Shadows Within The Crowd (Jesse McCree x Reader)

~Chapter 40~

No ones POV

     His boots clanked against the hard metal that he walked on, the sound echoing throughout the busy corridors that surrounded him. The people he passed looked at him in fear and respect, keeping their eyes glued to the ground as he glided by.
    He passed hall after hall until he reached an elevator, where an all to familiar face stood waiting for him. She stood inside the contraption, her eyes narrowing and a smirk playing at her lips as he walked in, standing next to her in the process. The elevator closed quickly, and without even an order from the two, it began to descend.
      "I must say, I'm rather surprised you want to visit our patients so soon... then again" the woman mused, her hand coming up to cup her face. The man before her glanced ever so slightly in her direction, watching as her long purple nails gently scrape against her cheek as her pupils dilated quickly.
    He returned his gaze to the front of the elevator, a loud sign coming out from his mouth and through mask. The woman, noticing his annoyance continued her remark.
     "They are doing well and have completely forgotten the people they once were" she spoke, her voice coming low as her smirk widened, her head dipping slightly as she clenched one of her hands.
    At the end of her sentence the elevator door opened and both walked out, leading them to a large hallway. Along that hallway were large cells. Some were built with hard metal and blood stains could be seen on the walls from scratching. Further down the cells became slightly less barbaric. They turned into rooms with hard white foam walls, and a see through glass to see what ever was inside. all the rooms where pitch black on the inside, and a door was clearly visible with a pin pad next to it.
     They both stopped in-front of the first cell, the man stopping and crossing his arms, his head tilting down. He didn't want to be here, but he had to.
     "As you can see, thanks to my research and my experimentation I have created for you-" woman began before she was rudely interrupted. The man tilted his head towards her quickly.
     "Cut to the chase Moria. Just give me the intel and tell me if they are finally ready." He snapped at her rather harshly. But instead of being offended or upset, the woman hummed in delight, her eyes wide with a disturbing amount of excitement.
     She extended a hand out and pressed a button  and instantly the room lit up. Inside this particular room, held down to a large metal chair was a rather curvy yet slim woman, her eyes slightly blood shot and her grip on the metal left her hands white, her body seemed to wobble, and her head was twitching here and there. On her said head was a large metal dome with many tubes clicked inside of it, black and purple smoke within said tubing. What interested the man was the pigment of her skin and how it was a completely- inhumane color. She was bluish purple, and her hair was no longer ginger, but was pitch black.
     "I thought I made it clear that these types of experiments were not to be used" he spoke, looking at the woman he once knew. He attended this woman's wedding, and now he was seeing her demise. The least he could do was allow the woman to keep her original looks.
     "Oh come on Reaper. Allow me to have some fun once in awhile... our task force can only bring back so many animals at a time." She chuckled darkly, a dark purple matter erupting from her finger tips slightly, swirling around her nails and disappearing here and there.
     "Is she fit for our needs or not you witch" Reaper spoke darkly, his head finally turning and looking directly at the woman. She closed her eyes and took in a breath, her smirk never faltering.
     "Completely. Her- and the rest of our friends have some slight redness In their eyes because of the Xenon gas- improved of course. It keeps them from remembering anything before I take those tubes out of their head." Her eyes opened, staring directly at the woman inside. Before she could continue, Reaper continued on to the next holding cell, which was also completely black. Moria was quick this time to turn on the light within this room.
     Inside the room was a man, and unlike the woman before he seemed much more content with the situation he was in. Instead of being firmly held down to the metal table by his wrists, he only had light restraints, and his eyes were closed, a peaceful expression on his face. His hands were rested in his lap and his shoulders slumped heavily. On top of his head was the same tubing, except there seemed to be a lot less gas within those said tubes.
     "He was doing so well when he first joined. I just needed to get those ideas of leaving out of his head." Moria mused looking at the man inside. Reaper stood there for a second looking at the man who had join Talon about a year ago
     "Jean-" she began to speak- her Reaper once again cut her off, his voice low and commanding.
     "Baptiste. We do not use their original names." He spoke, turning and walking to the next and final cell that had anyone in it. Moiras smirk slightly grew as she walked over to the next cell before quickly recomposing herself. But she still had an excited glint in her eye.
     "And here is my masterpiece" Moira whispered with a cackled. She turned on the light and Instead of a person strapped to a chair on the ground. Reaper saw a rather scrawny- yet large man. He was leaned completely back on a metal table- and the table itself was floating. The man himself was bald, and instead of a metal cap- he just had tubes directly inserted into the back of his head.
     "He responds wonderfully to the classic composers. Such as Mozart... it triggers something in his brain and I've used the music to contort his mind." She spoke as she pressed her clawed hand against the glass. The older man let out a huff as he watched her.
     "That dosnt explain why he's floating, now does it?" Reaper questioned, staring at talons victim with slight curiosity. He had known Moria for a long time, and knew what she was capable of. But he had never expected to see this kind of work from her.
"Isn't he grand? The only reason he is still in this state is because I wanted you to watch me awaken him into our most powerful member." She spoke, her hand reaching up to the code on the door, typing in a few numbers.
"We have spoken... he remembers his dear friend Harold Winston from the lunar colony but nothing more. I have told him how his friend and everyone on the lunar colony were murdered by an operation called Overwatch. A small lie... but is had resulted in a huge rage for vengeance. I have implanted fake memories into his mind about how he actually did his lab work for talon, and that everything he does... he does for us." She spoke, the door sliding open as she walked into the room, waiting to see if Reaper would follow her. The man did no such thing, and only stood there staring at her toy. She shrugged her arms slightly and began to prepare her test subject, making sure to bring him back down and get him situated, leaving the chair up and such.
Reaper took a second to analyze the man. Though he had never seen him before, he knew who he was. His name was Dr. Siebren Kuiper, and he was a brilliant mind indeed. Winning awards and such. It's a shame that the world had to watch him die in a tragic fire.Reaper internally smirked at himself, knowing that it was smart to kidnap him from his own facility.
"Are you ready?" Moria turned to look at him, prepared to press a button that would De- attach the tubes out of the subjects head. Reaper slightly nodded and the woman grinned, pressing the button firmly, her eyes widening in a sadistic manner.
Immediately the tubes stopped producing the gas, and retracted themselves, steam erupting from them. Reaper took the time to notice where the tubes once were. holes remained in the man's head, surrounded in metal that reached into his skull. The old husk of a man waited for a second, expecting the person before him to wake up within a few minutes- but he was greeted with two nauseated eyes almost instantly.
"Ah, Sigma you are awake. How have you enjoyed your therapeutic time?" Moria questioned innocently. The man before her blinked for a few seconds before slightly shaking his head, one of his large hands coming up to rub his face. He seemed tired.
"My word Dr. O'Deorain- how long was I out? I feel exhausted... and yet at peace. It is quite soothing." He questioned, staring up at the woman. She smiled. A genuine smile- something Reaper had not seen in years.
"Why my dear, it's only been a few hours. I know how much you've been struggling with the pain so I thought to let you stay in this state for a little bit. I hope that was alright?" She questioned. Reaper stood there, surprised. He couldn't tell if the woman was faking her emotions at this point... was she feeling sincerity for her own experiment?...
"No no, of course not. I do not believe I have slept that well in the months I've been here. I must thank you." He yawned, stretching his arms. Reaper took the time to notice how large the man's chest was- and yet how small his waist and legs were. He was a rather peculiar man indeed.
"Well I do have good news to share with you. I have just been given clearance to allow you out of this small facility. But I will need to reacquaint you with someone first." Moria stated, looking at the door. Sigma was a very smart man, and with the fake memories perfectly inserted in his head- it was as if he knew what this scenario was.
     "I'm assuming it's him" he mused. Moria nodded and gazed once again towards the door. Reaper sighed internally. He didn't want an interaction, but now he had to. He quickly walked to the door, turning and slowing down his pace. The man before him then began to stand, and Reaper began to slightly grow suspicious.
"It's been a very long time sense I've seen you Reaper. Last time we spoke face to face was when I moved to my laboratory, no?" Spoke sigma, his voice dripping with respect. Reaper kept his composure and nodded, knowing that he was going to have to play this off.
"It has been some time sense you've been back in headquarters. It's welcoming to know your back. There are maters that must be dealt with than can now be settled." Reaper spoke gruffly, leaving it at that. The man before him nodded, and then turned to Moira who was patiently standing next to him. She nodded and then left the room, and the sound of mechanics and doors dropping erupted from the hall.
The two men did not falter, and when Moira came back into the room, Reaper turned and left the room. He noticed how now all the cells had been shut off from the rest of the compound, and now what stood in their place were what looked to be barracks. It was a rather cleaver disguise to trick Sigma.
He walked all the way to the elevator, stepping in as the doors opened. He was then accompanied by the other two. It was silent for a second before Reaper spoke up.
"For your first mission Sigma I have someone who I want you to bring to the compound, alive" he rolled out. Moiras eyes seemed to dim ever so slightly as she immediately spoke after him.
"Are you sure you want her here? Now of all times?" She questioned as the doors opened. Moira and Reaper stood still as Sigma stepped out, knowing that he was no longer welcome in the conversation.
"Sigma meet in the converse room 3. Moira will be debriefing you shortly, I just need to chat with her about something" He spoke. Sigma nodded, and the doors to the elevator again closed, the contraption raising itself. It was quiet for a second before Moira pipped up.
"Again... are you sure about this Gabriel?" She spoke in a whisper. Reaper Gabriel tensed slightly at that name. He had not heard it come from another's lips in a long time. He turned his head to look at the woman before him, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes.
"Yes"

Howdy guys!! I hope you enjoyed this small little chapter that is gonna lead up to the bigger ones! I have never approached a chapter from this angle and I thought it would be some nice insight. Again, I know I know nothing lines up with the story line. It's not suppose to. So like when I just introduced a certain woman to the story- she's obviously not following the timeline 😂
But again- I hoped y'all enjoyed! Working on the next chapter as we speak!