Disclaimer: I do not own resident evil, it's characters or any other copy righted material that may appear in this fic.
A/N: This is a tale of the Resident Evil characters in a Noir setting(it begins in May 1957 to be exact). Be warned this does contain violence and swearing. This first chapter is probably the darkest in the entire story, however you'll have to read to see what i mean. Anyway just read and review with your honest thoughts. If you want to flame go ahead i welcome constructive criticism. On a side note let me know if you think this story should be rated M. Well Enjoy!
Resident Evil Noir
Chapter 1: A Made Man
The phone rang loudly, jerking Billy out of his silent thoughts. He had just been reading a newspaper article about the death of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Billy stood up and deposited the paper on his coffee table before heading for the kitchen. He answered the phone on it's fourth ring and heard a familiar voice.
"Hey Billy?" Joey asked.
"Hey Joey hows it going man?" Billy asked.
"Pretty good but listen, me and the boys have a little job for you tonight... You pull it off and you're in." Joey replied.
"What?" Billy asked sure he had miss heard Joey.
"You heard me, you do this tonight and you're a made man" Joey replied.
"Sure, anything what do you need?" Billy asked his heart speeding up a bit. He glanced at the clock over his refrigerator. It was 8:07 at night. It wasn't unusual for Joey to call him with instructions for jobs but he usually called much earlier.
"You'll find out tonight. Forest will be there to pick you up at ten thirty" Joey replied.
"I can drive my self Joe " Billy replied.
"Bill I'm out of time on the phone just be in front of your building at ten thirty got it?" Joey asked.
"Yeah " Billy replied. A few seconds later he heard a sharp click as the line went dead.
Billy set the phone back in it's cradle and turned around. He walked over and looked out of the open window. The sun was just disappearing over the horizon. Summer was almost here and days were getting longer. He looked down at street below watching as a set of children abandoned their baseball game in order to make it home before they got into trouble. He looked up the street were his side street connected with Albany Road, one of Raccoon Cities largest streets. He pulled him self back in and slammed the window shut.
Billy looked around his small kitchen. He lived on the third floor of a fairly large apartment building, however his apartment was small with only one bedroom. Billy absentmindedly walked over to his cabinets and opened them, he knew he should eat something but his head was still buzzing with Joey's words. "you do this tonight, and your a made man". He had been waiting to hear those words ever since he was approached by Forest to become a soldier for the Genovese crime family two years ago. However now that he heard them he felt a slight twitch of apprehension. Being a made man meant he could work for the family full time, he could make enough money to get a bigger place and a new car.
However it also meant that he could be asked to do anything, and he couldn't refuse. Billy suspected the reason that Forest would be driving him tonight was because the rumors were true. Most residents in Raccoon City believe that the Genovese crime family took care of it's most unsavory acts in a small house hidden in the Arklay mountains that surrounded the mid-western city. Billy shook his head. Whatever they asked him to do he was ready. After all he was a veteran of the Korean conflict... Surely Joey couldn't ask him to do anything worse then what he had seen there.
Upon this last thought Billy decided he would go to the diner on the corner for a burger. Billy closed his cabinets, retrieved his hat and coat from the pegs next to his front door and left. Billy ended up spending the few hours chatting with a new waitress in the diner named Ashley. However at 10:20 Billy exited the diner thinking that he would have to find a way to make sure she was his waitress from now on.
Billy walked down the street and spotted Forest there waiting in front of his building. Forest was leaning against his 1949 Cornet and smoking a cigarette. He glanced over as Billy approached.
"Wasn't expecting you for another ten minutes or so " Forest said exhaling a large cloud of smoke. "Where ya been?"
"Chatting up this waitress in the diner down the street " Billy replied smiling. "She's a real site... But anyway." Billy said turning his head in all directions to make sure they were out of ear shot of any eavesdroppers. "Do you know what Joey is gonna have me do tonight?" Billy asked in a low whisper.
"Can't tell you... And it shouldn't matter " Forest replied taking another inhale from his cigarette. "You having second thoughts Bill?"
"Well..." Billy tried to begin.
"If you have any doubts then say so right now!" Forest said fiercely. "If you don't show up tonight then you just stay a nobody and go on with your life. You show up tonight and try to back out and we'll have a big problem... Besides whatever we ask of you tonight could be asked of you at any given moment... So before we start, are you sure you can do anything?" Forest asked even more fiercely.
Billy thought for a moment. He had worked so long at this and now only one unknown job stood in his way. Before he had met Forest he had barely been able to pay his rent each month. An incident Billy had with an officer towards the end of the war had kept him from staying in the marines, and the dishonorable discharge made sure that few good paying jobs would hire him. Without the family he would either have to accept being a loser or move back east and compete for an industrial job. With that he decided that he would do anything to keep from returning to his old life... Even a murder as he suspected they would ask him to do.
"I'll do anything I have to... for the family " Billy replied as Forest dropped his cigarette and crushed it under his foot.
"Good... You're just nervous... Happens to the best of us, how about a smoke to calm you down a bit?" Forest asked offering Billy his pack and lighter.
"Gladly " Billy replied taking the cigarettes and climbing into the car. Billy and Forest talked about various things as Forest drove them out of town. However about five minutes passed the city limits Forest pulled the car over to the shoulder.
"Are we here?" Billy asked.
"No... Here put this one " Forest instructed, handing Billy a blindfold. Billy stared at it. "You can't know where this place is until you're a made man Bill... So put it on." Billy tied the blindfold around his eyes. Billy felt the car start and start moving again.
"So I take it this means the rumors about the house out in the mountains are true?" Billy asked.
"Well I don't know what the rumors say but we do have a secret location for certain... activities " Forest replied.
The rest of the ride passed in silence. It took nearly 45 minutes to reach their destination and Forest allowed Billy to remove his blindfold. At the end of a barely visible dirt road, from a rarely used county access road was what would've been a fairly nice looking house 30 years earlier. Now however the house seemed to have fallen into disrepair. There were several broken windows and very little paint left.
Billy stepped out as Forest shut off the car. All he could see was that this place was completely surrounded by thick trees. He guessed it would be nearly impossible to find unless you knew it was there. Billy then followed Forest into the house. Forest proceeded through the unlocked front door and to the middle of the hallway. Forest knocked on what appeared to be a piece of drywall three times. The resonating sound told Billy it was hollow. A few seconds later Billy heard footsteps and the drywall swung open.
"Perfect timing Forest we just got here about 5 minutes ago " Carlos informed Forest.
"You get him?" Forest asked.
"Little rat didn't even try to hide." Carlos replied. Billy followed the two down the stairs as the smell of mold and decay assailed his nostrils. The basement just like the rest of the house was falling apart. Several lanterns hung from the ceiling illuminating the room, giving a dim and very eerie glow. The room contained nothing but a few chairs where Joey and another man were seated, looking down at a third man laying on a set of white sheets. As Billy drew closer he recognized the second man as Brad Vickers, yet another associate of the family's. However he couldn't tell who the man on the floor was since his head was covered with a bag. Billy gulped slightly. He had been right, his right of passage into the Genovese crime family would be murder.
"Well now lets make this quick " Joey said in a dark tone as Forest pulled the man on the sheets up until he was kneeling on both knees. Billy could see now that his hands were handcuffed behind him. "Billy I asked you if you would do anything for a chance to be one of us... Your task Billy is to kill this man." On the last word Joey snapped his fingers and Forest whipped the sack off the mans head so Billy could see him. He was an older man probably late 40's. He had dark hair and dark eyes, there was a length of dark cloth tied around his mouth to inhibit speech. Billy didn't recognize the man.
"Who is he?" Billy asked.
"His name isn't really important. All you need to know is that he was a bookie and he stole money from the family. After we warned him of what would happen if he did it again he decided to turn states evidence." At that the man began screaming into his gag that he hadn't. "It's no use you rat, my contacts in the RPD confirmed it." Joey replied as Brad and Carlos turned the man around so that the back of his head was to Billy and Joey. "One shot" Joey said handing Billy a revolver. Joey pointed at the center of the back of the mans head with his index and middle fingers. "Quick, clean and simple" Joey finished as he and the other men moved to stand behind Billy.
Billy took a step forward and gulped. His hand was shaking as he pointed the gun at the center of the back of the mans head. This was different then he had expected. In the war it had been kill or be killed. Billy had rarely thought twice about what he had done. This man was no threat to him... At least not directly. Billy began thinking about what could happen if the man testified in open court. He could possibly have enough to implicate a large portion of the family, and then more people mite turn. If that happened Billy mite get arrested, and if nothing else he would have no more work and be back to his old life. Billy used his thumb to pull back the hammer on the revolver. It didn't matter how weak his rationalization was, Billy no longer had a choice. Billy squeezed the trigger. A split second later it was over. With a flash and a bang, the mans life ended prematurely. A few seconds passed in silence until Billy felt a hand on each of his shoulders.
"Thought you froze there for a second" Forest said from behind him to his right.
"You know I have to admit when Forest first brought you around I was skeptical but... Welcome to the family... Brad, Carlos pack him up." Joey said snapping his fingers again. Brad and Carlos rolled the man up in what Billy now realized to be several sheets on top of one another. The two rolled up the body and sealed it within the cocoon using masking tape. Billy was watching their movements so closely he barely noticed Joey pull the gun from his hand. Joey extracted the spent shell casing and pocketed it. Once Brad and Carlos had finished Joey moved around towards Brad. "Hey Forest why don't you show Billy here how we take out the trash around here?" Joey asked with a slight grin. "Once they've got this " Joey prodded the bundle with his foot " out of here you two give this place a good scrubbing... Just to be safe. I have to go and inform Wesker that this has been dealt with and that we have a new initiate" Joey finished lighting a cigarette.
"Aren't you going to tell?" on the last word Brad touched his thumb to his chin.
"Not tonight... I will visit " Joey touched his chin in the same fashion " tomorrow" Joey replied. "I'm not sure when your ceremony will be Bill... Probably not for at least a week. But after it happens we can all head to Pete's Bar and the first round's on me!" Joey said smiling.
"Hell yeah" Brad said laughing "I'm thinking Johny Walker Blue what about you guys?" Carlos and Forest laughed.
"Yeah we'll see, good night boys oh and " Joey turned to Brad "take care of this for me will you?" Joey asked handing Brad the revolver.
"Yeah I'll take care of it" Brad replied.
"Well then good night... And congratulations Billy " Joey remarked as he walked quickly from the room.
"Okay well help me here Bill" Forest said as he moved to the top of the bundle. Billy seemed to come out of a sort of revery. Everything that had happened in the last 10 minutes seemed like a sort of surreal dream. However now he awoke to find it was all real. He had killed a man... Now there really was no turning back.
"Yeah here" Billy replied grabbing the other end of the bundle. The two of them managed to get the bundle up the stairs and into Forest's trunk without much difficulty, but it wasn't until Forest had started the car and they had pulled onto the county access road that Billy finally snapped from his trance completely.
"So I did it... I'm in?" Billy asked stupidly.
"You're just now figuring that out?" Forest asked sarcastically. Forest paused for a second. "Does it sill seem like a dream?"
"No... It's... Real to me" Billy said.
"Everyone's first kill is tough... Hell mine I missed the guys head" Forest said, his face twitched as if he wanted to smile but wouldn't. "And Brad pissed himself the first time he had to." At that both of them did snicker. "Don't worry Billy this doesn't happen very often believe it or not."
"It doesn't?" Billy asked.
"Joey has more kills then anyone else alive in this family... And that is all of 3." Forest replied reassuringly. "It has to be extreme for us to order a hit... Dead men don't make us any money... We also don't mess with their family's."
"All good to know... I do have one question though... What was with that chin touching thing... People kept acting like they were gonna talk about Vincent Gigante and then they would stop and do this" Billy imitated the movement. At that Forest stopped the car and turned to look at Billy.
"You never speak his name out loud... EVER!" Forest said loudly. "When referring to him you touch your chin like that" Forest said demonstrating.
"Why?" Billy asked courteously.
"So if anyone overhears you they can't tell who you're talking about... You touch your chin because his nickname was "The Chin" when he was a boxer... Go it?" Forest asked.
"Got it" Billy replied hastily. The rest of the trip was uneventful. Billy just kept thinking of how great it was going to be once he was initiated. Finally Forest pulled up next to a phone booth down town in the now deserted business area of Raccoon City. Forest shifted into park and popped the trunk.
"Come on let's unload this thing so we can get some sleep" Forest said sounding very tired.
"Here... In the middle of the city?" Billy said, astonished.
"We always dump our bodies on this corner near that dumpster" Forest replied pointing at a dumpster pushed against the side of a building in an alleyway. "Every Captain in the family has their own signature method of execution. It lets people know who did the job and what will happen to them if they cross the family. Joey's calling card is a single shot to the head and dumping the body here."
"Won't that make it easy for the cops to figure out who it was?" Billy asked as he and Forest pulled the bundle from the trunk.
"It doesn't matter if they know who, it only matters what they can prove" Forest replied as they set the body down near the entrance to the alley.
"Well I think that takes care of everything..." Forest said as they walked back towards his car. "Congratulations Billy" Forest said smiling and shaking Billy's shoulder, before he walked to the drivers side and said abruptly. "Now come on and lets get the hell out of here!"
A/N: Now review please!