"man, get off my back!" Kevin groaned, his arms folded behind his head as he walked in
front of the plumber and security guard. barely a half hour ago, the three men had
barged into the RPD, looking for someplace safe to recuperate.
the RPD was far from safe.
the whole damn place was a death trap, zombies in every hallway, and poisonous gas
that went off every twenty seconds. zombies, the men could handle. but gas...it was so
unpredictable, it was a security measure installed by the ever paranoid Chief Irons.
what was meant to help keep the precinct and its officers safe, was killing them off.
what was surprising to Kevin though was that every officer was either infected or had
died from the gas in a random room-so how could there be so many monsters now?
Kevin scoffed, he knew that the good doctor George would have an explanation for this.
some kind of smart scientific formula or theory to excuse this days events.
as he pondered what kind of garbage George would spew out, Kevin was hearing more
grumbles from the grouchy and ever trusting security guard, Mark.
ever since they escaped J's Bar, Mark had been giving Kevin a hard time about being
such a young and 'irresponsible' cop. at first, Kevin was a little taken aback, maybe even
offended. but now, he was getting more and more annoyed. 'piss off you old fart...'
"we should hurry along and find those plates, Kevin. you know where you're goin' boy?"
"of course I do." Kevin sighed as he reached a stairway leading into the basement.
"then why the fuck is it taking so long?" David grumbled, raising an eyebrow at the cop.
"this place used to be a museum, it's huge." Kevin mumbled in response.
the young man kept reminding himself to stay calm and try to stay focused. but most of
all, to try and not lash out. he took pride in his job and vowed to help and protect people.
but these two men, were two exceptions that he was almost willing to-
"Kevin!" Mark interrupted his thoughts. Kevin stopped and turned around, hands on his
hips. "what?" his head drooped forward in an annoyed fashion. "boy..if we're lost, so help
me those bastards are the least of your problems." Mark glared briefly.
"we're almost there, we just need to take this file to that reporter in the cells."
Kevin tried his best to remain patient, tried to reason with his team to hold firm.
the three men now stood in the garage of the RPD, rock bottom. awhile ago, Kevin had
found one of the plate shards in the possession of a sketchy reporter. he promised that if
he found a certain file upstairs and brought it to him, he would give him the piece of junk.
but Kevin should've known better than to drag along the two men with him.
he should've gone to get the key himself, spare his bleeding ears.
if it wasn't the monsters, if it wasn't the gas that killed them, then it was each other.
"bullshit! how do you know that reporter is good on his word?" Mark barked, holding
onto his aching side. to the dark man, the stairs were the devil himself.
"we don't have much of a choice mark! we've looked everywhere else for the fifth piece!"
Kevin's patience was almost gone, he felt more and more angry with the men.
he really wished that Jim were there to be the dog that needed to be kicked, at least then
they wouldn't be at each other's throats as much.
"we wouldn't be going around in circles if you stupid cops didn't have such a huge
fucking building. it's a wonder they didn't die off faster." David rasped.
"take that back, shit head!" Kevin yelled, grabbing the plumber by the collar.
plumber and cop, ex-con and law enforcer. the two men were glaring and snarling,
holding onto each other with grips of steel-waiting for the other to make a move.
David hand one hand on one of Kevin's wrists, while the other was staying close to his
tool belt. Kevin wasn't sure if David was thinking of stabbing him with his folding knife,
or bashing his head in with a wrench.
Mark took it upon himself to force the two men apart. he grabbed Kevin's shoulders and
ripped him off of the plumber. Kevin was flung to the floor and he sat sprawled
and dazed, fuming with rage. David growled but kept his distance,
Mark stood beside him.
"you can go on ahead and talk to that fool in there. but we're tired of looking for
goddamn keys and switches. we're staying here." Mark didn't look as upset anymore, but
he was no longer willing to move.
Kevin got up and brushed himself off, his pride damaged. he felt like a school boy taken
down by a big bully looking for candy to steal-and lost.
"fine, do whatever the fuck you want. I don't care if you turn into monster chow.
I'm getting that goddamn key and I'm getting out of here-with or without you!"
Kevin finished with a spat, turning curtly and storming off towards the door.
"damn idiot.." David placed a hand on his hip.
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Kevin tried to calm himself down, he had to be collected when he talked to the reporter.
'Ben...right?' he never understood why the guy was just sitting in there. but the chief
wanted him to stay there, no one knows for how long. it didn't matter now, the chief had
disappeared somewhere in the building-Ben should feel safer talking to Kevin now.
once Kevin reached the cell block, he opened the gate and strolled passed two criminals
in orange. one of them actually whistled at him.
"alright buddy, here it is." Kevin slid the envelope through the bars on Ben's cell.
"ah thanks." Ben grinned and took the thick package. he began to thumb through the
documents, checking to see if it was all there. "no need to do that, I'm a trustworthy
guy here." Kevin raised a brow. 'what's so important about it..?'
"you didn't look through this?" Ben looked up. "no, not at all." Kevin shifted his weight
from one foot to the next. "can I have that piece of crap now, I went through hell getting
that file." Kevin sighed bitterly. remembering the fight from a moment ago.
"I'm surprised you didn't read this, it's about your boss." Ben walked over to his cot
and pulled out an object from under the mattress. "my boss?" Kevin raised an eye brow.
"yeah, weren't you in on it with him too? he's been receiving bribes from umbrella for
quite some time now, a lot of money."
"what would umbrella want with the chief?" Kevin got closer to the metal cage.
"I'm not sure, but there have been rumors that umbrella is up to something big.
Something that isn't...quite legal. Irons knew what was going on, so they bribed him to
keep quiet. how else do you think he could afford all those paintings, huh?"
Kevin gaped at him silently. "so...that file?" "it's his tax records. for months I've been
trying to uncover how he got all that money. when I finally got close, he caught me.
you dogs haven't let me out ever since. he kept me here, and kept this file safe so word
wouldn't get out. your boss is a fraud, he belongs here not me."
"here, just take this and get out while you can." Ben handed Kevin the golden tear drop
shaped shard, a green stone shined brightly in the dim lights. "damn fool dropped this
when he was jerking my chain." Ben scoffed.
"I'm sorry..I had no idea. want me to let you out now?" Kevin grabbed onto the bars.
it was almost as if the roles were reversed, Kevin had been living a lie. while Ben was
on the other side, the truth had set him free.
"no way, I can't go out now. those damn things are out there. I want to live long
enough to write this story. this could lead to something bigger." Ben sat down on his cot.
Kevin bowed his head in shame, looking at the ground. 'I'm such an idiot...'
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David tried searching under the squad cars for something useful. he be damned if he was
ever lucky enough to find a key. he still believed they were a joke.
"anything Mark?" David called. finding nothing but leaking transmission fluid.
"no..." Mark sighed sitting on a squad car, rubbing his neck. "this whole town is a joke."
"maybe a joke, but I'm not laughing." David mumbled, kicking a soda can.
'was I too harsh?' David pondered, brushing his bangs away from his face.
he was starting to feel guilty for what he said to Kevin, as stupid as that sounded.
why should he feel bad for a cop? he was arrested by those bastards years ago.
he could never forgive a cop for locking him away. why should he have a soft spot now?
"hey, you alright son?" Mark looked over at David with concern. despite the young
plumber being renowned for his silent demeanor, Mark could tell if he was troubled.
David opened his mouth to speak, when a sharp hissing broke the still air.
the two men quickly glanced around the room, they were being engulfed in yellow
smoke.
"agh! shit!" Mark sputtered, coughing and spitting as the gas filled his lungs.
Mark got up from the car, trying to find the way to the closest door to escape.
"shit not again!" David rasped, trying to cover his mouth. he was failing miserably.
"David! David where are you! dammit I can't see!" Mark shouted, tripping over his own
feet in the thick fog of poisonous essence.
'Kev-...'
*thump*
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Kevin began to walk back to the garage, taking his time as thoughts plagued him.
everything was so messed up. maybe David had been right about how stupid he and his
fellow officers were, they were blind to the truth-their boss was a criminal.
a criminal that pulled the strings on his puppets, bending the laws to his will.
everything that Kevin ever stood for, everything he believed in and stayed true to...
all of it was a lie. he was fake.
the years he had been on the force, saving lives and promising a tomorrow for so many.
all those years in training, the examination-all lies.
was S.T.A.R.S a lie too?
he spent two years trying to get into that special unit. he drunk his shame, failure,
and tears away whenever he failed to be selected.
they were all just a bunch of puppets with blindfolds on, guns drawn.
'David was right...' but he didn't have the heart to throw down his badge.
"HELP!" Kevin froze. he heard Mark yelling, were there more zombies?
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Kevin slammed the door shut behind him, choking on the smoke. he glanced around for
his partners as his eyes brimmed with tears. he wasn't sure if it was from the gas or...
"Mark! where are you?" Kevin called. "Kevin! I can't find David!"
Kevin squinted his eyes and crouched down on the ground, hoping to see David and
Marks legs through all the vapors. as well as try to find a clean air pocket.
"David?" all he could hear was Mark's choked coughs. he had to hurry.
he saw a pair of long legs with brown boots, that could be anyone...wait.
he quickly shined his flashlight at the figure, hoping to get a better look.
the light barely broke through the thick air, but it caught onto something metal and it
began to shine. David's wrench!
Kevin ran forward to the limp body on the concrete. turning it over, he had found David.
"David! David wake up!" Kevin began to cough. were his lungs bleeding?
he lifted David over his shoulder and struggled to get up. "Mark! give me your hand!"
with a cough, Mark groped out for an arm. Kevin felt a hand brush against his forearm
and jumped from the surprise. "here!" Kevin grabbed Mark's wrist and pulled him along.
Kevin made a mad dash to the door straight ahead of him, pulling along a heaving Mark.
once the door was opened, Mark slammed it shut behind him to close off the gas.
he fell onto his hands and knees and gasped for fresh air. 'made it..'
Kevin laid David onto the ground and got down on his knees beside him.
he tried to shake him awake, he had half a mind to smack the snot out of him but...
finally, his first aid training came back to him.
Kevin curled his hands together and pressed against David's stomach, opting to press the
air out first. he counted as he prayed, listening for any cough.
he pinched David's nose and performed the other half of CPR by giving the plumber
his breath. the cop came back up for air and started pressing again.
"come on David. wake up!" Kevin pleaded with the man.
'I know you hate me, but...I'll hate myself more if-' David began to cough violently.
Kevin grinned with relief. "you bastard, I thought we lost you."
David wheezed as color returned to his face. first color was normal, then it was red.
David grabbed onto Kevin's throat and squeezed just enough to make him squawk.
"YOU STUPID COP!"
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both plumber and cop sat on opposite sides of the hallway, catching their breaths.
Mark tried his best to keep himself from laughing at the two men, always at
each other's throats, literally.
Mark took the plate key that Kevin had been awarded with from the caged reporter.
the painful truth in return for freedom.
"well, I'll just take this and go ahead of you fellas. don't worry about catching up,
I'm still aging here." Mark chuckled as he marched up the steps.
"oh, Kevin?" Kevin tiredly gazed at the veteran as he peeked from the top of the steps.
"you're a good cop, I was wrong." Mark smiled, turning away and disappeared.
Kevin groaned as he stood up, turning to see if David needed help standing.
David was already up, his arms crossed. he was giving Kevin a strange look.
"hey, you ok? the gas didn't mess with your head-" in a flash, David was in front of
Kevin and grabbed his face, crashing their lips together.
Kevin made a sound of surprise, his eyes wide. he placed his hand on David's shoulder
as his eyes closed, he was starting to enjoy it.
David pulled away and stared into Kevin's blue eyes.
"I'll have to pay you back somehow." he mumbled. with a smirk, he turned and went
upstairs.
Kevin smiled, the first genuine smile all day. 'maybe I'm not so useless after all...'
(end)
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When I was playing the "Desperate Times" scenario with my team consisting of Kevin,
David and Mark, I had no clue what to do. Much worse, I picked the team that did NOT
want to listen to whatever Kevin (me) said!
In other scenarios though, David and Kevin can get along nicely if trust is established
early on-this mostly occurred during "Wild Things" or "Underbelly".
What's worse, while Kevin went to get the key from Ben, Mark and David were still in
the parking garage. When I came back, they both were on the ground, dead.
It made me REALLY sad that my whole team died off, and I knew I couldn't
successfully beat the scenario without them. The gas just happened to come back on and
killed Kevin. Even I like the RPD, I really hate that scenario in Outbreak 2!
I thought it would be kinda nice to write a story about Kevin during the outbreak, pretty
much almost everyone hated him and didn't want to listen to him and his directions.
So I wrote this story, to show how much his career meant to him and how the others
changed and learned to respect him more.
But I didn't want my team to die, I just don't have the heart to write stories that have the
characters die-too sad, so I wrote it this way instead! (^_^)
for some reason, I enjoyed writing this story to the song "Again" by Flyleaf…
I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think!
See you next week!
Lin
