The First Immortal
A/N: This is a crossover fanfic based in the world of the Resident Evil games but with some influence from the Underworld movies. This is post RE 5 as I have not played RE 6 yet. I may update my story to include events or characters in RE 6 if I do play it before I finish this fanfic. This will be somewhat AU as it would have to be in order for me to introduce Selene and her family which is so far pretty much the extent of the Underworld influence that I intend to add although that may change in the future as I feel needed. This will take place several years after the events of Underworld Awakening. The Cleansing was mistaken for another outbreak of BOWs. Most of the information about the game series is collected from the files in RE 5. Some information I just haven't been able to find as it is actually amazingly costly to get the older games and I am sure that I am missing something as there seem to be huge holes in the timeline of events described in the files that I have found in game and on the internet. I don't know for sure what Claire's job is but the movie that I have seen leads me to believe that she works for Terra-save so that is what I'm going with. I do not own Resident Evil, it belongs to Capcom and Underworld belongs to, I'm not really sure maybe Screen Gems Entertainment, point is it is not me and I am making no profit from this fanfiction. Chris x Jill, Leon x Ada, Selene x Michael.
Chapter 1
Claire Redfield was making her way through downtown Hoffman on her way home from work. She had moved here shortly after her brother Chris had redoubled his efforts against bioterrorism following the death of his partner Jill Valentine.
Chris had moved here first in order to be closer to the BSAA headquarters located in the area and then Claire had moved in with her brother in order to be closer to Chris. Claire knew that the relationship between her brother and his partner had been more than simple coworkers, more than friends even though she knew they had never officially entered into a romantic relationship with each other.
She could see that Jill's death had affected her brother deeply and that he would need her support. She knew what loss felt like and knew how difficult it was to get through it alone.
However her efforts didn't seem to help very much as Chris simply threw himself further and further into his work until one day when Claire saw a spark of life return to him. That day was the day before he left for a mission in the Kijuju province of Africa.
Yesterday Chris had called her and told her that he was on his way back, and he was bringing a surprise. Claire had no idea what kind of surprise Chris could possibly be bringing back from work and had begun to feel some trepidation over what it might be as she knew all too well what his work entailed.
It may have been because of these questions tumbling around in her head, or it may have simply been her joy at seeing her brother again but that night Claire was distracted and in accordance with Murphy's Law that was exactly when something chose to go horribly wrong for the younger Redfield.
Claire screamed and swung her fist behind her when she felt a strong grip fall onto her shoulders and yank her backward. She got a brief glimpse of a hooded man behind her before five men ran out of a side alley in between the tall buildings on either side of her armed with pistols and baseball bats.
Two of the newcomers grabbed at her struggling limbs while the man behind her clamped a hand over her mouth to prevent her from crying out again. Remembering the hand to hand lessons that her brother and she had practiced relentlessly after her capture at Rockfort Island Claire brought her right foot up in a swift powerful move that caught one of her attackers in the jaw as he reached for her leg.
The man grunted in pain and stumbled backwards but didn't fall down as Claire had expected him to. Dammit, that kick had hurt her foot; it should have rung his bell like a hammer. Claire watched as her attacker shook off the blow and reached for her leg again.
With her face set in a soundless snarl Claire brought her other foot up into the face of her other attacker and caught him in the nose feeling a satisfying crunch as his nose broke and blood momentarily sprayed from the wound.
Using the momentum from the kick Claire tried to turn around only to be stopped when the arms holding her tightened into steel bands immobilizing her upper body and removing any chance she had of escaping. Claire could feel her ribs straining to withstand the crushing pressure being exerted on her by her attacker, when she noticed something that brought a surprised gasp from her tortured chest.
The attacker that she had kicked in the face was calmly reaching for her legs again as his nose straightened itself out and healed rapidly before her eyes. Claire now knew that her attackers were no ordinary humans; they were likely some sort of hybrid, infected with a virus to increase their physical abilities.
Claire knew that she wouldn't be able to fight her way out and mentally cursed herself for not paying better attention to her surroundings. Her vision began to grow dim as her chest was constricted even more cutting off her oxygen supply.
The group of men closed in on her immobilizing her legs and arms before one of them whom had not participated in the struggle moved forward and withdrew a syringe from a case hidden in his jacket pocket.
Claire could see the parasite squirming in the glass tube and felt a new jolt of terror run through her turning her blood to ice water. 'Oh shit! They were going to infect her with something!' Claire tried to squirm away from the needle approaching her but was completely helpless against the inhuman strength of her captors.
The man holding the needle approached her head and then leaned down to whisper into her ear.
"Compliments of Albert Wesker."
Claire renewed her struggles as a fresh pulse of adrenaline fueled her body but it was futile. She closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable sting as the needle pierced her flesh. "I'm sorry Chris." She whispered knowing that whatever was about to happen to her would probably send him into another self-destructive spiral and she wouldn't be there to pull him out of it.
Suddenly she heard a loud thump and the shattering of glass. Opening her eyes Claire saw the man who had been holding the syringe laying fifteen feet away next to a brick wall that, judging by its marred surface, he had just crashed into with the force of a cannonball.
Claire twisted her head to look down at the ground and felt a great deal of relief course through her as she spied the syringe shattered on the ground, the squirming parasite smashed and lifeless next to it. A dark shape suddenly swept out of the alley and threw one of the five remaining men into the wall next to his partner resulting in another thud and crack as the bricks crumbled some more and her attacker fell to the ground as motionless as the shadows first victim.
Turning back to look at the mysterious attacker Claire saw a woman standing in the alley facing her and her attackers. The woman was dressed in a skintight black leather combat suit and was wearing a long black leather trench coat over it concealing several weapons which Claire could just make out in the dark alley.
However the most striking feature of the woman was her eyes. They were currently fixed on Claire's attackers and were glowing a shade of blue that reminded Claire of an iceberg.
Without a sound or any other indication of her intentions the woman suddenly blurred into motion with a speed that was almost impossible to follow, dashing up to Claire and smashing an elbow into the throat of the last man who was not holding onto Claire, doing some serious damage if the horrible crunching sound was any indication, then kicking his feet out from under him, and following him to the ground to deliver a punch to his face which left his head oddly flattened and the man obviously dead.
The three men holding Claire released her and attempted to assail the woman but she never seemed to be where their blows landed, always shifting just enough that their swings would fail to connect and then delivering a devastatingly powerful blow in return.
Claire's mysterious savior ducked under a blow aimed at her by one of the men, allowing his momentum to expose his back to her before reaching out and wrenching his head up and around separating the vertebrae of his neck and then releasing him to fall to the ground in a limp pile of muscle and bone.
The other two men attempted to bring their weapons to bear. The hooded man who had been holding Claire swung at the women's shins with a baseball bat as the other man aimed his pistol at her chest. The woman deftly front-flipped over the man with the gun avoiding the bat aimed at her legs and landing behind the gunman.
Before he could spin around she landed a half dozen lightning fast blows to his upper body finishing with a powerful jab to the center of his back breaking his spinal column with a crunch that made Claire grimace.
As the attacker fell to the ground dead the newcomer simply stepped over his body and snarled at the hooded man who had initiated the attack on Claire.
The woman addressed her remaining attacker with a voice full of rage and the promise of violence. "You're an idiot Coleman. Did you really think I couldn't find you?"
The hooded man, Coleman apparently, responded in a shaky voice. "Selene…y..you're dead. We blew up the whole ship to make sure of it. This is impossible! You can't be here!"
Selene sneered at Coleman. "Idiot, you have no idea what I'm capable of," The woman bared her teeth in a threatening grimace. "but I can promise you that you're going to find out."
Selene took a threatening step forward. "You're a dead man already; the only choice you have left is whether you want a quick death or a slow one. You're going to come with me and I'm going to ask you any question I want. If you answer all my questions and you don't try to feed me any bullshit, I'll kill you quickly; you'll hardly feel a thing."
Selene's expression grew foreboding. "If you don't answer my questions to my satisfaction I'll show you just what you're capable of surviving now that you're boss has infected you."
Coleman's eyes darted from left to right before he suddenly flung his bat at Selene's face and spun around fleeing with a speed fueled by desperation up the alley.
Selene deflected the bat with ease and then launched herself in pursuit of Coleman.
Claire realized that Coleman was running directly by her and stuck out her leg tripping him and sending him sprawling on the hard pavement.
Before Coleman could get up Selene had swept into him slamming his head on the ground. Coleman grew limp, instantly knocked unconscious. Selene picked him up and threw him over her shoulder before walking towards the dark passageway she had first appeared out of.
Claire swallowed nervously before addressing her rescuer. "Thank you…Selene, I guess. You saved my life. I'm not sure what would have happened to me if they had injected that thing into me, but I'm sure it would have been horrible." Claire nervously glanced at the dead parasite on the ground again before looking back at the strange woman. "I'm Claire Redfield, by the way. I guess what I mean to say is just…thanks."
Selene paused before speaking without turning around. "I've seen enough death in my life. Too many people die who don't deserve it. I'm no hero; but those bastards deserved what they got. Take care of yourself Claire Redfield."
Claire smiled back at Selene as she faded into the darkness. "That's what my brother used to say." She whispered before continuing on her way home. This time she kept a careful eye on her surroundings and when she got home she locked the door and took her handgun out of its safe.
She owned a beautiful 1911 Colt semi-automatic and she knew how to shoot it; Chris had made sure of that. Claire briefly thought about calling Chris but decided not to bother him. Chris would be here tomorrow she would just tell him then. With a sigh Claire set the gun on the table beside her bed and settled into the covers eventually falling into an exhausted sleep.
…
Claire woke with a start as her alarm clock blared at her from her bedside table. Claire looked over at her alarm clock and jumped out of bed feeling her heart start to race. 'Shit! She was late!' She must have forgotten to reset her alarm clock to pick up Chris from the airport. Understandable given what had happened to her last night but being late still made her stomach churn nervously. She really didn't want to sour her brother's good mood by making him wait for her to pick him up. Chris could be so annoying when he teased her for sleeping in; always making hints about staying up late with a boyfriend or out partying with her coworkers from Terra-Save. Deciding to skip a shower, Claire hastily grabbed a pair of khaki pants and slipped into them before donning a cream blouse and after a moment of thought, it could get pretty cold at 8:00 am in the morning in Hoffman, she grabbed a brown leather jacket with pockets on each side of her chest. She ran through her house grabbing her truck keys and a bagel before rushing out the front door and slipping into a pair of brown western boots that fit over her tight pants and then dashing out to her truck hopping in and starting the engine pleased with the rumble of her reliable diesel truck as she put it into drive and pulled out of her driveway with the bagel in her mouth.
…
Claire hurried into the Hoffman airport terminal glancing at her watch noting the time as 8:30 am. Chris' flight was scheduled to arrive at 7:30, she was an hour late. She quickly made her way over towards the food court. Knowing her brother, he'd always vote for food after a long trip. She spotted Chris at a deli across the terminal and corrected her trajectory to cut across the press of people exiting the terminal. As she got closer Claire could see that Chris was sitting across from a shapely women with blond hair. Chris waved at her, a smile appearing on his face. Claire couldn't help shaking her head at Chris as she got closer, although secretly she was pleased to see him appearing so happy with a woman. "Chris I leave you alone for too long and this is what happens." She joked.
"So who's your friend?" Claire gestured at the woman sitting across from Chris.
Chris' smile got even wider if possible and a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "May I present Claire Redfield. Claire this is Jill."
Claire locked her eyes on the woman sitting at the table. What were the chances Chris would find a girl with the same name? As the woman turned around finally giving Claire a good view of her face Claire felt a huge electrical shock travel through her body as she noticed the familiar features of the woman in front of her.
"Jill!"
…
Chapter 2
Jill smiled as she turned around to see Chris' sister. "Hi Claire, been a while."
Claire stood there with her jaw hanging open for almost a full minute before she overcame the shock of seeing her brother's partner alive. "Oh my god! Jill, you're alive! Holy shit! Where have you been? What happened to you? I mean…it's been years! ….What happened to your hair?" Claire spouted all in a jumble, stumbling over the words in her attempt to get them all out so fast.
Jill's expression grew somber as she looked back at Chris. Chris looked at Claire and she could see a shadow of the terror that her brother had experienced on his most recent mission.
Chris cleared his throat. "That's a long story Claire, and one that we shouldn't talk about here. I promise I'll tell you everything, later. Right now I think we would both just like a good night's rest."
Jill looked up at him gratefully and Claire could read in her expression that whatever they may have had before Jill had "died", it was certain that they both loved each other now.
"Ok, well my truck is just outside. I kinda had to park a ways from the terminal to find parking." Claire shrugged apologetically.
"What do you say Jill, you ready to go sleep in a real bed?" Chris stood up from his chair and offered his hand to Jill helping her out of her own seat. Jill smiled to herself at Chris' chivalry, secretly pleased that Chris had phrased his suggestion as a question.
She had spent so long with her actions being controlled by someone else that having the option of choosing her own actions was a welcome relief and, she felt, her first step towards recovering from the mental torture that she had undergone at Wesker's hands.
"Sure" She replied. "You do have a guest bed right?"
Chris laughed good naturedly. "Of course, but it's not as comfortable as the other beds so I'll sleep in the guest bed and you can sleep in my bed, if that's alright with you?"
"You don't need to coddle me Chris. I'm alright, really…or at least I will be eventually. We can talk about this when we get home, though you were right when you said we shouldn't talk about it here." Jill motioned with her eyes over her left shoulder.
Chris subtly turned his head so he could see what she was indicating and noticed a powerfully built man whom Chris judged to be in his mid-thirties and who also appeared to be eavesdropping on them.
Jill nodded her head towards the terminal exit. "So, maybe we should go now."
The others agreed and they began heading for Claire's truck.
Chris frowned when after waiting a few seconds the man got up to follow them. "I think I'll call this in to headquarters. It could just be a reporter or some harmless busybody, but I'd rather not find out the hard way."
Jill nodded. "It can't hurt to be careful. Once you've led lives like ours, I'm not sure there is such a thing as too paranoid."
Chris flipped out his phone and dialed the number for the BSAA headquarters, then he input his access code and asked for the operator to put him through to the Intel and Operations department. After a short wait he was put through to the officer in charge.
"This is Major Williams, what can I do for you Agent Redfield?"
"Chris spoke into the phone in a clear but subdued voice that wouldn't carry past their small group.
"I have a possible tail at the Hoffman airport terminal. Subject is around six feet tall, weight approximately two-hundred and twenty pounds, Caucasian male, short brown hair. No scars or other distinguishing characteristics. He could be a nobody but just in case, I'd like you to look through the database and see if there are any bogies that match this description. Get back to me when you have any information."
"Understood Agent Redfield, though you realize that description probably fits a lot of people."
"I'm sure it does." Chris answered. "but I want you to see if any flags have been raised within a two-hundred miles radius of Hoffman by anyone matching his description."
"I'll see what's in the database Agent Redfield. I'll contact you when we've run our search. Williams out."
Jill looked behind them by pretending to be checking her hair in one of the mirrors on a sunglass stand, but could no longer see the man who had been watching them. "I think he's gone now Chris, I don't see any sign of him."
Chris shrugged his shoulders and grunted. "Probably nothing to worry about. Let's just head home, we can let headquarters worry about this, we've got some leave we need to take."
Jill relaxed, falling into step beside Chris, easily getting into their old role as partners.
Claire led the way to her truck and they all got in and headed to the Redfield's home.
…
One hour later when they had all settled in at home Chris grabbed a pair of cold beers out of the fridge that Claire had put in for him. He knew Claire didn't like beer so he offered one of them to Jill.
Jill took it from him with a warm smile that quickened Chris' pulse as he scooted over sand sat down on the couch next to her, placing one arm over her shoulders before turning to his sister who was sitting in the recliner across from them.
"I guess now is as good a time as any for us to tell you what happened in Africa." Chris started.
Claire sat forward in her chair eager to hear the story.
"You know everything up until the day before I left for Kijuju. Jill was MIA and presumed dead because we could never find her body. But the day before the Kijuju operation one of my friends in Europe, a contact who had given us reliable intel before on bioterrorist attacks, sent me a coded message saying that if I went to Kijuju I might find out what had happened to my partner. He couldn't give me any specifics, all he knew was that she was somehow involved in what was going on."
Chris' hand reached over to rub Jill's as a haunted look appeared in her eyes. "So, I immediately went to headquarters and demanded that they put me in the operation. I knew that I had to find out more. I had to believe that Jill was still alive, somehow."
Chris shrugged at Claire's incredulous expression. "I know it doesn't really make sense. No one could survive that fall, but I could still feel her out there. I had to know for sure. When I arrived in Kijuju things were bad."
Chris shuddered. "I met up with the West African BSAA Agent Sheva Alomar. She helped me get into the village but not much later we learned that the entire village was infected with something like what happened with the Ganados that Leon ran into when he was on his mission to rescue Ashley Graham."
"We barely made it out alive and Alpha team was completely wiped out. When we finally did make it out we ran into Delta team and they gave me some more intel in order to find the scumbag Irving who was behind it all. In that intel was a picture of Jill. I never once thought about turning back after that. I knew she was there somewhere and this was my only chance to find her."
Jill leaned into Chris' side and wrapped an arm around his waist. "and he did."
Claire put up a hand the confusion evident on her face. "I don't understand. How did Jill survive the fall at the Spencer estate?"
Jill glared at the floor as she answered. Her words reminding Claire of her harrowing experience last night. "Wesker"
"He survived too?!" Jill shouted.
"Hah…yeah he survived too." Chris replied. "That bastard had nine lives, but his luck ran out eventually. When I did find Jill, I learned that she had been used to create a new virus that Wesker was planning on spreading worldwide to further some batshit crazy scheme of his, to force the next stage of human evolution on everyone by forcing them all to become like him or die."
" He called it, Uruboros. The few people who could bond with the virus would become like him and everyone one else, who for whatever reason, the virus didn't bond with, would be consumed and turned into raging monsters. When he was done using Jill to perfect the virus he turned her into his slave using a drug called P30 which he discovered while working on the virus."
"It makes people unnaturally strong and also makes them very obedient to whoever injects them. Wesker kept her like that for years but he underestimated her willpower."
"When he forced her to fight me and Sheva so he could escape, Jill managed to reveal her weak spot to us. There was a device on her chest that was constantly administering the drug to keep her under Wesker's control."
"We managed to remove it from her but then she convinced me and Sheva to carry on with the mission. We managed to sneak onto Wesker's ship and sabotage his plan. We ended up crashing the bomber with the virus inside it into a volcano."
"Wesker had followed us though and he infected himself becoming a twisted abomination. He would have killed us but Jill turned up with the captain of Delta team, Josh Stone, and gave us the backup we needed to finish him. The last time I saw him he was being blown into bits by two RPG rockets while sinking into a river of lava. It doesn't get any deader than that. Wesker's finally dead, and that's thanks to Jill."
Jill smiled halfheartedly at Chris remembering all of the horrible things that she had been forced to do while under Wesker's control.
Claire stared down at her floor trying to get a grip on all the information that her brother had just dumped into her lap. "You're sure he's dead; absolutely sure?"
Jill looked up at Claire. "Your brothers right, not even Wesker could have survived that. No organic tissue could have. He's gone for good." Jill hesitated before continuing. "Why do you ask?"
Claire wrung her hands nervously. "Well you know how I was late in picking you guys up?"
They both nodded to say that they did.
"Well I was late because last night when I got home I was too nervous to remember to set the alarm for today. I was attacked by a half dozen men on my way home yesterday."
Chris sat up straighter at this news. "What happened? Are you all right? Who were they?" He frowned in thought. "And what does this have to do with Wesker?"
"I'm getting to that." Claire motioned for Chris to stay quiet.
"Well, as I was saying, last night I was attacked by six men on my way home. They jumped me in an alley near the park just south of the Terra-Save building. They grabbed me and held me motionless. I got in a few good hits but they just shrugged them off. These guys were modified somehow. I think they had been infected with some kind of virus. Something like what Wesker had because they were a lot stronger than any normal human and they healed really fast. I broke one of their noses and it healed in less than a minute."
Jill leaned forward concerned. "Do you know what they wanted? How did you get away from them?"
Claire nodded "I think I have an idea what they were after. One of them was trying to inject me with something. I could see something moving around in the syringe he had. They were going to put some sort of parasite in me."
Chris' face grew blank as he heard what they had intended to do to his sister, but both of the women in the house knew that he was furious. "They didn't succeed did they?" He pleaded.
Claire hurried to reassure them both. "No. No, I'm fine just a couple of bruises. But I wouldn't have been if someone hadn't shown up."
Chris and Jill looked at each other in surprise wondering who they had to thank for Claire's life.
Claire continued. "Right before he was going to inject me, one of them said 'Compliments of Albert Wesker'."
Chris and Jill both looked very alarmed at this.
"You guys say you're sure he's dead, so maybe he sent them before he died and we really don't have anything else to worry about because someone showed up and killed all but one of them, and she knocked him unconscious and dragged him away with her. I'm pretty sure she was going to torture him for information."
"I think he did something to her before. She wasn't quite human, she moved too fast and she was too strong. She reminded me of your description of Wesker, the way he moved and how strong he was. She also had glowing eyes; maybe she's kind of like him."
Seeing the troubled look her brother directed at her she hastened to continue. "I don't think she's a threat to us though. She saved my life and she sounded like she didn't like it when innocent people died."
Chris sighed. "Nevertheless, I think we'll need to keep an eye out for her. There's no knowing what her real motives are. We really don't need another Wesker coming into play."
Jill stared at Chris thoughtfully before chiming in; her voice quiet but clear. "What if Wesker wasn't the only one like him."
…
Coleman woke up to find himself in a dark room. He could hear water dripping all around him but couldn't see anything. It was driving him crazy listening to the water drip constantly but never being able to see it. He shifted in the chair he was sitting in to try and determine how to get out of the room. He couldn't see anything but he could feel that he wasn't tied up. Why wasn't he tied up?
He could remember all of his men being killed and he knew that he had been captured by the person who had killed them. Selene.
He wished now that he had asked for more information about her before he took on his assignment. The assignment that had so enraged her and led her to hunt his team down. He didn't know what she was, but whatever she was, she was stronger than anyone he'd ever seen, except for maybe his employer.
Coleman froze when he heard a rumbling growl emenate from the darkness near him. 'Shit! That's in the room! What the hell is that?!' He thought in near panic.
Cold laughter echoed from the darkness. "Scared Mr. Coleman?...You should be. You stole something very precious from us. Something worth killing for."
The echoes seemed to come from everywhere. He couldn't tell where the speaker was, but he did recognize the voice. It was his captor.
"We want it back and we're willing to do anything to you to get the information we need."
"Cooperate and your death will be swift…refuse….and we'll use other methods for retrieving the information." The growl echoed again in the confined space of his room raising goosebumps along his spine. Whatever was growling was definitely not a creature of nature.
Coleman knew of several T-virus BOWs that growled like that and none of them were a pleasant way to die.
"Where is it Mr. Coleman?"
Coleman stammered frantically trying to buy time to think. "uh…um…I'm not sure what you're talking about."
He cried out as a searing pain engulfed his leg as he felt sharp claws tear the flesh from his shin.
"Interesting thing about you Mr. Coleman, now that you have your bosses special virus in your system, you'll actually heal that back. Another interesting fact is that when it does grow back it'll be even more sensitive. Scar tissue is like that."
Coleman could already feel the flesh beginning to regrow and the process was excruciating leaving him with no doubts as to the truth of his captors words.
"Don't try my patience Mr. Coleman. We want what you took from us. Tell us where to find it and we will end your suffering. There is no way to come out of this alive. One way or the other you die here. Choose your path."
Coleman made up his mind. He knew how capable his captor was and he knew that he had no chance of rescue. His employer would sooner piss on his grave than expend any resources saving him.
"OK" he gasped still struggling to breath past the excruciating agony in his leg. "I'll tell you where to find her."
…
Chris and Jill pulled up at the BSAA headquarters located in Hoffman city. The headquarters were located on the outskirts of the city near an unknown private airfield. There was only one public road anywhere near it and no one traveled it anymore as it led directly south 300 miles to Racoon City. As they pulled up at the security gate to get into the facility, four security guards approached their truck from different directions weapons trained on the passengers.
One of the guards lowered his weapon cautiously and approached Chris' open window. "IDs" he ordered in a gruff voice.
Chris pulled out his and Jill's IDs and handed them over to the guard. The guard then took their IDs and scanned them with a small device hooked to a chain around his neck.
He gave their IDs back and then saluted them. "Welcome to the North American branch of the BSAA Agents Redfield and Valentine." He glanced into the backseat. "All visitors need to be searched and logged in."
Claire handed him her Terra-Save ID card as well as her drivers license. The guard took them and scanned them both and then said a few words into his low profile headset that Claire hadn't realized he was wearing until he had begun speaking into it.
The guard then turned back to the trio in the car. "The purpose for Ms. Redfields presence today sir?"
Chris accepted Claire's IDs back and then handed them to her before replying. " is here as a witness to an incident two nights ago involving six men attempting to infect someone with a possible Plagas parasite within the city."
The guard visibly paled at the news that there had been an incident with a Plagas specimen in the US and especially so close to the BSAA headquarters. "Proceed on through."
"Wait." Claire called out. "Don't you need to search me?"
The guard smiled slyly. "We already scanned you Ms. Redfield. We'd know if you were carrying anything other than the photo in your locket and the four year old cellphone with a recently replaced battery in your right pants pocket."
Chris laughed out loud at the dumbfounded expression on his sister's face. "You really enjoyed that didn't you Garry? Always gotta show off for the guests."
Garry smiled back. "Well you know how it gets out here Chris. There's only so long a person can remain one hundred percent on top of things without getting to play around a little, every once in a while. I'm just keeping on my toes. We haven't met before Ms. Redfield but anyone who knows your brother has heard of you. Hope your visit goes well. Hey Chris, once I'm off shack duty maybe you can fill me in on this incident you were talking about."
"Sure thing Garry, but first I need to let Command know about it so they can keep their ears open."
"Roger that Agent Redfield, you're clear to proceed." With a wave of his hand Garry lowered the titanium barrier pillars blocking access to the BSAA grounds.
Chris waved goodbye to Garry before driving on in to park in front of the main building.
Chris pulled into a spot just around the corner of the building from the front entrance before shutting off the truck and engaging the parking brake.
Chris had opened his door and was about to step out when he noticed that his sister hadn't made to open her door. Turning around Chris noticed that Claire was still sitting, unmoving in the backseat, deep in thought.
"Something on your mind Claire?"
Claire jumped just seeming to notice that the truck had stopped. "Sorry" She grimaced ruefully. "I was just wondering how he knew that I had just bought a new battery for my phone."
"Ah." Chris nodded. "Cell phone batteries are Lithium-Ion batteries. The sensors that we have posted around the gate can detect power sources and can determine how powerful they are. Lithium-ion batteries are a common power source for IEDs."
Chris shook his head toward the gate. "Garry also knows that as the batteries age their chemical composition changes slightly. That's what causes your battery to stop charging after a while, along with corrosion of the electrical contacts. The corrosion shows up on our sensors as a slightly darker area on the battery. Since he didn't see any dark blemishes Garry knew that your battery was fairly new, but he could also see the model of your phone, which has actually been discontinued."
Chris chuckled. "Garry is kind of a phone nerd. He has at least six different cell phones and he knows a ridiculously large amount of trivia about them. He probably knew that your phone had to be older than the battery. Voila, new battery, old phone."
Claire shook her head, puzzled. "What about the picture in my locket?"
This time it was Jill who spoke up. "He was guessing. There's no way he could have seen it."
Chris laughed. "She's right. Garry was just putting on a show for you. He could see from the scans that you were wearing a locket so he guessed that it would have a picture in it. He's good, but not that good."
"Wait." Claire held up a hand. "You mean that part was bullshit, right?"
Jill laughed. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Oh…now I'm actually kind of disappointed."
Chris laughed. "I'm sure you'll get over it. Come on let's get inside so we can get started."
The three of them hopped out of the truck and Claire started heading towards the front of the building.
"Hold up Claire. This way. Chris beckoned Claire over towards a small door set in a recess in the wall.
"The front door is for politicians and bigwigs. The real work is back here." Chris leaned forward for the retinal scan and then pushed through the door when it clicked softly.
"I had no idea the BSAA had such tight security." Claire commented.
"They don't in most places…or at least they didn't the last time I checked."
Chris nodded in confirmation. "Not much has changed since you were here last; just some of the people and a few of the theaters of operation."
"Right, well then like I was saying; most BSAA centers don't have this much security but all of the major headquarters have been targets for terrorist attacks. Regular old suicide bombs or car bombs as well as Bio-terrorism. After the headquarters in Asia were destroyed by an attack the U.N. has made sure to beef up security and the U.S. has placed more troops under the command of their branch."
Chris led them through a series of corridors that eventually opened into a wide room with a multitude of desks, many with people sitting at them hard at work crosschecking terrorist intel and recorded movements in order to separate confirmed threats from rumor.
Claire spotted their destination, a steel framed door with a plexiglass window bearing the words,
Paul Rogers
Director of Threat Analysis and Response
Chris knocked on the door before walking in after a gruff acknowledgment answered him.
"Chris!" A well-built man in his mid-fifties jumped up from his desk to shake Chris's hand. "Well done in Kijuju. It's a shame about all the men who didn't make it back, but I'd say that it was worth it to finally take out that asshole Wesker."
Paul glanced curiously at Chris's companions. "What's going on Chris? Aren't you and Jill supposed to be enjoying some well-earned vacation time?"
"I wish but it seems that the terrorists aren't so considerate. Paul, this is my sister Claire."
Paul reached o0ut and shook Claire's hand. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Ms. Redfield. I've heard quite a lot about you from your brother here. Don't worry most of its good." Paul laughed at the look on Claire's face.
Chris smiled faintly before meeting Paul's eyes his expression grim. "I'm afraid I'm not just showing her around my work today Paul. We've had an incident involving a possible Plagas virus in Hoffman."
Paul instantly sobered at the startling news. "Hoffman! There was a Plagas specimen here?!"
Chris nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. My sister was attacked by a half dozen men who may have been altered using a virus. Their intentions were to infect her with the Plagas parasite. We don't know what their ultimate goals were yet, but there's another complication."
Paul groaned. "Why do I get the feeling things are about to get a lot more complicated around here?"
"Sorry Paul, but I'm just the messenger."
"Yeah, I know." Paul waved his hand dismissively. "So what's the other problem?"
"My sister was saved by a woman with inhuman abilities. She may not be a threat. She didn't do anything sinister that we know of, but just the fact that she's something more than human is enough to worry about what her goals are."
"I want you to see if you and Major Williams can figure anything out about our mysterious woman or the men who attacked my sister."
"Of course." Paul swept his arm towards the hallway leading to Intel and Operations. "You'll need to give us descriptions of the subjects and a full debrief."
The group strode down the hall, and Claire couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt for the attention she was about to put on her rescuers trail.
…
Selene pulled back from the rapidly cooling body of Coleman, a small amount of blood dripping from her mouth as she wiped a hand across her face. She grimaced at the taste that the virus in his blood lent to the warm liquid. A hand brushed her shoulder as she stood up.
"We'll find her Selene, I promise."
"Yes, but we need to find her fast before he pulls her apart to find out how she works." Selene answered.
Michael's eyes darted to Selene. "You're sure he was telling the truth? Is it even possible for it to be him?"
"I don't know how it's possible but I could see him in Coleman's memories. He told us the truth, at least as far as he knows."
Michael's gaze fell upon the body of the man Selene had just killed. The things he had done to him should have made him feel guilty. They would have several years ago when he had first been introduced to the world of legendary immortal creatures that had haunted humanities darkest dreams for centuries. He had changed since then; no longer the caring doctor, who only strove to heal as many people as he could.
"He deserved it Michael. He took her from us and gave her to that madman. By killing him you have saved the people that he no doubt would have harmed in the future. I know that it troubles you to hurt someone like this, but it was necessary." Selene brought a hand to his cheek, turning his eyes to meet her own, glowing a soft blue.
"We just need to get her back and kill him, then we can finally stop worrying about people who are trying to hurt us. We can live a normal life. You could be a doctor again. We won't always have to be at war. Eventually wars end." Selene smiled at her lover. "Maybe we can get married after we take care of this."
Michael grinned before embracing his lover. "Sometimes I forget how much you have changed since I first met you as well. The Death Dealer I first knew would never have even said the word "marriage" without gagging."
"It's hard to stay so world weary when I have you beside me reminding me that there are still some things in this world that are not tainted by darkness. You and Eve are all that I need to be happy."
Selene picked up her Beretta machine pistols and slid them in to her thigh holsters after checking that their magazines were full. The glow in her eyes had hardened to an icy blue that sent shivers up Michael's spine. "and I would do anything to protect both of you, even if it costs me what little remains of my soul. I have killed so many, for the wrong reasons, but now I know what I'm fighting for, what I'm killing for. My family."
"How are we going to find him?" Michael asked the vampire.
"We're going to need a little help for that, luckily I think I know just where to get it." Selene glanced over at Michael. "There's someone else who would want him dead almost as much as we do. Someone with a lot more resources than we have."
'Surely she didn't mean what he thought she did' Michael thought. "You're not really thinking…them are you?"
"As a matter of fact I am. I believe that I may have a way in. They might actually want to help me. It'd just be returning a favor after all." Selene grinned playfully. "After all I'd say Claire Redfield owes me one."
…
Major Williams and Director Rogers were staring at Claire, shocked speechless. It was several long moments before Major Andrew Williams could form a clear thought.
"You mean to say that a group of six infected individuals, possibly working under orders from Albert Wesker, the most dangerous and sadistic purveyor of BOW's this organization has ever known, were in the same city as the North American headquarters of the BSAA, carrying some version of the Las Plagas virus, to attack the sister of one of its most effective and prominent members, but were themselves attacked and killed by another, possibly infected individual who shows similar abilities to the recently deceased, aforementioned pain in the ass, Wesker."
"Also that this mysterious 'Woman in Black' managed to then depart our dear city without so much as raising a flag until you three brought it to my attention, thereby calling into question every security protocol we have in place in our city and perhaps suggesting the rise of a new virus spreading titan to replace Wesker. Please tell me this is a nightmare and I'm still sleeping." Williams looked hopefully from one face to another.
"I'm afraid you're not dreaming Major and that is basically what we're telling you right now. I'm sorry, but that's what happened." Chris reluctantly confirmed for the two leaders.
"Shit." Williams growled. "We need to move fast. This facility is no longer as safe as we thought. We need to devise a new method of detecting infected individuals as they ingress into population centers. This base of operations is protected from bio-terror attacks mainly because they don't know we're here."
Director Rogers grimaced. "…and if they can freely wander around Hoffman city it's only a matter of time before they find us and hit us hard."
"If I may gentlemen," Claire interceded. "I don't think that the woman is a threat to us. She saved my life from those men. If she hadn't been there you might have found out about my attackers by watching the evening news as a viral outbreak wiped out the city."
"She might be an ally, don't assume that she is hostile just because she doesn't seem human. She deserves a little restraint. If you do manage to find her I'd like to try talking to her nefore you try anything rash." Claire pleaded.
Both men turned to Chris and Jill. "Your thoughts on this matter Agents?"
Chris stood ramrod straight as he met the eyes of both men resolutely. "I trust my sister. She's been right about people before and I'm willing to give her a chance based on what we know of this woman."
Jill let her eyes fall to the floor as she responded to their questioning looks falling on her. "I also believe that she deserves a chance. Wesker never saved anyone's life who wasn't integral to his future plans. If we're assuming that she's like him, how would keeping Claire alive help her? She has to have recognized her name. I think she knew who Claire was and didn't care who she might tell."
"Very well." Major Williams acknowledged "but in the meantime I want security beefed up at the perimeter and I want an alert to be sent out to the city telling people to call us in case they spot anyone matching her description or who look suspicious. I'll call Gunnery Chief Thompson and let him know I want more men manning the gate."
Chris nodded. "I think he'll appreciate the change in pace, sir. Gary is a smart soldier, he'll probably figure out what's going on."
Williams nodded before picking the phone up from his desk and punching in the extension for the guardhouse; the phone was answered almost immediately. "Chief Thompson…this is Major Williams…yes, that's correct they're here with me now…I want you to pull in the reserves and keep your men at full readiness, we've had an incursion into the city by possible bio-terrorists, I'd rather not take any chances that they know we're here…that's good to hear Chief, keep it up…Williams out."
The major turned back to Chris. "Gary put his guards on high alert after you passed through the gate, he's doubling the standby forces and is…"
"Sir!" A breathless technician ran into the room. "There are BOW's at the airport! A C-17 Globemaster landed at the airport claiming loss of hydraulics but as soon as they landed a swarm of monsters swarmed out of the cargo bay!"
"This could be meant as a distraction to pull forces away from headquarters." Offered Director Rogers.
"It doesn't matter!" Chris interjected. "We have to help those people, that's our job! We can seal up the buildings here and then take most of our combat teams and head for the airport. Hopefully we can contain the creatures until the reinforcements arrive from [insert name]."
"Jill and I will lead them. We can set up a perimeter around the airport and keep the BOWs contained. We'll determine their strength and see what we can do to help the people still trapped inside the terminal."
Major Williams nodded to Chris. "I'll take Gary and his men and we'll seal up all the entrances but the one on the south side of building A. We can hole up in the armory. If this is a distraction, and more show up here, that'll be the easiest route into the base with all the others sealed."
Director Rogers grimaced. "If we're lucky they'll all try to get in that way. We should have plenty of arms and ammunition."
Jill clapped Chris on the shoulder and they both took off at a brisk pace for the barracks, building B, where the rest of the tactical response teams currently were.
"Wait, Chris, let me go with you." Claire cried out. "I can help. I've seen a BOW attack on an airport before."
With a quick hand signal Chris gestured for Jill to continue on and start gathering their forces before turning around to address Claire, a grimace on his face.
"Look Claire, I want you to stay here with Williams and Paul. Jill and I can take care of the airport, you just stay safe."
Claire bristled at her brother treating her like a child. "DAMMIT Chris, I'm not some helpless civilian! I've fought these things before. I made it through Racoon city! I know how to take care of myself."
Chris put his hands on her shoulders in a calming gesture. "I know sis. I wasn't trying to keep you out of the fight in some misguided bid to keep you safe, but Jill and I are used to working with military units and tactics now. We need to be able to communicate as such and that could be a problem for you."
Chris hurriedly continued on seeing the retort forming on Claire's lips. "Look, if they attack here as well, they're going to need as many people as they can get. You can do more good here. I know you're a capable fighter, I taught you after all, but this is where we need you."
"Fine" Claire huffed, seeing the sense in Chris's argument. "but just so you know I'll be really mad if you get yourself killed because I'm not there."
Chris hugged his younger sister. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me. I've been through worse." With a last squeeze of reassurance Chris let go and hurried for the exit.
"Chris!" Claire called again.
The older Redfield turned around to look back at Claire.
"Take care of Jill." She added.
Chris met her eyes with a steely look. "Always." He replied and then turned and walked out the exit.
…