Chapter 13: Party Time!
Meanwhile; Jill Valentine and Wolverine finally arrived at the Grishnak Club...or whatever was left of it. It turns out, that someone had burned the evil place to the ground. It was kind of a good thing since this was the home to some of the worst kinds of criminals in Empire Plaza, but it was also a bad time for it to be burned down due to Jill's only source of information. Jill cursed angrily as she kicked a pile of ash. "DAMN IT! We came all this way for nothing?! Now how in the hell am I supposed to find out what happened to Chris Redfield?!" Jill shouted angrily.
As she sat down on a bench, Wolverine sat next to her. "I take it that's the real reason why you wanted us to tag along, right? You have no clue about Razor at all, do you?" Wolverine scolded. Jill glared at him but realized that he was right. Jill had spent the better part of her time trying to find out what really happened to her ex-partner/lover, that she completely forgot why she even signed up to be a hero in the first place. "Logan...I'm sorry. But Chris is the only thing I have left to keep my sanity-" she began.
Suddenly, Wolverine touched her hand and squeezed it gently. "It's ok; I understand. I'd probably do the same for any of my other comrades. But as much as I hate to say this to you, we have more important matters at hand. We need to find out what this Razor guy is up to and we need to stop him before anyone else gets hurt...or worse!" Wolverine said gravely.
Jill sighed as she nodded her head. "You're right. Come on; let's go see if we can find any clues inside of that place." Jill said as she stood back up. But just as she did, she and Wolverine were surprised to see Rorschach walking towards them. "Rorschach?! What the hell are you doing here? Did you follow us?" Jill exclaimed. "I know where Chris Redfield is. If you want to try and talk some sense into him, follow me. Oh and you should probably get a change of clothes; they only allow VIPs into this party." Rorschach answered as he handed Jill a dress.
Jill and Wolverine looked at each other funny, wondering what exactly was going on. "How did you-" Jill began. "You ask a lot of stupid questions, you know that? Now come on; hurry up and get dressed! It's almost 10:00, and we can't be late...I'm sure our uninvited guest won't want to be late either!" Rorschach urged as he handed Logan a suit and tie. As Wolverine took the clothes, he noticed that there was some blood stains on his jacket. "I guess whoever had these clothes didn't like sharing, huh?" he chuckled. "I tried asking politely...but they weren't as friendly as I hoped. But don't worry, they're not dead...just in the hospital in a coma, that's all." Rorschach replied.
Jill was absolutely horrified, but chose not to let that bother her as she put on the dress. "So, who else is helping you out on this little operation of yours?" Jill asked as she finished zipping up the dress. "Let's just say that an old friend gave me a tip that will definitely help us out. I've even managed to get through to some of the other supers from the Watchtower. Now come on; let's go!" Rorschach explained in a rush.
Back with Raizo and Reika, they arrived at the Empire Plaza Emergency Headquarters in their disguises. "Ok, Erika. You ready for this?" Raizo whispered with a chuckle. Reika couldn't help but laugh at him. "You bet, Raymond. I think I'm going to enjoy this; it's nice that we get to go out together that doesn't involve fighting or killing people." Reika joked. "Yeah...but let's try and remain focused on why we're here, ok? This is business; not pleasure." Raizo reminded more seriously. "I know, I know." Reika huffed in annoyance.
As they approached the entrance, they were unaware that someone was following them. It was Morrigan Aensland, and she was disguised as an important political member from Scotland. "Hope you two don't mind a surprise double date." Morrigan whispered with a seductive grin on her face. As Raizo and Reika gained entrance to the party, they were both surprised by how lavish and fancy this supposed party really was.
The entire lobby was full of fancy looking people from all over the world, and tables were piled with mountains of exotic food and drink. Just then, a man in a black suit made an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please? Due to some schedueling issues, the President will be a few hours later than planned. Please; enjoy yourselves! Compliments from the President of the United States. Thank you!" the man announced.
And with that, the party resumed...much to Raizo's disgust. "My God...some emergency meeting this is! If it weren't for that psychotic murderer on the loose, this would be just another typical night for society's finer upper class!" Raizo muttered angrily. Reika on the other-hand rather enjoyed the sights, sounds, and smells of this party. It had been so long since she had even seen some real food or seen people like herself. She didn't want to come out as selfish or overexcited around Raizo, but she just couldn't help herself. "Oh my God! Raizo, look at that...they've got an actual ball room dance floor. Oh! Look at all this fine food and drink, babe. Doesn't it look wonderful?" Reika gasped.
Raizo sighed as he shook his head, but Reika still couldn't help but ogle at all the eye candy. "Wow...this is just like a dream. I've always wanted to go to a party like this, haven't you?" Reika said as she grabbed a glass of wine. "Yeah, sure. Just remember why we're really here-" Raizo retorted. "Oh, come on! Aren't you at least a little bit excited? Here, try some of this wine. It's so good!" Reika said as she handed Raizo a glass of wine.
Raizo sighed impatiently as he snatched the glass from her hands, when he suddenly caught sight of some particular people. At first, he actually didn't recognize them from a distance. But as he got a closer look, he couldn't help but find something a bit familiar about them. "Hey! Did, uh...did Rorschach send you here too?" Raizo whispered as he approached a gruff looking gentleman in a suit and tie. "I don't know what you're talking about, bub!" the man retorted as he was eating some steak.
Raizo sat at his table, staring at the man as he ate. Finally, the man seemed to get annoyed...until he got a better look at the stranger's eyes. "Hey...I think I know you. Aren't you-" the man began. "Yeah. I'm sorry about this, but you must understand that I had my reasons. Is there anyone else here to help us, Wolverine?" Raizo asked quietly. "It's Logan, kid. And yeah; Jill's over there with the others." Logan replied as he pointed to a group of people.
Jill Valentine was talking casually with a few other supers in disguise; Oliver Queen, Slade Wilson, and Selina Kyle were all of Rorschach's allies who agreed to help find and defeat Razor. Oliver Queen was sick and tired of having to sit around and wait to be given orders, which explained why he chose to help Rorschach out.
Slade Wilson and Selina Kyle's story was a bit more complicated, however. After Slade and Selina lost their home to a bomb attack, they began to have a change of heart as they saw the true evil and cruelty of Razor and his allies the Sons of Mayhem. So after meeting up with Rorschach at a diner and a heartfelt conversation, Slade and Selina willingly agreed to help out.
Rorschach himself was disguised as a waiter, but not after he violently subdued one of the staff members and hid his mask and costume in the bathroom. Walter had to keep his eyes and ears open for anything suspicious; he knew that anything could happen at any given moment. "Come on out, you cowards. I know you're here somewhere!" Walter whispered grimly as he poured champagne into fancy little glasses.
A few hours passed, and Raizo and his secret allies found no traces of any funny business...yet. Reika Kitami was leaning against the wall and gazing around the room with her keen eyes open and her perky ears listening, while enjoying the delicious food. "Mmm...this food is so good. I don't wanna stop!" Reika said with her mouthful.
Suddenly, a waiter approached her with a tiny cup of strange purple fluid. "Here, drink this." he offered. Reika suddenly didn't feel comfortable, as she looked at the strange fluids. "Uh, what is it exactly?" she asked carefully. "If you're full, you just drink it. You can keep on eating as much as you like, and you won't even have to worry about becoming sick." the waiter explained.
Reika Kitami nearly dropped her food as he said that. As she looked around and saw people drinking this stuff, she became disgusted with herself. "Uh, you know what? I think I'll pass; I need to watch my diet. Thanks anyway!" she said quickly before she walked away.
As she walked away, she felt tears in her eyes. "My God! Raizo was right; this isn't even a party...it's all a fucking lie! Why would these people purge themselves like this? I feel so sick!" Reika muttered angrily. As Reika tried searching for Raizo, Jill was standing around the concession stand with Oliver Queen, but they were also listening and watching over the guests for any suspicious activities or conversations.
Jill sighed as she sipped her wine. "Still no signs of Chris Redfield or this Razor character. But there is something very weird about this place...how come everyone is so happy despite all that's been going on?" Jill whispered. "I'll tell you what I think. I think that these people are sick; they try to hide themselves away from the real world and indulge in their little fantasy world as much as they can!" Oliver Queen replied with bitterness.
Jill looked at him with a shocked expression on her face, until she realized that he was right. "I should know, because I put up with this crap a lot when I was still a lawyer. I'm glad I left this lifestyle. Sure, the life I live now is hard and rough...but it's better than living like a mind controlled zombie in this hellhole!" Oliver continued. "You're right! Now that I think about it, Chris always hated these kinds of parties...now I can see why!" Jill muttered in disgust as she caught sight of several scantily clad women laughing.
Raizo sighed as he looked around and gazed at his watch; it was almost midnight and there was still no sign of Razor or his gang. "I don't get it; I thought they'd be here by now." Raizo muttered. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting something to drink. Want anything?" Logan said as he got up from his seat. "No. You go ahead, I need to find Reika." Raizo replied.
As Logan walked towards Oliver and Jill, both of them looked just as concerned as Logan and sighed as they served him some punch. "Let me guess; nothing to report?" Oliver said. "Nope. Maybe we're just paranoid...or they've changed their plans." Logan replied. "I dunno...I've got the strangest feeling that we're being watched. Call it a premonition or superstition, but I can't help but get this feeling that somebody's watching us." Jill said. "Hmm...well, keep your eyes peeled. You never know who or what might give us a nasty surprise." Logan instructed.
Meanwhile in a secret room upstairs, the President was sitting anxiously with his secretary and several of his advisors. "Sir, with all due respect-" one of his advisors began. "I told you, I'm not going down there. I said I wanted this to be a private and discreet meeting, not a fucking bachelor's party! What don't you understand about that?!" the President angrily snapped. "Sir, I do understand. But several other world leaders wanted to attend and help you on this difficult matter-" the secretary said calmly.
The President stood up and slammed his fist on the table. "If I wanted anyone's help, I would've asked for it! Now unless you get this party out of here-" he began angrily. "You'll insult some very important people if you do that, Mr. President. But don't make any mistake; they understand the reason why they're here. Now why don't you go down there and enjoy yourself? You look very stressed out." another one of his advisors suggested.
The President sighed as he shook his head. "I've become yet another puppet for this corrupt country. Ok, fine! But I want all of my guards to be on the lookout for anything suspicious. In fact; I want you to double up on security! Double the guards, double their weapons, double the surveilence! Double everything; I want no interruptions tonight! Is that clear?!" the President demanded.
His advisors saluted him before they left. As they walked out of the room, the female secretary touched the President's shoulder. "Come on, sir. You're already 2 hours late for giving your speech." she said. "I know that! I wanted to with them in a more professional manner, not during a wild party! But since our allies from different countries are here, I guess I have no other choice." the President snapped. Finally, the President decided to attend the party...despite how angry and upset he was.
But just as he was about to leave with his secretary, a knock was heard on the door behind them. "What is it?!" the President snapped. "Mr. President? This is Agent Chris Redfield of the Urban Combat Force; I have urgent news regarding your safety!" a voice replied. "What?! What are you talking about? And who the hell invited you here?!" the President snapped. "I let him in, Mr. President." another voice replied.
The door opened and Albert Wuotan walked inside of the room with Chris, along with several other UCF agents. "What is the meaning of this intrusion? Who are you people?! Security!" the President exclaimed. "Calm yourself, Mr. President. I'm afraid you are in grave danger. You will have to trust us on this!" Albert Wuotan said calmly. "What do you mean I'm in danger?" the President demanded. "I have good news and bad news. The good news is, we are you doubled up security. The bad news is, you unfortnately have some uninvited guests attending your own party downstairs. Shall I discreetly despose of them for you, Mr. President?" Wuotan explained.
The President sighed heavily as he shook his head. "What's in it for you? Which branch of the government do you work for? You don't look like any of my boys from the CIA or the FBI!" the President began. "Oh, but of course. Where are my manners?! My name is Albert Wuotan; I'm head of the Urban Combat Force, and I'm sure you remember Agent Redfield. I'm afraid that we have a little bit more to worry about than just terrorists, though. If I may-" Wuotan said as he sat himself across from the President.
The President sighed heavily as he finally gave up. "All right. What do you want?" he demanded. "What do I want? All I want is to assure your safety, my good man. In fact; I want this city...this country, to be safe. We are all in danger from a common enemy, Mr. President. It's not mere terrorists that are our main concern now...it's these dangerous and unpredictable creatures called Supers! You know who I am talking about, yes? Well I have even more good news for you; I can help you eliminate this threat once and for all. All you have to do is let me help you! Think of all the lives you could save, Mr. President!" Wuotan explained.
The President didn't know what to think, but there was something about this man that struck quite an impersonation on the President. "Ok...what do you need me to do?" the President said at last. "Oh, I need no money from you if that's what you're implying. In fact; I don't need you to do anything...all I want from you is my friendship. All I want is to watch your back and to give you my protection." Wuotan began.
Suddenly, Wuotan instructed Chris and the others to leave the room. "But if we were talking about doing professional business...there are a few things that I will need help with. It's not much; I just need you to sign some papers for me, that's all!" Wuotan said as he pulled out a folder. The President sighed as he nodded his head. "Ok. Where do I start?" the President asked finally. An evil smile spread on Wuotan's lips; now his plans were finally falling into place.
Meanwhile, Reika finally found Raizo at the ball room dance floor. "Have you found out anything?" she asked innocently. "Nope, but I'm getting the feeling something's about to happen." Raizo replied. "You know something, honey? I've been getting this feeling we've been watched for the past few hours we've been here. Do you think it's possible somebody's gotten here before us?" Reika suggested. "Probably. It might be one of Razor's men. Either way; we need to be extremely careful how we handle this." Raizo said.
It was now five minutes to midnight, and still nothing happened. "Raizo? I'm getting bored. Shall we dance?" Reika purred seductively. "Actually...I think we might have time for a quick dance." Raizo said with a strange smile. Reika giggled flirtatiously as she and Raizo walked into the center of the dance hall and started dancing slowly. "So...anything now?" Raizo whispered. "No, but I'm starting to get the strange feeling that this particular someone is still watching us. I can't tell if he's on our side or not!" Reika whispered back. "Well, that's something. I wonder..." Raizo said as he thought of something.
Suddenly, a woman was seen approaching them. "Well, fancy meeting you two here!" she announced with a sly Scottish accent. Raizo and Reika got wide eyed as they recognized the woman. "You?! I thought I told you to get lost!" Raizo seethed. "Ah, ah, ah...let's not misbehave in public now. But now that I think of it, I think you owe me an apology, handsome. I think a dance shall be a good enough payment, don't you think?" Morrigan giggled.
Raizo looked like he wanted to rip her head off, but he was surprised when Reika agreed. "Ok, fine! But one dance only; don't expect this to be a regular thing, all right?" Reika snapped. Suddenly, Reika caught sight of something very odd. "Besides...I have something I need to take care of. I'll be right back!" Reika said before she walked off.
As Reika walked away, Raizo's face was red with both embarassment and anger as Morrigan wrapped her arms around his shoulders and began dancing slowly with him. "What's the matter? You don't like dancing? It's quite easy, actually...here, let me show you." Morrigan seductively whispered as she pressed her breasts against his chest. "Don't do anything stupid!" Raizo warned. "Hey! Try to enjoy yourself, ok?" Morrigan purred as she wrapped her left leg around his waist.
As Morrigan danced suggestively with Raizo, Reika quickly walked over towards a table. A woman with long red hair and a black dress sat at the table, legs crossed and glass of wine in her hands. It was Crimson Viper! "You! What are you doing here?!" Reika hissed. Crimson Viper looked up at Reika with surprise before she smiled. "Oh, well fancy meeting you here. Enjoying yourself? It's quite a party, wouldn't you say? Have you tried this wine? It's very good!" Crimson Viper said casually.
Reika glared at her, trying her best not to lose her temper. "I asked you a question! What...are...you...doing...in here?!" she seethed. Crimson Viper giggled as she put her glass down on the table, and then leaned towards Reika. "You want a little advice, lady? You need to back off and let the professionals handle this; the last thing we need is another mess to clean up. Oh, and if you try anything stupid against me...just know that I have a lot of friends waiting and watching. So if I were you, try to show me a little more respect. Ok?" Crimson Viper threatened with a fake smile on her face.
Reika was so tempted to jolt out of her seat and slap the smirk off her face, but she knew better. "Well...let me just say this. I hope that you and your little friends know what it is you're going up against. Because I'll tell you right now, if you think we're going to lend you a hand if your ass is in trouble...you can kiss that thought goodbye. And one last thing; you ever talk to me like that ever again...I'll rip your fucking ovaries out with my bare hands. Enjoy the party!" Reika retorted before she got up and walked away.
Crimson Viper felt her face turn red with anger; she was not going to allow this bitch to get away with disrespecting her like this. "Why you-" she muttered through gritted teeth. "Nicely handled...think you could've been a little more obvious?" Spencer sneered as he approached her table. "Shut the fuck up, Spencer! Aren't you supposed to be on guard duty with Chris and Zero?" Crimson Viper snapped. "I'm taking a break! You want some of this?" Spencer replied as he offered her a tiny glass of purple fluid. "No thank you! You know what? We've been waiting here for hours, and nothing has happened! Maybe that psychopath was just fucking bluffing after all; it figures!" Crimson Viper sighed in annoyance.
Little did she realize that her words were about to slap her in the face. While all of this happened, dark events began to finally unfold outside. Several vans were parked out in the rear of the Empire Plaza Emergency Headquarters building, along with several heavily armed terrorists.
Razor smiled evilly as he began to give his men instructions of their next attack. "Good...I'm glad to see such angry faces. Ok; here's how we're going to do things tonight. Security is going to be very itchy and nervous, because they're expecting us. While you fuckers deal with security, I'm going to make a quick little phone-call. When I'm done, meet me over at the back entrance of this building. I'll be back in 5 minutes! So get the anchors out of your assholes and get moving!" Razor instructed harshly. As Razor left, the Sons of Mayhem began arming up with AK-47s, Uzis, double barrel shotguns, and 9mm pistols. While they loaded up on their guns, Razor approached a payphone and began dialing.
Meanwhile; Raizo continued dancing with Morrigan, who seemed to be enjoying herself a little too much. "You like that?" she whispered. "Come on, Reika! Where the fuck are you?" Raizo grumbled. Suddenly, his cell phone began to ring. "Huh? Excuse me, will ya?! I gotta phonecall!" Raizo said in confusion as he finally broke free of Morrigan's grip. "Hey! That's not very polite of you, mister!" Morrigan complained. "Hello? Who is this?! And how did you get this number?" Raizo demanded as he ignored Morrigan.
Evil laughter was heard from the other line. "I take it that you're enjoying yourself, Spawn? Tell me something...you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" an evil voice sneered. Raizo nearly soiled himself as he recognized the voice. "No! It can't be...how did you-" Raizo muttered. "I know a lot more about you than you give me credit for, my boy! In fact; if I were you, I'd leave that little party of yours and come on outside. All I want is to have a little talk with you, that's all." Razor taunted.
Morrigan stopped flirting with Raizo as soon as she saw the look of dread and fear on his face. "Honey, is everything all right? What's wrong?" she asked carefully. "Tell you what; if you won't come to me...I'll come to you. And don't worry, I'm not coming alone this time...I've brought some new friends who would just love to play with you. I'll see you real soon, Spawn!" Razor cackled before hanging up the phone.
Raizo nearly dropped his phone before he looked at Morrigan. She too looked quite upset and afraid. "Was that-" she began. "Yes. Listen to me, Morrigan. I need you to get the others and get them to lead these people to safety!" Raizo whispered. "But what about you?" she demanded. "It's time that I finally introduced myself face to face with this psychopath!" Raizo replied grimly. Just then, Reika approached Raizo. "Raizo! There you are, baby. Look I need to talk with you-" she began. "Reika, listen to me. I want you and Morrigan to go find the others; things are about to get really ugly here soon." Raizo instructed quietly.
Reika looked at him with confusion, when she suddenly heard a ringing tone from Raizo's phone. "Uh, Raizo? You have a text message!" Reika said. Raizo looked at his phone and gasped. "What? What is it?!" Reika exclaimed. Raizo showed Reika and Morrigan the text message, and they gasped in horror at what it said. "Look out behind you!" it read ominously.
Raizo quickly turned around and cried out as he saw a huge 18 wheeler truck come ramming it's way towards the enormous glass windows that acted as the lobby's wall. "LOOK OUT!" Raizo screamed as he ran and shoved several people away. The truck smashed its way through into the lobby with a horrible sound, making every person present scream in shock and terror at the sudden attack. But to make matters worse, the deafening sounds of gunfire filled the air as Razor and the Sons of Mayhem marched into the lobby. Now the real party was about to begin!