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Cole shifted uncomfortably, tugging at the fabric of his dress shirt. He hated suits. He hated socialites. He hated galas.
Unfortunately, he was being subjected to all of those things at once. It was awful.
Beside him, Sombra was smiling and taking slow, small sips from her fancy champagne glass. Cole couldn’t help but wish he had her skills at going undercover so seamlessly. No one would look at her and think she didn’t belong, not like they would with him. Undercover missions were not his specialty, which wasn’t exactly a secret.
The only reason he’d been sent to this gala was because Sombra could be a bit… hard to work with for most people.
“Sombra and Cassidy, what’s your status?” Soldier: 76 asked for what felt like the hundredth time that night, his voice tinny through the comm in Cole’s ear.
“Good, but we would be better if you stopped asking every five minutes,” Sombra replied in a whisper, taking another sip of champagne with a smirk. Cole chuckled. Soldier: 76 growled, unhappy at both Sombra’s snark and at the fact that he was forced to take a passive role on this mission, guiding them from base.
It was no secret that most members of Overwatch didn’t exactly trust Sombra. Morrison was especially sceptical of her loyalties, and it showed by his constant questions about their status, despite it being a simple undercover mission.
Cole knew that Soldier meant well, that he was trying to look out for the safety of his teammates, but it still annoyed him to no end. If Sombra wanted to betray them, she would have done it ages ago.
“You remember the signal?” Soldier asked, distinctly annoyed.
“The lights flickering twice,” Sombra said, rolling her violet eyes.
“Well, if anything changes--”
“You’ll be the first to know,” Cole cut in, tone slightly clipped. “Ya gotta trust us, Boss. We’ve got this.”
Soldier: 76 grumbled something under his breath, but didn’t fully object, so Cole counted it as a win.
Cole and Sombra managed to go a few more minutes without interruption, and Cole, for all his hatred of galas, actually found himself almost having fun. Sombra was enjoying dragging him around the room, demanding he tried different appetisers and laughing when he made faces at the terrible taste. And, well, anytime Sombra was laughing was a good time in Cole’s opinion.
They even danced a little bit, despite Cole only knowing the basic steps of a waltz. Sombra seemed content to take the lead, though, and she was good at guiding him.
Then, the lights above them flickered twice. Cole felt himself relax slightly. It was time for the mission to begin, which was something he could actually handle.
“What’s the plan, Soldier?” Sombra asked, casually guiding Cole away from the crowd and towards the back hallways.
Cole had almost forgotten that Jack was there, hiding in the van in the parking lot and keeping an eye on them with the security cameras.
“Take the first door on your left, then the third door on your right,” Soldier: 76 said. “I’ll warn you if you have company.”
They followed the instructions, arriving at a room that looked like a small library. Cole had seen enough movies to know that there was definitely a secret passageway hidden among the books.
He was proven right a few seconds later when Soldier instructed them to remove a few books from a bookshelf to reveal a hidden keypad. Sombra easily hacked into it, making it grant them access.
A section of the wall moved, sliding backwards and revealing a dark, narrow hallway. Sombra snorted. “Cliche much?” She asked, making her way into the passage. Cole followed close behind.
“There are no cameras there. Be careful; I can’t guide you,” Soldier: 76 warned them.
“Don’t worry, Veijo . We can handle ourselves,” Sombra replied, and Cole could practically hear the way she rolled her eyes.
They walked for a few more minutes before they arrived at a room filled with computers, and Sombra groaned. “Ugh. Can they not just have one big monitor? I have to hack each of these individually,” she complained, pouting.
Cole chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll have it done in no time. You are the best hacker in the world, after all.”
Sombra sent him a look. “Flattery will get you nowhere,” she informed him, but there was mirth in her voice.
“You love it when people flatter you,” Cole objected, leaning against the doorway and watching as she got to work.
“Shut up,” Somba said, hiding her smile with a fake scowl. “I’m working.”
Cole chuckled, but let it rest. They did need to get this mission done, after all, and there would be plenty of time for banter afterwards. Especially on the drive back. They loved annoying Soldier: 76 with exaggerated flirting whenever he was around.
Sombra worked quickly, finishing her work in just a few minutes. “That was quick,” Cole remarked, impressed.
“With security systems as primitive as these? Of course it was quick. A toddler could have done this.” Cole wasn’t quite sure that was true. Winston had warned him before they went in that the security was impressive. He was pretty sure that Sombra was just unfairly skilled.
He leaned down to press a kiss to her hair. “That was some mighty fine hackin’ nonetheless.”
Sombra grinned. “Why, thank you. I’m glad someone is finally recognising my genius.” She took his hand and began to guide him back the way they came.
They had just made it back to the library and managed to reconceal the passageway when Soldier: 76’s voice crackled over the comms. “Three guards are approaching you.” He sounded alarmed, and Cole couldn’t blame him. The only exit in the room was the entrance, and if guards were outside that, there was no escape for them.
Cole’s hand found his gun, which was hidden in his suit jacket, but Sombra grabbed his arm. “This is a stealth mission, remember? You’ll ruin it if you start shooting,” she warned.
“There ain’t many other options,” Cole replied, eyes scanning the room, assessing the minimal cover and lack of exits.
“They’re almost to you!” Soldier: 76 warned.
“There is one other option, actually,” Sombra said, smiling mischievously. Cole paused. “Kiss me.”
“What?” Both he and Soldier: 76 said in sync.
Sombra didn’t explain further, instead grabbing his tie and yanking him down to connect their lips. Cole let out a surprised noise. He felt her hand run through his hair, gripping the strands between her fingers.
The door opened. Sombra and Cole pulled away from each other, and Sombra let out a shrill giggle. “Looks like we’ve been caught,” she said through her laughter.
Cole’s brows furrowed as he looked behind him, seeing the guards stand by the entrance. They had been caught. Why wasn’t Sombra more worried?
Better question: what had possessed her to kiss him instead of preparing for a fight?
“You two shouldn’t be in here,” one of them said, but his tone was more exasperated than hostile.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, sir! Me and my husband just wanted to get somewhere more... private,” Sombra replied, batting her eyelashes with another couple of giggles escaping her..
Understanding dawned on Cole. He pressed his lips together to hide his smile.
Sombra was really brilliant.
“Just… get back to the party. And stay there this time,” the guard said, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration.
“Of course! Really, I’m so, so sorry!” Sombra tone was sickly sweet, and the guards ate it up.
They were ushered back to the gala, which was winding down. When the guards left, Sombra dissolved into laughter, and Cole was quick to follow. “That was amazin’!”
“It was, wasn’t it?” Sombra asked, sucking in large breaths to get her giggles under control. “People are so stupid sometimes.”
That caused Cole to laugh harder. People were beginning to glance at them in annoyance.
“You wanna get outta here before they figure out what we were really doin’ in there?” Cole asked when he was finally able to catch his breath.
“Yeah. I think we deserve some takeout after all of this.”
Cole couldn’t agree more.