10

The muddled sound of chatter and the clinking of glasses echoed throughout Jack's bar, setting a steady, low hum of background noise for the patrons. Though the dim lighting and low music fostered a comfortable environment, the purpose of the meeting between the ex-S.T.A.R.S was anything but settling.

Barry leaned back into his chair and took a healthy sip of his beer in order to grant himself a pause from the conversation. The alcohol was, as far as he was concerned, much-needed, given the nature of the topic at hand.

"Another virus?" The combination of terror and awe was apparent on Rebecca's face, her dark eyebrows disappearing beneath her fringe with the surprised expression.

Chris nodded and leaned in closer, elbows propped up on the table's polished surface. "Yeah, and you'll never guess who pioneered it."

"Wesker?" It wasn't that difficult of a guess.

He shook his head. "William Birkin."

Barry nearly choked on his beer, the revelation having come mid-swig. He set the bottle down with a little more force than intended, the noise of the glass against the table's surface causing the group to shift their attention towards him. He leaned back into his chair and idly stroked his beard in a pensive gesture.

"William Birkin, huh?"

He had felt as though something were off from the very moment he had first met the alleged physician, but he had chalked it up to paranoia after having endured the Arklay nightmare. Mentally, he cursed himself for not making the connection sooner. He had a terrible habit of doubting himself despite his gut feelings often being correct.

Speaking of gut feelings...might as well spill the sauce.

"I think Irons is involved." Barry finally stated, arms crossed over his chest.

In response, Chris slammed his fist down on the table's surface in an emotionally-charged motion. "I fucking said the same thing!"

If Chris noticed that he had garnered the attention of some of the patrons nearby, he gave no indication of it. Instead, he leaned in closer to the table, shoulders rounded with his elbows once again propped on its surface, "That fucking sleazeball had to have known."

"You know," Rebecca chimed in, "The way he just suddenly disbanded the unit was kind of weird…"

Chris pointed towards Rebecca, "He knew we were getting too close to the truth. That's why he forced all of us out."

Jill encircled the base of her sweating glass with her hand and idly wiped the condensation away with broad swipes of her thumb. She couldn't shake the fact that her life had suddenly devolved into a poorly written movie. Bioterrorism, corrupt cops, and a naive media source that would rather post ghost stories than investigate the strange reports they had received?

She would have laughed were she not burdened by the loss of those who had fallen.

"We have to do something." Rebecca's voice was uncharacteristically authoritative.

Though she agreed, Jill was at a loss for words. Yes, they had to do something, but what was that something? Majority of the evidence had been destroyed in the fire, and the team was unsuccessful in convincing even their own colleagues of the truth. It all seemed like a lost cause.

Barry finished off the final sip of his beer before coming forth with additional evidence he had uncovered.

"There's an Umbrella headquarters in Europe." It was news even for Chris who had nearly given himself whiplash from the speed with which he whipped his head towards Barry upon hearing the words.

"I'm going to check it out." Barry continued. "I'll go alone if need be, but someone should stay here to tie up any loose ends that come out of all this."

Immediately, Chris looked towards Jill. His expression was soft, almost wounded as the unspoken possibility of having to separate from her hovered in the air. Jill only smiled and nodded in her way of reassuring him, a communication that everything would be alright no matter what came next.

Whether or not she believed that notion was another story. Separating herself from Chris, the only person who she felt she could trust without question, in a time of such deceit was akin to punishment. Though she enjoyed the company of Barry and Rebecca, she wasn't convinced that she could count on either of them in the ways that she could Chris.

Chris had saved her in more ways than one, just as she had done for him. Could Rebecca, the newbie medic, or Barry, the former traitor, truly have her back?

"I've always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower anyway," Rebecca finally piped up, "I'll go with you, Barry."

Rebecca felt her blood bubble with excitement at the prospect of going to Europe. Though the scenery would certainly be nice, it was honestly the Umbrella aspect of the trip that intrigued her. The Arklay incident had finally ignited the flame of her confidence as a special operative and she felt that, perhaps, undergoing this mission would finally strip her of her rookie title-not only with herself, but with the others as well. This was finally her chance to earn her metaphorical stripes.

"Are you sure?" Chris's worry was apparent in his voice. "I can go with him, Rebecca. It could be dangerous."

Jill watched Rebecca roll her eyes in the same fashion a teenager would while enduring a paternal lecture.

"You know I'm part of S.T.A.R.S. too, right?" She threw her hands up in exasperation, eyebrows furrowed in ager. "I can handle this. I'm pretty sure Raccoon is much more dangerous considering the virus was here! Someone has to stay behind. Plus, you and Jill work really well together anyway, so it might as well be you."

Chris was conflicted between his of his desires of both protecting Rebecca and staying with Jill. This was made apparent by the pained look on his face.

Jill quickly deciphered Rebecca's motivation for volunteering herself. Being a woman in a male-dominated field was difficult, and she herself had undergone a series of treacherous tasks while in the Army in an attempt to prove herself to her male colleagues. It was a disturbing rite of passage many had to endure, but unfortunately a necessity that she was all too familiar with.

"She'll be fine, Chris." Jill rested a hand on his shoulder. "If she wants to go, let her go. She's just as entitled to kicking Umbrella's ass as the rest of us."

Chris's lips parted in anticipation of forming a protest, but he ultimately remained silent. Though he wasn't sure that he could handle the loss of another comrade, he knew that Jill was right. Rebecca was capable and she deserved a piece of the action, too. After all, she had endured the horror of the Arklay Forest longer than the rest of them had and had still managed to survive.

"Alright." He surrendered and turned towards Barry. "Make sure to keep her safe, alright?"

Barry grinned knowingly and nodded.

"Well, I'm no Jill, but you know I've always had your back, Redfield."

A loud series of knock rattled throughout his apartment. The volume of the banging inspired concern in Chris and he feared for the wellbeing of his visitor's fist even as he reached for the Samurai Edge that sat on his coffee table. Jill gave him a quizzical look and he shrugged.

"Can never be too safe these days." He explained, a boyish smirk coming across his face. "Maybe the G-virus taught them how to knock."

Jill rolled her eyes, but her fingertips subconsciously found the grip of her own pistol that seemed to perpetually be fastened to her hip as of late. It wasn't a sign of paranoia. No, she was just being safe, she told herself. It was the smart thing to do.

Wasn't it?

Chris ripped open the door with more force than necessary and, though he had the handgun within his grip, it remained at his side, pointed towards the floor.

"What a warm welcome, Redfield. Really feels like my own home."

Jill instantly recognized the snide tone and rose from the couch to greet Kevin.

"Long time no see, Ryman." She gave a quick, welcoming wave to the officer. In response, Kevin gasped animatedly and pointed towards Jill.

"Wow, look at that! A proper greeting! Take notes, Redfield."

Chris glowered at the longer-haired man and stepped to the side, allowing him space to enter the apartment. Kevin dumped his backpack unceremoniously onto the floor beside the couch and dropped into the chair nearby. Jill returned to her perch on the couch but Chris remained standing, arms crossed defensively across his chest.

"I've been collecting some information that'll interest the both of you."

Kevin pulled his bag into closer proximity with his foot and began to rifle through its contents. "Lots of interesting things coming out of the Arklay Mountains...and I'm not talking about dead hikers this time."

It piqued Chris's interest instantly and he moved to sit on the edge of the coffee table, placing himself between his two visitors.

Kevin produced a file from his bag and passed it to Chris, who flipped it open without hesitation and began to flip through the pages.

"Civilian reports of monsters in the Arklay area." He sounded amused, almost as if he found it all to be incredulous himself.

"Dozens of them. Multiple reports of monsters this month and we still aren't being taken seriously."

Jill tried her best to keep her nervousness at bay, but still shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Did this mean the T-virus was still at large? Was this a sure confirmation of Irons' involvement in the scheme?

Kevin leaned forward, elbows rested on his thighs and his mouth set in a grim line. It was a far cry from his usual carefree demeanor and it caught the both of them a little off guard.

"No bullshit, guys." He looked each of them in the eye. "What happened that night?"

Jill hesitated to speak and instead looked over at Chris, who sighed heavily. He ran the highlights of the events over in his mind in an attempt to form a brief summary that...made some semblance of sense, monster mayhem aside.

"Bravo team was dispatched to investigate the murders. We lost contact and were sent out for search and rescue the following night. Found their chopper downed in the woods, but Bravo was nowhere to be found. We were attacked on site by…"

Chris swallowed hard and looked over at Jill.

"Dogs." She finished, "Zombie dogs, as stupid as it sounds."

Kevin raised a curious eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Joseph...died there." Jill's voice was hoarse, strained around a lump that had formed in her throat. It was the first time she spoke aloud about the night in detail. As she recounted the events, she swore she felt the chill of the forest licking at her skin, and it elicited goosebumps along her flesh.

Jill shivered. Chris continued for her.

"There was nothing we could have done. They outnumbered us, so...we ran until we came across a mansion."

"A mansion in the middle of Arklay?" Kevin let out a long, low whistle. "News to me."

"News to all of us." Chris clarified. "We took refuge there. Found Sullivan and Forest...already dead."

Though word of the demise of S.T.A.R.S. had been passed through the precinct, their deaths still lingered heavily on most of the RPD. It was almost as if a somber shadow had passed over Kevin, and he shook his head. "Such a shame."

"As it turned out, the whole thing was a set-up partially orchestrated by Wesker." Chris scowled, the former captain's name nearly escaping him as a growl.

Kevin burst into a fit of boisterous laughter. He wasn't a part of the team, no, but Wesker had always given him nefarious vibes. It wasn't necessarily funny, but the irony of it all was laughable.

"Yeah...he was affiliated with Umbrella. It was all a test of their bioweapons' abilities."

"And what happened to him?"

It was a question Chris had avoided asking. During their last meeting, Wesker had been bitch-slapped across the underground lab by a Tyrant. The way his body limply collapsed on to the ground had led him to believe he was either severely injured or dead, and then with the fire…

"Probably dead." Jill swiftly stated, and then shortly revised her remark, voice like ice, "Hopefully dead."

"The lab had a self-destruct mechanism that was set off. Wesker was presumably inside when it detonated, assuming the trauma from the B.O.W. didn't do the job already."

Kevin leaned back in the chair and stared blankly at the floor for a while, processing the information he had been provided. Eventually, he let out a slow, deep breath, shaking his head as he sat upright.

"Well damn, guys. That's some shit."

Chris chuckled darkly, "Yeah. It was some shit alright."

"And some shit is still going on." Kevin roughly tapped the cover of the file that Chris loosely held in his grip.

"Seems that way." Chris flipped the pages quickly, watching the paper flutter.

"Well," Jill cleared her throat and held back a smirk, "Ain't that some shit."

The scent of the burnt earth nearly overpowered the aroma of the vegetation that had survived the fire and Jill could taste the ash in the air from the very moment they stepped out of the police cruiser.

Chris let out a quiet grunt as he stretched, muscles tense and aching after enduring the lengthy ride. As he stared out into the darkness of the trees, he placed a hand to his shoulder, almost as if the forest had somehow reignited the pain of the injury.

It was a tense moment for the both of them. Though Kevin had been privy to the short and sweet version of their living nightmare, he had not anticipated the amount of tension that the ex-S.T.A.R.S. exuded upon their return to the Arklay Mountains.

In the distance, the snap of a tree branch echoed, followed by the loud, temperamental cawing of a bird.

"Funny how night time makes everything so much more sinister." Kevin was sure that the bird's call would have seemed much less foreboding in the daylight.

Jill subconsciously trailed the pad of her thumb along the grip of her handgun to provide herself a reminder of its presence, but it did not offer the feigned sense of security she had hoped for. The familiar, damp chill of the forest licked at her spine, and she closed her eyes as the audible thrumming of sprinting paws assaulted her senses.

It's not real. Joseph is dead and so are they. You're freaking yourself out.

Her light eyes snapped open to find her colleagues standing at ease nearby, guns still safely snug in their holsters. She let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding and, though it was a barely audible sound, Chris noticed. He looked back at her over his shoulder and smiled brightly before making a subtle wave of his hand to beckon her forward.

Jill moved toward to stand beside him and peered into the darkness. She allowed her hand to wander in order for her fingertips to brush against his momentarily. It was fleeting contact, but it spoke volumes, a nonverbal reminder of I've got your back. Chris's fingers slipped between hers and he gave her hand a quick, strong squeeze.

Partners 'til the end.

With a click, the woods were illuminated by the artificial glow of Kevin's flashlight. He allowed the beam to flit between the trees, revealing the emptiness of the spaces between, and Jill was relieved by the shortage of glowing eyes glaring back at her.

"Well then," Kevin slipped into a poor attempt at an Australian accent, "Let's get to monster huntin', ya cunts."