Chapter Text
Energetic sounds emitted from the tablet in Sombra’s hands. For the past three hours, she sat on the roof of one of the old LumériCo buildings doing recon. Rumor had it there was some group trying to take up roots in Los Muertos territory. Sombra had the elegant task of keeping watch, to report back on what she found. She was bored out of her mind.
Sombra sighed as she got a new high score on the game she already forgot the name of. Of course, she cheated the entire time, but it was still better than staring at abandoned buildings all day. “Boss lady’s gonna kill me with this boring shit.” She put down her tablet and picked up the packet of pan dulce she was saving. It smelled so good when she opened it.
As she took bites from her delicious snack, Sombra casually picked up the pair of binoculars hanging off her neck to try and take her job more seriously. “And let’s see here…” Her words trailed off as she went to take another bite. “Broken window, check.” She uncrossed her legs, bringing them up to rest under her chin. “Cracked walls, check.” Before she could make a remark about the weird mold pattern growing on one of the buildings, she spit out her bite of bread, clutching her side at the searing pain.
“Maldita sea-” Sombra rolled out of the way before the next shot hit. Her tablet was at the tip of her fingers. Inching them along, she managed to grab it. With a quick input of a string of numbers, the screen turned purple for a moment before fading to black. She tossed the useless husk over the side of the roof like a frisbee.
“I swear if I die here…” It was getting hard for her to breath, beads of sweat rolled down her forehead as the pain in her side tore through her body. It was like someone stabbed her with a hot knife. Careful to stay hidden, Sombra dragged herself toward the door to the roof. She was in no condition to run, let alone walk.
Whoever her assailant was, they were playing games with her. By all rights, she should have been dead, but the bullets never quite hit their mark. Most of them scraped past her, a few of them landing right where she was going to be. Sombra wasn’t a fan of this game.
By the good graces of her attacker, Sombra finally reached the door, basically tumbling down the stairs in her effort to get to the first floor. She navigated through the dark building, tripping over steps in a pain filled haze. When she got to the last step on the first floor, she didn’t have the strength to go any further. If I die here, can’t say I won’t be pissed about it.
The creaky, metal side-door opened, slow footsteps echoed throughout the first floor as it shut behind them. Sombra sucked in a breath, clenching her teeth when the footsteps got closer.
“Look what we have here.” An amused and confident voice. Like they were about to win some sort of game.
Sombra saw spots in her vision, she could barely make out the woman who kneeled in front of her. “Gonna have to speak a little louder, can’t see you.”
“Oh? It looks like I shot a comedian.”
The unmistakable sound of a pistol being cocked rang through Sombra’s ears. She felt the cool metal tap against her arm as a booted foot started to press into her wound. It hurt like a motherfucker.
“I can stop whenever you feel like talking.” A small chuckled escaped from the woman. “Or if I get bored, I can always end your misery quickly.” She tapped the gun against Sombra’s arm to remind her of it.
There wasn’t even a question to answer yet. Was she supposed to start spitting out her bank account information? “You know…” Sombra huffed. Today really wasn’t her day. “You sound pretty hot.” She grinned when the boot pressed in tighter. The tidal wave of pain was worth it. “It’s not the worst way to die.” If she squinted, she could see a frown on the woman’s face.
“It sounds like you want to.”
Sombra shrugged her shoulders, sighing into the pain. “I’m not really looking forward to it, you know, since you brought it up. But something about dying to a beautiful woman makes it slightly better.” She watched through blurry eyes as the woman made a face at her words.
The woman lifted her boot off Sombra, taking a seat next to her on the last step. She put her gun away and leaned back on the stairs. “If you really want to die, I’ll keep you company.”
Somehow that was a comfort to hear. She was still going to bleed out, but at least she wouldn’t do it alone. “I bet you do this for all the cute girls.” Taking the lead from her attacker, Sombra slumped back onto the stairs, curling an arm behind her head for support.
“Mm, still telling jokes.”
“Well, you’re still not killing me, so I’ve got nothing else to do.”
The pain started to fade away. It didn’t sting as much and when Sombra blinked a few times, her vision cleared up. The faint glow from the body dye shone through the darkened room. Another reassurance She turned her head to the side, wanting to get a clear picture of the woman who was so kindly waiting for her to die. And she started to laugh because, from the dim light streaming through the tinted windows, her killer really was beautiful. What a way to go.
“My name is Sombra.” She gave talking a go. Nothing else to lose anyway. Her laughter devolved into a fitful cough as blood trickled out of her mouth. “Well, that’s not really my name, but it’s all you’re getting.”
“Sombra.” The name rolled off elegantly as the woman spoke quietly. She contemplated something, finally moving when she made up her mind. Her hand reached down to her thigh pouch, pulling out a roll of bandages.
Sombra watched through drooping eyes as her attacker went to work on unrolling a length of bandage. She squeezed her eyes in pain when the woman pulled her up into a sitting position, only being able to vaguely feel cool fingers working the bandage around the wound.
“Widowmaker. You can call me Widowmaker.” Widowmaker got to her feet and hoisted a surprised Sombra onto her back. “Today, you are very lucky.”
Weak arms managed to wrap around Widomaker’s neck. Sombra rested her sweat-slicked forehead on a cool shoulder, finding relief in the nice feeling. “That’s good.”
She let her shooter now turned savior carry her off to wherever. If she wasn’t going to die, she wouldn’t worry about whether she should trust this stranger with her life.
-
Unfamiliar ceilings weren’t anything new. Sombra was used to waking up somewhere different every morning when she took on a job. It was an expected inconvenience of working. So, when she woke up to yet another new ceiling, it didn’t faze her as much as the IV in her arm or the woman reading in a corner.
The room was oddly cozy. The more she looked around, the more she realized she must have been in Widowmaker’s bedroom. It was dim. The curtains were drawn closed to keep out most of the light.
Testing her range of movement, Sombra couldn’t feel the wound. A little exploration with her fingers told her that it was all stitched up. They must have given her some strong pain killers.
“Quit moving so much.”
A grin spread across Sombra’s face. “I was just checking to see if I was still alive. Could have sworn I was supposed to die.”
Pale fingers simply turned the page of the book in her hands. Widowmaker didn’t even look Sombra’s way.
Sombra crossed her arms, pouting at the fact she was being ignored. “Can I have some water?” She watched as Widowmaker didn’t look away from the book, instead, she pointed to the IV bag. “You’re not being serious are you?”
“Doctor’s orders.”
A quick look around revealed that they were the only people in the room. “I don’t see any doctors.”
“He had to leave.”
“What’s to stop me from getting some water myself?”
Widowmaker reached out for her bookmark, delicately saving her place in the novel she was reading. She finally looked over to Sombra, almost smiling at how deeply she was pouting. “If you can get up, I won’t stop you from getting water.” She crossed her legs, watching with delight as Sombra attempted just that.
“Fine, I’ll get some damn water myself.” First thing she did was pull out the IV, letting out a sigh of relief when she could move her arm freely. Fluid leaked to the ground as the line dangled above it. There wasn’t much left in the IV bag so she wasn’t worried about making a big mess. Next, she shucked off the blankets that were tucked tightly around her body. Her legs felt tingly but that wasn’t going to stop her.
Tentatively, Sombra pressed some weight onto a foot. Satisfied that her legs could handle it, she stood up. A self-satisfied smirk was plastered on her face. “So, where’s the water?” Her eyes followed where Widowmaker pointed. Unfortunately for her, as soon as she took one step, Sombra fell flat on her ass. All at once, she felt dizzy and had the urge to vomit as pain shot through her system. “I’m dying.”
Widowmaker sat in her chair for a bit, watching as Sombra struggled with keeping herself composed.
Sombra felt hands hook under her arms, hoisting her body back onto the bed. She could only watch helplessly as Widowmaker meticulously covered her with the blankets again, tucking them in tight. It was a peculiar sight to see the deadly woman taking care of her. Quite frankly, she was confused. She voiced as much when cold hands gently got to work with setting up a new IV.
“I don’t get it.” Sombra itched at the unpleasant feeling of medical tape sticking to her skin.
“You’ll have to be more specific.” Widowmaker grabbed a hand towel that was sitting on the bedside table and quickly wiped up the spilled fluids from the floor.
Frustrated fingers ran through her pink dyed mohawk. “This, all of it. One minute I’m supposed to die bleeding out next to you, who also happened to be the one to shoot me in the first place. And the next, you’re playing nurse and taking care of me.” After talking it out like that, everything clicked. “You want something.”
“A smart woman.”
Sombra shrugged the comment away. “So, what is it? Money? Blackmail?” She was hoping Widowmaker would choose the latter option, she liked blackmailing people.
“Revenge.”
“You seem capable of doing that yourself.” Sombra’s thoughts flickered to when she got shot on the rooftop. “Very capable.”
Widowmaker laughed. “If I could do it myself, I would have left you to die. If you are who you say you are, then you’ll be able to help me.” She smoothed out a crease in the blankets before walking back to her chair and opening her book to where she last left off. “But we can talk about that later.”
Sombra could tell it was a touchy issue. She huffed to herself, scratching away at the tape sticking to her skin until it was sufficiently relieved. She rubbed at her eyes and finally realized that her contacts were still in. She was supposed to change them last night, but she found herself preoccupied.
“Hey um…” Sombra saw the subtle twitch of an eyebrow, indicating that Widowmaker was listening. “Where’d you put my jacket? I kinda need it.”
“There are more blankets if you’re cold.”
“Just the sight of you is enough to keep me warm.” Sombra wore her signature smile when Widowmaker put down her book to give a sharp glare. “But besides that, I need to change my contacts. I was gonna do it last night but…you know.” Both hands pointed to the wound on her side. “Shit happens.”
It was a tense moment of Widowmaker staring at Sombra. The way the light reflected in her eyes made them seem golden. More intimidating. Widowmaker got up from her chair and walked towards the wardrobe in the room to pull out the jacket. She placed the jacket neatly in Sombra’s lap.
“Thanks.” It didn’t take long for her to find her contact case. Unfortunately, when she opened it, it was empty. She rubbed at the smooth skin on the side of her head in surprise. “I could have sworn I put new ones in here.” Shrugging her shoulders, she reached into another pocket to pull out plan B.
In Sombra’s hand was a sugar skull bedazzled glasses case. Sombra flipped it open and took hold of the rectangular, plastic frames. She got to work taking out the purple contacts, placing them back in the empty case. “Might wanna look away, I’m pretty irresistible when I’m wearing these.”
Widowmaker just crossed her arms, a reluctant crease in her brow telling the injured woman that she wasn’t buying it.
“Okay.” Sombra shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” As soon as she put on her glasses Widowmaker’s face didn’t change. So disheartening. “Nothing? Come on, I look cute.” Sombra looked away from the woman. She tried her best not to fidget under the blankets. In situations where she wasn’t 100% comfortable, she took to flirting and playing around to make herself feel more relaxed. Sombra wasn’t sure if she was a guest or being held captive, so her failed attempts at flirting were really starting to make her feel antsy.
“I think you’re the only one who thinks you’re cute.” Widowmaker smirked at the slack-jawed look on Sombra’s face.
“See, now I know you’re lying.” Sombra gestured her chin towards the smirk. “You got that look.”
Widowmaker rolled her eyes Sombra’s refusal to let the issue go. “Whether or not I think you’re cute doesn’t change anything.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“Oh? Please tell me what I’m not seeing.”
“It’s simple really.” Sombra adjusted her glasses, making sure that they didn’t sit crooked on her face. “If you think I’m cute, I’ve got a good chance at getting a date with you.” She was probably messing with fire but she didn’t really have much to lose.
“A date.” The bed shifted when Widowmaker sat down at the edge. She ran a finger along pink bangs, settling on the smooth plastic frames when she was done. “After all this, you want a date.”
A shrug. “Life’s too short. Might as well go for what I want when I can.”
“If that’s what you want, fine. But only if you help me.”
Now she’s trying to bribe me. Can’t say I’m not tempted. “I thought we were going to talk about that later.” Her cheeks started to form a blush when cool fingers went back to running through her hair. It felt good and was entirely unfair. She’s trying alright.
“We will. Just think of my proposal as something to consider.” Widowmaker smirked when Sombra pushed her hand away in favor of covering her face with the blankets.
“I’ll think about it.” Her voice sounded muffled from beneath the covers.
-
“Josefina’s had us looking all over for you.” Martín gave Sombra a slap on the back when she walked through one of the many warehouses Los Muertos ran.
“Ay, ay. No me toques.” It’s was only a week since Sombra was shot, she was still sore.
Martín lifted his hands in surrender, backing off a bit when he got a glare from the woman. “¿Qué pasó? You were gone for a while.”
“I got shot Martín. That’s what happened.”
“Damn, now I owe Silvia dinner.”
Sombra stopped in her tracks, clearly unhappy with his response. “You guys bet on what happened to me?”
“Well, not really. You got Josefina all worried so she sent me and Silvia to go look for you. I thought you were just chasing after girls again. Silvia got just as worried as Josefina when we couldn’t find you, so I made a bet to lighten things up.”
Her eyebrow ticked at the explanation. She didn’t let it get to her though, she had more important things to take care of. “Speaking of the boss lady, where is she?”
Martín pointed to the back of the warehouse. “She’s in her office worrying about you. You should probably go see her before she yells at me again for doing a half-ass job in finding you.”
“Did she only yell at you?”
“Well, yeah. Silvia’s still out looking for you.” His eyes widened in realization. “Shit, I should call her.”
Sombra sighed, walking away from the man holding his phone away from his ear as Silvia’s voice screamed at him from the other side.
When she got to the back office, first thing she noticed was that the lights were off. Does Martín ever know what he’s talking about? Shrugging her shoulders, she opened the door anyway.
The distinct glow of pink luminescent body paint was the only thing Sombra could see. Josefina sat hunched over her desk, hand resting on her forehead.
“Hey boss lady, long time no see.” Although her voice didn’t show it, Sombra shook like a leaf on the inside.
Josefina dropped the glowing hand from her face, slowly reaching behind to flick on the lights. Tears stained her face and red eyes scanned Sombra’s face. “Sombra.”
Shaking fingers readjusted the glasses on Sombra’s face. They were starting to slide down her nose in her nervous state. Sombra nearly flinched when Josefina got up from the chair. But all the tension melted away when she was pulled into a hug, wet kisses littering her face from the crying woman.
“You’re okay.” Josefina had an arm wrapped tightly around Sombra, her other hand burying itself in the woman’s pink hair.
The hug wasn’t exactly painless but Sombra didn’t want to ruin the moment. “Sí mamá, estoy bien.” She sucked in a breath when Josefina hugged her tighter.
Of course, Josefina heard that. There wasn’t much that could get past her. “No me digas esa mierda. Tell me what’s wrong.” She let go of Sombra, hands already looking for the injury. She knew she found the spot when Sombra recoiled from the touch to her abdomen.
“That fucking hurts.” She unconsciously slapped the hand away, breathing through her teeth in agony. Sombra didn’t even try to stop the other woman when she felt her shirt being lifted.
“You got shot.” Anger slowly overtook her features as Josefina let the shirt drop. “Just tell me the bastard’s name and he’s dead.”
“No mamá, you don’t need to do that.” Sombra took hold of Josefina’s hand, holding it tight between her own. “That bastard was actually a woman who changed her mind about killing me.”
“So what? She’s still dead.”
“No, no, no. You gotta listen mamá. She promised me a date if I help her with her revenge thing. I kinda said yes.”
Josefina closed her eyes and sighed. “What am I going to do with you?”
“You’re not mad?”
Another sigh. “Yes.” One more sigh. “No, this sounds exactly like something you’d do.” She grabbed her keys from off the desk and tugged Sombra along with her. “C’mon, let’s go home.”
Sombra laughed, following along after the woman. “Aren’t you working boss lady?”
“If Juan has a problem with me taking my girl home, he can kiss my ass. And besides, you saw, I wasn’t doing much.”
“Can we stop by the bakery on the way home?”
Josefina wrapped an arm around Sombra’s shoulders, already happy with the request. “Hungry already? That’s good. It means you’re doing well.”
-
“Tell me about this woman.”
They were back at Sombra’s small place. Sombra kept herself busy, munching away on her sandwich while Josefina took it upon herself to touch up on Sombra’s body paint. According to the older woman, she wasn’t glowy enough.
Sombra shivered as another brush of cool paint spread across the skin of her back. “She goes by Widowmaker. Wants to get back at this Maximilien guy because of something he did. She didn’t actually tell me what he did but she wants a bullet in his head very badly. Had those murder eyes while talking about him.” She took another bite of her sandwich, nearly moaning at how good it felt to finally eat something solid.
“And this woman, she was the one that shot you?”
“Mhm.”
“And you’re helping her because she basically promised you a date?” Putting the finishing touches on Sombra’s back, Josefina moved on to painting an arm.
“Mhm.”
“What exactly does she want you to do?”
“She wants me to join some group she’s part of, do some infiltration shit. Said it’d be easier that way.”
“And when were you going to mention this to me?”
Sombra smiled. “Right now?”
“Yeah, I can see that.” She motioned for Sombra to turn around so she could start painting the front of her legs.
“Now don’t get mad about what I’m about to say next.”
“Why do I get the feeling that I won’t like it?”
“Well, because you won’t.”
Josefina sighed, putting down the green luminescent paint. “Just tell me.”
The last bit of sandwich made it into Sombra’s mouth. She chewed in contemplation as she tried to work out just what to say. She settled on just spitting it out. There was no use in trying to sugar coat it. “She’s part of Talon.”
If the paint was still in her hands, it would already be splattered across the wall. Josefina grit her teeth, trying her best not to scream. “She wants you to join a fucking terrorist organization?” Her hands were shaking. “They’re not some petty little gang.”
“I know.”
“There are a thousand different ways you can get killed.”
Sombra shrugged. “I was already supposed to be dead.”
“Don’t say shit like that.”
“Look, I already said I’d help her. I don’t want to break a promise.”
Josefina deflated at the words. “You’re hopeless, you know that?”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.”
“All this for one date too.”
“She thinks I’m cute.”
Josefina laughed. “Who wouldn’t think you’re cute with those glasses of yours?”
“I know! I’m a looker with these on.”
They settled in a comfortable silence after Sombra broke the tension. Josefina went back to painting, grinning when Sombra complained she was cold.
After what seemed like a lifetime, Josefina finally spoke again. “Just be careful. You can always call me if you need help.”
“Sí mamá, I will.”
-
“So, if I help you, what exactly do I have to do?”
“You’re going to help me kill someone.”
“Oh, so something easy.”
“Not quite.”
“You need help finding the guy?”
Widowmaker had nodded. “I know that he’s going to be here for a while but since he doesn’t like to be in the open much, he stays hidden. I usually get assignments from him through some contact of his. It’s never direct.”
From what she was hearing, it didn’t seem too hard. “Why do I get the feeling that there’s more?”
“His name is Maximilien, and that’s all I know about him.”
“So, I gotta figure out all this stuff with just a first name?” A bit of a challenge.
“And there’s something else.”
“What’s that?”
“I need you to join the organization I work for.”
Sombra didn’t need a job. “Why the hell for?”
“He’s one of the leaders and the most secretive. I’ve never been able to get him on my own means.”
That made a little more sense. “Wait, wait, wait. Just what is this group of yours?”
Widowmaker bit her lip, the word coming out like venom. “Talon.”
“Oh, I got it. You want me to casually join a terrorist organization and kill one of their leaders.”
“Yes.”
“And if I manage to pull off all that shit, I’ll get to go on a date with you?”
“Yes.”
Sombra had nearly laughed at the absurdity of it all. “That’s a lot you’re asking of me.”
“Is there anything else you’d want?”
“Tell you what, admit that you think the glasses look is cute and I’ll do it.”
Before, it was just a matter of denying Sombra the self-satisfaction of being right. Because Widowmaker couldn’t truthfully say she didn’t find the glasses on Sombra cute. At least, that was what Sombra chose to believe. “Yes, yes. The glasses look cute on you.”
Sombra picked up the spoon from the bowl that was sat in front of her for the longest time. It was about time she started eating her soup. “Alright, let’s do it. I got one more question for you though.”
“What is it?”
“What were you doing at the old LumériCo buildings anyway?”
“I was assigned to take out some Los Muertos nuisances.”
“Well, I don’t think I’m a nuisance. In fact, I think you’re gonna find out just how great I am.”
The conversation Sombra had with Widowmaker kept coming back to the forefront of her thoughts, even after being in bed for nearly an hour. Sombra hugged her teddy bear closer, blurry eyes focusing on the glow emanating from her arms. It was a couple of hours since Josefina left. Everything from the past week flashed in her mind as she tried to sleep. It all seemed so crazy, like a made-up dream.
“Going through with this isn’t the worst idea, is it?”
The bear in her arms didn’t talk back, but the comfort it gave Sombra was enough reassurance for now.