"Chris, it's Claire. Call me back."
Chris picked up a pen and wrote Claire on a piece of paper next to the machine. He pressed the button again to listen to the next message.
"Hello Chris, this is Wesker. There's a situation and you need to be here by 7:30 for briefing."
Chris let out another sigh, and deleted the two messages, and walked into his bedroom, stripping. Chris didn't mind dressing, but he detested khakis and button up shirts. They were extremely uncomfortable to him, as he was much more accustomed to a t-shirt and jeans. He walked over to his bed, stripped to his underwear. He reached over to his alarm clock, and set it to go off at 6:30. He would probably sleep in until seven, and then he would have to race the clock to briefing. Usually he wanted to be very punctual for work, but he felt a bit defeated for the entire day. His mind was drifting across many topics, when he came to his shooting match with Jill tomorrow. He smiled and rolled over in his bed, looking forward to Jill being the one defeated.
.:The next morning:.
Jill pulled her hair into a short ponytail, and walked into her bathroom to give herself a once over. She was wearing one of her S.T.A.R.S. uniforms, although they looked more like street clothes. It was a white shirt that prominently displayed the S.T.A.R.S. logo on the left side, and POLICE across the back of her shoulders with S.T.A.R.S. under it on the middle of her back. She wore jeans, and her police belt with her badge on the side. She clipped her leg holster on, and looked back into the mirror. Her hair was in a ponytail, but she had allowed her bangs to grow out and they were still too short to be pulled back. Instead, they framed her face apart from the ponytail.
She walked back into her bedroom, and sat down on her bed with her boots at her feet. She slid her first foot into them, and began to lace them. She looked at her clock on the nightstand, and gasped. She had five minutes before she had to be out the door. She threw the other boot on and laced it hastily.
"How does time go by so fast!?" She said to herself as she tucked her shirt into her jeans and headed back into the bathroom. She wasn't any kind of superficial woman, but she made it a point to always wear some kind of makeup every day. Most generally she would wear eyeliner. She put it on as quickly and carefully as possible without putting her eye out.
She grabbed her purse and keys and walked through the living room out to her front porch, where she locked the door behind her. She turned and with a brisk pace went to her car, getting in and starting the engine. She put the car into reverse, and froze. She was entirely certain she was being watched. It wasn't just nerves, it was almost eerie how strong the feeling was. She looked around, trying to see someone, but was unsuccessful. She sighed, and backed out of her driveway frustrated she had wasted a good two minutes.
Her drive to RPD wasn't horrible; she had made her way down there before rush hour. She got out of the car, slamming the door and making sure it was locked. She shouldered her purse and walked toward the building quickly. She went into the building, nodding and smiling to her fellow officers that were greeting her. She made her way through the corridor, until she walked into the conference room. She wasn't late, but nearly everyone she imagined would be involved with the case was already there...except Chris.
"Good morning, Jill." Wesker's stoic voice flowed through the air. She smiled and nodded to him, taking her seat. She looked across the table at Joseph and Barry. Joseph's smile was ear to ear, most likely because this was his first case with Alpha. She nodded to the two gentlemen, who nodded back to her.
"Where is Chris?" Wesker asked, looking at his watch. "He's usually on time."
Everyone exchanged glances, but their initial reaction was to look at Jill. Blush escaped from her cheeks as she shrugged to the three men looking at her. Just as she was going to open her mouth to speak, she heard jogging footsteps outside the door and the door opened and closed quickly.
"Chris--so kind of you to join us." Wesker said.
"I apologize, sir." Chris replied, winking at Jill.
"Hmph." Wesker said quietly. "Just don't let it happen again. Shall we begin?"
Everyone nodded, wondering what to expect.
Wesker turned around to the dry erase board at the front of the room, and began to write names in black marker. Next to each of them, he wrote down a date and street location in the city. There were three names written down on the board, with their respective dates and streets written down. Under their names he wrote 'Diazepam A.K.A. Valium,' and circled it.
"Now, here are three young girls who were taken from their homes during the night, and within three days were found dead. These streets are where each girl was found, each of them weren't far from their homes either. These dates are frighteningly close, and all of these girls were found with high amounts of diazepam in their system. These girls were also found missing both of their feet, none of which have been found."
Wesker turned from the board, and wrote another name down on the board. "Alicia McKinney." He turned from the board, and peered through his sunglasses at his team.
"This girl has been missing for a day. Today is day two, and according to the killer's pattern she most likely will be killed tonight. We have a location, team."
They all nodded, and Jill raised her hand. "Captain, did the autopsies show that their feet were severed before or after death?"
Wesker nodded at her question, and looked at his paper. "From what I can see, they were removed after death."
She nodded, and Chris raised his hand. "Who would have access to so much valium? A doctor?"
Wesker nodded. "It's a possibility, or even a pharmacist. Someone who is good friends with one..."
Wesker set down the papers. "Either way, we've got the location of where we think these people are taking these girls and keeping them until they die. There is an abandoned house for sale that is relatively close to both these girls' homes and where their bodies are found. It's 2930 South Boston Place. It's risky, especially during daylight, but we're going to enter the home and search. Hopefully we won't be too late."
Everyone nodded, letting it all sink in.
"No questions?" The room was silent. "Alright, well go suit up. You'll want to wear your tactical gear."
Everyone got up from the table and walked out into the hallway towards their locker room. Jill walked next to Chris, saying nothing. She was looking at his face, and Chris turned and caught her.
"Do you like what you see?" Chris said playfully.
"You could use a few improvements, but other than that, sure." She said, chuckling.
"I guess our shooting match will have to be postponed."
"I was thinking about that." Jill said. "I think it's only fair you help me to be a better shot before you compete against me."
Chris laughed. "Oh, no. I can't fight like you! Why would I teach you how to shoot?"
"For the better of the team, of course! If it makes you feel better, I'll teach you how to fight better."
Chris scoffed. "I don't need any help with my fighting skills."
Jill scoffed back at him loudly. "Is that why I can kick your ass?"
Chris' face turned a light red, a rare occurrence to those who knew him. "Fine."
They walked into the locker room, and opened their lockers, taking out their tactical uniforms. They began to change clothes, turning away from Jill. She quickly changed her shirt and then her pants, making sure no one was looking. Chris had already changed his pants, and was shirtless.
Wow, what a great...backside.
She tucked in her shirt, turning away from Chris' shirtless form. She put on her belt, and her shoulder pads that her teammates used to give her such a hard time for. She clipped the clasp together on the shoulder pads under her breasts with a click, and began to put on her boots. She took hair tie out of her hair, and flipped her hair to make her hair fall in place. She took the beret out of the locker, and placed it on her head.
She looked at the men, who were just finishing putting on their knife sheaths. They walked out of the locker room, and upstairs to the S.T.A.R.S. office to get further instructions from Wesker. They walked into the office, where Wesker sat at his desk on the phone.
"Yes, could you come in for an interview tomorrow at 10: 30?"
He listened for a moment, looking up at his team.
"I look forward to seeing you then, Miss Chambers."
He hung up the phone and adjusted his glasses. "Barry and Joseph, you'll go in from the front. Jill, pick the lock in the back and Barry will create a distraction by knocking on the front door. From there, you and Chris can investigate in the back area of the house. You will search for any sign of a suspect or victim, and meet up somewhere in the house and discuss your findings. Take two cars, one unmarked. Go quickly, I'll be listening by radio."
They left the office, and got into their police cars from the parking garage. Barry and Joseph took the marked car, and Chris and Jill took the other. They pulled out into the sunlight, which was a contrast from the darkness of parking garage.
"You nervous? This case sounds like some psycho stuff." Chris asked Jill.
"Not really, just curious to see what we find. Are you?"
"No." Chris was quick to say. "After all, I'm the better shot."
Jill laughed, and then looked out the window. "You think Wesker will give us the rest of the day off if we find the girl?"
"No, you know Wesker and Irons will want reports probably by the next hour. You know how strict they are."
Chris smiled over at Jill, nudging her with his elbow. "You gettin' lazy Valentine?"
She smirked, and shook her head. "No, I'm just anxious to take you up on those shooting lessons."
Chris smiled and nodded, looking to the road. "Yeah, I'm pretty excited about you being my sensei!" He said with a horrible Oriental accent.
She laughed loudly, and it made Chris feel tension in his stomach. She was so gorgeous when she laughed, and he made her do it.
"You're crazy." She said, still chuckling as they rounded the corner to the house in question.
"Well, here we are." Chris said, putting the car into park.
The house had a for sale sign in the front yard, and was a relatively decent house. There was aluminium foil over the windows, which was odd. Chris nodded to Barry and Joseph as they walked up to the front door, and waited to approach the back door until they heard Barry's booming voice say "Police, open up!"
They walked around the back quickly, which looked much more ominous with the foil over the windows. On the side that wasn't seen, the paint was cracked and falling off of the house. There were large shade trees in the back yard, shielding it from sunlight and making it darker, harder to see. Jill reached for her lockpicks and kneeled in front of the door, and placed her picks in.
She fooled around with the tumblers in the lock and Chris looked around behind her. They could still hear Barry's voice on the other side of the house, and with a turn of her wrist and a click, the door was unlocked.
"The back is open." Chris said into his earpiece, and Jill put up her lockpick and drew her gun. She put her back to the door, and looked at Chris waiting for his go ahead. They heard a crash towards the front, which was Barry kicking in the door. Chris nodded to Jill, who opened the door and Chris ran in aiming his gun, Jill behind him. The house was pitch black inside, and the musty odor that emanated made Jill think no one must've been in this house in a while.
They took out their flashlights, and looked around. They were in what looked like the kitchen. From the kitchen there were two doorways, one leading to the front door where Barry and Joseph were heading up the stairs, Chris motioned he was going to go search one side of the house, and he motioned her to search the other side. She nodded, and they went separately.
Jill walked through the doorway, which looked like a recreation room. She pointed the gun looking at the dust in the beam of her light. It was eerie in this house, why did someone need it to be pitch black? She pointed the flashlight around the room, and came upon another set of stairs; presumably to the basement. She headed down the stairs, that creaked in agony with each step she took. She reached the end of the stairs, and saw another door, it was in the ground like a type of storm shelter.
She walked towards the door, and didn't notice a figure emerge from behind her under the stairs. Her beam was trained on the door in the floor that she walked towards, and she stopped to look at it. The dark figure silently walked up behind her as a cheetah would its prey. She still didn't detect it behind her.
As she kneeled down to the door to try and open it, the figure grabbed her, and before she could employ any kind of self defense, a needle plunged into her neck, and she let out the slightest of yelps as she slumped to the floor in a valium -induced slumber.
The figure tilted its head to the side as it studied her in the floor, the flashlight beam only cutting into the wall.
Oh, dear! Careless Jill, always getting herself into predicaments. Haha! This is a longer chapter than I usually do, but expect more soon. I couldn't stand to be so mean and make you wait for more.
Please review!