Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay
Episode Three: The Grill 13
Part Three
Grill 13 Diner, 6:45 PM…
Letting out a sigh of relief as the Grill 13 finally came into view, Ashwood kept thinking to herself that this was exactly the reason why she preferred to jog to and from work. Traffic in the downtown area was an absolute nightmare, which was probably why she only went through that part of town when it was needed. And of course the parking lot was full, but for once luck was on her side as a car toward the back pulled out to leave, making her not have to wait for a parking spot. She just hoped that she wasn't the last to arrive as she shut off the engine and got out.
"Remember, Kendra, you're part of the team." She said to herself while walking toward the entrance. "So just act like you belong, and everything will be fine."
The smell of barbequed beef and corn on the cob greeted her as she pushed open one of the double-doors, and Raccoon City's most popular restaurant was alive with noisy patrons; from a group of men cheering in reaction to the football game shown on the wall-mounted televisions, to married couples having dinner with their children… and even a group of cops toward the back who were celebrating their new assignment. The sign near the door said Please Seat Yourself, so she moved around the payphone near the door and between the red colored booths as she made her way toward them.
"So me and McGee are about to make the arrest, right?" Liquid said as she got close enough to hear. "And then from out of nowhere a dozen of this guy's friends show up, and McGee says back off, Bozo, this doesn't concern you, but apparently this was the wrong thing to say to a troupe of circus clowns."
"Yeah, we didn't have a chance." McGee added as Ashwood sat at the booth. "They threw us on the ground and started hitting us with their oversized gloves and kicking us with their big shoes that went squeak each time they kicked us. Thankfully backup arrived before they killed us, and then for like three years we were known as the Clown Shoe Detectives."
Ashwood had read about the case they were talking about during her hack of the RPD's system, and the names of the two people on the case just never clicked, not that there was any reason for them to before she knew them. In 1990 there had been a murder where a young man was sodomized, brutally beaten with unidentifiable weapons, and finally strangled to death before his body was tossed into a dumpster behind a Chinese restaurant. Rookie Detectives Liquid and McGee were given the assignment.
They eventually linked the murder to a string of deaths all across the country, and it just happened to follow the travel route of the circus that came to Raccoon City every year. It was never made clear how they guessed that the murder weapon was clown shoes, but the bruises on their bodies from the failed arrest matched the strange ones on the victims' bodies, and the whole circus went down for it. So the murders were solved, Liquid and McGee were heroes, and Captain Irons of Homicide looked like a genius for putting such new Detectives on the type of case that was usually reserved for veterans.
"God, that's hilarious." Lopez said once the story was finished. "I'm just imagining hearing the squeak, squeak, squeak as those clown beat your asses."
Everyone laughed at this comment, even Liquid and McGee, and Ashwood was starting to relax since no one said anything about her being the last to arrive. Drinks and food had apparently already been ordered, since the servers brought a bottle of Bud Ice and a really large hamburger with potato-wedges for everyone only a few minutes later. The food was delicious, with the reputation of this place being the most popular restaurant in the city being well earned, but Liquid's choice of beer was kind of weak. Then again, when the night was over they all still had to get home, and a weaker beer would be worn off by then, so maybe it was a good choice.
This evening was actually turning out better than Ashwood hoped, with everyone relaxing and having a good time, even though she was a little bothered by how Liquid kept his arm around Detective Carver's waist almost the whole time as if they were in some kind of relationship. Of course, the Lieutenant was known for this kind of thing, and Carver wasn't exactly objecting, so she decided that it was none of her business as she returned her attention to what remained of her burger.
"I think this team is gonna do great." Chambers said while raising his beer. "No, not great, but awesome, and by the time we're done with our mission, even the mighty S.T.A.R.S. team won't know how to handle us. Here's to Task Force Arklay."
Everyone gave a cheer of agreement as they raised their own beers before taking a drink, and it looked like McGee was about to say something, when everything seemed to stop as the restaurant's front doors opened. When Ashwood turned around, it was a tall man with blond hair and sunglasses that she saw, and she knew that this must be Captain Wesker, Commander of S.T.A.R.S. since she had heard that he wore those shades even at night. A second later Captain Marini entered behind him, followed by the people she had seen in her interview, as well as even more people that she didn't know. Every single one of them had the S.T.A.R.S. patch on their shoulder, though.
"Is that the entire S.T.A.R.S. team?" Carver asked.
"I think so." McGee replied as he looked at them. "But who the hell is that?"
They all looked in the direction that he was pointing, and they saw a slender young woman with short hair who couldn't have been any older than eighteen or nineteen at the most. Forest Speyer kept his arm around her shoulders as they giggled to each other, and of course, the entire S.T.A.R.S. team just had to take up the two largest booths right next to where they were sitting.
"Ah, it's the Clown Shoe Detectives." Wesker said in his deep monotone voice. "And if I'm not mistaken, these are Kendra Ashwood and Avan Chambers with you… I hate to spoil your evening with bad news, but the Bravo Team position has been filled. This is Rebecca, something of a wunderkind in the field of chemistry, so she was the obvious choice. However, if you think you can outsmart her or pull off the outfit better than she can… you are more than welcome to try."
"Don't bother, it's a waste of time." Barry Burton added. "I tried to pull off the outfit better than Jill when she got recruited, and it just can't be done."
Everyone turned and looked at Barry for a second, but then their attention was returned to the newly formed Task Force. The insults began a moment later, with the S.T.A.R.S. team making comments about everything from Lopez's looking like a homeless punk rocker, to Ashwood being a lonely computer dweeb. Again Ashwood found herself wondering how these people could be the RPD's elite unit, and she was beginning to hate herself for hero-worshiping them as she did.
"You wanna talk about flawed people, Wesker?" Liquid asked, silencing them. "Let's talk about Brad Vickers, shall we? Now this might be a wild guess, but I don't think someone gets the nickname Chickenheart for bravery. And then there's our resident Air Force washout, Chris Redfield. Now, I didn't find it very hard to get an Honorable Discharge from the Army, so what did you do? Violate President Clinton's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy one too many times?"
Redfield suddenly lunged at him, but was stopped when Wesker put his arm out to block him from going any further. The man started to calm down, but then Liquid pursed his lips at him while making an overly-exaggerated kissing sound, and Redfield moved forward again. This time Wesker had to shove him back into his seat, and two of the others had to hold him for a few seconds until he was able to calm down.
"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you, Liquid?" Wesker asked as Redfield sat back down. "Being able to arrest one of my men for assaulting you, and with all the witnesses and cameras in here, there would be nothing we could do, correct? Your old partner, Enrico Marini here, warned me about your talent for manipulating people into bad decisions, but you will not find me so easily goaded."
"Wesker, I don't care about your rank or your fancy talk." Liquid replied. "Yes, I almost got your man, Redfield, and that should serve as a warning that I will not allow anyone to sit there and insult my people without consequence. Now how about instead of wasting any more time bickering like little girls, we just ignore each other and try to enjoy what's left of the evening?"
Liquid and Wesker glared at each other for several seconds, but then the S.T.A.R.S. Captain turned back toward his team and nodded to them to ignore the others. Now Ashwood was conflicted; on one hand it was really brave and impressive how the Lieutenant stood up for them, but then again Liquid had not denied that stuff about manipulation and intentionally trying to trap Chris Redfield in a crime. Was everyone in senior positions at the RPD corrupt in some way? And if they were, was this also true of Murphy Proske?
No, it was time to push that thought right out of her head. Proske was too by the book, too upstanding, and too handsome to be like the others. If for a moment she suspected that he broke rules and did things that would embarrass the department when no one was looking, it would just… it would just break her heart. So, with the short-lived tension between Task Force Arklay and S.T.A.R.S. diffused for the time being, the cheerful mood of celebration returned. The slight buzz she had gotten from the beer wore off well before everyone decided that it was time to go home for the night, which was nice because that meant it would be safe to drive.
All in all, the celebration lasted about three hours, a bit longer than Ashwood had guessed, but it had been a nice time. Getting to know the team a little bit better was a good thing, especially since they were about to tackle a very dangerous assignment starting in the morning. So one by one, they left the Grill 13, and traffic outside had died down, so at least going home would be easier. McGee had also left the same time as her, so they walked across the parking lot together until they reached his car.
"Well, goodnight, Ashwood." He said while taking the keys out of his pocket. "See you in the morning."
"Good night." She replied.
The anticipation of starting the mission was killing her, and if she hadn't been so tired, she would have wanted to begin right away. So instead she got into her vehicle, and started the engine, heading home for a last night of sleep before the real work of Task Force Arklay began in the morning.
