Linda
Carefully discarding the bright pink supernatant into the waste bottle, she took a pipette and aspirated the remaining solution to make sure the cell pellet was totally dry. Linda then quickly pressed the lever to get rid of the blue tip before sticking a new tip into it and dissolving the pellet with phosphate buffered saline to make it a homogenous solution. Now the testing of the viral infected cells was finally ready and they were going to inject this solution into the tail vein of the C57BL/6 mice to observe the immune response from rodents.
Infection from the virus itself was successful and now Umbrella was interested to know if it would fulfil the Koch's postulates theory where the cultured microorganism isolated from an infected host would be able to cause disease in healthy ones. They were attempting to use the virus as a vector based on early results which highlighted its potential. If it worked, the results would be phenomenal. Too bad the virus was unstable and caused lethal damage ninety-nine percent of the time. She had to big quick with the injection though, the cells could lyse if left in PBS for too long.
With syringes, solutions, and warm water in hand, Linda hurried over to the animal testing area a few floors above and gowned up as according to procedure. Entering the negative pressure zone which would keep any pathogens from escaping the room, the Asian woman got to work, picking out a cage of mice and grabbing them by the scruff of their necks to keep them immobile while injecting anesthesia into their right thigh.
As she waited for the drugs to kick in, Jonathan inched close to her, "Hey babe, sorry about last night… You know, duty calls."
It was a good thing she had a mask over her face as she was now baring her teeth at him. "You've said for the past ten dates or so, Jon. It's evident you value your work more than our relationship."
The blonde man sighed, "You and I both know very well research is always unpredictable. Plus, my transfer application to Arklay is almost complete. After that, I'll be free to do whatever I want till my re-appointment, wrap up the job here, catch up with you… Come on Linda."
Seeing that her mice were currently unconscious, she replied, "I'll give you a reply after this is done." Her boyfriend gave a shrug and cleaned up his work space before leaving the room. Sliding the first mouse into the restrainer to keep the sleeping animal upright, she lowered its tail into the lukewarm water and waited for the vein to enlarge from the heat which would make it easier for her to inject the cell solution into its tail.
It took about half a minute and the rodent was ready. Wiping the access water with a tissue, Linda held the tail parallel to the table and with steady hands, injected one hundred microliters of the suspension into its body. Pulling the needle out and applying pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding, she repeated the procedure for the next nine mice.
The predicted results would be a no brainer. In a day or two, they would develop lesions and not long after that, start showing cannibalistic tendencies. She will euthanize them immediately once that happened. It was very unpleasant to clean a cage full of blood.
Injecting reverse anesthesia into their bodies, she warmed them up on her hand to help them regain consciousness faster. Fifteen minutes later, tails and bodies twitched about in her hands to signal that the beloved animals were awake. Placing them side by side so they would stay toasted, she placed some wet food on the bedding so they would be able to eat without straining their backs to reach upwards to eat the food.
"Lesions 10 millimetres in diameter, more activity than usual…" Linda whispered to herself as she wrote down the results in her log book two days after the initial injection while casually ignoring the single rose that was on her desk.
"Looks like the theory is confirmed," Jonathan said as he strolled to her cubicle.
The raven haired woman raised an eyebrow and stared at him, "Yes, it is."
He clutched his chest with mock despair, "Ouch. When will you stop giving me the cold shoulder treatment? You can see that I'm putting in all that I've got to make this work."
Linda closed the log book, "And you need to learn some patience Jonathan. Maybe I was about to give you my answer." She gave him a coy smile and the blonde looked hopeful.
"Would you care to tell me, my lady?" Again with the sweet words, he really was sincere about this wasn't he?
"Who would be able to resist that honey mouth of yours?"
Jonathan beamed a megawatt smile and when his girlfriend stood up, he planted a quick kiss on her lips. Needless to say, he was overjoyed.
Umbrella proceeded to infect more animals after her experiment was a success. They've seen dogs, monkeys, birds, fish going cuckoo and pleased with the results, euthanized them all before going back to the planning stage to make these newly coined "bio organics" more viable and useful. They needed to find a host that would not succumb to the infection though. Only then would they be able to find a possible cure to regenerate cells. Linda was assigned to plants and so far, the ones in small potted pots didn't show any signs of infection. Maybe she should experiment on the Venus fly trap for results.
For now, the scientist called it a day and headed back to the apartment which she once shared with her boyfriend who was now residing in the Arklay Mansion since three months ago. Every weekend though, he will come over and spend those two days relaxing and enjoying her company. For now, she had to be content with the daily emails they sent to each other.
Today, she chuckled at his words to her. Again, Jonathan got lost in the vast mansion all because he was searching for the kitchen. The blonde found it cumbersome to memorize the different keys for the various rooms in the estate. He toyed with the idea of having a portable stove in his dormitory but the whole place was made of wood and having a fire there was a bad idea.
She suggested that he make some sandwiches after dinner to last till breakfast and follow his colleagues to the dining area during lunch and dinner. Then she wrote about her stumbling block with infecting plants and her idea on using a carnivorous one to achieve success. As usual, she ended the message with her love and eagerness to see him soon.
Observing the cells in the flask under the microscope, she noted its growth rate. One of the men had accidentally infected himself and they managed to acquire some samples from him before they had to put him down. Human testing was not on their agenda at all… but it fell into their laps and they might as well take it.
Satisfied with the results so far, Linda proceeded to trypsinize the flask, removing the media into a falcon tube and washing it with Hank's balanced salt solution before discarding the HBSS. Finally, she slowly added trypsin at the top of flask and placed it in the incubator for the concoction to work. Tapping the flask to gently dislodge the cells, she looked at the flask under the microscope to find her cells floating freely which meant that they were completely detached from the flask.
Pipetting the media she had aliquot earlier, Linda washed the flask thoroughly with the pipette aid, making sure all the cells were flushed to the bottom before sucking all of them up and transferring all the contents back into the falcon tube.
A wash and two spins later, the cells were re-suspended in fresh media and the scientist counted the concentration before culturing the appropriate number into the flask once more. Only then when she was done with her work did she think about Jonathan. She had not heard from him since May and neither did her colleagues in this facility.
Worried was an understatement, she was terrified that the love of her life had not stayed in contact with her. What if something had happened to him? Jon had just briefly discussed on taking their relationship to the next level after a few years of dating but the conversation was cut short by an emergency in Arklay and he had to rush back there. Her boyfriend had not been heard from ever since…
Could it be related to the rumors of rabid animals in the forest? The mansion was situated in that area. Cleaning up her workspace, she removed her gloves and de-gowned, feeling the cool mist decontaminate her. She went off to look for her supervisor to enquire about Jonathan's whereabouts.
The Asian woman managed to corner the red-headed male in his office where she pressed him for more information, "Sir, you said two weeks ago that you will look into it, what's going on?"
Timothy's eyes widened and he immediately went up to close the door. "Not another word, Linda." He whispered and stared into her eyes.
Linda was confused, "What? Jonathan was your student! You have friends there in Arklay too!"
This time, Timothy pushed her against the wall and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Linda Huang, this is serious." He said through his teeth and continued, "No one is supposed to know about what happened in Arklay… Not even me. Look, the mansion is gone. Jonathan's most likely dead. If I were you, I will get out of the city as soon as possible." The red-head let down his hand and stepped away from her.
The Asian woman's eyes were wide with fear and bewilderment. Gone? What did he mean by 'gone'? How could her beloved Jon be dead? "B-but..."
Timothy raised a hand to his lips, "Shh. Raccoon City has been compromised. Please Linda, get out of here. Jonathan would want you to live." Tears were welling up in her eyes and she just sunk to the floor in despair. Her mentor began to explain the situation in a hushed voice. A few minutes later when she had ceased crying, she took a slow walk around the complex to let the news sink in.
Her resignation from Umbrella was not approved and she was now stuck in this god forsaken hellhole of a police station, fighting to survive. What kind of headquarters was this anyway? Who in their right mind would turn a museum of all places into a law enforcement complex? All she wanted was answers from the S.T.A.R.S. members who returned back from the Arklay mountains a couple of months ago. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine made a stir about what they saw in the forest which confirmed what Timothy told her.
Unexpectedly, the mayor and the chief of police swiftly dismissed Alpha Team's claims and had their reputations tarnished. Undeterred by naysayers, Linda decided to take matters into her own hands and look for the answers herself. That was when the city was thrown into chaos and those undead beings began to roam about. The scientist knew those creatures were products of the T-virus infection. How the hell did the virus get leaked?
Good thing she bumped into Marvin who hustled the survivors into a barricaded room. One by one though, they either succumbed to the illness or lost their sanity. Only she and Officer Branagh were left now and they have been attempting to move around the building undetected. He was a little wary of her employment with Umbrella and had suspicions of her true intent but once she had won him over with her sincerity and that she wanted answers as well, he eased up around her.
Footsteps echoed in the corridor now and it didn't sound like shuffling. Whoever it was, they were being careful too. Marvin readied his pistol and pointed it at the intruder before lowering it with surprise. "You must be the new guy. We would have thrown a little celebration for you but as you can see, our hands are tied."
The stranger stepped into Linda's view and he had a youthful, boyish look to him. Probably fresh out of his teens. What caught her eye was the shade of his blonde hair. It was uncannily similar to Jonathan's. "You must be Officer Branagh, sir. I'm Leon Kennedy." Both men shook hands and retreated into a safe room where the older man filled the rookie cop in on the current situation.
"I know you must have been through hell on the streets to get here but with more hands, we can escape this city quickly. Linda here knows a way out. We just need to get the keys into the sewers." Marvin carefully left out the fact that Umbrella might have been responsible for this outbreak and for that, the scientist was thankful.
Leon was given a map and his superior circled out the various locations the items were situated in order to leave the complex. Chief Irons was one weird individual… "Will Linda stay with you?" The blonde enquired and Marin shook his head, "Like I said, we need all the manpower we can get."
A look of worry crossed Kennedy's face, "But having a civilian wondering around these halls with those things around isn't safe!"
Linda Huang gave an eye roll and casually waved her gun, "I know how to shoot, officer. We've been separating and meeting up the past few days. I can handle myself just fine." She then pointed to the map, "I'll take the parking lot. Branagh can take the east wing while Kennedy, you take the west wing. Should that be alright?"
Marvin nodded, "Meet up in an hour." The trio went their separate ways, searching for clues to look for a way out.
"In here. There's a bed for him to rest on." Linda pushed the door to the security office and held it open for Leon to gingerly carry the wounded Marvin onto the sick bed. While he had been over-protective of her earlier, the scientist gradually warmed up to the rookie cop and found him to be a decent person, just one who was a stickler for the rules.
"Where are we? Umbrella's lab? Don't tell me you're one of them…" The blonde addressed the Asian woman and after reading the various reports strewn about the police complex, he was a little peeved at this company for unleashing hell on the city.
Lifting her lab coat containing the red and white logo, she replied haughtily, "You just noticed this coat I'm wearing now? Yes, I am with Umbrella but I do not support their ideals. We were searching for ways to help people. I lost my boyfriend because of this fiasco. It's insulting for you to think otherwise after what we've been through the past few hours!"
They cheated death a few times but on the way to the lab, that hideous monster with a pupil on its arm tore open the elevator hatch and lashed out at Marvin's leg before a couple of grenades put the creature in its place. Calming down, she looked to the injured man, "He's infected. The only way to cure him is to get the vaccine in the lower levels. You have to be careful; making it is a delicate procedure."
The rookie cop raised an eyebrow, "Me? What about you?"
She looked at him and spoke cryptically, "There's something I have to do." Linda left the room shortly after that to activate the self-destruct system of this facility which would rid this wretched place once and for all. All her files had been saved in a special portable device that was small in size but big in capacity. It was a new prototype the company was testing so that they didn't have to carry big discs around.
Having no attachment for this place, it was best to destroy whatever abnormalities that were roaming in this vast laboratory. She knew the short cut to the control room and would be able to get there quickly.
Leon Kennedy could not believe his 'luck' right now. Staring right at him in the face was what remained of William Birkin, father of little schoolgirl Sherry who was now in the care of Elza and Kendo. First Birkin was a humanoid, then the devil, followed by turning into a wolf, and now a shapeless blob with a giant maw filled with numerous rows of teeth. The cop pumped as much magnum rounds as he could into the beast but it just kept creeping forward towards him, blocking his way to the lever to release the gates so the train could take off into the tunnel. Time was running out. The whining voice of the self-destruct sequence kept repeating on and on… They would die here, wouldn't they?
The woman he was protecting behind him sprinted away to get help, "Linda wait! It's too dangerous!" He did not dare to turn around to see where she went, the blonde only hoped that she stayed safe and out of harm's way. Both of them kept saving each other in the lab and while both didn't want to admit it, a rather solid bond formed between the duo.
A holler of his name from above caught his attention, "Use this!" The raven haired scientist tossed a huge rocket launcher down from a hidden platform above and Leon ran like hell to equip the weapon. Pulling the trigger, the rocket tore through Birkin and he exploded into tiny pieces.
Riding the train out with Elza and the other survivors, Leon was grateful that everyone on his side made it out alive and that Marvin had recovered but would limp for a while till they got him some medical attention. He thanked Linda for ushering everyone to the escape train below and for activating the self-destruct sequence. Without her intimate knowledge of the complex, they would have been dead long ago.
She even threw him a powerful weapon to get rid of the eye ball monster and his heart had stopped when he called out to her after the battle but failed to get a response. It was only when she climbed down the ladder behind him that he enveloped her with a hug. Linda looked at him weirdly for a while before giving him a soft smile.
The sun was rising and the rays pierced through the glass, bathing the tired survivors in a warm glow and jolting Leon out of his thoughts. They were all in this together now. Whatever it takes, the truth had to be let known to the public.
But first… he planned to buy Linda Huang a meal. A small thanks for saving his life.
Author's Note: Resident Evil 1.5 is known as the Resident Evil 2 beta. It was 70% completed before the game was scrapped and re-made into the RE2 we know today. Early concept art revealed that Ada was an Umbrella scientist named Linda and this is my take on her. You can search for "resident evil 1.5 Ada" on YouTube to see some of the cut scenes between her and Leon. Yes, I am aware Jon Clemens wrote a letter to Ada in RE1 so Jonathan is a play on the word Jon. =P
It is said that Marvin and Linda were supposed to be supporting characters for Leon. Kendo and Sherry sorta were supporting characters for Elza Walker. They were alive quite long into the game so I decided to give them a good conclusion at the end.
Some elements from RE2 are combined with this story. Think of this as an AU take on RE2. Enjoy.