Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay

Episode Three: The Grill 13

Part Two

Downtown Raccoon City, 6:15 PM…

There were many reasons that McGee lived in the suburbs, and the traffic of the downtown area of Raccoon City was one of them. It hadn't been so bad when he left the station, since he might have accidently left a few minutes before shift change, but then rush hour came into full effect just as he was reaching the shopping district. Like magic, hundreds of cars seemed to appear from out of thin air, and from there on out it was bumper-to-bumper. For a moment he considered turning his flashers as if he was going after someone, and thereby forcing traffic to clear a path for him, but that would have been wrong.

"So much for my head start." He grumbled to himself.

The good news was that aside from the occasional red light, traffic never came to a complete stop. It came pretty close, but any movement at all felt like a blessing at this time a night. Slowly creeping past the Arcade Shops, a whole city block that had been slowly transformed into a sort of outdoor shopping mall over the years, McGee had to keep reminding himself that he was not any of the people that seemed to be walking faster than him on the sidewalk, but then this also gave him an idea that might save him a little time and a lot of frustration with the streets.

There were parallel parking spots all over the place in this part of town, so he turned on his turning signal to show his intent to merge into the other lane, but not surprisingly, no one was going to let him over. He kept looking at the other drivers in the hopes of finding a Good Samaritan, but then his hope turned to anger as the next driver to block his path laughed at him once they made eye-contact. However, the young man's laugh became a shocked expression when McGee turned on the flashers while motioning for him to pull over. The Detective couldn't help but smirk a little as he pulled into one of the parallel parking spaces behind the car as it too pulled over, and this smirk stayed as he got out and walked up to him.

"Good evening." He said once the young man rolled down his window. "License and Registration, please."

The driver was red in the face, like a kid who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and the Detective didn't mind seeing him like this at all. Serves him right for not showing common courtesy to the people of this city, and maybe after tonight the driver would think twice before trying to use his vehicle to control people. Did this count as using his position for personal gain? Probably, but sometimes even the straightest of Police Officers needed to vent a little anger.

"Hey, I'm sorry." The young man said nervously as he handed over the papers. "If I knew you were a cop, I would've let you out, honest."

"Sure, sure." McGee replied as opened his citation notepad. "And if I wasn't a cop, you would've just kept on laughing, right? That old guy can't do nothing because he's a joke, right? Well, the joke's on you, son, because it's gonna be Failure to Yield, Failure to Signal, Impeding Traffic, and Disorderly Conduct. Either pay the fine or show up in court on the date written at the top… and son… drive safe."

The driver nearly fainted when he saw how much the citation was for, and he looked like he was about to protest, but a stern glare from McGee stopped him before the words could come out. Instead, he hung his head and drove away in defeat, leaving the Detective feeling a bit more pleased with himself than he probably should've been. Oh well, at least he had gotten into a parking spot, and he could see the movie theater in the distance, meaning that the Grill 13 was only about two blocks away. It was also sad that he was now moving a little bit faster than the people who were in their cars, and he just shook his head as they beeped their horns and started yelling at each other.

With all the noise, lights, and chaos, he wondered how Liquid was able to stand living in this part of town… well, actually it made sense, since he used to live in the suburbs when his wife was still around, and this was the farthest thing from that, so he was starting to understand. With everything that had happened to him recently, McGee was just happy to have his old partner back in one piece, and any craziness or erratic behavior, well… it still could have been far worse.

The last rays of sunlight were vanishing in the sky, making the downtown lights seem even brighter as darkness fell across the city, but at least the weather was clear. Being springtime, the temperature still dropped a noticeable amount every night, but each day it would get a little warmer as summer creeped in. Shivering a little when that first cold breeze blew past, McGee put his hands in his pockets; walking a little faster as the illuminated sign above the door to the Grill 13 came into view.

Parking Garage, RPD, 6:00 PM…

"Thanks for inviting me out with your team, Lieutenant." Carver said as Liquid held the door for her.

"We're off duty now, Janet." He replied as they stepped into the parking garage. "You can call me Tobias… and of course I invited you; you'd be on the Task Force right now if that fat blobby dork hadn't said no."

With shift change well underway, there was no hurry to race to their vehicles, so they took their time walking across the concrete until Carver took out her keys and pressed the button on her remote, causing the lights to flash on a green Ford Taurus that just happened to be parked right next to Liquid's motorcycle. Moving between the two vehicles so that they wouldn't be in the way of all the now off duty Officers who were fighting to drive out. Funny how it never seemed like there was this many cops at the RPD until this time of day.

"You know, it would probably be easier to get through traffic if we rode together." He said as they watched the passing cars. "So how about it, Janet? If you're good, I'll let you ride in the sidecar."

"Right, that's a great idea." She replied. "Then my hair can blow around for the whole time, and when we get to the restaurant, it'll look like we just had sex."

The two of them laughed at this for a second as the parking garage slowly cleared out, but they couldn't leave yet. Two Officers had tried to use the exit ramp at the same time and nearly gotten into an accident, and now they were yelling and screaming at each other, both men refusing to let the other one through. Eventually they sorted it out without a serious incident, and the flow of traffic resumed, although it would still be a couple minutes before they would be able to go anywhere.

"Oh Janet, we don't need the sidecar for that." Liquid laughed. "There's plenty of room in your car if you wanted to do some, uh… hair-messing before dinner."

"Oh, Mr. Shakespeare, you have such a way with words." Carver replied sarcastically while rolling her eyes. "Please, give me a moment to compose myself… is that seriously the line you're gonna use to try and pick me up when Officer Valentine got a midnight serenade? Try again, and make it a good one or I swear I'm gonna Mace you."

By this time the parking garage had mostly cleared out, at least of the cops going off duty, but not surprisingly the ones coming on shift were a lot less aggressive and didn't seem to be in that big of a hurry to begin their shift. They slowly and calmly pulled into the empty spaces, some getting out right away, while others sat there for a minute to finish their coffee before meandering toward the door to the precinct. Now, back to the current problem, there were a thousand pickup lines that he could have tried, but they were all lame, and it made him a little nervous that Carver's hand kept brushing against the small can of Mace on her belt. Getting blinded would not be a fun way to start the evening, so there was only one thing to do.

"Fine, I'll just be honest with you." Liquid continued. "Janet, I think you're the hottest girl in Homicide, and if you go out with me, not only will I get you all liquored up, but I'll also take you back to my apartment and nail you so damn hard that you'll have to call in sick tomorrow. How does that sound?"

"Better." She replied while folding her arms. "I'm not that easy, but better. I'm still not riding in that sidecar, so we're gonna take my Taurus. Then we're gonna have a nice time celebrating with your team, and then we'll, um… see what happens."

That answer was better than no, and a hell of a lot better than getting temporarily blinded by an angry redhead, so Liquid accepted it with a nod before they got into the car. It was strange being in the passenger seat, since he had always been the one to drive, even when he and his wife would… no, best not to think about that. He needed to do everything in his power to move on from what happened, even though forming Task Force Arklay was probably the exact opposite of moving on. His thoughts returned to the present as they shut the doors and Carver started the engine.

"I hope you like Rush." She said while opening the center console. "They're actually… all I ever listen too. That's not weird, is it?"

Liquid gave a half smile as he looked down at the open console, and then his eyes widened as he saw that it was filled with cassette tapes. Dozens and dozens of cassette tapes, each one labeled Rush, and he was pretty sure that every single album that was released since the band formed was in there. She grabbed the first one her hand touched, and then the song Limelight began to play.

"No, it's not weird at all." Liquid replied as they pulled out of the parking space. "But then again, I'm a Bon Jovi fan, so I couldn't say anything even if it was."

They both laughed at this, and by this time it was dark outside, so Carver turned on the headlights as they left the parking garage.

"Living on a lighted stage." She sang with the music. "Approaching the unreal, for those who think and feel. In touch with some reality beyond the gilded cage…