Never Die

Ready and willing, time to get planning.

"Liao," said Gabriel, "bust out a holo-map projector, I've got a data stick with our target on it."

Liao's voice snapped into a mimic of Gabriel's. "What makes you think I've got one?"

"You always have one."

"Not this time."

"You'd rather be labeled incompetent than have me be right?"

Liao paused at the insinuation. "What if it's a virus-filled trick?"

"Then enjoy the dancing nudes."

A few poorly kept chuckles came out for that. "Funny Reyes is better Reyes," said Reinhardt.

"Do it or put your foot down we're wasting time."

"Fine," Liao relented. They pulled out a palm-sized silver disc and carefully left it on the floor. Gabriel bent over and stuck a nail-sized stick into one of the ports. A few seconds later a city block filled the air and on skyscraper in particular lit up.

It was about as generic and nondescript as a skyscraper got. There wasn't even a company logo adorning it. Perfect for an organization that didn't want attention.

"This," said Gabriel, "is the Roost. Beyond them going obnoxiously all-in on their birds motif, it doesn't really live up to the name." Gabriel tapped on the roof and the image focused in. "It's only got a single helipad for traffic, but it's pretty clear it's large enough to hold more. This," he tapped on the top structure, "is both a cargo elevator, personal elevator and staircase. But," he pulled off the outer shell of the building, "the staircase only goes to the top five floors. The elevators don't. If there's any heavy-duty equipment protecting those floors it's either hold or put together up there, so we shouldn't be expecting any Omnic juggernauts."

"Which means we should," Jack cut in. "Misdirection's been how they've played their hand so completely reconstructing their building after putting in something big and bad is how they'll do it."

"The top floor is a security floor, filled to the brim with Talon loyalists. The four below that are for the executives we're here to nap. They're all aquiver with anticipation for your heads on a platter and will be waiting in the board room located in the middle."

Torbjörn grunted. "What's to keep'em kaput while we got knocking in from below? Unless you got wings stashed around here?"

"I've inserted one of Sombra's programs into their network. When the security office calls for extraction it'll intercept the message and deliver an en route notice back to the interior, leaving the exit vehicle completely uninformed. It'll go live at the same time the breach team hits us and ends in an hour. We've got 'til six sharp to get this done."

"What if they try some old-fashioned radio to get through?"

"They don't have anything so retrograde installed."

Torbjörn shook his head. "Fine, what if they have carrier pigeons or some other damn way to get a call out?"

"Move those stubby legs as fast as they can go then."

"Why I outta—!"

"Knock it off!" Jack stepped between the two of them. ""Save the sniping for Talon." He looked back at Gabriel. "They didn't come this far by leaving their one escape route with no failsafes. They'll have something else, so we need to set up a contingency of our own." he looked back at Torbjörn. "Can you set up a SAM turret?"

"I'm not gonna blow up something in the middle of a city!"

"Didn't say you would, but between you and Liao, you can create enough of a missile spoof to fool their trackers and keep the jumpship away in fear."

Torbjörn mused on the idea. "It could work… if there was a good vantage point to set it up on… Which there isn't. If we're so pressed for time we don't have enough to scale a building that'll just cover one approach."

Liao's voice switched to the Ironclad man's. "We can rig up a drone to fly up top of the Roost and spin the signal we need." They looked over at Gabriel. "If there's nothing on the roof that'll stop it."

In response he highlighted guard positions, patrol routes and security cameras covering the roof. But the top of the staircase building was a blind spot for the drone to sit down on.

While those two got to work setting it up, Gabe continued:

"There's also a security floor right beneath the executive floors and then…" Gabe sped the picture down through empty floor after empty floor. "Nothing. 90% of the building is just void of human workplaces. All the building standards are available but other than maintenance work no one occupies these floors."

"You'd think someone would have noticed that, by now," said Ana.

"No one cares. Parking's underground and everyone but the janitors are on Hawk's payroll." He pushed down to occupied floors again. "The top floor of bottom rungs is the primary security hub. This is where the whole building's security measures are coordinated. Below that is a security floor. We have to clear security floor to get to the hub to get to the elevator that takes us to the security floor up above. There is no good reason for this waste-of-time and I imagine it annoys they hell out of any Hawk overlord that has to come in by foot."

"It'll slow our advance considerably, and all those tight corners will be lousy for my range."

Jack crocked his head. "Can they lock down the elevators from up above? Or anywhere?"

"The Executives have a highest-priority override over any of the security divisions. My access will get us a few floors up before we have to start scaling it by hand."

Reinhardt snorted in disgust. "There's no way any flimsy elevator ladder could handle me."

"I'm not exactly keen on climbing either," Torbjörn added.

"The maintenance ladders are heavy duty reinforced to handle any emergency evacuation in case of necessary evacuation. The whole building's far more durable than it looks." Gabriel pinpointed numerous pillars and strongpoints in the building's superstructure. "It's got light-mass shielding generators at numerous load bearing sections to double down on protecting vital structural weakpoints. This place could withstand a tactical nuclear strike."

"Just like an omnium," Ana pointed out.

Liao came in mimicking Ana's voice now. "To no one's surprise—I hope—Hawk had a talon in Omnica's undertakings too."

"Feh," Torbjörn said, "next yer gonna be sayin' they're keepin' aliens under wraps."

"No, that's us." Some sort of ancient TV alien theme tune rang out from somewhere on Liao's suit.

"Regardless of how many pies they've got their fingers in we've got a job to do." Keeping everyone on topic was always his least favorite part of these plans.

"There are no extraneous defenses located within the elevator shaft so we aren't gonna be climbing through electric webbing and gun turrets like the L.A. omnium. Maybe a few guns at the top but it'll be a smooth, if long climb."

"Fifty floors won't be smooth." Great shape for their ages they were that was still hell on anyone half their age. "You two will have to get the elevator as far up as we can manage."

"Always the easy jobs," said Liao.

Torbjörn held his reply a moment. "I might be able to rig up an emergency generator. I can cut the breaks, Liao can circumvent the kill command."

"And if they cut the cable there's nothing stopping us from taking a fifty floor plunge to our deaths."

"The cable's got quadruple back ups," Gabriel zoomed in. "Won't be able to scratch all the breaks either, they're recurved into the wall at points."

"Then it'll be slow going, but still faster than climbing."

Jack nodded. "That's the best we're gonna get here. Where's our entrance point?"

Gabriel switched view towards, "The front door."

"Exactly how it should be!" Reinhardt exclaimed.

"Stupid?" said Liao with Reinhardt's voice.

"Straight to the point. A head-on challenge to the low-lifes living the high life."

"It also has the least security," said Gabriel. "Their defensive holdouts are concentrated on the security hub and protecting the executives, not the lower floors. There's still fifty men guarding it, but that's a lot less than the hundred in the parking area."

"What's the transfer time?" Jack asked.

"Their security protocols will work against them, so I'd estimate a fifteen minute redeployment for initial reinforcements and five minutes per additional squad. If we can work our way up to the security hub before then we can strangle them out completely."

"What kind of hardware will they be running?"

"The lower ranks will be kitted out with Diamondback Armor from Secretary Private Security Consultants and Defense Contracting."

Jack shook his head at the overly long name. "How does that match their bird theme?"

"Secretary Bird," said Liao.

"Right, sure; firearms?"

"First wave will be stun tasers from Tesla-dan. Even the big guy will be feeling those volts."

Reinhardt barked a laugh. "Let them try!"

"Once they see we mean business they'll switch to Light Pulse Rifles and Pulse Light Rifles for maximum confusion factor. The security hub comes equipped with Russian-made omnic-wrecker shotguns. Full auto and enough shells to shoot out an outline of a truck but enough recoil to snap an arm in half. They'll bust'em out when they get desperate."

Wrecked arm was better than wrecked life. That was Russia for you. "The top floor guards will have worse."

"Shit so cutting-edge it makes my get-up look like a stuffed animal. Rifles with self-replicating ammo supplies, anti-omnic EMP bolts that'll fry his shield in a single shot, handgun RPGs with 9mm-sized rounds that hit harder than your helix rockets. I don't even know half the shit they have up there because it's handled entirely within family circles. Nothing but pure Hawk up there."

One of Angela's lectures about violence came and went through Jack's mind. "Personal defenses?"

"Expect an unholy combination between Germany's next generation Crusader armors and the omnic dreadnaughts."

Jack smirked. To everyone else's bewilderment.

"Long odds, what else is new? We had less intel hitting our first omnium and came out of that fine."

"Really?" Torbjörn held up his robot claw.

"You lost that well after Null Sector's Uprising. I'm not that senile."

"Yet."

That's how it's gonna be, huh? "Alright, say it."

"What if this isn't on the level? And I ain't sayin' he's not warnin' us of big guns, but what if the whole thing's a giant demolition trap? Or just some company building filled with a bunch of no-nothing civs? Our great big comeback could be plastered with dead bodies of innocent people."

"There's no guarantee even if Gabriel's telling the truth he hasn't been made," Ana added. "This could be a double set-up. Blackwatch's existence buried us once already, but every founding member going rogue and attacking a civilian facility? Winston's recall would be crushed by the full force of the UN."

"My word's only as good as you let it," said Gabriel, crossing his arms. "But every use of my name on lips and online as it as the goddamn villain and Hawk thinks the same because I've given them no reason to think otherwise. Until now, you all thought the same damn thing. We wouldn't be having this conversation if you thought otherwise." Gabriel scoffed in disgust. "I've spent five years undercover while the rest of you were on your laurels. They've no reason to suspect me beyond general paranoia."

Reinhardt said, "You and that outfit aren't particularly subtle."

"And who's fault is it I got put in charge of the subtle stuff?"

"This is not the time for your inferiority complex, Gabriel," Ana chided him.

"I'm the one with more information than any of you," he snapped back. "If I hadn't been setting off alarms worldwide where the hell would any of you been other than sitting in retirement? Even you, Jack."

"You're right," Jack answered. To the surprise of everyone. "He is right. He's done more to bring us here than anyone."

"'Bout damn time I got the recognition I deserve."

"But we wouldn't be here if our dumb asses hadn't gotten into a fight. We both screwed the pooch on this one, this is just setting things straight."

Gabriel grunted. "Yeah, set things straight. When we're done with this."

It wouldn't be easy. Hell, it'd be harder than this. Wasn't gonna stop'em. "Let's get back on topic."

Gabriel nodded and zoomed in on the security hub floor. "The doors leading to the elevator up and the server hub are both operated in a cascade fashion. They only open from the inside, no keys or access from outside."

"What kinda nonsense is that?" Torbjörn grunted. "That's a fire hazard if I ever seen one! This building's not up to code."

"So the building is occupied 24-7," said Ana.

"It's got enough sensors that neither Sombra or Liao's tricks will sneak in. That's why we're doing this the brute force way," said Gabriel.

"Much as my hammer could use a workout, you already said the building's sturdy enough to withstand a nuclear strike."

"Funny thing is, they're packing a whole lotta hardware to protect the place that can be used to tear it down."

"And you want me to override the DNA locks?" said Liao in some other man's voice. "What about self-destruct protocols?"

Gabriel shook his head. "Hawk's fanatics aren't on the suicide-bomb scale of lunacy."

Liao tapped their foot for a moment. "Right, yeah, I can do it then." They brought out a small black box. "Any excuse to bust out this baby."

"And that is?"

"DNA copier. Perfect for framing people you don't like."

"What? Goddammit you bastard is that why I had to deal with that stupid Taco Bell incident? Because I ate your damn burrito?"

"It was clearly marked!"

"In chinese! I thought it was some new promotion."

"Who steals another person's food like that!?"

"I was hungry! I left money!"

"Then use that money to buy your own damn food!"

"We were in Switzerland! I didn't know any mexican restaurants were in Switzerland!"

"The internet exists! Google it!"

This earned irritated looks from everyone. "Cut this shit out," Jack shot in. "This is the third dumbest argument we've ever had."

"Hey," said Liao, "I said corpses didn't decay just to piss him off—I didn't mean it."

"Who can tell with you," said Gabriel.

"Right back at you."

Ana sighed. "Sometimes it is a wonder we get anything done at all."

"Ahhh, reminds me of our glory days," said Reinhardt.

Ana shifted at the words. "Not quite."

Yeah, something wasn't quite there. Yet. "We'll have plenty of bullets and similar flying at our heads soon enough. What's next?"

"We have two primary targets," said Gabriel. "Hawk's server hub in the building and the twelve conference members. Their servers are kept physically isolated from the rest of the floor and the doors can only be accessed with a code from the executive floor. But unlike the security doors which are on a completely singular lines, this one can be reached from outside, so Liao can get in and run an open signal in. There's not gonna be any security inside, but the room's kept absolutely frigid to combat heat generation because the ventilation has been minimized so no microdrones sneak in. That's not even including the EM stripes that'll fry any electronics brought in or out."

Liao tapped one of their gadgets. "All glory to a hard suit."

"The servers contain Hawk's entire illustrious history and are not connected to the internet. Any data to be put into their database has to be downloaded and run through a thorough search before being integrated. Sombra found out the hard way she couldn't hack in because of this."

"I'm better than her on any day ending with 'eff.'"

That was so ridiculous no one responded. "Who're are the big money targets up above?"

The image of the building was replaced with mugshots of 12 different people. Eight men of various ethnicities and ages, three women, and even an omnic. "Seven of them are heads of various Hawk subsidiaries." Red bars popped up under six of the men and the argentinian woman. "These three are from Hawk's less-than-legal services." Green bars showed under the remaining two women and the polish man. "The omnic claims to be from the Shambali monks, but I have my doubts. Now this guy," a blue bar appeared beyond as generic a white man's face could be, "Is the head of this building. Rupert Vanderhawk. He's part of so-called Hawk royalty and knows more about their hierarchy than anything in the servers. He's our primary grab target, the rest are nice bonuses."

"A man named like that won't break easy," Reinhardt stated.

"Then good thing we have someone adept at breaking fingers."

Ana scoffed at the needless threat of torture. "I can mix up something from my darts to get him talking."

"If we want to be boring, sure."

"What about the omnic?" Jack asked.

"Remember when we took out the India Omnium?"

That operation was a disaster from start to finish. "Much as I don't like to, yeah. Is he one of the surviving nagas?" That late in the war the omniums' started to create new omnics based on local culture as shock troops. Human history had its share of crazy warriors. And that wasn't even the worst they found there…

"Worse: I think it's the Shiva avatar."

Just had to tempt fate thinking about the worst damn thing that could happen.

"I'm sorry," said Torbjörn, "I musta misheard you. Not surprising, my hearin's not what it's used to be what with the aging and constant metalwork and you being a lying asshole but I clearly just heard the words 'Shiva avatar' come out from behind that stupid-looking mask of yours."

"One more crack about my appearance and you're gonna be a lot shorter."

"The same Shiva avatar that turned its omnium into a walking fortress that walked through half the Indian army. That nearly split the subcontinent in half from its footsteps not even counting more guns than the United States. That took us and every active duty Gurkha to take down and still suffered 98% casualties. The one we nuked, EMPed and then melted into slag. That Shiva avatar. Somehow now fit into a body small enough to walk into a typical human office."

And then Torbjörn flew into a few minutes of swedish curses. He wasn't the only one, even if he was the loudest by far.

"Seeing as how our odds are now hopeless, can we get off now?" said Liao.

"The only thing stopping you is knowing that thing is free and loose," Gabriel retorted. "This is as vulnerable as it's gonna get."

"It takes a building to house the ludicrous amounts of processing power the God A.I.'s run off of and—oh. Oh. They can't even partition off a fraction of their electro-cortex but they can run any body within the omnium as a full extension of themselves. All those floors are empty because they contain Shiva's servers!"

"I am not walking into another damn omnium!" Torbjörn complained.

Reinhardt nodded along with him. "I am all for overcoming overwhelming odds but these are a bit much for we few."

Ana found herself in agreement. "Why would Hawk risk such an arrangement?"

"Because they have multiple kill switches enabled," said Gabriel. "All of them can be accessed from the security hub easily. If Shiva went rogue they wanted every man they have to be in a position to kill it."

"It doesn't answer why they're letting it continue, what does it offer them?"

"It lets them directly control and influence omnics in 'influential' positions."

Jack glowered at the realization. "Serbia…"

"Among many."

"Sounds ta me," said Torbjörn, "we'd best be leveling the building and take no chances."

"We don't have the resources for a controlled implosion," said Ana. "Even with any hypothetical detonators to ensure Shiva's cooperation."

There was something else though. "How are you certain it is Shiva?" Jack asked.

"Process of elimination," Gabriel replied. "The ones publicly known intact I confirmed still deactivated and they're watched too closely by UN and local security. Like that incident with Anubis and Helix."

Ana shifted her weight at the notice.

"We personally confirmed the destruction of the other half. Shiva and Thor are the only two we didn't have absolute confirmation on their destruction."

"In what world is a nuclear detonation not an absolute confirmation!?" Torbjörn steamed.

"It was a low-yield tactical strike," Jack clarified. "Which is why we had to start dropping the EMPs once it cleared out the shielding. Then melted down what's left. It's possible we missed something while we geared up in the rad suits."

"Anything flyin' or drivin' wouldn't be able to escape the perimeter. We had that area on complete lockdown and overwatch with satellites."

Gabriel tapped the ground with his foot. "But we didn't have anything checking out underground."

"Not with how unstable the fault lines were. Any sort of tunnelin' machine woulda been buried in a cave-in."

"And the other option sank into the sea. One we know was mobile, the other wasn't. I put my money on what's more likely," said Gabriel.

Thor's omnium was too much of a mess to sift through on the seafloor but it was a 99% certainty it was gone. Jack said, "The building doesn't have the manufacturing capabilities of an omnium, but Hawk's certainly got enough infrastructure to construct any drones a God A.I. could schematic up. This makes the mission more vital than ever."

"Vital enough to get some back-up?" said Torbjörn. "In the form of guns, tanks, airships, and giant piloted mechs?"

Not quite. "We get the evidence we need we'll get all that and more."

"Not later—now!"

"I agree," said Reinhardt. "I'm up for any worthy cause but foolhardy charges are less in my standard these days."

"An omnium's a bit beyond our gear at the moment," Ana added. "Even if we appropriate the guard equipment we'll have to contend with unfamiliar weaponry in a highly contested environment. We'll have limited ammo and no breaching equipment."

"The breaching charges are coming to us," said Gabriel.

We're starting to sound like a gang of thieves. Well, Jack looked over his heavy pulse rifle, that's close enough by this point.

"There's no guarantee they'll have all the charges we'll need," Ana pointed out. "They'll have enough to breach this building, maybe twice over if they're paranoid, but not nearly enough for what we're expecting to need."

"There's no armories in that building either," said Torbjörn.

Liao clapped their hands. Their voice came out in a deep, bombtastic baritone. "Ladies, Gentlemen, I have the solution to all your problems." They tapped one of their gadgets and the floor rumbled—split in two and opened up a hole. The screech of machinery echoed up and soon after a Hover Armored Personnel Carrier was lifted up. "Fully stocked with everything needed to conduct a floor-by-floor takeover of a hundred floor building."

"How the hell did you do this?" Gabriel spat out.

"I am a being of many talents."

"No, this is magic. This building doesn't have a sub basement or cargo elevator. This was installed after Overwatch was decommissioned and under Hawk's eyes."

"Isn't that the ATAV we took from Eagleheart?" Torbjörn asked. "You abandoned that thing!"

Obnoxious laughter erupted from Liao's speakers. "Does the 'why' matter? We have the means, now."

"I'll be the judge of that," said Jack. He climbed into the back of the ATAV. It was filled to regulation capacity with ammo, fuel and explosives. "Pulse Rounds are expensive, how did you afford enough to outfit a brigade?"

"How do you never run out of ammo in the first place?"

Defunct and off-the-grid Overwatch facilities. Plus a few old army contacts. "It isn't just my ammo. You've got shells for Gabriel in here."

"I don't need your pity," the man himself said.

"Do we need another case of the 'whys' when the 'can do' can be?"

The hell did that even mean? "No, he's right, we've got what we need to take Hawk down and the clock's ticking. Let's get this started. Pile in."

"It's my time to drive!" Liao loudly exclaimed.

"Oh no," Torbjörn put his foot down, "not after the last time you drove."

"I'm your pilot."

"So what!? I ain't goin' anywhere with you drivin'!"

Did everything have to be petty bickering?

"Oh, let me have a turn at the wheel!" Reinhardt put in. "I'll get us there in no time!"

"You couldn't even fit in the cab," Gabriel pointed out. "You'll barely fit in the back."

"Bah, and I take it you're volunteering? No one will agree to that. You might just drive us off a cliff."

Gabriel shrugged. "You'd prefer the cyclops brigade?"

"Jack drives," said Ana.

Like there was any doubt. "Saddle up people, we're going bird hunting."

"Aren't hawks on the endangered species list?" Reinhardt questioned.

Unbelieveable.

"There aren't any hawks in this corner of the world," said Liao, switching into a type of gentle teaching voice. "Well, not anymore."

Reinhardt solemnly nodded his head. "'Tis always the smallest ones who suffer."

"Hold yer horses a minutes," Torbjörn interjected. "There's one more important thing to get cleared up." He glared at Gabriel, and beneath that skull-white mask Gabriel stared back. "You said you never liked us," Torbjörn pointed at himself and Reinhardt.

It took a full, awkward minute before Gabriel answered, "...seriously?"

"Serious as I was when I proposed. I demand an apology or I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Aye, that's right," Reinhardt agreed.

"This isn't the time for bullshit nonsense like this."

"It's the perfect time!" Torbjörn steamed. "Is a little apology too hard for the big bad Reaper? Is keeping your stupid 'image' more important than taking down Hawk?"

"You're the one holding the situation hostage so don't you dare accuse me of being petty."

"An 'I'm sorry,' is a lot less words," said Torbjörn.

"We're waiting," Reinhardt said and crossed his arms.

Gabriel stared at Jack. "Are you gonna let them get away with this?"

Jack just shrugged. "Why wouldn't I? I think a small apology is in order."

Gabriel looked at Ana and Liao but there was no support there either.

"Fine," Gabriel said with all the enthusiasm of a child being dragged to the dentist's. "I am sorry. When I said 'I never liked you' I was lying to keep up my facade."

Torbjörn cracked a grin and nudged Reinhardt with his elbow. "I got him to apologize."

"There's another matter to discuss," said Ana.

"I'm not apologizing to him." Gabriel spat in Jack's direction.

"I wouldn't expect it, no." She sadly shook her head. "It's about that outfit of yours."

"You've see what I look like under this get-up and want more?"

"No, you're changing out of that black scheme and into proper Overwatch blue."

Gabriel glanced at Torbjörn, Reinhardt and Liao. "They're not wearing blue." Liao tapped a belt button and suddenly was. "That's still an even split." Liao tapped a different button and two crates dropped from the ceiling. A hole in the side of each showing Torbjörn and Reinhardt Overwatch colors. "Figures. Alright, let's do this, all six of us in proper kit." And two more crates fell down with Jack and Ana's gear.

"Suit up people!"

AN: This is being expanded to seven chapters to include a car chase sequence.

Thank you Favorites and Followers.