Ur doing requests and I’m curious abt symcree so,,,, a first meeting, perhaps?
The first time Jesse saw Satya, it was with his hands behind his back and two brutish guards at his sides.
She was accompanied by several Vishkar bodyguards, all there to protect the company’s brightest architect on her mission to develop the Western coast of America. She stood straight, her chin held high, her dark hair in a tight bun. She regarded him emotionlessly.
“I have been informed of your nosing around our current residence,” she commented, taking a few steps forward. Her gaze flitted down his body, appraising him like a head of cattle, before she looked back up, letting their eyes meet; from behind the orange glass, Jesse could see the warmth of her irises, similar in color to his own. “Would you care to tell me why you were here, sir?”
“Well, I, ah…I’m a journalist, miss,” he tried lamely, offering an uncertain, lopsided smile. “It’s, er, kinda what I do.”
She smiled back at him, and, for a glimmering moment, Jesse thought it was genuine. But then she spoke again. “You are not a journalist, sir, and that much is obvious. Please be honest.”
His smile fell. “N-no, really, miss, I write articles online. Don’t let the outfit fool ya.”
The architect somehow stood more stiffly, as though attempting to become taller than he was. “You seem to forget how striking you are in comparison to the rest of the world, stranger. You are not an easy miss, and certainly much more difficult to forget.”
Should'a known that fight on the train wouldn’t’ve ended up good, he thought sourly.
The woman before him smiled slightly wider. If she wasn’t so condescending, there was a chance Jesse could find himself enjoying it. “I would like the truth from you, vagrant. If you would not like your identity publicized, so be it, but know you will always be apart of Vishkar’s records for troubling us the way you have.”
Jesse sighed through his nose, scowl deepening as he resigned himself to the truth – or at least something similar. “Well, while I was lookin’ for a decent story –”
She gave him a resolve-melting glare.
“– I just – just – look.” He flexed his hands, causing the guards beside him to hold him tighter. He gritted his teeth, then continued. “I’m not workin’ for anybody. I’m alone. I dispense justice on my own terms. I see trouble, I help fix it.”
“Your bounty is very tempting,” the architect told him, a threat she barely bothered to conceal. “In fact, I’m sure someone would pay handsomely for just your name. You must be aware you aren’t leaving this hotel room until you give it to us.”
Jesse nodded. He didn’t think it would turn out any other way.
He met her gaze again, hickory versus tawny stone, and gave her two names without so much as a smirk. “Joel Morricone or Jesse McCree. You pick which is mine.”
The woman narrowed her eyes. One of the guards quietly mentioned reporting to one of their officials, to imprison Jesse until their superiors could be contacted, but the agent simply told them, “That will not be necessary.” She motioned Jesse forward. He obeyed, not fully on his own terms.
He was brought out into the hallway, the men holding him back stripped from his sides. His hands were still bound, however, ensuring the agent’s safety. He wouldn’t have expected anything less.
“I am willing to make a deal with you, criminal.”
She was close. Not uncomfortably so, but close enough he could smell her perfume, something cinnamon and sweet. He could see the perfectly-applied lipgloss shimmer in the diluted light, the careful eye makeup, pristine yet not meant to seen, making her eyes pop behind the visor. When her hands came forward from behind her back, her dark nails clicked and contrasted against her hard-light glove.
McCree looked back up at her face. He said nothing.
“You seek information, and, if you work with me, you will get it.” She eyed a stray hair poking out from under his hat at an awkward angle. “I’ll allow you your freedom in exchange for an…alliance, of sorts. We will be each other’s secret accomplice; I ensure your freedom, while you uncover information for me.”
Jesse had suspicions right off the bat. “There’s a catch, ain’t there? What’d'ya want me to find?”
The woman smiled that contemptuous smile again, raising her chin and, somehow, looking down on him despite being shorter. “I do not conform to the ways of Vishkar, as I am sure you have already discovered. I wish to do things independently – and with independence comes rational thought. I fear Vishkar have dealings with a malevolent force that even its own architects are unaware of. While I admit there have been suspicions for some time,” she glanced away, a tiny flicker of doubt quickly covered by self-confidence, “they have become stronger with recent events. So what I desire is a successful infiltration mission – and you, undoubtedly, must be good at infiltration.”
Jesse gritted his teeth, suppressing the urge to tell her to mind her own. “What makes ya think that, miss?”
“You managed to get in this hotel. That is no small feat; the staff are all Vishkar cooperatives. If you were not identified to be a paying guest, you would be removed from the premises. Consequentially, for you to be found snooping around on the floor I am located on, that would require you to be an expert in undercover operations or a master of disguise. Is it possible you are both?”
Jesse blinked, taking a moment to process what was said. “Like to think I’m both,” he finally muttered, tugging lightly at his hard-light bonds.
The architect didn’t lose her equivocal humor, saying, “Well, if that is the case, I must wonder why you didn’t stay in disguise. That armor is what gave you away.” She motioned to his chestplate with a pearly hand. “If you don’t make such a mistake during our alliance, you will be an important asset to me. Perhaps with the information you find out, I can turn Vishkar to another path.” She plucked lint from his stolen garb. Her touch was static.
Jesse frowned, then licked dry lips. “Guess I don’t got a choice, do I?”
Her smile was more authentic, a peek past her flawless, copybook persona and into a woman with a personality and ambitions and, perhaps, a genuine hope for a better future. “You are not a doltish man, vagabond. Might you give me your true name? I will make an exception, just this once, and put the other into our records.”
Jesse gave something akin to a smirk. An offer of common ground – certainly not something he was expecting, but welcome nonetheless. “You first, darlin’.”
The architect raised her eyebrows, her hand finding her face. “Oh…u-unexpected…”
He had to admit, her sudden bashfulness was endearing.
She cleared her throat, regaining her footing. “You may call me Symmetra, and refer to me as nothing more.”
“Is that so? How about a real name for a real name, miss? I’m sure ya understand.” Jesse winked.
Symmetra, as she called herself, beetled her brows and pursed her lips. “You are pushing your luck. Keep to what you have, journalist, before I –”
“Satya,” one of the guards called as she peeked out the hotel room, “are you all right? We don’t like that you’re out here alone with…him.” She nodded to Jesse.
The outlaw snorted and looked back to Satya, watching a flash of shock and anger cross her features. “I am quite all right. Report back to your station.”
The guard shrugged and did as she was told. Satya had her eyes closed, sighing harshly, as she turned back to Jesse. “Fate must be on your side today,” she said begrudgingly. “I am Satya Vaswani.”
When she opened her eyes again, their gazes met. Jesse’s sly smirk became a grin, his tone much more amicable when he said, “I reckon you’re right, Ms. Vaswani. I’m Jesse McCree.”
The architect nodded, stubbornly keeping her regal air. She motioned for Jesse to turn around, and, once he did, she took away his glowing blue bonds, her nails lightly scratching his wrist. He suppressed a shudder.
When the ties were gone and the gunslinger finished rolling his shoulders, Satya spoke again, her arms crossed. “You will not betray me, and you will not run away from our deal,” she growled. “You will report back to me in a week. Take this.”
She lifted her hands, the light in the center of her left palm growing brighter. With expert movements of her fingers, she constructed a tiny, cyan item, which she held between her fingertips once finished. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be an earpiece.
“We will keep tabs via these. I will replace them every week to avoid long-term damage and possible discovery.” She held it out to him.
He took it. It radiated warmth in his hand, an awe-inspiring creation made in mere seconds that he would, undoubtedly, spend hours staring at later on. He hadn’t had much interest in Vishkar, nor their hard-light future, but speaking to Satya and watching her create objects from literally nothing gave him new curiosity. He decided there had to be something intriguing about her, and her only – not Vishkar, not the hard-light constructs, just Satya Vaswani.
McCree looked up and nodded again, regaining his stern scowl. “I guess I owe ya that much. Ya could'a really run me through the ringer.”
Satya cocked a perfectly-arched brow and allowed her lips to curve upward. “You are absolutely right, Mr. McCree. You do owe me.” She studied him for a moment. Then, without thinking, she reached out and straightened his collar.
They both froze on the spot, staring in shock at one another, before she pulled her hand back.
“Apologies. Sometimes I…don’t think. Now, be on your way. I will tell them something they wish to hear.”
Jesse didn’t say anything, still feeling her warmth near his neck. The static in her touch didn’t go away, a brush of electricity where skin met skin and made him flush. He pulled his hat lower and turned away; a muttered goodbye was the last thing he said to her on that first afternoon meeting, though he knew they would speak again soon.