Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything associated with it are trademarks
of Capcom. I own Matt Ryan, Mark Klein, Paul Edwards, the F-1100, and
anything else I invent for this story.
Author's Notes: Created this story as a background for my character Matthew Ryan (who appears in Sporty Girl's fanfic). Just a little historical background
The United States initiated the War on Terror in late 2000 after Al Qaeda attacked the USS Cole. In early 2001, before President Bush was inaugurated, U.S. Military forces were deployed into Afghanistan to hunt for the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The battles etc. all followed the actual events, with only the dates changed. Of course, Umbrella was also inserted into the fray, as my story will elaborate.
Operation: Falling S.T.A.R.S.
Chapter One: Prelude/ Final Justice
Somewhere in Afghanistan, February 12, 2001
The large steel door in the back of the cave stood out like a sore thumb. The rest of the interior was pitch black, but the keypad lock for the door threw off enough light to make the door vaguely visible. A faint shape moved through the darkness, examining the keypad and door before taking a step back. Two other shapes moved up to stand next to the first and began to examine the door as well. As they approached the door, it became evident that the three were humans, outfitted from head to toe in black. All three had the benefit of wearing night vision goggles, making the cave appear in a washed out green color instead of the non-amplified pitch black.
None of the figures had any sort of insignia visible, or any other identifying marks. One of them walked up to the keypad while removing a handheld computer from a web belt. The figure removed the front of the keypad, and attached a link cable from the computer to it. The computer ran combinations of numbers until it attained the proper combination for the door, which promptly began to swing open. The person at the door retreated, as the other two leveled their weapons at the now-opening passageway, prepared to face any hostiles in the immediate vicinity.
The person who opened the door stepped forwards, sweeping the corridor that it had revealed with a rifle, as the others flanked him. There were no doors nearby in the metallic gray corridor, but it was well- lit, making the night vision goggles the three were carrying useless. All three removed the devices, placing them on their backs and prepared to continue into the facility. As of yet, none of them had spoken a single word while the entrance was secured with military precision.
"This wasn't on the briefing. Our objective was a biological weapons cache that was supposed to be stored in this area. This sure doesn't look like anything that Al Qaeda or the Taliban would've constructed. Opinions?" The first person asked, as the other two finished their sweeps.
"We continue to clear whatever this place is. Just because it may not appear to be a Taliban or Al Qaeda position doesn't mean it isn't. Besides, we've checked all of the other caves in the area. This is the last place those bioweapons could be," the second person replied.
"Why not? Besides, it's not like Intel's ever been wrong before. If the weapons are here, we have to take 'em away from the scary towel heads before they decide to use them on our troops. I vote to clean this nest out," the third person answered.
"Still, something about this place is bugging me. Orders are orders though. We clear the facility, and find out exactly what is going on here. If we find the weapons, we call in the ground pounders to secure the place, and get out. Kline, you're on point, Edwards, cover our rear. I don't feel like getting jumped by one of these terrorists who can barely say jihad let alone spell it. Move out," the first commanded.
"Yes sir, oh Slayer sir." Edwards replied.
"Don't call me by my codename. You guys know I hate it when my friends call me by it," the first person replied.
"Fine, mister tough guy Matt Ryan. Besides, who picked that name for you? It's got to be the gayest thing I've ever heard," Edwards replied as he choked back a laugh.
"That's better Paul. Mark, make sure nothing shoots mister funny man here before I get the chance to back at base camp. Let's get going here, okay? This place is giving off bad vibes, and I want to get back in time to find out if the Ravens won the Super Bowl," Matt replied.
The three commandos began to walk down the corridor very cautiously, checking every intersection and clearing every room. They found nothing but overturned chairs, and scattered papers referring to something called "Project Retribution". After reaching the end of the hallway, they reached the entrance to an elevator which appeared to go down farther into the complex.
"I am starting to really not like this. Whatever happened here, it looks like the people cleared out in a hurry. Not to mention the fact that this place looks like it's been ransacked," Mark said, gesturing with his rifle as if to accentuate the thought.
"I have to agree with you man. There's some really weird stuff going on here. We have to go down though. Make sure your rifles are loaded, and keep an extra magazine in reach. Load the shotguns too; we might be in some CQB situations. Looks like there's only one floor down there, so it shouldn't be too hard to clear. If it gets too hot, we pull out," Ryan said, as they entered the elevator. He pushed the button for the bottom floor as he readied his F-1100 composite rifle. The rifles were recently developed, and combined a 7.62 mm automatic weapon with a 12 gauge shotgun in order to provide more firepower for infantry operations. It had a 50 round magazine for the assault rifle section, and a 10 round magazine for the shotgun. The rifle had three selections for firing, single shot, 3- round burst, fully automatic, and a safety. The shotgun had a "double- blast" capability, allowing it to fire two rounds in rapid succession. However, the recoil for the double-blast reduced its effectiveness to the point where the target would have to be within twenty to thirty feet for both rounds to reach maximum effectiveness.
As the elevator began to slow, Paul removed his .50 caliber Desert Eagle from its holster, pulling back the slide so it was ready to fire. Matt and Mark had already done this prior to entering the cave, just in case they ran out of ammo for their primary weapons, and needed their pistols in a hurry. Their descent stopped and the elevator doors opened, revealing a corridor much like the one above. There was a wide open area surrounding the elevator, which narrowed into the corridor that led deeper into the complex. Mark and Paul checked the immediate area for any hidden enemies, while Matt swept the first room for anything indicating what purpose the facility had.
"I found something, or someone for that matter," he called out, as Mark and Paul gathered around. Ryan gestured at the body on the floor, which looked like it had been dead for quite some time. He, it was fairly obvious that the corpse was that of a he, was shot in his head and back with an automatic weapon. However, there were no casings evident; leaving the team to believe that whoever killed this person didn't want to leave a trace as to their presence.
"Check him," Ryan said, as he continued to search the office for any information about the facility.
"Looks like a local," Paul said as he checked the body for any identification or anything else useful on his person.
"Holy crap!" he yelled, as he rolled the body over. While the only injuries that were obvious on his front were the gunshots, his back was another story entirely. There were deep cuts along his back, and pieces of bone were clearly visible. "It looks like someone was trying to gut him or something. I've never seen someone messed up like this before. No wonder they shot the poor guy, he must've been hurting pretty badly."
"Jesus," Mark muttered as he walked over to the corner and righted a flipped chair so he could sit down. "I didn't sign up to play medical examiner on a human fish fillet. This was definitely not in the job description they gave us. Matt, I'm all for bailing. There's some seriously weird stuff going on here, and I think it's someone else's responsibility to investigate."
"We're not leaving until we can find out what happened here. The Taliban or Al Qaeda might've been testing their bioweapons down here, and this poor guy might've been exposed. We need to find their stash, and take it from them," Matt said, helping his friend back to his feet.
"Matt, I've never seen a biological agent turn someone into hamburger before. If this guy were exposed, do you think they would just leave him here where he could infect other people who were working on this stuff, whatever it is? They would've hauled him off and burned the body. If you ask me, something horrible happened here, and I'm not so sure I want to find out what," Paul said as he opened the door to the hallway.
"We have to. If the Taliban use this on our troops, or worse, get it home, how could we live with ourselves? We need to find this stuff and get the Marines in here to take it from them. Let's just do our jobs and get out of here ASAP. When we get back to base, the first round of drinks is on me. That make you guys feel better?" Matt asked, as he strode into the hallway with his rifle at his shoulder ready for anything.
"Not really, but ask me later," Mark said as he took up his position at the front of their formation. Paul took up the rear, as they reached an intersecting hallway.
"Well, this looks promising," Mark said as he pointed to the map that was on the wall in front of them. He smashed the glass case with his rifle butt, and removed the map.
"Looks like we want to go here," Matt said, pointing to what had been labeled as Testing Area 001. "It's to the left, and down a flight of stairs. We'll clear that, and see what little presents they've." he began as he noticed an insignia on the bottom corner of the map. "Umbrella? What does a pharmaceutical company have to do with bioweapons, and the Taliban? There is definitely something not right going on down here. Be on your guard, there's no telling what could be up ahead."
They walked down the new hallway until they reached the staircase down, when they began to hear voices. Matt gestured for them to stop as he crawled to the staircase and looked down. He saw two technicians standing outside the testing area, as he strained to make out their conversation.
"The modifications are almost complete," one technician said as he wiped what appeared to be blood off of his hands. "It was a shame that the first test subject escaped, and freed one of the Hunters. We lost two irreplaceable researchers and a security officer to it, along with the subject. Of course, that was before we were ordered to terminate the other bioweapons, and concentrate solely on developing the new strain of Tyrants. As you can see, we have succeeded, and are preparing the unit for transport to our India research base for proper tests. Of course, we don't need tests to tell that it is far superior to all of its forerunners. In fact, some of its capabilities are most impressive, including." he began as someone inside the testing area yelled something indistinguishable to Ryan.
He waved Paul and Mark over, and motioned for them to be on their guard and follow him down the stairs to see what had happened. While he was observing, he had noticed several crates stacked near the bottom of the staircase, which would make suitable cover to observe the actions of the researchers without being seen. They walked down the stairs, just in time to hear the unmistakable sound of glass shattering, along with a bellowing roar. Several people screamed, as what Ryan could only describe as a thing from someone's nightmares emerged from a cylinder. Ryan motioned for the others to take cover behind the crates along with him, as they watched the unfolding incident.
The technician outside the testing area calmly pulled out a Berreta 92F pistol and shot the person he was talking to only seconds ago, striding past the body even as it fell to the floor. He locked the door to the test area, and laughed at the people pounding at the door trying to escape. However, he failed to notice Matt sneak up behind him, until he felt the Desert Eagle barrel at the back of his neck.
"Paul, open the door and get those people out of there!" he yelled, as he pushed the technician away from the door, and watched the impending carnage inside the room. The creature, which Ryan assumed was what the technician meant by "Tyrant" was still struggling to free itself from its prison, being held back by a few restraints that were rapidly being destroyed. Edwards ran to the door, yanked it open, and yelled for the people inside to get out. Of the nine people in the room, eight made it out before the Tyrant freed itself. The last person had been trying to do something to one of the computer consoles in the room, and was not going to leave before he had finished. This had cost him his life, as the Tyrant reached him in two massive strides, and impaled him on its huge claw. The Tyrant shook its claw until the body was thoroughly sliced to pieces, and began to eat the remains. Several of the researchers turned to vomit as a computerized voice announced "Fifteen minutes until self-destruct. All personnel are instructed to evacuate the facility immediately. Self- destruct cannot be aborted, all personnel are to evacuate or face imminent destruction." The message repeated itself as Paul closed the door to the room, and jammed the lock.
"That won't do you any good. Once the Tyrant is finished with him, it will come for all of you," the technician said before starting to laugh maniacally.
"Well chuckles, if it does come for us, you're first. Mark, Paul, let's move it. Everyone, get to the elevator," Matt said, pushing the hostile technician in front of him as they ran for the elevator. Ryan could hear the Tyrant trying to smash its way through the shatterproof glass separating the testing area from the rapidly retreating humans. Finally, there was a crunch followed by the pounding of the Tyrant chasing the survivors as they fled the complex. Ryan rounded the corner leading back to the main corridor, and saw the others ahead, as Paul and Mark herded them towards the elevator. He turned around in time to see the Tyrant no more than fifty feet behind him, and gaining quickly.
"Guys, some help here!" he yelled, as Mark and Paul stopped to help out their friend. They began to fire at the Tyrant as soon as it came around the corner, being careful not to hit either Matt or his prisoner, but their weapons were not able to slow it down enough to make a difference. Matt turned, and managed to duck and roll underneath a swipe from the Tyrant's claw, but his prisoner wasn't so lucky. The Tyrant speared him through his chest, and ripped him apart, showering the corridor in his remains. Ryan brought up his rifle, and fired a burst at the Tyrant as he continued running down the corridor, moving faster now that he didn't have to drag his prisoner along as well. Ryan was using special ammunition with his rifle, as opposed to what Paul and Mark were shooting at the Tyrant. He had purchased tungsten-tipped armor piercing rounds for his rifle, even though they were incredibly expensive. While in the Army Rangers, he had a bad experience with a LAV (Light Armored Vehicle), which had nearly cost him his life, until a sniper using AP (Armor Piercing) bullets was able to shoot the driver in the head. Ever since then, Ryan had not allowed himself to be caught without armor piercing rounds, even though they were neither standard issue or cheap.
The Tyrant staggered under Ryan's volley of armor piercing bullets, but still maintained its pursuit of him. The scientists were beginning to reach the elevator lobby, with Paul right behind them, to make sure they didn't get any ideas about leaving them behind. Mark fired the remainder of his clip at the Tyrant as it began to pick up speed again. He waited until Matt was clear, and fired a double blast from his shotgun, hitting the Tyrant in its chest and face. Ryan turned and fired a double blast as well, and put the rest of his clip into the wounds the Tyrant received. The armor piercing bullets devastated the Tyrant, punching through its thickened skin, and striking its internal organs. Unfortunately, this Tyrant truly was superior to its predecessors, and continued through the withering storm of fire.
"Matt, let's bail. Paul's got the elevator covered. It's only sixty feet man, let's go," Mark said, as he fired two single shots from his shotgun, to control the recoil. The Tyrant took one shot to its left shoulder, and one to its right leg. The impact of both rounds was enough to knock it off balance, when Ryan rolled a grenade at it.
"Everybody take cover!" Matt yelled as he tossed a grenade over his shoulder at the Tyrant. Paul managed to get the elevator doors closed before the explosive detonated, while Mark and Matt dove for the cover provided by the walls in the elevator lobby. They both managed to get behind the walls before the grenades exploded; however, the Tyrant wasn't as lucky as they were. Its skin was already punctured in many places, which left it vulnerable to the shrapnel from the frag grenade Ryan had tossed. The actual explosion of the grenade did little damage to the Tyrant, since the grenade had landed several feet in front of it. The shrapnel however ate into its insides, cutting its internal organs into pieces. As Paul reopened the elevator doors, he saw that the Tyrant was still trying to struggle to its feet, as Matt and Mark ran for the elevator. They piled in, and Matt threw a second grenade at the Tyrant right before the doors of the elevator closed.
"Seven minutes until self-destruction. All personnel remaining in the facility are instructed to evacuate before meeting a terrible demise. Thank you, and have a nice day," the computerized voice again announced as the elevator ascended to the surface.
"If I ever find the person who programmed that message." Paul began.
"He was your prisoner. The Tyrant got him for you," one of the Umbrella researchers said.
"We have a minute before we reach the top. Do you have any idea why he locked you in that testing area with that Tyrant thing?" Mark asked. None of the researchers were willing to speak up for several seconds as the elevator continued to rise. Finally, the same researcher answered the question.
"The only thing I can think of is that he wanted to blackmail the company. He was always a bit unbalanced, and constantly threatened us to keep working on that monster of his. We didn't want to, the company forced us to research their weapons," he answered.
"Why are you telling us this? How do you know we aren't from Umbrella?" Matt asked, as several of the researchers grew frightened.
"It doesn't matter anymore. When that Tyrant gets caught in the self- destruct, all of the research they forced us to do will be lost forever, thank God. Besides, you couldn't be from Umbrella. They would've shot us all on sight," the first researcher added. By this time, the elevator had stopped, and the doors opened.
"Okay, everybody out. Mark and Paul, take point. I'll bring up the rear," Matt said, as everybody ran for the exit at the end of the corridor. They made it to the steal door at the entrance of the facility with a little over two minutes left until the facility exploded, and ran through the cave into the hot desert air. It was just a little after local noon, and the air temperature was much higher than the facility's climate- controlled 73 degrees Fahrenheit. They continued running, trying to put some distance between the Umbrella complex and themselves before it exploded and took them with it. Mark and Paul managed to find a ditch about four hundred feet from the entrance, and made sure that all of the researchers made it before jumping in themselves. Ryan made a dive for the ditch, and landed inside of it seconds before the facility exploded. Dust flew everywhere as the hill that the facility had been built under collapsed, showering the survivors with debris. Ryan pulled out a satellite radio, and established a communications channel with the Marines.
"Echo Alpha, this is Field Op Charlie reporting a situation green and requesting pickup. The facility has been neutralized, with zero friendly casualties. We also have eight people requiring a debrief by Intel. Might want to brace yourselves, they've got quite a story to tell about what happened in there. By the way, who did win the Super Bowl?" Ryan asked over the radio, as the Marine on the other side laughed.
"Ravens over the 49ers in overtime, 35-28. There's a helo inbound, ETA ten minutes Charlie. This is Echo Alpha signing off," he replied as Ryan shut off the radio.
"What was Umbrella doing with that thing in Afghanistan?" Ryan asked. "What was Umbrella doing with that thing, period?"
"As well as I can tell, Umbrella isn't just a pharmaceutical company. They produce bioweapons like the Tyrant, as well as viruses, to the highest bidder. The Taliban were interested in Umbrella's weapons, and Umbrella agreed to provide them an advanced Tyrant as a free sample, you could say. The facility was entirely funded by Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and other than Mr. Evans, our boss that you took prisoner, the labor was kidnapped. The Taliban supplied some captured Northern Alliance soldiers to Evans for testing before Umbrella withdrew its other bioweapons from the base when the U.S. declared war. The first test subject escaped, and somehow managed to release a Hunter, a different type of bioweapon. It killed two of my colleagues, and a security officer before it was hunted down. It also killed the poor kid; he was only 17, who had escaped. To make sure he didn't come back as a zombie, the security team shot him," the researcher that had been so helpful previously replied. Ryan saw that he had a name tag that read William.
"What do you mean, come back as a zombie?" Mark asked.
"The Tyrant and Hunter series of bioweapons, along with all of the others that Umbrella makes, are created using either the T- or G-viruses. They are able to mutate living beings into horrible creatures, and can turn infected humans into zombies," Will replied.
"So what happened in Raccoon was true," Paul replied, punching the sand as hard as he could.
"What's wrong Paul?" Matt asked, as his friend began to cry.
"My brother was living in Raccoon when it was nuked. I promised myself that if I got a hold of whoever caused the outbreak, they would regret the day they heard of the city. I just didn't believe that the S.T.A.R.S. team was actually telling the truth about what Umbrella did there. They deserve to pay," he said, as he calmed down slightly. Ryan heard the helicopter approaching as Paul finished speaking, and for once was at a temporary loss for words. When he did speak however, everyone listened.
"You're right Paul. Umbrella can't be allowed to get away with this. My fiancée is working for them right now; I have to get her out of there as soon as we get back. Right now though, we should just worry about getting back to base, and getting debriefed. We'll have plenty of time afterwards to put together a plan to take out Umbrella once and for all. Believe me, they'll wish they never heard of us before we're done with them," he answered.
The helicopter flew in from the north and hovered overhead for a few seconds until it located a suitable landing field, and set down. Matt, Mark and Paul helped the researchers get in, and hopped on themselves for the short ride back to the U.S. base in the region, as they prepared themselves for the coming battles they would have to face against Umbrella and their monstrosities.
"Hey Mark, guess what? The Ravens won the Super Bowl, so you owe me $20," Matt said as he gave a light laugh. Mark just grimaced slightly, and then gave a slight grin as he passed over the money. Even though they were going to be entering battle with a multinational corporation that had the capability to produce enough biological weapons to destroy the world, Matt was still joking with his friends.
Well, the first chapter of my story is a wrap. In the next chapter, Ryan and his friends will be debriefed, and receive new orders concerning Umbrella. Don't expect the next chapter until around the 4th of July however (I'll be on a backpacking trip for two weeks and not return until then). I will bring a notebook to write with on the plane though, and try to have the next chapter up ASAP (As Soon As Possible).
Author's Notes: Created this story as a background for my character Matthew Ryan (who appears in Sporty Girl's fanfic). Just a little historical background
The United States initiated the War on Terror in late 2000 after Al Qaeda attacked the USS Cole. In early 2001, before President Bush was inaugurated, U.S. Military forces were deployed into Afghanistan to hunt for the Taliban and Al Qaeda. The battles etc. all followed the actual events, with only the dates changed. Of course, Umbrella was also inserted into the fray, as my story will elaborate.
Operation: Falling S.T.A.R.S.
Chapter One: Prelude/ Final Justice
Somewhere in Afghanistan, February 12, 2001
The large steel door in the back of the cave stood out like a sore thumb. The rest of the interior was pitch black, but the keypad lock for the door threw off enough light to make the door vaguely visible. A faint shape moved through the darkness, examining the keypad and door before taking a step back. Two other shapes moved up to stand next to the first and began to examine the door as well. As they approached the door, it became evident that the three were humans, outfitted from head to toe in black. All three had the benefit of wearing night vision goggles, making the cave appear in a washed out green color instead of the non-amplified pitch black.
None of the figures had any sort of insignia visible, or any other identifying marks. One of them walked up to the keypad while removing a handheld computer from a web belt. The figure removed the front of the keypad, and attached a link cable from the computer to it. The computer ran combinations of numbers until it attained the proper combination for the door, which promptly began to swing open. The person at the door retreated, as the other two leveled their weapons at the now-opening passageway, prepared to face any hostiles in the immediate vicinity.
The person who opened the door stepped forwards, sweeping the corridor that it had revealed with a rifle, as the others flanked him. There were no doors nearby in the metallic gray corridor, but it was well- lit, making the night vision goggles the three were carrying useless. All three removed the devices, placing them on their backs and prepared to continue into the facility. As of yet, none of them had spoken a single word while the entrance was secured with military precision.
"This wasn't on the briefing. Our objective was a biological weapons cache that was supposed to be stored in this area. This sure doesn't look like anything that Al Qaeda or the Taliban would've constructed. Opinions?" The first person asked, as the other two finished their sweeps.
"We continue to clear whatever this place is. Just because it may not appear to be a Taliban or Al Qaeda position doesn't mean it isn't. Besides, we've checked all of the other caves in the area. This is the last place those bioweapons could be," the second person replied.
"Why not? Besides, it's not like Intel's ever been wrong before. If the weapons are here, we have to take 'em away from the scary towel heads before they decide to use them on our troops. I vote to clean this nest out," the third person answered.
"Still, something about this place is bugging me. Orders are orders though. We clear the facility, and find out exactly what is going on here. If we find the weapons, we call in the ground pounders to secure the place, and get out. Kline, you're on point, Edwards, cover our rear. I don't feel like getting jumped by one of these terrorists who can barely say jihad let alone spell it. Move out," the first commanded.
"Yes sir, oh Slayer sir." Edwards replied.
"Don't call me by my codename. You guys know I hate it when my friends call me by it," the first person replied.
"Fine, mister tough guy Matt Ryan. Besides, who picked that name for you? It's got to be the gayest thing I've ever heard," Edwards replied as he choked back a laugh.
"That's better Paul. Mark, make sure nothing shoots mister funny man here before I get the chance to back at base camp. Let's get going here, okay? This place is giving off bad vibes, and I want to get back in time to find out if the Ravens won the Super Bowl," Matt replied.
The three commandos began to walk down the corridor very cautiously, checking every intersection and clearing every room. They found nothing but overturned chairs, and scattered papers referring to something called "Project Retribution". After reaching the end of the hallway, they reached the entrance to an elevator which appeared to go down farther into the complex.
"I am starting to really not like this. Whatever happened here, it looks like the people cleared out in a hurry. Not to mention the fact that this place looks like it's been ransacked," Mark said, gesturing with his rifle as if to accentuate the thought.
"I have to agree with you man. There's some really weird stuff going on here. We have to go down though. Make sure your rifles are loaded, and keep an extra magazine in reach. Load the shotguns too; we might be in some CQB situations. Looks like there's only one floor down there, so it shouldn't be too hard to clear. If it gets too hot, we pull out," Ryan said, as they entered the elevator. He pushed the button for the bottom floor as he readied his F-1100 composite rifle. The rifles were recently developed, and combined a 7.62 mm automatic weapon with a 12 gauge shotgun in order to provide more firepower for infantry operations. It had a 50 round magazine for the assault rifle section, and a 10 round magazine for the shotgun. The rifle had three selections for firing, single shot, 3- round burst, fully automatic, and a safety. The shotgun had a "double- blast" capability, allowing it to fire two rounds in rapid succession. However, the recoil for the double-blast reduced its effectiveness to the point where the target would have to be within twenty to thirty feet for both rounds to reach maximum effectiveness.
As the elevator began to slow, Paul removed his .50 caliber Desert Eagle from its holster, pulling back the slide so it was ready to fire. Matt and Mark had already done this prior to entering the cave, just in case they ran out of ammo for their primary weapons, and needed their pistols in a hurry. Their descent stopped and the elevator doors opened, revealing a corridor much like the one above. There was a wide open area surrounding the elevator, which narrowed into the corridor that led deeper into the complex. Mark and Paul checked the immediate area for any hidden enemies, while Matt swept the first room for anything indicating what purpose the facility had.
"I found something, or someone for that matter," he called out, as Mark and Paul gathered around. Ryan gestured at the body on the floor, which looked like it had been dead for quite some time. He, it was fairly obvious that the corpse was that of a he, was shot in his head and back with an automatic weapon. However, there were no casings evident; leaving the team to believe that whoever killed this person didn't want to leave a trace as to their presence.
"Check him," Ryan said, as he continued to search the office for any information about the facility.
"Looks like a local," Paul said as he checked the body for any identification or anything else useful on his person.
"Holy crap!" he yelled, as he rolled the body over. While the only injuries that were obvious on his front were the gunshots, his back was another story entirely. There were deep cuts along his back, and pieces of bone were clearly visible. "It looks like someone was trying to gut him or something. I've never seen someone messed up like this before. No wonder they shot the poor guy, he must've been hurting pretty badly."
"Jesus," Mark muttered as he walked over to the corner and righted a flipped chair so he could sit down. "I didn't sign up to play medical examiner on a human fish fillet. This was definitely not in the job description they gave us. Matt, I'm all for bailing. There's some seriously weird stuff going on here, and I think it's someone else's responsibility to investigate."
"We're not leaving until we can find out what happened here. The Taliban or Al Qaeda might've been testing their bioweapons down here, and this poor guy might've been exposed. We need to find their stash, and take it from them," Matt said, helping his friend back to his feet.
"Matt, I've never seen a biological agent turn someone into hamburger before. If this guy were exposed, do you think they would just leave him here where he could infect other people who were working on this stuff, whatever it is? They would've hauled him off and burned the body. If you ask me, something horrible happened here, and I'm not so sure I want to find out what," Paul said as he opened the door to the hallway.
"We have to. If the Taliban use this on our troops, or worse, get it home, how could we live with ourselves? We need to find this stuff and get the Marines in here to take it from them. Let's just do our jobs and get out of here ASAP. When we get back to base, the first round of drinks is on me. That make you guys feel better?" Matt asked, as he strode into the hallway with his rifle at his shoulder ready for anything.
"Not really, but ask me later," Mark said as he took up his position at the front of their formation. Paul took up the rear, as they reached an intersecting hallway.
"Well, this looks promising," Mark said as he pointed to the map that was on the wall in front of them. He smashed the glass case with his rifle butt, and removed the map.
"Looks like we want to go here," Matt said, pointing to what had been labeled as Testing Area 001. "It's to the left, and down a flight of stairs. We'll clear that, and see what little presents they've." he began as he noticed an insignia on the bottom corner of the map. "Umbrella? What does a pharmaceutical company have to do with bioweapons, and the Taliban? There is definitely something not right going on down here. Be on your guard, there's no telling what could be up ahead."
They walked down the new hallway until they reached the staircase down, when they began to hear voices. Matt gestured for them to stop as he crawled to the staircase and looked down. He saw two technicians standing outside the testing area, as he strained to make out their conversation.
"The modifications are almost complete," one technician said as he wiped what appeared to be blood off of his hands. "It was a shame that the first test subject escaped, and freed one of the Hunters. We lost two irreplaceable researchers and a security officer to it, along with the subject. Of course, that was before we were ordered to terminate the other bioweapons, and concentrate solely on developing the new strain of Tyrants. As you can see, we have succeeded, and are preparing the unit for transport to our India research base for proper tests. Of course, we don't need tests to tell that it is far superior to all of its forerunners. In fact, some of its capabilities are most impressive, including." he began as someone inside the testing area yelled something indistinguishable to Ryan.
He waved Paul and Mark over, and motioned for them to be on their guard and follow him down the stairs to see what had happened. While he was observing, he had noticed several crates stacked near the bottom of the staircase, which would make suitable cover to observe the actions of the researchers without being seen. They walked down the stairs, just in time to hear the unmistakable sound of glass shattering, along with a bellowing roar. Several people screamed, as what Ryan could only describe as a thing from someone's nightmares emerged from a cylinder. Ryan motioned for the others to take cover behind the crates along with him, as they watched the unfolding incident.
The technician outside the testing area calmly pulled out a Berreta 92F pistol and shot the person he was talking to only seconds ago, striding past the body even as it fell to the floor. He locked the door to the test area, and laughed at the people pounding at the door trying to escape. However, he failed to notice Matt sneak up behind him, until he felt the Desert Eagle barrel at the back of his neck.
"Paul, open the door and get those people out of there!" he yelled, as he pushed the technician away from the door, and watched the impending carnage inside the room. The creature, which Ryan assumed was what the technician meant by "Tyrant" was still struggling to free itself from its prison, being held back by a few restraints that were rapidly being destroyed. Edwards ran to the door, yanked it open, and yelled for the people inside to get out. Of the nine people in the room, eight made it out before the Tyrant freed itself. The last person had been trying to do something to one of the computer consoles in the room, and was not going to leave before he had finished. This had cost him his life, as the Tyrant reached him in two massive strides, and impaled him on its huge claw. The Tyrant shook its claw until the body was thoroughly sliced to pieces, and began to eat the remains. Several of the researchers turned to vomit as a computerized voice announced "Fifteen minutes until self-destruct. All personnel are instructed to evacuate the facility immediately. Self- destruct cannot be aborted, all personnel are to evacuate or face imminent destruction." The message repeated itself as Paul closed the door to the room, and jammed the lock.
"That won't do you any good. Once the Tyrant is finished with him, it will come for all of you," the technician said before starting to laugh maniacally.
"Well chuckles, if it does come for us, you're first. Mark, Paul, let's move it. Everyone, get to the elevator," Matt said, pushing the hostile technician in front of him as they ran for the elevator. Ryan could hear the Tyrant trying to smash its way through the shatterproof glass separating the testing area from the rapidly retreating humans. Finally, there was a crunch followed by the pounding of the Tyrant chasing the survivors as they fled the complex. Ryan rounded the corner leading back to the main corridor, and saw the others ahead, as Paul and Mark herded them towards the elevator. He turned around in time to see the Tyrant no more than fifty feet behind him, and gaining quickly.
"Guys, some help here!" he yelled, as Mark and Paul stopped to help out their friend. They began to fire at the Tyrant as soon as it came around the corner, being careful not to hit either Matt or his prisoner, but their weapons were not able to slow it down enough to make a difference. Matt turned, and managed to duck and roll underneath a swipe from the Tyrant's claw, but his prisoner wasn't so lucky. The Tyrant speared him through his chest, and ripped him apart, showering the corridor in his remains. Ryan brought up his rifle, and fired a burst at the Tyrant as he continued running down the corridor, moving faster now that he didn't have to drag his prisoner along as well. Ryan was using special ammunition with his rifle, as opposed to what Paul and Mark were shooting at the Tyrant. He had purchased tungsten-tipped armor piercing rounds for his rifle, even though they were incredibly expensive. While in the Army Rangers, he had a bad experience with a LAV (Light Armored Vehicle), which had nearly cost him his life, until a sniper using AP (Armor Piercing) bullets was able to shoot the driver in the head. Ever since then, Ryan had not allowed himself to be caught without armor piercing rounds, even though they were neither standard issue or cheap.
The Tyrant staggered under Ryan's volley of armor piercing bullets, but still maintained its pursuit of him. The scientists were beginning to reach the elevator lobby, with Paul right behind them, to make sure they didn't get any ideas about leaving them behind. Mark fired the remainder of his clip at the Tyrant as it began to pick up speed again. He waited until Matt was clear, and fired a double blast from his shotgun, hitting the Tyrant in its chest and face. Ryan turned and fired a double blast as well, and put the rest of his clip into the wounds the Tyrant received. The armor piercing bullets devastated the Tyrant, punching through its thickened skin, and striking its internal organs. Unfortunately, this Tyrant truly was superior to its predecessors, and continued through the withering storm of fire.
"Matt, let's bail. Paul's got the elevator covered. It's only sixty feet man, let's go," Mark said, as he fired two single shots from his shotgun, to control the recoil. The Tyrant took one shot to its left shoulder, and one to its right leg. The impact of both rounds was enough to knock it off balance, when Ryan rolled a grenade at it.
"Everybody take cover!" Matt yelled as he tossed a grenade over his shoulder at the Tyrant. Paul managed to get the elevator doors closed before the explosive detonated, while Mark and Matt dove for the cover provided by the walls in the elevator lobby. They both managed to get behind the walls before the grenades exploded; however, the Tyrant wasn't as lucky as they were. Its skin was already punctured in many places, which left it vulnerable to the shrapnel from the frag grenade Ryan had tossed. The actual explosion of the grenade did little damage to the Tyrant, since the grenade had landed several feet in front of it. The shrapnel however ate into its insides, cutting its internal organs into pieces. As Paul reopened the elevator doors, he saw that the Tyrant was still trying to struggle to its feet, as Matt and Mark ran for the elevator. They piled in, and Matt threw a second grenade at the Tyrant right before the doors of the elevator closed.
"Seven minutes until self-destruction. All personnel remaining in the facility are instructed to evacuate before meeting a terrible demise. Thank you, and have a nice day," the computerized voice again announced as the elevator ascended to the surface.
"If I ever find the person who programmed that message." Paul began.
"He was your prisoner. The Tyrant got him for you," one of the Umbrella researchers said.
"We have a minute before we reach the top. Do you have any idea why he locked you in that testing area with that Tyrant thing?" Mark asked. None of the researchers were willing to speak up for several seconds as the elevator continued to rise. Finally, the same researcher answered the question.
"The only thing I can think of is that he wanted to blackmail the company. He was always a bit unbalanced, and constantly threatened us to keep working on that monster of his. We didn't want to, the company forced us to research their weapons," he answered.
"Why are you telling us this? How do you know we aren't from Umbrella?" Matt asked, as several of the researchers grew frightened.
"It doesn't matter anymore. When that Tyrant gets caught in the self- destruct, all of the research they forced us to do will be lost forever, thank God. Besides, you couldn't be from Umbrella. They would've shot us all on sight," the first researcher added. By this time, the elevator had stopped, and the doors opened.
"Okay, everybody out. Mark and Paul, take point. I'll bring up the rear," Matt said, as everybody ran for the exit at the end of the corridor. They made it to the steal door at the entrance of the facility with a little over two minutes left until the facility exploded, and ran through the cave into the hot desert air. It was just a little after local noon, and the air temperature was much higher than the facility's climate- controlled 73 degrees Fahrenheit. They continued running, trying to put some distance between the Umbrella complex and themselves before it exploded and took them with it. Mark and Paul managed to find a ditch about four hundred feet from the entrance, and made sure that all of the researchers made it before jumping in themselves. Ryan made a dive for the ditch, and landed inside of it seconds before the facility exploded. Dust flew everywhere as the hill that the facility had been built under collapsed, showering the survivors with debris. Ryan pulled out a satellite radio, and established a communications channel with the Marines.
"Echo Alpha, this is Field Op Charlie reporting a situation green and requesting pickup. The facility has been neutralized, with zero friendly casualties. We also have eight people requiring a debrief by Intel. Might want to brace yourselves, they've got quite a story to tell about what happened in there. By the way, who did win the Super Bowl?" Ryan asked over the radio, as the Marine on the other side laughed.
"Ravens over the 49ers in overtime, 35-28. There's a helo inbound, ETA ten minutes Charlie. This is Echo Alpha signing off," he replied as Ryan shut off the radio.
"What was Umbrella doing with that thing in Afghanistan?" Ryan asked. "What was Umbrella doing with that thing, period?"
"As well as I can tell, Umbrella isn't just a pharmaceutical company. They produce bioweapons like the Tyrant, as well as viruses, to the highest bidder. The Taliban were interested in Umbrella's weapons, and Umbrella agreed to provide them an advanced Tyrant as a free sample, you could say. The facility was entirely funded by Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and other than Mr. Evans, our boss that you took prisoner, the labor was kidnapped. The Taliban supplied some captured Northern Alliance soldiers to Evans for testing before Umbrella withdrew its other bioweapons from the base when the U.S. declared war. The first test subject escaped, and somehow managed to release a Hunter, a different type of bioweapon. It killed two of my colleagues, and a security officer before it was hunted down. It also killed the poor kid; he was only 17, who had escaped. To make sure he didn't come back as a zombie, the security team shot him," the researcher that had been so helpful previously replied. Ryan saw that he had a name tag that read William.
"What do you mean, come back as a zombie?" Mark asked.
"The Tyrant and Hunter series of bioweapons, along with all of the others that Umbrella makes, are created using either the T- or G-viruses. They are able to mutate living beings into horrible creatures, and can turn infected humans into zombies," Will replied.
"So what happened in Raccoon was true," Paul replied, punching the sand as hard as he could.
"What's wrong Paul?" Matt asked, as his friend began to cry.
"My brother was living in Raccoon when it was nuked. I promised myself that if I got a hold of whoever caused the outbreak, they would regret the day they heard of the city. I just didn't believe that the S.T.A.R.S. team was actually telling the truth about what Umbrella did there. They deserve to pay," he said, as he calmed down slightly. Ryan heard the helicopter approaching as Paul finished speaking, and for once was at a temporary loss for words. When he did speak however, everyone listened.
"You're right Paul. Umbrella can't be allowed to get away with this. My fiancée is working for them right now; I have to get her out of there as soon as we get back. Right now though, we should just worry about getting back to base, and getting debriefed. We'll have plenty of time afterwards to put together a plan to take out Umbrella once and for all. Believe me, they'll wish they never heard of us before we're done with them," he answered.
The helicopter flew in from the north and hovered overhead for a few seconds until it located a suitable landing field, and set down. Matt, Mark and Paul helped the researchers get in, and hopped on themselves for the short ride back to the U.S. base in the region, as they prepared themselves for the coming battles they would have to face against Umbrella and their monstrosities.
"Hey Mark, guess what? The Ravens won the Super Bowl, so you owe me $20," Matt said as he gave a light laugh. Mark just grimaced slightly, and then gave a slight grin as he passed over the money. Even though they were going to be entering battle with a multinational corporation that had the capability to produce enough biological weapons to destroy the world, Matt was still joking with his friends.
Well, the first chapter of my story is a wrap. In the next chapter, Ryan and his friends will be debriefed, and receive new orders concerning Umbrella. Don't expect the next chapter until around the 4th of July however (I'll be on a backpacking trip for two weeks and not return until then). I will bring a notebook to write with on the plane though, and try to have the next chapter up ASAP (As Soon As Possible).