Chapter Text
The windswept desert of the American Southwest passed by in a blur outside of the window of the maglev train that slithered across the dust and dirt like a silver snake. Curled in the corner with her knees drawn up to her chest and tucked under her oversized white sweater, Angela rested her forehead against the sun-warmed window, watching as the small towns and saguaros speed by under the unrelenting light of the noonday sun, ignoring the two large, brightly colored books labeled “Trauma Surgery Board Review-18th edition” and “Nanosurgery 4e” on the table in front of her. She fidgeted with a ballpoint pen, before sticking it into her high ponytail. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to relax into the plush blue bench seat in spite of the excitement and nerves she felt.
“Headin’ up to Denver?” the man across the table from her drawled, setting the tablet he held on the the table, and leaning forwards, resting his elbows on the steel table between them.
“No, I will be getting off at Grand Mesa.” Angela said pleasantly, turning her attention from the window to the man across from her. He was an older man, probably in his fifties or so judging by the gray in his otherwise dark hair and beard and the deep lines running across his face. Probably a smoker, based on the gravelly nature of his voice and the slight smell of tobacco smoke permeating the air, not to mention his poor dentition.
“Well this is more than a bit out of your way? Why’d you decide to take the train? Figured by your accent...German?”
“Swiss.”
“Swiss. That you’d have to fly out here anyway, so why take the train instead of flyin’ the whole way in?”
“Flying, it makes me nervous. Besides, there is not much that you can truly see from the air. It is my first time in America, and I’ve heard the countryside is beautiful. I wanted to see as much of it as I could.”
“Well, let me welcome to the beautiful US of A then. Are ya on vacation?”
“Quite the opposite. I have been asked to join the Overwatch team stationed in Colorado.”
“Well, ain’t that something! A real Overwatch agent right here. What’s a pretty little thing like you doing joining up with Overwatch?” The man’s yellow grin put Angela on guard for a reason she could not name.
“I am joining their medical team.”
“Oh so you’re a nurse!”
“A doctor actually. I am going to join the research team there.”
“Don’t think I caught your name, doc.”
“Doctor….Ziegler.” she hesitated for a reason she couldn’t quite place. His grin grew wider and he settled back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. The tension and fear in her chest continued to rise, a feeling of danger she couldn’t quite justify.
“Pleasure to meet ya Doctor Ziegler. Joe Winterburg.”
“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Winterburg. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I should get back to studying.” She said, flipping open the book labeled “Trauma Surgery” in front of her to a random page. She reread a sentence about laparotomies four or five times as she tried to concentrate on the words as they swirled across the page, pointedly ignoring the man across the table.
“Travelling alone I take it?” He said, breaking the silence once again.
“No.” She lied, continuing to stare at a diagram she had memorized years ago, “No, my travelling companion is in another car. We couldn’t get seats together.”
“Well, that is a shame, innit?”
“I beg your pardon?” she looked up into his sharp green eyes, feeling fear and panic bubble up in her chest.
“That you couldn’t get seats together.”
“Right, yes, but if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to go check on him and see how he is doing.” Angela said, as she sat her book down and made to stand up.
“Ah ah, not so fast little missy.” Joe reached across the table and grabbed her wrist. She struggled a bit, but heard the unmistakable sound of an old-fashioned mechanical hammer being cocked.
“You know what that sound is, dontcha?” He said low and slow. Angela nodded, staring him in the eyes unblinking as she tamped down the fear rising in her chest.
“Now, slowly look around. See all the other people in this here train car? Well, I’d say one in every five is one of my boys. All of them are armed and have been shootin’ since they were old enough to hold a gun. Wouldn’t want to be making trouble knowing that all of these fine folks could get the bad end of it, would ya?” Angela slowly shook her head. She could feel her pulse increasing as her right hand began to grow numb. “Didn’t think so. Now, if you wouldn’t mind sittin’ yourself down while we wait for my men to finish what they came here for, I think we can both come out of this alright.” Angela sat down slowly, maintaining eye contact with him the whole way. He let go of her wrist and settled back into the seat, smirking the whole time.
“What do you want with me.” She whispered.
“S’pose you’ll find out soon enough, girlie. You’ve caught the attention of some mighty powerful folks. Now, go back to your little book there and do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it, capisce?” The train lurched and stuttered, swaying back and forth on the rail, causing some of the passengers to awaken from their naps and look up from their crossword puzzles. A computerized chime sounded from over the loudspeakers.
“Please remain calm!” a cheerful, robotic female voice declared, her voice filling the cabin “We are experiencing momentary technical difficulties! Please remain in your seats and await further instructions.” With this, the train began to slow on the tracks. A few of the passengers whispered to each other in hushed voices that Angela could not distinguish. Joe smirked from across the table and checked his watch.
“Well, how about that! Right on schedule.” He chuckled as the chimes sounded again.
“We are experiencing technical difficulties! Please await further instructions from your conductor! We thank you again for choosing US Maglev Rail for all your travelling needs!” The cheerful voice said again as the train came to a complete stop.
“That’s our cue, girlie. Stand up and walk out that door there.” He said, motioning to the back of the car with his empty right hand. She hesitated for a moment, and glanced at her bag.
“Not takin’ anything with us, girl. Can’t have you calling for help. Business, you understand.” When she glared back at him and didn’t move, he sighed and snapped his fingers. The sound of pistols cocking rang through the cabin, accompanied by gasps and shrieks from the other passengers. Angela’s eyes grew wide.
“It’s you or them, girlie, pick your poison.” He smirked. Quickly, Angela stood and stepped into the aisle. She immediately felt Joe behind her, one hand grasping her left upper arm, the other holding a pistol lodged solidly into the right side of her mid-back. “Now if you wouldn’t mind, let’s walk through that door there.” She reached out for the door handle, and as she stepped through, Joe turned back and nonchalantly called out, “No witnesses.” The sound of gunfire rang through the car, cut short by the door hissing closed.
“Scheisse! What have you done? They were innocent! You’ll pay for this!” she whispered with as much vitriol as she could muster as she struggled against his firm grasp. She felt the gun move from her back as, in one fluid motion, he whirled her around and slapped her hard across the cheek to the point where she saw stars.
“Darlin’ if you know what’s good for you, you’ll shut up real quick. I ain’t been caught yet and I don’t reckon I’m gonna start today. Now, move along. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, and I’m thinkin’ you’re not gonna like the hard way. Besides, we’ve got an appointment to make, and you’ve already made me late.” He faced her back forward and she felt his gun press against her back once again.
They marched through the next few cars, heading towards the back of the train in silence. All of the cars were dimly lit and stacked full of crates and boxes of cargo. Angela could feel her heart pounding in her chest, and she struggled to keep her hands still so the man behind her couldn’t see how badly she was shaking. She opened the door to the next car, which was full of men using cables to hoist boxes of something through a hole in the roof.
“Hey Joe! About time you showed up! We’ve got most of the gold loaded. Looks like we’re actually running on time for...who is this?” A young man, maybe the same age as Angela said, stopping as Joe and Angela walked into the light from the hole in the ceiling. He was thin, almost scrawny, with the beginnings of a dark beard on his cheeks. In spite of her situation, Angela noted that he was attractive, his wide brimmed cowboy hat reminding her of the cowboys in the old Western movies her father had adored. Angela noticed his brown eyes were wide in confusion and surprise, before narrowing in suspicion as he glared at the large man standing behind her.
“This right here is gonna make us a whole hell of a lot of money.” Joe laughed, pushing Angela forward so she tripped, landing hard on her stomach on the metal floor of the train car. A smattering of laughter rang out in the car. Angela stood up, straightened her once white sweater, now covered in black dust and grime from the floor of the train, and ignored the hole torn in the right knee of her leggings, the pain in that knee, and the feeling of blood from her knee running down her shin.
“Ain’t that what the gold is gonna do?” The young man said loudly, stomping behind her to yell directly at Joe, “Since when was this part of the plan, Joe? You know how the boss gets when we go off-script.”
“Your mission was the gold, mine was the girl. Looks like we both got what we came here for. Ashe is gonna be extra happy tonight. Might not even get mad at ya when I tell her how you were trying to muck up the mission, Jesse. Now, get the girl onto the ship, keep an eye on her, and for god’s sake keep her quiet. I’ll take over down here.” Angela felt the large presence step away from behind her, and a hand gently grab her elbow, but she stared straight ahead, refusing to look at the young man standing next to her.
“Uh, ma’am, if you’ll just follow me, I’ll get you onto the hovership.” The young man, Jesse, said quietly.
“It does not appear I have much of a choice.” She said, her voice wavering slightly.
“No, ma’am. Doesn’t seem like you do.” He said with an angry edge to his voice, guiding her to a ladder leading to the roof of the car. Angela sat down in the seat of the hovercraft with a huff. Jesse sat down next to her on her left, buckling his seatbelt and motioning for her to do the same. She stared at him defiantly.
“Heh, suit yourself, ma’am. Can’t guarantee it’ll be a smooth ride. Parker ain’t the smoothest flyin’ pilot, and I’d bet we’re gonna have some people that are pretty mad at us comin’ after us. I appreciate you’re a fighter, but this may be one ya don’t want to risk.” The cowboy said, laughing and kicking his legs out in front of him, crossing them at the ankles. Angela sighed, reached over, and fastened her seatbelt.
“That ain’t so hard is it?” One of the men loading the craft laughed as he slid a box against the opposite wall.
“Not gonna help us McCree?” One of the other men said, as he hoisted a box into the craft.
“You heard Joe. Told me to watch her, so that’s what I’m doing.” Jesse said, tipping his cowboy hat over his eyes and lighting up a cigar. The cabin was soon filled with a slight haze and the strong stench of cigar smoke. Angela could feel her eyes start to well up and her throat start to become irritated from the sting of the smoke. She held off for as long as she could, but after one particularly large puff she began to cough vigorously.
“Must you smoke that in here?” Angela said between coughing fits.
“Sorry ma’am, didn’t realize it would bother you.”
“Well, it does.”
“Alright then.” He said, putting the cigar out against the steel armrest.
“Thank you.” She replied, more than a little surprised that he had actually done as she asked. The two of them sat in silence for a few more moments as the rest of the crew continued to load the craft up with boxes.
“You’re hurt.” The cowboy said, motioning down to her knee. Angela shrugged in response, refusing to look at him. “Here,” he said, pulling a red bandanna out of his pocket and wetting it with a canteen strapped to his hip.
“Danke.” She glanced up at him, making brief eye contact, before taking the bandanna from him and using it to sponge some of the drying blood and grime off of her scuffed knee. She handed it back to him a few moments later with a nod, and he stuffed it into a pocket at his side. A few more minutes of silence passed between them before Joe climbed into the hovercraft.
“Welp, that’s the last of ‘em.” He said, sitting down to Angela’s right side, “And just in the nick of time too! Looks like we’ve got some company comin’ in hot. Parker? Get us out of here.”
“Right away, sir.” The pilot said, closing the loading door.
“Hang on tight, girlie.” Joe said with a yellow smile, “Things may be gettin’ a bit bumpy.” The hovercraft lurched and started as the engines began to whir more and more loudly. It sluggishly lifted into the air and began to pick up speed.
“We don’t got a lot of maneuverability with these crates, boss. Might be we’re sittin’ ducks.” the pilot yelled from the front of the craft.
“Well, then I suggest you get up to speed as quick as you can, and hope those modifications you made keep us ahead of them.” Joe yelled in return, “I sure as hell ain’t droppin’ any of the cargo. I’ll drop you first, ya hear me?”
“I hear ya, Joe.” A loud bang reverberated around the cabin as the craft lurched a bit to the left.
“God damn it!” Joe yelled as a second blast rocked the cabin, “If the rest of the boys don’t get their light craft in the air soon, I swear by all that is good and holy I will kill them myself if we get out of this. Parker! Status on the fighters!”
“They’re gettin’ into the air. Gonna start messin’ with those police craft soon.” Parker yelled back from the pilot’s chair as the cabin was rocked again by another blast. Angela tightened her grasp against the cold metal of the armrests, praying to anyone that was listening that she would get out of this alive and, hopefully, be rescued. Scheisse but she hated flying.
“Just get us out of here Parker. We’ve stayed around too long as it is. I knew runnin’ two missions at the same time was a bad idea.” Joe said under his breath, unbuckling his seatbelt and walking over to the wall of the hovercraft to push a button. The side bay door slid open, and a machine gun with a chair rose from the floor. Joe sat in the chair, strapped himself in and began to fire the machine gun behind them. The craft was rocked again, lurched, and sharply descended. Angela closed her eyes tightly, feeling as though her stomach rising into her throat. She felt something hit hard across her chest and stomach. She opened her eyes and looked over to the cowboy on her left. His eyes were closed and his right arm was firmly across her center, helping to hold her firmly in place. The plane evened out a bit, gaining some altitude, and Angela kept her eyes on the man next to her for a few moments longer.
“Sorry, ma’am. He said, opening his eyes and sheepishly drawing his right hand back towards himself, “Can’t say I’m a fan of flying.” Angela did not respond, instead turning her attention back to the man manning the machine gun.
“Lazy sons of bitches are finally doing their jobs, god damn.” Joe said, stopping the incessant firing, “With any luck they’ll do a good enough job holding them off that we’ll get back home.” Joe sat down again next to Angela. “Can’t you fly this thing any faster? I’m gonna die of old age first if we don’t get a move on.”
“Fast as she goes sir. Hard to get any speed goin’ with a thousand pounds of gold weighin’ her down.” Joe huffed at this and settled back against the seat.
“Then I guess we better hope our boys know what they’re doin’.” Joe grumbled, lighting a cigarette and filling the cabin with smoke.
“They know what they’re doing.” Jesse laughed “Gonna be smooth sailin’ home, trust me.”
The hum of the ship was the only sound that broke the silence in the cabin, as the whirring and blasting fire of the police ships and gang ships faded away. Angela looked out the still open side door and watched the sky as it turned purple, pink, and gold in the distance and tried not to cry.