Best Laid Plans II - An Inferior Moon
by Ticklefish
"You know, he went bowling with us once."
"Who?"
"Wesker. Of course, he was Captain Wesker then."
Jill and Chris had decided to try the rear of the building, the front having proved unrewarding. As they got up from their table, Jill had linked her arm with Chris's and the two had set off at a leisurely stroll.
"I find that hard to believe." said Jill dubiously.
"No, it's true. It makes sense in a way. Nobody would have worked for him if they knew what he was really like."
"I guess...so what happened?"
"It was a few days before you came to us. We had a game against Bravo. We won, of course."
"No, I meant what happened with him?"
"Not a lot. He wasn't very good and kept getting annoyed. I suppose if we'd known what he was really capable of, we probably would have let him win."
"Not working with him in the first place would have been a better idea." pointed out Jill.
Chris laughed.
"Yeah.."
They walked in silence for a few steps.
"I can beat that," Jill said, "do you remember my hair back then?"
Chris paused. The thing he remembered most about her hair in those days was the way it framed her face so beautifully. A nice thing to say but probably not the best thing right now.
"Yes..?" he ventured.
"Guess what shampoo I used to use."
"Er.." Chris was out of his depth.
"I used Kerashine."
Chris looked blank.
Jill smiled and shook her head.
"It was made by Umbrella." she explained.
Chris stopped dead and, almost of their own accord, his eyes drifted to her hair. The movement did not go unnoticed by Jill.
"Don't worry, it was made by a different division. It was completely safe. Pretty good too."
She looked thoughtful.
"The cosmetics section collapsed along with the main company," she continued, "even though they had nothing to do with the T-Virus or B.O.W.'s or anything. Thousands of people lost their jobs for no good reason."
"Stopping the manufacture of bioweapons is a pretty good reason." commented Chris.
"Oh certainly," agreed Jill, "but it makes you think."
Chris could think of nothing more to say and they resumed their walk.
Claire could think of nothing to say.
She was asleep, her brow unfurrowed and a very faint snore emanating from her lips. On the table by the bed, a teddy bear in a miniature leather jacket was bearing mute witness, the only other person in the room.
In Claire's dreams, however, there was one other. She rolled over onto her other side and, in her sleep, said just one single, solitary word.
"Leon.."
It has been said that, no matter how decorative a building may be at the front, the back will always be dull and functional.
Every building needs somewhere to store the bins and somewhere for the contractors to come in without their appearance upsetting the delicate sensibilities of the clients. Although Chris and Jill still had no idea just what the purpose of this building was, the back provided no surprises. There were two dumpsters, a short concrete ramp and a door. The door was grey and, save for a keyhole halfway up, featureless and blank.
Chris opened the lid of the dumpster nearest him.
"Nothing in this one," he said, "what about yours?"
Jill closed the lid of the second dumpster.
"Dog-ends and a twig. Nothing more." she replied.
"Well," said Chris, his eyes gleaming at the thought of some mayhem at last, "I guess we'll be breaking in tonight then."
Jill nodded and scanned the area, looking for any potential issues. As she did so, a scream could be heard from behind the door. There was a muffled shot and the scream abruptly cut off.
In a flash, the two had drawn their guns from their hiding places. Chris listened at the door, Jill standing guard. After a moment, he shook his head.
"Nothing." he said.
"In?" asked Jill.
"In."
Jill rummaged through her bag and, upon producing a small lockpick, started work on the door. She had learnt to pick locks years ago and could do it almost without really thinking about it. One of her colleagues in S.T.A.R.S. had found it hilarious and had given her the most annoying nickname. She wondered what he was doing now..there was a clunk, more felt than heard.
Jill slowly pushed the door open while Chris covered her. The corridor on the other side was empty for a few meters and then turned to the right.
"Ready?" Chris asked.
Jill put her pick away and retrieved her gun.
"Ready." she replied.
Keeping their eyes open and their weapons ready, they moved in. The door closed behind them and, just on the edge of hearing, there was a very faint 'snick' as it locked.
Eric Carpenter sat at his desk, bored rigid.
What paperwork he had to do had been done and, this late at night, the chances of anyone coming into the building were practically zero. He might get perhaps two phone calls the entire shift.
Technically, the BSAA was open all day every day but, although there were quite often some people in the different departments doing whatever it was they did, the reception was usually dead. Eric resisted the night shifts as often as he could but there were times, such as now, where he didn't have much choice. He flicked idly through a much-thumbed magazine. He'd already read the articles several times but there were one or two women worth looking at. Eric paused.
There was an idea..
He looked around, making sure that there was no-one in the area. There was a CCTV camera but it could only see the front of the desk, not the back. Or to be more precise, it couldn't see whatever was on the monitor screen.
Eric pressed some buttons on his keyboard and paused before pressing the last one. He took one final look around..no-one anywhere..Eric had the entire place to himself. He pressed the last button and leaned back in his chair.
On the screen were a collection of pictures. They were of assorted people but they all had two things in common. The first was what the people in the pictures were doing to themselves and to each other. The second was the person who was in each and every one.
Eric smiled to himself.
"Hello Sheva." he said.
I really wish I'd brought my SMG, thought Jill.
As soon as the door had locked behind them, both Chris and Jill had tried to reopen it. But it was stuck fast. On the inside, the door was featureless with no handle and no lock. Chris had tried to bash it down but all he had achieved was a series of scuff marks. It seemed the only way out was to go further in.
"Well...this is a familiar situation." commented Chris wryly.
"Two pistols, four clips..at least in Arklay we had knives." Jill added.
I really wish she'd brought that SMG, thought Chris.
A few weeks previously, Jill had uncovered a sub-machine pistol that, against all logic, had an unlimited amount of ammo. As long as the trigger was held down, it would simply never stop firing. Jill had decided against bringing it with her. They could probably have been able to bring it into the country somehow, but it came with a lot of unpleasant emotional connections.
"It's a shame you didn't bring.." Chris began.
"Don't start, Chris. Please. Let's just move out and see what we have to deal with."
Without waiting for a reply, she walked away from the door and down the corridor. Mentally Chris shook his head. Jill seemed happy at long last, but sooner or later she would have to face her demons. Chris just hoped she would let him be there when she did so.
Putting those thoughts aside for the moment, Chris set off after her.
The corridor was long and twisty but otherwise completely featureless. The two walked down it side by side. They were quiet, their minds alert for the slightest danger. Eventually, the corridor turned a sharp left and terminated in a door with smoked glass panels. The door was unlocked and, moving cautiously, Jill and Chris went through.
The room on the other side was narrow and long with two long rows of plants. The plants were under bright fluorescent tubes and had an assortment of pipes and cables coming out of the soil. Inset into the wall at irregular intervals were a series of fans. They were working erratically, sometimes spinning, sometimes not.
"Marijuana, eh?" Jill commented, "Maybe it should be the Happy Hermit Club."
Chris kneeled down to examine the plants more closely.
"This isn't weed. I think you'd better take a look at this."
Jill squatted on her heels. As she did, the fans kicked in for a few seconds, bending the plants back ever so slightly. The breeze caught Jill's skirt, making her jump. Her eyes grew wide.
"Recognize them?" asked Chris.
Jill stood back up, a thoughtful frown on her face.
"They're Green Herbs, aren't they?" he added.
It wasn't really a question.
Green Herbs were rare, but both Chris and Jill had had plenty of experience of them. The leaves, when turned into a fine powder, could be swallowed and had an incredible healing effect. They had never fully understood quite how the plant worked, every time they had encountered it in their adventures they had always been too grateful to query it.
Jill voiced the question that was in both their minds.
"So what are they doing here?"
"It looks like they were expecting trouble."
"No.." Jill argued, "these haven't been prepared. I think they were growing them."
Chris growled.
"Another puzzle. Great."
Jill was silent. There was something about her that made Chris pause.
"Jill?"
She took a deep breath.
"There's something else." she said.
"What?"
"What am I wearing, Chris?"
Chris looked puzzled.
"Shoes..blouse..skirt..er.."
"And under it?"
Chris drew in breath to answer and his mind suddenly snapped back to earlier at the cafe.
"Oh." he said simply.
"Exactly. I'd forgotten until I crouched down just now."
Chris's eyes drifted to her skirt line. The garment was short and simple, nothing more than a thin layer of fabric being all that hid...despite the situation, he couldn't help feeling himself becoming a little aroused. Jill saw the look in his eye and burst out laughing.
"Well..," she said, "I guess I have even more incentive not to die here, haven't I?"
The telephone was insistent.
She tried ignoring it but it clearly wasn't going to go away. She reached out a reluctant arm and picked up the handset.
"Hello?" she mumbled.
"Claire? It's Leon, I need you."
Claire felt a cold shock run up her spine. She had been in the middle of a very intense dream. Leon was on the verge of declaring his undying love for her when the phone interrupted him. For a few manic heartbeats she wondered if she was still asleep..or if the dream hadn't been a dream at all.
To think that Leon had finally opened his eyes to the undeniable truth in front of him...to think that he nee..
"Claire? Are you there? For God's sake, this is important!"
"I'm here, I'm here," she replied, "and I've never been happier."
"Happier? How could you be happy with this? It's terrible." said Leon.
Claire frowned, a worrying feeling creeping over her.
"What are you talking about?" she asked.
"What are YOU talking about?" Leon shot back.
There was an awkward pause. Claire ran a hand over her face, trying to wake up.
"What do you want, Leon?" she said.
His reply ensured she wouldn't be going back to sleep that night.