"Welcome to this special edition on Atlas News devoted to the hearing of a major witness by the United Nations commission of inquiry regarding the Overwatch organization's cases. I'm Sarah Ginsburg and for this special edition, I will be assisted by Jud Johnson. Welcome, Jud."

"Thank you, Sarah. Months after the destruction of the headquarters of the Overwatch organization, the investigation initiated by the UN commission finally reaches a turning point with the hearing of the former head of medical research, Dr. Angela Ziegler."

"Dr. Ziegler must appear in a few minutes before the investigation commission at the UN headquarters. On site, Blair Clarke is covering the situation for Atlas News."

"Yes, Sarah. It's right here in the middle of New York City at the United Nations Headquarters that the investigatory commission will hear from Doctor Angela Ziegler on the activities of Overwatch. She was among the highest-ranking officers of the organization and after the destruction of their headquarters in Zurich, many of them disappeared or are presumed dead. Since the Petras Act came into force last month, most of the former Overwatch agents have been in the spotlight. And yet this is the first time that someone so high up in the Overwatch hierarchy has publicly testified about the actions of the military organization. However, it is impossible for journalists and broadcasters to set up their cameras in the courtroom. The United Nations has its own system for broadcasting the hearing, which will begin in a few moments."

"Blair, we switch directly to the images of the hearing and meet afterwards for the debriefing."


ANGELA

The courtroom looked like an arena. For the past ten minutes or so, from the moment she had sat at her table, she had glanced around the room where this terribly obsolete spectacle was going to take place. It was a large room with varnished wooden walls, illuminated by a system of artificial lights with different coloured sconces which should make the courtroom much less ceremonial, but which evoked to her a patchwork of bad taste. To her left and to her right, rows of seats lined up around her, overhung by balconies that spread out in tiers. The view must have been perfect from up there, she felt terribly spied on from the four corners of the room, not to mention the dozens of people sitting in her back, in the front row for the show that was about to start. All the attention was focused on her. The audience was whispering and chatting in a low voice and her peeps irritated her to the core.

In front of her, a large table was waiting for the members of the commission to take their seats. Seven empty seats with the names of the occupants enthroned in frames that were clearly visible to the drone cameras scattered around the room. Flying spheres floated above their heads, pivoting on themselves, scanning from their targets every nook and cranny of the auditorium as they slowly moved around in a strange ballet, ready to capture everything that was about to happen in this room. Everything had been well planned, the audience had to get their money's worth.

The hearing would be translated into all languages. Behind the committee's seats, the wall of the room was pierced by numerous windows where translators and interpreters would work to transcribe the exchanges as best they could. In contrast to the anxiety-provoking atmosphere of the courtroom, the two floors dedicated to translation seemed to be in total turmoil: silhouettes moved from one floor to another, disappeared from one row of windows and reappeared on the other, people stood up while others took their places. She stayed a long time to observe their movements, which reminded her of the constant bustle of the corridors of a hospital. Angela saw herself again a few years earlier, as a young doctor, head of surgery at a hospital in her native Switzerland, before a flood of roar brought her back to the present.

Like a swarm, the camera drones had flown to the back of the room where a door had just opened. The members of the inquiry commission, followed by their assistants, entered the hearing room. As they reached the central tribune, Angela opened the top of the bottle of water that had been placed for her use and drank a swig before putting it back beside the pen and the pile of white paper carefully laid out on the table.

The commissioners settled in, then their assistants clustered around them to show them the binders and investigation files, some of them checking that the microphones were plugged in and functional. Four women and three men, all of whom represented their states in the United Nations General Assembly, had formed themselves as the commission that was to uncover the truth about the destruction of Overwatch's headquarters.

However, there was no guarantee that the truth would be obtained at the end of the process. The only certainty was that the conclusions of their investigation would-be set-in stone. And Angela knew that within the commission, some members were very zealous in discrediting Overwatch, including the head of the commission, the representative of the United States, William Petras.

The American representative was smiling complaisantly as he took his seat on the central seat of the commission. A man in his sixties with salt and pepper hair whose face seemed to be marked by the passage of time. However, his dark eyes were always bright and alert as he studied the assembly and his fellow commissioners.

Angela was finally able to put faces to the names that had been staring at them since she entered the courtroom. The Korean representative, Bong Yun-Gi, was whispering something in the ear of the Tunisian representative, Ezra Zourhlal. On the other side of the table, Rogelio Jimenez, a Mexican by nationality, was caressing his thick beard as he went through a file, while his neighbour, Italian Agostina Di Maria, was busy on her holomobile. William Petras was flanked by two women: a blonde with a pale complexion and serious, even icy features, and a slender black woman with short grey hair who was being served a glass of water by her assistant. The Norwegian representative and the Senegalese representative seemed to be the antipodes of each other. Helga Streng was austere where Muskeba Diarra seemed warm. Angela felt these impressions when the two representatives looked at her. Helga Streng, with her haughty expression, watched her up and down as she sorted out the investigation files while Muskeba Diarra stared at her, and had been staring at her ever since she had taken her seat with her hands clasped on her chin.

The attention she received from the two representatives made Angela uncomfortable, and she was not sure which one of them was going to give her the hardest time. She had difficulty discerning whether their attitudes concealed false pretenses, whether both women were playing a role unless there was no hypocrisy in their respective approaches. The cold, grey eyes of the Norwegian woman in her late thirties contrasted with the soothed, brown pupils of the Senegalese woman in her fifties, and Angela's stomach became tied.

Now that the inquiry commission was assembled, it was time for the master of ceremonies to open the ball. It was then that William Petras spoke. After adjusting his blue glasses on his nose, he caught Angela's eye and seemed to address the assembly behind her:

"Well, there's no point in delaying this hearing any longer."

His gray eyes returned to Angela and a reassuring smile stretched across her face.

"First of all, thank you for coming, Dr. Ziegler. On behalf of this Commission of Inquiry, I thank you for your help, which I am sure will be crucial in helping us to lift the veil on these terrible events."

Angela remained impassive. The camera drones gazed at her and gauged her from their dark targets. Each of her expressions would be scrutinized by journalists, editorial writers and columnists from every media outlet. Petras knew how to shape it, he was at ease in front of the cameras.

"Can you please stand up?" Petras asked.

Angela did so, without flinching, and readjusted the button on her jacket, while raising her right hand.

"Can you swear before this commission to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?"

"I do."

A futile oath for an equally futile situation. It made no sense to her. The commission didn't care about her testimony. All Overwatch agents, at least those who had not hidden from the authorities, had been thoroughly interrogated and questioned since the headquarters blast. Angela had not escaped, and in any case she had nothing to hide.

However, the United Nations had not been able to find the leaders of the organization, who were missing or presumed dead. As a result, Angela was the ideal target. She was one of the only high-ranking members that they had managed to apprehend and, reluctantly, she had had to participate in this farce. The commission and the investigators had suggested that Torbjörn should testify in her place, but after a heated meeting with the engineer, they changed their minds. That was the only comfort Angela had at that moment.

"Well, can you please present yourself before the commission of inquiry?" Petras said.

"I am Dr. Angela Ziegler, a graduate of the Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich and former head of medical research at the Overwatch organization."

"When did you join the organization? Petras continued, turning the pages of the files before his eyes."

"A few years after my PhD. Six years to be precise, if I'm not mistaken." Angela replied simply. I had just taken up a position as head of surgery at a hospital on the outskirts of Zurich and had just stopped teaching at the university to focus exclusively on surgery and research. And that's when the organization contacted me."

"How exactly did they contact you?" said Helga Streng, the Norwegian representative, in an ice-cold voice.

"Through its commander, Jack Morrison," Angela simply replied, insisting on the name of the former leader of Overwatch. "He had taken a quick look at my work in nanotechnology and felt that I could contribute a lot to Overwatch's research and development department."

"This wasn't the first time you'd met Morrison, was it?" Petras asked, raising his eyes from his documents.

Angela knew immediately where the American representative wanted to lead her.

"No. I had already met him a few times when..."

"In what context?" asked Helga Streng.

"I was about to get to it." Angela answered, who made no secret of her irritation. Overwatch's headquarters were located not far from Zurich, where I was studying, and I knew one of its members because he was an old family friend."

"Are you talking about Torbjörn Lindholm?" asked Rogelio Jimenez in a cavernous voice.

"That's right. He was a friend of my parents. He was recovering from serious injuries and undergoing extensive rehabilitation following a prosthesis transplant and I came to the organization's headquarters several times to follow his progress and recovery."

Rogelio Jimenez turned over a page from his file and out of the corner of his eye Angela believed she saw a photograph. A picture she never thought she would see again in this particular situation, and yet it was an essential part of the investigation.

"Was this picture taken during one of your visits?"

As soon as William Petras had spoken his statement, a holographic image of the picture was projected just above the members of the commission, in front of the whole assembly and the drone cameras gathered around the image to obtain the best angle.

The picture remained as she remembered it. A group of people were posing, nothing extraordinary even if they were legends: Jack Morrison, with a smile on his face, was in the center, surrounded by Ana Amari and Wilhelm Reinhardt, the latter having crouched down slightly to get into the frame. The Egyptian sniper had her hands resting on the shoulders of her daughter, Fareeha, whose childish and candid manner seemed out of place among these assertive adults. In the shadow of the Amari, hidden under a hood, Gabriel Reyes looked serious, contrasting with the ambient joy of the cliché. Even Jesse McCree, his Blackwatch peer, seemed to blend much more easily into the euphoria of the photo. In the foreground, Torbjörn stared at the photographer with his arms crossed, revealing his newly acquired mechanical left arm prosthesis, alongside a smiling blonde woman doing the V for victory with her right hand.

The joy of the Angela of the past seemed far away for the Angela of the present. Yet it all came back to her mind in the middle of that hearing room. On that day, Torbjörn was carrying out the final series of physical and motor tests in order to be able to return to his activities within the organisation. Angela had insisted on being present, even though the engineer had told her not to, and she had had to struggle to get him to stop trying to dissuade her. But she wasn't the only one to attend, Morrison and Reinhardt, on leaving a mission briefing, had decided to come and encourage their comrade, soon joined by Ana and her daughter, who had the same idea. Reyes and McCree had also joined them as they both passed by the rehabilitation rooms to complete the assistance. Torbjörn had a real audience for his final exams.

The engineer had swear at every glance in the observation room, where he could see Reinhardt's exuberant face, motivating his brother-in-arms, and McCree's mocking grins. Morrison and Reyes had watched without flinching, as had the young Fareeha, while Ana and Angela had offered him a few shouts of encouragement. Torbjörn had done well in his tests and Morrison had offered to immortalize this to celebrate the end of the engineer's convalescence. The engineer had strongly refused, Angela remembered that the convalescence had made Torbjörn even more acarious and gruff. He wanted to put an end to all this rehabilitation circus and go back to work. Angela had to convince him - helped by a Reinhardt who seemed to calm the engineer's stubbornness - to make him appear on the picture.

And the result was now revealed for all to see. Angela contemplated her reflection of the past and envied it greatly. Her simpler days and moments were now distant. This photograph evoked another time, a time of heroes and victories. Today, Angela, melancholic, could not watch this photograph without thinking of failures, deaths, and fallen legends.

"That's right." Angela replied.

"And what was your relationship with Morrison?"

The question came from Muskeba Diarra, who gauged her behind small glasses supported by a thin metal chain, while displaying an interested smile.

"My relationship with Morrison was primarily professional?" Angela added. "He had appreciated my research and offered me a job as a result. My closeness to engineer Lindholm may have led him to turn to me, but he never led me to believe that this was the case."

"And unfortunately, he's not here to confirm that either." Muskeba concludes calmly.

Angela nodded without adding anything. The Senegalese representative put her glasses back on her nose to look back at her files as William Petras and Helga Streng exchanged glances.

"Dr. Ziegler." questioned Streng. "Jack Morrison put you in charge of medical research and as the commander, so he was the only person in charge of Overwatch?"

"That is correct, I was accountable only to him. However, I had a large degree of freedom within the organization in all matters related to my domain."

Helga Streng marked a break, which allowed the swarm of camera drones to reposition themselves in the audience room.

"And what were your apprehensions about Jack Morrison? As an individual and as a commander?"

Angela knew what the commission wanted to hear, and she had no reason to lie to him. She had already answered this question in an interrogation room surrounded by government officials. The commissioners certainly had the transcripts of these exchanges in their investigation files and were simply playing this farce to get some nice pictures to show the public.

Jack Morrison was dead, and Angela did not appreciate lying. Her father abhorred lying and had taught her, from a very young age, that there was nothing among the evils more heinous than lying. He often repeated to her: "Truth always comes out in the end, so lying is a waste of time". Jack Morrison was dead and had left no family behind. Angela wasn't going to embellish reality and would only be truthful. What she was going to say wasn't going to hurt anyone but the dead.

"Jack Morrison was a trained military man. "Angela began. "In that way, he and I were quite different. He was zealous, straightforward and pragmatic: a soldier by nature. For my part, as a medical doctor, I have always opposed the use of force to resolve conflicts, hence my reluctance to join an organization created to respond to an armed threat, by armed force. Yet Morrison invited me to join them, arguing that the organization had changed and wanted to move towards scientific research and improved medical advances."

"And so that's what drove you to join Overwatch?" asked the Italian representative, speaking for the first time.

Angela was startled to recall what Commander Morrison had told her in their interview years ago:

"Dr. Ziegler, I must confess I did read your paper, but I didn't understand much... I'm a military man, and I'm not comfortable enough with all that scientific stuff... And yet everyone praises your work and I think you would have a place on Overwatch... I know you don't like the idea of having to work with the military, but just like you, now that the Omnic War is over, I'm thinking about the future and I hope that no one suffers the way we have suffered. Today, I need doctors in my ranks more than I need soldiers. You can't cure someone with bullets..."

"Jack Morrison and I came from different backgrounds" Angela replied. "but we wanted, above all, to protect lives. The Omnic Crisis had left a deep impression on us: him as a soldier and me as a war orphan... The means of Overwatch allowed me to make advances that were almost unimaginable in university hospitals or research laboratories. In this, I am very grateful for the opportunity that Jack Morrison and Overwatch have given me. However, as the years went by and I and my team continued our research, I found that the organization did not hesitate to share our advances and use our discoveries to expand its war arsenal. And it did so without my approval."

"When did you find out that Overwatch was using these discoveries at your expense?" said the Korean representative.

"With the Venice incident and the revelations about Blackwatch…" Angela confessed.

She had a front row seat to witness the satisfied smile of William Petras. A wave of murmurs swept through the audience, and the camera drones were busy capturing the noises of the room.

"What you're trying to tell us, Dr. Ziegler." Petras replied. "is that you were unaware of the existence of Blackwatch, despite your place in the organization's hierarchy?"

The question was not trivial, and Angela thought she discerned sarcasm in Petras' tone. The Venice incident had put Overwatch under fire. Overwatch's clandestine operations division had been compromised, revealed to everyone, even within its own parent organization. At the time, Angela had felt betrayed. She had joined Overwatch to preserve peace and protect the weak, and she had just discovered in shock that the organization had granted itself the right to intervene and act within sovereign states in violation of all international conventions.

She had had a hard time dealing with the hypocrisy of her situation. Over the years, she thought she had fought oppressors and despots, but in reality, she armed them, healed them, and provided them with the technology and scientific advances they needed to quench their thirst for power.

Angela had had words with Jack Morrison. She was furious to learn that Blackwatch had its own medical and scientific section - independent of hers. In addition, she had learned that a controversial geneticist had taken over this section in complete secrecy. On five occasions, she had placed her letter of resignation on Morrison's desk. The commander of Overwatch apologized and convinced her that this would not happen again and that he had misjudged Gabriel Reyes' ability to manage this clandestine organization. Since then, their relationship had deteriorated. The closeness, which they had maintained since his recruitment, had disappeared behind a formalism adapted to their working relationship. Jack Morrison had had to be content with this because Angela had not forgotten this breach of his word and she had reminded him frequently.

"No. I found out about Blackwatch just like everyone else." She confessed without batting an eyelid. "Jack Morrison was the only one who knew inside Overwatch and, let's just say I expressed my profound disagreement with him."

"Can you be more specific?" challenged Helga Streng. "On what points did you disagree?"

Angela remained silent, under the cold, steady gaze of the Norwegian, searching for her words.

"Well... I felt betrayed by Morrison and the people at the head of Blackwatch: Gabriel Reyes, Gerard Lacroix. I was struck with great disillusionment about the future of Overwatch, about its goals of peace and progress. It was not the organization I wanted to be part of. I wanted to save human lives, but I didn't want my discoveries to be used to destroy lives. I offered my resignation to the commander on several occasions, but he consistently refused. He kept me on the team by all means and I became much more distrustful of the hierarchy."

The camera drones surrounded her as she finished her tirade. Angela saw the American representative nodding calmly like a teacher happy that a pupil was reciting his lesson perfectly.

"What about Gabriel Reyes? The former commander of Blackwatch," asked Jimenez, pointing to the hooded man in the photograph behind him. "What was your relationship with him?"

"They were far less familiar than they were with Commander Morrison. Gabriel Reyes was a taciturn and stark man. He and Morrison had been comrades-in-arms for years, but they were very different. I had affinities with Commander Morrison but none with Commander Reyes. In any case, when I was recruited into Overwatch, he was already running the clandestine branch of the organization, so I was never under his command."

Rogelio Jimenez cleared his throat, and turned to Petras, who then turned to the following question:

"Many Overwatch agents told us about tensions between Morrison and Reyes? Can you confirm that?"

"Yes, I can confirm that. I've been to some tense meetings and some heated exchanges. Within the organization, it was said that it started after the Venice incident and the suspension of Blackwatch activities."

"Other sources speak of Gabriel Reyes's ouster as Overwatch's commander, to the benefit of Morrison, as the trigger for their misunderstanding." Ezra Zourhlal contradicts. "Was this also the case?"

"I hadn't joined Overwatch at that time, I can't deny or confirm that." Angela continued. "However, we can presume that at that time Reyes had to take over the command of Blackwatch and was no longer in any way inferior to Morrison. And when Blackwatch was removed, Reyes' bitterness towards Morrison grew and the exchanges between the two became very complicated."

"Tell us about these exchanges, Dr. Ziegler, please." asked Helga Streng curtly.

Angela's memories were hazy on this point. In recent months, Gabriel and Jack's arguments had become part of the daily routine of the organization and many had preferred to ignore them to concentrate on their work and their various assignments.

"I remember that most of the exchanges were about the organization's management. Gabriel Reyes was enraged and angry at the whole world. He had been suspended, his toy had been taken away, and he was being decried in all the media, so Reyes set about interfering in Morrison's affairs, while at the same time criticizing his methods of command. At certain mission briefings, he would sit in as a spectator with the sole purpose of questioning Morrison's approved attack plans and strategies. Morrison reacted badly to Reyes' remarks and did not hesitate to remind him of his own mistakes in Blackwatch, which only made things worse. I witnessed these briefings and was told that these types of exchanges between the two men were much more frequent than they seemed."

"The testimonies we have gathered also point in this direction." Muskeba Diarra added with a smile. "There's a proverb from my country that says: 'He who feels alone must join the herd...'"

The Senegalese representative's remark intrigued the members of the commission who turned to her in an incredulous impulse to which Muskeba Diarra reacted with undisguised nonchalance.

"Thank you for your contribution, Representative Diarra." continued William Petras. "All that emerges from these testimonies is that within Overwatch there was a cockfight. And that these roosters were fighting over a dung heap."

Unlike Diarra's comment, Petras' remark hit the mark, and light laughter swept across the courtroom as thin smiles appeared on the faces. Angela was not pleased. A few years ago, no one would have denigrated Jack Morrison or Gabriel Reyes in this way. During the Omnic Crisis, they had been praised as the saviors of humanity against the omnic threat, at the same time as Overwatch. Times had changed, and their failures had overshadowed their successes, dragging the organization to its downfall. Angela could not deny the failures and mistakes of the two commanders, but Petras' attack on them was very petty, especially towards the dead. No wonder, after all, the man's considerations stopped when they were an obstacle to his political ambitions. Angela hoped he slept well at night because Morrison and Reyes might decide to return to haunt him.

"Let's not digress." recalled William Petras. "Dr. Ziegler, our witnesses tell us that relations between Reyes and Morrison had suddenly deteriorated in the last few months. Can you confirm that statement?"

Angela sighed at length as she closed the bottle she had poured a glass from. Her throat was dry.

"Yes, I can attest to that." she replied before taking a sip of water.

The members of the committee stared at her insistently.

"Could you enlighten us, Dr. Ziegler? What are the reasons for this recent deterioration?"

"It relates to the disappearance of Ana Ama... Captain Ana Amari."

"Which is also on this picture." Streng added.

Angela gave a slight glance at the Egyptian woman who was enthroned victorious in the photograph, flanking her only daughter and her comrades-in-arms.

"Yes." Angela replied. "Captain Amari was one of the founding members of Overwatch along with Reyes and Morrison. They fought together for many years, they were brothers in arms, if I may use that expression."

Angela thought she discerned an amused chuckle from Muskeba Diarra but paid little attention to it.

"Captain Amari disappeared during a rescue mission against a hostile armed organization in Poland and we were never able to find her body."

Angela remembered that very day when Morrison's rescue team returned from that mission: the severe and grieving mines of the aircraft members, Jack's red and insane eyes, Gabriel's hoarse and desperate rage.

"After Captain Amari's disappearance, most members of the organization realized the importance of her presence in the relationship between Morrison and Reyes. She knew how to keep them both on hold and calm the tension between them. In fact, everyone at Overwatch suffered through Captain Amari's disappearance. She was beloved by all. She was a tough but fair instructor, a rigorous but close commanding officer, a dedicated and empathetic colleague. And as for Jack and Gabriel... After she disappeared, there was nothing to stop them tearing each other apart."

"None of this would have happened under my command!" The words returned to Angela. "This is all your fault! You're the one and only one to blame!" She buried her memories deep in her mind and tried not to think about it anymore.

"You still appear to be affected by the disappearance of Captain Amari, Dr. Ziegler." Muskeba Diarra noted.

Angela raised her head to the Senegalese representative whose eyes were scanning the doctor behind her round glasses.

"Overwatch was never the same after her death." she explained. "She knew everyone, and everyone knew her. In the field, her code name was ''Mama Bear''. She was a maternal figure."

There was a pause in the hearing room as the image of Ana Amari in the photograph seemed to smile at the audience, like a portrait of a deceased person at a funeral oration.

"No one knows what it's like to cry until they've lost their mother..."

Without looking at the members of the commission, Angela knew that this was another proverb of the Senegalese representative. It was very accurate, and Overwatch had mourned Captain Amari who had died as a soldier as she had always lived. Angela thought that she would have been terribly affected to learn of Overwatch's downfall. And for Fareeha... She had had to mourn and move on.

"Let's proceed." asked William Petras in a clear voice.

The American representative turned the pages of his file and cleared his throat.

"Dr. Ziegler, do you think the animosity between Jack Morrison and Gabriel Reyes caused the latter to act against the organization?"

Petras had just finished the prelude to his play and now the real show was starting.

"No, I seriously doubt it." Angela replied. Gabriel Reyes had strong resentments against his layoff and against Jack Morrison but he could never have attacked the organization.

On that point, Angela didn't go into any further detail. She knew that she did not have the answers to this question and that evidence presented by the commission would prove, in part, that she was wrong. But she couldn't recognize this version of the events that went against what she had lived through on Overwatch. She didn't imagine Reyes could go that far. Even her recent conflicts with the organization did not justify such retaliation.

"Yet we have images and recordings," Di Maria replied, "that prove that on the day of the attack on Overwatch headquarters, Gabriel Reyes attacked the organization from the inside. Can we see the security footage that we were able to recover despite the site's destruction?"

The holographic images appeared behind the commission and Angela was able to see once again the commission's evidence. She had already been able to observe them when they had been presented to her during her individual interrogation. Masked men wearing Overwatch security uniforms, equipped with handguns and assault rifles, were seen in the corridors of the headquarters in Zurich. They appeared to be in a combat situation, ready to take down anyone who stood in their way. This could be deduced from the bodies lying on the ground that could be seen in the photos. Then there was the hooded silhouette that stood out from the crowd, which could be seen in some of the pictures and which appeared to be leading the group. With his equipment and weapons, everything suggested that it was Gabriel Reyes, even though there were no shots that could really identify the face under the hood.

"The leader of the assault group wears the Blackwatch outfit, which is identical to the uniforms used by the agents in the Venice incident, particularly the one worn by Gabriel Reyes. It should also be noted that the assault group leader has two shotguns, which correspond to the weapons used by Reyes in his operations in the field, which can be verified via Overwatch's mission reports. This cluster of evidence points to Gabriel Reyes as the leader of the assault group responsible for the destruction of the headquarters. As for the other members of the assault team, we have no clear identification of them. Like Reyes, their bodies have not been found."

"Dr. Ziegler," Petras continued after the Italian representative's intervention. "I understand that your affiliation with the organization may affect your point of view, but Reyes' implication in the destruction of the Zurich headquarters is, at this point in time, undeniable."

"He played a part in it," Angela conceded inwardly, "but he certainly wasn't alone behind it." The attack had been carefully planned while the base personnel were being reduced in size. Reyes and his team had struck at the right time when the defence of the base was most vulnerable. Furthermore, the destruction of the base also suggested that explosive charges had been placed at strategic locations within the headquarters. Thus, if the power of the explosions had not destroyed the base, it had greatly weakened the installations, leading directly to its total collapse. This proved the theory that there was an enemy agent inside Overwatch, and Gabriel Reyes was the prime culprit. But for Angela, it was a version far too simple. And it had the unique advantage of corroborating William Petras' biased point of view: Overwatch had collapsed in on itself, consumed by internal conflicts and by the devouring lust for power of its high-ranking officers.

"This audio recording clearly shows that Reyes was leading the attack." Agostina Di Maria said. Can we please hear the recording?

A volley of bullets resounded through the room, which surprised many people. It was an unusual sound, Angela saw people startled around her. She was now accustomed to the shots and the sound of gunfire, but that didn't stop a shiver from running down her spine.

"Intruders in sector 7G!" made a voice crackling. "They're wearing Overwatch uniforms! Send reinfor..."

A dry slam thundered, followed by another cloud of shots and a deeper, more distant voice that echoed across the room:

"We're going forward! We've already lost enough time!"

Angela recognized Gabriel's dark timbre before another burst of bullets resonated through the room.

"Get moving! We have to get to the lower floors!" Reyes ordered again as the sound of his voice disappeared under the screams of the shots.

New exchanges of fire resounded and then suddenly stopped, bringing the auditorium back to silence.

"Our testimonies clearly identify the second voice on this recording as Gabriel Reyes." Petras continued. "Can you confirm that, Dr. Ziegler?"

"Yes, it's certainly the voice of Gabriel Reyes." Angela replied. "That doesn't prove anything though."

"You seem to contradict yourself, Dr. Ziegler." William Petras remarked with a sarcastic grin. "You consider it highly unlikely that Reyes could ever attack Overwatch and still recognize the overwhelming evidence against him. Your lack of certainty leaves this committee more than perplexed..."

Just like in her interrogation, she had only answered sincerely. She made it a point of honour to be fair on these questions. Petras would not be able to make her accept full responsibility for Reyes, who was no longer even able to defend himself. The destruction of the headquarters in Zurich had been a tragedy, and many of his friends and colleagues had died in the incident. Although everything seemed to point to Reyes, Angela was convinced that it was much more complex than that. Like the others, the destruction of the headquarters remained a mystery. And those who knew the answers were either dead or missing. Angela thought that somewhere Reyes' widow and his child were watching the hearing right now. She didn't want him to remember his father as a terrorist.

"I'm not contradicting myself." Angela said curtly. "I just want to argue that despite all the evidence gathered by the commission, Reyes' responsibility can only be implied and that there are still many grey areas regarding the destruction of the headquarters."

"That is the sole purpose of this commission of inquiry." William Petras replied ironically. "We are trying to establish the causes and those responsible for this tragic event. You made a deliberate decision to help this commission, Dr. Ziegler."

"And so I did." Angela immediately replied in a calm tone. "I was not present in Zurich on the day of the incident. However, our own investigation suggests that charges were placed at strategic points on the Zurich base to weaken its structures but more importantly to cause maximum damage, either to fuel reserves or to electrical power systems."

"Overwatch has dealt with terrorist attacks in the past." noted Helga Streng.

"Like in Oslo or Rome." Agostina Di Maria added, "which resulted in significant losses in your ranks as well as some regrettable collateral damage..."

"Overwatch had many enemies." Petras explained, both inside and outside the organization. "It's unfortunate, however, that individuals like Gabriel Reyes decided to play "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth". I believe that everyone knows this old adage."

On his remark, which he considered relevant, Petras looked at Muskeba Diarra, who appeared totally indifferent to his sense of humour.

"As a result of what happened in Rome, Reyes decided to take justice into his own hands and therefore murdered Antonio Bartalotti with the means granted to him by Blackwatch, violating Italy's sovereignty, exceeding his rights and disregarding all his duties."

Petras' voice echoed throughout the room and the speaker took advantage of a pause to catch his breath.

"So, Dr. Ziegler, when you suggest that Gabriel Reyes would not be able to attack Overwatch when everything seems to indicate otherwise - the charges placed at critical points on the base, the security uniforms, the hacked surveillance system - I don't believe it for a second."

Angela felt the smugness in Petras' words as the crowd resumed its quiet discussions.

"You asked me to testify and I did." she replied, putting an end to the tumult of whispers behind her back. "I had only a limited view of the bonds that have been forged at the highest levels of the organization. A lot of things escaped me and many unknowns still remain concerning the headquarters destruction in Zurich. And I doubt that this commission can reach a satisfactory outcome without the intervention of a key witness."

"Which one, Dr. Ziegler?" cut Petras off.

Her answer came soon after.

"Gabriel Reyes."

The crowd's discussion resumed as Angela and Petras gauged each other's eyes. She wasn't going to give in and she wasn't going to be obedient. Next to Petras, Angela thought she saw an unconcealed smile on Muskeba Diarra's lips.

"You allowed me to witness and clarify what would have caused the destruction of the Zurich headquarters, but in the end, it's the whole fall of Overwatch that we're trying to autopsy. And sadly, for those of you who want concrete answers, I have none. All I can give you is my truth, and that's what prompted me to testify before this inquiry commission. The truth is what Overwatch owed the people of the world, but it has strayed into the unspoken and has gone beyond its own limits. Overwatch has lost what it was originally, and everyone should know why. Either we play by the rules or we're no better than the people we fight. The truth is all I can give you. That's what my colleagues deserve, those who have disappeared and those like me who will have to carry on living to the very end."

Silence fell in the room as Angela's reply came to an end. The members of the commission remained marbled except for William Petras, whose mouth formed a discreet smirk. William Petras' performance had been well calibrated, and Angela had stuck to her script for most of the questions. She had allowed herself some deviations, but Petras had quickly led her back to the path he had mapped out for the hearing. Angela had fulfilled her part of the bargain and without betraying what she considered to be her truth and Petras had gotten what he desired.

For years, the American representative had wanted Overwatch dismantled and had fought to expose the organization's mistakes and abuses of power. Finally, on this issue, he and Angela were on the same wavelength. They recognized that Overwatch had overstepped its original objectives and had exceeded its own limits, becoming a threat to the balance of power in the world. In this, Angela had been very helpful to William Petras, she agreed with him. But Petras saw in this denunciation a means of asserting his superiority and influence, while Angela saw in it a lesson for future generations, a mistake not to be repeated. That's why she wanted to have the last word and thwart Petras.

Angela took a deep breath and took off her glasses. Slowly, she sipped some water as the committee members in front of her were debating in mid-voice, being careful that none of their microphones could get their conversations out loud.

"I don't think there's any need to go any further on this point." Petras told the assembly.

Angela felt a weight coming off her chest. At last she was free of this burden.

"Before that, Dr. Ziegler, I have one last point to make. More like a final question."

She froze for a moment to observe William Petras whose face turned into a mocking pout. Angela felt a shiver go up her back.

"Earlier, you said that your involvement with Overwatch stemmed primarily from your desire to save lives, not destroy them. Is that correct?"

She suddenly felt caught off guard, not knowing where the representative wanted to lead her. Petras deviated from his own partition.

"That's right." she replied simply.

"A few moments ago, you said, and I quote, "Either we play by the rules or we are no better than the people we fight"."

Petras was delighted by the intonation of each of his words, while at his side Helga Streng had just crossed her arms on her chest and offered the assembly her first smile, which made Angela understand that something was wrong. She went through the faces of the other members of the commission, Rogelio Jimenez slowly rubbed his beard and Agostina Di Maria put her glasses back on her forehead where her black locks were struggling and her pinched eyes fell on her like a bird of prey. The Senegalese representative, the Korean representative and the Tunisian representative stood out from the rest of the committee. The Tunisian Zourhlal had gone back into her investigation file, indifferent to what was happening around her. Bong Yung-Gi's face showed a certain embarrassment where Muskeba Diarra's features revealed her annoyance.

"You condemn Overwatch's interventionist policy," Petras continued, "and the large number of entirely outlawed and unauthorized operations carried out by the organization. However, Dr. Ziegler, you took part in these illegal interventions yourself."

And the trap closed in on her.

"Yes, I took part in such operations." Angela answered sincerely.

"I find it rather paradoxical on your part, Dr. Ziegler, even hypocritical to denounce the excesses of Overwatch when, through your involvement in such operations, you have supported these illegal practices. For example, you had participated in a clandestine operation, under the aegis of Overwatch moreover, even though Blackwatch had been suspended and, as you said earlier, you had become sceptical towards the organization. It was to intervene on British territory during the uprising of the Null Sector. In Overwatch's archives, we were able to find photographs that prove that you were present on the field."

The images appeared in the back of the commission and the camera drones rushed at them. They were pictures taken on the spot, showing street fighting in a London ravaged by chaos and fire. On the photos, Angela recognized the young Lena, Torbjörn and Reinhardt who were facing hordes of omnics. It was the first time the young Englishwoman had been in the field as an Overwatch agent and Angela remembered that Commander Morrison had asked her to look after the one who would later identify herself as "Tracer". She was also present on the pictures, flying over the battlefield in her Valkyrie armour with her Caduceus, both of her own invention. Angela did not know how the commission had gathered these photographs; she had never seen them before. Another shot of her showed her armed shooting an omnic. The picture was unflattering and suggested that Angela was deliberately attacking the omnic, but she knew that during this mission she had only used her weapon in self-defence. The other members of her team had spearheaded the mission and she had supported and cared for them as she had always done in the field.

"It was a mission, ordered against the will of the British Prime Minister," Angela explained while remaining calm, "but its purpose was to save civilian lives. Many people were living under the control of the Null Sector, without medical care, without food, and the Null Sector's omnics had taken the Mayor of London, Tekhartha Mondatta and other city officials' hostage. The British government was unable to act. So in response to this, as the death toll was rising, Commander Morrison decided to send a team to the site to rescue the hostages, provide first aid to the most vulnerable and create an evacuation area for civilians."

"This remained a completely illegal operation, infringing on the sovereignty of Great Britain." said Rogelio Jimenez. "Overwatch overstepped its rights, Dr. Ziegler."

"To save lives, Mr. Jimenez," Angela insisted. Just look at the number of deaths during the uprising of the Null Sector, if we had responded sooner, victims would have been spared. On this point, I would argue that if Overwatch had not intervened, the uprising would have spread to the rest of the country, and even to the rest of the European continent, causing thousands of deaths and many more injuries. For that is why Overwatch was created, to help and protect innocents.

"That's your point of view, Dr. Ziegler" Petras continued insidiously, "but from the Commission's point of view, it was a violation of the law, a precedent, which led Overwatch to continue to act without real safeguards, as it had been the case in Singapore."

Other images replaced those of London to unveil an avenue of the Asian metropolis as a true battleground. These shots seemed to have been taken by passers-by who had witnessed the attack. The photos were sometimes blurred, of poor quality or badly framed. On the bodies of vehicles, the silhouette of a tall, shirtless, muscular, and technologically optimized man stood out. Below, Winston, Lena and Genji were facing him, ready to fight. Angela thought about her former teammates. Were they looking at her right now? Tracer had probably returned to the UK, but she had no idea where Winston and Genji were. She hoped that the scientist had found a place where he could continue his research, while for the japanese, she wished him a peaceful place where he could find some serenity until they met again.

In Havana, they had managed to capture Maximilian, a prominent member of Talon, and they had been able to reach an agreement with him. Angela had led this mission and she had held on to the role of negotiator, but she had not fundamentally enjoyed making a bargain with a criminal like Maximilian. He was merely an intermediary within the criminal organization, his dirty money financed Talon's operations and illegal actions. Of course, his hands were not stained with blood, but the many agents he had in his payroll were not so innocent. And yet, through this agreement with Maximilian, Overwatch intended to reach a person far more essential to Talon's organization: Akande Ogundimu, known throughout the world as "Doomfist".

The information given by Maximilien had led them to the Ogundimu track in Singapore but they were running out of time. Commander Morrison was determined to prevent Doomfist from getting away and had ignored the preliminary procedures for this kind of capture operation. Tracer, Winston, Genji and her had been sent in a hurry to apprehend one of the high-ranking members of Talon and this had taken place under very unfortunate circumstances.

As the photographs and videos demonstrated, the confrontation had been inevitable. Akande Ogundimu had lived up to his reputation and firmly resisted to his arrest. In one corner of the screenings, Angela saw Genji flying through the windows of a building as Tracer continued to strafe Doomfist. Elsewhere, a small car sped towards the lens of a camera, while in the distance, the criminal could be seen with Overwatch agents. Angela finally appeared in the picture providing first aid to a family in a restaurant, while keeping an eye on the fight in the street. A blast blew out the restaurant's windows and Angela protected the family with the wings of her Valkyrie armor.

An entire district of Singapore had been ravaged. Doomfist's arrest was accompanied by numerous collateral casualties, especially during the criminal's last stand, who, after neutralizing Tracer and Genji, engaged the team's gorilla in single combat. In an outburst of force and violence, Winston and Doomfist fought a savage brawl that ended with the victory of Overwatch's scientist. However, despite the success of the mission, it was bitter considering the number of wounded and dead.

"This is another illegal intervention" Petras said, presenting the images behind his back, "ordered by Commander Morrison to capture the criminal Akande Ogundimu, known as Doomfist. Dr. Ziegler, what was the purpose of this mission? To protect lives? From what we have seen, the people of Singapore have paid the price for Overwatch's hubris."

"Mistakes were made." Angela replied. "I couldn't agree more with the commission. This capture operation could have been better managed with the support of the Singaporean authorities, but unfortunately the command decided otherwise."

"Why didn't you contest this mission order?" asked Helga Streng.

"I expressed concerns to Morrison, but he argued that the capture of Doomfist would curb Talon's activities and would therefore save other lives. I agreed, but the consequences of the operation seemed disproportionate even for the arrest of an individual like Ogundimu."

"But for Morrison, the end justified the means." said Helga Streng. "And Ogundimu's arrest in no way stopped or halted Talon's operations."

"If the purpose is to protect and care for people and prevent unnecessary deaths" Angela said "then I partly agree with that."

The members of the commission fell silent, Angela thought she saw a smirk on the Senegalese representative's lips.

"It would seem, Dr. Ziegler." William Petras hissed, "that although you deny it, you are far more like Commanders Reyes and Morrison than you think, you obey orders, you act beyond national and international rules and conventions. You behaved like a brave little soldier."

Some members of the commission laughed slightly, as did other members of the assembly. The smug pout Petras displayed annoyed Angela at the highest point, but she had to make up her mind. He had torn down her defence to put her in front of her contradictions and just for that alone he would brag about it. She had responded sincerely and honestly, but that meant little to Petras. She had offered the commission her version of the facts, as transparent as possible, and there was no point in insisting. She could not stop this machine, which wanted above all to destroy all that remained of Overwatch and its symbol.

"That's your point of view." she concludes solemnly "I acted as any doctor would have done, not as a soldier."

Angela felt the grey eyes of William Petras gauge her. She had finished with that last line. He had obtained the show he wanted for the media, he had cowardly overwhelmed the dead, and he wouldn't humiliate her any longer.

"Do you have anything else to add, Dr. Ziegler?" he inquired.

Angela did not answer, giving a defiant look to the American representative, telling him that the masquerade was over. Petras waited a few seconds for the doctor to respond, then upon her silence, he ended his performance.

"The hearing is officially over. Thank you again, Dr. Ziegler, for your unfailing support to the Commission."

With these words, he stood up, followed by the other members of the commission and their assistants, and disappeared into the next room. The audience had broken its religious silence and was chatting in a noisy cacophony. Angela remained seated for a few minutes and tried to remove the bitter taste in her mouth with a glass of water.

The show is over.

Angela watched the last performance of the day down below. The media gathered on the United Nations Headquarters esplanade were listening to William Petras who was speaking to the journalists. He had to give his impressions of the exchanges in this affair to the press while repeating the same tirades and rhetorical formulations that were extremely specific to him. He would offer his synthetic and biased version of the hearing and it was his version that would remain in all the memories.

Angela lost interest in what was happening on the lower floors and turned away from the window. Following the hearing, the Swiss representative had invited her to come and wait for his driver in the offices of his delegation. He had explained to her that this would save her from being questioned by journalists and the intrusive targets of the camera drones. The latter did not have access to the private parts of the United Nations headquarters. She had politely agreed to be escorted to the upper floors, but once inside the offices, the Swiss representative had informed her that he had a last-minute meeting and had left her alone. He had been gone for more than twenty minutes and she had no news of her driver.

Angela moved back to the seat where the representative had invited her to make herself comfortable and took a sip of water from the bottle she had been given for the hearing. She put her hand under her glasses and rubbed her eyes for a long time before taking out her holomobile to watch for a message from her driver. However, the image that emanated from the small device notified her that she still hadn't received anything. She put the device back on the representative's desk and turned her gaze towards the large bay windows overlooking the heart of Manhattan. The imposing figure of the New Chrysler Building was overwhelming the panorama of the various buildings and structures in the neighborhood, among which were many embassies and consulates of states with seats at the United Nations. In the distance, in an orange sky, the sun descended to the spire of the skyscraper and Angela realized that from the Hudson River, the sun's reflections on the arches of the New Chrysler Building must have been magnificent. She stayed for a few moments to observe this urban landscape, while the New York environment roared outside.

A faint sound emanated from her holomobile and she quickly retrieved it. It was a message from a number she didn't know, probably her driver. She opened it and discovered a short text of a few lines.

What a performance. You almost brought tears to my eyes. I want you to know that my offer still stands. You know where to find me.

M.

Displeased, Angela put the holomobile back on the desk and tried to banish from her mind the dark thoughts evoked by her interlocutor. She certainly should have been at her side today, sitting in front of the inquiry commission to face the questions of Petras and the others. Her affiliation with Blackwatch had led to the downfall of Overwatch. Somehow, Angela was convinced of that. She knew things that would have been worth hearing today. However, this viper had made herself unreachable and above all untouchable. Her scientific integrity remained intact and she had joined a caste of research leaders who ran a city at the forefront of technology and science in the Middle East. But Angela had nothing to do with them and certainly not with her.

She sighed deeply and closed her eyes. What could have delayed her driver? As agreed, he had to pick her up from one of the floors of the underground parking garage, so that no one could see her leave the building. She would not stand the scrutiny of the cameras again.

She felt terribly exhausted after what seemed like an endless day. She had thought that after the hearing she would feel liberated, a bit lighter, but this was not the case. Something was tying up her stomach and she didn't know exactly what. Maybe it was the last message she had received that was upsetting her? Maybe it was the accumulation of all the recent anxieties related to her hearing. Or maybe she would be more secure and relaxed when she got back to the hotel? No, it would be much better if she was back home in her native Switzerland.

But to do what? she thought. Since the dismantling of Overwatch, she had struggled to offer her services to the world's largest hospitals, but she had met with reluctance and mistrust. Department heads did not want her to join their ranks. They felt that the presence of a former Overwatch senior staff member could reflect badly on their unit. Some feared that Angela might attract too much attention from the press and that this might disrupt patient care and the efficiency of their service. Research centres and labs had also closed their doors to her for similar reasons. The aura and the disgrace of Overwatch stuck to her. Even her former and distant Swiss colleagues seemed hesitant when she suggested that she would like to return to the operating rooms and hospital corridors.

Angela didn't see herself sitting at home doing nothing, especially now that she had just opened herself up to the media frenzy, which would keep an eye on her and scrutinize every move she made. Her home would then become her prison and she would only have to cross her fingers and hope that time will do its effect and that this cursed hearing would be forgotten along with the mere existence of Overwatch.

"Dr. Ziegler?"

Angela opened her eyes again and saw a young man in a blue suit, wearing glasses and smiling at her from the office doorway.

"Forgive me for disturbing you, Dr. Ziegler." he said solemnly.

"You're not disturbing me." Angela answered, getting up from her chair.

"I am Assane Keïta, I am a member of the Senegalese representation at the UN." announced the young man extending his hand. "Mrs. Diarra would like to speak to you."

Angela, perplexed, remained motionless for a moment before shaking hands with Keïta.

"What does the representative want with me?" she asked, a little suspicious.

"Mrs. Diarra will explain it to you far better than I can." replied Assane Keïta without losing her smile.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I will not have enough time for you." Angela replied. "My driver will arrive soon ... I would not like to keep him waiting."

"Everything seems to point... that he hasn't arrived yet..." Assane Keïta supported. "It won't be long, Dr. Ziegler, I promise you."

Angela breathed a tired sigh and considered saying no to the invitation. The assistant did not give up despite the Swiss woman's reluctance and she felt that he would continue to insist until she gave in, always with that same courteous smile.

"Well, fine." she respond as she collected her holomobile, her coat and her briefcase. "I'm right behind you. But you'll have to tell the Swiss representative that I had to leave, I don't want to be rude since he's allowed me to stay here."

"Don't worry, Dr. Ziegler." Assane reassured her. "I will make sure he gets that message as soon as possible."

They both left the Swiss delegation offices and the assistant invited him to follow her.

"I hope it's not far. I could get lost here..."

"Don't worry." Assane assured as they passed the third door of the corridor. "We're already there."

Angela saw the green, yellow and red flag on the door, with the green five-pointed star in the centre. Assane Keïta opened it and invited her in. It led to an empty workspace with several desks spread out in various parts of the room. Assane Keïta closed behind them and pointed her towards a door between two cupboards full of files. Without knocking, he opened the office door.

"She is here, Madam."

Angela, standing back, did not see the inside of the office, but the opening of the door had released a harsh smell of cigarettes that scratched her throat. With a gesture, Assane offered to get rid of her belongings, she gave her her coat and briefcase, and then she walked in.

Muskeba Diarra was waiting for her, with a cigarette on the lips, sitting at her desk. Unlike at the hearing, she was no longer wearing her glasses and Angela felt her grey eyes pierce her as soon as she arrived in the room. Nevertheless, she greeted him with a broad smile, much like her assistant.

"Dr. Ziegler, please sit down."

Angela took a seat in front of the representative while behind her, Assane hung her coat on the wall and placed her briefcase on an adjacent chair before exiting the room and closing the door behind him, leaving them alone.

"Cigarette, Dr. Ziegler?"

"No, thanks, I don't smoke." Angela answered, clearing her throat.

The room seemed to be filled with smoke. The blinds had been lowered over the large windows of the office, giving it a gloomy and austere appearance. On top of that, the smell was bothering Angela greatly and the smoke stung her eyes. She suddenly regretted taking the invitation.

"May I know why you wanted to talk to me?" ask Angela impatiently.

Muskeba Diarra smashed her cigarette into an ashtray and put her hands together on the table.

"First as a preamble, and because I know someone has to do it." Diarra began. "I am sincerely sorry for the farce that took place earlier during the hearing. I don't think it will help you sleep better at night, but this inquiry commission is divided into two factions, the one led by William Petras, who wanted Overwatch dismantled, and the other, more motley, who remain split on the role of the organization. However, Petras has done everything to ensure that the latter does not intervene today..."

"No need to apologize, I knew exactly what to expect." cut Angela bitterly. "Petras had prepared the questions and I gave the answers he wanted, but he strayed from the partition, and that for the sole purpose of trapping me."

"All the members of the commission were aware of the last act Petras had planned. I really regret not having interfered."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because William Petras did everything he could to ensure that this hearing went as he had planned." explained Muskeba Diarra. "He put pressure on all the members of the commission, except for those who were already sympathetic to his cause, such as the Mexican representative Jimenez and the Italian Di Maria. Petras implicitly announced that the inquiry commission should proceed as one voice: his own. During the working sessions, he was rarely accommodating to dissenting voices. Nobody dared to question him, the American representative is an influential man at the United Nations, and it is well known that he should not be displeased. A proverb in my country says: The starving man knows neither law nor respect."

"How about you? What was your position on the subject?" Angela asked curiously.

"I was divided. I would have liked this commission to have been more moderate. Especially with people like Helga Streng as a member, this woman is on the same wavelength as William Petras, and I would even say that she is perfectly inflexible. If he hadn't played his trump card at the end of the hearing, I can assure you that she would have managed to trap you in one way or another."

"It doesn't matter now, William Petras wanted Overwatch dead, he finally got it. I gave him his triumph live on every channel around the world."

"It's a good thing you're still optimistic." Muskeba Diarra joked.

"I try to be." Angela replied in a dark tone.

It was a terrible defeat. She should never have agreed to take part in this travesty, but it was too late to have any regrets. Yet what would her former Overwatch companions think? What would Gabriel, Jack, and Ana have thought of all this? She preferred not to think about it.

"Let's just forget about it." Muskeba Diarra said. "I didn't invite you here to talk about Overwatch. I invited you here to talk about you."

"About me?"

"Yes, about you." Muskeba Diarra replied with a broad smile. "I wanted to meet you. Besides, that's one of the reasons why I came here to participate directly in your hearing with William Petras. And I'm glad to see that I didn't make a mistake. What are your current plans, Dr. Ziegler?"

"My plans? she wondered aloud. Well ..."

"Doctor Ziegler." said Muskeba Diarra by running his hand through his short grey hair. "A great woman of research and medicine such as yourself, you should be courted by everyone."

An embarrassed grimace split the angelic face of the Swiss and then turned into a bitter-sweet mimic.

"Unfortunately, my situation is not as pleasant." she replied.

"Your commitment remains the same as in Overwatch: to protect and save lives. Isn't that right?"

"Of course."

Muskeba Diarra took a new cigarette from her pack and lit it with her rudimentary lighter.

"I think we are alike Dr. Ziegler." Muskeba Diarra began. "I was a nurse during the Omnic Crisis. I served and learned in the field and I am proud of what I have accomplished over the years, of the lives I was able to save. Whether you're a doctor or a nurse, it's simple for us, our sole purpose is to preserve life. Soldiers, like your Morrison, they sow death and we fight it."

Muskeba held the cigarette to his lips and expelled a volute of smoke into the air.

"Petras can be proud to have succeeded in dismantling Overwatch, but it only serves its own interests. Bad tongues always drown in their spittle. You can't expect anything from that man and you're better than him. Overwatch is no more, yet the conflicts continue, and the fighters are still numerous as before. And the weak suffer and will continue to suffer because no one cares about them. William Petras doesn't care about any of this, he grew up in a family of Long Island bigwigs, he attended all the big schools and elite student clubs, all this to launch himself into a vain and interested political career like so many before him. He tells anyone who will listen that he fought in Vermont with the civilian forces. But it's all lies, he spent the entire Omnic Crisis entrenched in his family villa in Florida. After that, he realized that a career at the United Nations would bring him the greatest prestige, and he used all his influence to reach his goal. This man has no awareness of the value of a life and all that could enliven you and me."

Angela listened silently to the Senegalese representative whose voice betrayed a buried anger. She pulled at her cigarette again and exhaled deeply.

"What do you want from me?"

"I don't want anything from you, Dr. Ziegler, it's you that I want."

"That's... that's the first time I've ever been told that." Angela laughed nervously.

"Beyond my role as Senegal's representative here, I manage a number of non-governmental organizations specializing in humanitarian work and which intervene in different contexts: war theatres, protection of civilian populations, supplying and delivering supplies to vulnerable populations, first aid to populations affected by natural disasters, and so on and so forth. Your experience in hospitals and your years of service with Overwatch make you the ideal candidate for the position. And I think, indeed, that you would fit in very well with us. If that's okay with you, of course."

Angela, caught off guard, put her hand over her mouth in a pensive manner. Now that she had heard the representative's proposal, she felt a new trap closing in on her, but it seemed far less painful to her.

Naturally, I don't want you to relive the same disillusions you had when you were in Overwatch." Muskeba Diarra continued. "I want you to have a large degree of autonomy and to train the agents and medical staff on the field. We use weapons only as a last resort and only to protect ourselves or our patients. We are doctors, not soldiers. After all, you can't cure someone with bullets..."

Angela raised her head at the utterance of this sentence and crossed the Senegalese representative's grey pupils, which had not lost their intensity. This hearing had definitively signed the end of Overwatch. She had defended the organization and advocated its values in the past, but they seemed far away now. She therefore had to turn this page in her life and stand up for what she believed in, in order to be sincere with herself again.

"I accept your proposal, on the condition that I can work by my own terms." Angela insisted.

Muskeba Diarra's face started to grin before she laughed.

"I'll personally make sure of that, Dr. Ziegler. I would expect nothing less from you."

They spent the next few minutes discussing the formalities and details of her new job, and then Angela received a message from her driver that he would be coming to the United Nations parking lot soon and that he was just down the street. Angela replied that there was no reason for him to enter the parking lot and that she would meet him in front of the esplanade. She greeted the representative and her assistant, retrieved her coat and her briefcase and went to the elevator.

As she entered the cabin, she noticed that her stomach aches had disappeared. As had her doubts. When she arrived at the UN Hall, the last remaining journalists stormed in, questions poured in and drone cameras orbited around her, but Angela couldn't care less.

"Dr. Ziegler! How do you feel after your hearing?"

"Do you have anything to say about William Petras' last statements?"

"Dr. Ziegler! Do you still have contact with other members of Overwatch?"

Angela continued to move forward undistracted by the nebula of individuals and drones surrounding her. Her pace was light and fast, and the journalists had to keep up with her. She escaped from the lobby to the outside and a new wave of people and drones joined the crowd.

"Would you testify again if the inquiry commission asks you to?"

"What would you suggest to London's new mayor, who is facing new omnic riots?"

"Do you think Talon remains a significant threat despite Doomfist's imprisonment?"

She crossed the esplanade always at the same tempo. At a glance, she had identified her driver's car waiting for her in a lane reserved for dignitaries. The cohort of journalists continued to follow her, but Angela maintained her olympian calm as she was overwhelmed with questions.

"Tekhartha Mondatta has expressed his desire to meet you, is there an appointment scheduled?"

"Several theories say that Gabriel Reyes and Jack Morrison are still alive, do you believe it?"

"Blair Clarke for Atlas News! What are your plans from now on, Dr. Ziegler?"

Angela had just reached the car where her driver was holding the door for her. She turned to the reporters and the drone cameras that clung to her lips:

"I think I'm going to continue to do exactly why I became a doctor: to save lives."

On this exit from the stage, Angela got into the car and her driver closed the door behind her. Afterwards, Angela saw the silhouettes of the journalists clustering around the vehicle. But they were quickly pushed aside by the driver. He got behind the wheel and the car escaped from the mass of reporters surrounding it and made its way to the main road along the East River.

Cradled by the sound of the car's propellers, Angela watched the sun's reflection on the river, thinking back to the long day that had finally come to an end with a more than satisfactory outcome for her.

The page of her life at Overwatch had been turned in the worst possible way, but now a new part of her life was opening up. There was no need to have regrets for now. She had said what needed to be said in her soul and conscience and that was the only positive thing that she could come out of that hearing.

As the waters of the East River passed before her eyes, Angela remembered an old Swiss saying that her father often repeated to her:

"Make truth your support and honesty your halo."


Hello there!

After a long absence, I come back to you with a 3rd chapter focused on the character of Angela "Mercy" Ziegler. It's a chapter that comes a little bit in pain. I really like Angela's character, and I really enjoyed writing about her because she's a figure who has many relationships with Overwatch. I think it's very clear that she is central to the plot.

It was not planned that I deal with Angela immediately. Chapter 3 was initially devoted to Tracer but the idea of a scene centred on Angela being questioned by an inquiry commission took root in my mind and I had to prioritize it over the other chapters. In short, for Tracer afficionados, you'll have to wait a little longer...

Writing this chapter was long in many ways because my motivation was shifting. Also, as the containment was coming, I was freely uninspired and the lack of new content on the Overwatch game didn't help much to stimulate the imagination. But in the end, Chapter 3 is published, it's long and I hope you like it.

The next chapter will be about an entirely different character, not related to Overwatch, or at least not directly. The chapter has been posted in French and I will translate it as soon as possible.

Thanks to my friend Etsukazu for his correction and to the people who commented on the fiction. Your messages are a pleasure to read and I can't wait for you to find out the following. Let me know if there are any mistakes or awkwardness in the translation. English is not my mother tongue, I'm just a humble frog eater.

See you soon.