"You've given up the training?" Angela asked, spreading cream cheese on her bagel.
"Not really, I just decided I should slow down," I said, yawning afterward. Fareeha handed me a mug of coffee and sat on the opposite end of the sofa.
It was early morning, about nine o'clock, and almost nobody was awake. Fareeha always got up at six, apparently, that was her internal military clock. Angela preferred to get up early too, as she said, "to get the most out of the day" and me? Well, I had stayed up late last night with Hana, playing Starcraft and then just talking (well, I talked and she half talked-half played) but thanks to the energy drinks she insisted on giving me I hadn't gotten too much sleep. The three of us had, by coincidence, ended up here together in the living room. The room was quite big, with a few nice (and comfortable) sofa's and chairs here and there plus other tastefully placed furniture, a big holo TV was placed on the right side of the room and (my personal favorite) an entire wall made of glass stood right in front of me and gave out a view to the ocean, one that almost matched up to Hana's rooftop view.
"Here you go," Angela said with a smile, walking to us and putting two plates with bagels on the coffee table. She left and then returned with her own, sitting next to Fareeha and taking a bite. The doctor was wearing a black turtleneck, jeans and sneakers while Fareeha was wearing a white tank top, jeans and was barefoot. Me? I was wearing a wrinkled t-shirt and shorts.
I noticed Angela was sitting pretty darn close to the soldier, who smiled at her in thanks and grabbed the plate. I raised an eyebrow at the two but they didn't seem to notice.
"So…anything happen while I was in Russia? I've been back for awhile, I know, but I never really talked much with training and all." I asked, watching them carefully. Fareeha simply shook her head, but Angela set her plate down and turned to me, probably having something to share.
"Yes, I do have good news! However, with how busy you've been lately I didn't tell you." She said. Her smile was wider than before. "I managed to find your father."
"You…what?" I asked quietly. Fareeha put a hand under my plate, noticing that it was about to fall, and set it on the table. I suddenly felt nervous, sick even.
"Are you ok?" Angela immediately asked, standing up and getting closer. This was both her motherly worry and her medical instincts kicking in. "I found your father, I haven't contacted him. I thought, perhaps, you'd want to give him a call?"
"I, I mean, yes of course. Thank you." I smiled at her and nodded eagerly. "How'd you find him?"
"He's in the militaries database," Fareeha explained, putting my plate down. "The American one of course. It was a simple matter of contacted a friend of mine in the Helix Security and asking him for a favor."
"I,um…I already know my dad's number by heart." I admitted quietly. "You didn't have to go through the trouble."
"You already had it? Then why haven't you called? He must be worried sick, or grieving! The poor man." The doctor sat next to me, putting her own breakfast down. "Why haven't you contacted him?"
"I just, I have my reasons ok? Can we not talk about this?" I pleaded, taking a sip of my coffee. Too late, I remembered I hate coffee and nearly spit it out. In the end, I managed to swallow it without looking like an idiot, and the other two agreed to not bring up this subject anymore. The three of us continued to eat our breakfast in peace.
That is until the others showed up.
The first one to appear was Reinhardt who, from what he said, had gotten up earlier than all of us for his routine workout. Even after months, I found it a bit odd to see him in regular clothes, the armor-suited him more. He was wearing sweatpants and a red buttoned down shirt. He sat on a chair by the left wall and turned on the TV, switching through various German documentary channels until he found one of the Omnic Crisis. The next one to appear was Lena, wearing shorts and a t-shirt (with a hole cut in it for her chronal accelerator). She also seemed odd without her lenses on. The moment she saw us she dashed out of the room, smiling widely.
"Uh, what?" I asked.
"Smile," Angela said, looking in front of us and smiling nicely. Fareeha and I looked at each other confused, but on cue Lena suddenly appeared and a light flashed. I blinked my eyes a couple times to see she was holding a camera, those old ones that printed the picture on the spot, and was handing the picture for Angela to see. The doctor handed it to me. "A present. For a life with Overwatch."
"Y'know I liked the super pistol a lot more." I joked, looking at the image. Angela was smiling and looking beautiful as ever, but Fareeha came out looking suspicious and I looked a bit angry. I chuckled and carefully put it in my pocket.
Slowly, one by one, the others started coming in. Most in their pajamas. Winston was eating peanut butter by the window as he talked to Torbjorn, Lena was sitting on my other side and playing some game on her phone, Mei and Hana were talking about something. I think it was about Mei's travels? Apparently, Hana didn't get to do much sight-seeing when she traveled, so she liked to ask Mei of the world. Genji, the last one in, sat on the floor a few feet away from all of us meditating. Zarya had joined us too, already turning into a good friend with many of the members. Since the war of her country was over, she definitely seemed more relaxed and easy going.
And it was nice. All of it. No shooting, or training, or worry or anything bad. Just us talking, hanging out, doing whatever. Like an actual family or group of friends would do. I sighed contently and leaned against Angela sleepily. She giggled and held me close to her, one hand gently going through my hair. I was more tired than I had let on, even to myself. The coffee had done nothing to help.
"Go ahead, get some rest," Angela whispered to me. "Nothing is happening. I have you."
"Sure." I yawned. "Thanks, mom."
/
I could feel my face burning. Absolutely burning, yet I couldn't hide the wide smile on my it. I kissed Alessandro on the forehead and looked up at the rest, who seemed either happy, confused or both. They had been watching us with hidden smiles (minus Lena who had been taken a few pictures) when he said that, and so they all heard. He was oblivious to it all, sound asleep in my arms.
"Well, looks like Angela has a son," Fareeha said, attempting to break the ice. I shook my head although I couldn't help but chuckle.
"He is simply tired, Fareeha. I bet he'll be embarrassed and apologetic when he wakes." I answered.
"Well, I don't think you'd be a bad mother anyway." Lena chirped, taking one last picture before blinking behind me. "Besides, you seemed to like the idea." She joked, grinning at me. Ok, maybe I had enjoyed the idea and gotten just a bit carried away, but it wasn't like I was suddenly adopting the boy. He had his own parent and had spent years with a real mother.
"Honestly, is this that big a deal? You can stop staring at us now." I said, feeling quite uncomfortable. Winston laughed heartily and shook his head a bit.
"I don't know about the rest, but I was watching because it's nice to see." He said honestly. "Brings back some old memories. When was the last time we saw this?"
"Hm, it had to be with Faree-whatever you call it," McCree said, smiling at Fareeha. Him getting her name wrong had been a joke they had since she was little, and years apart hadn't let him forget it. "She was younger than him, curled up on Angela's lap one night when the two had stayed up late."
"Indeed, we have the picture of them in the conference room," Genji mentioned. I turned and couldn't help but laugh as I saw the poor Egyptian's face, which was bright red.
"Ah yes!" Reinhardt exclaimed, speaking only a fraction quieter than when he was on the battlefield. "Angela always had a way with those younger than her. If I remember correctly Fareeha was nearly always trying to be her assistant!" At this the rest started laughing, most happy with the memory and a few (like Hana) contently imagining it. It had been so long since this family was together; it was such a nice thing to see.
"And she was an excellent assistant," I said, smiling at her and causing her blush to grow. She looked so cute when she was flustered, although she was trying to keep her rigid composure. "If she would join me more often in the lab maybe she could continue to help me."
"With biology tests," Hana said quietly, yet loud enough for the others to hear. I felt my face burning almost immediately, and Fareeha had one hand on her face and was shaking her head slowly. The others looked at both of us, then back at each other, then both of us again, and began to laugh their heads off. Even Genji was heard, although Reinhardt could've made them all deaf with his booming voice.
"Oh lord," McCree muttered, wiping a single tear from his eye. "Y'know, maybe she's right. We'll need someone to keep and eye on those two. They've been acting pretty darn touchy lately."
"Oh please," I hissed, glaring at the cowboy. He raised his hands in surrender, but he and Genji shared a look before laughing again.
"McCree, I promise I will knock your teeth in if you don't shut up." Fareeha threatened, grinning at the cowboy as she squared up. He noticeably glanced at her muscled arms, much more muscled than his own, and took a step back.
"Ok ok! You soldiers can't take a joke, can you? I remember one time-"
McCree suddenly launched into a story of the old days, when he had just joined the group and nearly everyone had a military background and were like Fareeha, at first. He kept going back to how he was telling Jack and Reyes a joke, and they both tried to chase him around the base to beat him. Ah, how I yearned for those days. I missed them all so much, Jack, Gabriel, and others. Amelie, Ana, Gerard. But even if they were gone…
New people entered our lives. I thought with a smile, looking at Fareeha, and then at the boy. Despite the ruckus he was snoring lightly, looking so much more peaceful than I had seen the last few days. What was going on in his mind, I wondered. He changed moods so fast, although he always turned back into the friendly, nice boy who liked to spend time with everyone.
"Angela? Angela, would you please stop staring at him and hear us?" Winston asked loudly. I heard the flash of Lena's camera and looked up, noticing that everyone was watching us once again.
"Sorry, what?" I asked. Hana snickered and whispered something to Mei, they both shared a laugh.
"I was asking if you were going somewhere today, I think I remember you telling us you had to some business." The scientist said.
"Yes, I need to return to the hospital. They need my help with a few things, it shouldn't take too long." I answered. Again, I felt grateful that Winston had chosen to position us here in Switzerland. Besides being my homeland it housed one of the best hospitals in the world, where I had worked for years, and if an emergency there ever happened I could take a car and make it there quickly.
"I was about to offer to go, but seeing as you and those two are close maybe I shouldn't bother." Lena joked, blinked next to Fareeha. "Take care of her, ok? We only got one doctor."
And just like that, it seemed decided. The rest continued talking amongst themselves, and Fareeha didn't complain about it. I guess I'd have these two with me in the hospital, have them see my work area. It would be good to get out, we had all been cooped up a bit too long since we were hiding from Talon.
/
"Ugh, finally! I missed the feeling of a breeze on my face!" Alessandro said loudly, getting out of the car and stretching his back. It made an audible series of cracks before he sighed contently and closed the door of the black sedan. I walked out and closed my own door, and Angela did the same, locking hers as well.
"Please, I've seen you leave the base for walks plenty of times. And it's not like the base itself is so small and suffocating." The doctor chided, pulling her wool coat tighter over herself. I shivered and did the same with mine.
"Alessandro, you are going to freeze like that," I said, offering him his own coat which I had taken out of the car for him. He snorted and let himself fall on the snow-covered sidewalk, which had so much snow he didn't hit the cement.
"I haven't been out in the snow in AGES so please Fareeha, let me freeze." He said. He must be crazy, wearing jeans, snow boots and a hoodie which were getting soaked in the snow. I shook my head disapprovingly and grabbed his wrist, pulling him up easily.
"You seem to be in good spirits. Sleep well, did you?" Angela asked, indicating we follow her. It had been quite a few hours since we had all been in the living room, and he had slept like a mummy the entire time, but now he seemed awake as ever.
"Yeah, maybe tonight I'll be able to outlast Hana." He smirked, putting his hands behind his head. "Where are we going, again? He jogged next to the doctor, looking up at her.
"My job, they need me to take care of a few things. Lena had volunteered to go, but in the end, everyone insisted you two join me." Angela replied. Alessandro frowned, turning his gaze to me.
"Why'd they insist I go with you? I mean I get Fareeha, she's been a bit…close to you, lately." He spoke cautiously as if worried he'd mess up somehow. I simply smiled and nodded in agreement. "But I'm not exactly the kind of guy who enjoys visits to the hospital, even if this one is super good at saving people."
"They insisted because you've been awfully close to the doctor lately," I said, smirking as his ears turned pink. "Or should I say, your mother?" His face turned completely red and I laughed out loud now. He may not have noticed what he said earlier, but obviously, he felt that way. Angela glared at me, although a smile tugged at her own lips. I turned to the sun, frowning worriedly. "We should hurry, the sun will be down soon.
"Yeah, plus maybe laying on the snow wasn't the best idea I've ever had," Alessandro muttered, rubbing his arms. "Let's find a place with heat."
Angela had parked the car a few blocks away from the hospital itself, saying that you could never park too close to it. But as soon as we turned a corner it became obvious which building the hospital was. A huge, modern looking building made of steel and glass, sporting colors of blue and green, probably in an attempt to look more joyful. Unlike most hospitals, which were a few floors tall and very wide, this one was a skyscraper and not very wide. I had also heard the installations stretch very deep underground. Doctors and patients alike came from all over the world to work here or be treated her. No wonder Angela, the best doctor in the world, would be working here. When we arrived I was surprised to see arm guards at the door, and it wasn't the normal guards with handguns or tasers, no, it was fully armored men with machine guns in their hands, ready to jump into action. They were friendlier than actual soldiers, though, and the doctor exchanged a few friendly words with one of them before leading us inside.
"Woah." Alessandro murmured. I understood why the place was most impressive. Unlike the outside, which looked modern, sophisticated yet nice, the inside was plain. The walls, roof, and floors were all white, and the furniture that might be around, doors, chairs, desks and so were all black. But the impressive part obviously wasn't that, it was the amount of activity that could be found by merely walking in. Doctors, patients, and guards walked quickly here and there, in a sea of people that seemed impossible to pass. Yet nobody bumped into each other, nobody complained, they were all fast and efficient. A waiting room laid to our right, and an attendant behind a desk was on our left. Angela simply gave the young woman behind the desk a nod and began walking forward, into a small hallway. Alessandro followed and I went behind him. Most hospitals I had been to (which were quite a few, my men had been injured plenty of times and I had always insisted on checking on them) reeked of medicine, cleaning products and sometimes even blood, but this hospital had none of that, and in every room I managed to see doctors were discussing with patients. Nothing serious was happening, which I found odd.
"The critically ill, or wounded, are in the lower levels, hidden from everyone else," Angela explained, no doubt sensing our confusion. It made sense, I suppose. "Recovery is held at the highest levels, and in between are everyone else."
"Must be…hard, working here." Alessandro offered.
"That's one way to put it," Angela said, her voice a bit harder. Alessandro and I shared a look, but we knew what had just happened. The change was so fast, it was hard to notice it, but we both knew we were no longer looking at the Angela from the base, who smiled for pictures and laughed at jokes, we were looking at Mercy, the doctor. Serious and ready for work, even if she wouldn't be attending any patients today.
"So, where are we going exactly?" Alessandro asked, constantly looking around. He had a certain look on his face, like when we sparred and he wanted a challenge. With a start, I noticed wanted to help the doctors, he wanted to go attend some patients. All those medical lessons with Angela must have had an effect on him, made him think a bit more like a medic.
"My office, it is on the top floor. That is the only floor reserved for employees, some of the best doctors." Angela answered, stopping in front of an elevator and pressing a button. Within a matter of seconds it opened up and a pair of nurses rushed out with a patient and a stretcher. It was all I could do not to get in their way! They must be taking him to the lower levels; I could see blood soaking his shirt. Angela didn't even glance in his direction, pulling us into the elevator and jamming her finger into the highest button, the one that said 100.
"How do you not rush to every patient you find, Angela?" Alessandro asked seriously. "It surprises me you haven't run off to care for someone, knowing you."
"I wish I could, I truly do, but there is something every doctor notices. There are too many patients, and too few of us, even in a place like this. We will accomplish less if we try to help everyone at once, so we focus on what we're told to and have faith in our colleagues. I wanted to run to that man on the stretcher just now, but I know it'd do no good. They can care for him, I'm sure."
"Must be difficult." I offered. She gave a nod and the three of kept silent as the elevator went up. I felt a weird sensation in my stomach, and suddenly the elevator sped up and my ears popped. Alessandro muttered a complaint and rubbed his ears.
"Guess these things would have to really fast in a tall building, doctors need to hurry and all. " He muttered as the door opened and we walked out. It didn't take long to arrive at her office and when we arrived I couldn't help but feel…disappointed.
"Welcome, to where I spend most of my life." Angela murmured, mostly to herself than us.
"This is it?" Alessandro asked. "I expected something more…big. Maybe a bit more flashy too."
I understood why he thought that. The room itself was the size of my bedroom, which wasn't bad but surely not what I expected the best doctor in the world to have. Just like the rest of the building, the walls, roof, and floor were white. A desk sat in one of the corners which a computer and several cabinets next to it, a rug was placed on the floor, a few chairs were placed here and there along with potted plants, and the opposite wall was filled with pictures, and boards that had plenty of papers. A quick glance showed they were names of patients and their needs. Dozens of them, along with their prescriptions and dates to see them. I turned to Angela with awe, then back to the board. Had could she keep track of all these people and their needs? How could she manage?
"I don't believe in having a splendid office, the room could be used to house more patients or more doctors." She answered seriously, sitting at her desk and quickly typing. It was obvious to both me and the boy that we wouldn't be talking to her for a bit. She was already lost in her work.
"Glad I didn't choose to be a doctor." He muttered, walking next to me. "It's great, but the stress this must give…" He whistled appreciatively as he read the papers on the boards. "I wouldn't be able to, I'd crack."
"You truly believe that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't one to admit being beaten, not so easily or so simply. But he gave me an earnest nod and turned to watch Angela.
"Having all those lives depending one me, and having so many different problems to deal with, and the time it would take to help them would be too much. Sure, in a fight the same weight is on me. I felt it at Russia, but at least then things are fast-paced, it's a moment of quick decisions and adrenaline. Plus, I'm sure there are moments here when patients just…you know…do not make it. And I wouldn't be able to take that. It'd be worse than trying and failing, I'd sit by useless."
"I understand," I said, giving him a nod. He smiled dryly and walked behind Angela, watching whatever was on her screen.
Did I understand? I have lost people, and I have been in plenty of battles with my own men and people I cared for, but I had never felt useless. I always had the chance to help, and I always did my best. Honestly, I had never truly failed a mission, which was the reason Helix Security International had been so eager to hire me once I left the military. I had felt the pain of losing people, I have felt that kind of stress, knowing that countless lives depending on you…but I had never felt useless, or helpless. And he had, could I ever understand that feeling? That pain? I hope I never had to.
Suddenly a doctor busted through the door, panting and giving us all quite a scare. He took a few moments to breathe before looking up, he seemed extremely worried.
"Doctor Ziegler, we need you. Now." He said.
/
Without hesitation, I grabbed my lab coat and stood up, following the other doctor at a quick pace. His name was Peter Branwen, and if he was calling for me when I hadn't even bothered to notify the doctors I was available then the situation must be bad. I grimaced, wondering what it could be. Peter was an excellent doctor, and I often had him aid me with tricky surgeries and he was more than capable of solving problems by himself.
So why would he need me?
The four of us entered the elevator without saying a word and Peter pressed the button for the twenty-third floor.
"A man entered five minutes ago, his wife had to drag him in. We've never seen anything like this. Nobody knows where to even start." Peter said, sounding nervous yet resolved. "We were going to move him to intense care, but moving him seems too risky. He's in room A50, his family is with him."
"What members?" I asked.
"Wife, two daughters and a brother."
"I want the daughters taken out, but I want the brother and wife to stay. Maybe they can tell us something useful." I said, or rather, I ordered. Peter gave his assent as the door opened and we rushed out, heading towards A50. To my surprise, when we made it to the doorway Alessandro was the first to react. I heard him breathe in suddenly, very surprised, and he ran forward pushing nurses out of the way. A guard surged forward but I put a hand in front of him, making him stop. The patient, a young man with black hair and tan skin, was on a stretcher coughing, and coughing, and coughing, and it didn't seem like he would stop. He was obviously in great pain, yet he moved without a problem. None of this was what surprised or worried me. It was his skin. I had noticed it was tan at first, but when I looked his face he was purple. And he wasn't suffocating, I could see hi breathing perfectly despite the coughing.
"How long ago did this happen?" Alessandro asked the wife, a pretty lady standing up his side and gripping his hand. She glanced at me, probably expecting me to take control, but Alessandro forced her to look at him. "How. Long."
"Uh, i-it happened fifteen minutes ago? We were walking down the street to visit his mother, who is sick, and suddenly he collapsed and turned purple, coughing like crazy." The lady answered in English with a thick accent.
"Did you see anyone strange, or different around? To be precise, a woman. Tall, purple skin." He asked. I narrowed my eyes at him. He couldn't mean her, why would he believe she, of all people, was lurking about.
"Y-yes, she walked right by us. Bumped into him, they shared a few words in French and she left. A few minutes after he started…" She went silent, realization creeping onto her face.
"Yeah, she poisoned him." He muttered, putting a pair of fingers on his neck as if he were checking the man's pulse. "Ok, he'll live. He could use some painkillers, or maybe be knocked out, but he'll just have to wait it out."
"How do you know this?" Fareeha asked.
"You, sir, did she say anything?" Alessandro asked the man, ignoring Fareeha. "Focus, please, what did she say?"
"She…she…" He said, erupting into another fit of coughs before he could finish.
'Alessandro, he is no shape to talk." I scolded.
"He has to, we have no other choice," Alessandro replied, grabbing the poor man's shoulders. "What did she say?"
"F-f-found you." He muttered weakly.
/
"We need to go, now!" I ordered, letting the doctors close in on the poor guy. I grabbed Fareeha's and Angela's hands, pulling them back to the elevator with me and hitting the button to ground level.
"Alessandro, what is going on?" Fareeha asked seriously.
"It's her, it's freaking her. We are not ready, this is really really bad." I murmured to myself, taking out my phone and putting in Winston's number. I pressed the green "call" icon and after a few rings he picked up.
"Hello, how's everything there?" He asked calmly. It sounded like he was tinkering with something.
"Winston, they found us. Get everyone armed and evacuated now, we'll be there as soon as we can. No time to talk, just hurry up and keep an eye out." I said quickly, hanging up as the elevator dinged and the door opened. I put my phone away and began walking to the main entrance, then thought better of it and turned to the doctor.
"Is there a side entrance here?" I asked. She nodded and pointed down the hallway to my left.
"Again, what is going on?" Fareeha asked, grabbing my arm and forcing me to face her.
"Talon, Talon's here. We need to move." I answered. "That man was poisoned, I know that poison. I got hit with it. Only one person has that poison. A woman who speaks French."
"Oh no," Angela muttered, her eyes widening with the realization. "We must hurry."
"Will somebody explain to me what in Osiris's name is going on?!" Fareeha practically yelled.
"It's Widowmaker, the sniper you saw in Egypt," Angela said. Fareeha seemed surprised at first, then gave a solemn nod.
"Ok, let's go and hope she didn't see our car," I said, jogging down the hallway.
/
And here he had changed yet again. From angry, defeated soldier, to the kind playful boy, to dedicated worried warrior. I would find it strange, but I was the expert on mood changes. Winston could go from nice and kind to berserk, destroying anything in an instant. McCree sometimes jokes and made barbecue then kills men without a second thought, I sometimes was kind and helpful and then turned into the serious and dedicated doctor. Should this really surprise me? Everyone had changes in their mood depending the situation. It shouldn't surprise me. Yet it did, maybe because he presented these changes so fast. He may have been with us for awhile now, but I couldn't help but notice how remarkably strong he'd grown in this amount of time.
"Wait, stop." He hissed as we approached the side door. He pulled out a pistol that he had tucked behind his jeans. Had I known he was carrying I weapon I never would've let him enter, but it was good he thought one step ahead. This pistol was a regular one, one that shot bullets and not pulse munitions. He clicked the safety off and pulled back on it, taking a deep breath as it clicked. "Ok, I'll go out first and walk the opposite direction of the car. Wait five seconds and then quickly, quietly, get there and turn it on. I'll meet you three blocks from here, by that bar we passed."
"What? No! Why?" I asked, looking over my shoulder as we spoke.
"It's a good plan," Fareeha interjected. "He was the weapon and has already fought her. If he goes out alone she will most likely be observing him, if she is even out there. We can sneak back to the car."
"And what if she shoots him?" I asked, glaring at Fareeha so hard I thought the soldier would die from it. I'm surprised that she didn't.
"I'll be fine." He smiled and gave both of them a nod. "Be careful, see you later."
"I should be saying that to you." Angela chided, worry still in her eyes. "Go, and you better be by that bar."
"Gotcha, if you don't find me at the bar then just go back to base. I'll figure out a way to escape and reach you guys." He said, and before either one of us could complain he kicked the door open and ran out. Dashed, actually. We waited for five seconds and heard no gunshots. Was that good or bad?
"Follow me, doctor, and stay close," Fareeha ordered, walking past me and poking her head out. She waved forward and then exited the building. I quickly followed.
We had been there much longer than we thought we had. The sun was mostly gone, and a few stars were already appearing in the sky. It was still bright enough to see around, though, and I could see Alessandro a bit away walking against the buildings, his gun held in both hands and aimed high. Fareeha grabbed my hand and began half jogging-half walking in direction of the car. After half a block we ended up springing for the vehicle. No bullets came from the rooftops to meet us, no canisters of poison were hidden at the corners to hurt us, and no Widowmaker swung from the darkness to challenge us. We arrived at the car in a couple minutes, and I was forced to lean against it, panting, although Fareeha didn't even seem slightly winded. I proceeded to unlock the car doors and going in the driver's seat.
"Put your seatbelt on," I ordered. Fareeha did so without hesitation and I immediately hit the gas, racing away. I took a right, and then another, this would hopefully lead us back to the hospital and near the bar.
"What can you tell me of this Widowmaker?" Fareeha asked, searching the compartments for anything of use. "Can we beat her somehow, right now, unarmed?"
"No, that would nearly impossible if not completely. Even with weapons, she is someone you do not want to fight. Lena fought her several times and has had quite a few close calls. Even with Winston's help she escaped. She is a sniper, perhaps the best sniper."
"The best?" The Egyptian asked, and I knew she was thinking of her mother. Suddenly it occurred to me that she didn't know. She didn't know this woman, Widowmaker, was her mother's murderer. I decided not to tell her, for now. If I did then I didn't know what would happen, it seemed unlikely she'd let her feelings get the best of her like Alessandro did after Russia, but I couldn't be sure.
I frowned, hearing a strange rattle far away. Fareeha's eyes widened and she put a hand behind my hide, pushing me downwards and doing the same. Almost immediately bullets broke the back and front windows, showering glass on both of us. I tried to keep as straight on the road as possible and thank god it was late enough that this small street didn't have many cars. I forced my head up a bit and turned a sharp right, barely avoiding the building that we had nearly crashed into. A quick glanced in the review mirror showed flashes, and I made another quick turn, hearing bullets pinging against the street behind us.
"Is that a helicopter?!" I yelled.
"No, it's perfectly silent. Just go to the bar, if we lead it to the base someone will shoot it down." The soldier yelled. 'Do you have any weapons in this car?!"
"No, I'm a pacifist!" I yelled back, feeling a bit offended despite the situation.
"How can you be a pacifist and yet go to war?!" Fareeha asked incredulously, looking behind us for any sign of our pursuers.
"I save lives; I try not to run around shooting people," I replied. We were almost there. Only a few more seconds, the bar was in my view. But suddenly a heard a gunshot ring out, clearer than the machine guns which had been firing previously. It was the sound of a rifle. The car shuddered and began shifting around despite where I turned on the wheel, I clenched my teeth trying to regain control but as I hit the breaks we flipped on our sides, skidding towards the building. I could hear Fareeha cursing in Egyptian as we tumbled around, and some small part of my mind was thankful to the man who invented seatbelts. When the car finally stopped moving I groaned, opening my eyes and looking around. My body ached, but nothing seemed very damaged. A quick check on Fareeha and she seemed just as fine. The next thing I noticed was that we were upside down.
"We need to get out," I muttered, reaching for the door.
"No, she'll see us," Fareeha answered quickly, stopping me. "That was the sound of a rifle, I'm sure. Here crosshairs are on this car."
"Then what do we do?" I hissed, looking around for my pistol. I had kept it somewhere in here, but now everything was a mess. Fareeha calmly took out her phone (so practical) and dialed a number.
"Can you see us? Yes, she shot one of our wheels, I think. We can't get out until we're sure she's looking away. Yes, very well." She put her phone away and unbuckled her belt, falling to the roof. She rolled over and helped me down. I spotted my gun hanging on a piece of metal that had nearly stabbed me and handed it to Fareeha. So much for having no weapons, but i had forgotten it was even here.
"This will do better in your hands than mine," I whispered. "Pharah."
"Understood, don't worry Mercy, we'll be out of this soon."
"I just wished I had my staff."
"COME ON YOU FUCKING SPIDER I WANT ROUND TWO. COME AT ME YOU COW-" A voice, Alessandro's voice, suddenly yelled near us. I immediately heard the rifle fire and him curse, returning fire. I could hear his light footsteps rush away, every so often pausing or slowing down in what was surely his attempts to throw the sniper off. Fareeha nodded at me and indicated I stay here, then slowly opened the door and walked out. When nobody shot her head off (thank god) she helped me get out. I hadn't asked about the plan, but I preferred to stay silent now. Hopefully, they had already made a plan.
"Through here." She whispered, leading me through an alleyway between two big buildings. I kept an eye above us, not wanting to get ambushed.
"I'M GOING TO FREAKING KILL YOU," Alessandro yelled, somewhere down the street. He hadn't been hit, yet. That didn't make sense. This was Widowmaker, she doesn't simply miss her mark. Something was wrong…
"Pharah," I whispered, but she shushed me and peek out the alleyway.
"Alqaraf." She muttered. "Just hold on another minute."
"What's going on? Is he ok?"
"HA HA MISSED ME AGAIN YOU BLOODY SPIDER. TRACER TOLD ME YOUR AIM SUCKED." He yelled, answering my question. I slowly walked towards the edge, knowing it was foolish to present myself but feeling a bit too worried to care.
Alessandro was hiding behind a wall, in his own alley across the street, a bit ahead of us. He kept yelling insults, and tried to shoot at her, but he was obviously pinned down, stuck between her good aim and a dead end. He glanced in our direction and I could see he looked worried as well. He noticed me watching and indicated I move back. In that moment I heard the rifle, I felt something hit my head and I fell to the ground.
"NO!" It was Alessandro, followed by a series of bullets. I felt Fareeha pulled me away, her strong arms examining my head.
"The bullet grazed you, Mercy. You're lucky." She muttered. In that moment I heard a loud crash next to us and Fareeha left my said.
"Pharah…Widowmaker never misses." I mumbled, feeling completely disoriented. I struggled to focus and saw she was now in her Raptora combat suit. "She wanted that."
"Oh no, Alessandro," Pharah said, her eyes wide as she noticed what had happened. She immediately sprang into the air.
Please be ok. I thought, my eyes following Fareeha.
/
This was too easy. Heroes, or these pitiful excuses for heroes, are always so predictable. Injure one, and the rest come running. I smirked as I saw the doctor, Mercy, fall down out of sight and returned my sights to the boy. He yelled something I couldn't hear from this far, up on one of the several rooftops, and began walking in my direction with both hands on his pistols, firing at me.
Too easy. I thought. Much too easy. There were three heroes, killing him now wouldn't be worth it. But if I could get the rest…
I frowned as a pair of his bullets passed a bit too close to my head. He had very good aim. I focused my crosshairs on his shoulder and fired. Much to my surprise, he dodged it, sidestepping and reloading as if it were the easiest thing to do and returning fire. I hissed and fired again but he had already moved behind a garbage can, popping back out as the bullet whizzed by him. I never miss. It was impossible. He was moving before the bullet was even fired, but how could he know where I was shooting? How could he anticipate such a thing? A growl left my lips and a stood up in plain view, aiming at the right side of his chest. I fired, and then fired again to his right without letting my gun charge. As I thought, he sidestepped the first bullet and the second hit him cleanly in the right shoulder, knocking him down. Much to my surprise he sat up and continued firing, rage visible in his eyes. Where had I seen that before?
"Ah, I see, petite garcon," I whispered. He was at the town Talon had attacked, the woman I killed was obviously dear to him, probably his mother, and he had three girls with her as well. He was acting on pure rage, but unlike last time when I had made him rash and reckless, this time, he was determined and coordinated.
Emotions could be strong, at times. This had proved it. But the lack of emotions, the lack of distractions and what is mostly weakness, was even stronger. His anger had saved him from three bullets, a near impossible feat, but I had seen it before. With that foolish girl, Tracer, she had done this although it had been easier with her device.
"Come out come out wherever you are," I whispered, looking around for the other two. He was on his feet, and tried to approach but I simply shot his leg, and he fell back down. He mustn't have any more ammunition because he dropped the gun and tried to drag himself away, much too slowly. I could've shot him more than once now.
"Put your hands where I can see them." A rigid, commanding voice said behind me. I didn't even tense, keeping my sights on the child.
"Pharah, was it? Did you leave the poor doctor all alone? Who knows what might find her." I cooed. "And the boy, just dragging himself away in pain. He will bleed out if you don't help him." I admit, I was surprised by the soldier's ambush. I had never met an Overwatch agent willing to risk her comrades just to win. She must be more understanding of dangers, know that some things must be done, or have a ridiculously large trust for her teammates.
"I will not repeat myself. Drop your weapon, and turn around." She ordered. I slowly stood up, my gun still ready to fire, and then took a step forward off of the building.
"Alessandro MOVE!" Pharah yelled. I heard the explosion of a rocket where I had been moments ago, but I was already a quarter way down the building. I refocused my sights on the boy and saw he was propped on his elbows, looking at me. Time seemed to slow down, I was smiling. Now he wore the expression I had learned to enjoy. Fear.
Adieu. I thought, pulling the trigger-
A moment too late, I pair of hands had already grabbed him and dragged him behind cover. That wretched doctor. I quickly grappled to another building and zipped upwards, landing and running off without a second thought, not wanting to get blown to bits by that Egyptians weapon.
He is lucky, so very lucky. But he cannot kill me, and one day he will not have friends with him. He will be all alone. And in that moment, I will finish what I started. I will kill him.
Holy shit guys.
Why is the shit holy today, you may ask? Well I'm very happy. But why? Does it have to do with the fact we passed the 10k mark of readers? YES. Does it have to do with the fact that somebody added me to a community on this page? YES. Does it have to do with the fact that we're nearly 100 followers? YES.
Thank you guys so much, especially those of you who review (Looking at you, Brutus, you've reviewed every single chapter, and if not, most chapters.) so thank you guys so much for the support! This, to me, is a lot and I couldn't be happier.