Two weeks. Two weeks had passed since your little initiation into Overwatch, two weeks of nothing. No trace, not even a whisper from Talon. It was making you uneasy. According to Winston, the illegally appropriated satellite that Overwatch had commandeered had not found anything in South America. It was as if Talon no longer existed.
This complete lack of evidence only served to make you and Olivia look crazier for claiming that they had an army of weaponized omnics. After all, how could Talon hide an army that large? It was a question that was stumping you, and it almost made you wish that you had stayed in Talon for longer, if only to learn more about their plans.
While Overwatch had been doing their thing, Olivia had been doing hers. She had hacked the databases of governments across the world, and scanned all wavelengths for any suspicious transmissions, and even she had found nothing.
Today, like most other days, you awoke before dawn, unable to sleep thanks to consistent nightmares. As always, you found yourself strolling outside, eventually taking a seat on some nearby rocks, watching the sun slowly rise. You took a slow sip from a coffee mug, listening to the waves crash against the cliffs down below. Just like with Talon, you had been refused the location of this base for 'security reasons', although you had heard Jack refer to it as Watchpoint Gibraltar in a hushed conversation with Angela once.
"You're up early luv...not with Sombra?" a voice suddenly called from behind, startling you with a gasp.
Lena. She definitely had a boundary issue, but you didn't really mind since she was one of the few friendly people here.
"Ah no...she's still asleep, didn't want to wake her. You couldn't sleep either?" you asked in return.
Lena blinked up to you, taking a seat beside you and watching the sea roil.
"I never do...I don't think I need as much as other people, not with...this" she remarked, pointing down towards her chronal accelerator.
You could tell that even with the amount of time that had passed since her accident, she still didn't quite feel right. But you were hardly the one to cheer her up about it, you weren't a therapist.
"Satellite find anything yet? I haven't checked yet this morning" you questioned, trying to change the topic.
"Nada, I looked just now. I...I'm not sure we're gonna find anything, luv" Lena replied, causing you to sigh in frustration.
"I don't understand...when we were there, Talon had tens of thousands of soldiers, not to mention the omnics. There's no way they can stay hidden...it's impossible..." you commented with a shake of your head.
"They're professionals...but we do believe you, we know they exist" Lena stated, placing a hand on your shoulder.
"Hm, you might...and Jesse, Genji, Winston maybe. But I hoped we'd have a few more than four people on our side in this fight" you said.
You still felt like an intruder here, you had offered to help Overwatch in just about every way you could think of, but usually received cold glares. Even Winston politely declined your help, his way of saying he didn't fully trust you.
"Well Genji was awake even earlier than us today. I had a chat with him, he's left for France to check up on a lead on Maximilien. You're not alone in the fight, Y/N, we just need to know where the fight is. Believe me, after what they did to Mondatta, I'm quite happy to face Talon" Lena answered.
"If we're not careful, the fight will be right here. Winston was attacked by Reaper in this very base, do you really think it'll be long before Talon decides to check this place again?" you remarked, causing Lena to nod her head in understanding.
"I talked to Winston about it the other day and he agrees with you but says we don't have anywhere else. If Talon come knocking here then we can defend, but if we run and hide and they find us somewhere we aren't prepared, we're buggered luv. It makes sense" she explained.
In a strange way it did indeed make sense, but that fact did not at all comfort you. How could a small band of misfits and outcasts defend against tens of thousands of terrorists on a tiny island?
"I'll see you in a bit, Lena. I'm gonna go and put in some more time at the shooting range" you suddenly announced, standing up and walking away.
Lena instantly blinked to your side.
"You're working yourself too hard, Y/N. You won't beat Talon if you're exhausted" she stated, giving you a sympathetic look.
"I'd go to any length to see them gone...an hour on a gun range is nothing" you responded, striding away and leaving her alone in the cool morning breeze.
Perhaps you had been a little too short, after all she was only looking out for you. But she didn't understand, she didn't know what you'd been through under Talon, what they had planned. Whatever the cost, you would see them gone.
Pulse rounds tore through the air, piercing the targets on the range with an intense heat. Up above you, a digital screen beeped as a result was displayed next to the words 'new personal best'. You grunted, reloading another magazine into your rifle. You could do better than that.
With a breath, you reset the targets, lining up your shot in concentration. You squeezed the trigger, each shot firing out with precision until, a few seconds later, the very same message displayed above you. This had been the cycle of the past half hour; fire, get personal best and fire again. Even you weren't entirely sure what the endgame was, how much more efficient could you become at killing? The military and Talon had both turned you into a killing machine, and now you were doing it to yourself, all in favour of peace, ironic.
All of a sudden, a pair of arms wrapped around your waist from behind, causing you to drop your rifle in surprise. You turned to see Olivia smirking up at you, dressed in her usual purple combat suit.
"New personal best huh, soldado? Not bad..." she remarked.
You smiled, instantly feeling a little better at her arrival.
"Well I have some heavy competition...can't let you humiliate me too much" you answered, retrieving your rifle from the table and flicking the safety on.
"I hear you've been spending a lot of time with Lena, anything I need to...worry about?" she suddenly questioned, cocking her machine pistol.
Somehow, she managed to remain casual while also acting quite intimidating, yet another aspect of her you adored.
"Don't get me wrong, she's sweet as honey and she's probably the nicest person here, but she doesn't hold a candle to you, cariño" you responded.
You watched a small but genuine smile appear on her face as she avoided your gaze.
"Right answer, heroe. Now...about me humiliating you on the gun range..." she commented, spinning around dramatically and firing at the targets with her machine pistol.
You watched with a disgruntled look as she beat your personal best in three seconds flat, giving you a smug grin as she turned to you.
"It's obviously rigged..." you remarked, only making her even more confident.
She stepped out of the way for you to take a shot.
"Oh, by all means, Mr Soldier. Show a girl how it's done..." she said in response, teasing you no end.
Rolling your eyes, you slowly raised your rifle, closing a single eye and taking a deep breath. But just as you were about to take your shot, she tapped you on the shoulder.
"Of course, if you miss, that'll be even more...what's the word? Humiliating..." she remarked.
Her distraction worked a treat, causing you to miss three of the five targets and receive your lowest score yet. You turned to her with a joking glare.
"Oh, now you're all confident, huh? Now she's all confident..." you said, quickly grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close.
You leant down over her, your lips moving close for a kiss, but before you could meet, a voice suddenly called over the speakers.
"Could Y/N and Sombra please report to the control room for a debriefing?" Winston requested in his usual polite voice.
You separated from Olivia with a breath, before activating a communicator on your wrist.
"Winston, pal, were you watching us down the cameras again?" you questioned, the timing of his interruption proving very suspicious.
"Of course not, I...never do that. That being said, the gun range is for target practice, not whatever you were about to practice..." the scientist replied, causing you to roll your eyes with a smile.
He was so predictable.
Olivia quickly pecked you on the cheek, before leading the way out of the shooting range. A debriefing? Now, more than ever, you hoped that Winston had finally uncovered something worthwhile.
You had grown accustomed to the sight of an empty control centre, almost completely devoid of staff by now. But today, there were several people you didn't recognise dressed in a navy-blue uniform, busily working away at monitors. Overwatch was recruiting.
Winston gestured for you to join him in the private meeting room, a small chamber overlooking the main centre and protected by soundproof glass windows. You entered the room; joined by Jack, Angela, and Jesse.
"That's all of us, excellent. Right, settle down everyone, I have some exciting news, we have a lead on Talon" Winston stated, causing your heart to rise in anticipation.
At last.
"It's about damn time...don't keep us waitin', what have we got to work with?" Jesse commented, as ever with a cigar in his mouth.
"Thanks to some quite remarkable facial recognition software on our satellite, we have identified one of Talon's top operatives, codename Widowmaker, in King's Row, London. We believe that she is there to assassinate Tekharta Zenyatta, who is giving his first public speech in over a year there tomorrow. She pulled off a similar job a while ago with Zenyatta's predecessor" Winston explained.
The scientist tapped away on the glass table in the middle of the room, causing a holographic map of the area to appear.
"If we extract her and bring her here then we can interrogate her for intel" Angela suggested, provoking nods of agreement from the across the room.
But one thing bothered you about this.
"Ol-Sombra and I warned Zenyatta about an attempted assassination nearly a year ago in King's Row and saved his life. Why is he going back there when he knows the dangers?" you questioned, raising a valid point.
"The monk's a revolutionary...don't try to talk sense into revolutionaries, kid" Jack answered in a gruff tone.
"What Jack means is that Zenyatta feels he must appear in front of the public in order not to lose the support he has gained over the years while advocating for peace. He doesn't want it to look as if the actions of Talon have scared him into hiding" Winston added, shooting a quick but noticeable glare Jack's way.
"Reckon if we save his life a second time, we can count on him for help?" Olivia asked, hacking the holographic map, and turning it purple in boredom.
"That's a fair assumption to make, now onto the plan. Widowmaker must be taken alive for interrogation...Y/N and Sombra, I would like the two of you, alongside Lena, to escort Zenyatta to safety. Jack and Angela; the three of us will be tasked with locating the assassin and bringing her in...alive" Winston explained, pointing out a number of areas on the holographic map, whilst also subtly making it blue again.
"If this job is so important, why not send everyone to London?" you questioned.
"Genji is in Paris at the moment, and Reinhardt and Ana have an equally pressing engagement in Montenegro. And Jesse, I am aware you will despise this, but I want you to remain here. It would be unwise to have all of our fighters away from home. Are there any questions?" Winston asked.
Everybody in the room shook their heads, all in agreement on the plan. It seemed simple, but that did not mean it would be easy to execute.
"I believe we all understand the plan, Winston" Angela replied softly.
"In that case, spend the rest of today however you wish, and get a good night sleep. It's a three-hour flight to London, and we'll need the day to set up in preparation for Zenyatta's speech at 9PM. That's everything people, meeting over" Winston said, disabling the map.
Brief Summary – After weeks of waiting, and a frustrated conversation with Lena, you finally receive the news you've been waiting for. Your shooting contest with Olivia is interrupted when Winston announces that Widowmaker has been located. A plan is set forth, and you prepare yourself for a trip to King's Row, and your first combat mission in a while.