Jack Morrison stood a block from the nightclub, scoping it out as best he could with little equipment. Despite the darkness, Jack could see perfectly as clubgoers herded into the establishment drunkenly tripping over each other. Jack took a deep breath and calmed his nerves.
It wasn't as if this mission was something inherently dangerous (nothing on par with the assignment in Bangladesh, that's for sure) but there was something scary about doing something like this. All his life, Jack followed the rules. He upheld his morals and ideas while remaining restricted in the established rules, if there was a line he wouldn't dare cross it. Sure, he would tow the line, maybe bend it, but crossing it was something different.
There was a difference between fighting for a cause to help others and fighting for yourself. That's what he was doing. This wasn't a sanctioned mission by an officer in CENTCOM. This was vigilantism.
That's what Jack was.
No.
He wasn't a vigilante. Jack Morrison is and always will be a soldier. Same war, different battleground. Jack zipped up his coat, it wasn't very cold but he couldn't stop shivering. The London air was thick, making him feel asthmatic again.
With confidence, Jack strode toward the club.
The bouncers were walls of muscles in black shirts and earpieces, even from this distance Jack could spot the old, faded military tattoos on their arms. Getting past them would be simple if he simply knocked them out, but he couldn't alert his target, he would have to go past them.
Thirty seconds later, he found the back entrance and slipped inside.
It was apparently some sort of retro, classic night. The clubgoers were dressed in older styled clothes from the early 2010s, the music apparently followed this theme. The music blared as Jack waded through the crowd, effortlessly slipping past the awkward dancers, avoiding spilled drinks and clumsy people.
Scanning the VIP section above, Jack could spot his target. It was an arms dealer from Dublin, he apparently held a toehold in the Helix Security Systems and supplied extremists from around the world with military-grade tech and weaponry. Jack needed a talk with this man.
Jack was instantly spotted, damn, his security detail were better than he anticipated. To be fair, it wasn't exactly hard to spot Jack with his silver hair, face scars and leather jacket. The first guy was lunged at him, his footing poor due to the crowd of people by him. Jack stepped aside from the wide punch, elbowed him in the face and tripped him up. The crowd gasped, awkwardly parting around the dispute but nothing was able to stop their dancing.
Jack hurried through the crowd, thankfully he didn't have to push too much as whenever people saw him they immediately moved out of the way. Jack looked up, his security guards were warning him. Shit. He's going to get away!
Jack picked up the speed and three more guards came rushing at him. They were getting caught up in the crowd so this would be easy. Jack charged. He ducked under the first strike and retaliated with a palm strike on his chin, dazed, Jack grabbed him and tossed him into his next pal and the two crumbled against the wall.
The last dude punched, Jack dodged, grabbed his arm, broke it at the elbow and clocked him clean in the jaw, knocking him out. Looking up, Jack cursed as he noticed his guards escorting him toward the front entrance. It would be a pain in the ass to deal with the tremendous amount of security in the front, but Jack hurried on.
Sprinting toward the VIP section, Jack leapt and in a single bound easily cleared the ten foot tall jump. The VIPs left in the area screeched and scattered as soon as Jack landed, good, less collateral damage.
Two security guards charged him. Jack met them halfway. Ducking the first punch, Jack kneed Guard #1 in the stomach, making him double over, gagging. Guard #2 swung a right hook, Jack spun around, dodging easily and countered with a hook of his own. Guard #2 was much tougher than he anticipated, he was still standing after that punch. Jack decided to be merciful.
Before Guard #2 could recover, Jack grabbed his left leg and tossed him into the back wall, shattering the glass. A third man appeared and reached into his coat. Jack closed the distance between them in a second, grabbed his hand and twisted. Bones cracked and crumble under his grip, the guard screamed.
Grabbing his face, Jack ran forward and leapt, pulling the guard with him, and slammed the back of his head against a table and came back up sprinting. He could see the "VIP" veered to the right and toward a side exit, good, taking it to the street would be easiest for Jack.
Sprinting as hard as he could, he was able to make it toward the exit just as it closed. Ramming his shoulder against the metal door, he tore it off its hinges and it crashed toward one of the guards, knocking him out.
Jack looked around the alley. There were five guys in total, not counting his target, all of them easily weighing in at 220-250 pounds, all of them seemingly armed. There was a car parked in the alley with a driver inside (make that six guys in total) and his target was heading toward the car.
Jack pounced. He grabbed the first two guys by the hands, preventing them from reaching into their coats and getting their weapons and pulled downward. They both slammed their heads into the concrete. Taking a single step, Jack made it to the car and kicked his target into it. He groaned as he crashed into the car door and collapsed.
Spinning around, Jack kicked out the leg of Dude #3, he fell face-first into the ground. Dude #4 and 5 charged, brandishing bowie knives. He dodged the first two strikes simultaneously and punched Dude #5 straight in the face, he went flying back toward the car. Dude #4 swung downward, slashing at Jack. Jack caught his hand mid-flight and slammed downward and his knife went cleanly into his own shin. Dude #4 screamed in pain.
Jumping, Jack kicked Dude #4 in the face across the jaw. Landing, Jack planted a firm kick into his ribs. He felt body-armor under his boot so he pushed off hard and Dude #4 crumbled against the wall, unconscious.
Dudes #1 2 3 and 5 got back up and charged at the same time. Side-stepping, Jack dodged the strikes, grabbed Dude #2's head and slammed his knee against his face. Dudes 1 and 3 were next, Jack ducked, dodging the wide grabs and elbowed Dude #5 while push-kicking #3 into #1 and they were both knocked out.
To make sure they would stay down, Jack hip-tossed Dude #5 into the wall, ran up, and slammed his face against it. Growling, Jack glanced at his target, whimpering as he struggled to open the door but was too dazed and confused for it. The driver stepped out of his car and brandished a pistol.
Quickly, Jack ducked against the car, taking cover as he opened fire. Stupidly, however, the driver emptied his clip against the trunk of the car. Jack sprang out, leaping over the car in a single bound and kicking the driver, sending him flying against the wall. His target struggled to his feet and pulled out his own pistol.
Jack wasn't having that. He ran over to his target, grabbed his pistol hand and with his free hand cupped his throat. Slamming his target against the wall, he smashed his hand into the brick wall to disarm him. Jack growled as he held him up against the wall, easily able to bear his weight.
"Sean Murphy," Jack growled, squeezing his throat so he wouldn't scream. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"W-who the hell are ya?!" Sean yelped, gasping for breath as Jack tightened his grip.
"A man looking for guns, I heard you're in the business for that sort of thing."
"No way mate." Sean's face was turning blue. "I don't mess 'round with those kindsa things!"
Jack threw Sean overhead, against the car. The Irishman cursed as he groaned in pain, rolling around. Picking Sean up with one hand, he slammed him against the car hood, hand against his throat. "Give me another BS answer like that, you'll experience worse than your lackeys. I need to get into Helix."
Sean sputtered, "W-What?! You're crazy you feckin' twat! No way you'll be able to get in ther- AHH!"
Jack planted a swift punch against his solar plexus, hitting something soft. "I need your access code and maybe I'll let you off easy…"
"F-fine, fine!" Sean said. "J-just let me go, mate!"
Jack smiled, this was easier than he expected. "Good." Hoisting Sean up to his feet, Jack proceeded to the car door and was about to open it when he got interrupted.
"Whoa, whoa, what've we got here?"
Jack's blood turned ice-cold.
He turned toward the voice and they were standing by the exit. Four people, clad in thick black body armor and combat fatigues with heavy, iron-toed boots, watched Jack as he attempted to take Sean.
Two guys, two girls, Jack instantly recognized this group.
Mark Wilson was in the front, the secondest tallest of the bunch at 6'1''. He had a powerful, muscular build contained in his black shirt and body-armor. With his blond hair, roguish smile and tanned complexion, he would've looked like your standard, generic action hero. But the pale white star-shaped scar that engulfed the right half of his face, covering his eye, made him looking villainous in this dim lighting.
Li Zhang towered over everyone at an imposing 6'6'' with the body build more akin to a brick house than an actual human. Muscles upon muscles, Jack was surprised he was able to find a shirt he could wear without tearing it up. His dark hair was closely cropped and matched his nearly black eyes. Despite his baby-face and almost kindly smile, Jack knew Li was strong and capable enough to crack pavement.
Beatrice Caito stood beside Mark. She was thin and lithe but impossibly fast, perhaps the fastest out of them all with a particular fondness for knives. Last time he saw her she had hip-length black hair but now it was closely shaved with bear claw patterns shaved into the sides of her hair. She watched, brown eyes twinkling with amusement, as her fingers delicately twirled a serrated knife with impossible dexterity.
Finally, Isla Valdez was tucked in-between the men. She was so whisper-silent and impossibly still that tracking her was incredibly difficult. She wore a black hoodie over her body armor with her face obscured in the shadows of her hood but Jack could see her expression. Her brown eyes were fixed with indifference and apathy but she was studying Jack as if seeing him for the first time. Brown curly hair poked out from her hood. She was the smallest of the bunch at an amusing 4'9'' but just as dangerous as the rest.
Mark grinned as he stepped forward, squinting at Jack. "Is that you Jackie-boy?"
Jack took a reflexive step back. "Oi, oi, get me outta here!" Sean gasped. "What am I paying you lot for?!"
"No prob," Mark said. "Just having a talk with an old friend of ours, if that's alright?"
This is bad.
One of them Jack could handle, no problem, but four? His head ran through the multiple ways this could go down. None of them were good. These guys would kill him if he tried to run. They were from Jack's Super-Soldier days. The Red Team.
Mark, Li, Beatrice, Isla - Soldiers-88, -42, -17, and -06 respectively - were members of the United State's Army's Enhancement program: Project Perseus, designed to create elite soldiers for dangerous missions. Back in the good ol' days after they went through their augmentation process, the soldiers who survived were put into teams and made to practice war games against each other.
This was Red Team, Jack and Gabriel were part of Blue Team. They had a tendency to fight a lot more intensely during the war games.
When the program was shut down, Jack wasn't sure what happened to the rest of the soldiers, if they were ever deployed he didn't hear anything about it. Jack had heard rumors of covert operations being run by these super soldiers but never had an opportunity to chase them down.
Well, that's one mystery solved.
"Jackie-Boy," Mark called out, still smiling. "Can't believe you're still alive, man, heard you croaked in Switzerland. The hell happened?"
"He doesn't look very well," sneered Beatrice. "You were always the golden boy, Jackie. Whatcha doing way out here? Shouldn't you be saving the world?"
"What about you B?" Jack asked. "A hired merc paid to protect scum?"
Beatrice smiled innocently. "Well, with our skillset we ain't got nothing left to do but to kill. That's what we were made for!"
Beatrice pulled back the sleeve of her shirt to reveal her cybernetic prosthetic. "Seems you've been doing the same thing, Jackie."
"Gonna have to ask you to put our client down," Li interjected, his tone soft yet menacing. "We've been paid a hefty amount to protect him."
"Not gonna happen," Jack growled, putting himself firmly between Red Team and Sean. "I suggest you walk away."
"Always the boy scout," Mark chuckled. "Come on, Jackie. Still trying to play hero? After all this time?"
"I'm not a hero," Jack corrected. "But I'm a hell of lot better than this scumbag, better than you, protecting him?"
Beatrice shrugged. "The Army made us into weapons, didn't tell us what side we had to be on, Narciso. One way or another, it don't matter. Just another asshole pointing us at the enemy and telling us who to kill, except this time we get paid a lot more."
"Feckin' useless, GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Sean yelled, only to receive a swift punch to the face by Jack.
"You really don't wanna do this, Jackie," Mark said, still smiling. "Just let our client go and you can walk away… Or hell, even join us. We could use you."
Jack paused and considered what he said. His jaw clenched in determination, Jack glared darkly at the group, at the former prestigious Red Team. "No."
Mark sighed explosively. "Always been the hero-"
"I'm not," Jack interrupted. "I need this guy. He has access to weapons and tech that I need to use, that's all he is to me, an asset. After that… I'm coming after you, one by one if need be. But since we know each, since we were friends, I'll offer you a chance. Retire. Run away, slink in a dark hole and never come back, otherwise, I will find you and I will put you down."
Red Team didn't enjoy that answer. Their jovial, almost carefree expressions melted into glares, fierce scowls. Jack recognized the look, Soldiers in the program when anticipating a battle would undergo a damn near personality change. They would behave almost robotically, systematically attacking with almost little regard for anything other than the objective. Sometimes Jack wondered if they were worse than the ANUBIS controlled Omnics.
This fight will be difficult, Jack can't afford to hold back. Pulling back, Jack stomped hard on Sean's knee, snapping his leg. Sean screamed as he collapsed into a heap. Jack couldn't tell if they were armed but it would be a safe assumption.
"Come on."
Beatrice was the quickest, as usual. She charged in like a blur, her metal arm swinging wide at Jack. If Jack dodged he would catch a knife to the gut but blocking wasn't an ideal solution either. Jack stepped in rapidly, catching Beatrice's swing as he gripped both her shoulders. Before she could recover, Jack kneed her in the gut, hard.
She choked and gagged and Jack spun around, throwing her down the alley. Jack turned and caught a right hook to his jaw. Yelping, Jack was slammed back into the car. His eyes swam, his brain felt like mush, stars dotted his vision. He knew the next attack would be coming, Jack lashed out blindly but his awkward punch hit nothing.
He blinked the stars from his vision in time to see a massive fist drop down on his abdomen. Li slammed his fist right into Jack's chest and his lungs exploded, his ribs felt like jelly. It felt like there was a mountain of steel sitting on his chest.
"Give up," Li said, his voice was no longer soft, it was cool and detached like nitrogen. "You cannot win."
Jack didn't bother to respond, even if he wanted to he wasn't sure he could. He struggled to push Li's fist off but couldn't. Jack wrapped his legs around Li's arm and spun as hard as he could. His arm-lock was successful and Li was thrown off balanced on the floor, Jack perfectly had his arm pinned down.
"Ooh, nice technique," Mark said, grinning. "Come on, Li, you're strong enough to break out of that!"
Jack didn't hesitate. He pulled back Li's arm as hard as he could and broke it at the elbow. To Li's credit he didn't scream but it was probably due to the large amount of adrenaline pumping through his veins. Instead, Li snatched his arm back, trying to grab Jack but he released his grip and rolled away.
Mark charged forward, kicking Jack right in the back. He turned around quickly to block the next strike but was too slow, a roundhouse kick caught Jack in his chin and he spun around from the impact. A leg sweep from Beatrice tripped up Jack and his head slammed against the pavement. Stars exploded in his vision and hastily he placed up his guard but Mark was an expert in fighting.
He landed a few blows to Jack's ribs before aiming for his face. Jack caught the fist and was about to retaliate but Mark kicked him across the jaw. Jack rolled away, coughing. Every breath felt painful, his ribs felt like jelly.
"You're good, Jack," Mark grinned. "Not that good."
"Fuck off."
Jack charged Mark. He saw Beatrice reach for the knife in her hip holster, so he stopped her. Grabbing her hand, he squeezed hard and kept it there. Turning, Jack kicked Mark right in the gut and he rolled back awkwardly.
Beatrice swung her cybernetic arm at Jack but he ducked and caught her arm between his shoulder and chin. Spinning around, Jack kicked Li in the stomach and picked Beatrice up easily and slammed her against the car hood.
Jack raised his fist to knock Beatrice out but she reacted quicker. She kicked Jack square in the jaw and he staggered back. Arms wrapped around his middle and Jack was too stunned to counter the suplex that came.
Mark lifted Jack in the air and at the apex of throw he released Jack partially and slammed him down with one arm. Blood filled his mouth as the back of his head crashed into the pavement. Jack groaned as Mark began to strangle him with one hand.
Jack struggled to push Mark off but he squeezed his throat if he tried to move. "Sorry, Jackie boy… ya don't win this time…"
Beatrice giggled, strolled up to Jack and kicked him across the chin. "I always wanted to put a bullet between those pretty blue eyes of yours."
Mark brandished a pistol and placed it firmly on Jack's forehead. "Heard you were in that explosion in Switzerland, not surprised you survived that… But a bullet would be harder, wouldn't it?"
"Stop."
Isla pointed her gun right at Mark, Jack watched as the tiny girl slowly approached them. The other soldiers weren't very surprised or even bothered by this sudden betrayal and watched her with keen interest. Mark grinned, turning to face her.
"You gonna shoot me?" Mark asked. "Really?"
Isla had covered her face with a mask that must have had photo-reactive panels on it as the pattern shifted from shadows and darkness, except two glowing purple eyes staring blankly at them. "If you make a sudden move, sure," Isla answered, her voice calm, detached almost robotic.
"Aw, come on, Isla," Mark groaned. "Gotta ruin all the fun!"
"Jack has a point, fighting for a better cause than this," Isla reasoned, her mask shifting into despondent gray. "Instead of being this… Hired guns for scum."
"Oi, feck off, beaner," Sean grumbled.
Isla calmly reached into her pocket and shot the arms-dealer in his good knee. He screamed bloody murder as he rolled in pain.
"You're delusional!" Beatrice cried, ignoring her client's cries of pain. "Thinkin' you're some… do-gooder. We're weapons, that's all."
"We have a choice," countered Isla. "You may have made your choice, but I haven't… Not yet."
"Then why did you join us?" Li asked.
Isla shrugged. "I was following a lead… Now, I'm getting a bit sick of you guys."
"Same here." Mark squeezed the trigger but Isla was faster.
He fell, soundlessly to the side, a trail of blood following the wound etched into his head. Jack coughed and gasped for air as his throat was now spared the pressure from Mark's strangulation and stared, aghast at Isla's wordless murder.
Li sighed, more disappointed than angry. "Well… One less cut."
He charged Isla and reached out for a grab. Jack struggled to his feet and went to assist but Isla disappeared. Jack wondered if he was suffering brain damage because she literally disappeared from sight as Li grabbed at empty air.
Isla reappeared as if breaking reality and stepping out from the shadows besides Li. Her pistol was aimed at his head.
"Wait!" Jack cried but she fired.
Li collapsed in a heap.
Beatrice sighed explosively, scratching her head. "Damnit. Well, it's me or you then Isla!"
Isla tossed something at Beatrice but she swatted it away with her cybernetic arm and charged. "Ha! Missed!" But electricity arced through her metallic arm and fell limp at her side. Beatrice only had a moment to glance at the miniature electromagnetic pulse attached to the shoulder of her arm when Isla took aim and fired.
"A shame," sighed Isla as she inspected the corpses. "They could have been useful."
Jack took a breath and fire bleed into his ribs and every neuron felt as if they were on fire. The damage he took would heal pretty damn fast over time but it still hurt. "What do you mean?"
Isla shook her head. "Nothing, are you injured?"
Jack chuckled, the act made his chest ache. "Is that a joke?"
Isla pocketed her pistol and brandished a tiny canister with a nozzle. She strode toward Jack but he took a reflexive step back. Jack wasn't able to scrutinize her expression because of her mask but she didn't seem offended. "Biotic foam," she explained, showing him the canister. "Seals wounds while sterilizing them and hastening the healing process."
"Fancy."
"Helps to be prepared," Isla countered. "Didn't help you to look into Sean's security detail more thoughtfully, did it?"
Jack kept his mouth shut and took a seat on the now-dented hood of the car. He raised his shirt and winced at how bruised he was. Isla took the nozzle carefully and pointed it between his ribs. "You may feel a slight pinch."
Jack nearly jumped as Isla practically stabbed him with the nozzle. "I said you may feel a pinch."
She applied the foam and it felt like she was injecting ice into his rib-cage. It filled his chest cavity, the nice cool feeling offered relief and whenever he took a breath it didn't hurt nearly as much. Isla withdrew the canister and shook it. "Ah, empty."
Pulling his shirt down, he watched Isla warily. She was disturbingly okay with shooting her former comrades in the head for… what exactly? To help out Jack? It was fishy, Jack was never able to pin down her loyalties.
"Why'd you help me?" Jack asked.
Isla shrugged. "Not a fan of the client, not a fan of my squad, got bored… Take your pick, mijo."
Jack looked over at Sean to make sure he hadn't died from shock. He was laid by the car, bleeding and unconscious but alive. "Damn," Jack grumbled, going over to attend to his injuries. "I had a few questions for him."
"Thought you just wanted some weapons for him?"
Jack shrugged. "A friend of mine… Disappeared two nights ago. News outlets say she was involved in a terrorist act near King's Row."
Isla nodded, pulling out a phone and checking the news, tapping rapidly. "Tracer?" she read. "I was always a fan of hers."
"I need to find her," Jack said. "But I need weapons. This guy can provide the weapons and maybe some answers about Tracer."
Isla whistled as she quickly figured out his plan. "You plannin' to break into Helix?"
"Worth a shot."
"Not worth getting shot," she countered. Isla thought for a moment then reached into her coat and pulled out a strange black device. It was palm sized and didn't have any writing on it. "This will probably be able to disable the security network at Helix."
"Probably?" Jack took the device and tested its weight.
"Nothing's guaranteed, Jack."
Jack paused for a moment, studying Isla's strange mask that shifted patterns. She was practically the definition of an enigma. Thanks to his now-enhanced body, Jack had perfect memory recall but sometimes it was impossible to remember what Isla looked like when she wasn't wearing the mask.
Isla shifted under Jack's stare, revealing a bare neck underneath her hoodie. Tattoo on the side of her neck was the number 22. Strange, was that always there?
"Thanks, Isla. I appreciate your help."
"Not a problem. You should probably get going though, someone is bound to have heard this mess. I'll take care of the bodies."
Jack nodded and pocketed the device. With one arm he hefted Sean up and tossed him into the car. "Oh and Jack," Isla called. "Don't call me by my name, I never liked it."
"Fine, fine." Jack closed the door of the car and headed to the driver's side. "I'll see ya later then, Sombra."