Hanamura. The last place on earth where cherry blossoms bloomed naturally. A walled in community run by the Shimada Clan, a megacorp who made their fortune in the private military business. If you believed the rumors floating around, a hefty portion of that fortune was also in illegal weapons and experimental chems, but it was never wise to trust a rumor. Not in Hanamura, where they could and would cost you your head.
The whole city was built around the Shimada Clan HQ - referred to as the Shimada Castle for purely aesthetic reasons. The area around the castle was walled off, surrounded by real honest-to-god cherry blossom trees, the lush gardens visible through the gates. A stark contrast to the heavily armed guards patrolling the area. From the walls outwards the city grew progressively less pretty and more violent. The pink and white glow of the castle only extended so far.
Jesse McCree found himself on the very edge of that glow, reviewing the plan with his crew one last time before they set out to do an incredibly stupid thing. Hana's latest drone model had to be installed on the top floor in a previously prepared vent drop point, where it would likely provide a fortune's worth of blackmail data for months to come. Should they come across a data vault on the fourth floor, there might be a schedule for illegal weapons deliveries that would prove incredibly valuable if retrieved. Once they found a way over the wall, they would be entering through a discreet delivery door somewhere on the south side. McCree would be taking a different route to minimize the amount of time he had to spend in the building with a metal box floating next to him. Not much info on the inner layout. But that was part of what the surveillance drone was for.
"Any questions?"
The group shook their heads in unison, exchanging glances of confirmation with one another. If Hana's intel was up to date, they'd face minimal resistance if they acted quickly and quietly. The leader of the group, an elf adept by the name of Storm, nodded in approval as she scanned her audience. Tonight she was running with a motley crew of desperate runners who were in enough of a pinch to do just about any job dropped in front of them. Diesel, a troll sniper built like a tank, would be watching the exits and keep in touch via commlink. Alice and Z3R0 - resident cat shaman and hotshot decker respectively - were headed to the fourth floor for the data vault. Storm would be helping McCree place the drone.
McCree was probably the most out of place. He was considered a weapons expert with infiltration and security experience, ex-Deadlock crew, mostly a lone hire these days. At 37 years old he generally had the most experience on any given team - he'd been running the shadows since his late teens. Storm had chosen him for his experience in the private security business, hoping he would have some insight on what kind of resistance to expect. He expected medium to heavy security - private, not corporate - with Knight Errant on call for when the alarms were tripped. His suggestions to cut the power to the alarms before they started the run were shot down in favor of "just don't get caught". He didn't have very high hopes for this team in all honesty. Generally he didn't run with strangers, but he wasn't eating this week if he didn't run with somebody soon.
Their way over the wall presented itself in the form of a nearby rooftop. They shimmied up the fire escape and balanced themselves carefully on the slanted edge of the wall. Diesel set up on one of the decorative towers, scanned the courtyard, and gave the thumbs up for the rest of the crew to haul over. Alice and Z3R0 went left towards the delivery door. Storm and McCree went right towards the dojo, the drone hovering low and quiet behind them.
The building was quieter than McCree expected. It put him on edge - there should have been guards by the doorway, one at each hallway entrance in the back, even more by the open archway to the balcony. Instead, there was an empty room with a shrine at the far end and no place to hide. "Move slow." He mouthed to his companion. Storm nodded in agreement and dropped into a crouch. McCree didn't like how easy it had been to cross the room. Something wasn't quite right. A wet thwack confirmed his fear. Storm was staring at him slack-jawed and wide-eyed. She tried to say something, but the arrow sticking through her throat caught her words and turned them into a bloody cough. She collapsed. McCree followed the angle of the arrow to an archer in the rafters, another arrow already nocked and fixed on him.
"Well hell." He muttered before breaking into a blind sprint. "Diesel, extraction, right now. Storm's down."
"What? How?"
"Security ain't what I expected - get the others out." Hooked a right to god knows where.
"What about you?"
"My fault, my problem." A left, up a short staircase.
"Don't be stupid, I'm patching Hana in to find you an exit."
"Focus on the others. I'll be fine." Shouting in Japanese, too quick to catch but getting closer.
"Alice and Z3R0 aren't too deep yet. I have time."
"Get them out first dammit, I'll be fine!"
An elevator - he dug his metal fingers into the crack as hard as he could and forced it open. Wrapping a cyberware hand around the cable, McCree started to rappel down the shaft to what he hoped would be freedom. The drone was long gone, outrun in the chase. All he could do was hope it didn't lead back to Hana somehow.
"Jesse? You okay?" Now there was a comforting, friendly voice.
"Howdy, Hana. Been better."
"Yeah, I bet. Is the drone anywhere near you? I'm detonating it."
"Nope, lost it a few turns back." McCree grunted, slipping slightly. Sparks from the metal cable scraping against his metal arm flickered hot against his cheek. "Hope you set one of them damn bastards on fire with it."
"Here's hoping."
Somewhere far above, a crackling of electricity and the sharp grenade-like sound of the drone exploding echoed down to him. That would draw their attention away for a bit.
"Okay, your decker buddy patched me into the system, let's see if I can get an area map." A few moments of silence. "Boom, here we go. Okay, next floor down from where you are, peek out and tell me what you see."
"Alrighty. Hang tight, I'm almost there."
Hanzo Shimada stared at the cold food in front of him. A combination of guilt and pride kept him from eating the peace offering his father had "so graciously" left him. He shifted his weight in a vain attempt at comfort. There was a soft cot behind him, but it was the same problem he had with the food. In a cell across the hall, his brother sat on a ratty blanket with a musty pillow, picking at some sludge that was supposed to be a soy-based porridge.
Hanzo wanted to ease his brother's suffering as much as he wanted to punch him square in the mouth. It was his fault this whole situation was happening anyway. If he had just accepted Dragon's gift instead of mangling his body with all that scrap metal-
"Musing over my failings again, brother?" Genji glanced up from his food. Heavy bags under his eyes and the strain of a dry throat betrayed his attempt to sound strong.
"I still do not understand your decision." Hanzo said flatly.
"You do not have to. I am at peace with what I've done. That is all that matters."
"You idiot!" Hanzo struggled to keep his voice below a shout. "That is not all that matters. What matters is that your behavior has gotten us both exiled from the family."
"So? We will start over."
"No. There is no 'we' anymore. There was me, there was Genji, and then there is you - something altogether...different." He wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"You keep saying that." Genji sighed, letting his spoon fall to the tray with a hollow clatter. "I am still Genji. Some metal limbs and reflex rigs do not erase who I am."
"I won't even grace you with a response to that."
"And yet you continue to speak."
Screeching metal and a string of profanity silenced the argument. The brothers exchanged confused looks. They could hear a man talking now - though it was in English and fairly distant. Hanzo felt something stirring within him, something he had come to recognize as Dragon's power. His tattoo glowed and shimmered.
TAKE YOUR CHANCE. TAKE IT NOW. LEAVE THIS PLACE.
Bracing himself against the wall with one leg and against the thin ledge in front of the door with the other, McCree pried open the next door he came to. He must've dropped a good three or four before this - this was a concrete floored basement by the looks of it. On the wall outside of the elevator a plaque read "Holding Site".
"Well ain't that handy."
"Hm?
"Holding Site mean anything to you?"
"Uh...yup! Here we go - typical blacksite b.s., but looks like there's a maintenance hatch in a janitor's closet down here. Looks like it used to be a basement and they just shoved a bunch of cells in there."
"Where's the hatch lead?"
"Mmm. Not sure. But anywhere is probably better than a blacksite basement, right?"
McCree sighed and started picking his way through the maze of cells and hallways. He could think of several worse places this hatch might dump him, but he didn't feel like it was worth saying that to Hana. She would just tell him to stop being such a downer.
"Hey. Hey!" McCree froze. "You there, cowboy."
"Ah hell, this ain't my night." He muttered. Up ahead he could see two faces pressed to the bars of two cells across from each other. "Howdy. Don't suppose y'all'll let me just pass on through without any shootin'."
"We are unarmed." One of the men, a heavily cybered elf, held his hands up as McCree approached. He spoke english fairly well, though he had a heavy Japanese accent. "Who are you?"
"A stranger passing through." He said flatly.
"To where? You are lost, cowboy." The other elf snorted. He was well-built and wore a similar outfit to the archers upstairs. A detailed tattoo of a dragon spiraled down his arm.
"Not as lost as you'd think. Now can I help you fine men or can I get goin', 'cause I'm on a bit of a tight schedule right now."
"Let us out of these cells. We will show you the way out."
"How do y'all know the way out?" McCree was wary, but he knew he didn't have many options. "Why are you two down here anyway?"
"Genji Shimada. This is my brother, Hanzo. Why we are here is unimportant."
"Shimada? You two are part of the family who owns this hellhole?"
"The head's sons." Hanzo crossed his arms impatiently. "Are you going to free us or not, cowboy? You are on a tight schedule, are you not?"
"Hold up a minute - why would I let you two go? Y'all'd kill me or sell me out just as quick as anything."
"We hold no love for our father." Genji's tone was sharp as he flicked the bars of his cell impatiently. "We would just as soon see his empire crumble."
Hanzo said nothing. He had fixed his brother with a hard stare - one that McCree didn't miss. A tense silence built between them, which McCree broke by clearing his throat.
"Look, I get the feelin' there's some family issues here and I don't want any part of it. Y'all promise to get me out of here and I'll spring you. Then we part ways and you never tell anyone about me for the rest of your days."
"Deal." Hanzo extended his hand for McCree to shake. Genji offered the same.
"Alrighty, stand back then."
The cell locks were simple maglocks. Clearly nobody expected anyone to come down here with the intent of letting anyone out. The bizarre truth about many corporate blacksites was that they were so secret, corps didn't bother pouring that much money into the actual security part. McCree didn't have his breaking tools on him, but he did have a hydraulic jack in his leg and that was good enough. The maglock exploded under the force of his kick in a shower of sparks and light.
"Knight Errant is headed your way, you need to move!" Hana's voice cut in. McCree cursed under his breath. Hanzo and Genji blinked at him.
"Boys, now would be a good time to show me the exit."
"This way. Why, did you trip the alarm?"
"I was expecting sub machine guns, not archers."
"Research your target next time." Hanzo hissed, taking off at a sprint. McCree and Genji followed at his heels, chased by the sound of shouting in the elevator shaft behind them. Knight Errant would be on this floor soon. They couldn't afford to be here when they arrived.