Blackwatch

Conflict Part 1

12:40 PM, Local Time

Rome, Italy

Embassy of the United States

December 2018

The team are all gathered at their quarters but their mood has been less talkative. While Genji was tapping away on his phone, McCree and Sombra played pool against Fio and Moira, and Marvel was losing his dart throwing match with Amelie. By the corner of the room, Ray watched the TV with disinterest.

"Man, this shit's getting boring." Ray said, breaking the silence.

"Saying that for the tenth time isn't gonna make it less boring, man." Marvel called out as he took his stance.

"And you just got out of the kill house four hours ago." Sombra added. "What more do you want, bro?"

"Shooting paper targets and blanks don't count." Ray replied. "We've been on our asses for far too long."

"Ray does raise a point." Moira butted in after finishing her turn. "We're being put on hold after all thanks to this Valorant Protocol unit."

"You mean the guys who failed to stop Null Sector from attacking Rome?"

"The intel failed them." Amelie corrected. "Unlike us, they operate by the books. The mistakes from the higher ups were out of their hands."

"You seem quite fond of the Valorant Protocol, aren't you, Amelie?" Moira asked.

"I speak with logic in mind."

"So there's a chance that they're gonna put us on the sidelines indefinitely?" Ray said.

The room went silent. Blackwatch had been in charge of handling off-the-books operations under the government's nose and they were good at what they did.

With Jack Morrison and the Valorant Protocol taking over duties for the most part, all they could do was wait and see what comes next for Blackwatch.

03:20 PM, Local Time

13 km outside of Mogadishu, Somalia

UN Refugee Campsite

Outside of the city, doctors of the United Nations are helping the Somalian citizens who were caught in the middle of the civil war between Al-Shabaab and the government, accompanied by Helix Security International who served as security detail for the humanitarian doctors.

Angela comes out of a tent as she has just finished working on a patient. She needed to get some air as she took a deep sigh in relief and whipping the sweat from her head.

"How did it go?"

Angela turns to the voice and notices Fareeha Amari walking up to her, still in her gear. She simply raised a thumbs up as Fareeha got close.

"We managed to save the boy, though the landmine shattered his right leg." Angela said. "It's a possibility that he'll have to wear a prosthetic for the rest of his life."

"What matters is that he's alive and you saved him, Angela."

"I heard you put yourself in danger to save that boy."

"If it weren't for me, the boy would've been a goner. I couldn't just leave him there."

"You know those stunts of yours are gonna get yourself killed, Fareeha."

Fareeha let out a deep sigh. She had known Angela enough that she would be aware of her heroic stunts on the field. Before the conversation could continue, an HSI contractor approached her with orders.