Revised on the 1st of November 2017
More than half-an-hour had passed into the event, and things have surprisingly been running smoothly in that time. No assassination attempts, no sudden explosions, no armed infiltration of assailants – nothing. Just an evening of people eating, drinking, and socializing. Lots of champagne, of course. Whatever wealthy and important people did in these gatherings. In a sense, it reminded Nathan of some of the banquets of the Ultra-Luxe. Just much cleaner and scientific. And hopefully with less human-based entrées. At least that would make things more interesting.
However, he has been keeping an eye out for trouble, specifically keeping an eye on the two Vishkar lackeys that were a table away from the guest of honor. They both kept a rather quiet profile, not doing anything out of the ordinary. It seemed more so with Satya, as she merely stared at her plate of food and occasionally nibbled on what was given to her. Looking as if she would've preferred to be anywhere else but here. The Waster could empathize with that.
He looked and saw that Angela was faring better than him throughout the entire event, socializing with Aida as that trophy of hers rested on the table for everyone to see. Both the crystal figure and the golden base shimmering in the light. Kind of like her dress and her eyes.
"Augh, I'm getting bored," the Waster lamented as he paced around the backstage. "I'm already forgetting what we're supposed to be doing here. How much more of this do we have?"
"Two more hours of the event," Pharah responded over the radio, sounding equally bored. "Or three…"
He could only shake his head and let out a huff of frustration. He brought his wrist up and started to fiddle with his Pip-Boy, the screen flickering and the buttons clicking with every motion. Wanting to see if he contracted a sickness from tedium. Brin must've been so focused on what he was doing with the RobCo computer that he almost didn't notice someone walking up to him, the heels clopping against the stage.
"Hey," Angela greeted, walking up to him holding two glasses of a bubbly golden drink. "How are you doing? I couldn't but help notice all the radio chatter. Champagne?"
"Thank you but I'm fine, Dr. Ziegler," he said, declining the alcoholic beverage. "How 'bout you? It's a big night and that was a nice speech you gave."
"Thank you. Honestly, I didn't have that much time to work on the speech and I felt like it could've been a better."
"At least you got an award. Looks shiny."
"Eh, it's just a trophy and while I appreciate the Ministries throwing this banquet in my name, it might as well be an over glorified buffet for all I care. Just with a bit more science thrown in."
"Woah, where did that come from? I thought I was the cynical one?"
She smiled at him before taking another drink from the glass in her right hand.
"Sorry if it seems a bit unlike me," the award recipient apologized, shaking her head to try and shake herself awake. "It's probably the champagne talking. I should take a seat. Why don't you join me at the table? There's an extra chair."
"I don't mind being out of sight, Dr. Ziegler. And I think you should cut yourself off. You seem a bit tipsy. Remember why we're here, right?"
"Of course, I do. Thank you for the suggestion, Nathan."
With a smile, Dr. Ziegler was about to take and go back to the table but as she turned, she noticed a pair of yellowish eyes staring at her. They belonged to Vaswani, who maintained eye-contact for a couple of seconds until she diverted them. She was standing up from her chair and exchanged a few words with her co-worker until she left his side and hurriedly made her way off the stage. Nathan noticed what she was looking at, too, and saw that was the first sign of movement the Architect had made since the event even started. From their "interactions" over the past two days, this was certainly noteworthy.
Angela passed the drink in her left hand to her bodyguard, holding a free hand up to her left ear.
"Everyone, this is Mercy," she announced over the comms, for the first time since the limousine. "I've spotted Satya Vaswani heading somewhere, in a hurry. Suggested course of action?"
"Would there be a reason, too?" Ana asked.
"Seeing as how we've seen her be pretty suspicious yesterday," Nathan joined in, recounting what he remembered. "And Vishkar's equally suspicious presence here; It might be worth considering."
"I hear you," Pharah, this time, spoke in. "I think Courier should go ahead and follow the target to see what she is up to. Mercy should stay so she wouldn't raise suspicions."
That last statement didn't sit well with "James Boone".
"Are you sure about that?" he questioned the Security-Chief. "Wouldn't that jeopardize her safety if I left?"
"The guest of honor suddenly leaving only less than an hour into a party may attract unwanted attention. Especially if something does happen with Vaswani. I don't like it either, but it's so we can ensure we don't leave as little tracks as possible."
The Courier only grumbled and lifted his head into the air, closing his eyes as if to alleviate a headache. He felt a hand grace his arm and looked down to see Angela staring up at him, a stern but understanding face on the blonde's visage.
"It's all right, I can take care of myself," she stated confidently. "You were getting bored, no? Well, she's getting away, so you should move quickly."
He couldn't argue with that logic.
"Right… Stay safe, y'hear?"
"I'll try my best."
With that, her bodyguard swiftly left his side and began making his way off the stage. After descending a small staircase, he got his shoes onto the hall floor. Feeling the hard floor clop under the dress shoes, which he also hated and almost made crossing the floor uncomfortable. His eyes scanned the hall, trying to find the Vishkar Architect. An amalgam of white and purple caught his eye, and he saw the woman briskly walking along the floor along the farthest wall from him. He doubled his walking speed, weaving through the tables, waiters, and guests spread throughout the building floor. For his stature, it was a bit challenging trying to squeeze through some tight spaces, a problem he's noticed is more frequent in this world than it ever was back home. One downside to having too many people, he supposes.
He finally reached the wall Vaswani was walking along and began to tail her, but making sure to keep a good distance as to not raise suspicions. He still had to bow and weave through busy Omnic waiters and people walking but had a much easier time hugging to the wall. Then, the brown-skinned woman took a hard-left. Disappearing through a door he did not see yet. It wasn't long until he finally reached the door she must've gone through. It slid open as he got close to it, revealing a hallway that leads further into the building. Some couches and ottomans planted alongside the walls with some occupied. Satya wasn't anywhere to be seen.
"Courier," the voice of Ana notified him. "I spotted Satya. She came through a set of doors and is outside on a balcony."
He looked around and saw a set of double doors at the end of the hallway.
"What's she doing?" he asks, making his way over to the doors.
"She's just standing there. With her eyes closed."
"…What?"
"Yes, she just standing there with her eyes closed. She's… murmuring?"
As the Sniper described what she saw through her scope, the Courier had finally reached the doors that slid open to an outside area of the building. A spacious balcony with cushioned seats surrounding a fireplace and a bar that was unattended. There was a glass railing that overlooked the city, Satya standing there. She was the only one of the balcony.
Confused and wary, Nathan slowly walked over to, lightly stepping across the floor to not alert her. He was around two meters away from her back when her murmuring stopped, and he stopped in his tracks. Then, she turned around and was startled to see the tall man sneak up on her, her face scowling at the sudden intrusion.
"Mr. Boone?!" she exclaimed, holding a hand to her heart. "What are you doing here?!"
"I was gonna ask you the same thing," he responded, straight-faced. "You left in a hurry, rather suspiciously."
"'Suspiciously'? What? Mr. Boone, are you accusing me of something?"
The Architect's face was teetering on confused and scared, obviously caught off-guard from being followed alone but also shocked from the allegations. However, she mostly seemed confused. As if she was trying to figure out what she did wrong. She looked… Upset.
"Well, would you mind explaining what you're doing out here? Why it looks like you stormed off? Looked like you were anxious to get somewhere."
"I-I did? My appearance gave it away? I see… Thank you for telling me."
Nathan raised an eyebrow, somewhat bewildered by that response and why she was thanking him. Thanking him for what? Catching her? She then took a deep breath before opening her eyes and looking him dead in the eye. Regaining all her composure as best she could.
"If you must know; I left the event and went outside to recuperate. Gain my bearings."
"'Recuperate?' From what?"
"I… I did not like being in that place. Being in the banquet hall with so many people, so close together. They knew I despised such formal events and still proceeded to send me as an envoy. An Architect is supposed to handle structures, not extravagant galas."
"What're you-?"
"I am not good with people, is what I am attempting to articulate."
Something was off about her, but not because it seemed like she was doing anything wrong, for once. It sounded like she panicked and just wanted to get out of there. He listened to her, looking for the meaning in between her words. She didn't like being in the crowded banquet, didn't like being sent to something "formal", and literally stormed out of the room to be alone. Her mannerisms and body language were off, even before this meeting. Nathan wasn't too experienced with this, but he had an idea.
'I should ask Dr. Ziegler about this,' he made a mental note. 'I'm sure she a tad more qualified for this type of stuff.'
"I see. If that's the case, I'm sorry to intrude. I just thought… Security precautions, really."
"Is that so? That's rather presumptuous of you, Mr. Boone. Rather unprofessional."
"Yeah… Before I go, I don't know if you remember seeing me and Dr. Ziegler at the University yesterday. We noticed you were doing something with the data servers. What was that all about?"
The Indian woman looked at the Californian, annoyed that he was still there but curious as to why he was asking such a question. She decided to answer anyway if it meant she would be rid of him.
"I was processing a transaction between the city's University and the Vishkar Corporation. A simple exchange of data that serves to benefit all involved parties. It was not as dubious as you assume it to be."
"I guess it wasn't. Thank you, Ms. Vaswani. I'll leave you be, now."
As he promised, he swiftly made it for the exit and left the introverted woman alone on the balcony and to be with her thoughts, again. Shaking his head all the while.
'Great. I feel like an asshole, again.'
"Uh, what was that all about? Why did you just leave her there?" Morrison questioned over the radio.
"A misunderstanding," Nathan merely stated. "I'm going to speak with Dr. Ziegler about this. She'll make sense of it, I'm sure."
He had made his way to the other end of the hallway and the door to the banquet hall opened. However, a mere split-second after the door opened and it instantly clicked that there was something wrong. Whereas he left it with the floor buzzing like a hive, it was now silent only for a few individuals and there was little to no movement from the guests. They all seemed as if they were asleep and slumped against the tables and chairs. They were a few who still seemed conscious trying to help the ones who weren't, dragging them by the arms or trying to shake their bodies awake. They weren't dead, he could see some were clearly breathing, but they weren't responsive. A yelp in the distance made him look up to the stage to see that many of the guests seated there were unconscious except for two people, Aida trying to wrestle Angela's unconscious body from an Omnic waiter and Dr. Hassoun trying to calm her down. There were other waiters, as well, all of them seemingly okay. Except that the blue lights on their bodies were glowing red and they were suddenly armed.
"Angela!" he exclaimed out of surprise, immediately regretting that he did as he caught the attention of some of the waiters.
Almost immediately they opened fire, the gunshots sounding thunderous in the acoustics of the banquet hall accompanied by the screams of those who were still awake. Nathan immediately dove to the left, behind one of the many tables as cover. Glass and dinnerware exploding as the rounds pelted his position. He crawled on the rug floor, maneuvering around table legs and people as he tried to evade their fire. He stopped as a cold, metal object planted itself onto his sweating forehead. Looking up, he saw the muzzle of a pistol being forced into his face by one of the glowing-red Omnic waiters. To the left, the Courier noticed there was an empty chair next to his left hand and just in reach.
"Put your hands up in the air," the waiter commanded, its voice lifeless and without character. "And you will be unharmed-"
Holding onto the chair leg, Nathan pulled it and bumped it into the floating waiter, the pistol he was holding shoved away from his face but discharge uncomfortably close to his head. The man grabs the shooting hand with his right and stands up to grab the waiter by his neck with the left. He slams the half-Omnic into a table and twists the machine's hand to make it let go of the handgun, making his wrist fizzle electricity. He then punches the robot off the table and sends it flying to the floor. The sound of guns charging makes him pick up the waiter's gun and swiftly turn to fire at the threats, the Wastelander swiftly gunning down three approaching waiters before more fire from the stage force him to take cover behind a chair. Slinking into the cover to avoid getting hit, a sudden glint to his left makes him turn and hold up his left hand just in time to stop a steak knife being thrust into him by the same Omnic he just pummeled, now crackling electricity all over its hull. He brought the muzzle of the pistol to his face and watched as the metal became disfigured in a ball of fire, the Omnic falling limply to the man's feet. Then, a horrible realization that these were Omnics, not ordinary robotic drones, flashed across his mind. They were acting nice and courteous just minutes before, but had now gone rogue and were trying to kill him. What happened to them?
Suddenly, blood suddenly splattered across his face and staining parts of his suit. He immediately brought a hand up to it and wipe it off. That was when he noticed the blood wasn't his, but instead, belonged to the elderly man sitting in the chair he was taking cover behind.
"Oh, shit…"
Now thoroughly pissed, he got up from cover and started firing at the waiters on the stage and took one of them down. Fire from behind made him turn around and quickly dispatch two other waiters before turning back around to the front. But he did not fire, as he saw some of the bots were now holding Aida and Dr. Hassoun hostage.
"James! Help! Please!" Aida screamed, a metal arm around her neck and a muzzle pressed up against her head.
"I'm coming!" he screamed back, trying to make his way through the table while avoiding gunfire.
He exchanged fire as he was on the move, trying to get closer to the stage without trying to trip over bodies and avoid the other waiters roaming the hall. Before he knew it, Angela, Aida, Hassoun, and their captors were out of sight, disappearing from the stage. It became quiet as Nathan tried to figure what to do next. He first tried reaching out to the others.
"Jack! Ana! Fareeha!" he yelled out, holding a finger to his left ear, but was only met with silence and static. No response. "Can you hear me?... Dammit!"
"My Gods… What happened here?!" he heard a voice call out from his right and saw the Vishkar employee at the doorway he just left, in complete shock.
He bounded over to her.
"Satya, you need to get out of here, now!"
"Why? What is happening?"
"The Omnics. The waiters! They've gone rogue, haywire; I don't know! You need to get out of here."
"The Omnics did this? I don't understand- Behind you!"
Her face lit up as she looked at him and pushed him out of the way. Suddenly, they were both encapsulated by a blue ball of energy that was then pelted by automatic fire. The Courier watching with astonishment as the shield of energy held, its shell bubbling from the force. The automatic fire continued for a second or two before it stopped. Nathan swiftly returned fire with the borrowed pistol, landing all four shots onto the waiter's metal hull before the pistol too ran out. The machine was still "standing", fizzling, and crackling before the man growled and threw the pistol away and pulled out his M1911 – firing one last shot and taking him down. Only then, did the barrier finally dissipate.
"Did not know you could do that…" the Courier expressed gratitude.
"Sanjay!" she exclaimed, running off to the stage.
"Hey, wait up!"
He followed her, soon making it to the stage and heading to the table where Satya sat to see her kneeling down to her co-worker, who also laid on the floor unconscious. Nathan knelt next to her, observing her co-worker, noticing the glass of spilled champagne next to his hand. Looking up to see that almost every guest was offered a glass of champagne.
"Of course, they spike the drinks," he muttered under his breath. "And the one time I decide to be sober and it actually helps me. Ain't that a sign?"
He got up, went over to one of the dead Omnics and picked up their gun: A rifle with a very familiar design, one that he used back from Gibraltar when he borrowed it from a Talon foot soldier. He could only growl at it.
"Stay here!" he called back to Vaswani.
"Where are you going?"
"I need to save my client!"
The bodyguard busted through the backstage door, rifle at the ready and seeing that the hallway was clear. The Courier started to run through it, the sound of his dress shoes clacking against the floor and the parts of the rifle clattering as he did. He brought his left hand to his ear and tried to reach out to the others, again, but was met with silence, again.
Nathan made it to the other side, stopping to ready himself and slowly open the door. On the other side, he saw a large group of Omnic Waiters were in the lobby and making their way to the entrance. Their hostages still with them. He snuck in, hugging close to the wall and made it to the receptionist's desk before he took cover and started firing, hitting the one closest to the exit. They all scattered, some of them immediately returning fire and peppering the desk. The man in the suit still returned fire when he could, taking down targets with short, controlled bursts. A few of them started to go down, much easier with the rifle rounds than the pistol, but he still had to pump more lead into them on average compared to humans. Not nearly as tough as Mister Gutsies or Sentry Bots, though.
He couldn't get a bead on the ones with the hostages, as they positioned themselves at the back of the group and essentially had a barrier of metal between them and the bodyguard. Nathan had already taken out at least half of their numbers, and the group began to retreat from the entrance but made their ways to another set of doors along the other side of the room, one of them pressing a button that was next to them. A few moments later, it dinged, and the elevator door opened to let the hostage takers file in. Seeing this, the bodyguard got out of from his cover and ran over to the elevator. There was still a wall of the waiters blocking his path that he tried to fight through. Slamming the stock of his rifle into one of them and firing into him before trying to shoot the others. Suddenly, a blue orb fizzling with energy came from behind and touched the Omnics, making them spasm with electricity. He saw the Architect come through the doorway, holding a strange device in her hand. An elevator door shutting caught his attention and he ran over to find that the hostage-takers had left. Pounding his fist on the golden doors out of frustration, he stepped back and looked up to see the screen showed the elevator was going up. The numbers were rising fast.
"Thanks again for the assist," he said to Satya as he hurriedly went over to the elevator panel and called the second one. "But don't try to follow me after this."
"Why?" she questioned with a scowl. "Do you not require assistance?"
"I have plenty. Just help your people and I'll help mine."
"You possess only a rifle and a cumbersome gauntlet on your arm, Mr. Boone. Our efforts in suppressing the threat will be more successful if we cooperate."
His brow furrowed as he addressed her and looked down to the "cumbersome" hardware on his arm. The elevator door dinged and opened, the man wasting no time getting inside. The woman tried to go in with him, but he held his hand up to bar her.
"Don't make things more complicated. I got my own set of problems to fix"
The door then slid closed before she could say anything back.
Inside, the panel was a touchscreen that had a lot of buttons, Nathan decided to pick the highest possible level as he hoped he could cut them off. After he chose the floor, the doors closed, and he felt the machine jostle as it began to lift him higher into the building. He took in the silence he had as he leaned against the wall and take a breather. Suddenly, a voice erupted into his ear among the static.
"Courier? Mercy? Anyone?!" Pharah was practically yelling into the microphone.
"I'm here!" Courier responded.
"Where have you been? We've lost radio contact with you two suddenly. What happened in there?"
"Everything went to shit! The Omnic waiters went rogue and took Angela hostage. Dr. Hassoun and a student, as well."
"What?!" Ana screamed over the mic, shocked and angry. "How could you let this happen?!"
"They spiked the drinks! I didn't know until I came back from that little interrogation with Vaswani. Look, we can bust my balls about me being a shitty bodyguard later! Right now, the waiters are taking an elevator up the building. I'm using one, too."
"Which elevator and what floor are they heading to?"
"Front lobby. I don't know what floor. I just pressed the highest level on the panel to see if I can cut them off."
There was another moment of silence over the air, only the slight humming of the elevator. Looking up to see Nathan had already crossed the first 80 levels, the number still changing rapidly.
'Damn, this is a tall building.'
The elevator suddenly stopped, all the momentum from the lift making the man inside lose his balance and stumble against the walls. The lights flickered off and the holographic displays went dead. The bodyguard was afraid he was at a dead end.
"Soldier, here," it proved otherwise. "I'm on the ground and was able to cut off power to the elevators in the lobby. I'll try to find another set and rendezvous with you. Go find her!"
He didn't need to tell Nathan something he already knew to do.
Going up to the door, he tried to pry them open, but the slit was too thin to get a proper grip with his fingers. Thankfully, he was prepared, as he reached to the back of his pants and pulled out his combat knife, concealed the entire time. He jammed the blade into the slit, getting through, and use the hilt as a handle to push the doors open. One door with the blade, another with his free hand. Finally, he could climb out through an opening at the top.
Squeezing through the space with the rifle and knife in tow, he crawled out onto a floor that was much different from the ground floor he was on. It looked much closer to a lounging room, with chairs and couches situated all over. Made it awkward that there some people on this floor, giving the tall, armed man strange and scared looks.
"Courier, it's Shrike. I've spotted Mercy and the Omnics; They're on floor 120. Where are you?"
He looked around, trying to find where the elevator brought him.
"Uh… I'm on the 111th!"
"… I see you. What are you waiting for? Go!"
Again, he couldn't disagree. He saw the door for a staircase and bolted towards it, soon ramming through the door, and climbing up the staircase as fast as he could. Suddenly, the sound of gunfire and screams echoed down to him, making him pause for a second.
"I'm engaging the Omnics but they're going deeper into the building to take cover. Same floor."
The Courier continued to ascend the stairs as fast as he could, his long legs hopping over the steps, finally making it to a floor market "120". He burst through the door, the muzzle of his rifle sweeping the room. It looked like another lounging area, but he noticed on the right that some of the windows were shattered. And there were two dead Omnics on the ground. There were some people, too, some cowering behind cover or running away at the sight of Nathan.
"Hallway on your right," Ana providing guidance.
He ran down the hall, noticing it was a long, dark stretch and that there were no other entrances except for some curiously glowing doors. A rainbow strobe effect that flickered obnoxiously at a rapid rate. The Courier also noticed the ground shook the closer he got, and he heard something coming through the walls. Faint, but it sounded like… Music?
Wondering what was even happening on the other side, he stopped and raised his rifle, readying himself for what may be on the other side. One hand on the gun and one on the door, he swung it open and charged in. What happened next made his ears feel like they were going through a nuclear detonation.
"Ahhhh!" he screamed, holding a hand up to his ear. Not even able to hear his own voice. "The fuck is this?!"
A series of loud, electronic noises and screeches that conjoined to create beats and melodies in what seemed to be an attempt to create a song played throughout the room he just entered. At least he thought it was a song, as the only indication he could see was that through the flickering and strobing lights were crowds of people dancing to the sound. The dance floor, the aisles, the booths, the balconies up above, they all seemed to be moving in some way. So, enamored that they didn't notice the man with the assault rifle walking in. Clicking the safety on, he pointed the muzzle to the ground and stuck it into his suit coat to conceal it. His eyes darted around the room, trying to find where Angela was and an exit, so he could get the hell out. It was disorienting trying to find something through the flashes of color, but he spotted a stairwell that led to the upper balconies on the other side of the room. He just had to cross the sea of gyrating bodies to get to it.
Walking forward and planting his shoes along the flashing floor, he tried his best to weave through the crowd as fast as possible. It proved more difficult than it should've been, as he had a hard time not bumping into someone who was flailing like a madman or seemed completely entranced by the music and unwilling to even move an inch as they bounced in place. People were jumping, swinging, rocking, and gesticulating so much that sweat shined in the light of the room. Neon, bright strobes, and so many glowsticks they could probably fill a vat of radioactive waste. And the music… He's not surprised that a crowd of people wouldn't be able to notice if a group of armed Omnics strolled through here. Sounded like spending a night with Fisto while high on Jet and wearing a metal codpiece. Covered in nails.
He was starting to agree with Satya over crowds and began missing the desert more than usual.
After what seemed like an eternity of audio and physical assault, getting slapped multiple times by rogue limbs, he had finally crossed the sea of people and made his way to the staircase. Getting to the balcony, he watched and saw another exit ahead. Nathan ran over to it, still hugging the rifle close under his coat. As he made his way to the door and opened it, he was immediately greeted by the sight of a muzzle in his face. Quickly, he ducked as the gun went off, the round just missing him by centimeters. With his Pip-Boy, he slammed the hard shell into the machine's hand and knocked the pistol away as he pulled out the assault rifle and hit the muzzle across his face. Leveling the rifle, he fired two shots into the metal head and made metal fragments go everywhere. Those that were near him and could hear the shots screamed and bolted for cover, thankfully giving him more breathing room.
Knowing now that this was the right direction, he ran across the room and through the exit, finding himself on another floor and going through another exit. A few more rooms later, with the intensity of the music lessening, he found out that someone was screaming into his ear the entire time.
"Brin! Brin!" Pharah was calling. "Where are you? Your mic was going crazy!"
"I was in some kind of club. Loud as hell, obnoxious, and a bunch of people dancing like maniacs."
"You were at a rave? Aren't you trying to save Angela?!"
"I didn't say I fucking enjoyed it!"
Now running through the hallways, he came across another set of stairs that led up another floor. Finding himself running down a hall with windows on his right. The radio burst to life, again.
"All call-signs, be advised," it was their Sniper. "I have eyes on the captors and Angela. They're on the roof, heading towards a helipad. No doubt they're going to evac by air. Brin, you're one floor below them; Double-time it!"
He didn't bother to say anything as he rushed through a door and climbed a utility stairwell. Climbing one flight and he was out on the rooftop she was talking about. He heard gunfire, most likely Ana's work, and ran to the source. Sure enough, on the roof, there were the Omnic Waiters firing off into the distance at an unseen target. Some getting picked off with precise shots.
The Courier was about to join in before something grabbed him by the throat and pinned him against a rail. The assault rifle he had falling off the catwalk and to the ground far below them. He looked to see a mangled but still functioning Omnic trying to choke him, surprisingly strong for its stature. Gritting his teeth, he reached behind him as he slammed the Pip-Boy's casing against the metal dome. After few hits, the machine finally relinquished his hold and the Waster brought his hand up to reveal the glint of a rusty combat knife before driving it into his metal neck. A sudden burst of electricity coursed through the metal and he yelled as he let go, clutching his arm. Nathan looked down to see the fizzling robot, still glowing, as it struggled to rotate its head up to him.
"I'm…" the machine struggled to speak with its distorted voice. "… S-Sorryyyyyy…"
The pain in the man's arm somewhat subsided when he heard that, the Omnic's last words. He froze up, not even sure what to think as he stared at the metal corpse. A sudden and sharp pain in the arm he was clutching broke him out of his trance, and he looked to see a syringe planted into him. A glowing gold liquid injecting itself into him. The pain he felt just seconds earlier was now numbing. He heard Ana's voice.
"It's just a scratch, you'll be fine."
Without another word, he pulled the syringe and ran out into the roof. Nathan was starting to get tired of this mission as he then pulled out his venerable sidearm. He ran towards the Omnics as he fired his M1911, expertly firing and landing shots, taking them down. Taking cover occasionally to reload before vaulting over and resuming his assault. They, of course, fired back, but the tall human's rush towards them with the combined fire of his .45 and the Sniper supporting him proved to be a bit much for the waiters turned combat drones. Their numbers dwindling, they were retreating to the helipad. The Courier giving chase.
Then, an explosion in the distance made Nathan stop and turn around, seeing the plume of orange fire blow off into the dark sky. Recognizing that was where their hotel was.
"Fareeha!" Ana went from calm and collected to distraught in a second.
There was silence on the radio, the Courier and the Sniper staring off into the horizon anxiously. Another explosion went off but behind Nathan, spinning around to see blue energy dissipate as blue plasma bolts started cutting down the machines. The Soldier had finally arrived with his heavy hitting Pulse Rifle.
"Ana, go to Fareeha!" he commanded as he ejected an empty Pulse Cell. "We'll take over from here!"
"Jack-!"
"Go!"
"…Roger that."
Her comms went silent, Nathan and Jack now the only ones left trying to save the other member of their squad. Suddenly, a large matte black aircraft swooped overhead and to the landing pad. With even more incentive, the two rushed up the stairs and got onto the helipad. They were fired upon, but the two grizzled veterans fired back and quickly dispatched of the last of the armed Omnics. Unfortunately, the waiters with the hostages were boarding the ship through a ramp. However, a .45 ACP slug lodged itself into the head of the machine carrying Angela, letting go of the unconscious blonde and making her body tumble down the ramp and onto concrete. The Courier ran up the ramp and tried to get to the others. Shooting the Omnics before they could fire back. Before he could help the two up, rushing boots made him look up just in time to see himself get kicked in the face and tumble back down the ramp.
"James!" Aida screamed as she tried to reach out but was pulled from behind.
His head spinning, he looks up to see a Talon soldier, almost as big as him, descending the ramp to reach for Angela's limp body. Three bolts of blue energy hit him instead, lurching in pain but still standing, before Morrison dove into him and took him to the ground. Another Talon soldier came down, but with a rifle, and was about to shoot Morrison before Nathan pulled scrambled for his handgun and unloaded an entire magazine into him. His body dropping to the ramp with his blood pouring out over it. Nathan saw more red eyes approaching, swiftly reloading, and getting to a crouching position as he fired into the dark and making them disperse.
Apparently, the dropship decided to take this as a cue to leave and was starting to lift itself off from the air. The ramp shut itself, the man on the floor watching as Aida screamed and tried to scramble to him but was held back by an unseen person. Soon enough, the dropship zoomed off into the distance. Its black exterior making it disappear into the night sky.
The sound of fighting made him look to his left and see Morrison still fighting the Talon soldier, the Soldier for some reason having a difficult time with the man. Nathan rose his pistol but saw that the slide was locked back. He reached behind him but cursed when he didn't have any more rounds. Growling, he got up and unsheathed his rusty combat knife and rushed the taller man choking Morrison to the ground. He couldn't react before he jammed the knife into his side, the Talon soldier screaming before he threw Jack away and backhanded Nathan in the face. He staggered from the blow before a gloved fist slammed into his face and knocked all the wind out of him. It hit hard. Very hard.
He fell to the concrete on his elbows until he felt someone grab him by his shoulders and prop him up before delivering punches into his stomach. Yelling from the blows as it felt like a wrecking ball slamming into him, he snarled as he sent a strong, cybernetic enhanced uppercut into the soldier's stomach. The goon reacted but wasn't immediately coughing out blood as most people would. In retaliation, he headbutted Nathan with his metal helmet and sent him to the ground feeling as if he got a concussion.
Something was wrong; This guy was hitting hard and taking hard hits from a Grizzled Soldier and a Mojave Cyborg. With a knife stuck in his side, to boot. The Mojave Cyborg watched in a mix of shock and awe as the man pulled the knife out of his body, caked in his own blood. He began to make advances towards Nathan before Morrison jumped him from behind, latching onto him and punching him in the wound. Incurring pained and angry screams. As he flailed around, the man on the ground saw movement out of the left corner of his eye. He looked to see it was Angela, moving sluggishly and trying to pass something to him: Her Caduceus Blaster.
Not even questioning where she kept that, he scrambled over and grabbed the field medic's weapon, a bit ungainly in his large hand. Standing up, he ran over to the Talon soldier and tackled him into the ground. Both Morrison and his knife knocked away. Surprised, he tries to claw at the man on top of him but recoils when a blaster shot goes off, and another, and another, and another. All of them right where his abdomen was as the Waster held the muzzle of the Caduceus Blaster there, his eyes peering into the red eyes of the helmet until it seemed he was done for, hearing his death rattle faintly beneath the mask. The metal head clinking against the concrete as it slumped back. Nathan got off the corpse, breathing heavily. Looking down at the small energy pistol in his hand, the end of the muzzle stained with some blood. He looked to the left to see Morrison approaching and holding Angela up, bridal-style.
"Some help, please?" he begged, walking over to him.
Nathan went over to him and held his arms out, adjusting his stance as Morrison laid the knocked-out figure of Angela onto him before he went to the corner and retrieved his Pulse Rifle and Nathan's knife.
"That man," he rasped out, looking at the corpse as he walked by. "He hit hard. Too hard. I'd wager someone has been tampering with his genetics."
"What?" Nathan questioned, confused as to why that was the conclusion he made. "What makes you think that?"
"Takes one to know one," the Soldier sort-of explained before he held the knife up and flicked some blood off it. "Where do I put this?"
"Back of my pants. Left side. You should see a sheath there."
"Right."
The white-haired man went behind him, and Nathan felt the blade go back in with a click. Slight stirring at his chest made him look down to see the blonde rustling and mumbling in her sleep. That halo, which was somehow still on after all this time, brushing against the fabric of his suit. She looked so serene, despite having been sedated and almost kidnapped.
"Jack? Nathan? It's Ana," a welcomed voice came back, forgoing the callsigns. "Can you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Ana," Morrison spoke up, the relief he had hidden by the mask. "What's your status?"
"Fareeha is safe and is with me. Our prisoner, too. We got out with everything we needed, so no evidence left behind, other than a smoldering hotel suite. You?"
"We got Angela back, but they made off with Hassoun and that girl."
"I see… We're making our way to you in a stolen van, right now. Get here quick."
"Roger that."
He looked to Nathan over his shoulder.
"Follow me. I know a shortcut we can take to avoid attention."
The Soldier in the leather jacket began to lead the way, climbing down the helipad and making his way across the roof. Nathan followed but tried to his best to make sure the woman in his arms wouldn't fall from his arms. She rustled a bit more when he moved but not too much. As they passed a line of metallic bodies, none of them glowing red anymore but still donning their formal wear, something crossed the Wastelander's mind.
He had fought at a large event held by the Ministries of this city – one of the safest in the world – and proceeded to fight up multiple levels where there were other people dancing to weird music, eventually going up to the rooftops. Yet, in not even a single instance, did security or law enforcement intervene throughout the entire thing. Come to think of it… The bodyguard was not even sure if he saw any security personnel around. Where was the Ministry of Law Enforcement/Public Safety that Hassoun promised?
Street lights shined through the windshield, quickly fading, and growing as the van sped along the highway. Thankfully, traffic was light despite what had transpired over the night. The hearts of the passengers skipping a beat every time a police car came into sight, sirens blaring but relieved when the Law Enforcement zoomed by. Fareeha was in the driver's seat, her tablet on the passenger side as she spoke with Athena and Winston back at Gibraltar, and in the back, were Jack, Ana, Nathan, Angela, and the Prisoner - still tied up in duct tape and not wanting to make eye contact with anyone else. The Old Soldiers sat on one side together, across from Nathan and their captive, Jack examining his rifle while Ana held the sleeping blonde's head on her lap and attentively drifted her hand across her golden locks – acting as if she was also a daughter of hers. Given their history together, she might as well be. And the Courier just sat there, watching her act like a mother. While the back was silent, the front was noisy with the back and forth between Fareeha and her tablet.
"I'm sorry Fareeha, but we might have to pull you out from this mission," spoke the genetically modified gorilla.
"But we still haven't found Hakim!" she shot back.
"I know, but you still have no lead and we almost lost you and Angela to Talon. They know you're here!"
Her face hardened as she watched the road, knowing full well that the Scientist was making sense. The mission was a bust. A shootout at a banquet coupled with an explosion at their hotel suite. Things had gone so awry so fast, she felt like how she did trying to shutdown Anubis. Her CO and most of her squad being wiped out in the first few seconds of the engagement, and losing even more men when they held the Temple against Talon. No one died here, however, so she had to make sure they came back home safe. She heard someone groaning in the back and a gasp coming from her Mother.
"Angela!" she exclaimed, as she helped the Doctor sit up next to her. "Are you all right, dear?"
"A-Ana?" the blonde sat up, still drowsy as she held a hand to her head. "Whe-Where are we?"
"We're in a stolen van, Angela. We're trying to get out of the city. Don't worry, everyone in the squad is safe."
"Hmm, where's Aida? I-Is she safe?"
The Sniper became quiet when she asked about the welfare of the student, a solemn look as she brushed one of her blonde locks to the side. Someone then cleared his throat on the other side of the van to break the silence.
"Aida…" it was Nathan. "Was kidnapped by Talon. Dr. Hassoun, too. I tried to get to them but…It didn't work out."
He felt a tinge of pain on his stomach, still feeling the blows from the man he killed on the roof.
"He's telling the truth," Morrison provided some witness testimony. "Dropship flew away before we could even do anything, and a soldier was giving us more trouble than he should've. Brin barely saved you."
"We-we have to save her, then!" the Doctor exclaimed, almost shooting up from her seat but Ana held her down and tried to calm her.
"Angela…"
"Don't 'Angela' me, Morrison! She's just a girl! There's no telling what Talon will do to her."
"Angela, we don't even know where Talon is set up. Fareeha got assaulted at the hotel room and we barely made it as we carried you out. We can't just go on a wild goose chase and risk more lives! I'm sorry, Doctor, but you can't save 'em all."
"I… I see. I-I-I'm sorry I acted like that."
"It's not on you."
She sat back down, deflated. As if all the blue in her eyes just became a duller shade. Her bodyguard, the man sitting across from them, was bothered more by that sight than he should've been. Mainly, because it was a feeling he was all too familiar with. The feeling of failure; Wanting to do something right when everything else was stacked against you. One of the many things the Courier had to live with. The regret of it all.
As he sulked into his seat, he heard a noise to his left. As if someone was trying to speak. He looked and saw their prisoner, still tied up and with tape around his face, but he was looking at them. The words he was trying to say muffled. His eyes weren't full of malice or pleading, it looked like they had something to say.
"Iamm mmnno wwwwer mmmey ar!" the duct tape muffled his voice.
"What?" the Courier questioned.
"Iam mmno wherr mthey are!"
His eyes widened as he realized what he was trying to say. He promptly grabbed at his face and ripped off the duct tape from his mouth, making him yelp as skin and hair were ripped off. Nathan then repeated his question, but louder and angrier.
"What?!"
"I know where they are!"
The interior of the van had fallen silent when the agent uttered those words. Even Fareeha and Winston shut their mouths. Nathan narrowed his eyes, shaking his head as he couldn't believe that the agent knew where Talon's base of operations. That interrogation was worthless; He should've been there, cutting him up. The Waster promptly lurched forward and slammed the agent's head against the inside of the van, making him scream in pain and fall to the floor as he recoiled. Fareeha yelled at him as it made the ride shake. He ignored her as he got off his seat and got over the restrained operative and grabbed his throat.
"You motherfucker!" he yelled, his angered face mere inches from his. "Why the hell didn't you tell us before?!"
"I-I-I-I didn't want Talon to know I ratted out on them!" the agent said, terror in his eyes. "They would've killed me if I told!"
"And you think I'm not going to, now?!"
"Please! If I said anything, people would've gotten hurt. They would've been killed! You know how Talon is. I-I didn't want any of that to happen. I never wanted people to get hurt. I swear!"
"Bullshit. You think the blood on my shirt is mine? People did die because of you, you little fuck!"
The Tribal pulled out his knife, making the man below him skip a beat.
"I swear to Christ, if there's anything else you didn't tell us, I'm going to gut you like a Molerat!"
Before he could even fulfill his promise, a hand found itself onto his shoulder and he looked to see Ana now at his side. Her face stern but empathetic as she shook it side-to-side. She wasn't angry, only wanted him to stop from dirtying the van.
"That's enough," she said to the Waster before she looked down at the captive. "You can see my friend here is very upset. You said you knew where they were, didn't you dear?"
"Y-yes!" he confirmed, his eyes darting in-between the soothing mother figure and the livid man with a knife. "I know where they're stationed! They're set up at the tower that's still under construction. The tallest building in the city! That's where Talon has been staging our operations in Oasis and it should be where Hakim is."
"And of Dr. Hassoun and the girl?"
"They would've taken them there, too. C-can he not kill me now, please?"
Before Ana could say anything, Nathan grabbed him by the jaw and lifted him up into the air before slamming his head against the floor, knocking the lights out of him. The Sniper was a bit surprised, to say the least. She was just glad they got the information they should've gotten hours earlier.
"How do we know he was telling the truth," Morrison spoke up. "If he lied then, there would've been nothing to stop him from lying now."
"True," Ana consented. "We have no other leads, however, but it seems this may be our best shot-"
"H-Hello?" a meek female voice spoke out over their comms.
Everyone except Angela reacted to the sudden voice in their ears.
"What's wrong?" she asked, noticing their reactions.
"You didn't hear it?" Nathan responded, pointing to his left ear.
"Hear what?"
Her hand went up to her left ear, the blue eyes widening in surprise as she felt her earpiece was no longer there.
"H-Hello?" the voice called out again. "Can anyone hear me?"
"A-Aida?" Nathan responded, recognizing that voice. "Is that you?"
"James? Oh, thank God!"
"Aida, how are you-?"
"Angela dropped an earpiece when she was knocked out and I picked it up. I guess they didn't notice. Please, you've got to help me!"
Nathan looked to see Angela begging Ana for her earpiece, and when she finally got, scrambled to plug it into her ear.
"Aida, this is Angela!" she said into the earpiece
"Angela? Thank God, you're okay!"
"Where are you? Are you safe?"
"I-I don't know where I am. They flew us in the dropship and we're in a tall building. It didn't have a roof."
The tall tower was still under construction and didn't have a roof. The agent must've been telling the truth, then, to the surprise of the Overwatch agents.
"Where did they bring you? Is Ibrahim with you?"
"They brought me up some stairs and took me to a small room. A cell I think. Dr. Hassoun's not with me. They brought him somewhere else after we landed. Angela, I don't know what to do!"
"Stay put, Aida. Maintain radio silence and don't say anything. We're coming to help."
"Thank you!" the young woman expressed, almost sounding like she was on the verge of tears before her communicator clicked off.
So, they finally had a proper lead, the one they were desperately searching for ever since they got inside the city.
"Of course, it's the tower," Morrison grumbled out. "The most obvious thing we could've overlooked. Didn't even look busy, for a construction site."
"That might've been the idea," Fareeha gave her two cents at the front, making a U-turn across the street. "I'm driving there right now, so, you better come up with a plan before we get there."
They were going to approach a secret Talon operation in the middle of one the safest cities in the world. The team could go in guns blazing, but that would not only endanger their lives but Aida's and Ibrahim's. They couldn't risk it, as they already knew Overwatch was in the city. Subtlety needed to be their plan. For some reason, the Courier looked down at the Talon operative he knocked out and thought of something. Something that was handy when he snuck into Legion camps.
Half-an-hour later, the van pulled up to the curb of the street where the tower was, its headlights off as the door on its side slid open. Nathan climbed out and planted his boots onto the sidewalk. Except, instead of wearing his blood-stained suit, he wore the Talon agent's uniform, complete with the hat and the backpack. Briskly, he began to walk towards the entrance of the uncompleted building as the van drove away and out of sight. The clothes were a bit tight on his large frame, but he didn't want to show it. Didn't stop others from voicing their doubts about this very simple plan.
"This is stupid, " Morrison lamented, his voice still in his ear.
"Shh!" Ana silenced him. "It would be stupider to go in guns blazing like you always do, Jack. We need to scout it out, first."
"What if he gets caught?"
"Then, you can go in guns blazing."
Until then, the disguised man made it to the front entrance at the base of the tower. The exterior at the bottom seemed largely finished as he opened the door to see a lobby like any other building. Well, it would be a lobby if it only didn't have one elevator. Somewhat confused, he looked around to see there were no other entrances aside from this one elevator. He went up to it, cautious, slowly pressed the button and stood back. Nothing happened. No sounds, no beeps. Nothing. He clicked again, the same result, and was about to search for another entrance before he noticed a slot at the bottom of the panel. The infiltrator dug into the borrowed pants and retrieved the blank keycard that was on the Prisoner. He slid it in and pulled it out, waiting for anything to happen. The slight whirring of a machine was his answer, and then, a ding. It opened, empty, and against his better judgment, he walked in. There was only one icon on the panel and he pressed it, the elevator then closing and moving. He felt it move downward.
"I'm in… I think," he called out to the others.
"Where are you?" it was Fareeha.
"In an elevator. Had to use a keycard to get it moving. I think I'm moving down."
"Do you see anything, yet?"
"No, I'll tell you when I-"
Suddenly, it became bright behind him and he turned around to find himself staring out of windows the elevator was against. Before him, he saw an area thrice as large as the banquet hall, serving as an area for all the military equipment, supplies, and even vehicles spread throughout. He could even see a dropship hovering off the ground and thrusting itself up to the building opening at the top. Enough space to squeeze through. He looked down onto the center of the large area, seeing what appeared to be the command center as there were monitors and desks strewn about it.
"Nevermind, there is a huge staging area beneath the tower."
"What? How many troops?"
"Too many to count from where I am…"
"Damn! Okay, focus on finding Aida and Dr. Hassoun, first. We'll work on devising an extraction."
"…Gotcha."
The Courier's fought through cluster fucks before, but he didn't want to push his luck when all he had was a pistol and a knife. It wasn't even his favorite pistol, just the one he was "borrowing". Adjusting the backpack on his shoulder, he hoped he remembered to pack what he was going to need most. As the lift came to a crawl and finally reached the ground floor, the man inhaled and as soon as the elevator doors dinged, he walked out at a steady pace and adjusting the cap to conceal his eyes. Counting his blessings that he wasn't immediately met with a squad of muzzles. He noticed from the elevator that there were a set of stairs on the far left and far right; Aida mentioning she was taken up some stairs before being put in a cell. He decided to go left first as he was already making his way there.
As he walked vigorously, avoiding eye contact, and keeping a distance from the personnel walking around - whether they were technicians or armed soldiers. Avoiding detection so far, he made it about halfway when he heard something that almost made him stop. Taking cover behind some crates, he peeked around the corner to see they were two men at the command center arguing about something. One of them was a middle-aged man with a black beard, slicked back hair, and tan skin, wearing a black suit with a white shirt – it was Hakim, the man they've been looking for all along. However, the man Hakim was speaking to another middle-aged man with graying hair, dark skin, glasses, and a doctor's coat over his formal attire. It was Dr. Hassoun. This more than confused the Courier and he felt anger begin to bubble inside.
From their tones and the volumes of their voices, it was clear they were arguing but in Arabic. The Californian couldn't understand a single word of it but saw the two men were on equal ground and both spoke with authority over the other. The Oasis Scientist not even flinching in the argument and seeming as angry with Hakim as Hakim was with him. The guards around them didn't even care when Hassoun acted up. That could only mean that whatever happened - the events that transpired at the banquet - was a joint effort.
"Fareeha, come in," he whispered as his he watched them. "I found Hassoun and Hakim. They're working together."
"W-What?!" said a shocked voice not belonging to the Security-Chief, but the Doctor. "That can't possibly be Ibrahim… No, this doesn't sound right. How are you so sure?"
"They're arguing with each other, Hassoun's not restrained, and the guards don't even care that Hassoun's there. I don't know what they're saying, but it sounds pretty heated."
"Get out of there before Hassoun spots you and find the girl," Morrison commanded.
Without another word, Nathan bolted from his cover and continued to make his way to the stairs. Reaching them and soon climbing up to the second level and hoping Aida was somewhere along here. He did notice that the second levels were sparse and barely had any personnel on them, his side nor the others. There was only a lone guard stand at a door on his side. It had to be there. However, he couldn't risk killing or even knocking out the guard when he was in the middle of a hornet's nest. He decided a more… Talkative approach would work.
He approached the man with a stride in his step, the man soon noticing and holding up his hand as he approached him.
"Hey! What are you doing up here?" he questioned, tensing up a bit.
"I was gonna ask you the same thing," Nathan questioned back, his tone stern.
"What?"
He heard Ana's voice in his ear, trying his best to ignore her. "Brin, what are you-?"
"I was just assigned to guard the girl," he explained to the Talon soldier, raising an eyebrow. "And me only… Who assigned you to this post?"
"Sergeant Jackson."
Nathan then tried his best to look frustrated and confused.
"The Sergeant? Not the CO?"
"Uh… The CO wasn't there when the Sarge told me to be here so I-"
"Am violating procedure and, by your own admittance, committing an act of insubordination to the Commanding Officer's order. That's what you're doing."
The Courier tried to restrain himself from smirking as he saw the Talon guard begin to panic a little, seeing him quake in his boots as he began to stammer.
"Well… When you put it that way… Shit. Look, man, I didn't mean to fuck up. So, can you please not tell anyone about this? Especially the CO? He'll have my head."
"If you allow me to do the job you're doing right now, sure. Just this once."
The Talon soldier, even with the helmet, looked relieved when he heard those words. Not knowing he would've been fine either way. The Forty-Year-Old Wastelander still got it.
"Ah, thanks man," he said as he passed him a keycard.
"No problem," the intruder nodded, happily taking the keycard from him.
The guard walked past him, giving him a pat on the shoulder as he left, Nathan returning the gesture. He then stood in front of the door and had his hands behind his back, doing his best to look like he was guarding. Feeling more like an ass, if he was being honest. After a few seconds, he looked to see that the man was out of sight and there were no other eyes on him. It looked like he was clear.
"Huh," the Old Sniper let out, genuinely surprised the Wastelander could pull that off. "Nice job, Brin."
"Yup," he replied, turning around, and swiping the keycard along the reader.
The locks whirred open and he pushed in to find a small room with only one light shining upon a young woman lying on the floor. She looked up, dread on her face as she saw the uniform, but it quickly shifted to joy when she saw the face. The man barely had time to react when she jumped up and ran up to him, hugging her face against the vest he was wearing.
"James!" she exclaimed, tears forming in her eyes. "You came!"
"Yeah, and I need you to be quiet, kid," he told her in a hushed voice.
"W-Where's Angela?"
"She's with the others. Here, put this on."
He pulled out a circular device and attached it to her left arm, fastening a leather strap.
"What is this?" the University student asked, examining the strange looking piece of tech.
"A Stealth-Boy," the Courier answered, pointing to a switch on the side. "Flip this and it'll make you near invisible for a short amount of time."
"Really?! I've never heard of anything like this, before."
"It's not common. Here, at least. Don't turn it on until I tell you to, and stick close to me when you do. There is an elevator at the far end of this building and that's where we're heading. Don't make any noise and don't even touch anything. Do you understand?"
The girl nodded, a determined face replacing where there was once fear.
"This is Nathan," he reached out to the others. "I found Aida. I'm going to head outside, now."
"Copy that," Fareeha received the transmission. "We'll deal with Hakim and the rest after she is safe."
Nathan was about to respond until he heard something echo from the command center. A voice, gravely and deep, memories of being choked in his cell instantly resurging to mind. He motioned to Aida to stay put despite obvious protests from her and went to the railing to get a view of the floor from above. Sure enough, joining in on the conversation between Hassoun and Hakim was the man in the black coat and bone-white mask. The "Reaper" as he found out he was called. He silently watched the exchange from above. The two men were speaking English now in his presence.
"You're beginning to test my patience, Hakim," the Reaper said, his mask might as well be matching the expression under it. "Not only have you failed to capture the Doctor, the Architect, and the… Stranger, but you've had one of my men killed combined with too much collateral damage. Not only costing Talon a good deal but the scientists in Oasis, as well. This will be difficult to cover-up. You also failed to capture whoever was hiding in the hotel suite and our missing agent."
"I-I-I know, sir, but," Hakim stammered, all the bravado he had when he talked with Hassoun gone. "But I was able to get you the information on Helix! And I was the one who helped lure your ex-coworkers to my compound!"
"Yes, but they're still alive. And they're here, in this very city. Looking for you. Wanna know how they know you're here?"
"I-"
"They're here because of that other failed operation from before, where you couldn't clear the U.N. from your home even with what we gave you."
"N-n-now we don't know if they know I'm-"
"I know them, Hakim. I know how they think. They're here because of you. I've given you multiple opportunities to prove me wrong and you've failed me every step of the way. You're a liability in many ways. Haven't shown me that you really are worth your price. On the behalf of Talon, and of my growing temper, this business relationship has been terminated."
"Wait! No!"
The crime lord barely had time to react as the cloaked figure swiftly drew one of his shotguns and shot him directly in the chest, the register of the gun sounding thunderous throughout the half-constructed hall. A fountain of blood, guts, and bone exploding through his back and onto the floor. His body slumped to the ground, a pool of blood quickly forming under him. Hassoun and some of the technicians were shaken, while the Reaper just stood there, shotgun hanging lazily from a clawed hand. It looks like the mission really is a bust for Overwatch. He made sure to notify the rest of the team of what had happened.
"However, Doctor," Reaper cleared his throat to get Dr. Hassoun's attention. "You'll be glad to know that Talon is still willing to cooperate with the Ministries of Oasis despite these… Setbacks as the benefits of staying greatly outweigh the costs."
"That is… Great to hear," Dr. Hassoun tried to feign a smile. "Will we still have complete independence over our projects?"
"Your own projects, yes. But not the ones that will be contracted to you by us. We will have full control over the planning and procedure that your scientists will do for us. We will also be moving our Base of Operations to a more discreet location, as we will be clearing out from the tower."
"I see. Well, one more question if you may? Can you please spare the girl, Aida? She was just caught up in the crossfire. At the wrong place, at the wrong time. I wouldn't wish for someone innocent to be hurt. Especially, a student like her."
The man in the cloaked sighed, twisting his head so that his neck cracked and cracking his knuckles as he did so.
"Fine," he relented, before turning his back to the scientist. "After I kill the person trying to save her and posing as one of my men."
"Oh, shit…"
As he said that, Reaper dissolved into a cloud of smoke and gusted up to the man above him. Nathan drew the borrowed sidearm and fired at the cloud to no effect, the air clouding around the rounds. Nathan threw the keycard at Aida as it finally reached him, and get slammed against the ground as the figure reformed, planting a boot on the man's chest and pointed a shotgun at his head. He looked to his left to look at Aida, the Reaper doing the same.
"Say goodbye to your savior, sweetheart," he mocked.
Aida looked at Nathan, who nodded at her, before quickly flipping the switch on her wrist and disappearing.
"What?!"
Nathan took that opportunity to grab the boot on his chest and offset the balance of the cloaked man, making him fall and fire a harmless shot into the air. The Reaper fell onto his back and the taller man climbed onto him and deliver strong punches to the skull-mask. That was until a jab from the left sent him reeling to the side and onto his face. He tried to get up before another punch sent him flying back and he felt a claw wrap around his throat and to the wall. It still felt like a Super Mutant.
"Oh, I recognize you," Reaper said as his mask got close to his face. "From Gibraltar. The pet. If I had known you would be causing all this trouble, I would've blown your head off."
"I should thank you, then," the Courier said through gritted teeth as he threw his head forward and butted it against the skull and making him relinquish his grip on his throat. He then charged forward, tackling the assassin and crashing into the glass railing, falling to the ground. They plummet through a series of scaffoldings, their combined weight breaking through the metal and causing the structure to fall with them. When they finally hit the ground, they hit hard, whether it was the hard surface of the concrete or the hardened metal pipes slamming into them on the way down. Both were still alive and tried to get up as a shotgun fell in-between. Nathan saw it first and immediately scrambled to the weapon, wrapping his hand around the grip and already pointing the muzzle at the masked man. He squeezed the trigger, feeling the weapon jump up in his hands harder than a sawed-off. Unfortunately, Reaper turned into smoke before the shot could connect and it only ricochet off the floor. Before he could even react, a sudden blue blast from the elevator made him and every Talon soldier in the facility turn to the front. A second after, there was gunfire from both ballistic and energy weapons.
"Brin, get your ass over here!" Morrison ordered him over the radio.
"But the Reaper!"
"Forget about him! We're pulling out!"
Bearing his teeth, he got up, clutching the left side of his body as he ran over to the fighting. He brought the shotgun up to deliver a wall of the fiery buckshot to a Talon soldier, making him fall in a cloud of his blood. He finally reached the elevator and spotted the Old Soldier releasing a barrage of blue bolts that seemed to veer toward the Talon goons as a yellow hologram hovered in front his mask. Ana was behind him, providing Sniper fire. She saw Nathan hobbling to them and decided to fire another syringe of the golden stuff at him, making the pain go away and his stride quicker. Soon enough, he was already behind them and took down two approaching soldiers with the shotgun before he heard a click and threw it at another one's face. The three soon piled back into the elevator, the one with the Pulse Rifle still firing through the glass as the machine slowly went up. Then, it eventually gained speed even as they were being fired upon and they were out of sight of the staging area and back to the ground floor. They quickly made their way out, just in time, as the elevator rocked and fell back down without them. The three soon made it back to the van, drifting off into the freeway. No one was chasing them.
The front of the University looked quiet, peaceful even as there were few people around. The only ones close to the entrance were two women, hugging each other.
"I'm so sorry all of this happened, Angela," Aida cried in-between the words. "Things had gone so wrong so quickly, I just didn't…"
"That's enough now," her idol comforted, rubbing the back of her head assuredly. "It wasn't your fault. In fact, I should be the one who should be sorry. You were kidnapped because of me, and went through a lot for a young college girl like yourself."
"But you still rescued me! You and your bodyguard…"
The student peered behind Angela to see the van, waiting, the side wide open and showing Jack, Ana, and Nathan watching them. The first two were also people she looked up to when she was a child, reading and fantasizing about the old Overwatch's exploits. She wasn't the only one in her generation to have such notions about the organization. Probably one of the few to act upon it, though. She looked back at her idol with a solemn look.
She was still wondering how the man now revealed to her as "Nathan" fit in all of it, but given what he did to get her out of there… It wouldn't be too hard to figure out.
"I guess it's true then? Overwatch really is back?"
"I believe so," Dr. Ziegler answered, a warm smile gracing her features. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"
"I won't."
They finally said their goodbyes with one last hug and separated, the student walking back into the University and the Doctor watching her go inside before getting to the van knowing another life was saved. After she climbed in, the van sped off into the highway and soon joined the traffic. Red and white lights zooming by under the desert sky.
Well, this chapter was a bitch to write. Jesus.
Thanks for reading!
