There was a single black SUV that drove on through a public street into the moon lit sky. The lights glistened off the sides as the blank stares of the male black suited driver and passenger looked forever onward. Both had an ear piece and one made sure to keep track of time. The strings of light and various colors blurred around the SUV for the ones in the back seats.

Two young women both in formal dresses spoke to each other in low tones. Granted, there was a soundproof but something about it just unsettled one of the women. The one with the red tied back hair was in a velvet red empire dress. The other was in an orange sheath dress.

"So what do you think?" Orange dress woman asked to truly break the silence.

"I could really go for some pizza right about now." The velvet dressed woman yawned.

Orange dress rolled her eyes. "You know what I'm talking about." She crossed her legs and put them on top of a duffle bag that was in the middle between them.

"Well, I think it was pretty damn boring." The black dress woman leaned back. "The same included for all the women there."

"Maybe you could have been nicer. It was a big night for the family." Orange dress pleaded.

"I don't care, they use my brother as an excuse." Red dress lowered her shoulders and place her back to the seat in frustration. She kicked her leg forward to roll her one of her heels off.

"Whatever you say." Orange dress looked away.

Red dress sighed. "I'm sorry Irina."

Irina looked out the window. "Apology accepted."

"I know you want to help." A meager smiled graced Red dress' face. Her chin rested on her palm then pulled a knot off her red hair. The strands fell beside her ears.

Irina looked onward through the soundproof window.

"I liked how the soldiers didn't make fuss out of the gala." Red dress shrugged and readjusted herself in the seat.

"I thought so too. It would have be nice if they, you know, gave out a better variety of food." Irina joked. "Some shrimp would go a long way."

"Yeah, the people are shallow."

"Gee thanks." Irina sardonically patted her friend's shoulder.

"You know what I meant." Red dress looked toward the front end of the car and pressed a button that was on a car door. The soundproof window slightly shifted forward was a blackened glass rose up. With the sense of privacy, the women in the back opened up a small duffle bag and emptied out the contents. There were two water bottles as well as a towel. The SUV rumbled left and right several times during the drive.

The window tint faded back to being clear again and the two women in the back were visible. The dresses were gone and Irina wiped her face with the damp towel. Red dress' lips perched up a bit while the towel move away from her face. Her lips slightly perched up as she rolled the towel so the damp par was rolled inward.

Irina dressed up in cyan blue capris pants, black athletic shoes, an orange shirt with a grey sleeves and blue choker necklace. Her friend dressed up in light brown carpenter pants that had a dark brown leather belt, her shoes were a beige color. For her upper body, she had a scarlet turtleneck and a white button-up shirt over it but the selves were rolled up to show more of the turtleneck.

"I told you that you would like the button up, Claire." Irina complemented.

Claire winked. "Thank you."

The two of them looked back out to the street again to observe the citizens of Raccoon City. It became more of a political city instead of than industry based it intended to be. Since it was settled by numerous families of a higher stature came together and really offered their support into the development. It is now a hub for city life as well as other opportunities. Claire smiled as she noticed several street vendors selling their wares as well as several of the people who appeared to be happy.

"So at the party, did you notice that the soldier in the beanie hat couldn't take his eyes off you?" Claire teased.

"Who?" Irina didn't bother to turn her head away from the window.

"You know what I'm talking about." Claire chuckled lightly bumped her elbow into Irina's hip.

"You mean Finn?"

Claire took a moment to pause and let it sink in. She smiled the brightest grin and couldn't wait pester Irina some more. "So you got a name!?"

"Well yeah. We talked at the food bar." Irina did not appear bothered by the interaction. She could faintly taste the calzone dishes the party had.

"Aw come on, you got something juicy you want to tell me?" Claire poked her friend.

"Nothing happened, we just talked about the current state of the government and the military." Irina finally looked at Claire.

"Playing the intellectual card, huh?" Claire scooted closer. "What did you lead the conversation to?"

"Nothing really. We just talked of minor stuff like how the BSAA is getting larger."

Claire knew all too well of what Irina talked about and looked away. The SUV slowed down and the window of the soundproof window opened up.

"We're here madam." The guard lightly nodded.

"Is this it?" Irina opened the door as Claire followed her. "Claire?"

Claire slightly widened her eyes and leaned forward, some visual frustration against Irina. "Right, Elza?"

"It is." Elza stepped out of the car. Several seconds she did, her left pocket vibrated. Elza reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone.

Where are you? Did you leave the gala early? I thought we agreed that you stay for the representative speech. –C.

Elza shook her head and closed her phone. The plaza they were in had an encompassing vibe. The buildings were arranged around the parking lot on the rim. There were the usual small businesses mixed with the store chains. At the very end on of the left side was a convenient store. Irina was ahead of her and the two entered the pizza parlor that was on the right side of the rim.

Above the two of them was a large neon sign.

Burnside Pizzeria. The P in Pizza flickered on and off as the U and the E in Burnside weren't lit up at all. It was difficult to see but it was the evening time and the two girls just wanted to sneak away from the gala.

Elza and Irina both walked into the parlor as the two bodyguards left the car and stood at the ready for whatever happens. One of them leaned forward and reached into his lower pocket and pulled out a cigarette box.

"Spoiled brats." He sneered as he cracked his metal lighter open for the fire.

"Relax. It isn't so bad." The other guard replied.

"You know these types think they deserve special treatment. What makes their descendants so special?" The cigarette was put in his mouth as he took a huff. "Did you hear? There is talk of turning the military unified with UN."

"That isn't up to us."

"Well it should." The guard inhaled more of his cigarette. The conversation cut off from there as the two looked back onto the street for any potential threats.

Raccoon City, 7 blocks away

"Stubborn motherfuckers." A man walked out onto the street as three other people followed closely behind him. "What do they know?"

"This isn't new. You know how much the public dislikes us." A brunette woman with tied back hair replied as one of her colleagues walked paced her. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties and had amber colored eyes. Her tone of voice was raspy and lower compared to the average woman. She walked with a completely straight posture with her shoulders in parallel to the ground. She had a nimble and slim build.

"Stop whining about it you overgrown child." An asian woman a head shorter than the angered man frowned. With jet black hair, she walked over to her companion, then slapped his back. She had trimmed eyebrows with little fat on her frame. She did not impose a built figure but had still focused on a duality of fit and feminine. "Come on, I know a bar that could hook us up. They don't mind PMC types."

"They better. Otherwise, I need to hit something." The man clenched his fists. He near shaved head but maintained enough to give his head a dark contrast to his brown skin. Underneath his lip was a small and neatly trimmed triangle soul patch. His cheeks were narrow but suggest that he was the kind of person that enjoyed his food but maintain a solid build for himself.

"Better not." The fourth member of the group frowned.

The first man looked over his shoulder then took a deep breath. "Apologies. Sir."

"Being denied service from a bar is what the owner has the right to do. I don't agree with it but that's the guidelines they have set for us." The second man reminded the group.

"Like I said Hector. I know a bar." The Asian woman smiled then glanced her the friend.

"Lead the way, Yamata." The brunette woman gestured out to the sidewalk. Hector and Yamata both got a head start as the brunette woman and the second man stood behind.

"Sorry about that. I didn't expect this to happen this way."

"I had my assumptions." The man looked back to the street.

"Are you going to join us?" She asked.

"No LesProux." He tugged at his jacket. "I think I'll go for a walk. Until the next contract." He said looking both ways across the street.

"Be seeing you." LesProux turned around to jog to her colleagues.

This man was dressed in a grey long sleeve shirt, black jeans, with black shoes. There was just this dark rhythm to it. From the look of his shirt, he clearly appeared to on the good side of his physic. Shoulders were broad his upper body did not look like it had the slightest hint of fat on it. Several people the man passed would often say something in whispers. He barely noticed that though.

As the man crossed the street, he patted his left pocket to check if he had his wallet. He did. His surroundings started to have an orange and white glow as the street lamps blended with the store lights. He looked to his left to see several customers inside a convenience store. Several of them had bored expressions and one of them smiled as one woman read over the magazine section. The latest issue of 'Gossip Today' magazine was released.

Will They, Won't They? Were the bolded letters as several faces of people the man cared little for were on the cover. The kind of journalism that did not warrant the attention if deserved. Still though, it can help a fireplace get going faster. There's always something to care about, but the subject matter was something different entirely.

Once he passed the store, he looked out to the street again. Several people walked about as the stores started to reach into the late evening sales. The district his colleagues and himself visited was a shopping one. Stores for certain objects he found that could provide little use to him or the stores that will only cause him to have buyer's remorse at the end of it.

But there was just one thing, that he liked about this district and was the sole reason for his little walk. A place of where the people bothered him the least and anyone could go to blow off some steam. Just the way he preferred it. His hands were in his pocket as he kept his eyes forward.

After several minutes, his stomach grumbled. 'I better get something to eat…'

Back to Burnside Pizzeria

Irina leaned back and rubbed her stomach. "Ah that was a thousand times better than what that other place served."

Elza smiled as she wiped the grease away from her lips. "Told you so."

"I didn't disagree with you. So you can't go all 'I told you so' on me." Irina reached for her soda. "What did you have in mind to do after this?" She glanced at her watch.

"No idea." Elza felt her phone vibrate again. Like before, she reached for it and read the message.

Where are you!? I'm not mad that you didn't want to go, I'm mad that you're ignoring me. Say what you want to say and if you didn't want to go. I'm not going to force you. But don't try to hide and make me wait on for an answer I already know. Just say it! Stop being scared… Geez. –C.

Elza's lip winced as she closed her phone.

"I know that look." Irina narrowed her eyebrows at her friend.

"What?"

"You know what I mean." Irina couldn't care less about the meal at the moment. "It's him again isn't it?" Irina lowered her shoulders and leaned in to listen carefully.

"No no." Elza attempted to wave off the subject. Irina continued to stare at Elza. "It's not him this time. It's just him."

"Let me have the context here." Irina eased up the tension at her shoulders. This in turn calmed Elza down somewhat.

"He's pissed that we wondered off from the gala. I told him that I would show up. He didn't tell me that I had to stay. That's it in a nutshell." Elza gave half of the truth.

"Mhm." Irina hummed in disbelief. "You're my friend and as your friend, you need to tell me what's going on."

Elza crossed her arms in a defensive gesture. "He's just being stupid is all, it's not like he needed me there anyway. He knows I hate it and still he expects me to go every damn time. You know, I just wished that he would see it through my eyes for a change. To see how much of a jackass he could be."

"Well? Have you tried talking to him about it?" Irina asked before taking another sip of her drink.

"Multiple times. Then on every occasion, he changes the subject to be all about him." Elza slightly tightened her grip on her drink.

"Just like how you're making about him right now?" Irina prodded mentally.

"That's not fair." Elza replied.

"What? I'm just stating another side to help you understand. It's not like it's going to kill you or anything." Irina shrugged somewhat.

"For him maybe, for me… maybe. That dumb jerk." Elza frowned then glanced at the window. She blinked her eyes then returned to another topic.

"How's your dad?" Elza asked.

"Fine, as far as I can tell. He just started his treatment last week. The doctors say it was great on how that he discovered his anomaly this early. He wasn't excited about it but neither was I." Irina shrugged.

"He's a tough old goat." Elza said a trigger phrase to make her friend giggle.

"You're right. So, how about we go do something else. You up for a movie?" Irina smiled.

"I'm game." Elza smiled as she and Irina stood up from their table. The walked toward the exit which had the check-out station. Irina reached for her pocket first then so did Elza.

"Oh no…" Irina widened her eyes.

"What?" Elza leaned in to her friend.

"I think I might have left my wallet back home." Irina whispered.

"Please tell me you're joking." Elza cringed.

"I wish I did." Irina's shoulders drooped down and felt extremely bad to Elza.

"Fine, I'll cover it but we need to keep a low profile." Elza walked ahead of her friend. "Yeah, I would like to pay please."

"Sure, you were the pepperoni and breadsticks combo right?" The employee nodded in a bored tone.

"Yeah." Elza casually reached for her credit card and slid it to the machine. She typed her pin number and the recite printed itself out on the opposite side of the table.

"Thank you and have a nice day… Redfield?" The cashier widened her eyes then looked up. He frowned and really stared at Elza but a light in the back of his mind went off. Irina felt the guilt enter a pit in her stomch.

"Excuse us." Irina spoke up and turned around as several customers overheard the cashier talk out loud. Elza grabbed her friend's arm.

"Did she say Redfield?" A person leaned in a not so subtle whisper to his friend.

"I think she did."

"As in one of the founding families?"

"Really?"

"This is not good." Irina muttered as the two inched closer to the exit. Elza took a step forward then she realized that once she moved several customers stared at her really hard. It was only a matter of time before some of them would start to ask questions. With one step, someone already made their move.

"Are you Claire Redfield? Sister to Chris Redfield?" The cashier asked.

"No no, I'm not Claire. I'm Elza." She looked back toward her friend and the two started to move from their spot to make their way out of the door.

"It is her. I just checked." A man said as he showed his smart phone to a friend. There was a photo from four years earlier of Claire beside a uniformed Chris.

Elza couldn't keep this up anymore so Claire had to come back. She whispered something to Irina. Then like that, several people made their move to talk to them.

"It's so awesome."

"Could you please listen to what I have to say?"

Claire and Irina both bolted out of the door. Several of the attendants moved out from the pizza parlor and called out to her. Most of them smiled while others inside just frowned in the same direction. The girls moved as fast as they could then noticed their car was not parked in the spot the guards were asked to be.

"Nonononono!" Claire agonized over what could possibly happen as she took out her phone to see 3 more messages.

Claire, you better answer me now. –C.

This is ridiculous Claire. –C.

That's it. I've called in your driver, I've ordered them to come back and for you to figure out your own way back home or the gala. The family does too much for you to do this to us. –C.

"That humongous asshole!" Claire shouted as she closed her phone. Irina placed her hand at Claire's back.

"It'll be okay Claire."

"Just… give me a minute please."

"That's something we don't have." Irina looked behind them and noticed a small crowd of seven people on their way to talk to Claire.

"Let's go, could you call your aunt?"

"Maybe." Irina and Claire both looked both ways and crossed the street in a hurry and the two eventually moved forward. They sprinted across the sidewalk and turned to a corner then bolted toward. In the process the two of them nearly bumped into a bystander. The brunette hair woman side stepped them and shouted out.

"Watch it!" She shook her head in frustration.

It took another moment for the two continue their little sprint through the Howitzer District. They turned left, left again, then a right down several blocks then a right again. Irina and Claire were both completely out of breath as they moved into a corner next to a store and found a public bench open. Claire sat down first then so did Irina.

"I hate gasp doing that… gasp." Claire leaned her head back. She didn't pay much attention to her surroundings as she moved her arm, she caught the arm of a man that had a piece of food in his hand. Once she did that, it caused the man to lose focus then drop his meal… which was a well smothered hot dog.

"Good one." Irina rolled her eyes then mentally prepared herself to continue running again.

"I'm so sorry!" Claire stood up and looked at the person she ruined the meal to.

"Forget it." The man didn't bother to look at Claire. From there, the man leaned down then scooped up the food with his bare hands. He pulled his lips back in rippled disappointment.

"Please, let me." Claire took a step forward.

Once she did that, the man shot Claire a disheartening glare. The kind that would burn a hole through a person of he possessed the ability of heat vision. Luckily, he did not.

"Out of my way." The man flexed his shoulder so he wouldn't bump into Claire. He walked away then put the food into a nearby trash can. The man walked away without even glancing back to Claire and Irina.

Irina didn't say anything as she patted Claire's shoulder and then the two walked away from the small pile of sauce the hot dog had on it.

"Could you call your aunt now please?" Claire rubbed her forehead.

"Sure thing." Irina smiled and the two walked out the Howitzer district and met up with Irina's aunt. It was only a 20 minute wait. It wasn't so bad, but at least it was something that was better than attending that gala.

'Chris better have a good explanation for this.' Claire grumbled in her mind as she entered the new car to take her to Irina's house. Irina brought Claire back to reality and the two calmed down after their 7th near encounter of being swarmed by people.

Three Blocks away.

"Chili hotdog." The man from earlier asked another street vendor. The vendor nodded with humble glee as the man projected a calm demeanor. His left hand twitched as he rolled his shoulders. From there, the hotdog was presented to him, if anything, he let out a much needed sigh.

"Sure thing." The middle aged woman smiled then offered to him. "Have a nice night." She said in handing him the new chili hot dog.

"Mhm." The man said then looked back then walked away from the food stand with some excitement. He found a vacant bench with a table then sat down then opened a napkin before he started to eat. The sheer appearance of it was something most hungry people would commemorate. Sprinkled with small bits of sharp cheddar cheese and the hot dog, it was given a slow burn with a crusty layer to it. So the first bite is guaranteed to be crunchy. He savored the smell of it then opened his mouth.

Vrrt Vrrt! His phone vibrated.

He let out an annoyed grunt while he took out his phone. It was an old one where it had to flip open had a bulk design compared to the smart phones of the modern day.

A new contract has been activated. Are you interested? The window closes in three hours. –NH

The man nodded then closed his phone. Just on the whim of the moment, he put the hotdog down then walked away. The people around the other tables minded their own business.

.

.

.

Footsteps could be overheard as HUNK returned to the table. He took hold of the hot dog plate. He took a bite then set it back down to the table. He stepped away from the table… the second he walked away, he returned then took hold of the entire plate.

He would be damned if something took him away from this moment in time. He bit into the hotdog and felt a bit remised on his behavior, but he was not on the job while there was no one he knew. He took several seconds to finish the hotdog. He put the paper in the trash bin. HUNK was too hungry to just leave the food behind.

The man took several more bites from his meal the licked his lips. It could be while before he could have something similar to it…