A/N: I'm hoping that there are still some of you out there still reading my story... I'm trying to upload chapters a little faster than before though :) Anyway, I think that there are too many characters and scenarios to tell in each chapter and I'll try to change that.


Chapter 7: They get ripped apart

Two glowing red orbs were watching from the darkness, waiting. The house that stood in front of them was peaceful, unknowing of the danger lurking in the darkness surrounding it. The figure stepped towards the house, making sure to remain invisible to everything and everyone. His attire wasn't of the most friendly and he knew better than showing himself.

Once he reached the back door, he silently tried the doorknob in case he was lucky and it had been left unlocked. But Mr. Death was never lucky, he was skilled and experienced. Lock picking such a simple mechanism was not even a challenge for him. In less than a few seconds, the door creaked open and he set a cautious foot on the white kitchen tiles. When he was sure that his heavy boots made no sound, he closed the door behind him to avoid any unneeded disturbances and headed towards the stairs. His gloved hand reached for a cylinder hanging from his belt and wrapped his fingers around it. The man gave one last circular look around him through his thick gas mask before yanking the pin out and throwing the grenade up the stairs. Around five seconds later, thick smoke came out of the container and slowly scattered in the house. The small fissing sound of the smoke coming out of the grenade was quickly overpowered by the coughing in a room upstairs.

Once the man reached the room, being guided only by sound, he saw a young auburn woman curled up in the bed. He recognized her as being his target and so waited until her coughing died out and her fluttering eyelids closed before approaching the bed. The bed sheets were a mess most likely caused by this woman once she woke up choking because of the smoke and therefore panicked. He grabbed her steadily but gently with one arm holding her back and the other one scooping up her knees: no need to be overly rough. She was slumped against his chest, as light as a feather. So far, his mission had been a success.

Outside, there was a van waiting for him to come out with the target. The man in the front seat came out. He had a displeased look on his face but opened the van's lateral sliding door for HUNK to put the woman down in the car. The driver also exited the vehicle and proceeded to tie her up to rule out any possibility of escape, as slim as it may be. The mercenary's face turned towards the man standing next to the van, facing away. He had blonde hair and Mr. Death had never seen him before. More out of caution than curiosity, he asked, "Who are you?" Despite the fact his voice was slightly muffled, the man heard the question and turned around. His eyes narrowed for a second before answering in an indifferent tone, "Jack Krauser."

Both being men of little words and the driver being slightly intimidated by the other two; the ride was silent except for the occasional shuffling of the woman in the back of the car.

xxx-xxx-xxx

Leon was sitting at his dinning tapping his fingers on its wooden surface, unable to relax for even one second. Today he had just completed his first mission with his new partner. The man was ok, always concentrated on his task: the perfect partner. Only Leon couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that Krauser had left the force. That faithful night after he received that call from the hospital, he would have never guessed this would have happened. Yet it happened; unexpected things always happen.

"What? That's not possible! O-of course I'll be there, what's the address?" he asked, panicked.

Moments later, he was in a hospital, waiting for the nurse to find the room number of his partner. The green clad man was taking his time, browsing through what could only be the register of the patients in the hospital. When he finally obtained the needed information and reached the post-op room in which Jack was staying, it took him a moment to finally decide to push the door open and the sight he was greeted with made him want to turn back and leave the room. The man he had thought to be invincible was lying in the small bed, seemingly sleeping. His left arm was heavily bandaged and Leon had a feeling it wasn't the only wound from which he was suffering. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and he seemed in pain despite the drugs he was obviously on.

When he couldn't stand looking at Krauser like that anymore and was about to leave for good and maybe send a postcard or something, the other man opened his eyes and stared him down like he always did. The look on Leon's face made him look away and say in an intimidating but hoarse voice, "Don't look at me with that look of pity on your face, Kennedy."

Leon's eyebrows furrowed in surprised; Jack never called him by his last name, something was coming. He stepped towards the chair seemingly guarding the bed. As he sat on it, he looked at his… friend's face. Yes, he could say that they were friends. Even if Jack didn't show his affection much, he was always looking out for him. Like an older brother would.

"My arm is done for. I'm quitting the force," the older man said, closing his eyes momentarily as if taken aback by a sudden migraine.

"What? But it's your life! You can't just quit… what about me?" Leon burst out. Krauser's eyes snapped open and glared at Leon, warning him to stop. But the latter wasn't just going to give up, "What happened to you? How the hell could you have been wounded this badly? My partner is invincible when he puts his mind to the task!"

"Shut up! It's your fault if I'm here."

"My fau-" Leon scoffed, only to end up clenching his fists and getting up from his chair. He heard Jack mumble, "I'm human too…" before he left the room. How could he possibly be blamed for what happened? It wasn't his fault… right?

Now, he could only wonder where he had gone and hope he was alright. Maybe it really had been his fault; while his partner and friend was out on a mission, he was waiting for a woman that would never come. He bit his lower lip in frustration and slammed his front door shut behind him as he left for a walk and some fresh and cold night air to clear his head.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"Wait, let me get this straight; you came here because you want to kill this Wesker person since he is one of the reasons you are being accused of murder and you made me bring you a gun without telling me anything!" Rebecca exclaimed as she ran the fingers of her right hand on the box holding an ordinary handgun. Billy sighed and nodded, "Yes, well I couldn't go myself… I know that man is somewhere in this city."

"But you… you didn't kill anyone! You're innocent!" she exclaimed with a pained expression on her innocent features.

"Princess…" he said in an attempt to settle her.

"No! If you kill that man you will become guilty, you'll become a murderer!" she tried to reason with him. Billy's lips turned upwards into a sad smile and he closed his eyes. When he opened them to see those beautiful big eyes looking at him, hopeful but pained because of him, his heart was broken. He reached towards her and held her in a much-needed embrace. Rebecca's tensed shoulders relaxed as she wrapped her arms around his back.

"I'm sorry… I'm causing you trouble and I'm sorry," he whispered in her silky hair. She didn't answer. He was about to move away when she grabbed unto him tighter. "Don't die," she murmured. She could feel his toned chest under her cheek as she spoke.

"I won't; I'm invincible, right?" he said, hiding his true emotions behind a signature smirk. The younger girl shook her head. She looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek timidly before getting up and heading towards her desk. As Billy just stood there silently eyeing the box containing the object that would make him a killer, Rebecca looked at his dog tags, realizing that no matter what had happened to him he was still a Marine in his soul. That despite the fact he had been framed for the murder of many people, he was still faithful to his teammates. Then it struck her; he wanted to kill that man to convince himself that Wesker was the bad guy and not his brothers in arms. She smiled and broke the heavy silence in the room, "Yes, tough guy, you're invincible. Just don't get caught."

"What?" Billy raised his gaze towards her and his eyebrows were furrowed in surprise. "You're telling me you're okay with me committing a crime."

"So what if I am?" she said, shrugging. He got up and walked towards her, "Then you're acting like a good housewife, Princess…"

She blushed as he leaned on the desk and brushed a strand of hair out of her face before kissing her briefly, giving her a taste of what could lay ahead.

xxx-xxx-xxx

"Jill, get me those documents on that shelve there," Excella demanded, pointing towards a high shelve. The concerned woman glared at her employer before reaching for a pile of neatly stored papers. She was supposed to be a bodyguard, not a personal servant. She wasn't paid to fetch documents or coffee. And being at work this late wasn't very convenient either.

When she set the papers on the desk, she made sure to put a little more force than necessary. Jill knew that Excella had perceived the message but had made no move towards lecturing her. She took this as a sign that something had happened to her lately so she just backed away against the wall she spent her day pressed up against. Did she hate her job? ... Yes. A lot. But the pay was good so she couldn't complain. If she would've been luckier, her boss wouldn't have been this self-centered woman. In her eyes Chris' job was a lot better but she didn't have even the slightest idea how to pilot a helicopter and let alone a plane so it was completely out of her reach. But other than that, they had the same training and both knew CQC and how to wield firearms. Jill' speciality was hand-to-hand whilst Chris mainly stuck with weapons but seeing his body structure, he could hold his own if it ever got close and personal.

She spent the next half hour trying to read the papers on Excella's desk… upside down. She was getting the hang of it after so many hours of doing so. Jill knew what Tricell was responsible for in its secret branch, which of course was led by Excella. So, she presumed that the information she was gathering every day would come in handy in the future. She already knew who her boss went to meet regularly. She knew that the research she made and information she gave to that man weren't pharmaceutical at all.

As Jill was about to decipher what exactly post-mortem cerebral activity meant, her cellphone vibrated on her belt. She reached towards it and put it to her ear under Excella's suspicious glance.

"Jill, you… you need to come home! Now!" Chris' panicked voice said through the phone.

"What… I'm working now. You've got to be kidding if you think…" she whispered, only to be cut off by her boyfriend, "It's Claire. I can't find her."

Her eyes widened. She knew that Claire wasn't the type to just take off without telling anyone. This led her to understand why Chris was so panicked; something must've happened.

"I'm coming," she said before closing her phone. Jill knew how to control her emotions but she also knew that her voice must've reflected what she felt. She was going out the door without a second thought when she heard a pompous voice call out from behind her, "Jill, what do you think you're doing?" For her to speak in a somewhat cold tone, she must've been in a very bad mood. But Jill couldn't care less at that moment. "Personal matters," she said.

A while later, she was parking her car and entering the house as fast as she could without running, there, she found Chris in the living room, sitting on the couch with his face buried in his hands. She reached over to him and put her hand on his shoulder. When he raised his face towards her, it wasn't wearing the expression she was expecting to see; it was one of sheer determination. He had a borderline murderous look in his eyes.

"It's him, of course… it can only be him," he muttered looking at the empty shell of a grenade on the low table.

"Who?" Jill asked, wondering if he had gone insane for a second.

"Wesker," he stated simply.

As much as she hated prying, she couldn't just leave that name hanging, "Albert Wesker?" she scoffed, "What does he have to do with all of this?" She knew him from work of course, with Excella being the link between Tricell and the man's organisation - if it could identified as one.

Chris' eyes locked with hers as she sat down beside him, awaiting an explanation.

"He… Well, you know who he is right?" She nodded, urging him to continue. "I- I was part of his group once." He ignored the brunette's wide eyes at the revelation and proceeded to explain the reason behind all that had happened, "I gave the whereabouts of one of his hidden facilities to the police. Then… then they sent a SWAT team to neutralize them. Of course, as you can see… they failed to get all of the members in that single facility, imagine of the whole group… So, now, he finally figured out I had a job at Tricell and found my l-little baby sister for god's sake!" He stopped, clenching his fists.

Seeing that he wasn't continuing, Jill opened her mouth only to close it back. He had hidden this from her! How could he… they had been together for a few years now! She shook her head and got up from the couch. Contrary to her usual relatively calm attitude, she paced around the living room under Chris' gloomy stare. She stopped in front of a picture showing the two of them together, smiling. That photo had been taken only two years ago.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me?" she finally asked, spinning back towards him.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was just scared that it would compromise your safety," he answered.

Once she reached him and sat back in her original position, she chuckled, "Come on! It's not one of those 'If I tell you, I'll have to kill you' situations…" She was obviously trying to lighten the mood. She knew that under these conditions, staying mad at him for hiding something wasn't the wise thing to do. Once the corner of his lips rose slightly, she knew she had succeeded as she always did. She pressed her hand on his stubble-covered cheek.

"We'll find her. Tomorrow," she said. He nodded before truly smiling. He was really thankful for having her with him; he knew that once he had his mind set on something stupid, she was the only one that could talk some sense into him. And she always did.

"I love you, Jill," he said. She smiled warmly at him before kissing him. Chris put a hand on her back to easily maneuver her so that she was lying underneath him on the couch.

"I love you too," she answered.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow they would save Claire, but tonight was only for them. One last night of happiness before they would have to pour all their strength elsewhere.


A/N: Please review! I'm looking for advice and ideas (feedback too, of course) but not for advertisements for other fanfics (come on people, really? -_-).