The Overwatch Story

Chapter 14.5 Infiltration (2)

As Talon made their way to Russia, Reyes's mind was no longer on the dropship. He was reliving one of his memories of arresting Akande, the leader of Talon, when he used to work in Blackwatch.

He remembered smirking in front of Akande's holding room as the jailed man stared back with an empty expression. No hint of emotion, just a pair of eyes focused on something far beyond his gloating captors—past the hard-light walls of the prison itself. Reyes wasn't petty or needlessly vindictive, but it brought him a measure of satisfaction to know that one of the world's most powerful criminals was stuck in a cage, something he'd had a hand in.

"How are you liking your new accommodations?" Reyes asked.

Akande blinked as if torn from a conversation only he could hear. He shrugged. "Adversity creates opportunity... and strengthens us, if we survive."

Reyes gritted his teeth, his hand curled into a tight fist as he choked back a stream of curses. Akande surveyed Reyes's body language with a knowing glance.

"Frustration at the system's inability to properly deal with the power brokers and insurgents," Akande said in a tone that suggested it was less a question and more a confirmation.

Reyes replied with a scowl.

Akande leaned forward with a guarded expression, like a poker player unsure if his hand is powerful enough to win the game. "We are men of war. It's only natural that this false peace wouldn't fool you. But not to worry, I'm at a supreme disadvantage—"

"Where you belong," Reyes snapped.

"In your estimation, perhaps. I am neither the first nor the last with the vision to question the global order. I'm only one of many who realize how broken the world is."

"No system is perfect. You can recognize the system is flawed without committing acts of terror."

Akande nodded respectfully and turned away from Reyes. "A shame that the true villains never see the inside of a cell," Akande said. "You've been a police officer and a soldier. Spent a great deal of your life in the pursuit of justice. Only to see justice so easily bought and sold."

"I'm not a lost fool in search of a cult leader," Reyes said as he stood to leave. "Don't try to manipulate me. You're here for a reason."

"And so are you, Reyes."

A moment passed between them, the kind of pause usually followed by a handshake or the drawing of a pistol.

"Allow me to ask this," Akande said. "Do you believe you've made a difference? As a police officer? As a soldier? As an Overwatch agent? Have your actions tipped the scales of justice?"

Reyes opened his mouth to answer, but something deep within blocked the words from escaping. As a cop, Reyes had locked away hundreds of criminals, and it had done nothing to stem the flow of street crime. As a soldier, he had helped to topple cruel authoritarian regimes only to watch a megacorporation take control and continue the same abuses under the auspices of maximizing profits. Unlike many of his cohorts, Reyes believed the root causes of injustice had to be ripped out at the source. What good was arresting drug dealers if the cartels weren't dismantled? Why save a nation from a despot without first determining who elevated and kept them in power?

Time and time again, Reyes watched as innocents suffered under the boots of the well-heeled elites who escaped prosecution. He watched as the system failed to provide the people with justice, relief, or protection.

Akande continued speaking, his tone reverent and without judgment. "You've worked tirelessly, even twisted your body, to serve the universal goodwill, and what do you have in the end? This isn't a flawed system. It was created quite intentionally to reward and protect criminals who profit from the division they create. Now I would ask, who are you really protecting? Are you protecting humanity from me? Or are you protecting these criminals from my justice?"