Chapter 1: The Handoff

New Mexico.

A tumbleweed casually rolled down the sunbaked highway 66 on the dusty breeze, rolling on like it didn't have a care in the world. The blue sky faded to orange as dusk approached, bringing another cool desert night to New Mexico. The sun hung over the ridge on the horizon, casting long shadows behind the cacti. Cole Cassidy shielded his flame from the breeze as he lit a cigar and leaned back against his speeder bike.

He let out a puff from the glowing tobacco and stared out across the baren ground before slowly pulling out the crumpled piece of paper from his back pocket. He'd received this letter right before he'd ridden out here, and now that Echo was back and Ashe and her ragtag gang were dealt with for the moment, he finally had a chance to get down to business. He unfolded the paper and read the short note, "Charmer. Time to talk," followed by a list of coordinates on the other side of the globe. He put the note down. He'd read it before but hadn't had much time to consider it until now. Maybe he should have been surprised about who he knew had sent the note, but somehow, he wasn't.

The job's done, but now you're acting like you've got something to think about, something to get back to, he thought. When you could ride off into that sunset. He knew something was coming with all that was happening in the world. Something big. Are you the kind of man who turns tail when the thunder rolls? "No sir," he mumbled under his breath, adjusting his wide brimmed hat. Maybe I will go back, do what I did before. But he had to settle this first. The world was going straight to hell, and now this note. He'd get that sunset, but not today.

He straightened up and returned the note to his pocket as he hoisted his leg over the bike. He turned the ignition and the motor hummed to life, rumbling through the steel cylinders as the anti-grav system kicked into gear. With a flourish, Cassidy swung the rear around and twisted the throttle to leap back onto Route 66. The old-fashioned cowboy and steed sped away with a cloud of dust trailing behind, their backs facing the sinking sun.

Cairo, Egypt.

Cassidy pulled his cloak snuggly around his face before exiting the hotel and entering the warm, Arabian night in Cairo. The backstreets of the city were alive as vendors haggled with customers and loudly announced their wares, pulling in unsuspecting tourists to swindle their wallets. The smell of spices wove through the air and mingled with the steam from sizzling meats and hot curries. Cassidy wove through the maze of streets and alleys, careful not to draw unwanted attention to himself and constantly on the lookout for suspicious followers. He finally came to a door half covered with a long red drape and slid into the low-lit room it shielded, his hand on his six-shooter pistol snug in its holster. He spied his contact sitting at a round table in the corner of the room, in the shadows where the light did not reach their hooded face.

"Though you were dead and gone," said Cassidy as he walked over. "Guess I was wrong."

The contact lifted their face to reveal the visage of an elderly Middle Eastern woman. A lock of white bangs covered a leather eye patch, and her other eye had a small tattoo underneath it, framing a deep-set brown eye. She wore a khaki overcoat and black gloves, and although she was clearly a war veteran, her countenance was friendly. Despite some added wrinkles, she was exactly as he remembered.

"When did you realize it was me?" she asked with a smile.

"Soon as I found it. Ana Amari, one of the few people in this world who could draw a bead on me," he chuckled as he pulled up a chair and took off his hat, grasping the drink the omnic waiter handed him.

"After all these years, I know how you think," said Ana as she raised her mug in cheers with Cassidy. "It's nice to see you. It's been far too long, Jesse."

"Yeah, you too," he said, smiling, "and it's Cole now. Cole Cassidy." Ana's only reaction to his apparent change of name from Jesse McCree, the name he'd had people call him since before joining up with Ashe's gang, was to sip her tea.

"I was wondering if you'd ever use your name," she said. Cassidy raised an eyebrow.

"You knew?"
"Come on, Cole. Did you think I really wouldn't know?"

"Reckon not," he said with a chuckle. "I guess I figured if things are gonna start over, I might as well start 'em right." Ana nodded.

"Well, old habits are hard to break you know. Changing a name won't fix the past, but it's a step in the right direction." Cassidy felt she was no longer talking about him, but the larger picture. "There's time for all that later though. Talk to me," she said, folding her hands and smiling. So they talked, long into the night. Cassidy thought things had changed so much, that he had changed so much after all those cold years after Overwatch fell apart and he ran around as a mercenary, dodging the law, and bullets. Sitting at that table though, it all felt like a dream to him, something distant now that he was back with family, like it was the most natural thing in the world. And hell, maybe it was. Maybe this was how things ought to be. And just as he was thinking about old times-

"The recall to Overwatch. You're going back, aren't you?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. What about you?" Cassidy asked after a pause as he struck a match and lit his cigar. Ana leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms with a sigh.

"Since the recall, Talon has put an alarming number of agents in the field, hunting former Overwatch operatives. There's word that the old Watchpoint Gibraltar facility was breached and agents' information was stolen… Whatever Talon is up to, they don't want Overwatch coming back," Ana said with a downcast face. Jesse looked up.

"All the more reason to return," he said firmly.

Ana was silent before saying, "You're not the only one from the old crew I've seen recently." Cassidy raised an eyebrow. "Memories… Perhaps it's best they stay buried. It's time for my generation to move on." She cradled her mug, staring into the now cold tea.

"Overwatch will need leaders. People like you to get back into the fray," he said, gesturing his hand toward her. Ana continued staring forward.

"Is that really what you want? To repeat the past?" she asked.

Cassidy didn't reply as the waiter came by and took Ana's drink. She folded her hands to her lips and cast her gaze to the side.

"And you? You sound like you haven't quite made up your mind," she said finally. "I know the road you've taken, the Deadlock gang, the days with Blackwatch, taking orders, right or wrong… You said you're doing mercenary work now…" Ana left off her thought. Cassidy tilted his head and met her look.

"We could've caught up like this online. Why did you want me here?" he wondered aloud.

"I wanted to see you again, in person. Perhaps one last time. And there's something else, but not here. We have visitors," she said seriously.

The pair rose from their seats and Cassidy returned his hat to his head while Ana removed her rifle from its leather case. Cassidy stood next to the door and unclipped a flashbang from his belt, then gave it a firm toss outside into the courtyard. It bounced off the ground a moment before exploding into a blaze of light, causing cries of surprise and anger as Cassidy sprang into the open and fired his pistol. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! And six talon agents with their red masks and white armor fell to the ground without firing a shot. Ana simultaneously shot a sleep dart at the sniper stationed atop the far building and hit her mark.

"You know, I still remember the day Reyes brought you in," she said as the sniper fell. "You stayed cool under fire, had great instincts, talent." She swung her rifle up and took a second to aim before firing and downing another enemy. "But also charm, adaptability, and potential."

Cassidy spun around. "Seven o'clock. I've got him," he said as he shot at an incoming Talon agent.

"Your six," said Ana, and fired another sleep dart to fell an agent who had darted from cover and had aimed his weapon and Cassidy. "Despite your acts, I could tell you felt trapped by the life you'd been living," she said as the agent collapsed to the ground.

"You know this market. Which was are we going here?" Cassidy said with a grin, his heart racing from the adrenaline spike.

"This way," she said, and proceeded to run through a nearby archway with him in wake.

He shielded his face and kept running as an explosion went off behind them and showered them with rubble.

"But joining Blackwatch, you went from one desperate situation to another," Ana yelled over the crack of Cassidy's pistol as he covered their rear. "Come on!" she said, continuing to run through the marketplace and a maze of colorful hanging rugs. "When Blackwatch went wrong, it started coming down around you, all over again, and now-"

"Ana, this isn't the time," he said as they ran, amazed that she could continue her conversation in such a perilous situation. "How much farther?" he said as automatic fire tore through the market stand right above their heads. Ana didn't reply as she leapt over a crate. They suddenly ran into an open space and were surrounded by a squad of Talon agents. "Stay close," he said keeping his hand on his pistol.

"Just past that opening there, in the spice shop. Get through that line and we're home free," Ana said in a low voice as the dust settled and both parties stood in a standoff with their weapons raised.

Ana and Cassidy stood back-to-back, and, as if reading each other's minds, opened fire at the same moment, blazing down the agents as bullets whizzed past their heads. A few seconds later they were left standing among the bodies of the soldiers, scanning the rooftops and alleyways for additional agents. Seeing none, they carefully picked their way through the dead to enter the spice shop.

"I can see what you meant about Talon," Cassidy commented as he stepped over an agent. He stopped in the door of the shop, eyeing a Talon soldier draped over a table, a sleep dart embedded in their neck between sheets of armor. "Wait, you just knocked these guys out? Never knew you to leave an enemy alive," he commented warily.

"A lot can change over the years. I've done enough killing. More than enough," she said as she walked past him. "You can change too. You could use this opportunity to do some good, assemble a team of your own, on your own terms." Cassidy didn't reply as he rolled the idea over in his mind, something he had never considered before. Ana kneeled on the floor behind the counter and opened a hatch in the floorboards. "This way. Quicky," she said as she lowered herself down to the stairs.

As he followed her into the basement, he was silent. He was thinking of the old days, when good people like her would look out for him, show him how to survive. But those old days went sour, he thought. But what if things could be different? Maybe he could find a couple of new folks, do for them what she did for him. If it's one thing you do know, it's how to put a gang together. The two entered a room neatly stocked with shop supplies, mostly rugs and neat stacks of clothes. Ana greeted a middle-aged man, presumably the shop owner, and he pulled aside a hanging sheet concealing a door. Ana thanked him and Cassidy gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement. The man's wife sat on the floor in the corner, peacefully weaving baskets, but she did not say anything as she watched them. They went through the door and entered a dark, cold room made of bricks. One side of the wall was pulled apart, and the blue glow of screens shone within.

"Where are you taking me?" Cassidy asked as he followed Ana.

"Here," she said, walking through the opening.

They entered a large room, sparsely furnished with some shelves and a low table in the middle, but mainly dominated by monitors on the walls. The door that seemed crude on the outside was actually a sliding door that concealed the room.

"My hideout. I had another out in the desert, but it was compromised. This is a backup. One of several, to be honest," she said, leaning her rifle against the wall.
"Ha!" exclaimed Cassidy, impressed but not surprised. He approached some hanging monitors and examined the idle information displayed on them. "You weren't kidding about Talon. This is all part of some big picture, isn't it?" he mused, stroking his beard.

"I don't doubt it. But it's difficult to tell what exactly. Chaos breeds chaos. Whether there's a guiding hand behind all the trouble or just opportunists sensing a rising storm…" she trailed off. "Here," she said, pulling out a USB drive. "I have files for you. Details, data – about the global threats I've been monitoring and more. All this danger, all this adversity. It's threatening to swallow up a lot of people. But do you know what else it does?" she asked, raising her leg onto a raised part of the floor, and holding the drive out to Cassidy. "It forges heroes. There are exceptional people out there, fighting hard. But they are disorganized, each in their own corner of the globe, capable of more than they know." The monitors behind her glowed with images of said heroes in midst of battle, fighting for a better world in the only way they knew how. "You can show them how to fight a winning battle together. I called you here because someone has to lead them, to show them how to save this world, to make it better. I believe that someone is you."

"If I do this, I'm leaving behind what Overwatch was, who I was…," Cassidy said with lowered eyes.

"Good. Take it from an old soldier. Learn from the past, but leave it there," she said softly. She reached out her hand, and he accepted her drive, her gift to him, the foundation of a new era.

"Thank you," he replied, meeting her gaze, and seeing the face of someone who had sacrificed their whole life for others. Deep inside, he desired to do the same, but he had always been led by selfish motives. But now his time had come to live for something larger than himself, to become a mentor to others as he had been mentored.

He later stood outside the back of the shop, staring into the market. It was so late now that only a few people milled around, mostly shop owners and employees, or local residents. Finally, he started to walk forward, his face uncovered this time. Maybe Overwatch was going to need new blood to do this right, people who needed to be brought in. Maybe it is time to put a new crew together, he thought. And maybe, you are the one for the job.