War Makes Strange Bedfellows

Watching the footage from Paris and Rio, it occurred to him that Akande had finally got the war he'd always wanted. Only perhaps not through the intended means.

Of course, he wasn't Akande Ogundimu, better known to the world as Doomfist. He was a man once called Gabriel Reyes, now better known to the world as Reaper. His time in command had come and gone, now he didn't command more than a handful of agents in the field. Still, sitting at his station in a safehouse deep below Venice, he couldn't help but wonder how Talon's leader was feeling. Because on one hand, based on official sources, Null Sector had just attacked Paris, and was currently attacking Rio de Janeiro. Based on unofficial sources, obtained through a certain hacker whose loyalties he still doubted, Null Sector's actions were the tip of the iceberg. The world was on the verge of a Second Omnic Crisis, one that wasn't confined to the wastelands of Siberia. Three decades and tens of millions of lives after the first one, and the whole man vs. machine thing was back on. A slightly different enemy, but again, it appeared that the governments of the world were so incompetent they couldn't handle the robots without Overwatch.

Truth be told, he was surprised that the French police hadn't arrested that monkey and his friends as soon as they'd cleared up the streets. "Merci, but you're disbanded, so off to the Bastille" or some nonsense. Governments and leaders changed, the lies that ran the world didn't. When, or if Null Sector was defeated, perhaps the UN would remember that the Petras Act was still a thing, but he figured that necessity was the mother of not only invention, but of turning a blind eye to certain individuals. Eyes not entirely unlike his own, albeit hidden behind a mask. Eyes that narrowed as he turned to the carnage going on in Rio. Decades ago, the omnics had razed the city to the ground. Null Sector was so far operating from a single command ship, but the city was burning all the same.

Could have stopped this you know, Reyes thought to himself. He leant back in the chair, lifted his mask, and took a sip from a water bottle. Omniums shut down, you could have just scrapped them all. But no. You had to play nice.

He recalled a time where "you" was a person he considered a friend. Also a time when he wouldn't have bothered with water at all. Still, both times were before being left for dead in Geneva, his body vaporized and reformed. Turned out that part of the whole invincibility thing was a loss of taste, in addition to no longer being able to feel pain. Or really much of anything at all.

"Hey amigo."

The feed on his computer screen was replaced by Sombra's mug. Behind the mask, he frowned – of the things he could feel, irritation was still among them.

"Nice," she said, seeing that Reyes was still leaning back in his chair. "Wish I could earn the privilege of being able to lie back and not care about anything."

Reyes leant back even further. "What do you want Sombra?"

"Right now, anything other than pizza or lasagne. Alas, we're still in Italy."

"Keep wasting my time, I can send you to North Africa in a body bag."

Sombra was unperturbed. "Also, I need to tell you that Sanjay wants to see you."

Reyes leant forward in his chair slightly. "Sanjay?" he murmured.

"Well, that's his name. Unlike some of us he doesn't bother with the whole codename thing. Then again, the hocky mask and black robes kind of stole the show, so maybe he couldn't compete."

Reyes got to his feet. If Sombra had been here before him, he might have bothered to make a threat, or even act on his suspicions and to do her what she'd failed to do to Ms. Volskaya. Still, she wasn't here. And he wouldn't be here much longer either.

"Have fun," the hacker said. "Oh, and Gabe…did you get the data I sent you?"

Having reached the door, Reyes glanced back at the screen. At this point in time, Sombra had dropped the mask, staring at the camera intently. So, even though he didn't take his off, he gave her a small nod.

"What are you going to-"

"Power off," he said.

The room's automated system kicked in, shutting off the lights and sending the terminal into shutdown. He had nothing to say to Sombra right now, and little more to Olivia Colomar. Mask or no mask, she had his own agenda. And even the data she'd given him aside, he knew she wouldn't have done that if it hadn't suited her own interests.

Talon's goal was to remake the world. Sometimes, with all the competing agendas, Reyes thought it was a microcosm for the planet in question. A bit too close to Overwatch in its twilight years. Frowning, he strode through the corridors. Past the grunts who were moving to and fro. Grunts that were wearing the old whites and reds rather than the blacks assigned to all Talon foot soldiers. Something was up. He could smell it. Question was, why was he only finding out now? What was Akande doing in light of Null Sector? Why was Sanjay Korpal calling him in? Why, so long after Egypt, was he feeling twitches? As if Jack and Ana's bullets were still bothering him? Not to mention last Christmas, when he'd-

No.

He wasn't going there. Not in body, not in mind. He reached Sanjay's office and walked straight in. He had better things to do than reminisce on certain people, half of whom would be dead before the year was out if he had his way. People that didn't include people who were on Vishkar's payroll as well as Talon's, but hey, early days.

Sanjay, who'd been typing on his terminal up until now, let out a start. "Don't you knock?" he asked.

"No." Reyes took the seat opposite the desk.

"Fair enough." Sanjay leant back in his chair and put his hands together, smiling. "I suppose that fits you. If you're not kicking down doors, you're turning into a smoke monster and slipping through."

"Draw this out any longer Sanjay, and you'll see what else I can do."

The smile faded. "Watch your tone, Mister Reyes. I'm a fellow council member, and I'm well aware of your abilities."

"Then get on with telling me where and how to use them." Reyes leant back in his chair as well. "That is what you called me for of course."

Sanjay didn't say anything, and couldn't hide the look of unease in his eyes. It occurred to Reyes that Sanjay was a man who walked in two worlds, and while the games he played at both Vishkar and Talon were similar in some regards, the differences still existed, and they could trip him up. He might have admired the man, if not for how breakable his spine was. Or that he was still just sitting there, wasting his time.

"What's happening Sanjay?" Reyes asked.

The man cleared his throat. "Fine. Your assignment is-"

"No. What's happening?" Reyes asked again.

Sanjay frowned. "I don't follow."

Reyes clenched his right fist. "Null Sector's attacked Paris and Rio. Akande hasn't said anything. Somehow, you already know what's going on."

"You give me far too much credit, Mister Reaper."

"Maybe. But where's Akande? He's got his war. So what's next?"

Sanjay didn't say anything. Not at first at least. Reyes saw he was trying to choose his words. Eventually though, he appeared to just give up. Instead, he typed on his terminal and a holographic image appeared between them. A city, and one that Reyes recognised.

"Utopaea," Sanjay said.

Of course, everyone recognised Utopaea. It was a city that was made of hard-light, constructed by the Vishkar Corporation, and the first of its kind. Utopaea outshone every other city in India – literally.

"Akande wants you to take in a team," Sanjay said. "Go in, guns blazing, kill a few people, remind the world that Talon's a threat to be reckoned with."

Reyes sat there, rooted to the spot.

"Your ship departs in three hours. We've already handpicked a team for you and-"

"No."

Sanjay blinked. "Excuse me?"

"No," Reyes said.

"I don't follow."

He got to his feet. "No. I won't do it."

"Excuse me Reyes, but as a member of Talon, you don't have the luxury of refusing assignments."

"Assignments," he scoffed. "The Doomfist gauntlet was an assignment. Volskaya Industries was an assignment. Breaking out Akande was an assignment, and as simple as it was, even taking out Vialli's loyalists was an assignment. This?" He nodded at the hologram. "This is something any maniac with a machine gun could do."

Sanjay frowned. "Interesting that of all those assignments, you failed at half of them."

Not that Sanjay could see it, but Reyes's forehead throbbed.

"Not to mention Egypt."

Throbbed very hard.

"But it doesn't matter. You have your orders. If it makes you feel better, you can take one of your shotguns instead of two. Let Vishkar's security forces think they might have a fighting chance."

The vein was still throbbing. Not that Sanjay could see it, but Reyes was making great effort to control his breathing. Not that he really breathed oxygen in the same way anymore (another trait he could 'thank' Moira for), but he wanted to keep his physical form for this. If he killed Sanjay here and now (and consequences be damned, it was bloody tempting), he wanted to strangle the man with his not-so-bare hands. But since that would only give him a few seconds of satisfaction, he took the time to think.

"Any questions, Mister Reaper?"

Time was up. Words came out. "Akande doesn't trust me, does he?"

The flicker in Sanjay's eyes told him that he was on the money.

"Null Sector's made their move. Overwatch is back, and they're not hiding it. Which means…" He smirked, and clicked his fingers. "Of course. Akande thinks I might fall back on old habits."

"Excuse me?"

"Null Sector. Omnics. I spent five years fighting those metal-heads in the war, and another ten cleaning up remnants. Now they're back. And Akande thinks I might get some ideas about joining the fight."

Sanjay tried to keep his face impassive, and for the most part, succeeded. "That's an interesting theory, I grant you…"

He couldn't hide the drop of sweat.

"Or," Reyes continued. "Maybe he's jealous. Maybe after all his grand declarations of conflict strengthening humanity, and of Talon's destiny of shepherding the course of human evolution, he's pissed that Null Sector's beaten him to the punch."

The sweat continued to drop. "That's an interesting idea, Reyes. Why don't you ask him?"

"I would, but he's not answering. And maybe I can't blame him. I mean, it's all well and good to say humanity is strengthened through conflict, but there's that little elephant in the room we have to deal with."

"Which is?" Sanjay snapped.

Reyes smirked. "What if Null Sector wins?"

Sanjay said nothing, but Reyes could see it. Sanjay knew more than was being let on. Null Sector was attacking Paris and Rio. Fair enough. Everyone knew that. What fewer people knew was that Null Sector had infiltrated numerous omniums and were on the verge of a global uprising – not one just limited to a few cities. Sanjay knew. Chances were Akande knew. He knew as well, but only because of Sombra. Which begged the question that assuming Sanjay had got his information from the horse's mouth, why hadn't he? Did Akande not trust him? Or, alternatively, if Sanjay had got it from a certain birdy, then what game was Sombra playing?

"I think we'll leave the subject of robot apocalypses to the people who handle this sort of thing," Sanjay said, not acknowledging that the man before him had once been among those people. He gestured back at the hologram. "Utopaea. Now." He looked at his watch. "Or rather, two hours and fifty-four minutes."

Reyes remained seated, and Sanjay frowned. "Fifty-three now, I suppose."

"Want do you want, Sanjay?"

"Excuse me?"

"What do you get out of this? You're ordering a strike against your own company. Against its crown jewel. You want me to go in and kill your co-workers."

"Getting squeamish are you?"

"Hardly. But just curious."

Sanjay leant back in his chair and folded his hands again. "If we're playing the game," he murmured, "you first."

Reyes answered simply and quickly. "Revenge." Sanjay said nothing, so he continued. "I have a list. There's names on it. Sometimes when I put a bullet between someone's eyes, a name gets crossed out. Working with Talon makes it easier to cross those names off."

Sanjay almost looked disappointed. "That's it?"

"There's names on that list such as Jack Morrison and Gabrielle Adawe. Next time you turn on the news Sanjay, keep those names in mind. Because the reason we've got a Second Omnic Crisis on our hands is because of them."

"We?" Sanjay asked. "We've got an Omnic Crisis on our hands?"

Reyes, after a moment, muttered, "the world. The world has one on its hands." Sanjay didn't look convinced, so he quickly asked, "what about you? What gets you to slither out of your bed each morning? Viskar's meant to stand for peace and order, while you're working for a group of anarchists with machine guns."

"Is that strange?" Sanjay asked. He gave a small laugh. "It's simple really. Vishkar brings order from chaos. Viskkar grew in India because it needed the former after experiencing the latter. I help Talon spread chaos, and in the aftermath, Vishkar comes in. And once Null Sector is defeated, Viskkar will be in a position to rebuild. To reform society."

"That simple then," Reyes murmured.

"Look at the history of the world Mister Reaper, in case you can read from behind that mask. It's always changed after conflict. Akande believes that conflict is the end in of itself. I however, see it as a means to build something better." He looked at his watch again. Now then. You're due out in two hours and fifty-one minutes, so unless you want the game to continue, I suggest you get to it."

Reyes got to his feet. The game was over. And having played a game of holier than thou for thirty years, he knew when to call it quits. But as he headed for the door of the office, he murmured, "war makes strange bedfellows."

"Excuse me?"

He looked back at Sanjay. "You and Talon. Talon and Null Sector. Adawe's pet Numbani project."

"Anything you want to add, Mister Reaper? Or do you just want to quote wiser men than yourself?"

He shook his head.

"Good. Now get to it."

In silence, Reyes exited the office, closing the door behind him. Reflecting that right now, in Rio, a lot of innocent people were dying.

That more innocent people would be dead at his hands before the day was out was something he told himself didn't bother him.