Ada sat back into her office chair. Its tall back and excellent support were the key reasons its previous owner had selected it. He had spent years working his way up to the regional manager position, only to have it usurped by an enterprising young woman only three months later. Ada felt sort of bad about it, when she had seen him backing up and moving out, but the once-over he gave her with his eyes when they passed in the hallway sent any sympathy she felt running in the opposite direction. Plus, she didn't do anything any other businessman would have done; she just did it faster.
Her office was large, with a view behind her large wooden desk and a wall of glass looking over the cubicle farm in the large adjacent room. Ada considered putting her feet on the desk, but then thought better of it. It wouldn't be very dignified, would it, now? Besides, she wasn't here for the position in the long term; she had risen to this position quickly and intended to leave it the same way.
For a while she had been poking at Umbrella, and she knew that there was something they had that other companies would pay quite a bit of cash for. She had risen in the ranks of the company quickly and was almost able to get to the clearance level she needed in order to access the sensitive information, whatever it was, that she sought. She just had to do a bit more work, find some leverage so she could get away with all of this in the end, some dirt on a higher-up that she could use as collateral…
Ada logged onto the desktop computer and typed in a password at the appropriate screen, superimposed over the copyrighted umbrella logo plastered on half of the drugs manufactured worldwide. Once the desktop had loaded, Ada perused the files, looking for something that she could use, at the start of her search. A few folders into it, she found the Midwestern accounts reports and accounting figures for the previous fiscal year. "Bingo," she whispered to herself. She double-clicked on the icon and the door to her office opened as the folder did. With a poker face gamblers would kill for, she faced her secretary, Lisa Addison.
"Ms. Wong," she asked, "I was just checking to see if you needed anything—I'm going to lunch."
"No, thank you Lisa," said Ada. She smiled curtly as the woman left the office, closing the glass door carefully behind her. Ada watched her walk away for a moment before returning to her search.
Ada knew what sort of thing she was looking for, and after skimming over the reports twice, she could find where funds just… disappeared. They were there in their accounts, and were withdrawn unexpectedly and inexplicably, never too much, just enough to fall between the cracks. This was something that could be found only if someone were looking for it. The accountant had made sure of that.
Ada began tracking the leaks of money, watching where each withdrawal came from. She opened a browser window and pulled up a map of the U.S. and followed her search. The small withdrawals, never higher than a couple thousand dollars or so, were made quite frequently at different financial offices in the vicinity of…
A smile came to Ada's face—she had found it. Raccoon City.
Ada strode into the Raccoon City Umbrella Corporation building, the tallest in the small downtown, with a briefcase in one hand. Beneath a couple of folders and files lay a few extra clips for the handgun that was strapped to her thigh. She went to the front desk and spoke to the receptionist. "Hello," she said, using her charming smile. "My name is Ada Wong—I'm the Midwestern regional manager. I'm expected, I believe."
"Of course, Ms. Wong," said the woman, typing a few commands into her computer. "Mr. Clemens just got in this morning from Chicago. He'll be ready for you at about two o'clock, if that's okay?"
Ada's eyes flitted to the clock on the wall above the receptionist's head, which was ticking at just above one o'clock. "That sounds wonderful," said Ada. "And if you don't mind, I'll just find my way to the lady's room."
"Right that way," said the receptionist, her face cheery as ever, pointing to a hallway directly next to the elevators.
"Thank you," said Ada. She turned and walked away from the receptionist and headed toward the restrooms. She glanced upward at the chrome trim around the elevator and waited until she saw the woman look away, and slipped imperceptibly into the small crowd waiting for the elevator, and boarded it when it came.
She had already studied the floor plan of the Umbrella building in Raccoon, and got off on the third floor and took the third left into a room full of servers and file cabinets. She closed the door behind her and pulled a drawer out of the nearest file cabinet. This heavy thing she placed in front of the door. Though it would not hold it shut, if anyone tried to open the door, it would give her the precious seconds she needed to jump into her cover once again.
Ada found her way to a computer monitor and logged on with the same keystrokes she had watched the receptionist downstairs input when working with the scheduling program. The password worked, and she was in. Without dillydallying around the reports from anywhere else, Ada found her way to the Raccoon city facility and was pleasantly surprised to find more folders below the main Umbrella Research Center in the city. Arklay Mountain Facility, Underground Facility, another Research and Training Center…
She heard the gun click as it was held to her temple. She raised her hands from the keyboard and did not move her eyes from the screen. "I was just looking up some files when I figured they might have been digitized," she said flatly. "Sorry I just left that drawer…"
"Drop the ruse," said the cool, deep voice from behind her. "And turn around. Who are you working for?"
Ada did turn around, but not in the way the owner of the voice would have wanted. She spun the swivel chair, bringing her high-heeled leg up and connecting with the man's arm. As she did this, she grabbed the gun from her leg and had it pointed at the blond policeman's face.
"Don't you think it's a little dark in here for sunglasses?" she asked, getting to her feet. The policeman gave a grin and began to stand, but Ada used her heel to pin his hand with the gun in it to the floor. "I've found something quite interesting about this company," she said, "and I've been looking for collateral, in case they don't like that I've been snooping around. A dead policeman on their premises? That's something they'd want to keep out of the papers."
"I'm much more than a policeman," said the man, whose S.T.A.R.S. patch Ada had already identified. He pulled up on the arm that was pinned down and with his other arm pushed Ada's shooting hand upward, as she let a shot out into the ceiling. He shot his fist into her gut and lifted his gun, only to find hers pointing at him again. He smirked. "I am more than a policeman," he continued, "I am the man in charge of the little operation you just dug up. And I would like it very much if you would be a part of it, Ms. Wong. You certainly have the skills. And I'd hate to have to kill you."
"I have buyers lined up already."
"That's a lie. You didn't know what you were going to find—you don't know what you did find, yet. But I believe that you can be a big part of it." He lowered his gun, and after a moment, Ada did the same. The man smiled. "That's good, Ms. Wong—or, may I call you Ada? My name is Albert Wesker, and I have quite the job in store for you…"