As Talon made their way to Russia, Reyes's mind was no longer on the dropship. He was reliving one of his memories of arresting Akande, the leader of Talon, when he used to work in Blackwatch.
He remembered smirking in front of Akande's holding room as the jailed man stared back with an empty expression. No hint of emotion, just a pair of eyes focused on something far beyond his gloating captors—past the hard-light walls of the prison itself. Reyes wasn't petty or needlessly vindictive, but it brought him a measure of satisfaction to know that one of the world's most powerful criminals was stuck in a cage, something he'd had a hand in.
"How are you liking your new accommodations?" Reyes asked.
Akande blinked as if torn from a conversation only he could hear. He shrugged. "Adversity creates opportunity... and strengthens us, if we survive."
Reyes gritted his teeth, his hand curled into a tight fist as he choked back a stream of curses. Akande surveyed Reyes's body language with a knowing glance.
"Frustration at the system's inability to properly deal with the power brokers and insurgents," Akande said in a tone that suggested it was less a question and more a confirmation.
Reyes replied with a scowl.
Akande leaned forward with a guarded expression, like a poker player unsure if his hand is powerful enough to win the game. "We are men of war. It's only natural that this false peace wouldn't fool you. But not to worry, I'm at a supreme disadvantage—"
"Where you belong," Reyes snapped.
"In your estimation, perhaps. I am neither the first nor the last with the vision to question the global order. I'm only one of many who realize how broken the world is."
"No system is perfect. You can recognize the system is flawed without committing acts of terror."
Akande nodded respectfully and turned away from Reyes. "A shame that the true villains never see the inside of a cell," Akande said. "You've been a police officer and a soldier. Spent a great deal of your life in the pursuit of justice. Only to see justice so easily bought and sold."
"I'm not a lost fool in search of a cult leader," Reyes said as he stood to leave. "Don't try to manipulate me. You're here for a reason."
"And so are you, Reyes."
A moment passed between them, the kind of pause usually followed by a handshake or the drawing of a pistol.
"Allow me to ask this," Akande said. "Do you believe you've made a difference? As a police officer? As a soldier? As an Overwatch agent? Have your actions tipped the scales of justice?"
Reyes opened his mouth to answer, but something deep within blocked the words from escaping. As a cop, Reyes had locked away hundreds of criminals, and it had done nothing to stem the flow of street crime. As a soldier, he had helped to topple cruel authoritarian regimes only to watch a megacorporation take control and continue the same abuses under the auspices of maximizing profits. Unlike many of his cohorts, Reyes believed the root causes of injustice had to be ripped out at the source. What good was arresting drug dealers if the cartels weren't dismantled? Why save a nation from a despot without first determining who elevated and kept them in power?
Time and time again, Reyes watched as innocents suffered under the boots of the well-heeled elites who escaped prosecution. He watched as the system failed to provide the people with justice, relief, or protection.
Akande continued speaking, his tone reverent and without judgment. "You've worked tirelessly, even twisted your body, to serve the universal goodwill, and what do you have in the end? This isn't a flawed system. It was created quite intentionally to reward and protect criminals who profit from the division they create. Now I would ask, who are you really protecting? Are you protecting humanity from me? Or are you protecting these criminals from my justice?"
Reyes tried, but he couldn't quite compose a response. Akande spoke a truth that couldn't be denied by anyone. Not the United Nations. Not Interpol. Not the American justice system. And certainly not Overwatch-with whom he had created a covert strike team to correct the wrongs that the system wouldn't allow them to fix.
It was at this moment that a seed of vengeance was planted in Reyes's psyche. A seed that would give rise to Reaper. A ghost no longer subscribing to outdated notions of honor, but rather a new believer in a code of violence... The only code this world respected.
Reyes's memory walk was interrupted by the annoyance of someone's voice.
"So, tell me, amigo. Wanna know what Martina has been up to?" Sombra said while playing with her fingernails.
They were still on the drop ship on their way to Volskaya industries on a mission to assassinate Katya Volskaya. Katya is the CEO of, the company in charge of the Russian Syvatagor Mechs that were used during the Omnic Crisis and is now used for the Russian military. She holds great political and social influence within, and is regarded as a hero by the Russian people.
Reaper sitting across from her grunted in response and looked away. "Not interested."
"Hmm. that's not what my tracker says."
"Tracker?" He said as he looked back at her in bewilderment. Did she put a tracker on me? When?
She walked over and pulled off a tracker from his cowl.
"Give me a break. I had a life. A wife. A son." Reaper said as he felt his anger piling up. He realized he spoke in past tense even though they're still alive. I am dead to them.'
"Hmm, are you still attached to your old life?" A bored voice belonging to Widowmaker came from the end of the ship.
"So, you never visited Gerard's grave?" He replied knowing the answer already.
"I have. But not for the reasons you think," she scoffed. "I had a target to kill: your old friend from Overwatch. He dropped a visit to Gerard's grave. Left a lily too." she replied as she turned to clean her sniper on the bench.
"You know they were close," Reaper informed her.
"Not close enough to know he preferred roses," she replied as cold as ever. "Are you tempted to contact your wife?" She asked in a pitiful manner.
"No"
"Afraid she would try to kill you?" Widowmaker asked in sarcasm.
"I'd be surprised if she didn't," he scowled in response.
Reyes took a minute to think about how Martina has moved on with her life. She found a new partner and Reyes does not even know if she married him yet. He never bothered to check or delve deep into the matter. That part of him was dead. All he cared about was to know they were alive and safe. His life completely changed ever since his transformation. Come to think of it, it was all because of her. Moira O'Deorain was the reason for his transformation. She was also the reason Widowmaker became this cold-hearted assassin. With the help of Talon, they brainwashed Amélie, also known as Widowmaker, and slowed down her heartbeat to near death to make her a cold-blooded assassin. Talon always found a way to get what they wanted. But who is Sombra? Reyes's life work makes it easier for him to read people. As a result, he can draw up two conclusions about her.
He stood up and walked over to Sombra, who was sitting playing with her nails. Standing over her, he spoke in an intimidating icy voice.
"A person who is after information is doing so for one of two reasons: they either want to be in control. Or they're running away from something and are making sure they aren't ever followed."
Sombra scoffed thinking he won't be able to decide which reason is hers.
"You are doing so for both. I just haven't figured out why," Reaper grunted before returning back to his seat.
Sombra gave a smile. "Hmmm. I like you, pendejo. I think we will work well together from now on."
Reaper grunted at the reminder of having to undergo another mission with Sombra again. "Here is how the next mission will go. Widowmaker and I will infiltrate the facility while you hack your way through their security and locate the target. The mission objective is clear: assassinate the target."
Widowmaker gave no response while Sombra rolled her eyes and started looking at blueprints of the facility. Reaper sat back down and closed his eyes thinking of the ice-cream cone one more time.
After a failed mission, the flight back to the Talon headquarters was quiet. Reaper spoke to no one as he was replaying the mission in his head trying to figure out what went wrong.
When they reached their destination, he made his way to the laboratory to see Moira. She was preoccupied working on one of her experiments. A poor rabbit was serving as her subject and was surrounded by countless monitors and scanners. She gave no reaction to Reaper barging in and continued administering the injection she had in hand. In a few seconds, the rabbit seized to breath and collapsed on the table. The monitors stopped beeping and Moira let out a sigh.
"Subject 37, died instantly on receiving the serum. Subject 1 remains to be the sole survivor. This could still be because he has received biogenetic enhancements in the past or it is because I am not allowing enough time for the body to cope with the changes," She spoke to her computer that was taking notes for her. "Take this rodent and prepare it for dissection. We might be able to determine which of its organs shut down first." She shut the monitors off as a fellow scientist took the rodent of the table.
"I presume you are still not able to replicate the results you had with me," Reaper said as he walked closer to her.
"I had the resources and years to mold you to what you are today. Both of which are not a commodity I have now. Your body seems to adapt well to changes Gabriel," she smiled as she was proud of her accomplishment.
"This is what you call well?" He asked rhetorically as he took off his mask to reveal his face. He began to cough almost immediately as he was still recovering from the last mission's injuries. The new Russian mechs did pack a new punch.
"Don't die on me now. You are one of my finest experiments," she said cold heartedly.
It wasn't a surprise to Reyes that she doesn't see him as human or a patient, but only as an experiment. Her finest work.
"Is there nothing you can do for this pain?" He asked, thinking of the constant burning and trickling feeling he has since his transformation.
"Think of it as... fuel beneath the flames of your vengeance."
Reyes grunted as he realized she wouldn't have any solution for the pain since she never cared about her subjects. He grunted in response. He turned to the door. "Flatter will get you the grave," he said as he walked out of the door. He walked through the corridors thinking of the last mission. The alarms went off when Sombra clearly had control. It's either there is a mole, or Sombra isn't truly an ally and it's more likely the latter. He moved on to thinking about Akande's words. Overwatch was not a place where he could accomplish anything. At first, Talon was the place he felt he could make a difference in. However, without Doomfist, Talon is lost and misguided. Maybe I should break him out. But the world is on high alert right now. It needs a distraction before I can do it. For now, is Talon where I need to be?
credit to artist: TigerCartoon