Act I: Chapter Four
Continued...
Wesker had crossed his arms over his brawny chest, slowly breathing soft controlled breaths; mentally evaluating the situation over in his head,
one miscalculated move on his part would only act as an accelerator. If he was going to talk to Lilly he needed the freedom from any unwanted eye's or ear.
Wesker had chosen one of the precincts storage rooms for their conversation, the smell of mothballs and old news paper filtered the stale air; better then the sterile scent of the
labs to remind Wesker that his neck was on the line for his work. The little storage room was filled wall to wall with stacks of boxes, one had busted open anti-drug pamphlets
spilled out across the floor, other then that there was nothing remarkable about the room.
In-between the rows of cardboard boxes stood both captain and subordinate stood across from each other locked in an intense confrontation. Lilly tapped her foot against the tilled floor,
hands propped on her narrow hip bones "What's the problem?" she asked, stopping her tapping as she mirrored her superior officers stance.
"What I have a problem with is your attitude Lilly," He said softly but sternly enough to let her know he wasn't going to be a pushover like Birkin. William may have let her do as
she pleased back in the underground lab, but under him he expected her to treat his men with respect.
"It took quite a lot of work to get you here, the least you could do is show a little appreciation. For starters, how about showing the rest of the team members some manners?
If Rebecca wasn't so oblivious she would have seen through that glint in your eyes." He'd seen the glint once before a long time ago; it took him back to his days as head of the
Arkely research facility. Those had been dark days; he didn't have the same tenacity to go through it all again like he did with Birkin when others whispered of Alexia.
"I know your very good a feigning things, dear."
"Get to the point, I have a lot of work to do you know." She snapped at him the skin around her nose wrinkled as she made a face.
Wesker obliged the snippy medics demands and laid his cards out on the table, "It is not only Rebecca," his voice went harsher there would be no sugar coating
the issue if he intended to nip it in the bud, "Barry, Chris, Joseph-You are only a field medic yet you act like you are a rank above them.
No field experience to back up the way you act around them. Believe it or not, you will need to work with these people and this rift will only widen.
They think I selected you from a pool of applicants. If they doubt in you, they doubt in my decision making." His vision hardened on his subordinate his knuckles
turned white "All Rebecca was doing was making small talk, yet you act like you are right now, an unspoken challenge to your position. Not everything is a threat to your ego,
so stop acting like it is." He needed to stop in order to keep his composure he could feel his frustrations begin to snow ball out of control. He took a few relaxed breaths to slow down his
racing pulse, a vein in his head dully throbbed.
The medic knew well enough not to argue back against her superior, she needed her job way too much to let something like a superiority complex get her canned.
"You're right, I guess." Was all she said.
"I am hardly convinced" He knew she was only saying what he wanted to hear to get out of there. If she wasn't going to take him seriously, then she didn't respect him.
"Remember here you have no social standing, no money to support you. Everything you earn is here and it can be easily taken away if you are not careful."
His arms dropped only letting a hand rest on his hip. "The socialization will do you some good. We'd better get back; we've both got work to do." His eyes closed, he thought about the
stack of papers that waited for him on his desk, where didn't have to deal with as many troublesome employees, though Irons was a slave diver at times.
Lilly nodded in agreement she just wanted to get through her work load before she ended up drowning in paper work. She still couldn't shake off the feeling Wesker was being a hypocrite; she saw the looks Captain Enrico gave the blonde younger captain. It was obvious to her that the two had some sort of unspoken animosity between them.
She asked once about it Wesker only hand waved it being something about age.
"Yeah, good idea last thing I need is to hear Frost make another crack about 'hot cop-on-cop action.' " Lilly said as she made air quotes with her fingers.
"Though I guess it's not like you'll have to hear it, being the social butterfly that you are." She gave a roll of the eyes her arms then fell to her sides.
Wesker gritted his teeth he considered a quick break to the weight room to properly vent would not be a bad idea.
"If you believe I'm being a hypocrite; seeing as I founded S.T.A.R.S and am captain of Alpha, so I can rightfully act as I do. You, however, should be more enthusiastic
about what it is like working here. It is your reputation then mine, considering it's usually the female that gets blamed for such relationships.
So emotional, they are hard to stay at tasks, don't you think?" He said her ego having reason to be threatened. That rumour would be hard to disprove, but his team-mates
knew him they would just simply place blame on the 'new girl'. He considered the option of firing her; it would restore his reputation easily among his men.
The insult had the blood pounding in her ears her breathing quickened as she struggled to keep a hold of the last shreds of composure she had. Lilly bit down on the insides of her cheeks
she tasted the bitter coppery flavour the shocks of pain in her jaw were the only things keeping her from spitting venom at her boss.
Wesker smirked haughtily assured in his victory; his broad-shouldered back turned to face her before striding out the door to the weight room where
he'd vent the rest of his frustrations out. The door shut under its own weight rattling the windows Lilly waited until Wesker was out of ear shot. The frustrated medic turned to the first stack
of boxes in her path; she kicked it watching as all the boxes toppled over, an avalanche of papers gushed out from the broken cardboard and onto the floor to join all the pamphlets.
When the door to the office swung open Joseph looked up instantly to catch a glimpse of Lilly her shoulders tightly drawn back and stomping off to her desk next to him.
He turned his head away from the irate medic he picked up a random folder off his desk and pretended to be busy with work, It was even clear to Joseph that she was steamed over something
he thought his eyes peeked over the file. Lilly sat hunched over in her desk elbows propped up on top of the desk with her head in her hands.
"So what did Wesker want to talk to you about?" Joseph asked in good nature after he rolled his chair over ho her desk, leaning close, he hesitated to put a hand on her shoulder.
The plucky mechanic knew a good reaming out when he saw one, he'd reserve any teasing for later if she was feeling better.
Lifting her face out of her palm she didn't answer right away, Lilly's first reaction to the unwanted contact was to give Frost a deadly glare. She closed her eyes and let out a soft little sigh letting
her facial muscles relax from all the straining. Lilly opened her eyes and took a second to look Joseph over. There was no trace of any insincerity; he had an honest face of concern.
Wesker's words still echoed in her ears began to sink in, "Do you think I have an attitude problem?" Her expression was about as serious as her tone; she nibbled on her bottom lip
waiting for a response from the blonde mechanic.
Joseph scratched the back of his head as he tried to search for the right words to say. "Heh, I can't really judge, I'm no model employee either."
he said giving her shoulder a friendly pat before withdrawing his hand, draping his arm over the back of his chair.
"I suppose this is true." Answered Lilly a cheeky smile graced her lips the heavy cloud of anger that hung around her dissipated.
At first Joseph just chuckled before the realization kicked
"Wait a second...What's that supposed to mean?" He asked fallowed by a short nervous laugh Lilly laughed a bit too though it was more at him then with him.
"Don't you worry your pretty little head over it, Frost."
The sound of her own laughter caught herself off guard her hand went to cover her mouth
before she could disturb those working in the puny office.
"You're just jealous of all this, sweet heart"
He gestured to him self while striking a pose earning a roll of the eyes from Lilly "And how many times
do I have to tell you can just call me Joseph, you don't gotta' be so damn formal, we're team-mates for peat's sake"
Lilly closed her eyes "Well I'm glad we could open up like this-Frost-but if you don't mind I think I'm going to go for a quick bite to eat,
I've had enough paper work for one afternoon." She said as she rose up from her chair.
"Wait, I'll go with you." Joseph joined her in standing letting the blood rush back down into his stiff legs;
he stretched a little feeling more of the blood pump through the sore leg muscles.
"Any excuse getting out of work, eh?" Lilly half joked she couldn't blame the blonde mechanic too much for his short comings when it came to paper work,
and she for once welcomed the distraction of another person, anything to make her day more bearable.
"Quiet you." Joseph said playfully hitting her on the shoulder as they made their way out the door.
/December 25, 1997/
A car pulled up into the drive way of a one story bungalow fresh virgin snow was laid out like a thick blanket across the yard,
ong Icicles dangled dangerously from its slopped roof top. Along side all the other houses on the block it was decorated for the holidays; although not as flashy as its neighbours.
Lilly shut off the ignition her silver sedan pulling up behind another car further up the drive way. She nibbled on a hang nail nervously, she had no clue what
Wesker wanted her over for, but since their last chat she hadn't spoken to him in a few days. Once she worked up enough nerve to step outside of her car she
marched straight to the front door through the cleared path. Lilly snickered to her self the idea of her boss Wesker doing something as tedious as shovelling a drive way tickled her funny bone.
She continued her trek up the drive way the slender heal of her boots click-clacked as her feet pounded the pavement. Her breath came out in vaporized wisps looking like
ghostly clouds appearing then disappearing back into the darkness.
Her fist softly rasped against the wooden grain of the front door Lilly could feel her stomach churn when she heard movement behind the door.
The door opened Albert stood in the center of the frame starring down at her, lips tight. Their eyes locked on to the others Lilly wanted to nothing more then to turn tail and flee.
She took a hesitate step into her bosses home.
After hanging her jacket on the rack and taking off her boots she walked down the hall that connected the front door to the living room.
Lilly had been to Wesker's place a couple times in the past, everything was as she expected it to be-neat and orderly.
The living room looked cosy with a roaring gas lit fire place, and the lights dimmed. She fallowed Wesker to the couch-a love seat,
the only other place to sit was a cushy looking reclining chair. She noticed the window that normally over looked the front yard has its blinds snapped shut;
she dryly swallowed the hard lump in her throat before she sat next to Wesker. Every fibre in her body tensed; her fingers dug into the arm rest turning her knuckles white,
she couldn't take another second of waiting, "What's all this for?" She asked.
Wesker only raised a golden eye brow he wondered how long he should let her squirm, before telling her the real reason for her visit.
He chuckled throatily after another moment of silence, "Atmosphere dear heart. I went through the liberty to get you a little something, a token of my appreciation for
all the hard work you have done for me." He paused to reach under the chair, pulling out a rectangular box wrapped in flashy paper and topped with a red bow. Wesker placed the
parcel with care on top of Lilly's lap he sat back to take in the moment.
Lilly eyed the nicely wrapped box she picked it up to hold the box up to her left ear, the box was light in weight, what ever was inside sounded soft.
She set it back down onto her lap her nimble finger tips worked to carefully un-wrap the gift, she didn't think Wesker would appreciate his floor littered with bits of torn paper.
Once the box was stripped bare of its fancy paper Lilly opened the lid she stared down at the gift inside with knitted eye brows then the looked back over to Wesker.
She lifted the gift out by its straps to show him the racy little black dress. It was made of sleek black satin with delicate lace trim along the bust line.
"I-its nice, thank you." She said with a wide smile the unsure look in her dark eyes giving away the awkwardness she felt at that moment.
Wesker scooted in a little closer to his subordinate taking the opportunity to speak "It may not be to your tastes,
but I noticed a lack of dress attire and thought it would be appropriate."
He watched as Lilly carefully folded the dress back into its box the light of the fire reflected in her eyes,
"No, no, I like it, really. I just feel bad that I didn't get you anything, especially after what happened a few days ago." She said with her head hung low that made some strands of
limp black hair hung over her face.
"Water under the bridge dear heart, why don't you try it on?" He suggested egger to see the fruits of his labour come to fruition.
The smile on Lilly's face faded fast ""I thought this meeting was only going to be a discussion. I should have said something sooner, but..."
Wesker cut her off his gaze hardened on his subordinate "What could be more important then this?"
Lilly winced under his harsh gaze she could "I made other plains for tonight." Her tongue nearly stumbled over her words.
Her heart was beating against her chest like a battering ram. The tension in the room that moment could be cut in half with a knife.
Only the ambient sounds of wood crackling on the fire filled the air.
"What plains, with whom?" He demanded harshly his hand gripped the arm rest turning his knuckles white.
"I had been giving what you said some thought, and when Frost invited me to a Christmas party I said yes.
I thought it would help me fit in better if I spent some time with them outside of work." She said feeling her stomach curl a bit.
"Oh, very well you are dismissed." Lilly could tell by the strained pitch in Wesker's tone that it was time to take her leave.
She packed up the present she thanked him and said her goodbyes, but Wesker remained ominously silent.
Resonance: Part One
/~June 23, 1996~/
That summer back in June of '96 was one of the hottest on record in the mid-west. Raccoon city and her streets were baking under the sun's rays.
The humid heat wave had many people on edge that year; even bellow the streets surface there was no escape from the heat, mostly due to a malfunction with the central air.
Lilly sat in her chair fanning her self off with some papers, her lab coat hanging over the back of the chair she sat in. William Birkin was gone for lunch leaving in his absents
a post tantrum mess for his assistant Lilly to clean up after. Dishevelled papers were scattered across the desk where Lilly sat hunched over her desk she was to shift through the mess
of scattered notes.
It was her job to read through each of Dr. Birkin's notes and make sense of the gibberish; then rewrite it into an easily readable project report.
It wasn't as easy as scanning the pages for key words, whole formulas and test data needed to be copied and organised into chronological order. Unfortunately for Lilly,
Birkin never filled anything properly; the only thing that came close to filling for the genius virologist was randomly shoving papers into the filing cabinet. The pressure was staggering
especially with the 'internal review' coming up at the end of the month. If the labs didn't show substantial results that the higher ups wanted, funding would be drastically cut setting the entire
project back
Deeply she sighed while rubbing her temples to nurse the on coming headache; Trying to read through all the erratic hand writing made her brain want to melt out of her eye sockets.
She had been virtually chained to the desk since the start of the month, scarcely eating or sleeping. The only time she had away from work was when she went to the washroom.
Lilly could feel the weight of the heavy purplish bags underneath her weary black eyes. All I need is a few minuets of down time, I'm having a hard enough time making heads or tails of Dr. Birkin's
writing when I'm not sleep deprived. She rested her forehead down onto the table, letting her eye lids peacefully close shut. Shortly there for after she nodded off only to be awoken by a knocking
at the office door, "The good doctor is out, if you have any forms that need signing, leave it in the slot box outside the door." Lilly groaned at the visitor annoyed by the interruption from her nap.
"I am afraid it is not the doctor I am looking for," said an all too familiar voice. Lilly knew that muddled accent all too well, and her head shot up lighting quick to see
Wesker make his entrance into the room, she quickly ran her nimble fingers through her greasy locks to straighten up her hair.
Wesker could see that Birkin (as he expected.) had been working the girl to the bone, "Dear heart, you look terrible.
When do you have any time for yourself, or dose Birkin latch you to his side?" Lilly spied a smirk at the corner of his mouth, so slight that most people would not notice it at all.
"Genius is never easy to work with, although I don't need to tell you that." Replied Lilly as she found her self ogling the S.T.A.R.S
captain, it was the first time seeing him dressed in his uniform she looked to her watch as a distraction.
Working with Birkin had an ill effect on Lilly's appearance her once ivory skin had become more washed out with an unhealthy grey tinge. Her big doe eyes were hardened,
sunken in just enough to create the illusion of being emaciated. It brought up memories that he had tried to suppress ever since he transferred to Umbrellas information burro.
No amount of drink could suppress the sight of that girl chained to a pipe bed;
the image haunted him still to the very day. "Hardly a way to treat an intern, especially one so green."
He said holding back a shudder of repulsion, thinking how green Birkin still acted without him as a disciplinary. Another look around the trashed office, a broken pen with its blue ink splattered
across the wall, the pen its self was accompanied by a few scraps of torn paper Lilly hadn't gotten around to cleaning. The ex-researcher could sympathizes with the
young intern, he couldn't recall how many times he wanted to slap the sense back in the insufferable Birkin , but he (Birkin) would twist that to refuse to work...again.
Lilly stood up and shuffled around the desk trying her best not to step on anything. She rested her back against the front side of the desk her palms
pressed against the flat surface. "I hope you can excuse me for cutting the verbal foreplay short, but if you are not here for Birkin, then what's the reason for this visit?"
She looked at him questionably, unsure of his motives.
He looked down on her through his sun glasses he noticed Lilly lacked a clip board; all were Birkin's chicken scratch excuse for writing.
"It seems that the regiment has changed. Interns were given a chance to get into the lab, but it seems they're going easier on you. Excelled in Coffee Making
101 and Tantrum Pickup 250? Hopefully you didn't overpay for those classes." He side stepped her question for the moment first Wesker needed to ease into
the business proposition; moving to quick would only scare her off.
Lilly bit on her bottom lip as she looked over towards the over flowing trash bin, his words stung her ego deeply. She worked hard to reach her
position, as clever as she was, Lilly just wasn't nearly gifted enough to compete with the likes of Birkin, or even the late Alexia. She instead had to start out like all other fresh faced
university graduates, through lab internships, of course her father pulled some strings to have her work directly under Dr. Birkin. Still she was only a measly intern with nothing other then
a family name to back her up.
"It's amazing you've stayed sane after decades of this, what's your secret?" She asked rubbing her forehead.
Wesker slipped off the shades from his face and busied him self with polishing the tinted lenses with the untouched end of his shirt.
"Alcohol, but the change in scenery was needed." He kept his gaze downwards but his eyes still on Lilly.
"I assume that you're going to be here for a while; would you like some coffee or tea, or maybe some whiskey, Birkin keeps some in a locked drawer for emergencies."
Lilly slipped back behind the desk to where her lab coat hung from the chair to fish the keys from her pocket.
He answered as he watched her pull out a bottle half filled with a dark amber fluid the label long since peeled off the glass. She set it on the desk with a loud 'thunk'.
"I'll only have the coffee if it's half or decaf, I don't need full strength of anything since I left. Seems Birkin's only gotten worse, I see that you seem to be the only one around him.
When I was here, there were at least three other people to pick up after him. Such a shame, that's too much for you. Can't even discipline a bad child who is your supervisor."
His head turned subtly, eyeing a scientist traveling down the hall with several inters all fallowing like ducklings all talking amongst them selves,
doing work that didn't insult their education and intelligence. While there was Lilly, her bloodline descended directly from Umbrellas founding fathers, and of noble stock
reduced to a babysitter, though her situation was much worse. "I didn't think you've have the patience for such repetitive work."
As Lilly shambled over to Birkin's privet coffee maker she felt the crunch of a pen under foot; wincing from the sound she hopped over an over turned
chair and stood in front of the coffee machine. Opening the cupboard door above the machine, she took out a small personal tin of freshly ground coffee beans bought at a
specialty store. She changed the filter over to a fresher one and filed it up with the grounds, the smell of ground coffee was heavenly finished scooping it into the fresh paper filter.
After filling the coffee maker with water she flicked on the switch and let the pot brew; Lilly returned her attention to Wesker who had taken a seat in her chair, his shades back over his eyes.
"You gotta' do what you gotta' do," she said with a shrug as she leaned against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest.
"So what is it you want Wesker? You wouldn't go out of your way for just a cup of coffee, so spill it." She turned her back the moment the coffee maker shut off.
Two mugs were already preset for use so all that was left was to fill each ceramic mug with the steaming coffee.
While Lilly was mixing some sugar and cream packets into the coffee Wesker decided to get down to business, "I have a position that'll be opening soon.
I figured you could use a bit more excitement in your life, surrounded by adults that don't throw things and do everything short of falling on the ground, screaming and flailing like a
spoiled child. I thought it would keep your interest. You'll need training, and if you don't like it, you can always come back here, though I doubt it. You deserve to have better than this.
I'll delay the position if you're interested. You know how to contact me." He stood, gave her a slight smile, turned and walked away, casually putting his thumbs in his pocket.
Lilly stood there silently for several minuets frozen in place still in disbelief over what had happened, her cup of coffee clutched in her hands.
With out a sound she walked over to her desk and flopped down into her chair she reached for the bottle of whiskey and poured a small shot into the steaming beverage to soothe her nerves.