A Fleeting Moment

Disclaimer: Welcome one and all to my first ever...*NAH-NAH-NAH*...CLAIRE AND WESKER PAIRING! This will be a M only for the violent scenes and language. Maybe some romance if you stick around and review. Hehehe. No, there will be, I promise you that. The title came from listening to Nightwish's song "Nemo". I dunno. After hearing the lyrics and thinking about it, I came up with this pairing for the first time. It is brief and in all honesty, was because I lost the magic for it.

"Not one or two, Subhuti, not one or two, but all the beings - men, women, animals, birds, trees, rocks. All the beings in the world. One should create such a determination that `I will lead all of them into nirvana'."

-Buddha

"'Tis strange what a man may do, and a woman yet think him an angel."

-William Makepeace Thackeray

By: VampireQueenAkasha

"There's no point in hiding."

-Wesker, Resident Evil 5

Chapter Three: Secrets Worth Keeping

Raccoon City

Jill was early to the R.P.D. building even though she wasn't scheduled to work that day. It was strange because some of the guys were not known to be there early and yet, she noticed that they were. Most of the time, they only arrived at the precise point that they had to be there. They also seemed to be moving about in a hurried fashion, trying to get stuff done; Brad was carrying stacks of folders and envelopes in his arms, rushing across the lobby with a drained, hung over look on his face. Jill stopped him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Brad, where's Wesker?" she asked, "I have to talk to him."

Brad stared at her wearily. "I wouldn't talk to him right now."

"Why not?"

"He's been in a REAL bad mood all morning!" Brad told her, discreetly glancing over his shoulder to make sure that Wesker was not within earshot. "Yelling at all of us to work double time on paperwork, cleaning up the cars, the garages and everything in between. I'd leave him alone if I were you."

Jill arched a brow and turned to go, voice slightly argumentative. "It's kind of important."

Brad shrugged his shoulders. "Your funeral!" he called after her.

Jill ignored the call and looked around for Wesker. She found him at his desk, writing something down on a piece of paper and occasionally going back at another folder. When she approached his desk, he glanced up at her from the tops of his glasses.

"Can I help you?" he asked, somewhat curtly.

"Captain, is something wrong?" Jill asked, "You've been..." She hesitated when he glared at her, almost daring her to say something very stupid to piss him off. Jill caught the look and sighed before she tried very carefully with her next words. "...very different today."

Wesker didn't like her choice of words, that was certain. "Why is that of any concern to you?" he asked, harshly.

Jill gestured behind her, indicating the shadow of Brad behind the door, lurched over a trash can and vomiting heavily. "Well, Brad is puking in the garbage cans..." she pointed out.

Wesker didn't seem to care at all about that and resumed his writing. "Is that all?" he said.

Jill shook her head. Maybe Wesker felt a little angry about what had happened between himself and Claire. Maybe it was just for the best that she kept out of it, but any good friend would be worried about the consequences. She could have talked about it with Claire before the woman left for her campus. Claire did say that she would leave this morning, so maybe Jill could catch her on her cell phone. But she wanted to make sure that Wesker was not going to hold that against her first.

"You seem troubled, that's all," Jill offered, "Is everything okay?"

The pen paused in writing and Wesker sighed before glaring up at her. "I'm fine. Now out."

"But-"

"OUT!"

Jill sighed and turned, walking out of the office and into the hallway. She would have to talk to Claire about this. Even though she didn't want to tell anyone else, she had to tell someone. Chris had to be told about it, but he was already so worried about other things, this would probably make it worse.

So she exited the building to go to the hotel where Claire was.

Her motorcycle was there, parked in the lot, so she must not have left yet. Jill walked up to the door and knocked, knowing that Claire always parked in front of the doors where she would enter and exit from. After waiting for a long time of no answer, Jill sighed, picked her cell phone out of her pants pocket and began to dial Claire's number. She could hear it ringing inside the room and she tapped her foot impatiently for Claire to answer. She wasn't about to stand here all day.

Claire was sprawled beneath the sheets, mumbling sleepily. She felt around the nightstand for her phone and even inched forward. When she grabbed it, she had slid out too far from the bed and fell with a sharp thud and a quick, tired curse. Jill heard the thud from outside and flinched somewhat.

Claire wearily brought the phone to her ear. "Yeah?"

"It's Jill. Open the door."

Claire blinked sleepily and glanced up at her front door, confused. "Jill? What are you..." She opened the front door and stared at Jill skeptically. "What are you doing here?" She stared down at her cell phone, then to Jill's before hanging the phone up.

"We need to talk about something," Jill said, gently, "I think that it's important for me to understand what's going on."

Claire smiled and shrugged, clueless. "What do you mean?"

"I saw you two last night in the parking lot," Jill said, staring at her with all the worry and compassion of a friend. She watched the smile totally vanish from Claire's face and the color with it. "What happened anyway? Too many drinks or something? Because captain Wesker's never been a drinker."

Claire shook her head. "I really don't know why I did it, Jill," she said, guiltily, "But you can't tell Chris."

"Why not?"

"Because he's already got enough on his plate as it is. He needs to stay focused and not worry about me all the time." Claire started to go back inside. "Besides, it wasn't like it meant anything. It was just one stupid move anyway. Not happening again."

Liar.

Jill seemed relieved, but not entirely convinced. After all, she couldn't lie that captain Wesker was a bit handsome and charming in his own way. He had a way of stunning the ladies even with a smile that he rarely used. "Well, I just want to make sure that you're alright, okay? I'm just worried about you."

Claire smiled somewhat. "You don't have to. I can take care of myself."

Jill couldn't resist a laugh. That was just like the Redfield's; they always though that they could handle themselves. She turned to depart as well. "Okay, I just wanted to check up on you and make sure everything was all right. I guess I'll see you later then?"

Claire smiled back at her. "Yeah, no problem."

After Jill left, Claire started in on getting a nice warm shower before she could set off for campus. After her shower, she walked into her room while drying her hair. Smiling, she turned on the radio at the end table and it began to play John Parr's "Restless Heart". While she started on making some coffee, her phone rang loudly, interrupting her before she could even add hot water to the pot. Claire turned the radio down and stared at her phone curiously, studying the ID on the tiny screen. It read: RPD OFFICE. Figuring that it might have been Chris, Claire picked it up and laughed slightly.

"Chris, I'm about to leave soon, what is it?" she asked.

"Good morning, Miss. Redfield."

Claire was startled to hear Wesker's voice on the other end. "Wesker?" she said, a little unnerved, "How did you get this number?"

"Your brother's personal file, of course. Listed right under emergency contacts." He sounded amused. "Forgive me, but I couldn't just ask him for your number. I have more sensibilities than that. I simply wanted to discuss what happened last night."

Claire chuckled slightly. "Wesker, I don't think that it was anything," she argued, "I was just a little tipsy from the drinks. I didn't mean to kiss you."

A little bit of silence answered her before he spoke again. "Didn't you?"

"No, I didn't."

Wesker made a thoughtful sound before he continued and he sounded absolutely cunning. "Somehow I cannot believe that."

Claire was a little insulted by the assumption. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Come now, dear heart, you know what it means."

Dear heart? The sudden nickname that came out of left field somehow sent a shiver down her back. Claire wasn't really liking where this was going at all. "Wesker, don't even get confused here. It meant nothing, alright? Don't even make assumptions when you don't even know!"

A chuckle answered her. "I am not the one who sounds unsure right now, dear heart."

"Don't call me that!" Claire nearly shouted, "It's creepy!"

"Then what should I call you?"

Claire calmed and sighed. "This was a nice conversation and all, but I have to go." Then, she hung the phone up and resumed her tasks to get moving before things got even more weird.

On the other end, Wesker was smiling smugly at the phone. He hung it up on the receiver before chuckling quietly to himself. Claire Redfield was a rather fascinating young woman. He couldn't quite understand his interest with her himself, but he did find that she was...intriguing. Why did he feel like that? It was strange to him because Wesker had never considered exploring matters of the opposite sex before. His work gave little time for trivial things like that and he never felt the desire to do so.

But she felt like an intriguing new toy to him. Maybe something he could use in the future to get what he needed from Umbrella and even his associates here with S.T.A.R.S. Only time would tell what would be in store for the younger girl. He would admit that the action left him a bit miffed because he was not expecting such a thing from a stranger. Wesker hated being thrown off of his cool that way; although it was easy to bounce back up given the reason easing his frustrations out on his subordinates. It was childish, perhaps and a tad bit undeserving, but Wesker had to move back into the swing of things after that had happened to him.

"Captain Wesker?"

The familiar voice of Chris snapped him out of his thoughts and he glanced up at him. "What is it, Chris?" he asked.

"Was that my sister on the phone just now?"

Wesker's eyes glittered slightly behind his lenses before he continued. Chris was too smart for his own good, Wesker had to agree to that. When it came to certain situations, Chris could be quite simple-minded and needless to say, somewhat of a moron. But sometimes he showed signs of being a bit...of a nuisance.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it was." Wesker leaned back into his chair.

Chris looked somewhat concerned. "Is she alright?"

"She is fine. She wanted to check up on you to see how well you arrived home last night," Wesker put on the most convincing expression that he could, "She had to move quickly to return to her university, so she felt it necessary to call me and pass the word."

Chris smiled and Wesker knew that the lie had worked. "That sounds like something that Claire would do."

Wesker nodded in agreement. "Is that all?"

Chris shrugged his shoulders and turned halfway. He seemed to be bothered by something because he continued to stare at the phone. Wesker raised a brow and remained impassive as Chris shook his head to himself and walked out of the office.

Poor Chris, he cannot help how much of a fool he is... Wesker mused to himself.

Later

Wesker entered Umbrella's laboratories in somewhat better spirits that night, but not until one of the lesser class associates, Michael Harker decided to sneak up on him in the elevator with a broad grin on his face that suggested anything but professional. Wesker had never passed him by all that much because he worked with William more than anyone else, but he hated Harker for one reason only: the man was completely and unquestionably unpleasant to be around. Wesker would have rather dealt with Joseph's annoying ramblings for an entire night.

"Okay, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, Albert," he teased, "I can bust your balls here while we're alone or I can do it at our lunch break."

"Go away." Wesker snapped, "I refuse to deal with you tonight."

The elevator doors roared open and the two scientists walked out into the hallways of the laboratories. Harker continued to pester Wesker about his evening. "Come on, you can tell me if something happened last night!" he teased, "No one will know, I promise!"

"Back off, you intrusive little insect!" Wesker ordered, venomously. He stepped into a room where William was pouring something in a flask.

Harker leaned against the doorway with his arms folded and a continuous smirk on his face. "Alright, I know when I'm being a pest."

"No you don't." William piped up, not looking up from his flasks.

Harker gave him a look before continuing, looking at Wesker as the man gathered a set of gloves. "Don't you want to know why I'm here anyway?"

"Not particularly." Wesker answered, dryly.

Harker tsked and shook his head at the remark. Then, he looked serious this time and leaned forward slightly. "You, uh, might not be needing those gloves really," he told him, "The MA-121's look like they might pull through this time."

Wesker looked up with intrigue, his anger melting away from his face. "Really?"

Harker grinned and nodded. The three men walked down further into the holding cells to see the progress that Harker was talking about. Annette Birkin was already down in the cells, jotting down notes on her clipboard. She was standing in front of a fortified sheet of metal that covered one of the cells. There were two guards standing beside the cell in full armor, powerful shock rifles, and expressions empty and cold. Wesker glanced down at Annette curiously.

"What do you have for us, Annette?" he asked.

She smiled at them. "See for yourself."

She pulled a lever beside the cell and the doors roared open. Immediately, the lights flashed on, bathing the entire cell in brightness. The three men gazed inside at a shocking display; inside the glass encasing were at least four shapes lying there, sleeping soundly. The sounds were heavy, water-filled and deep, echoing richly off of the metal walls. The figures looked human in build, but instead of flesh, the shapes were covered in bright green scales and jagged talons. They looked like humanoid frogs with sharp teeth and spines. Each one of them wore a metallic bracelet on their ankles with numbers labeled on them.

"Have they stirred in the last few hours?" Wesker asked, turning to Harker.

"Not much." Harker replied, "They just fell asleep after being fed."

Wesker knotted his brows and walked over to the glass, knocking it slightly. One of the creatures inside stirred a bit and blinked behind scaly lids, stretching and flexing its toes before rolling onto its side. He smiled, pleased.

"What have you fed them?" he asked, glancing sidelong at the man.

Harker smirked at him and gestured with a flirt of his head inside the cell. Wesker looked and noticed remains of what looked like cloth and armor from a UBCS soldier. He could have only guessed that the poor fool had done something to deserve such a pitiful fate.

"He didn't have a family," Harker commented, with a cruel chuckle, "He won't be missed."

The sounds of their voices seemed to stir the creatures inside and one of them opened its eyes; pure gold, slit like a cat's. They met Wesker's with a sleepily irritated look and its mouth opened, uttering a loud, shrieking yawn. For a moment, man and monster stared at one another, neither flinching. Wesker stared the creature down hard, testing its obediance to him. Oddly enough, the creature seemed uninterested with trying to match the man and simply went back to sleep.

"Harker?" Wesker said.

"Yes?"

"How well do these creatures obey orders?"

Harker frowned thoughtfully before replying. "We haven't really made any tests on that just yet, but Spencer expect results very soon. He's really excited about the success of these creatures. We will be doing some more tests very soon."

"Good."

The Arklay Manor will be the perfect testing grounds for these creatures... Wesker pondered, smiling thoughtfully to himself, We will see just what S.T.A.R.S. is capable of handling outside petty human issues.

Later on, William and Wesker were standing inside a laboratory where two other scientists were lifting glass vials from a large medical refrigerator. Their gloved hands slipped them into a foam lined carry case. The vials were delicate, filled with a cool blue liquid. With their superiors observing, it made this more unnerving for them. William gave Wesker a thoughtful frown, watching the man staring at the two doctors.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, "I haven't made enough tests to know that it works."

There was a considerate tone in William's voice that made Wesker smile. Despite really having no bond with any other human being, William was possibly the closet friend he had ever had. Wesker knew that William was concerned.

"I have faith in you, William," Wesker replied, picking up a mechanical syringe and fitting it inside the carrying case. "Which is more than I can say for any other human wretch." He closed the case and turned to him. "You have nothing to worry about."

William nodded, slightly convinced. Wesker had a calm way of going about things even if they seemed perilous. He only hoped that his testing of the G-virus would finish up without a hitch. He knew that Spencer was becoming suspicious of his actions lately, but with Wesker getting him cover, he would be fine. Soon, he could even have the government on his side if Spencer decided to take or even kill him for his virus.

William turned to one of the security cameras and noticed a man standing in the lobby by the window. He squinted and frowned, trying to see what it was the man was doing. He was dressed in a brown suit and tie and seemed to just be standing there doing nothing. People were passing by him, acting as if he wasn't even there. William wasn't sure, but the man almost looked familiar to him. Like an old fellow professor...

Suddenly, the man looked directly at him on screen and appeared to be smiling. William felt a bit deterred by the sight and he took a quick step back. Now he remembered why the man looked so familiar. It looked exactly like Dr. Marcus. The very same Dr. Marcus who was killed in a gun-shot raid ordered by Spencer. He and Wesker both had planned the entire thing and it was William who had taken over the man's research. But that couldn't be him. No it couldn't...

"William?"

Wesker's voice interrupted his thoughts and he stared at the man curiously as if nothing was wrong at all. "What?"

"What is it?"

William looked back at the screen and noticed that the man was gone. He frowned suspiciously and shook his head, looking back at Wesker. "I don't know. I just could have sworn that I saw Dr. Marcus in the lobby..."

Wesker chuckled and shook his head. "William, you and I both know that he's dead." He picked up the case. "Why don't you take some time to rest. I think you are becoming a bit too paranoid for your own good."

William nodded in agreement, but he couldn't help but stare back at the screen doubtfully.

Wesker left the building later that night, taking the case to his car. He started to turn the engine over, but paused and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. He removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, taking a deep exhale. He couldn't keep his thoughts clear today. Most of them were so focused on Claire because of that late night incident yesterday. He couldn't keep thinking about it; he was only human and that was mostly the problem. Hopefully with William's serum, that could be easily rectified.

It won't even matter anymore once I become the ruler that I was meant to be...

O

Note-So? Reviews are awesome! Tell me how I'm doing! 8D