"Clara," Ana called to me while I ate breakfast at my desk one morning. I set down my bowl of yogurt as I was waved along for me to follow. I picked up my communicator, and rushed off to follow Ana. "I need you to identify someone."

"Of course." I was lead into a room full of computers, where Reyes and Morrison were already waiting. It was dark, the only light coming from the screens.

Ana took her seat in front of the keyboard, pulling up a few tabs, around the photo of a woman. It was a sniper, on the rooftops in London. I could easily identify that as only a month or so before, when I was giving my presentation. Ana zoomed in on the photo, and my eyes widened as I made the realization.

"There's no way in hell-" I leaned forward, taking the mouse from Ana and zooming in as far I the picture would allow. "I was supposed to be notified if she lived."

"You know her?" Reyes replied and I expanded the image.

"She was my partner at my previous agency, she did the executions on the job. I just made sure she got there to do her part. Ashlynn Clark, she went insane and killed our director." I explained, remembering the bloody scene.

"Why would she be dead?" Morrison crossed his arms.

"She attacked me, I defended and slit her throat, apparently, she made a miraculous recovery." I ran a hand through my long hair, feeling frustrated. "Are you trying to tell me that Ashlynn took the shot at us last month?"

Ana turned in her chair. "Unfortunately yes. But thankfully for us, she's a lousy shot."

"My shoulder would say otherwise…" Morrison grumbled from behind me, a tightly wrapped bandage going around his upper arm. I couldn't even smile at Morrison's snarky comments, I was too focused on the photo on the screen in front of me.

"I'm going to call my old connections and see what's going on… Ashlynn shouldn't be out and about, especially since she's living." I picked up my communicator, dialing a number I had memorized long ago.

Reyes watched me leave the room, my footsteps turning into nothing but an echo as I walked down the corridor to speak with German officials. Feeling his communicator buzz, he looked to Morrison then down at his phone. "I gotta go for a while."

His partner raised his brow, looking at Reyes with curiosity. "Do we have a meeting scheduled?"

"No, Director is calling me." The answer was curt, and unlike Reyes in many ways. Morrison had taken notice of his friend's absences in places where he could usually be found. "Let me know if we get any news on this crazy Ashlynn girl."

"Will do." Morrison watched Reyes walk out the door and in the direction of the elevators. There was unrest in his being, something just wasn't settling with Jack as he watched Reyes leave so nonchalantly. But he let it go, giving his old friend the benefit of the doubt.

I walked back in the door just in time to see Reyes leave, and as I reentered the small, dark, room, I found that Ana was digging up whatever she could on Ashlynn.

Morrison was watching the door suspiciously, his eyes then resting on me, then on Ana's screen. I took in a deep breath, feeling anxiety begin to corrupt my thoughts with what ifs and dangerous maybes. I approached Ana's side once again, setting my hand on the back of her chair as I looked over her shoulder.

"Any ideas why this girl has gotten out of wherever the hell she was?" Jack looked to me as he slid his communicator back where it belonged.

My sigh must have given him a clue as to how I felt on the matter. "Ashlynn broke out of her cell last month, no one ever told me because apparently, since I'm in Overwatch, it violates our previous contracts." I growled, annoyed at the quite unnecessary conversation I'd had with the German Private Affairs chancellor.

"Sir," The Ambassador for Overwatch walked in, a black man by the name of Marc. He wore his uniform, was muscular and always wore a friendly smile. "Can we confirm May third for the Gala? I need to get the invitations sent out." His American accent was a bit different than Jack's midwestern dialect, he sounded much more formal.

Morrison turned around, pausing to think for a moment. "Yes, send out the invitations as soon as possible." Marc nodded and left, looking over me and not asking any questions.

I lost my train of thought, not able to think of a proper definition for gala. "A Gala?" I asked finally, giving up on my scattered brain. "What's that?"

Ana looked up, offering me her seat so I could dig through some files while she spoke. "It's a big party basically. Black tie formal, big government officials come and we host and discuss our improvements in technology." Ana didn't seem the most pleased about it.

Jack rolled his eyes. "It's just another scheme for countries to give us money. But they always enjoy a party, and our hospitalities. So it's only for upper-rank officers, everyone else is out protecting the island."

My tired eyes looked up from the screen, not used to staring at a screen for longer than a few moments. "It's just a party then?"

"Hypothetically, yes." Ana confirmed.

I stood from the chair, having gathered as much information as I could in the past few minutes. I wondered if Ashlynn was going after any of the other girls in the agency or if it was just me. I wanted her to only end up coming after me, some of the girls were married or were pregnant, I was still lost in my mercenary days as a twenty year old woman, I would be missed by people much less than they would.

"This is a threat against Overwatch now, not just you, Clara. Don't even think about trying to go off on your own." Ana scolded me, already a step ahead of my thoughts.

I gave a long nod, still staring at nothing as my mind raced. I finally snapped out of my daydream, deciding I needed to get back to work. With nothing more to say to me, Morrison and Ana let me return to my desk. The quiet day left me to my own devices, trapped in my head and wondering about Ashlynn and what she had planned. May was nearly a month away, the next big Overwatch event could attract her to the island. I anticipated it, knowing Ashlynn she could get her way into anything with the bat of her eyes and a smile. But I wasn't planning on letting her in easily.

At dinner, the repetition of my schedule led me into the workshop without my notice. Once again I was back in the shop, completing my unfinished projects from the night before. After about an hour, I found myself aching for a good workout. I couldn't get my mind off of Ashlynn, I was overthinking the whole situation and my brain needed a break.

Not very surprisingly, the gym was empty at midnight. During the day, it was packed with Overwatch members wanting their daily workout. I made a mental note to workout around this time every day, enjoying the quiet that allowed my own music selection to be blared over the speakers.

I wore my sports bra and a pair of running shorts, starting with a relaxing run on a treadmill. The pounding of my feet on the machine became a constant rhythm that made me realize I had gained a few pounds since my joining. I'd never been a stick thin girl, I my hips and chest made me a size or two larger than most the girls in Overwatch or Mother's agency. I'd always been self conscious about them, but knew there wasn't much I could do to fix my genetics.

I stretched out out my back as I put on a pair of kickboxing gloves and started up the machine. I saw a pad pop up for me to punch, then a lower one for my left foot to beat. I stayed light on my feet, hopping back and forth and keeping my fists near my body.

Another half hour until my fists finally started to hurt, my thighs burning from the swings. I downed half my bottle of water as I heard the gym door close. I looked up, seeing Jack standing there in a pair of shorts without a shirt. My eyes went to the audio remote, turning off the speakers.

"Never seen you in here before." Jack tossed his gym bag near mine.

"I'm usually working." I replied as I took down my hair from the ponytail. It fell a good ways down my back, I looked at it, annoyed.

Jack set up the rowing machine, looking at me before he sat down on the seat. "You don't like it long?" Jack motioned to my head.

I shrugged. "It's not practical in my line of work."

"Amari wears her hair long." Jack reminded me.

I raised my brow, finally laughing to myself. "Are you trying to justify me having long hair?"

"I'm just saying it suits you."

I rolled my eyes, sucking in a breath, annoyed at his comments. "First you call me scruffy, now you're trying to tell me how to wear my hair?"

"That's not what I-"

"Of course it isn't. You were just giving an opinion." I began, slipping my off the shoulder gray shirt back over my head. I slipped my gym bag over my shoulder, deciding to shower once I returned to my room for the evening. "But your opinions are a bit offensive at times, Jack." Morrison watched me turn to leave, his mouth wide open, trying to find the right words. I stared him in the eyes one final time, waiting for something before I finally exhaled and gave up on a decent answer from my superior. "Goodnight Jack." I angrily pushed open the door, shoving my gym bag into my gym locker.

"Clara." I heard Jack's voice from behind me. Just as I was about to shut my locker door, I sighed once again. "I'm sorry."

I turned on my heel, crossing my arms. "Is this how you treat everyone? If so, I don't understand how you're in a position of leadership."

Morrison scratched the back of his head, I could tell he was choosing his next phrase carefully, silence hanging in the air like a dense fog between us. "No, I don't, and I apologize Clara. My actions were inexcusable and uncalled for. I shouldn't be talking about your physical traits at all like I make decisions about your body."

I let my hands fall to my sides, nodding my head and walking a step or two closer. I could see he was being genuine, and not just wanting me on his good side. I set a hand on Jack's shoulder, smiling and looking up to him. "We all make mistakes I suppose."

Jack nodded, letting my hand slip off his skin. "Thank you, Clara. We won't be having this conversation again."

"I hope not." I kept on walking towards the door, and pushing it open. I was ready to collapse into my bed and pass out until dawn.

"Oh Clara, you're being ridiculous. Just let me do your hair for the Gala." Ana pressured a bit more. "I do Pharah's hair everyday."

I straightened out my documents, walking towards Reyes office and setting them on his desk. "I'm not a three year old girl, Ana."

"I do my own hair everyday."

"Have you ever noticed how similar you and your daughter's hair looks?"

Ana paused for a moment, then made an annoyed grumbling noise of dissatisfaction. "I can do a different style."

I continued on my walk, back to my desk where I sat down and continued to work. Feeling Ana's presence lingering, I groaned and gave in. "Fine, only if you let me do your makeup."

Ana made a similar noise, but didn't continue the argument. "Alright, don't go making me look like a prostitute though."

I laughed, nodding and continued to slide my pen across the dotted line.

"You're telling me you totally blew it with this girl?" Reyes asked Morrison, smirking and munching on his apple.

Jack rolled his eyes, leaning against the wall and peering at Ana at my desk, making me laugh and smile. "It's not that I blew it."

"You're right, calling a woman scruffy and telling her how to wear something isn't blowing it." Reyes rolled his eyes. "So tell me, what's the difference between Clara Weber, and every other girl in the world?"

Jack pursed his lips, his eyes landing on me as I continued my work, alone and in silence. "I just feel something different about her. She's not just some officer following my orders, Clara is honest and not afraid to speak her mind."

"So is Amari. She's not afraid of anything." Reyes pointed his apple at Jack.

"I'm just saying, I want to impress her."

"You're just saying I was right and you have a thing for her."

Jack scoffed and shook his head. "She's a Major."

"And you're a Captain." Gabriel was quick to point out as he tossed his scraps into the wastebasket. "C'mon man, go for it. You deserve somebody special just as much as the next guy."

Jack shrugged. "Says the bastard with three women waiting for him at home."

Gabriel chuckled and mimicked Jack. "What can I say, I like having many special women in my life."

Jack felt his communicator ring, and he looked down to see his alarm going off. "Alright, let's go get ready. The girls have already left to go get ready."

"Yes sir." Gabriel slid off the edge of his desk, and sped ahead of Jack who was already heading towards the door. Being the smartass Gabriel had always been, the man opened the door and bowed to his second in command, who just rolled his eyes and snorted.