Chapter 14: DONTTRUSTME
It was supposed to be a simple reconnaissance mission, go in, seduce the Head of Cybersecurity,—Nano didn't even remember which company it was—bug the apartment, leave. It would have been simpler if Sombra wasn't too sick to stand more than a few minutes.
"You can sit close," the cybersecurity head giggled, patting the seat next to her. This also would have been simpler if it wasn't a woman he had to seduce.
Nano did not like women, they perplexed him. This lady he was supposed to be seducing, it was more like she was seducing him, as he couldn't quite recall how the two of them ended up sitting in the back of her limo on the way to her penthouse.
"Nano, do not fuck this up now. You've been a prude all night, this is what you're supposed to be here for. If you couldn't do it you should have said something sooner," Sombra said over his earbud. Headphones on a phone call made for a lower profile in public over a wire, but man she would not shut up. The hacker followed in a car, and if she wasn't sick she would have hacked her way into the penthouse by now. Alas, she's Nano's tech today instead.
Hesitantly, he moved closer, making sure their thighs touched to show interest. Surprisingly, the woman liked the shy boy act, and leaned on his chest, Nano focusing on controlling his breathing.
"You're so shy. Do you still want to come?"
"Please," he said quietly, leaning down, trying to sound like he was begging. Nano focused on controlling his breathing. Play the part until you get there, then the rest is easy.
"If I didn't know any better, I think I'd believe you," Sombra said, making him roll his eyes.
Finally, they got to the tall building. Sombra's vehicle pulled around the block. Nano approached the doors, smiling with the woman on his arm, seeing two guards at the door made him pause. There was the hiccup he was waiting for. Clearly she also noticed the pause in his walk, even if it was just for a second.
"Sorry, I always forget to mention security. No phones in my apartment," she put her hand to her forehead like she forgot her laundry and not like her apartment was Fort Knox. "Cybersecurity, no strangers with phones. Just empty your pockets. They'll pat you down if you don't," she laughed.
She let go of Nano's arm and walked up to the doors. He stood there, a little shocked by the high security just to get into this lady's house. The guards patiently waiting for him with a clear bag for his stuff made this seem like it was routine. Now he knew why this high profile lady wasn't afraid to take him home.
Sombra spoke over the comms. "I'll be waiting on the roof so I'm in range to check all the mics are working. Text me on your phone, when you're out." She sniffled through the phone before she hung up.
Nano took a breath. "The thing about routines, you get lazy. Plus, the fact kissing makes people uncomfortable?" He thought to himself.
He walked up to the security guards, pulling out his earbud and placing it back in the case. Dutifully, he emptied his pockets, then awkwardly scratched at his neck, where lipstick was smeared across his skin and shirt. The security guard coughed, averted his eyes, and gestured for him to go ahead. Nano stepped into the elevator, letting the cybersecurity head scan her ID card, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"For a stickler about security, you would think she would be a lot smarter than this." Nano thought to himself as the doors closed, dropping the small bag of listening devices he palmed back into his pocket.
It was a big penthouse, decorated in a black and white minimalistic style. Also just as Nano presumed, it was loaded with alcohol, which was all according to plan. He kind of hated it, it reminded him of a lot of the houses in California that were too big for the families that lived in them, if they even lived in them at all.
"Your hair is so pretty," the woman said, playing with his hair while sitting on his lap. Nano was foggy in the head trying to remember how he got here, "I'm so jealous." He nodded, finding it a little entertaining how when he put a drink in her hand, she just kept taking them.
"Thanks, I get that a lot." He stared at her coffee table, which was littered with bills and paperwork.
"Naughty, taking sensitive information home," Nano thought to himself as he tried to read the papers from his spot on the couch.
"Have you ever thought about cutting it?"
"A few times. It was a lot of work to grow out though," he said. Which was a lie, his hair grew fast, but it made people not ask him about cutting it as much.
"The paperwork is probably nothing nefarious. Security is the first head on the chopping block if something goes wrong or missing." V kept thinking, trying to distract himself.
"Your eyes are so pretty too." She turned his face to look at her, almost mystified by his eyes.
"Yeah, I get that a lot too," he responded, unenthused.
"Likely just a workaholic, which would explain the drinking, but I guess we will find out."
"No you don't understand, your eyelashes are so long and curly! It's like you're wearing mascara!" She stared, tilting her head.
"Yeah?" Nano asked.
"I've heard that one a million times before, from actual make-up artists. This lady is getting on my nerves," Nano tried to hold in his eye roll as he let the woman keep talking.
"It's like you should have been born a girl," she said and gave a small laugh. Nano blinked, trying to keep his smile from falling.
"You know, my mother has told me that same thing," he said, turning his head away, giving a sarcastic smile. "Where's the restroom?"
"Last door on the left," she answered, letting him get up.
Nano leaned on the sink, staring at his hands while his double vision refused to focus, and tried to convince himself he wasn't blacking out right now.
In theory, he could recall what happened during the mission before he was in the limousine, what happened between the elevator ride and sitting on the couch, the steps from the couch to the bathroom. Technically. Only if he thought long and hard about every particular step, otherwise, completely blurred in his memory.
He took a deep breath in and looked up, the man in the mirror staring back determined.
He went back out to the living area, finding a fast asleep woman on the couch. Nano wondered if he had been in the bathroom that long, or if she was just that drunk. Not that he planned on sleeping with her anyways, but everything felt a little too easy for him. Nano went about planting the bugs, then left, stopping at the security guard to collect his stuff.
"You alright bud? You look kinda mad?" The security guard asked.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm ok." Nano brushed off the security guard, not realizing he had an upset look on his face.
"She probably fell asleep again," the other guard said. Nano looked over and raised his eyebrows, before collecting himself. "See I told you." Nano chose to say nothing, not wanting to start any drama on the clock.
"Don't worry bud, it's not just you." The security guard gave Nano a pat on the shoulder. "As they say better luck next time."
"Uh, yeah. Thanks." Nano smiled sheepishly and waved the security guys off, before he started to walk around the block in no particular direction. Once he was out of view he widened his eyes, wondering how often this lady pulls stunts like that.
Of course, it's never that easy. Once they got back to base, Sombra was chasing Val into the safehouse, yelling at him.
"I was waiting for three hours for you to call! Three hours! I'm sick! Do you hate me?"
"I forgot, I'm sorry. You could have called too." Val said flatly.
"On a mission? Pinche joto, I'm going to send you back to your girlfriend and have you make out with her again!"
"Hey now, no need to get ugly with me." Val said sarcastically, as he shoved Sombra off to her room. While they headed down the hallway Gabriel was coming out of his room at the same time, almost bumping into them.
"And you! You've been avoiding me! Is it because of your guilty conscience? You dirty old man!" Sombra poked Gabriel in the chest, stopping in the middle of the hallway. He stared down at her, blinking slowly, before shoving her, by the face, out of the way. "You can't run from justice!" Val turned on his heel to try and pull her away, but she chose to chase after the older man instead. It was quite the hectic scene, Sombra beating on Reaper's back as he drank a glass of water from the fridge, unaffected.
"Can I do anything on this damn base in peace?" Reaper said, closing the fridge door and turning to Sombra, who continued to pound on his chest.
"You bastard! You've deflowered my boy!" She said, making Val tilt his head as he leaned against the wall.
"I'm pretty sure that was my junior prom date. I think his name was Gabriel too." Gabriel turned his head to give Val a dead stare.
"How could you hide this from me? Your only daughter! Your own flesh and blood!" Sombra said, starting to wail, ignoring Val.
"I'm not gracing that with an answer, besides that you are not my kid. Can you get this gremlin off me?" Gabriel said to Val, pointing at the tiny hacker still attempting to beat on him while coughing.
"Yeah sorry, she's hopped up on a lot of cold meds." Val picked up Sombra, tossing her over his shoulder.
"Whatever, just no one feed that thing after midnight," Gabriel mumbled as Val turned around, and she shouted as they walked away.
"You know they made a movie about you, cabron! They call it The Predator!" She shook her fist. Val couldn't help but laugh.
He set the sick girl down in her room, with her looking a ghostly white, clearly having used all her energy on her little charade.
"It's weird I tell you. He's using you," Sombra said, slurring her words.
"I've heard. That's the point. Go to bed, quit harassing the elderly." Val pointed at her mattress, which she now obediently climbed into. He sat on her bed, feeling her forehead, which at least wasn't burning up, before he turned to leave.
"Wait," Sombra said quietly. Val stopped and waited to get up from the bed. "Did you actually lose your V-Card to a guy named Gabriel?"
Val scoffed. "No, his name was Zach. I said that to freak out Gabriel." Sombra laughed.
Val sighed as he left the room, pulled his hair down, and rubbed his scalp, heading to the restroom to shower. In the restroom, he stared into the mirror, seeing the dark roots sprouting from under the purple growth of his hair. His dye job was already starting to fade, likely from how aggressively he'd been washing it the past few days. Playing music loudly already for his shower, he decided to just give his hair a touch up, digging under the sink for his hair dye. It usually didn't take long, maybe an hour.
A few hours later, Val stared at the sink, stained and covered in long locks of hair, realizing that this hair dying adventure may have gotten a little out of control. Setting down the shears, he lifted his gaze, looking into the mirror.
Light pink, shoulder length hair, a little more wavy now that it wasn't weighed down by its own length. Textured curtain bangs framing his face. He hated it.
"Pink. Why did I do pink? I always hated this color, why did I choose pink? Maybe I should just get a fade again." Val thought while frowning at himself in the mirror. He looked away, staring down at the long tendrils on the sink. "I cut so much already. I'll think about it. It's just the color. I can just dye it." He ran a hand through the back of his hair in regret, turned away, and sighed, deciding to take a quick bath before he did something more drastic to his hair.
On the other side of the door, Widowmaker stood in the hallway, staring at the bathroom door with a hand on her chin. Gabriel would have loved to just ignore her and shove her out of the way, however, considering the second bathroom was open and available, this behavior was strange even for the spider.
"Lacroix, why are you staring at the bathroom door? I'm trying to get to my room, can you move?" Gabriel said, staring at her blankly.
"He's been in there for four hours," she said.
Gabriel sighed. "Who?"
"V."
"Did you knock?"
"I did, he won't answer. He won't answer his phone either."
"There's another bathroom. Do you want me to bust down the door or what? I'm not his dad." Gabriel shook his head, tired, wanting to go to bed. She gave him a side eye as he pushed past her.
"You were just in the kitchen, yes? Were all the appliances accounted for?" She didn't look away from the door as Gabriel turned around to give her a confused look.
"I didn't check. Can you not be pragmatic, I'm tired."
"I'm concerned."
"That's unlike you." Gabriel interrupted her with a tired stare. She glared at him.
"This is unlike him. He's been blaring that music for hours without a word."
"Why are you so concerned? He could have fallen asleep."
"Or he could have brought a toaster in there."
"Can you be serious?" Gabriel said, giving her a disapproving look.
"I am. When it comes to him, he could be giving a performance, or we could be three hours too late." She gestured at the door, being her typically calculating self about the situation. Gabriel crossed his arms, and stared at the ground, his usually cold unfeeling heart starting to sink.
"You don't want to be the one to find out, do you?" Looking up, her side eye was the only answer he needed, and now that concern was planted in his brain. He let out a big sigh. "Alright. What do you want me to do?"
"Can you check on him? I don't want to find him upset. I don't do well in these situations."
"I get that." Gabriel pinched the bridge of his nose, already growing stressed and frustrated. "How is it that you want me to get in? The door is locked. I can break the door but it might just make it worse."
"No, no." She looked between the door and Gabriel a few times. "I'll get Sombra. She has a key I'm sure," Widow said, leaving quickly to knock on Sombra's door, before returning with a key.
"You want to warn him first, or should I?" Gabriel asked quietly.
"You should, you'll be going in," she answered. Gabriel took in a big breath before he spoke through the door.
"V, you alright? You've been in there a long time, we're really concerned. I'm going to come in to check on you if you don't at least talk to us." No answer. Gabriel sighed again. "Alright I'm coming in."
Bleach stung his nose first, the smell mixing with an artificial berry scent in the air as he took in the scene. Pink smears covered the bathroom, on the sink, the tub side, the towels on the floor. Long strands of hair crawled across the sink, a pair of scissors explaining their origin.
Val's elbow peeked over the tub edge. Gabriel quickly stepped in.
He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in, Val simply staring into space, leaned up against the shower wall, perfectly fine.
"You scared the shit out of me kid, fuck." Gabriel turned around, covering his mouth, looking over the mess in the bathroom. "What the hell were you doing in here? Dying your hair? You could have said something." He reached for the speaker on the sink and turned it down enough to be able to hear his own thoughts at least.
With the music quieter, water could be heard sloshing around, and Gabriel looked back, Val pulling his knees to his chest, resting his head on them. Now Gabriel noticed that his hair was a different color, and almost gone. He blinked, trying to process what the hell was going on.
"Val." Gabriel said, to no response, the man in the tub only staring into space. "Val, what's going on?" Still no response. Val only stared forward at the wall. Gabriel crouched down, next to the tub, thinking. Clearly the crisis was not averted.
After a few moments, he finally asked, "Widow said you have been in here for four hours. Are you alright?" This did get him a response, only a side eye. Gabriel ran a hand through his hair. "Right. You're not. I should have figured with you dying your hair and cutting it off." Gabriel took a deep breath.
Sombra was sick. Widow was not equipped to handle the situation. It was just him left to deal with this.
"I don't think this is helping. You should get out of the tub." He said. All he got was another angry side eye, and Gabriel sighed. "Fine. I'll stay here then. You can't be by yourself right now." He stood up, choosing to lean his with his back against the edge of the bathroom counter, crossing his arms.
Val turned his head to look up at him, having that same sad look in his eyes again, like a lost puppy, before turning his head away. The two sat listening to the string music playing from Val's speaker before the words kicked in.
"Take my eyes, take them aside
Take my face, and desecrate
My arms and legs, they get in the way
And take my hands, they'll understand
Take my heart, pull it apart
And take my brain, or what remains
And throw it all away
'Cause I've grown tired of this body
A cumbersome and heavy body"
Val piped up in a hoarse voice, "Can you turn that off please?" Gabriel leaned over and turned off the speaker. After a bit of silence, Gabriel decided to speak.
"This mean you're ready to talk?" He asked, pressing his palms against the cold counter edge, staring at the floor.
"There's nothing to talk about."
"You aren't acting like this for no reason." No response. Gabriel sighed again, feeling a little defeated in the waiting game. He approached the tub, crouched down again, and sat down on the floor. "Your problems don't go away just because you won't talk about them. Out with it."
"You don't know what my problems are." Val mumbled.
"I guess you're right, maybe that would be different if you would say something. What happened?" Gabriel asked, and Val finally turned to stare at Gabriel, with a tilted head and narrowed eyes.
"Why are you asking? It's not like you care. You don't even like me." Val said, furrowing his brow. Gabriel frowned, and tilted his head, thinking for a moment. While it was a good question, the answer of not wanting dead men in his bath tub wasn't appropriate here.
After a bit of contemplating, Gabriel said, "If I didn't like you, I would have pulled you out of that tub whether or not you wanted to get out." This seemed like an okay answer, as Val only turned away. A pink stain on the wall caught Gabriel's eye.
"Why pink?" Gabriel asked.
"I don't know. I hate it." Val answered. Gabriel couldn't help but give a small laugh. "I know. Don't laugh at me." Val put his head between his knees.
"I'm not making fun of you goofball." Gabriel stroked the light pink hair on the other's head. "I used to do the same thing. I would get pissed and buzz all my hair off. Now Sombra insists on doing my hair, she says it's a crime to shave it." He rolled his eyes while recounting the story.
"You do have really thick hair." Val said while lifting his head.
"I've heard. That's why Sombra won't let me cut it. This is the longest I've had it in a long time."
"Really? You kept the sides short, the top isn't even past your ears. This is the shortest I've had mine in a long time."
"You used to keep your hair short? I only let Sombra do my hair because I would miss it every time I shave it off."
"Yeah, I cut all my hair off when I first joined Talon, and I kept it short for a while, thought I wouldn't miss having long hair." Val crossed his arms over his knees, resting his cheek atop them.
"Why did you cut it now?"
"It sounds stupid now. When I was on the mission, the target was already making a lot of comments on my looks, and she was commenting on how my hair and eyes were pretty. And then she said I should have been born a girl. I don't know, I think I just kind of spiraled."
"She sounds like she was being a bitch. You should have just decked her."
"Whatever, be serious." Val rolled his eyes.
"I am serious. If it's making you this upset, why would you let her talk to you like that?"
"I was undercover, she didn't know. I was blacking out for half of the mission, if I'm barely there how is she supposed to know." Val said, trying to smile and wave it off.
"You were blacking out and you still went on the mission?" Gabriel asked, a little too quickly for trying to maintain his composure. The younger man's smile fell, looking down toward the water. Silence stretching on in the bathroom for what felt like an eternity. Gabriel leaned his head down, gritting his teeth, knowing he fucked up. Never having the right words, the right patience for anything like this.
He took a deep breath, deciding to restart, because that wasn't the point.
"Never mind. You can do whatever you want with your hair, but don't let other people decide how you do it. You think we work for Talon to follow other people's rules? I know I don't."
"I didn't do it for her."
"Well you didn't do it because you like it clearly. Look, collateral damage is part of the job, they can manage with it, but they can't manage without you, you know that." Val nodded his head gently. "Don't let anyone make decisions for you though. I thought you would be better than that."
"What do you mean you thought I would be better than that?"
"On paper? You were a Hollywood starlet, spoiled and taken care of, left home for, bigger, better things. It wasn't all you hoped for, you got in too deep with the wrong crowd and ended up here at Talon. A classic tale of corruption for the news to eat up." Val tilted his head, frowning in confusion. "To me though, you were an abused kid, who saw that your whole life had been decided for you, and you said, 'I make my own destiny,' I respect that in a way." Gabriel shrugged.
Val stared at the wall, the same focused expression on his face.
"Can you hand me my towel?" Val said suddenly.
Gabriel smiled, and stood up, handing him the dark indigo towel.
"Do you mean that?" Val asked, taking the towel and letting out the water.
"Yeah. You remind me of myself. Right before I joined Talon, I felt like the whole world was against me. In a way it was." Val nodded along, as he dried his hair. "I respect you, because you had everyone in the world thinking you were in the wrong, that you were handed everything in life. You decided that, you were going to make your life yours, no matter what it took. You didn't let anyone tell you who you were, or what to do." Gabriel leaned with his back against the sink counter, while the younger wrapped the towel around his waist.
"I see. Yeah. I don't feel very much like you in that way I guess." Val turned red, putting his shirt on over his face.
"Well not when you let random women dictate your hairstyle. Whatever cojones you grew when you first joined, I think you need to re-grow them." Gabriel said, making Val roll his eyes with a smile. The older man smiled, patting Val on the shoulder, letting out one last sigh in relief, now that the storm had passed. "There you are V, we missed you."