GOLD [Book 2 in the JESSE series] | Completed

Chapter Thirteen: The Last Day

You wake up the next morning to the familiar sound of your alarm. It's the final day at the base. The weeks have gone incredibly fast, and you line up the recruits in the scorching summer heat for their final trial.

"Okay, listen up. Today marks your final test. We're going to be reintegrating as a whole group here, so don't think about yourself in the groups we've formed over the last few weeks. There's going to be many different parts to this exam, and a failure will result in going home. Those of you who fail will not be able to take the Lower Agent placement test, and will have to repeat this recruitment retreat." You say. 

"Just remember everything we've taught you, and you should pass with flying colors." McCree says. 

"There will be a few things to do. Just south of here is an Overwatch property called Ghost-town. It's a training area for new recruits, and is essentially, a small abandoned town. The first thing we're doing today is happening there. So, fill up your water bottles, and let's get moving."

It's about a three mile walk in the heat, so while not normally physically taxing, everyone is a bit sluggish due to the cloudless sky and direct sunlight. 

"Is this what it's always like here?" You turn to McCree after a long sip of water.

"Pretty much. The winters are nice though, it hovers between 50 and 70 degrees the entire season."

You arrive at the abandoned town and gather everyone in the front entrance. 

"Alright. We have a couple of drills to run here. The first is a warm up. We're gonna split you into teams randomly, and you'll take turns defending and attacking an objective. You have to work together with your team, no matter who's in it, or what your goal is. I don't care how long this takes, just get it done. Standard warm up rules, one hit, and you're out. Don't care where it is." You say. "We'll explain the rest when warm ups are done." 

You send them in, giving them the air-soft esque training weaponry from earlier drills. While they go, you pull McCree aside, and show him the drill that you want to run. 

His brows furrow, and he says, "Isn't this a bit much?"

"They can't just be machines, there has to be some emotions. Some real stakes."

"Alright. You really trust me to do this?"

"You're the only one I trust to do this."

When the drill starts and your team immediately rushes to cover to discuss the tactics of attack. You pose the question and allow your team to work it out themselves. They quickly discuss the best routes of action based on their warm ups, and you stay near the back, allowing them to choose which course of action to take.

All of a sudden, from the shadows, McCree puts a hand over your mouth and holds a very real gun to your head. "You sure about this?" He whispers. You make a noise akin to "yes," before pretending to struggle, as your team turns and notices. 

They immediately raise their weapons, and he says, "Fire at me and I'll shoot her." He points the gun towards the ground and fires a very real shot, before reloading and placing it back against your skull. This seems to startle them, and they slowly lower their weapons. 

One takes a step toward him, and he says, "Do you think I'll miss?" They stop immediately.

He pulls you into a back alleyway and releases you. 

"Was that convincing?" He whispers.

"Shut up and follow the plan. They have to have some sense of realism." 

He goes into the building near the objective point and throws you into the middle of the room, gun still pointed at you.

His team looks confused, and you see that Baines has an odd expression that's halfway in between confusion and anger.