Chapter 4: The Longest Trek

5 November 2060, 2315 Hours (Military Calendar)

Ngume District, Numbani

Present Time….

Spectre stared at Mirembe's armor. What good was this thing as an Overwatch agent? Did it serve any purpose or was it just invented just to gloat that she was hanging it with Morrison and Reyes?

Blimey, what a useless piece of garbage.

There was no hope in salvaging this armor even if he wanted it. He slid his finger once more through it and placed it on the floor. He took a deep breath and looked one last time over Unity Plaza and Mirembe's pod.

Guess that means she's dead. Oh, well….

"Attention! Stuck on a boring day? Feeling fresh for adventure? Visit the Numbani Adawe National Park today! Children twelve and under are admitted free!"

The voice came once more from this city, the Protector as it called itself. At first he dismissed it as rambling but when he saw video feeds of a crashed pod nestled on the ground on Numbani's outskirts, he was on his feet before he knew it. He didn't know the way to Adawe National Park, but he needed to get there one way or another.

Hey, if I'm lost, the bloody city's my torch!

Spectre made his way back down to the atrium of the building he was in. He patiently looked around and then, an icon appeared in his vision. A beacon, approximately one thousand meters away in some sort of square. It would be a long walk but he needed to figure out if someone was there. He checked his ammo count and started with a light trot.

Midnight began to set in. Numbani was cast with illumination made by the many skyscrapers and towers. Automated lights began to flicker, casting the streets with a bright orange-tinted glow. 'my torch' indeed. Cars, plants and corpses became dark under the lights.

These will make good cover, if I need it.

He suddenly heard what sounded like talking coming over the incline. Spectre slunk into the shadow made by a truck and waited. The talking grew louder and louder until he spotted two Talon Agents walking down flanked by six others. Their voices were deep and gravel, perhaps by a voice modulator.

"….and you're sure the Strike Commander was within the city?"

"Quite positive. He was with a larger force of Overwatch agents looking to get rid of us."

"Looks like that didn't end up quite like they expected." The older one said, giving a humerous snort, relishing the destruction around him. "The buildings crumbled like sand. Must've been built by Omnics."

"We did see an Overwatch ship give chase to one of our ships.:

"Did we shoot it down?"

"Perhaps. Didn't hear about any wreckage."

"Maybe it did shoot it down."

"Best not to dwell upon it."

A couple of the soldiers behind the agents started to chatter nervously. They were mumbling too quietly for Spectre to understand what they were saying but the Agent's didn't have this problem.

"Quiet! Quit jabbering or you'll kill us all!"

This made the diminutive grunts even more nervous and they then glanced from side to side. Spectre decided he wanted to break them up a little. He marked them up with his visor, giving them an orange glow in his vision. He took aim at the rear agent who had the bright idea to kick at an Overwatch member's corpse.

He pulled the trigger.

An armor piercing round spun from his pulse rifle and hit the Agent in the head from behing. The wall was spattered with blood and brain matter. His companions whirled around at the noise of his corpse hitting the ground. He nailed another and made the rest aware.

"We've been spotted!" the senior Agent said. "Spread out!"

The agents, angered by the slaying of their comrades barked and sprinted from box to car to container looking for the assassin. One made the mistake of coming from behind Spectre's truck. The Overwatch Agent was startled by the creature, and took advantage of the darkness. Silently, he grabbed the Talon agent's head and snapped it to one side, producing a sickening crack of bone against muscle.

Under the burning flames of cries and birds, the kill was almost completely inaudible.

"Three down, five to go…" Spectre said to himself.

The Talon Agents continued to patrol the area, he hid himself inside the truck and waited for another one to notice the corpse. It was a double header as two Agents came. Two squeezes of the trigger on his rifle and both of them were down.

To his dismay, one of the pulse shots ricocheted and caused a whining sound. The remaining Agents cried in excitement.

"Found him! He's by the truck!"

Spectre needed an exfil. He needed to find a way out of the truck quickly. The front was not an option, as that was where the enemies were coming from. He then decided to go through the back. He unhooked the emergency door. What he also didn't know was that the doors had emergency sirens when people went out the back. Guildford, the city he was born in, didn't have many roads, and thus he didn't have as much knowledge on civilian vehicles.

Regardless, he knew exactly what the siren meant. It meant that he now had two bloodthirst Talon agents on his ass now. He whirled around to see them glaring at him. The Talon agents prepared to fire while the last Talon agent armed a bomb strapped to his chest and was ready for a kamikaze run.

Spectre saw plenty of this in Kings Row and was prepared for it another time. He plucked his pistol from his leg and indistinctively nailed the bomber between the visor-eyes of his helmet. The bomb was still active. The two agents facing him tried to get away

The bomb detonated in a fireball of radiation, heat, and electrical discharge. The truck was reduced to a burning shell. The Talon agents laid dead in the cabin with flaming skin giving off a stench of burning blood, sweat, and the smell of gasoline.

Spectre took a second to catch his breath. He honestly couldn't believe that he survived that one. He sat next to a wall, and took in the scene of destruction he inadvertently caused.

"Attention, please vacate the road."

Spectre gave a glance to the screen. The Protector symbol was there.

"Give me a sec." He said with a couple of breaths.

The Overwatch Agent got up and walked down the road. The beacon was getting stronger. What he noticed was the distinct lack of people.

"Where is everyone?"

"Evacuation is in effect. Please remain calm."

Spectre eventually came to a circular center. This must be where the beacon come from since the point on his visor was quite close. He took a look around it first. It appeared that this was a civic center as appealing statues dotted the perimeter, a festive water fountain was running in a courtyard which make this area calm, and several video billboards advertised new products and cars.

In the center was a statue of an African Chief. Normally, this would've seen pretty usual. The thing that piqued Spectre's interest, however, was an Overwatch aerial drone. It was wedged between the stand and the off-center statue. Laying a few dozen meters away was a care package from the drone.

"Where's the pod?" Spectre asked out loud.

"Location: Adawe National Park. Status: Off-Limits."

Great. Spectre walked all this way just to have the AI tell him that he couldn't get into the reserve. Just as well. He saw above that the only entrance to the Park was smashed by what he assumed was rubble from a building.

He angrily paced the area. He accepted the fact that he wasn't getting inside and just took a look at the package. He lifted at the device and was amazed at its weight. He looked at the piece of machinery and then to the broken drone.

Wonder where you've been today…