Chapter 1
Two men walked down the pristine corridors. Each was clad in a similar uniform of white lab coat and Umbrella identification tag pinned neatly on the left side of their chest. One was considerably older than the other, his face showing the creases of wrinkles around the eyes and the eye bags of someone who has often stayed up into the late hours of the night, working. The younger appeared to be in his early twenties, his neat and tidy approach - with a smart looking shirt, black trousers and sensible footwear - was completed by his gelled back hair and handsome complexion. He looked around 21, but in actual fact he was only 17 years of age. This young man was named Albert Wesker.
"As I mentioned to you last week, Albert. We have a new researcher joining us. His name is William Birkin. He arrived earlier this morning and is going to be working with me, I'll take you to meet him." Wesker listened attentively to the man's words. He himself hadn't been here as long as the rest of the researchers and so had relied on someone to show him the ropes.
That man had been Dr Marcus. Albert held a strong sense of respect for that older man; after all, he had been one of the original founders of this company. He nodded his head as the man finished speaking, idly wondering what this Dr Birkin would be like. He'd not been told anything about him yet, nothing apart from his name. Marcus fell silent and undoubtedly began thinking about one hundred other things at once. Albert kept walking, keeping in time with the Doctor beside him.
William looked at the clock on the wall for the umpteenth time, he was nervous, and these scientists were taking their time. He'd been here for 4 hours already and all he'd been able to do was talk to a few people about getting an access card and sit around in the coffee lounge, waiting. He sighed quietly and leaned back in his seat. He liked this lab coat, the ones they had at his school all came in one size, large. They weren't meant for minors like him, only the senior students at his high school usually got to do lab work. But he was different. William had a higher IQ than most adults even had. He'd been able to beat all of the professors at his old school in a chess tournament as well as the pupils. When some kids wanted a new bike or a guitar for their 10th birthdays, William received a microscope and chemistry set. This, of course, did not make him a popular boy at school, but William didn't really think about friends when he was sitting in classes for people 3 or 4 years older than him. He was good, and he knew it.
But here he was, sitting here and waiting in a prison that stank of coffee. People came in and out, usually the same folk, and the young man wondered dully why they weren't getting on with something useful instead of drinking cups of coffee. He'd already used the vending machine three times and was now utterly fed up with the bland taste of machine-made coffee. It seemed like the only decent thing to do with the paper cups was to build some kind of tower. He was actually getting rather into this new design of tower - upside-down cup placed on up sided cup, placed on another upside-down cup - when the door clicked and two men walked in. William quickly dismantled the tower just as the men walked around the corner and into view. He was holding the three cups in his hands with guilty looking expression on his face. The older man gestured towards him and looked at the other.
"Albert, meet William Birkin."
Albert really tried not to stare, but he found it hard not to. He had been listening hadn't he? The Doctor had said William Birkin? What was this kid doing in here? He looked like he was in his early teens. 'Was this some kind of joke?' Albert thought. 'Is this a test, and they are observing how I will react?' He stopped staring at the kid, who was looking back at him like a startled rabbit, and glanced at Marcus who was watching Albert with a completely calm expression.
"You may notice that he is a little young." Marcus said.
Wesker would have laughed, but he wasn't that rude. A little? He should be in school.
"But I'm sure the two of you will get along handsomely. I have places to be, and things to do, so I'll allow the two of you to get to know each other." He started to walk away, but stopped and looked back towards Albert. "Oh, and Albert?"
Albert switched his gaze from William's messy looking hairstyle to the Doctor.
"Yes, Doctor?"
Marcus beckoned Albert over, so Albert walked towards him.
"Smile and be nice." The doctor smirked, knowing full well that Albert didn't have a cheery persona, and left the room.
