Raven POV
The helicopter touches down on the helipad of the skyscraper gently as ever. I step out, shoving the radio into my purse and checking once more that the memory stick is still where I put it. Looking up after reassuring myself, I grin at the sight of Trent, waiting for me at the door to the stairwell.
"Hello!" I yell over the loud blades of the helicopter slowing down.
"Hey Raven! Let's go inside so we can have some privacy!" he puts a hand to the small of my back, guiding me at his side to the stairs and into the spacious office. "Would you like something to eat or drink?"
I shake my head. "No thanks, I would just like to give you the information, then go home."
"Rough month?" he asks, sympathetic.
"More than a little, to say the least." I groan, rubbing a hand over my temple.
"Then stay a little while, give me a reason to have a decent break." He offers.
I sigh sadly. "I've already made some plans, and I'm going to be busy for a while. I can make time to come back sometime, but this has a high priority."
I hand him the memory stick, which he handles as though it's made of glass. "We'll get what we can get out of this, then get back to you so you tell us how to distribute it."
"Thanks."
Five Hours Later
"Welcome home, Lady Raven." the maid murmurs, a rag in her hand showing evidence of her having been polishing the woodwork again. I observe her relaxed face, tanned from living outdoors most of her life, wary green eyes trained on me, framed by crow's feet. Her long brown-going-gray hair is in a braid coming forward over the shoulder of her light green work shirt, going against the dark blue jeans she wears with her slippers.
"Thanks Gina. How have things been here?" I inquire as I hang my coat on the stand.
"Everything has been quiet, except for Lady Wong and Master Olivera communicating. There was a message for you from the BSAA and some American Lady Hunnigan." She offers a piece of paper to me, on which I find a number written down. "The American President was killed in the infection of the White House, and they need an outside source to take care of the cleanup and properly handle the labs for the time being. This is the number she left for you if you should decide to take up this job or just wish to talk."
"Hm, I'll have to think about that. Does she really want me there, or was she ordered to invite me?" I mutter to myself, before speaking directly to her again. "Gina, would you please make us something for dinner while I go get cleaned up?"
She nods enthusiastically as she bounces off to the kitchen, while I smile as I walk up the narrow stairwell to the balcony overlooking the entrance of my mansion, looking out over the private island just off the coast of Brazil I inherited from Dad. It grants me a wonderful view of the ocean, and no sign of land on this side of the island, ensuring a great view of the sunrise every morning. On the opposite side of the mansion, I had found a lab full of research on every virus Umbrella and TriCell had ever gotten their hands on, including samples of the vaccine for the T and G viruses, and the beginnings of other vaccines as well.
Entering my giant master suite, I shed my blazer and blouse, tossing them into the empty hamper next to the door as I walk past. I step into my giant walk-in closet, grabbing a pair of gray sweatpants and a black spaghetti strap tank top, as well as some clean underclothes. I take the fresh outfit into the bathroom, where I take a quick shower to get rid of the scent of blood and other fumes, trying to ignore the memories threatening to swallow me whole.
"What are you doing?!"
"Why?!"
"Please, stop! Just come home!"
"RAVEN!"
I gasp as I feel tears mix in with the hot water, sliding down the tiled wall of the shower to sit on the floor, water washing away the soap bubbles and the blood I had missed earlier.
"Lady Raven?!" Gina shouts from my room, banging on the door. "Are you alright?!"
I shut off the water, shouting back, "I'm fine! I'll be right there!" Quickly drying off, I throw my hair up in the towel and pull on the clothes, walking to the door as I run the towel through my hair, ruffling it into a giant mess. "What is it Gina?" I ask her as I open the door.
"There is a man on the phone asking for you, and you weren't answering." She glances around the room. "Are you certain you're alright? You look a bit pale."
"I'll be fine. I'll pick up the line in here, thanks." I walk over to the phone on my bedside table, picking it up hesitantly. "Hello?"
"Is this Raven Wesker?" a man with an unfamiliar, deep voice mumbles.
"Who is this?" I growl, dropping the towel onto my bed. "How did you get this number?"
"This is Dr. Isaacs, with Neo Umbrella. I believe you have something that belongs to my company, and I would like it back."
"Everything I have is honestly earned, and you will not be receiving anything from my labs. This isn't my first rodeo, and if you try anything, your ass is on the line."
He chuckles darkly. "You forget to mention that this isn't my first time dealing with other companies as well. And I am just looking to get my hard work back on track. All I need is for you to come in."
"You and I both know that's not happening, asshole. I am warning you this once: cross me again, and you will die." With that, I hang up the phone. I toss my towel over the back of the chair to dry out and pick up a hair tie, securing my long hair in a ponytail at the base of my skull without bothering to brush it out. That done, I leave the room without wearing slippers, something that Gina wants me to get into but that I refuse to consider.
I walk into a wall of scent as I step into the kitchen, teriyaki and spicy having been what Gina decided on today. "Lady Raven, dinner is ready." She says, gesturing to a plate of steaming chicken and diced beef cooked in teriyaki.
"Thanks." I whisper, taking a fork and attacking the food, inhaling the amazing meal. "Gina, what did the BSAA have to say?" I ask after she begins eating her own meal.
She sighs, and hands me another slip of paper. "They just want you to call them back, saying something about what happened in China."
I shake my head. "They're gonna have me back on their list, that's for sure. I guess it's a good thing this place doesn't show up on any map or radar, huh?"
"Very good, Lady Raven, as everyone who works here lives here as well." She glances at a picture on the wall, one of Mom sitting with me in her lap, and Dad standing behind us, from when I was about four, a year before Umbrella murdered her. "Do you do this for them?" she asks suddenly.
"Yes. Dad wanted to do what he could to give me back what was taken, and Mom was murdered for being involved. I want to do what would make them proud of me, but I'm losing sight of that every day." I eat the last piece of chicken on my plate, then take it over to the sink, grabbing the sponge and washing my dishes. "Do you remember when it happened?"
"Yes, your father was working late that night, wasn't he?" I nod as I rinse off the plate. "You were hiding in the woods like he told you, but they couldn't find you until he allowed you to go back to school a week later. I don't know anything beyond that."
"I was in the playground with my friends during recess when they came for me. They said they were there to pick me up, but I recognized them. I tried to get away from them, but…"
"Raven Wesker, these gentlemen are here to pick you up today." The teacher calls.
I wave goodbye to my friends as I go down the slide where I was hiding, then stop when I see the men in suits with the teacher. "No! I'm not going with them!"
She frowns at me, shaking her finger at me. "Now Raven, they have a note with your dad's permission to take you home today, so you're going with them."
I back away from them. "No! They were there, they're gonna hurt Daddy!"
The teacher walks up to me and grabs me. "You're talking nonsense Raven. Now get your bag, you're leaving."
"No!" I pull against her hand, even using my short nails to try making her let me go, but she keeps dragging me inside, where she has to get one of the men to get my stuff together and carry as I keep fighting her. "No, don't make me go! They killed my Mommy!"
A car screeches outside, and the men pull out guns, aiming one at me and the other at the teacher, who lets go of me to put her hands in the air. "Don't move, either of you!" one of them shouts.
I start crying as the man grabs me and presses the gun to my head and pulls me by the hair into the hallway, where Daddy stands with Mr. Birkin. "Wesker, one move and she dies!" the man shouts, pushing the gun harder into my scalp.
I stare at Daddy as he looks lost, looking between me and the man. "Daddy, it's okay. Don't let them use me against you."
"Raven, I can't do that to you. I can't lose you so soon after your mother." He whispers, before glaring at the man, blue eyes going from gentle to ice cold. "I will do as you want, so long as she is safe."
He laughs as he drags me away, keeping the gun pressed to my head. "That's our boss's word, now keep yours."
He shoves me into a van and climbs in after me, buckling me into a booster seat as someone else drives away. I see Daddy run out of the school, yelling something at the van, and hide my face in my hands, crying in fear and sadness for the last time.
"Since then I've never been the same. Dad never really had much of a choice, as a Wesker Child, but to do what Umbrella said. He'd been able to get out of it once, and it lasted a long time, but not as long as he wanted. The next thing we knew, the outbreak in Raccoon City happened, and I was deliberately infected before I managed to escape the lab I was being held in." I touch the picture delicately.
Gina sounds as though she's having trouble holding back tears. "Your father never told me all of this, just that I was to take care of you should anything happen to him. But I never imagined that was how it happened."
I turn to look back at her, feeling nothing. "It's in the past now, and nobody ever really knew. I've gotten over it, but I will never forgive any of them." I walk out of the kitchen, heading up to my office to make a few return calls.
Several Days Later
Claire POV
I pick up the phone, seeing Leon's name show up on the display. "Hello?"
"Hey, Claire." Leon mumbles. "How've you been?"
"Worried sick about you! Do you have any idea how many times Simmons called me in for interrogations?!" I growl at him.
He sighs and I swear he must be rubbing his forehead. "I know, and I'm sorry. But right now, I would love it if you would just come to Washington to pick me up, please?"
I sigh heavily as I pick up my keys. "I guess it won't be that much trouble. Where do I get you from?"
"The Lincoln Memorial, please. I'll be waiting."
"Alright, I'll be there soon. I love you Leon."
"Love you too, Claire."
I hang up and rush out to my car, wanting to see Leon so badly it almost hurts. These last six months have been rough on me, as I was called in by the DSO to be interrogated by Simmons about Leon and Sherry, him dead and her missing in action.
As the car starts up, I look up to the windshield to find an envelope stuck under the wiper, with no outside markings. Cautiously, I grab a plastic bag from the backseat and reach out the window, being careful not to touch the unmarked envelope with my hands. I wrap the bag loosely around the letter and tie it shut, laying it down on the passenger seat and look around, seeing nothing unusual in the neighborhood, and nobody I don't recognize.
With another sigh, I begin the half hour drive to get Leon, and maybe even consider making a stop with Hunnigan to see if she could find out anything about the sender of this envelope.
Leon POV
"Well, Rookie, it took you long enough to come home." Claire's voice drawls from behind me.
I turn to her with a wide grin and pull her close, tangling my fingers into her long ponytail, and smelling the faint flowery shampoo she uses. "I missed you."
She wraps her arms around my neck, pulling back slightly to press a kiss to my lips. "Don't you ever do that to me again, you hear?" I pick up a faint tremble in her voice, and notice she glances around cautiously.
"What's wrong? You seem jumpy." I ask, frowning as a car screeches to a halt in the road, BSAA agents, including Chris and Jill, run out to us. "Guys, what's going on?"
A helicopter passes way too closely over us, and the wind throws our hair in our faces as the small aircraft lands. The door on our side opens, and a black clad figure steps out, blonde hair cascading over their shoulders and down their back, black sunglasses on their nose, and a sleek silver case held in one hand. The other agents pull us behind them and train their weapons to focus on her chest and forehead.
She keeps a straight face and surveys the area. "You sure know how to welcome a girl, don't you Redfield?" she drawls as the blades of the chopper whirl to a stop, her pilot stepping out. He is dressed in a similar fashion to her, but with the noticeable difference that he wears dark green and is much more casually dressed, though armed with a couple of cleverly hidden knives and a handgun under his open jacket. "Carlos, I believe you wanted to greet someone in particular?" she asks.
The Hispanic man steps forward and cleverly blocks the aim the agents have on Raven as he walks towards Jill, who lowers her gun. "It's good to see you again, Jill."
She offers a hand to him very slowly, and he shakes it. "How did you know where to find me?"
"Lady Raven here has more secrets than ever, so I can't tell you how she knew. We have a delivery for your medical and viral research department, then we have another appointment." Raven steps forward with the case, extending it to Chris, who takes it tentatively. "Is there anything else you would like to ask before we leave?"
I step forward slightly. "Yeah, why do you work for her?"
Raven raises an eyebrow. "Now Kennedy, sometimes a certain resume is what I require, and a certain environment is what the candidate requires. Nothing is quite what it seems but for my intentions."
"And what are your intentions, you murderer?" one of the younger agents asks, practically growling.
Raven bristles at the name, and Carlos is obviously enraged at the title. "I am no murderer, you fool. If you value your life, you won't ever call me that again."
"Is that a threat?" Jill asks, raising her weapon to Raven once more.
"From me, yes. I take her reputation very seriously, and I do not appreciate it when any try to destroy it." Carlos snarls, stepping to hide Raven behind his large frame.
"Why do you work for her, Carlos?" Jill asks softly.
"She saved my life, and gave me a new one altogether. And I owed her from Raccoon City." He mumbles.
Raven puts a gentle hand on his arm, making him look back to her. "Let's go, we have better things to be doing that argue with a bunch of jaded, gun-toting, lunatics."
He nods. "Of course, Lady Raven." He ushers her back to their helicopter, and they take off, vanishing into the sky as quickly as they arrived, heading towards the White House.
Okay, I would like to have some reviews on both this story and its prequel, which you can find easily on my profile. I need to get some ideas, or this story is going to sit for a long time, and nobody likes a story that sits around collecting dust and no reviews. And if you are one of the people who reads my other stories that have been sitting around, I need feedback there, and I will get around to updating them soon, I promise.
I do not own Resident Evil.
