Talon wasn't all bad. Amelie had learned that through time. Or rather Widowmaker had.
Since the incident at Dorado with Lena and learning her identity things had gotten a lot better for her. And better meant she was staying alive and pulling her weight at the terrorist organization. She had been sniping major figures of all varieties. Political, celebrity and everyone else who was on Talon's chopping block.
It had been hard climbing the ranks. At first most people just thought she was another rookie who they could pick on. All those who picked on her were now either in intensive care or were rotting somewhere no one would be able to find them. If she now had to say how she was set in terms of ranking she was below Reaper but above Sombra. It was a nice position to be in. One thing was for certain. They were all below the head of Talon. Amelie had always been under the assumption that Gabe was the highest but apparently even he had to answer to someone.
Surprisingly Talon did have a couple of perks being with them. The best doctors on the earth were at their disposal which came with full medical cover, a therapist for counselling and even the occasional holiday. Christmas was always the day she picked. The snow was just good for her. It felt almost cleansing.
It was almost the same as Overwatch only with a very different agenda in mind.
When Amelie was having a minor mental crisis she found that she would as discreetly as possible go to the therapist. She had a lot of things she needed to talk about and not much time to do it. Unluckily for her since she was meant to be a cold blooded assassin her time for counselling sessions was cut to an hour every three months. It was hardly enough but it did allow her to get everything out. Just a few couple of steps at a time.
Everything from Lena to her relationship with Reaper and Sombra.
Sombra was an especially difficult issue for her. It had been a while since she had killed Satya but she could still feel the burning hatred coursing through those violet eyes. Anytime Amelie went into a room to hand in a report there was always the background noise of Tapping. .Tap. Sombra's fingers clicking more aggressively when she came into the room. They never brought it up and they worked professionally together but their illusion of normality was cracking every day.
Reaper was decent enough. They had mild conversations which weren't really anything. She did come close to something however when she told him that Jack was going to be on a mission that she would be trying to kill him. Gabe was possessive for a moment but he then let it go saying how she was doing god's work and that it should have happened a hell of a long time ago.
She knew that he still loved him and also that he was being a grumpy old man about it. He could talk about killing him all he wanted but it didn't change the fact that there was still a spark which just needed a little bit of fuel to get going again. She wasn't going to be the one to set them up though.
"So, what is the mission today?" Widowmaker asked as she stood at attention. She didn't have to do this but it had already been programmed into her brain so she might as well do it. Gabe had to take a moment to read the file for himself but he did eventually see what the objective was. He didn't know what the higher ups were planning but it seemed to have multiple parts which meant it was likely going to be a big project.
"Mission to steal a part. It's for the higher ups so we cannot mess this up."
"I understand. I only do perfection." She said with a slight arrogance in her tone. This was one part of her that kept her close to the former person she was. Amelie used to like making remarks like that with Lena. It kept her grounded and stopped her from becoming the full Widowmaker. Becoming that was a thought that scared her deeply.
While she was thinking about this Gabe had scanned his eyes over the file and a line highlighted in red attracted his attention to one specific line of detail which could have complicated things. Gabe took a deep, raspy breath. "Lena's going to be on this mission."
Happiness. It cut across Amelie's heart but only for a fraction of a second. Widowmaker then had to dig down deep to try and not show any emotions. If she did she would be kept behind and given more mind altering drugs that would push her even further from the reality that she once knew and lived with. She knew she could trust Gabe enough not to tell on her but she still wouldn't risk it. Not now.
"That's fine." She said it as nonchalantly as she could. There was no trace of emotion and anyone who didn't know her would have said she meant it. Gabe, however, knew Amelie and knew what was going on in reality in her head.
"Amelie… Are you going to be okay?" Gabe knew this room. He knew it was clean and sound proofed so no one would be able to hear them.
"Dammit Gabriel I will be fine." She said slamming the ammunition down onto the table and getting up to leave. She panicked for a moment but when Gabe seemed ok she was able to calm herself down. Not that she felt that much panic. Her skin was blue for a reason and her heart never beat.
"Wait!" Gabe said grabbing her arm and pulling it back. She tugged it away but then he seemed to move his hands again, only he seemed to be taking of his mask. When the mask came off either she was going to get a lecture or he was going to have a heart to heart.
"I know how difficult it is. Seeing a loved one on a mission." Gabe knew from experience that it was difficult to process your emotions while also trying to do a highly volatile mission. It was tricky to balance the two but he would bet that she would deal with it better than he ever could. Though you couldn't see his face half of his many eyes were on the verge of tears while the other half were brimming with vengeance. She could already tell that one day it was just going to explode and it would probably be at the worst of times.
Amelie sighed and sat back down. She supposed he would know exactly how she felt. Alone and so close to being with the one they loved but not being able to reach out and hold them. They both made their choices and now they had to live with them. It reminded her of the old saying about making your bed and lying in it.
She got a look at his face. It was pretty much a mess. There was no beating around the bush with it. It was like a smoky mess with a mash up of dead looking eyes. Amelie never asked Angela what she did but she could guess that it was something really horrific.
"Pass me the bottle." He said pointing towards a small back bag just underneath the table. She had to search around for a moment but she eventually got it. She looked at what he was apparently on and she couldn't even being to pronounce the name of it.
"Still have the chronic pain?" She would have thought that since it was the year 2076 they would have made some medical advancements so that Gabe wouldn't have to be dealing with this thing. Then again she supposed they still hadn't developed a way to shut down all the omnics during the crisis when it seemed at its most desperate. The future still had a hell of a long way to go in terms of developments but Amelie had a feeling that they would get there eventually.
Reaper could have laughed. He got asked that question so bloody often that the answer was almost ingrained onto his mind. "Every second of every day." He took the pills dry and seemed to cough for a moment before he put the mask back on. When Gabe had been forced to take medication Jack was always there with a half glass of water with a drop running down the side because the sink would spurt out the water and make it go everywhere. Gabe could remember every last detail. He had never taken pills with water since.
"Angela's next on my list." He said as he pulled a gun out ad shot it towards a practice dummy that Talon had installed for this exact purpose. Amelie was immune to the sound of guns being fired so it didn't faze her that much if she was being honest. If anything she was annoyed it would probably draw attention to where they were.
"Of course Gabriel." She said as she took the gun away from him and put it on the ground. She would get someone to deal with it later but for now they would try to avoid any more damage to the building. This was not going to be blamed on her.
While Reaper downed his medication she picked up the pieces of debris and placed them into the nearest bin. She guessed even with all the training they still couldn't take away her urge to clean up any mess. Lena was always making messes but Amelie was more than happy to help Lena clean it up because it meant that they could spend more time together.
And speaking of relationships it had just occurred to her that on the mission there could be a purple haired hacker who could make things significantly awkward. "Is…she coming with us." She asked not exactly intending to sound bitchy but accidently coming off that way. Her life was becoming some ridiculous high school drama which she couldn't not escape.
Amelie did not regret becoming Widowmaker. In fact she took a strange pride in it. This was her work and people gave her praise for it. She no longer had mercy on those who would ask for it giving them only a cracked neck in return. Every sound of people begging or bullets flying left her feeling nothing. While it didn't bother her she knew what Lena would say and that was the most crushing weight. Lena never left her mind despite her telling her handlers that.
"She's staying here." He said with certainty. She hadn't been able to kill Katya Volskaya and was currently grounded until she had proved herself more useful. She was now restricted to hacking only. No field work except for computer shopping.
"Thank the lord." Amelie was relieved as all hell when she learned the good news. No more awkward silence or angered glares for her today. She may have been a cold blooded killer but she still had the feeling of the emotion of awkwardness. There was no remorse in her actions. No one else had decided Satya's fate. She had done that all on her own.
She doubted she could ever see Ana or Pharah again. She would be okay with that too. She did it all for Lena. She could picture her conversation with Ana now "Sorry I took your eye and shot your daughter out of the bloody sky." She shook her head to get her out of it. She could get distracted by petty things like this all the time. It was more frequent then it had been. She tried to ignore it but it just kept on getting worse and worse.
Reaper looked towards the clock on the wall and saw that it was twelve on the dot. "High noon" He thought to himself. He laughed at his memories of the young cowboy. How ridiculous he was but also how happy he made Gabe. Being a father figure that he always wanted to be. True he was a stubborn asshole at times but that was a given seeing as he was brought up in Deadlock.
Gabe wished he could even just talk with him again. He didn't think that Jesse would take too kindly to him being alive but then again it would have been better to see him again. He was the only real son that he had. Jack never gave him the chance to have a real one. He was trying not to be bitter anymore. While he thought that the final confrontation would have helped him in some respects it only made him worse. He kept on thinking about how he was an asshole and probably in the wrong. It was getting too much but he simply didn't have the time to deal with it. He could sort it out later but for now he had to focus on the task at hand.
"We should get going now." Reaper said as he got up and kicked the gun away. He didn't want to look at it right now. Amelie nodded in agreement. The sooner that she could get out of here then the sooner she could get back and just rest or train or do anything to take her mind of things.
They both left without a word to each other. They knew that today was going to be a hell of a day and they would need to support each other. Both as in figuratively and literally. She would be up top taking out the enemy guards while also telling him how he could face Jack and Lena.