Once you were out of sight of Miami and over international waters, Sombra quickly deactivated the active camouflage, seeing no point in wasting valuable electricity. She also closed the rear doors, claiming that you couldn't have any hints as to the location of the Overwatch base until they knew they could trust you. Also, there was a draught.
Sombra set the dropship onto an autopilot mode, moving to sit across from you in the passenger bay, though she seemed a lot quieter than before, a sad look etched across her face.
"Something wrong? You seem a little quiet" you commented, hoping to strike up a conversation.
This had the potential to be the first time the two of you could talk about something that wasn't all doom and gloom, something normal, like shared hobbies and interests or something. After all, half of the reason you were doing this was her, you wanted to get to know her.
"Ah...nothing for you to worry about, Y/N. La misma vieja mierda..." she replied, muttering that final part in Spanish as if she didn't want you to understand her.
You sighed a little, irritated by your inability to get her to open up. You supposed it was still early days, you had only met a couple of days ago.
"Fair enough, I won't pry. You know, back when I was in the military, we used to trade stories on longer trips" you suggested, a look of hope on your face.
Sombra looked up and chuckled a little, her face twisting into a strangely bitter look.
"I don't think you'd want to hear any of my stories, Y/N. They're no fairy tales...and I've already read every bit of your file that wasn't covered in black ink" she remarked, immediately causing you to wonder just how much she knew.
Not Miami...surely.
"Okay...not stories. What do you do for fun? When you're not saving the world?" you asked with a small smile.
It was not returned.
"For fun? I hack governments, manipulate stocks and leak trade deals..." the hacker answered casually, staring at the floor.
She wasn't making this easy.
"Oh...huh...I usually go surfing, maybe hit the nightclubs. That sort of thing" you said, feeling more than a little inadequate about your own hobbies now.
"Lo siento. I know I'm not being as talkative as you'd like, I just...it's..." Sombra began, tailing off with a strange expression.
"What's the matter? Maybe it's something I can help with" you offered, causing her to smile at you enigmatically.
She sat in silence for a moment before answering.
"I'm just tired, that's all. But I appreciate the offer...what else do you do for fun?" the hacker asked, and finally you felt as if the conversation was going somewhere.
Alright Y/N; don't screw it up.
"I'm not sure...I watch a lot of movies when I'm at home" you stated, unsure what else to say.
It wasn't as if you led a particularly exciting life, especially compared to a master hacker.
"Hm, test for you. See how much we have in common. Which movies?" Sombra questioned, tilting her head.
You considered for a moment, trying to imagine what sort of films someone like her would enjoy, and if you liked them too. Nothing came to mind, and so you chose to be honest instead.
"Star Wars, 1977...the originals...none of the new stuff" you proposed, watching as her curious look slowly altered into a smile.
Immediately by the look on her face, you could tell that you had hit a sweet spot. The world's most notorious hacker was a Star Wars geek, who would have thought?
"I guess we do have things in common...although you definitely can't be as much of a fan of it as I am. Mierda, I'd have Star Wars bedsheets if Ta-Overwatch would let me" she replied, sitting forwards, and looking up at you with a smile.
"Sombra...I have a set of Star Wars underwear back at the apartment. If you turn this dropship around, I swear to god you'll find them, plastered with Chewbacca images" you joked in response, although you weren't technically lying.
Everyone had their guilty pleasures, and one of yours just happened to be Star Wars.
"Pfft...that's classic...buuut when I was younger, I had a teddy bear called Arturito...as in R2D2. Well I say when I was younger...it's in my dormitory...on my bed...right now" she admitted in reply, causing you smile widely.
So not only was the master hacker a geek, she also had a geeky teddy bear. Imagine if the world knew that about the elusive 'Sombra'.
"Okay, that's bad, but at least you're not wearing Star Wars underwear, I'm still worse" you stated, not entirely sure if this was a contest that you wanted to win.
"How do you know that I'm not?" she questioned with a wink, before collapsing into laughter at her own geeky flirting.
You shook your head with a grin and couldn't help but join her with a chuckle of your own. It took a good minute or so for the two of you to calm down, by which time you were both breathless and must have looked like you were high on something.
Neither of you said a word, instead just gazing into one another's eyes for a moment. It was odd, trying to second guess whether Sombra actually liked you was nearly impossible, she was a master at manipulation after all. But it certainly seemed as if she did, and she looked visibly disappointed when an automated voice came over the tannoy.
"Attention. Incoming communication from...Headquarters" the dropship's AI reported, causing Sombra to sigh and shrug her shoulders.
She stood up and slowly moved towards the cockpit.
"Duty calls...though you were right, we have the same taste in movies" she remarked, causing you to grin widely.
"Don't forget the same taste in underwear too" you called, provoking one last smile from the hacker before she sealed the door again, retreating to the cockpit.
Content, you leaned back in your chair with a smile on your face. In one day, you had decided to join a peace-keeping organisation, boarded an invisible dropship, seen a view of Miami that you would never forget, and had an awesome conversation with Sombra. Maybe things are looking up.
Meanwhile, in the cockpit of the dropship, Sombra mentally prepared herself for another unpleasant conversation. For two months now, she had been under close supervision from her colleagues, all of whom suspected her of treachery. I got too cocky in Russia, she thought to herself with a sigh as she typed into a keyboard. Seconds passed, and once again the communication link opened, this time onto a random soldier whom Sombra did not recognise.
"Operative Sombra. The Successor sends his congratulations on the apprehension of the latest recruit. However, the plan has altered. We are seizing control of your autopilot" the soldier reported, causing Sombra to frown in confusion.
"Why? Where are you taking us? And why isn't Reaper there?" she questioned swiftly.
If Gabriel wasn't the one delivering this news, then the chances were that he hadn't made the decision. That was more than worrying, the only other person who would involve themselves in this sort of thing was Akande, and if he was involved then she was in even more trouble.
"The Successor prefers to greet you and the new recruit personally...at headquarters" the soldier explained.
Sombra gritted her teeth in frustration, this was not part of the plan. She usually worked from small installations, out of the earshot of her superiors, which granted her some level of freedom. If they were grounding her at headquarters, chances are she would be stuck there for a while. Still, if this was Akande's work then she had no choice, even she wouldn't dare to cross him.
"Maldición...fine, I guess I'll see you at HQ" she replied, deactivating the comms channel with a slam of her hand.
This was going to complicate matters, but she would have to overcome it. I can't let anything get in the way of the plan; keeping Y/N safe is going to be damn near impossible now, but at least he's here...
The hours passed by, and Sombra drifted into a quiet mood once again. This time you decided to leave her to it, there would be plenty of time for you to talk to each other again at the Overwatch base. At this point, despite your concerns about heading into active duty again, you couldn't help but feel a little excited at the prospect. It felt like you were finally doing something again, instead of just living each day as it came.
"Attention. Dropship descending...prepare for landing" the ship's AI reported in her usual monotone voice.
Sombra was in the cockpit at this point, leaving you on your own in the passenger bay as you felt the ship continue descending, further and further down. A minute passed, and finally you felt a slight rumble to signal that you had landed. Sombra exited the cockpit and strode past you towards the boarding ramp, waiting for you to stand.
"Are we underground? We must be, it took ages for us to land" you questioned as you stood, but Sombra barely seemed to listen.
"Everything will be revealed out there, come on" she answered, pressing a red button on the dropship wall nearby.
The boarding ramp slowly lowered, accompanied by a large cloud of smoke from its mechanisms. You gave one last glance towards the hacker, almost out of nerves, before taking your first step into a new life. Once you got through the smoke, coughing slightly, you found yourself stunned at the scale of this place.
It was definitely underground, but you appeared to be in a massive hangar of sorts, with the main ceiling doors hundreds of metres above your head. Great metal walls, carved into the rock, formed the structure of the base, and this one room alone went on beyond where your eyes could see. Considering they were on the run; Overwatch sure did have a budget.
After a few seconds of stunned stumbling, you turned to see a swarm of armed guards approach the two of you. In the centre of the guards stood a man, tall in stature with an intimidating presence. You couldn't quite tell why, but even the way he was walking towards you sent a shiver down your spine. The soldiers all wore dark grey armour, with bright red visors, not the friendly colours you had expected from Overwatch.
"Greeting Y/N, my name is Akande Ogundimu, also known as The Successor. I lead our operation down here" the intimidating man introduced himself, and instantly his name made you frown.
You could have sworn you recognised it from somewhere. You took another slow glance around and began to notice details that you hadn't seen the first time. Engineers loaded lethal looking weapons onto a number of fighter aircraft, as if they were preparing for war, not peacekeeping. And on the wall nearby, an insignia that you knew did not belong to Overwatch, a red double-bladed war axe on a black background.
Realisation hit you like a train as you suddenly remembered where you'd heard that name before. You turned to Sombra in panic, but she had started to back away, avoiding your gaze. And then you turned to Akande.
"I know you! I know your name! You're Doomfist...you're a terrorist. But if you're in charge here...then this isn't Overwatch...this place is Talon..." you stated in quiet realisation.
But before you could so much as speak out in defiance, you felt a sharp and sudden pain in the back of your head as one of the Talon soldiers whacked you with the butt of his rifle. You fell to the ground in a limp bundle, your eyesight fading to blackness as you drifted into unconsciousness. But at the very end, you heard one more haunting line from Akande.
"Well done, Sombra. We will take it from here".
Brief Summary – During your time on the dropship, you attempt to bond with Sombra through your shared interest in all things Star Wars. But as you land down in a vast underground base, you are greeted by the infamous terrorist, Doomfist, and realise you have been duped. Before you can protest, however, you are knocked out by a nearby Talon soldier.