Downfall: Resident Evil II

Chapter Twelve: Brian Irons

The sight of the dead blonde girl lying across the desk, combined with the fact that the man, whom she immediately recognized as RPD Chief Brian Irons, was aiming his pistol at her, was enough to make Claire freeze in place. It was funny how a few years before, the police department had been a place where the young woman would always feel safe, but… leave town for a year… a single year, and look what happens.

There was an angry, almost wild look in Irons' eyes as he kept the weapon aimed at her for several seconds, momentarily looking more like a wax sculpture than a person with how still he was… until his eyes moved. With eyebrows narrowed as if concentrating, the Chief's eyes scanned over every inch of Claire's body, before seeming to finally relax a little… of course, how anyone could relax while there was a dead girl in front of them, was beyond her.

"How nice… not a zombie." Irons commented calmly. "Not many people left in the city these days, you know; maybe a few cops, a handful of people hiding in their homes… at least until the zombies get them when they have to come out for food, and looters. Well, you're not a cop… and you don't look like a starving coward… so you must be a looter. Put that shotgun on the table nice and slow for me, and then just as slowly put up your hands."

The man was clearly not in the best state of mind, and who would be in a situation like this? His short hair was unkempt, and he looked like he hadn't slept in a while. Still, if he really thought that she was some kind of a looter, there was nothing to say that he wouldn't shoot her, so deciding to play it smart for now, Claire slowly set her shotgun down on the table next to her, before putting up her hands.

"Good girl… very obedient." The Chief continued. "Hands on your head now, interlock your fingers, and then do a little spin for me… slowly."

"Please, Chief, I'm not a looter, or anything." Claire replied nervously. "I just got back into town… don't you remember me? I'm Claire…

Suddenly her words were interrupted when Irons aimed his pistol downward, and pulled the trigger, making the young woman gasp and jump as a hole was put in the floor right next to her foot. Now aiming back at her chest, the Chief quickly growled that he didn't care who she was, and that she was going to end up just like all the others before too long. He then repeated the commands to interlock her fingers and spin, prompting Claire to do just that.

"Stop there… Made in Heaven, huh?" He said, reading the back of her vest once she was facing away. "I imagine it's hard to hide weapons with a figure like yours… slowly use your right hand to remove the pistol in your belt, and then set it next to the shotgun."

Not wanting to risk him shooting any closer to her than he had already done, the young woman disarmed herself completely by setting the pistol on the table, and then continuing to spin around until she was facing Irons again. Mixed in with the tired, wild look in his eyes, there was now the very beginnings of what looked like smugness on his face… a fact that made Claire feel even more nervous as he motioned with his weapon for her to take a few side-steps away from the table where her guns were sitting.

"So nice to meet a girl who does as she's told." Irons said, nodding his head toward the dead girl. "Unlike Beverly, here… she's the Mayor's daughter, you know… or was… and I was supposed to look after the little brat while her spineless father was taken to safety. Can you imagine that? Running away like battered wife while your child is left in danger?"

Claire didn't care for some of the metaphors that the Chief was using, but this wasn't exactly her college campus where she could argue against comments that degraded women. Apparently, though as Irons kept talking, it became obvious that Beverly wasn't a very good listener; got herself bitten by one of those zombies while doing something stupid, although the details were vague.

"Such a beauty." The Chief continued, placing his hand on the dead girl's cheek almost lovingly. "The kind of girl that every man wants to get his hands on… I'm sure you can relate… but soon her flawless skin will putrefy, and she'll come back as one of them within the hour. The timing is different for everyone… some take mere seconds… others more than a half hour… no one knows why."

"Isn't there some way to stop it?" Claire asked, almost scared to talk.

Irons chuckled to himself for a moment, leaning back in his chair while assuring the young woman that there were two definite ways to stop the transformation. Clearing his throat as he leaned forward again, it almost sounded like there was excitement in his voice when he pressed the barrel of his pistol against Beverly's head while explaining that the first way to stop them was to put a bullet in their brain.

He then started dragging the weapon almost inappropriately across her body, stopping at each joint in order to emphasize that the second way to stop the transformation was to dismember them completely. Irons' next comment was about how the first method was a whole lot easier, and this continued explanation came with his sudden movement into pointing his pistol back at the side of her head.

Bang! There was a flash of light as a large hole was put through both the dead girl's head, and Chief Irons' desk, and then Beverly collapsed just like the zombie out in the hall had done. Claire had been caught so off-guard by this, that she had let out the start of a scream before putting her hands over her nose and mouth. Sighing with what sounded like disappointment, Irons patted the dead girl on the head… and then he returned his attention to the young woman.

"See what happens to bad girls who don't listen?" He asked, aiming the still smoking pistol at her again. "Now, I don't think you're stupid enough to try and hide any more weapons from me… but then again, I thought she was smarter than that, too… so go ahead and open your vest for me… just to be safe."

Part of Claire wanted to tell him where he could get off, and then run out of the room as fast as she could, with or without her weapons… but, seeing how easily the Chief had disposed of Beverly, she doubted that she would be able to get away. So as uncomfortable as it made her, the young woman unzipped her vest, grateful that she had decided to wear an undershirt while holding it open for him to see that she wasn't carrying anything else.

"Made in Heaven." He commented again, this time smirking a little as he stared at her. "Apparently so… now get out of my office; I'd like to be alone for a while… and leave those guns right where they are."

"Leave them?" Claire asked, being careful not to make any sudden moves. "But what if there's more of those zombies out there? You can't just make me go unarmed and…

The young woman stopped talking when Chief Irons suddenly spun back around in his chair so that he was facing the fireplace, pretty much non-verbally telling her that whatever she had to say didn't matter. Of course, now that he was facing away, maybe she could grab them without him realizing… or get shot in the process… since it was clear that the overweight man had no problem shooting a woman.

Either way was a risk… maybe getting shot in this office, or maybe getting attacked in the RPD by zombies… so Claire let go of her vest, allowing it to fall closed as she stepped toward her guns as quietly as she could. Maybe the crackling fire was masking her movements, or maybe the Chief had just lost interest, but the young woman managed to pick up the pistol without making any noise, constantly looking at the back of his chair for signs of movement.

Tucking the pistol behind her back, Claire was relieved to have at least reclaimed one of her weapons, but now she had to get the shotgun, which was larger and more likely to make noise. However, the young woman was confident that she could get it silently as long as she was careful, so she grabbed onto the stock… only to cause a loud clunk as it moved on the table. Suddenly panic set in, causing her to not even look at the Chief's chair, instead just grabbing the shotgun, and trying not to scream while sprinting toward the door.

With each step, Claire expected to hear a gunshot, followed by a sensation of pain, but it never came as she ran back through the half-open office door. Back down the narrow waiting-hall, and into the area where she had fought the female cop-zombie, the young woman slammed the door shut, before running across the corridor, and ducking into the small art-storage room that she had seen earlier.

Closing the door much more quietly, and locking it from the inside, she leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. Now that there wasn't a gun pointed at her, Claire's mind started to process everything that had happened with Chief Irons, prompting her to zip up her vest, before wiping the start of tears from her eyes. Never in her life had the young woman felt so helpless and violated as when Irons had been disarming her… especially when he made her pretty much give him a free show… something Chris would have probably killed him for.

"Fucking pervert." She whispered angrily to herself, wiping the last tears. "Stupid fat fucking pervert… probably killed that girl himself… I hope Chris goes in there and…

Chris, that's right, she remembered while starting to calm down. She needed to get over to the STARS office since it was the most likely place to find her brother… and even if he wasn't there, there was bound to be someone or something around that could point her in the right direction. However, it was on the other side of the precinct, meaning that Claire would have to venture back out into the corridor.

Not wanting to open the door and find herself looking down the barrel of the Chief's gun, the young woman first put her ear up to the door, but didn't hear anything for several seconds. This was probably the best chance that she would ever get to start moving, so Claire opened the door enough to peek out, sighed with relief when she didn't see anyone there, and finally moved back into the corridor.