The truth lies in the shadows

The way Chris used to speak about Barry Burton had built an image of a young man about Chris' age in her mind. An image of a guy who spent most of his time at the shooting range or in nightclubs with strange women of various beauty and wealth. When Claire had finally met him, he had turned out to be the most loving family man on Earth besides their own dad. She liked Barry. He was funny and caring and his beard was the same color as her hair. He had rubbed over her ponytail, handed her a spanner and asked her if she wanted to have a look at her broken motorbike with him.

"So, you like bikes, huh?" He had asked and ignored that it was only half of the truth. She liked Chris, and Chris liked chicks on motorbikes. However, she did enjoy the wind in her hair when she rode the rumbling machine.

Chris had met Barry in the Air Force, and they have been the best of friends ever since. Loyal Barry had always been on Chris' side when they'd had their fights with the supervisor, with the result that he left the Air Force right after his friend. Chris hadn't found out about it until a week later. Barry and his wife had invited them over for dinner to give them the bad news along with some very good news.

As it seemed, Barry had found a new job in the police station of an industrial town not far from their own home. There were probably only a handful of places in the States that needed a Police Department less than Raccoon City. However, some bright mind had had the brilliant idea to put up a S.W.A.T. team called...

"Stars?" Chris asked over-chewing his mashed potatoes. "Is that a Pride Parade troupe?" Barry put down his beer and laughed out loud.

"Oh, shut the fuck up! It stands for Special Tactics and Rescue Service." He refilled Chris' glass and patted lovingly the head of little Moira, who was giggling happily every time Chris or her father cursed. Claire wondered if she'd ever get to know a vocabulary worth of a young lady. Anyway, she herself couldn't show off any either. "I know it sounds stupid, but it's a good job in a nice place." He and Kathy exchanged warm looks. "We've been thinking about moving there."

Chris lifted his glass and nodded, an encouraging smile lying on his face.

"If you're happy, I'm happy, Burton."

Claire followed the conversation with restrained attention, as she was busy picking the peas from Moira's plate, immediately gaining the unconditional love of the dark-haired vegetable hater.

"The thing is…" Barry gulped down the rest of his beer before he finished the sentence. "I told them about you."

Chris' mouth fell open, Claire turned her head so quickly she felt her neck creak a little. The siblings looked at each other, before they turned their attention back to Barry.

"What did you tell them about me?" The older Redfield leaned over the table in expectation as he saw a smile crawl onto his old friend's face.

"The truth. That I haven't met a better marksman in my whole fucking life." His smile widened; Moira laughed again. "Expect a call from a guy called Wesker."

Claire's face muscles tensed as she slowly assimilated the news. Barry had gotten Chris a new job. Before her brother could manage to articulate a proper Thank you, she had already jumped up and thrown both of her scrawny arms around the bear of a man named Barry, who laughed in surprise and caressed her forearm.

"See, Claire? Chris might eventually send you to college."

She wouldn't tell anyone, but she couldn't have worried less about her studies. Chris was all she cared about. Her brother hadn't been himself since he'd left the Air Force and more than once she had heard how he'd been drinking alone at night. Claire hated him and herself for it. She had considered getting a job herself, in a cafeteria or a bar maybe. She was pretty, and carrying a tray couldn't be that hard to learn. But she knew Chris wouldn't have allowed her to trade a future at a good college for a job in a dirty diner. Her hair was thrown laxly over her shoulders as she got up and looked at Chris with teary eyes.

"You're gonna be a S.T.A.R.S. guy?" A chuckle framed her question and Chris laughed.

"I'll first have to pass an interview and some tests, I assume." His view travelled to Barry, who gave him a nod.

"Yeah, but you'll do great." He laughed. "That Albert Wesker is a weird subject, but he made clear that he only wanted the best for his team. And you are the best, Chris. He'd even heard about you before. You'll be with us, I'm sure."

And he was right.

Chris confirmed right after the first meeting that Albert Wesker was indeed a very peculiar man. But peculiar didn't mean dumb, and so he had let Chris impress him with his skills and stories about his time in the Air Force, choosing him for S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team, just like Barry. Chris was so proud the afternoon he came home with that S.T.A.R.S. uniform on, showing Claire his brand-new Samurai Edge.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" His eyes shone like diamonds under the reflection of the handgun and the redhead thought again that he had to be the most wonderful man on Earth.

Chris stood out for his excellent skills on the training ground and it was a delight for Claire to see him flourish in his new job. His teammates seemed to be nice, normal people and no matter how much Chris complained about Wesker's cold character, Claire knew that her brother respected him and trusted his methods. But the best thing about his job in Raccoon City was Raccoon City itself. The city was only half an hour's car ride from where they lived, which meant that Chris came home every night. For the first time in years it felt like everything was as it was supposed to be and they had almost forgotten how the plot can twist in only the briefest of page turns.

Claire would be the first one to remember.

1997

"You look awesome," Claire exhaled as she saw Chris put on the jacket that complimented his dark suit. They were getting ready for the annual R.P.D. meeting, where the entirity Raccoon City Police Force would celebrate their greatest successes and joke about the worst breakdowns. It would be the meeting where the Chief would explain how well the two S.T.A.R.S. teams, led by Albert Wesker and Enrico Marini, were developing, and where Claire would finally meet the rest of Chris' colleagues.

"Thanks, Claire-bear," he said as his fingers pulled desperately on his bow tie in an attempt to make a decent knot. The redhead chuckled as she saw him struggle with it and reached with her thin fingers for the cloth in order to help him.

"So," she whispered while she tied just the perfect knot. "I know now not to look Wesker directly in the eyes if he ever takes off those sunglasses he wears. What else should I know?"

Chris laughed a little darkly.

"Speyer," he murmured. "He's a fantastic guy; funny, hard-working, nice." He sighed chuckling and pointed at her. "I want you to stay away from him."

Besides the little rivalry between them about who was better at the shooting range, Forest Speyer had become a good friend of Chris', but the way he used, wasted, and wore out every woman he came across was reason enough not to let Claire run into his claws. She giggled to herself; as if ever anyone could impress her that much.

Claire was in a knee-long, green airy dress she had bought for the occasion and which matched perfectly with the long, red hair she had plaited into a loose braid over her shoulder. The shoes were green, too; and so was the purse; everything chosen delicately by a skinny saleswoman who had pointed at her and said I know exactly what you're looking for, girl. And she'd been right. Claire felt like a princess, or a fairy, or just very feminine in that dress and she had loved Chris' disapproving look when he'd first seen it.

"I'm not joking, Claire. This dress? It makes you the perfect target for Speyer."

Claire rolled her eyes as she pushed her brother through the open door and towards the car.

"Redfield, you asswipe!" A tall, thin man whose long brown hair had been combed back with craft glue or silicone, so much so that it looked made of plastic, was the first one to approach them when they entered the hotel where the event would take place. "You didn't tell us you had a girlfriend." He threw his arm around Chris' shoulder and smirked widely.

His yells caught noisily the bothered attention of a group of people welcoming each other close to the entrance.

"Get lost, Speyer, you're making a fool out of yourself." Chris hissed. So, that was the infamous Forest Speyer. "I told you I was coming with my sister."

And Forest Speyer turned his attention to her.

"Oh." He breathed and stretched out his hand to Claire, a smirk popping onto his face. "Hello."

Before she could properly introduce herself, Chris pushed his colleague away, causing an unknown feeling of satisfaction in his little sister. She sighed, craving him more than ever.

"Don't even think about it."

Speyer lifted his hands defensively.

"I get it, I get it. No sisters." And he turned back to Claire. "Sorry love, your brother doesn't let you taste this." He pointed his finger at himself, waving up and down his body, causing Chris to roll his eyes. "Blame him."

The two friends smirked at each other, one smugly, the other impatiently.

"You know Valentine has come alone?" Forest's voice was low, as if the personal life of that Valentine guy was a well-kept secret.

"Yes," Chris sighed nodding. "I expected that."

"You know who else has come alone?" Speyer smiled darkly. "Wes…"

"Chris! Claire!" The familiar voice of Barry Burton rolled through the hall and made Claire smile widely. The two men hugged, leaving Speyer watching, before Barry laid his arm around Claire. "So, I think the party can start now that you're here." He laughed and pushed them into the main hall, where the rest of the RPD was already drinking and chatting lively. More and more colleagues came to complete the group and Chris proudly introduced Claire to all of them.

Most of them had come with their families; wives, parents, brothers or sisters. Only Speyer had brought what he called his best friend; a very blonde best friend, in a short dress and with big boobs. Samantha was her name, but he called her Sexy. Barry and Kathy had left Moira and Polly with Kathy's sister, so they could enjoy the evening without having to worry about the girls. Claire noticed how everybody in the team appreciated her brother, and she felt happy for him. When she was speaking to Kenneth Sullivan's pretty wife, Chris suddenly grabbed her wrist.

"Excuse me," he winked at the girl and pulled his sister towards him. "Claire, I want you to meet someone."

They stopped in front of a young woman with short, brown hair and big greyish-blue eyes. Her trained body was tucked into a white blouse, black leather pants and high heels and she looked like she could kick someone's ass by only looking at them. "Claire, this is Jill."

The woman stretched her hand out and shook hers.

"Jill Valentine, nice to meet you, Claire." Damn, she was even more beautiful when she smiled. "Chris told me a lot about you."

She could have said the same, but it would have been a lie. Chris had never even mentioned anyone called Jill; she would have remembered. And even so, the Valentine guy that had turned out to be a nice, attractive woman, knew everything about her. "Have you gotten any news from the colleges yet?"

Claire, surprised, shook her head.

"I'm still waiting for a response," she said forcing a smile. "It's a pleasure, Jill."

Different conversations spread among the group; each of them more hectic than the one before. Barry joined Jill, Chris and Claire in their round and told his friends about his latest encounter with their Captain.

"You can't imagine how irritating it is to come out of the restroom and walk straight into Wesker." He shook his head. "I had only washed my hands, but that man looked at me like I had slaughtered someone and hidden his corpse in the toilet tank."

Chris chuckled, "Are you sure it wasn't just his particular way to invite you back inside?"

He made a duck face, and blew a kiss towards his friend as Barry turned and grimaced in disgust.

"Oh man," the older man hissed headshaking. "That's the least arousing thing ever."

Claire laughed. The way they spoke about the Captain made her curious about that frightening man, but she had too much of a good time to really care.

And Chris laughed, "Wesker is the least arousing thing ever."

He shut up when the least arousing thing ever appeared behind him.

It was the first time Claire saw a Captain.

It was the first time she saw someone wear sunglasses inside a building — at night.

And it was the very first time she felt the air freeze around someone's presence.

He was tall; his features sharp and distinctive, with high cheekbones and a long, pointy nose, and, despite Chris' opinion, he was a very good-looking man. Different from all other guests at the party, Wesker wasn't dressed in a fine suit. It was his S.T.A.R.S. uniform he wore and it made him look even more frightening together with the glasses.

"Well, Chris, I'm deeply sorry I don't match your picture of a perfect night companion," he said in a very dark and low voice. Claire watched Captain Wesker grab her brother's shoulder in a tight, strong grip and it seemed like everybody around the table held their breath. Had the music stopped playing or was the sound of her heart pounding in fear drowning it all out? "But, anyway, as far as I remember, I am the one who rates your skills; not the other way around. And maybe I was wrong about you."

Fuck! Chris had messed up. Claire swallowed. Admittedly, her brother had never been really careful about his word choice or whom he offended with it, but that Wesker-guy couldn't seriously be thinking that being a bigmouth was incompatible with being a good S.T.A.R.S. member. She had heard Speyer speaking. If Speyer wasn't dismissed, why would he do that to Chris? Claire took a step forward, willing to speak up, but before she could open her mouth, Wesker turned his head and stared at her. He. Just. Stared.

"Captain Wesker," Chris said after clearing his throat. "This is my sister, Claire."

She stared back at him, watching her frightened face and stiff body in the reflection of his sunglasses, and stretched her hand out.

"Claire Redfield. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Something about that short introduction must have impressed him. The captain's grip around Chris shoulder loosened and he turned to shake her hand, so tight she thought he'd break her fingers.

"Miss Redfield," he whispered in a dark voice. "It's good to know there's still hope for your family name." He used the pause to turn back to Chris. "Since your brother is such a lost cause."

She stared at the man in front of her in disbelief. Just who the hell does he think he is? It had to be incredibly easy to judge people from behind those sunglasses. She swallowed hard and almost bit her tongue before finding the courage and the right words.

"With all the respect, sir, but if you think that there's still hope for me, you entirely have to thank my brother for it, since he raised me since our parents died. And if you don't see what piece of a raw diamond you have in your hands, maybe you should clean those sunglasses of yours." Behind the blond, Chris rose, and so did the fear on his face. Making cutting moves with his hand in front of his throat, he shook his head at Claire, who kept holding Albert Wesker's gaze like a wall.

The man behind the sunglasses held her gaze evenly. Or that's what she supposed he did, because he didn't move a muscle. After a silence that felt like an eternity Wesker did what she least expected. He smiled at her. It was dark and frightening, but it was a smile after all. He turned and put his hand onto Chris' shoulder, this time, in a friendlier pat.

"You should all get into the hall," he commanded in a sinister voice. "Dinner will start soon."

As he walked past them, Claire received all kinds of relieved and impressed glances from the people around. Barry laughed as soon as Wesker was out of reach.

"Little Claire has guts," he said as he smiled at her. "Well done." Jill Valentine put a thumb up as she winked.

When Chris approached her, he gave her an annoyed look, before pulling her into a tight hug.

"Thank you."

Dinner went by without further interruptions. Claire and Chris sat at a table with the rest of Alpha team and their company. Brad Vickers had come with a cousin of his called Patricia and Joseph Frost had brought his girlfriend Carrie. Their mood was good, but they were careful with their jokes since Captain Wesker shared the same table after all.

She left the hall when a fat man walked up the stage. She heard someone say that it was a guy called Irons, who was going to praise the good work he himself had done in the RPD. Soon, they would be introducing the S.T.A.R.S. teams and Chris hadn't come back from the bathroom yet.

After carefully calling in front of the men's restroom and not getting an answer from her brother, she decided to look for him somewhere else. The reception hall was empty save for some guests who were checking in for the night. She remembered how Jill had told her before how beautiful the terrace was decorated and she walked out to have a look at it herself. The terrace was huge and the bannister harbored a million small fairy lights. It looked truly magical. Waiters were carrying trays with drinks and she accepted one of the cups, carefully sipping from the glass. All she found on the terrace was Forest Speyer flirting heavily with a woman who wasn't Sexy, but who was equally busty and attractive. Right when she decided to approach him to ask if he had seen Chris, he started sucking the girl's mouth and made her reconsider that decision. She turned towards the gardens instead.

The gardens were full of dark bushes and trees and the air around her was cold. Not a soul was there. Passing by a few trees, rubbing her arms to get rid of the cold, Claire calculated the probability of finding Chris in a sinister place like that. Almost turning around and heading back, she was stopped by a sound in the dark.

Laughter.

"Yes, like that."

Heavy breathing.

"Oh, baby."

Moans.

"Chris."

Her eyes ripped open and she froze. Could it be? Claire felt her heart pound heavily in her chest as she walked towards the nearest corner in the dark and carefully looked around it, staring right at the ass of Jill Valentine in those leather pants and her brother's hand all over it.

They were on a balcony somewhere on the first floor, but she could see everything from where she was standing. Hands all over each other and tongues in the other's mouth, they both made funny sounds of need. Chris ripped Jill's shirt open and leaned down to feast on her breasts.

Tears shot into Claire's eyes.

So that was why he had never brought a girl home.

He fucked them all on some hotel balconies.

She wept a little as Jill dropped to her knees and ripped on Chris' belt.

"Oh, god, yes," he moaned as she jerked his pants down, pressing her face into his groin. His hands tangled in her hair and pushed her into him. That face he was making? It was pure lust.

Claire shivered. With disgust? Out of jealousy?

She swallowed hard and tried to look away from the rhythmic moves of Jill Valentine's face on her brother's dick.

She couldn't.

Chris was so beautiful, there in the moonlight, watching the woman on the floor. Claire leaned her head against the wall and looked up, longing for him, wanting him. Her breasts touched the cold wall, and she felt how hard her nipples had turned.

No, not of disgust; maybe a little bit of jealousy; but the real reason why she shivered, why she stared, was arousal.

She was incredibly turned on.

The tickle between her thighs became stronger with every breath she took. What would Chris do if he knew she was there? Would he let go of Jill and act like nothing had happened, like they had lost their clothes by accident?

Or would he invite her to join them?

Lord.

Claire closed her eyes and licked her lips, as she let her right hand run up to her breast and squeeze it. The other one pushed between her thighs, barely pulling up the short dress.

"Get up," Chris whispered on the balcony. "I want to fuck you." And it felt like he spoke them to her. Claire opened her eyes again, and there were Jill's huge breasts, popping out of the loose shirt and bouncing freely as Chris turned her slender body around to push her against the bannister. She moaned and made a face of pleasure when her body hit the iron bars.

Claire leaned against the wall, ignoring the touch of the cold stone on her skin, and palpated her heat as she watched how Chris kept crashing his hips against Valentine. Again and again. Twisting between jealousy and arousal, she drove two fingers into herself and started moving them. Her palm trembled on her spot as she felt her wetness run down her thigh in a slick, sticky river of lust. Her other hand tugged on her breast, switching from a soft caress to a painful torture from one second to another.

"Chris." Had his name come from Valentine's lips or from her own? She wasn't sure as her own quiet moans went under in the gasps that came from the balcony above. So loud, she didn't even hear the approaching footsteps.

"Miss Redfield." The touch of a second hand on her parts startled her. She wanted to scream, but another hand covered her mouth as a hint of soft breath tickled her neck. "May I help you with this?"

She turned and stared into his face, eyes still covered by the dark sunglasses, and she felt fear rise into her cheeks. One finger of his followed her own into her waiting hole, and it was enough to make her gasp into Wesker's hand. He chuckled darkly as Jill Valentine's voice reached them.

"Fuck me, Chris. Harder."

He turned his head up and breathed against Claire's neck, pushing another finger into her.

"Interesting. Was that what caused you this condition of-" he whispered against her skin. "Excitement?" He uncovered her mouth and led his hand down her neck, slowly hooking his finger into the straps of her dress and bra. Claire sucked in a breath when he pushed them over her shoulder, and further down, leaving her breasts uncovered as the redhead's hand slid down and leaned against the wall to keep herself from collapsing.

"I-" she moaned, ripping her fingers out of herself and placing them onto his. "Please."

Wesker took the chance to push another finger into her.

"Please, what, Claire?" His hand cupped her breast, rolling the soft knob in his palm. "Tell me." He brought his mouth to her skin. "Are you thinking of your brother?"

Caught between fear, shame and arousal, she gasped needily, turning her head far enough towards her assailant that their lips were only an inch away. A soft moan left hers when Wesker thumbed over her clit.

"Oh, Lord."

She wept; he chuckled again.

"Would you like to be in Valentine's place now?" He whispered into her ear as his left hand assaulted her breast, rolling her nipple between two fingers and tugging until it was sore. "She's known to be a slut, you know? She's had half of the RPD already. And she sucks cock like a professional."

On the balcony, Jill screamed as her breasts bopped and bounced against the bannister, while Chris kept pushing her forward. Claire watched them, feeling the heat between her thighs rise up to unbearable limits. She gasped.

"Chris." Her voice came out weak from her dry throat. At least one spot of her body was still dry, with her pussy turned into a hot puddle and the rest of her skin covered in thin, salty sweat. She closed her eyes and pictured Chris touching her, pictured him behind her with his pants around his ankles and grabbing her hips like he was grabbing Valentine's. And she felt the pleasure in it, the passion of the forbidden, and it brought her so close to the edge she nearly fainted in the hands of the S.T.A.R.S. Captain.

"I'm coming, Chris."

Claire opened her eyes again to see Jill buck and arch her back as her brother grabbed her tits and shoulder from behind, still moving inside of her as the brunette screamed her orgasm into the night. And Claire felt her own climax roll through her body, tickling and stinging and burning between her thighs. As if her soul wanted to rip her ribcage open and flee, she started crying as the pleasure thundered through her limbs.

Wesker pulled his hand out of her and left her leaning against the wall, taking out a handkerchief and wiping her juices off his fingers. She just saw it out of the corner of her eye, unable to directly look at him. On the balcony, Chris and Jill were getting dressed again, giggling and kissing.

"I have to get back now, or Claire will worry."

Her eyes snapped up to him. So, he didn't want her to worry. Tears shot into her eyes as she eventually assimilated what had happened.

"You should go back to the hall as well, Miss Redfield," the dark voice behind her said. "Irons' boring speech will soon be over." With an almost delicate move, he pulled the strap of her dress back up over her shoulder, covering her nudity, before he disappeared into the darkness of the gardens.

Behind shattering teeth, Claire gulped down the knot in her throat. She pressed her back against the wall and slid to the ground, embracing her legs and replaying the previous moments in her head.