I sat on the stretcher in the med bay. I'd just come back from the field, we'd been ambushed by Project Alice and Claire Redfield and a spattering of survivors. I'd lost most of men, they'd lost two. I'd managed to escape with my life and my three remaining soldiers. I'd been cocky, passed the stories off exaggerations. I'd been stupid to do that. I was heading into a world of trouble now and it was my own mistake.
"Are you mortally wounded?" asked my boss, Albert Wesker. I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew there was unyielding fury in them.
"No, Sir." I answered, bracing myself for the hellfire ready to be rained down on me.
"How could you be so unnervingly stupid?" He yelled.
"My apologies, Sir. I underestimated Project Alice. I didn't expect her to be so powerful." I cringed at my own naivety, my own idiocy. This was a dangerous and costly mistake and I would probably die for it.
"Underestimated? Don't lie to me. You've been told the stories, you've seen the footage. You've read all the reports we have on her and you still believed it was all an exaggeration." he was furious. More so than I'd ever seen before, at least directed at me.
"Yes, sir." was all I could get out. His fury was making my skin crawl, we all knew he was infected and his moods were unstable.
"You are the best this company has and you failed so spectacularly today. You'll be held until the board decides your fate. You'll be moved from here into the holding cells, you will not be given leniency." he practically growled this at me.
"Yes, I understand sir." was all I replied, my head bowed. I just stared at my lap.
"I'll be inconvenienced to lose you, Lieutenant Colonel Ashford." I heard a small beep as he pressed the intercom "Come and collect her." was all he said.
A few minutes passed and in walked three of my former underlings. I cleared my throat and got to my feet. "Lieutenant Colonel Hazel Ashford, you will be stripped of your rank and position until your fate is decided. Please surrender your weapons." one of the underlings informed me, but couldn't look me in the eye. Cowardly. If I'm offered leniency, I'll have to train that out of him.
I did as requested and also removed my fatigues as required. I was handed sterile white, plastic clothing. A top and trousers with disposable slippers. I was now a prisoner.