A/N: So instead of updating my ongoing stories I wrote this. It's something I started writing months ago and over the last week I found enough inspiration to finish it. I guess this story is sort of AU; Alice, Claire, and Umbrella are all here but no zombies.
A/N2: This will be a two-shot and the second part will be up sometime tomorrow night. I hope you enjoy it, and feel free to review.
Disclaimer: Resident Evil is not mine.
Summary: Umbrella's top assassin Project Alice has just been given her next assignment. Her target: Claire Redfield.
Albert Wesker, chairman of the Umbrella Corporation, sat at his desk idly flipping through the file in front of him. It was one he had looked at dozens of times, he knew every word on each page, every photograph was ingrained in his memory but it was useless. His eyes narrowed in frustration and now he barely glanced at the pages as he considered the predicament. Wesker shoved the papers back into the envelope marked 'classified' and sat back in his chair though his body was still rigid, unable to relax.
The file contained every known piece of information about the Umbrella Corporation's top fugitive, and next to it on his desk sat a heavy stack of reports on every failed mission to apprehend said fugitive. Wesker had sent all of his top men and many had not returned alive. The ones who did had never been able to track down their target long enough to eliminate her before she managed to disappear again. And now Wesker was left with only two options. There was only one person he knew that could track down and eliminate this rebel effectively, but it could potentially be a huge risk that would cost the Corporation its number one assassin and Wesker was hesitant to take such a risk. However, if successful his assassin would have passed the biggest test of all and become Umbrella's greatest achievement.
It was with that final thought in mind that Albert Wesker made his decision. He reopened the envelope and removed several pages from the file, placing them in his desk drawer before sealing the envelope again "Send in Project Alice." He spoke into the intercom and not a minute later the door opened and in stepped a woman with messy blonde hair. She had hard green eyes that blinked only when absolutely necessary and a tight jaw clenched shut. The woman strode confidently into the room, not at all phased by the menacing presence seated behind the desk. Project Alice stood at ease in front of the figure hidden in the shadows of the poorly lit room and waited patiently for instructions. "Project Alice, the Umbrella Corporation is in need of your services once again. You are our best assassin and only the best can be counted upon for this assignment."
"What is the target?" she spoke without emotion, staring straight ahead.
Smirking at the coldness she displayed, Wesker slid a file across the desk. "Claire Redfield. 30 years old, originally from Nevada. Brother Chris Redfield is a member of S.T.A.R.S. He will be dealt with another time, your priority is her. She is a fugitive of the Umbrella Corporation and is extremely dangerous, but since you are the best I expect nothing but results."
"Yes sir."
"You will track her down and eliminate her. No interrogation, no bringing her in alive. Understood?" He spoke calmly yet firm, there was to be no misunderstanding. "You will leave tomorrow."
"Yes sir." Project Alice nodded, her eyes briefly flashing the Umbrella Corporation logo before taking the file from the desk and leaving the office.
Green eyes shot open as Alice awoke in the same bed she had slept in regularly for the last five years. Her services for the Umbrella Corporation often required a lot of travelling but this small, white, windowless room was the only home she had ever known. It never bothered her that she couldn't remember being a child, or growing up, or knowing what her parents looked like. As far as she was concerned, Dr. Isaacs was the closest thing she had to family and even then she didn't feel very emotionally attached to the man. He was just the first person she saw when she awoke for the first time in this bed, his voice reassuring that everything was alright, that she was exactly where she was meant to be. And though it had taken a little time to adjust, she had come to believe it was true. Alice couldn't imagine ever being anywhere else or doing anything but to serve the needs of the Umbrella Corporation. But sometimes, like on the nights like this where she awoke in the middle of the night, she had doubts...
She peeled off the white sheet, swinging her legs over the side as she sat up on the edge of the bed. Red. It was the first word that popped into her mind when she woke up. She'd been dreaming about something red. A bright, vibrant red she had never encountered in all her years with Umbrella and their white walls. Alice had this dream often, sometimes there would be a dash of soft blue, but the red was a constant. She had no idea what her subconscious fascination with the colour meant and she'd stopped telling Dr. Isaacs about the dreams after the first time when he put her on such a strong sedative that she slept for three days straight. But that didn't stop the dreams from coming back and Alice spent many nights searching her mind for that vibrant red and elusive blue.
Alice reached to the table beside the bed and flicked on the lamp. Next to it rested the file she'd received earlier. Her superior skills already had the pages memorized but her curiosity was drawn to the photograph included of her target, Claire Redfield. It was an obviously old photograph given the woman's happy expression, but what really drew Alice's attention was her target's red hair. It was almost exactly the same colour as in her dream but the assassin dismissed it. She'd never seen this woman up until receiving the file a few hours ago, and she'd been having this dream for as long as she could remember so the two couldn't possibly be related.
Alice tossed the picture back onto the table and stretched out her legs. Pushing herself off the bed Alice paced the room anxiously. She hadn't been given an assignment in months and was itching to get back to work. Again she thought of Claire Redfield, the blonde knew that when Wesker said the woman was a 'fugitive' what he really meant was rebel. Alice had killed many rebels trying to undermine the great work of the Umbrella Corporation and had no qualms about eliminating these people for the greater good. But this Claire Redfield must be especially destructive to the Corporation for Wesker to order a direct termination. One of the more annoying facets of Alice's job was making her work look like an accident so she was certainly going to enjoy disposing of Claire Redfield in whatever manner she wanted. Grinning at the possibilities, Alice climbed back into bed and stared at the ceiling. This assignment was going to be fun.
It took Alice three weeks to locate the fugitive Claire Redfield. She finally was able to track down the missing woman hiding out in Seattle, far away from any of Umbrella's main facilities. The woman was good Alice could freely admit, but she was better. Project Alice had been watching the redhead for days, completely undetected. The trouble was that she could never catch the fugitive alone. A single unexplained dead body was one thing but if Alice left a trail of bodies Chairman Wesker would not be pleased. So she watched with annoyance as Claire Redfield took public transit everywhere and constantly met up with contacts in public places. What the meetings were about Alice never bothered to learn, it wasn't part of the assignment. She'd been instructed to eliminate Claire Redfield and that was all.
She stood beneath the cover of a large tree on the far side of a park and watched with disinterest as her target spoke to a tall man with dark hair, whose eyes darted nervously around the park as if he knew they were being watched. Alice was beginning to enjoy this game of cat and mouse she was playing with the redhead, but only because it was obvious who would win. Project Alice was Umbrella's most prized possession; a killing machine. The redhead could run but Alice would always find her.
Alice watched with boredom as the man and her target ended their conversation and went their separate ways. She waited in the seclusion the branches of her tree offered until the redhead left the park, it was always more fun when her targets had a head start. Soon enough she began making slow, deliberate steps across the bright green grass, passing several small children playing on swings and in sand boxes making her way out of the park. She followed the redhead at a reasonable distance, her target always took a different route home everyday but on this particular day Alice would make sure Claire Redfield would not reach her destination.
The redhead entered a department store and after several minutes Alice casually made her way inside as well. The store wasn't very crowded and Claire was easy to spot, walking among the aisles. Alice was starting to get bored when her target did something she didn't expect. She watched as Claire looked around anxiously before pushing open a door marked 'No Entry.'
She followed the redhead, her curiosity peaked. The doorway led to a hall with numerous doors on both sides but Alice ignored them all, her gaze fixed on the end of the hallway, to the door labelled 'Access to Roof.' For some reason she just knew this is where the redhead had gone, and smirked at finally getting the redhead alone.
Alice stepped out onto the roof, not caring about being seen or making noise. She knew this was it, the moment she'd been waiting for. Claire Redfield was about to be terminated. Project Alice had a one hundred percent success rate, the redhead would not stand a chance.
As the assassin walked further out onto the roof and looked around she did not spot her target. Her brow furrowed as her eyes narrowed. And that's when she heard it. The familiar sound of the safety being taken off a gun. It was usually the last sound her targets heard as they raised their own weapons to shoot her only to find out she had already acted and they were dead before their arms raised up to aim their weapons.
Project Alice smirked as she heard the sound, and the smile turned into a crooked grin when the sound of a bullet did not immediately follow. She had underestimated the redhead and her target had gotten the jump on her, but the other woman was obviously weak and failed to act, a failure that would cost her, of this Alice was certain.
"Put up your hands, slowly." Alice heard her target instruct, and only out of shear amusement did she comply. She would let the fugitive believe she had control of the situation and then she would kill her and the redhead would never see it coming. And then Alice would return to base and await her next assignment. Alice brought her hands out to the sides, raising them until they were just above her shoulders before turning around slowly, bringing her face to face with the fugitive Claire Redfield.
The blonde was a little taken aback at what she saw. This was the first time she'd seen the woman up close and the first thought that floated through her mind was that the photograph she'd been given did not do Claire Redfield justice. She was beautiful in ways Alice knew her own features could not compete. The assassin was drawn especially to the red hair carelessly falling past the woman's shoulders and she watched as the tresses moved slightly with the breeze. The colour was so familiar that Alice wanted to get closer to investigate. But almost as quickly as these thoughts came Alice shoved them aside. She had a job to do, she was going to complete what all others had failed to do. Claire Redfield was going to die today, end of story.
Alice watched the redhead stare at her. It was a look the assassin was not familiar with. Most of her targets usually looked at her with abject fear and desperation, but Claire Redfield looked hurt, and almost... sad? Alice did not understand.
Despite the emotions covering her face, the redhead held her gun steady and pointed directly at the blonde. "Tell me your name." She demanded.
Alice did not answer, her orders were not to engage the fugitive in interrogation, strictly elimination.
Claire's gaze immediately hardened. "Tell me your name or I will shoot you."
Alice was not threatened and she knew that one bullet or even several would not be enough to kill her, but there was something about the redhead that confused her. This woman obviously knew she was enough of a threat to lead her up here and pull a gun on her, yet she wasn't afraid. And so for the first time in her memory, Alice disobeyed the direct orders of the Umbrella Corporation.
"I am Project 3174-B86." That was her official title, all her files used that serial number in place of a name. Project Alice had been the nickname Dr. Isaacs had given her, though she had no idea where the 'Alice' part had come from.
"No! Tell me your real name! Not the label they slapped on your file." The redhead stared at Alice long and hard but the assassin could see the sadness starting to slip back onto the other woman's face and the look alone was enough to make Alice want to give her a more satisfactory answer.
"Others call me Project Alice."
Her response seemed to appease the redhead, though she still kept the gun firmly pointed at the blonde assassin. "How long have you worked for the Umbrella Corporation?"
Alice didn't understand the point of these questions. "I have completed 57 missions." She answered honestly, seeing no point in lying when her target would soon be dead anyway.
"Why have you been following me for the last three days?"
It had actually been five days. "You are a fugitive of the Umbrella Corporation and I have been ordered to eliminate you." This is the point where she expected to see fear in the redhead but Claire did not look surprised at her answer.
"Is that all? They don't give you a reason?"
"I am not privileged to the decision making behind these orders. I merely complete the assigned mission."
"Why haven't you completed this one? I know who you are Alice, I know of your value to Umbrella as their top assassin. But you've been following me for days, probably even longer, with only the order to kill and yet you haven't finished the job."
Alice glared at her target. "I could have killed you the moment I turned around."
"I know, but you didn't." Alice then watched as the redhead lowered her gun, motioning for the blonde to lower her hands as well. "And I don't think you will kill me."
Alice scoffed. "You're certain about that?"
Claire shook her head. "No, but I hope you will hear me out before deciding."
"If you want to bribe me into sparing your life it will not work."
"I don't care if you kill me Alice. That's why I haven't tried to run from you when I knew I was being watched and followed. I just want to talk, I want you to know why they sent you to kill me. You may not care about the reason but I do. It's the only thing I've cared about the last five years."
Never in any of her previous missions had Alice asked or wanted to know the reason behind her services, why all the people she had killed had needed to die. But this Claire Redfield was so adamant that she know what the redhead had done to incur the wrath of the Umbrella Corporation that Alice could not help but be intrigued. The woman's desperation tugged at something deep within her, a vague emotion she couldn't identify. And for the second time that day she disobeyed orders. Nodding curtly, she agreed to the deal. "Speak."
Claire took a shaky breath. "I broke into Umbrella's facility in Atlanta looking for information."
"Who do you work for?" Interrogation may not have been part of the assignment but there couldn't be any harm in finding out who the redhead was working for, it would certainly aid in the Umbrella Corporation's search for more rebels. And Alice had already broken so many rules by not killing the redhead right away, breaking a few more wouldn't matter.
"I don't work for anyone, this was personal. That corporation took everything from me, so I vowed that if it was the last thing I did I was going to take something from them." The conviction in her voice stood clear and a mask of anger clouded her face.
The assassin stared at the fugitive in confusion. "That's it? That's what you wanted me to know so badly? You stole some information from them?"
"I stole information from them about you." Claire emphasized. "You are the company's most valuable possession. You are the perfect killer, you've killed dictators and rebel leaders, anyone who looked to stand in Umbrella's way. I stole every file on you they have and I've gone over it hundreds of times trying to find a weakness, trying to find a way to shut down 'Project Alice.' I never found one, you apparently have no weakness. You're stronger, faster and more impervious than any other human on this earth." Claire's gaze never wavered from the killer before her and Alice was surprised to feel some level of comfort at being referred to as a human, none of the scientists or her superiors ever thought of her that way. Just a killing machine to be perfected and exploited. "But you know what's interesting about those files?" Claire's voice drew Alice's attention back to her story. "There's nothing in them about you before you became 'Project Alice.' Do you know what your life was like before they turned you into this?"
This time Alice did not answer the redhead's question. She didn't have any memories of the time before she was Project Alice, and sometimes she believed that she had probably never even existed before the Umbrella Corporation had made her into what she is today.
Claire took the blonde's silence as the answer to her question. "You don't remember because they've planted a chip in your brain. They control your memories, and if you ever fail to follow their orders they can also use it to control you."
"Whatever they have done is in the best interest of the Umbrella Corporation." Alice recited. It was a mantra she had learned long ago.
Claire quickly became furious. "So I guess ruining lives is in the best interest of the Umbrella Corporation? Killing people? Taking everything from them? What they are doing is not for the greater good, it's for power. And that company will stop at nothing to get as much power as possible!" The redhead then hung her head and took a few deep breaths. "I know none of this is your fault Alice. What they did to you is impossible for you to resist and from what I've learned is also impossible to be undone." She dropped her gun to the ground and looked at Alice again with the hurt and sadness the assassin had seen when they first came face to face. Only now Alice could also see how exhausted the other woman looked, like she hadn't slept in years and was too tired to carry on.
For the first time in the blonde's memory Alice was having trouble piecing together what was going on. "So is this you giving up? You lured me up here to let me kill you? Because you couldn't find a way to kill me first?"
"I was never trying to kill you Alice." Claire explained, and her next sentence was voiced so low that if not for blonde's beyond perfect hearing she would never have caught it. "I was trying to get you back."
"Get me back?"
"They took you from me, and by doing that they took everything."