Skies Above Spain
Adrian's foot restlessly tapped against the metal floor of the airship as it hurtled through the storm filled sky, the sound of rain pattering against the hull echoed throughout the enclosed space. Though it was only around half-way through the trip when he questioned how exactly they would make their 'landing' in Barcelona. Despite their work in Russia it seemed Overwatch was still hesitant too make themselves any more known then they had too, especially with regards to who was a member of Overwatch. It had come as a bit of surprise for him to learn that the kid Song wasn't actually known to be in Overwatch despite her flagrant showcasing of the action, instead it seemed the general public though she was either still apart of the Korean military or involved in some "super-secret spec ops team" to quote the pipsqueak. Hence why he was admittedly curious as to how this would play out, though given the general flexibility that existed he wouldn't be surprised if Winston hadn't thought this far either. He widened his eyes in surprise when a heavy object landed in his lap, looking up he saw the red visor of Morrison staring back at him.
"Here's your ticket off this plane." He grunted.
Adrian grabbed the item in his hands, turning it over a few times before the realization dawned on him, "A jet pack, is this rated for MFF at this altitude?"
"As long as you don't mind the feeling of your teeth rattling inside your skull, you'll live."
Adrian chuckled, if that was the worst it got than this was a damn cakewalk to compared to even the smoothest drops he'd experienced. Looking it over, it seemed to attach via series of magnetic locks with some form of nylon fastenings for assurance. It was sleeker than the ones utilized by the UNSC, though to fair those were often weighted to also be compatible with spartan units, so they went with the idea of 'better overboard than not enough'. Meanwhile while the one in his hands were far from light, it reminded him of the Sangheili spec ops units with their sleek propulsion packs.
Standing up, he tossed the pack to Jack who caught it swiftly as he turned to face away from the man. Morrison began to quickly attach the jetpack to Adrian's gear, a noticeable weight added to his already hefty ODST armor. He rolled his shoulders to get a feeling for the flexibility, thankfully it didn't hinder him much though it wouldn't give him much maneuverability if someone snuck up from behind. Turning to where he was seated, he spied his assortment of weapons laid out on the seats, the SOCOM and M7S were staples of his arsenal though he'd need something a bit more compact for the city streets if things got heated. His only freshly used beam rifle would sadly have to stay, it was absolutely massive at only a few inches shorter than himself. The assault rifle would normally be a solid choice, but it looked like he'd be on overwatch, no pun intended, so he grabbed the BR-55. Switching the firing mode to semi-auto he remembered something he stuffed in his pack ages ago. Rifling through the various material he puled out an unused silencer, if shit hit the fan the sound wouldn't matter much but hiding his muzzle flash could be the matter of life and death especially when it was only a couple hours from midnight.
"Guessing from the lack of extra packs, you ain't jumping with me?" Adrian questioned as he turned to faced Morrison as Ana walked up from behind him.
"Hah! In our age? I don't think so, this fool might just be crazy enough to do it, but he wouldn't go on while leaving me alone." Ana joked as she patted Jack on the shoulder, he shot her a glare from behind his visor.
"You don't look a day over twenty Amari."
"Nice of you to say, but for me the older the better."
"Well it seems we can agree on that." He jested before the pilot announced they were close to the drop zone. "Where are you two getting off then?"
"Edge of the Omnic district to scope any for any activity." Morrison answered with his usual stoicism, "Remember our primary objective is to keep the situation from getting any worse, it might be Talon, it might be some asshole punks, but that doesn't matter. Oxton's on the ground keeping an eye on things, you and Shimada are on the rooftops spying for any unusual activity. Protests on both sides have gained momentum in the streets with local Omnic and human leaders planning a speech on the recent events."
"Keep the crowds from killing each other, stop anyone from trying to exacerbate the problems, and make sure the speakers get their chance to talk. That about cover it?"
Morrison gave a curt nod as the back hatch of the Orca opened causing cold air to rush into the bay with Adrian turning to see the stormy weather below them, awaiting him to embrace it's dark embrace. Rain poured from the dusky, thick clouds to the city below with no lightning as far as Adrian could see…which was admittedly not very far at all in the near midnight sky. Still thank god for small miracles right?
Fully equipped, Adrian stepped towards the edge of the aircraft as the turbulent wind began to grow louder. The familiar feeling of adrenaline rushing through his veins before a drop brought back the memoires of his first few drops, the constant uncertainty mixed with inexplicable excitement. Shaking his hands, he listened for the pilot to give the all clear, taking a couple steps back his comms crackled to life.
"Get ready to drop in 3…"
The sound of his breath echoed in his helmet, the pilot's voice like a faint whisper int eh background.
"2…"
He curled his fingers as he hopped on his toes, anxious excitement filled within him.
"1…"
He felt the muscles in his legs tighten.
"Go go go!"
He began to run across the metal floor, his pounding footsteps echoing throughout the inner hull as he saw the end of the hatch in front of him. When he neared the end he pushed off his legs, jumping with a flourishing somersault into the open air below him. The sound of his breathing grew louder, now the only thing he could hear as the dark clouds below him drew ever closer. Straightening his body into a vertical dive the wind whipped around him as he plummeted through the air before eventually punching through the swollen clouds like a bullet.
His entire vision became dark, his already limited vision becoming practically non-existent as he tore through the clouds. His visor became splattered with water as it rushed by him, with each second only increasing the intensity of the water he cut through. It was at this moment he realized how much he'd missed the life-or-death feeling of a drop, nothing else was like it, nothing else could ever hope to be like, his mind flashed to his old pod now sitting in the Overwatch workshop like a memento of his life.
Finally cutting through the clouds, the cityscape of Barcelona opened up before him, its vivid lights illuminating the otherwise black void of a landscape. Easing up on his vertical bullet drop, he brought his body to lay horizontal across the sky, his chest parallel with the ground thousands of meters below him. Raising his arms out in front of him, he could feel his velocity slow though not by much, the trade off was the greater degree of control he held. His landing spot was highlighted through his H.U.D, tilting his body slightly to the right he felt himself move through the air as he continued his descent. A lightning strike far off in the distance caught his attention as he began to chuckle to himself, it'd be one hell of a shitty end for him to make it through everything he had only to meet his death through a one-in-a-lifetime lightning strike and end with his body splattered against the pavement in Barcelona.
Once he passed 1,500 meters Adrian went vertical once more, this time his legs aimed towards the ground as he started up the sleek jetpack attached to himself. He could feel the heat blasting forth from the jets as he stared down to the city growing ever more expansive below him. As the propulsion jets fought against his descent, he could feel himself slowing down through the air, despite the roaring wind whipping around him the whine of the engine's being pushed to their limits cut through the noise.
When he was just a few hundred feet above the rooftops of Barcelona he braced his body for a rough landing, bending his knees just slightly to allow for a smother transition into a roll so he wouldn't end up shattering his ankles. The tarred roofs became ever clearer as he screamed down towards them, he took a few deep breaths as he neared his landing zone before cutting the jetpack's propulsion a couple meters above the roof. As soon as he felt he tips of his toes hit solid ground he braced himself for an ugly roll as he curled up, hitting the roof with a nasty screech as his armor scrapped against the gravelly tiling of the roof. After a couple rolls to slow the momentum he uncurled, shooting his legs out in front of him as his heavy heels dug into the roof. His boots hit the lip of the roof with a soft thud, he sighed in relief as he pushed himself off the ground and radioed to the others.
"This is Kasporov, I'm on the ground with a view over the city."
"Nice of you to join us mate, heard you came in like Mary Poppins." Oxton's cheerful voice spoke up.
"Who?" Adrian questioned as he pulled out his battle rifle, scanning the rooftops for any unusual activity.
"Augh nevermind, I'll fill you in. I've been in the streets gathering information where I can while Shimada's been covering the roofs like yourself, though I suppose I've just repeating the briefing. Though we've figured out the cause for the bombing, doesn't look like Talon is involved but they may decide to show up later to stir the pot."
Adrian nodded to himself as he stepped over the lip and slid down the slanted tile roofing before jumping off onto a flat-topped building right next door. "Wouldn't put it past them, what caused this shit show though?"
This time Genji's voice filled his helmet, "Ignorance. A new medical wing was being constructed at a nearby medical pavilion, specifically to cater to the needs of Omnics. Previously our sentient brethren would need to seek out less than reputable backdoor dealers to solve their ills as the state had not yet seen fit to grant a portion of their population with basic care. Regardless, several pro-integration leagues across the globe pitched into fund a state-sponsored medical and repair facility for Omnics. Whether this information was ever circulated or simply ignored it does not matter, a number of hate-fueled people propagated the idea that such a wing was being built from the public taxes, building this idea that Omnics were receiving priority over humans."
Shimada didn't need to continue, it didn't take a genius to figure out where things had led, "And the bombing was in retaliation for this supposed slight."
"Hai, more so it was targeted on an incoming delivery for this new medical wing. All the supplies have been stolen with no leads on who could've done it or where the supplies ended up."
"So we've got another job to add to our long list of growing concerns boys, though not our priority. If we can get a lead on where these supplies were taken all the better, but remember our main goal is to keep the peace as best we can." Lena reminded them.
Adrian grunted in agreement before kneeling near the edge of the roof, peering down the scope of his BR as he looked over the bustling streets. At the near end of the street to his right was the aforementioned medical pavilion, a large swatch of people were standing around it in a conglomerated mass as more people swarmed to it with every second. Looking to his right, he saw a large stone building standing tall against the moonlight; a good vantage point and closer to the heart of the issue. Standing up he briefly jogged before activating the thrusters on his jetpack as he tore through the air until landing into a practiced crouch with a quiet thump of his boots.
Making his way to one of the corners that overlooked the street, he laid his back against the wall as he perched his rifle atop the lip of the roof that faced the street. "Shimada, you had any encounters or anything I should be keeping an eye out for?"
"Its not helpful but the shadiest characters are unironically the ones that are posing the biggest issue. My armor comes with…various perks and through that I've found a small number of violence seeking bigots carrying tools to cause even greater mayhem. Be careful as some have even more surprises, a few attempted to use them on me in many failed efforts." He chuckled before going silent into thought before speaking again once more, "Though keep a watchful eye out for roving bands, prior to our involvement there was reports of gangs grouping up on lone Omnics or intermingling couples. I personally haven't seen anything though I am but one man."
"Much appreciated." Adrian replied curtly as he resumed scooping out the city streets for the next dozen or so minutes with nothing to remark on, he noticed a steadily growing presence of the local officers so perhaps that was deterring any major moves on either side. He sent an extra minute scanning the rooftops before he stood up and moved onto another vantage point. Jumping, scaling, and jetpacking his way across the Barcelonan rooftops he kept one ear focused on the chatter of the other Overwatch agents and the other open for commotion on the streets.
Nestling into another nook in the corner, he noticed that the flow of people was slowly turning into a mere trickle. As the night grew on, he suspected the crowed wouldn't grow much bigger than this, eventually it may even start to thin, depending on when the local leaders made their speech which he suspected would be fairly soon. Wouldn't do much good to give some rousing, unifying sermon when almost everyone was asleep. As his scoped passed over the road below him, his eye caught sight of something hiding in the darkness of a small alley, a quick flash of light and the smallest dot of a burn. Someone was camping out in the side passage smoking, as he focused in on the alley, he could make out three…maybe four separate forms standing together. They would certainly fit the Genji's description for "shady characters", though lacking the ninja's supposedly special equipment he couldn't make a move until he knew something would happen. Regardless he kept his focus on them, especially when he noticed the cigarette was tossed on the ground and snuffed out, vaguely he could see one pointing out from the alleyway. Following their direction, he spied their likely target, a female human wearing a vibrant light coat and an Omnic in a flowing summer dress with a clear poncho over their clothes, walking hand-in-hand towards the protests,
He sighed in disgust, he'd prayed that what his instincts were telling him was wrong but given the circumstances and the fact his instincts hadn't led him astray once, he didn't have high hopes. As the couple drew near to the thugs lying in wait, he holstered his rifle while backing up a few paces. When there was at least a foot between him and the edge of the roof he began to sprint before jumping and activating the thrusters on his pack, lobbing him in a wide arc over the lit street below. He landed with a clean roll on the roof of the building the created one part of the alley, as he stood up, he could hear the start of the commotion echoing up from the tight alley.
The voice of the young woman rose up followed by what he assumed was the Omnic based on it's slightly synthetic feminine sound. He couldn't understand one cent of what they were saying, but it didn't take a linguist to know that it wasn't pleasant. As a scream ripped through the night sky he hauled over the end of the building where he could look into the alleyway, he saw that the four thugs had pushed the couple into a dead-end and blocked their way out. The Omnic was laying on the wet asphalt as one of the men had their foot pushing heavily down on it's head, the young human looked like she was tearing the other three a new asshole. He could hear the pure venom in her voice as she spit every word before going silent as one of the men slapped her red while ripping off her light jacket and tearing her blouse in two, exposing her bare skin to the weather. She tried to keep on the attack, but it grew harder once it was clear the men wanted to do more than just thrash some Omnic.
Having wasted enough time, Adrian spied what looked to be the leader in the center of the trio who was unbuttoning his trousers and pulling them. Jumping off the two-story building he landed on top of the bastard with a sickening crunch, the other three turned towards him in shock and surprise. Ignoring the one currently under his boot, that left three, the furthest one was still standing atop the Omnic, the second furthest was the guy halfway through undressing the poor girl, and the closest was right next to him… the poor son of a bitch.
Lashing out with a right hook, his armored fist landed with a crack sending the wall spinning into the wall of the alley. Taking advantage of his stunned state, Adrian grabbed onto the front of the mans face, digging his fingers into the man's skull before repeatedly bashing his skull against the brick wall behind him. After he let go the man slumped dumbly down the brick leaving a thick smear of blood, Adrian finished him off by slamming his boot into the man's face before flicking his head with a snap off his foot. The thug fell to the side with an ungracious thud as Adrian turned to face the other, both sporting horrified expressions on their once repulsively cocky mugs. The clothes ripper shakily pulled a switch blade from his pocket, his fingers trembling as he flicked the knife open, the steel glinting from the lights on the main street. Building up his courage he looked to the man behind him, both nodding as they began to charge Adrian. The furthest one that had previously been stomping the Omnic didn't make it far as his victim reached out with lightning reflexes and grabbed the man's ankle in a vice grip. The Omnic slowly got up as it's hand twisted in a full circle, absolutely shattering the man's ankle, perks of being a machine he supposed. The man screamed in agony as he fell to the floor, he tried to stand up but could barely even get an inch off the ground before the sound of bone grinding into bone echoed throughout the alley and he fell back to the asphalt an insufferable, sniveling blob. If he wasn't already passed due to the shock, the human woman made sure he would be when she kicked his head with a form that would've made the professional fútbol players of Spain proud.
That only left the man charging him with his pathetic switch blade which Adrian doubted would even be able to pierce the body suit under his armor. Barely even trying, Adrian backstepped as the man shot his arm out to try and stab Adrian which he swatted away from light slap from his hand. The man would probably hurt himself before he even got a scratch on Adrian, though he didn't have the time to wait that long. When the man swung out again, Adrian grabbed the man's wrist wielding the knife, he twisted it backwards until the man let the knife drop with a cry of pain. Adrian kicked in the man's leg with the full force of his boot, when the thug fell to his knee's Adrian didn't even spare him a glance as he backhanded the man's face with a curled fist. The goon blacked out immediately as he hit the ground like a sack of wet concrete, Adrian shook his hand a few times before turning towards the couple now in each other's embrace at the end of the alley. Crouching down he ripped off the heavy jacket from man's unconscious form, a jail cell will be warm enough on its own.
As they turned to face him, an avalanche of words burst from their mouths as tears flowed from the human's eyes. He held out the heavy jacket to the woman, with a gracious nod she slid on the large coat and ran over to him and tightly wrapped him in a hug which Adrian could only awkwardly reciprocate.
"Gracias! Gracias! Sabíamos que habría problemas pero no así." The Omnic spoke as the young woman nodded in agreement.
"I uh…de nada?" He had vague memories of an old squadmate from Earth that was fairly fluent in Spanish but trying to remember any phrases only led his brain to come up blank. "Sorry I don't speak Spanish…English or on some off-chance Russian?"
The two looked at each other exchanging a couple words before a forced laugh came from both, the Omnic turned to him, "We wanted to thank you, we knew there would be trouble tonight but nothing like this degrading." She waved her robotic hand out over the unconscious bodies littering the alley way,
Nodding her head again the young woman spoke up with a heavy accent tilting her words, "I just wanted to thank you again for stepping in, I doubt you were the only person to hear but you were the only one to act."
"I'd get back to your house if you can make it, I doubt things are going to get better the night goes on."
"You're right…I hate to leave but…I…" Her words trailed off as the Omnic placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
He stood there awkwardly before clearing his throat, "Calling tonight a mess would be an understatement, but I think getting your thoughts together would best happen in a different location with better company." He nodded his head to the groaning men behind him. They nodded in agreement before shuffling past him and out into the brightly lit streets of Barcelona, tossing him one last farewell of thanks as they turned around the corner leaving him alone in the alley.
Turning his head to the would-be leader of this group, the one he'd unceremoniously crushed beneath his boots, Adrian walked over to the man and picked him up by his collar. The thug's eyes cracked open as a groan escape his lips, after a few rough slaps the man's attention came to focus on Adrian. Uncertainty spread across his features as he shook his head from side to side, trying to think of it as a nightmarish dream until he saw the limp forms of his buddies laying on the ground. The man started to babble, incoherent to even a fluent Spanish speaker as the man was at an utter loss for words as he saw his own reflection staring back at him from the front of Adrian's visor.
"Listen carefully, my patience tonight was already razor thin but fucks like you are lower than scum, so keep that in mind when you speak or the next things coming out of your mouth won't be only words." Adrian growled between clenched teeth.
The man nodded feverishly, "Okay okay okay, I understand!"
"Good, now I've got some questions for you and I'll make sure to start easy."
Adrian shoved the man to the ground as he coughed up a splat off blood onto the wet asphalt, sirens wailed in the distance drawing closer with every second. Adrian used his thrusters to hop up onto the nearest building as he radioed the others, surprisingly the man had been a good source of information even if he had been a depraved piece of shit.
"Kasporov here, I got intel saying that a common meeting ground for a lot of these anti-Omnic groups is some pub called Cabellas on the east side of town. A few blocks away from where the medical pavilion is."
"Nice job!" Oxton cheered out, "I don't think I'm too far off, seeing as how I'm the least conspicuous I'll scope it out on the inside. You and Shimada should make your way here as well in case things get hairy."
"Alright." He affirmed as Genji likewise voiced his affirmation. As a new way point appeared on his NAV, Adrian began to cross the cityscape with the use of his jetpack to jump from rooftop to rooftop. Making extra care when lobbing over streets to stay out of easy sight, the last thing he needed was to have concerned citizens reporting in about the mysterious armed stranger leaping across their city.
Wind rushing past him as he was at the apex of jump, he had to admit that he was quite enjoying the freedom that came with this jump pack. Back home the Bullfrogs specialized in this type of urban warfare and traversal, though maybe he could put in a word with the Gunny when he got back to see about investing in this for his squad as well. Just as he was coming down from the peak of his arc, he spied the distinct flash of a muzzle burst not far from his location. Briefly he questioned the target before he felt the impact as the bullet tore through the pack on his back sending him freefalling to the rooftops below him. The ground appeared to scream up in front of him as he tumbled to buildings below him, hitting the stone top with a tumbling crash as he tried to salvage his landing. His shoulder took the brunt of the impact and he let out a muffled yell as he felt it pop out of it's socket. Coming to a skidding stop on his back, he pushed himself up with his one good arm as his other hung loosely at his side, it swung wildly as he propped himself up on his knee. Biting down with his teeth, he grabbed his limp arm with his good hand and tugged, a squelching pop reverberated across the city skylines as he let out a pained wheeze.
Rolling his shoulder for a quick checked, he scanned the rest of the buildings for any sign of his assailant while radioing in his less than fortunate situation, "We've got company, someone just clipped my wings mid-flight so now it seems I'm stuck with my own set of problems."
"Are you in one piece my friend?"
"I'll live Shimada, I'm more worried about this mysterious sniper than anything else, haven't see jack-shit since I got my bearings."
"I will come to your aid, it sounds like the work of the devious Widowmaker, a truly formidable foe." Genji spoke calmy despite the seemingly dangerous warning he gave Adrian.
Activating his VISR, his vision became filled with a green tint as his helmet began to keep an eye out for any targets ally or foe alike. For a split-second he spied a red outline dashing between junk cluttering the rooftops, so it seemed the sniper was coming to finish him off. If Shimada was right and it was this Widowmaker, then it'd be best to get rid of her as quickly as possible. Holding in his breath to steady his aim, he sat crouched patiently with his finger just barely hovering over the trigger of his battle rifle. The next time the red outline appeared in his vision, he pulled the trigger instantly, his BR barking as a burst of rounds erupted from it's barrel. In his mind, Adrian had planned to slowly whittle away at the enemy though reality had a different course of action. It seemed that the sniper was not coming to finish him off, but rather check if he had in fact died. His initial burst will a successful hit had ruined any element of surprise he held. Adjusting his crouch at the last second, he felt the sniper's shot graze the side of his helmet sending sparks flying as he stumbled onto his ass from the close encounter.
"Jesus fuck." He swore to himself as the gravity of the situation settled in, a good soldier needs to know their strengths and weakness, know their limitations so they don't get themselves killed. So when the realization that he was in a long-distance shootout against a marksmen trained for this sole purpose, well there wasn't much to say other than, "Shit."
"You almost here Shimada? My odds are looking increasingly worse." He questioned to receive no response. Instead he could here the prattle of gunfire sounding itself across the rooftop, peaking up from his cover he couldn't see any outlines but it was clear that Genji had arrived at the nick of time.
"I am pushing Widowmaker towards your position, be prepared to fight for your life."
"How soon until-" He was cut off as a pair of long, slim legs clad in the tightest skinsuit he'd ever seen vaulted over his position to reveal…a purple…woman. Ignoring his stunned disbelief, he began to open fire on the woman as she landed, avoid his shots with a practiced ease though he could see a faint splotch of blood where he'd nailed her earlier. She closed the gap between then with incredible speed before high kicking the rifle from his hands with unbelievable agility. He dodged out of the way as she brought the kick down before retailing by kneeing her in the gut with his armor leg. The wind was knocked out of her as she doubled over, surprised at the strength Adrian had exhibited, he followed up his attack by closing his fists together and bringing them down on the back of her hear sending her straight to the ground with a crash.
Wasting no time she flipped herself up with her hands and using her lank legs to wrap around Adrian's neck before flipping him over herself with surprising force. Adrian landed on his back with a grunt, drawing his pistol he quickly brought himself blindly firing as he brought himself to stand. A few of his shots skimmed her body but the rest went wide as she retreated from their encounter as Shimada's brought his sword down on top of her. Widowmaker rolled out of the way but not unscathed as Genji landed a nasty cut down her back, she gritted her teeth in pain as she vaulted over the edge of the building and started to disappear into the night with the aid of some grappling hook; though not before leaving them with a final parting gift.
As she zipped away from them, she fired one final shot that nailed Adrian share in the shoulder, her rounds shattering against his plate armor, but the shrapnel tore through his bodysuit underneath. The massive round feeling like it packed the punch of a brute as he stumbled backwards until he feel himself trip over the lip of the roof. His momentum carried him over the edge with the sturdy ground giving way to empty air as he tumbled backwards off the building. The lights of Barcelona became clear as he gained a bird's eye view of them, the cars growing ever closer until he felt a tug on his ankle stopping him in his tracks. Peering up from his awkward position he saw Genji hanging halfway off the building with one hand on the edge and the other tightly wrapped around his ankle. With little effort the cyborg ninja pulled Adrian up onto the roof as he looked over Adrian's wound.
"Thanks for the assist." Adrian breathed out as the pain in his shoulder grew.
Shimada sat down next to Adrian, looking over the vibrant city, "We will have another chance at Widowmaker, but friends only come around once. Besides, I would assume she was here to assassinate one of the two local leaders; our involvement already ruined her plans. That alone is a victory worth celebrating."
Pushing himself into a sitting position Adrian sighed, "What a fucking night."