reached for something under her desk, far too fast for the two pilots to react to it. Fortunately, Myung was stopped in her tracks, as Sombra appeared next to her, aiming her SMG at the captains head.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you... and don't bother with your panic button. I've blocked every signal out of this room."
Myung placed her hands back on the desk, allowing Sombra to reach underneath and pull out a concealed handgun, equipped with a silencer. She passed it over to DVa before taking a few steps back, keeping her weapon aimed at Myung at all times.
"Now, perhaps you could clarify a few details for us. Why did you sell MEKA out?"
Myung looked towards Sombra, then to DVa and Casino, before letting out a deep breath. "I didn't have much of a choice..."
"You mean Talon forced you?" DVa asked, with a glimmer of hope.
"Talon knew that my family were having money troubles, knew that my husband had lost his job... so, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse."
"They didn't threaten them?"
Myung looked up towards DVa. "I think them knowing about my family was a threat in itself. You can see why I had no other option..."
"No." Hana cut her off, not letting the commanding officer finish. "You had a choice. You could have asked for help. Hell, I'm with Overwatch, on your own recommendation. You could have asked me to help."
"Overwatch don't exactly have the best record for keeping people safe. They couldn't even protect their own families..."
There was regret in Myung's voice, that much was clear. Hana couldn't help but feel sorry for her. All she was just trying to was protect her family. Despite this, Hana still had a job to do. Myung had sold them out and potentially would do it again.
"Casino, go and get someone to escort Captain Myung away. Sombra, I can handle things from here."
Casino quickly left, while Sombra turned herself invisible again, leaving DVa and Myung alone in the office. DVa kept the silenced pistol aimed at her former Captain, an uneasy silence filling the room once again. Myung didn't even look at her. She couldn't look at her. She knew Hana was right but she did what she thought was best at the time.
The silence didn't remain for long, a squad of soldiers appearing after a few minutes. They didn't even hesitate, ordering Myung to stand up, putting her in handcuffs and leading her out of the office, towards the cells. The one soldier stopped and placed a hand on Hana's shoulder.
"Nice find ma'am."
Hana just slowly nodded once. This wasn't a victory and it felt nothing like a good find. "Need us to hang around?"
"If you could. We need to report this and it'll be easier if you're here to explain what's happened."
Hana gave a sharper nod. "Yeah. Sure thing."
The soldier left, leaving Hana alone with her thoughts. She was brought back to reality by someone placing an arm around her. When she couldn't see anyone next to her, it became obvious that it was Sombra.
"You okay?" The hacker asked, appearing next to the pilot once she was satisfied it was all clear.
"Yeah, I'm okay... I just... I just never expected Myung of all people to betray us... I should have know... Did we even do the right thing? She was just scared for her family..."
"I understand." Sombra said, cutting DVa off. "It's a shock that she's done what she did, especially for you... but I think you did the right thing. We couldn't trust her and it's certainly not your fault for not knowing about this."
"Yeah... I suppose you're right. You better head back to the dropship. It might be a little difficult explaining who you are."
"That's fair... You sure you're okay?"
"I'll be alright... Thanks Sombra."
Sombra gave DVa a smile, before activating her translocator and teleporting back to the dropship. She explained what had happened to DMon, who climbed out of her Meka, knowing it was no longer needed.
Before Sombra could do anything else though, an alert from her computer went off. The hacker moved to the side of the dropship and brought up the screen. However, upon reading the item in question, she froze up. It was an action that didn't go unnoticed by Yuna.
"Everything okay?"
Sombra immediately closed her computer, turning to face Yuna. "Yes. Nothing to worry about."
Yuna didn't believe Sombra for one second, yet she didn't push the matter, considering the hacker wouldn't tell her anyway. Instead, she returned to her own thoughts, intending to speak to the one person she suspected the hacker would open up to later.
Watchpoint Gibraltar- later that day
It was approaching the evening when Emily finished her training for the day. Lena had once again spent the day helping her, while Widow was the one who had led the training. Ana hadn't checked in on them today like usual, though they assumed this was because she was busy.
Once the three decided to call it a day, Athena asked both Emily and Lena to head to Winston's lab, informing them that the gorilla wished to speak to them. As the two headed off towards the lab, Widow headed towards the mess hall, wanting to find something to eat while she waited for Sombra to return.
When Lena and Emily arrived at the lab, they quickly headed up towards the office area, where Winston was busy typing away, while Snowball floated next to him.
"Hey Winston."
Winston jumped at the sudden interruption, totally oblivious that the two women had walked in. He found himself gently laughing though, as he heard giggling and felt a hand being placed on his arm.
"Sorry big guy. Didn't mean to startle you." Lena said, smiling at the gorilla.
"Don't worry about it. No harm done."
"What you were doing must have been important." Emily said, the screen changing to a logo of Athena as she spoke.
"It wasn't really. I was looking up what the UN was doing in relation to Overwatch and I guess I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts."
"Is there any news?" Lena asked, almost not wanting to in case it was bad.
"There is, though it doesn't exactly help us. Although the UN has revoked the Petras act, which means we won't be arrested on sight, they can't agree on what to do next. Officially, a lot of countries don't want to become too involved with us."
"At least that doesn't hinder us." Emily replied, taking note of a particular word Winston used. "You said officially. What about unofficially?"
"Unofficially, it seems as if countries are willing to help us, albeit behind the scenes. However, it remains to be seen if that's correct."
"That's better than nothing." Lena concluded, giving Winston a hopeful look before changing topics. "So, Athena said you wanted to see us? Not in trouble are we?"
"Of course not." Winston replied, despite knowing Lena was joking. "There's a couple of things I wanted to talk to you about."
The gorilla turned to the computer screen, nodding towards it before the Athena logo disappeared and a video took its place.
"I recently went through Snowball's data banks, making sure everything was working correctly and I stumbled across this. I assume that it was originally meant to play but didn't due to the damage Snowball received."
Without needing to be told, Athena began playing the video. It was a recording of Mei, who was sat at a desk, in what Lena assumed was her quarters.
"So, if you're watching this, it means that I'm..." Mei trailed off, knowing how uncomfortable a thought it was. "I wanted to say that I don't regret joining Overwatch. Not one second of it. In fact, I would do it all again without a second thought. So don't blame yourselves because it wasn't your fault. Instead, keep going, keep fighting... because our world is worth fighting for... and because the world needs heroes."
Mei paused again, smiling before continuing. "One more thing. Snowball. He's been a good friend to me and I don't want him just sat around in the lab, not unless he wants to. So, let him choose who looks after him. Let him decide what he wants to do next..."
The small robot flew into view, letting Mei gently pat him as it smiled up at her.
"That's all I ask... and I hope I did good."
The clip ended and Lena found herself instinctively smiling at Mei's last words.
"Don't worry Mei... you did fantastic." Lena turned to Snowball, a sad expression currently visible on its small screen. "Have you worked out who you want to look after you little guy?"
Snowball's expression changed, looking up with puppy dog eyes as it floated over to Emily. The redhead quickly realised what this meant.
"Me..? Are you sure Snowball? I'm no agent and I've not been here that long..."
The small robot made a nodding motion, before Winston spoke up.
"I think that's why he chose you. Mei was a good friend to many of the agents but Lena was one of the first people she met. She helped calm her nerves and made her feel welcome. I think Snowball remembers that... and he knows how much you mean to Lena."
"He wants to protect me..." Emily said, as the small robot looked up at her once again, the puppy dog eyes back on display. "How can I say no to you?"
Snowball's expression changed, zooming up to Emily with a happy look and cuddling against her. The redhead couldn't help but chuckle, gently patting the small robot as it flew backwards. It then looked to Lena, silently asking if this was okay.
The Brit responded by rubbing a hand over the top of Snowball, her classic, cheery smile clear to see.
"Yeah I'm okay with it. Make sure you keep my girl safe."
Snowball enthusiastically nodded, before floating back to Winston's desk and setting itself down on a charging station, one Winston had moved into the lab for the small robot. It then went into standby, letting it's power cells charge back up.
"There's one more thing." The gorilla continued. "Athena's been holding a message that came for you Lena, waiting for the right time to show you it. You don't have to watch it if you don't want to..."
Lena paused, her smile vanishing and a feeling of guilt replacing it. She had a good idea who this message was from. With the tone Winston was using, there was only one person she considered would send her this message.
"Yeah." Lena eventually replied. "Im ready... I need to see it."
"Do you want some privacy?" Emily asked, placing an arm around Lena's, ready to support her if she asked.
"No... Could you stay?"
"Of course I will."
Lena nodded to Winston and he turned to the computer, quickly typing something before a video appeared. It began playing shortly afterwards, revealing the image of Captain Jameson, smoking a cigar.
"So, you out lived me. No surprise there then. Look, I'm not one for goodbye speeches, so I'll keep this brief. I don't blame you for what happened, so don't go blaming yourself for it. Me and my team knew what we were getting ourselves into and frankly, the world needs you a hell of a lot more than it needs us. So give these Talon bastards hell and take them down... and make sure you look after your other half. She obviously means a lot to you, so keep each other safe."
The captain took a puff of his cigar and then gave a salute to the camera, very similar to Lena's signature one.
"It's been interesting to say the least. Jameson out."
Emily gently placed an arm around Lena, who remained silent after the video ended. "You okay Lena?"
"Yeah... I'm okay."
"He's right Lena." Winston said. "What happened wasn't your fault."
"I know... and what he said is right. I can't blame myself for it. It doesn't make it any easier though... and even though I didn't want to, I needed to see this. Ross always seemed to have a plan. Seems he planned for this as well."
Lena fell silent again, not really knowing what to say. Instead, she wrapped her arms around Emily and hugged her tightly.
Emily knew that the video would help Lena move on, help her to stop blaming herself for what happened. It would take some time but Lena would come to terms with it and accept it. Right now, she just needed someone to be there for her and Emily was determined to help her through it.
"Do you want to head into town for a bit?" Emily suggested. "Maybe go to one of those cafes you told me about?"
Lena looked towards Winston, silently asking if it was alright to leave the base. The gorilla in turn gently nodded in approval, seeing no reason why they couldn't go out for a bit.
"Yeah... That'd be nice."
Agents lounge
Morrison and McCree had been sat in the lounge for some time now. Morrison was still taking what he now considered a much needed break and McCree was waiting for news about Ashe from Angela.
The two weren't the only ones in the lounge, with Reinhardt and Pharah, along with Brigitte and Torbjorn joining them a short while later, each wanting to take a break from their tasks and routines. As they each found a drink, they formed a small group and the conversation ultimately ended up being about Overwatch itself.
"So let me get this straight." McCree said, a bottle of beer in his hand. "The UN revoked the Petras Act but they don't want to take any responsibility for what we do?"
"To put it simply, yes." Morrison answered. "In reality, it's a bit more complicated than that."
"I'm thinking it might be because it's easier to blame us if anything goes wrong." Fareeha suggested.
"You're not wrong there." Morrison admitted. "While most the politicians admit that something needs to be done about the state of the world, no one wants to be officially in charge of Overwatch. Partly because of what happened before but also, as Fareeha said, it's easier to blame someone else if something does goes wrong."
"Surely that can't be the only sticking point?" Torbjorn asked, gaining a sigh from Morrison.
"If only it was. There are several political points that no one can agree on, such as how involved the UN should be, if at all. Then, depending on how that issue is solved, there's the matter of whether or not we're classed as an organisation like Helix, or if we're something else. I don't see them finding a solution anytime soon."
"I see..." Reinhardt said, rubbing his fingers through his beard. "What about Petras? Any word from him?"
"Petras was the director of Overwatch, right?" Brigitte asked, hoping she remembered that fact from Reinhardt's stories correctly.
"That's correct and no Reinhardt, I haven't heard a thing from him. Frankly, I prefer it that way."
There were a few puzzled faces in front of Morrison, prompting him to clarify his position.
"Don't get me wrong, I want the UN to help us. Yet I'd prefer if they just let us get on with the job and not hinder us. There was far too much politics going on behind the scenes and too many restrictions on when we could and couldn't get involved. That's why Blackwatch was created. We needed a way to deal with threats before they became major threats."
At the mention of Blackwatch, McCree couldn't help himself but raise a question about its former leader.
"Jack... You've never said... What happened between you and Reyes?"
Morrison let out a deep breath. The use of his first name meant McCree wanted a proper answer. So, he decided to give his side of the story.
"Alright. Me and Reyes were friends for a long time but I think he didn't like the fact I was made Strike Commander over him. He considered he was the better person to lead Overwatch and to be honest, he probably was. However, there was a reason this happened. I was the better public figure, the better person to be seen in charge. Reyes on the other hand was more willing to take the gloves off and do what needed to be done. He was far better at leading Blackwatch. I didn't realise that he took issue with me being Strike Commander so badly and I thought we moved passed it... So I failed to keep an eye on him and trusted him to get on with the job. Venice was a hell of a warning sign and I didn't pay it enough attention. When Ana disappeared, he blamed me for it and we ended up arguing over the smallest of things, started questioning everything the other did... Until he snapped. I didn't realise things had gotten that bad until it was too late."
"There has to be more to it then just you two falling out." Fareeha said, once Morrison stopped to take a drink from his beer. "I remember Reyes from when I was a child... I just can't understand what lead him to do what he did."
"I honestly don't know myself." Morrison admitted. "There were a lot of things that happened under my leadership. The Venice incident, Amelie's kidnapping, which lead to Gerard's death and then your mothers supposed death... He blamed me for a lot of things and thought he could do a better job than me... However, I do think something else was going on..."
"You mean someone was influencing Reyes?" McCree suggested.
"Maybe... People were selling our secrets to Talon at the time, so it's not hard to believe they had a hand in turning Reyes against us. Yet Reyes wasn't the only thing that caused Overwatch to collapse, his actions were pretty much just the nail in the coffin. I'm certain something else was behind it, I'm just not sure what."
Before the conversation could go any further, Angela entered the lounge, walking towards the group once she saw them. McCree never gave her the chance to reach them though, immediately jumping up and running over to her.
"How's Ashe? Is she alright?"
"Relax Jesse." Angela replied, placing her hands on McCree's to reassure him. "Ashe is fine. The knife has been removed and she's been stabilised. She woke up not too long ago if you want to see her."
McCree gave Angela a quick hug, giving his thanks before heading off towards the medical bay. Just before Angela herself left, Fareeha stood and walked over.
"Hey. You doing okay? You look drained."
"I'm alright, thank you Faree. Just another day at the office really... If I'm honest, I think I've just been working a bit too hard as of late."
Fareeha chuckled at the lighthearted comment, gently pulling Angela into a hug and kissing her on the cheek.
"Once you're done for the day, how about I grab us some food and we watch a movie in my room? You've been pretty busy recently, making sure the medical bay is up to scratch and I think you need a break from it to unwind."
Angela smiled, kissing Fareeha back. "That sounds like a lovely idea."
Medical bay
McCree made his way to the medical bay with a relatively quick pace, just short of jogging. The distance to the med bay wasn't too far, so he didn't really need to jog.
When he arrived, one of the other doctors pointed him towards Ashe, who was lying on a bed towards the back of the room. Part of this was due to security. After all, Ashe was still technically a prisoner, so they didn't want her attempting an escape. Not that she'd shown any sign of doing so.
McCree gently made his way over to Ashe, who turned her head upon hearing the sound of him approaching. She was currently wearing a hospital gown, her old, blood stained clothing disposed of, while her hat was hung over one of the bed posts. The black soot had been washed off her skin and out of her hair and she had more colour in her face again.
"Jesse McCree. My knight in shining armour."
"Knight in shining armour? We have a few Knights here but I'm pretty sure I ain't one of them." McCree replied, sitting down on a chair placed next to Ashe's bed. "How you feelin?"
"Better I guess." Ashe answered, rubbing the side where the knife used to be. "It's a bit strange really. I feel like I should have a lot of pain here but I don't."
McCree chuckled, knowing exactly what Ashe was on about. "Yeah, Mercy's not like other traditional docs. You get used to that feeling though."
Ashe nodded, the two falling silent as she paused for a moment. "How's Bob?"
"He's alright. Couple guys looked him over, made sure he wouldn't fall apart anytime soon."
"That's good." Ashe fell silent again, lowering her head almost in shame. During this time, Angela had found her way back to the med bay, pausing as she walked through and turning to McCree. He'd placed a cigar in his mouth and was just about to light it when she stopped him.
"Jesse McCree, light that in here and I'll drag you outside myself."
The cowboy didn't even try to argue, instead blowing out his match and removing the cigar. It was enough to make Ashe look back up, chuckling at his defeated look.
"Yeah Jesse, smoking's bad for you." Ashe said, mocking McCree with a lighthearted tone
"You can talk. You smoke several cigarettes a day!" He retuned, placing the cigar back in his pocket.
"Actually, I gave it up."
"You gave it up?"
"Yeah. It took a while and a lot of help from Bob but I feel a lot better because of it. You should try."
"I know what you're about to say Ang and fine, I'll think about it." McCree quickly stated, raising a hand to stop the good doctor before she could even say anything.
Angela rolled her eyes, knowing full well McCree was unlikely to even think of trying to quit. "In the meantime, I'll make sure to remind you of the positive health benefits."
"Great. Can't wait."
The doctor found herself cracking a smile, as she shook her head at the sarcastic comment. Her attention soon shifted to Ashe, wanting to check in with the former gang leader.
"How are you feeling Elizabeth? Any pain or side effects from the operation?"
"Call me Ashe, please. Elizabeth makes you sound like my mother... and no. It's strange but I don't really feel much, if any pain at all. Instead it's like I'm just... sore. Doesn't seem right to me."
Angela let out a small chuckle, understanding Ashe's confusion. "I can assure you it's perfectly fine. I'm sure Jesse's already mentioned this but I'm not like most other doctors. I specialise in Nanobiology and I use biotic and nano tech when treating people. So, in your case, I removed the knife and repaired the blood vessels and tissue affected by it. I won't bore you with all the details but you shouldn't feel any serious pain. However I do expect a little soreness for the next few days, so try not to do too much walking or strenuous exercise."
"Got it. Not like I'm planning to go anywhere."
"I'm not too sure when you last ate, so would you like some food or a drink?"
"Some food would be nice... and could I see Bob? I want him to know I'm alright."
"I'll see what I can do but I can't promise anything."
Ashe nodded her head and Angela turned to speak to one of the other medical staff members, intending to ask them to fetch Ashe a meal while she finished her check up. She was stopped when Ashe asked her another question.
"One more thing. My injury... How bad was it?"
Angela turned back to the former gang leader. "To be blunt, it was bad. The medical treatment Baptiste gave you was excellent and kept you alive but you were still losing blood. I think it's safe to say that if Jesse's team were a few minutes later getting to you, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"Right..." Ashe trailed off, considering the dark alternative that very easily could have happened. "Look... Thanks... for patching me up. I owe you, big time."
"You're welcome."
Angela smiled, seeing a softer side to the gang leader she'd heard so much about from McCree. Right now, those stories weren't comparing well. She then turned and headed towards the other end of the medical bay, stopping to speak to one of the staff members who wasn't as busy.
"Why Jesse?" Ashe asked, once the good doctor was out of hearing range. She still had one question, one she was determined to get an answer to. "After everything that's happened... why did you come for me? I mean, I've tried killing you a number of times now and no one would miss a criminal like me... Why did you bother?"
"Because I weren't about to just let you die Ashe. That ain't my style... and yes, maybe you're a criminal but you ain't evil..."
"Aren't I? When you broke into the hideout and told me what was in that shipment Talon wanted us to move, I didn't care. Then when Reaper offered a reward for killing you, I didn't even hesitate... How can you honestly say I'm not evil?"
McCree leaned backwards into the back of the chair, taking a breath as he thought over what he'd just heard. Ashe's tone of voice hadn't changed once and, whether intentional or not, it was full of shame.
"This whole thing's really gotten to you, ain't it?"
Ashe returned with a dry laugh. "Don't you get it? Everyone's dead Jesse! The whole gang is gone! I thought I knew what I was doing, making a deal with Talon... Turns out I was playing with fire and I got burned... and everyone else payed the price for it... You should of just left me..."
"You don't mean that Ashe." Angela gently said, walking over when she heard her sudden outburst.
Her words did seem to have an affect, as the cowgirl stopped and sighed. "You're right, I don't... It's just... it's my fault. If I hadn't taken that deal in the first place, everyone would still be alive..."
Ashe trailed off, lowering her head and falling silent. Angela went to speak up, wanting to try and help however she could, yet McCree stopped her, raising his hand before leaning himself forward.
"Ashe, none of this is your fault. You couldn't have known what Talon were planning but it had nothin to do with you. It was internal politics inside Talon. They caused this, not you. Even then, that gang was loyal to you. Every member of that gang trusted you and I'm willin to bet they'd have followed you into hell if you'd asked them to. So don't go thinkin you're the one who's at fault because you ain't."
The cowgirl didn't reply, instead remaining silent while avoiding eye contact with anyone else. At this point, one of the other doctors walked over with a tray, which had a plate of food and a glass of water balanced on it.
"I'll give you some space." McCree said, standing up with the intention of leaving. He didn't want to push Ashe too much today, especially considering what she'd recently gone through.
"Jesse..."
The cowboy hadn't walked more than three steps before Ashe called out to him. He stopped and turned, pushing his hat up slightly so she could see his face better.
"I... I know we ain't exactly seen eye to eye for a while now... and I'm probably bad at showing I'm grateful sometimes... but thanks... for coming for me."
McCree tipped his hat towards Ashe. "Don't mention it."
The cowboy then took his leave, heading out of the medical bay and back towards the agents lounge, with only his thoughts to accompany him.
He ultimately wanted to convince Ashe to join Overwatch, something which was a hard task to begin with. Yet after seeing her in the medical bay, McCree knew it would be much harder to do so. Ashe was stubborn, he knew that better than most people, so convincing her to even think about joining Overwatch would be difficult. That didn't concern him though. What concerned him was Ashe's current mental state.
She was blaming herself for what happened, which in all honesty he understood. Yet it was more than just her accepting a mistake. He'd seen her do that before and this time was different. Her tone of voice and the way she was acting made him consider she felt ashamed at what she'd done, guilty even. This was something very out of character for her.
He was determined to get to the bottom of this, to find out what exactly was going on in Ashe's head, yet he knew he needed to tread carefully. He was no expert when it came to these sorts of things, so he considered his first step was to speak with Genji. Perhaps he'd have a better idea with how best to proceed.
Mess hall- Later that evening
The mess hall was at its busiest, with numerous agents, soldiers and other staff members coming and going. From the untrained eye, it would have looked like a random arrangement of people, going about their business without a care in the world. That was far from the truth though. Behind the scenes a clear timetable had been created, which made sure that all of the watchpoint was staffed at all times. The only people who managed to escape this were the agents themselves, who still followed their own daily routines.
Widow currently sat at one of the tables, gently stirring a cup of coffee, while an empty plate lay in front of her. Lucio was sat with her and the two had made conversation while they ate. Lucio had spoken about his past before joining Overwatch and his actions against Vishkar, something that did genuinely interest her.
Widow on the other hand spoke more about her time at Overwatch and how she was glad most of the agents seemed to accept her, as well as briefly talking about her and Sombra. Lucio even went as far as suggesting a few possible ideas for a date, some of which Widow admitted weren't half bad.
Many of the other soldiers and staff members still seemed wary of her, though it was something Widow understood. They did appear to be warming to her, so that was progress at least. For the most part, she was just glad that she could just have something of a normal conversation with someone she didn't usually speak to, that wasn't about Talon or Overwatch for a change.
After she'd finished eating, Widow began to wonder where Sombra had gotten to. Due to the mission she'd been sent on, Widow expected her to be a while, yet she'd been gone the entire day now and she expected the mission to be shorter than this. Even Lucio hadn't heard anything, giving her a shrug when she asked him about it.
"Dunno. I expected them to be back by now myself..." Lucio paused, as something caught his eye. "Wait, they must be back, Hana just walked in."
Widow turned her head to the door, seeing Hana, who looked like she'd had a rough day, along with Yuna. Once they saw Widow and Lucio, along with a partly empty table, they walked over and joined them. The two were acting like nothing bad had happened, which reassured Widow that Sombra was okay. Now she just wondered where she'd gone after landing.
Once the two pilots sat, Hana folded her arms and placed her head on them, letting out a groan as she slumped in her seat.
"What's up with you?" Lucio asked.
"Oh, ignore her." Yuna answered, her tone clearly mocking DVa. "She's just being a baby because she had to go to a debriefing with MEKA about Myung."
DVa moved her head, lazily looking up towards Yuna. "I hate you."
Yuna could only laugh. "Oh come on. It can't have been that bad."
"They had us in there for hours..." Hana trailed off, turning her head to the side and closing her eyes. Widow rolled her eyes at how dramatic she was being, looking down at her cup and taking one last sip, before placing it down next to her plate.
"Hey, Amelie. Can I have a word? It's about Sombra."
Widow looked up at Yuna, having an idea what she wanted to talk about. "Is she okay?"
"Yes, she's fine. At least, I think she's okay. When we were at Busan she saw something on that computer of hers and it looked like it bothered her. I'd heard you two were close, so I thought you should know."
Widow gently hummed, as she considered this information. If something had gotten to Sombra, then it had to be important.
"I better go find her." Widow said, standing up from her seat. "Do you know where she went after you landed?"
"Um, I'm not sure. Sorry."
"It's not a problem. I'm sure I'll find her."
Widow gave her thanks, before leaving the mess hall. She decided to try Sombra's quarters first, suspecting that the hacker would go there if she wanted to be alone.
It didn't take long for Widow to reach her destination, stopping in front of the closed door and gently knocking it. Her guess had proven to be correct, as she soon heard movement from inside. Moments later, the door opened, Sombra standing on the other side.
"Oh, hey Amelie."
If something was bothering Sombra, she was doing a good job at hiding it. Her voice showed no sign of it and she appeared to be her normal self. However, Widow had a feeling something wasn't right. Something was off about how she was acting, almost like she was forcing it slightly.
"Bonjour. Do you have a minute?"
"For you, of course." Sombra stepped aside, allowing Widow to stroll in before closing the door. "So, what's up?"
"Something's bothering you." Widow said, keeping her tone of voice soft while making sure she didn't frame her statement as a question. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing's bothering me. I'm fine, don't worry."
Sombra attempted to brush off the question, an attempt that was doomed to fail. All it did was confirm to Widow something was indeed bothering her.
"Olivia, I can tell something is wrong. Please, just talk to me."
Sombra sighed, her willpower not strong enough to resist Widow. She slowly moved over to her bed and sat down, Widow joining her a moment later.
"Okay. So, when I was in Busan, one of my searches found something... It found a file..."
Sombra opened her computer, typing a few commands before the file in question appeared. Widow leaned in slightly, reading over the document. It was dated just after the Omnic Crisis and contained the details for a young orphan girl from Mexico.
Her name.
Sophia Colomar.
"Sophia... She's your sister..?"
"It's fake..." Sombra replied, closing her computer. "I'm certain it's fake."
This caught Widow off guard. "What? Why do you think that?"
"Because I've already looked into this. I looked when I started hacking years ago and I looked again when I first became Sombra... There was no one but me... Which means it's a trap."
"Are you sure? Talon don't know your real name..."
"It's not Talon."
"Then who?"
Sombra tensed up, something Widow caught onto almost immediately. She gently placed her hands on Sombra's, keeping her tone soft as she spoke to the hacker.
"Olivia, whatever it is, you can tell me. No matter what it is, you can trust me. Please, just talk to me."
Sombra took a deep breath, before gently removing one of her hands from Widow's. She slowly raised her hand and activated her computer, letting a large picture appear in front of them. Several images appeared, each one linked to several others.
There were logo's representing different organisations and companies, such as Overwatch, Talon and Volskaya Industries, along with several images of important individuals, such as Overwatch and Talon agents. Widow even saw an image of herself, with a link to the Talon logo. In the centre of the large web of images was an eye, which had connections to every part of the web.
"What... what is all this?" Widow asked, looking over every part of the web of images.
"It's a conspiracy. Whoever or whatever this eye is, they have ties to people and organisations around the world. This is the reason why I became Sombra... or the main reason at least. I think I came close to working out who they were before they noticed me and attacked my computers. So I disappeared, erased all trace of who I was. Later on I joined Talon, so I could use their resources and work all this out... To be honest, I've not looked at this for a while now... I had more important things going on."
Widow looked at the image of the eye, the realisation of what Sombra just said hitting her. If Sombra was right, then she was on to something big. Bigger than the entire fight between Overwatch and Talon. She didn't dwell on this however, instead returning to the original matter they were discussing.
"So, the information about your sister. You think it's a trap?"
"Yes." Sombra answered, the image dissapearing as she closed down her computer.
Widow nodded. "Then why is this bothering you so much? If you were certain this was a trap then you'd just ignore it."
"It's... it's because I'm doubting myself. My head is telling me that this is fake, that's it's just a trap... but I can't help but think it could be true. Maybe I missed something when I last looked... Other than you, I don't have anyone... So I want this to be true..."
When Widow was sure Sombra had finished, she placed an arm around her and gently pulled her in for a hug. Even though she didn't know exactly what Sombra was feeling, she knew far too well what it was like to feel alone.
"I understand Olivia. If I were in your position, I'd want it to be true too."
There was a easy silence in the room for a short while, until Sombra finally spoke up again.
"What do you think I should do?"
Widow moved to face Sombra. "Take another look at the file. What do you honesty think? What does your gut instinct tell you?"
Sombra did just that, opening her computer and displaying the file in question. She read over the top few lines again and again, analysing every little detail, until she came to a conclusion.
"My gut says it's fake. It's a trap."
"Then there's your answer."
Sombra looked back at the file, analysing it one more time before finally closing her computer. As much as she wanted it to be real, Widow was right. She had to listen to her gut and it was screaming at her not to trust the file. In the end, she gently nodded her head and leaned against Widow, wrapping her arms around her waist and cuddling her.
"You know, you're the first person I've ever talked to about this conspiracy." Sombra admitted, breaking the easy silence that had fallen between them. "It... it feels good to finally tell someone, to talk about it with someone else."
"Then let me help you with it."
Sombra pulled herself up, so that she was facing Widow. "What?"
"Let's work this out, together. Maybe I'll see something you don't."
Sombra was left speechless for a moment. "I... Are you sure? You don't have to feel obligated..."
"I don't. I want to help you."
"Okay. Me and you." The hacker leaned in and kissed Widow. "Thanks Amelie. This might sound stupid but this means a lot to me."
"I don't think it's stupid... and I have to admit that you've gained my attention with this mystery."
Sombra tone suddenly shifted, becoming much more flirty. "Oh. Is it just the mystery that interests you?"
"Well, the person who told me about it is far more interesting."
Sombra couldn't help but chuckle, giving Widow a quick kiss on her cheek. "You know just what to say to a girl, don't you."
"I have my moments. Now, how about you relax and take your mind off all this, while I'll go find you something to eat. You must be starving after your long mission."
Sombra smiled. "Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks Amelie."