Although Jack Morrison seemed more annoyed with her than anything else, Katie was thankful she had met him.
Raised by a single mother who worked long hours to provide for her daughter, attending a public school close to their house in the suburbs. Katie's life for the past 11 years had been an ordinary one, devoid of much interest. Until Katie's met Jack Morrison.
The man was a legendary hero and represented a multitude of opportunities. If she was struggling at school with history, he could help her with her homework, Overwatch or otherwise. If her mother worked later than usual, he could keep her company and Katie couldn't wait to spend some time with him.
"Can I come with you this time?" Katie begged as she saw Jack heading out for his daily walk. Now that they were properly acquainted, she could ask him all the questions she had come up with since discovering he was the former leader of Overwatch.
"Doesn't your mother take you to parks after school?" Jack stopped in his tracks and asked, hoping the answer would make Katie seek out her mother instead of him. He was a soldier, not babysitter.
"On the weekends, she does! But not after school, she's too busy with work." Katie gave Jack a disappointing but surprisingly sympathetic answer. The kid must be lonely without parental supervision, no wonder she was so eager to get to know him.
"Can't see the harm in you tagging along in that case."
"Yes!" Katie cheered, her fist clenching with triumph, as she scampered across the street to join him.
Walking past the suburbs, Jack and Katie were now in the greenspace of the town. With long, winding footpaths, shaded by the many trees planted in the grass. Passing a playground filled with happy children having fun and attentive parents watching over them, the corners of Jack's mouth twitched into a quick smile.
Katie looked right at home in the park, wearing a white dress with pink flower patterns. Like a child of Bloomington. Aptly named by its settlers impressed by the haven of blooms. But the playground seemed to have the opposite effect on Katie, who hadn't said a word for some time.
"What does your mother do for a living Katie?" Jack stepped in and asked Katie so she wouldn't feel left out.
"She works at a bank. She says it's an important job, but I don't really understand what she does. She always comes home late. She's a bit like you." Katie answered with a slightly displeased tone, avoiding eye contact with Jack.
"Like me?"
"Yeah, how you always walk every day at the same time." Katie explained, surprising Jack with her observant nature. How strange that she had picked up on that.
"I like to keep moving." Jack simply answered.
"But why the same time? Don't you ever want to walk a little earlier?" Katie asked, wondering why Jack never deviated from his routine.
"When I was in the army, I woke up at 5 AM every single day. That same discipline applies to my exercise." Jack recounted the habit that had been ingrained in him, during his time in the army.
"But you walk in the afternoon, why not in the morning?" Katie questioned that particular line of logic. If he woke up early in the army, wouldn't his exercise be at the same time?
"Because it's too cold in the morning!" Jack quipped, making Katie laugh. She liked it when he made her laugh. Most of the time with her mom, was not spent laughing, making Jack's sense of humour a welcome change.
"My mom runs in the morning. It's the only time she can do her exercise." Katie reluctantly added, as if she was embarrassed that her mother's morning routine was unlike other people's.
"Nothing wrong with that."
"If the only time I could walk was in the morning, I wouldn't do it at all, but then Artemis would never let me hear the end of it!" Jack told Katie about his reproachful A.I.
"The goddess of the hunt?" Katie questioned his remark.
"The A.I that Winston created for me. You know about Winston from school, right?" Jack explained, assuming she was aware of the scientist.
"Yeah! He runs Overwatch with that British lady!" Katie answered enthusiastically. The latter part of her remark, getting a small chuckle out of Jack. He knew her best as the Overwatch agent with the liveliest spirit and a kind heart, but to the world she would always be the face of Overwatch. The woman with the British voice and the catchphrases.
"Artemis also helps me write my logs." Jack continued, thinking that Katie would ask about what he does during the day sooner or later.
"Logs?"
"First person accounts of my time with Overwatch." Jack clarified.
"Did you write about how you got those scars?" Katie asked, making Jack's heart rate rise. He hadn't expected the young girl to ask such a morbid question so suddenly. Patting his chest twice with his hand, to soothe the anxious feeling in his heart, Jack redirected the attention of her inquiry.
"Not the scars specifically. But the events that led to them."
"Tell me about it!" Katie encouraged Jack to give her more details. One of the most striking things about Jack Morrison's face besides his bright, blue eyes were his scars. One running across his nose and other his mouth. There had to be an exciting story behind them.
"I don't think it's a story you would want to hear." Jack tried to avoid divulging such a personal story, but Katie wouldn't have it any other way.
"I want to know anyway! I learned about wars and explosions in school, it can't be any worse than that." Katie insisted. She wasn't fazed much by the casualties and horrors of war, she could handle this.
"Fine. Since you learned about Overwatch, then you've probably heard of Senior Officer Reyes." Jack deduced.
"Yeah, he was one of the founding members of Overwatch." Katie confirmed, as Jack took a deep breath to stabilize the sudden shortness of breath he was feeling in his lungs. Why now? The walk was nearly over, it wasn't taxing exercise and why were those heart palpitations continuing to bother him?
"Reyes and I didn't always see eye to eye. And although we worked together well as team, things were never the same between us when I was made Strike Commander… I think he resented me when the U.N chose me over him."
Jack wiped a layer of sweat that had formed on his forehead. He could have sworn the forecast was cold for today. Maybe he had too many layers on. That was probably it.
"What happened after that?" Katie pressed him for more information. All that Jack had told her seemed more like unfortunate events, than anything that could have caused his injuries. They were nearly back home and she needed an answer before then.
"Things got worse. We fought. Our headquarters was destroyed. I survived, but the man we knew as Reyes was lost to us." Jack finished. His voice filled with remorse.
"So, the fighting between you two got him killed?" Katie asked, sounding distressed by Gabriel's fate. Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea to share everything with her, Jack realized.
"I didn't say that." Jack tried to defend his words, but judging by the quivering lips and tears spilling over Katie's cheeks it was too late to take it back.
"I was curious about you Mr. Morrison, when I found out who you were. But now I don't want to know anything about you anymore." Katie retaliated and ran back into her house in a desperate attempt to distance herself from Jack. Slamming the door behind her.
"You look tired Jack, what happened?" Artemis inquired, when she saw Jack slowly enter the house with drooping arms and a disheartened look on his face.
"It happened again today."
"And yet despite experiencing frequent chest pains, you still continue to refuse seeking medical attention." Artemis lectured Jack on his neglectful behaviour.
"My heart's a little overworked. There's nothing more to it than that." Jack tried to rationalize his decision. He had lived a long life, it was bound to take a toll somehow.
"I was designed to assist you Jack. I can do basic scans and take your heart rate, but I can't diagnose life threatening conditions if you have one. It's up to you see a doctor." Artemis reminded him. She had been designed to stay ahead of him. To help him when he needed it and to give him some tough love when he was being stubborn. But sometimes, Jack would behave in ways that Artemis felt was beyond her programming to deal with.
"I'll see a doctor—" Jack proposed to appease Artemis, but letting his sentence trail so he wouldn't have to finish it.
"When they bury your coffin in the ground." Artemis triumphantly completed his sentence.
"You're right Artemis, I should… Ugh!" Jack finally agreed, before staggering and collapsing on the floor.
Dialling 911 right away, Artemis waited for a response on the other end.
"911 operator, what is your emergency?" A woman answered with a calm voice.
"I need an ambulance sent here immediately. A man has just fallen unconscious."
Poor Jack wasn't in the best of health in this chapter, but maybe it's been like that for a long time and could have been triggered by anything. But whatever hurt has occurred here, will be alleviated in the best of ways in the next chapter.