A/N – Thank you, LouiseWolff, specifically for Mathilde Archhorne and Ad Geerards. The depth of my appreciation for your contributions is ... more than epic. For wolfmadmax, fighting zombies in open spaces, to be delivered soon!

I hope everyone had a pleasant Singles Awareness Day, or as other people call it: Valentine's Day.

For all my readers, thank you for sticking with me through this journey. This would never continue without your love!

Chapter 25

The Balance of Power

Price, an average white dude with a neatly trimmed and molasses thick goatee, lobbed the Frisbee at O'Keefe, a stereotypical short ginger. He laughed when it pegged O'Keefe's shaved jaw and bounced away, its new trajectory over Berger's head. An impressive leap into the air and Berger caught the wayward toy. Grumbling, Price stalked out of the improvised game boundaries while O'Keefe fist-bumped his teammate.

Smiling victoriously, the lean blonde flicked it back across the field, aiming high. She might be great at catching it, but was terrible at hitting anyone, so she was merely trying to avoid the disc being caught. Most of the time, that strategy had worked for her. Determined to catch it, Anise exchanged a look with Buck. He grinned and crouched as Anise ran toward him. She leapt, planted a foot in his waiting hand, and he launched her over his shoulder. Elegantly, she snagged the disc as she executed a mid-air flip. Anise landed on her feet, brimming with pride and sweating like a racehorse.

"Dammit!" Berger threw her hands up and stalked to the line of commandos on the sidelines. Sweat-damp strands of blonde were tucked behind an ear. Jenkins patted her shoulder. The woman harumphed.

It was their fourth game of increasingly ridiculous plays. They had decided to play it like dodge-ball this round, and it had resulted in bruises, hilarity, and extreme competition. Every time, the disc was thrown higher, farther, faster by the panting, smiling players. Denny and Anise had been separated from the beginning, no one trusting their Frisbee experience. The kid had turned out to be a top-notch player, so the commandos had felt vindicated in their unanimous choice. Buck switched sides every game. He worked incredibly well with both veteran players, causing havoc to the opposing team.

Denny applauded with fervor from his spot along the wall. Jenkins' lips tugged up on one side as he looked down at the kid. The other members of the security team shouted encouragements, booed, hissed, and generally made as much noise as possible. Beside them, dozens of Haven residents added their own happy noise. Anise's impulsive game of Frisbee had drawn quite the crowd. It was the closest thing to a sporting event that the facility had experienced since the TV stations stopped broadcasting. Fresh faces trickled in every moment, drawn by the excitement and noise. No one seemed immune to the lure of shameless fun, even Dr. Brandon's cranky face had a smile on it.

The entertainment had already spawned talk of forming sport teams, a drama club, and various other activities that had previously been forgotten or ignored in the rush of survival and the drone of life in Haven. There was also a general consensus that Havenites wanted to see a Frisbee competition between Anise's Keepers and the captain's security force. Anise thought she would be only too glad to oblige. She launched the disc back to the other side, laughing as Morrison barely avoided the projectile.

"Come on, Morrison. I'll stand still for you." Anise taunted, presenting her butt and tapping it lightly.

He rolled his eyes, even though he was smiling. His arm flexed, ready to throw the Frisbee.

"Ms. Barrows!" A voice called out, muffled by the crowd's noise. No one else had heard it, so Anise pretended not to either. Morrison let the disc fly, speeding at Anise's feet. She yelped and leapt up and over. It skidded on the stone floor, swerved up and whacked Buck in his shin.

"Youch! Dang, LT."

"Ms. Barrows!" That annoying voice warbled again. Recognizing it as Ingrid, the Council's lapdog, Anise purposefully ignored the call. Someone from the crowd tossed the Frisbee back from the sidelines. She was the only one left on her team. It was her versus Morrison and O'Keefe. A moment later, she was running full-tilt at the men. At the dividing line, she whipped the toy into motion, sending it blazing toward Morrison.

The lieutenant grimaced and reached out. He misjudged the Frisbee's speed, smacking his knuckles instead of grabbing the disc. His knuckles changed its direction toward O'Keefe. Poor guy was too slow to dodge. "Oomph!"

"Oh. Damn." Anise cringed. The Frisbee had hit the man's nose with a nice little crunch. Blood trailed down from his nostrils. Fox was already jogging toward him, her medkit in hand.

"MS. BARROWS!" Finally, Ingrid had made it close enough that her shrill bellow was heard over the crowd's cheering.

"What, Ingrid?" Anise grumped. Just freaking won the game and could not enjoy it. Figures.

"Mr. Klein sent me with a summons. The Council would like a meeting with you."

"OK. Sure. I'll drop by later."

"Now, Ms. Barrows."

Self-important little rat, Anise raged to herself. She managed to keep her tone fairly civil. "Excuse me?"

The crowd's enthusiasm had dimmed upon seeing the star of their show frowning at the unpopular right hand of the Council.

"Spice, is there a problem?" Morrison had appeared by her side. Anise nodded at him, appreciating his loyalty.

"I don't know." She turned back to the sharply chic woman. "Is there?"

Ingrid adjusted her tailored suit jacket. "The Council has summoned you. They were very adamant that you come right away."

"What the hell does the Council want with me today?"

"I'm afraid that I'm not privy to that information."

"Of course not." The enhanced woman muttered.

Buck caught Anise's eye. 'What's wrong?' he mouthed.

Shrugging, she asked Ingrid. "I don't suppose I have time for a shower?"

"Unfortunately no." Ingrid wrinkled her nose.

"Super."

By that time, Anise's sidekick had made his way to her side. "So, we've got a date with the almighty Council huh?"

Ingrid glared at the teen. "Ms. Barrows has been summoned, not you, nor the lieutenant, Mr. Buck."

Anise took a moment to grumble to herself that no one addressed Buck by his given name.

"Yep. Which means we're coming." His polite, charming smile was echoed on Morrison's face. "Unless Spice says otherwise."

Oh, she loved her favorite sidekick. Anise winked at him.

"Mr. Buck," Ingrid began, her voice full of self-important, long-suffering patience.

"Is definitely coming with me." Anise finished for her, straining to keep her smile polite. Really, she envied Buck's effortless charm.

Ingrid looked about ready to pop, flushed cheeks and dilated eyes, even her heartbeat thumped a little louder. "Ms. Barrows!"

Dropping all pretense of being polite, Anise growled. "Call me that again, and I'm going to have to rearrange your perfect hair. You can address me as Spice, or don't address me at all."

Rose-colored, lipsticked lips sealed together, forming little lines along the edges, giving Ingrid the appearance of looking much older than she was. And Anise guessed that Ingrid couldn't be older than thirty. The woman was actually very attractive with caramel, flawless skin, a runner's figure with just enough softness to be called curvy, glossy ink-black hair, and barely there makeup that was beautifully applied to enhance Ingrid's dark bedroom eyes and heart-shaped face. All of her was very drool-worthy. Anise detested the Argentinian woman with a passion that she reserved especially for ruthless bitches who really had slept their way into power.

The woman's jaw clicked, and she swallowed angrily. Her dark eyes glared into Anise's hazel. "Spice."

Anise honestly tried to restrain the smirk that lifted the left side of her face. Her partial success was not lost on Ingrid, and the woman's tightly controlled rage reminded Anise of the late Spence Parks. Great, just what she needed, Anise bitched to herself, another asshole extraordinaire.

Ingrid threw back her shoulders and lifted her chin haughtily. "Lt. Morrison and Mr. Buck, if you would please follow me."

Behind the sulking bitch, Anise and Buck fist-bumped, sharing silent, triumphant 'yea's!'. Morrison sighed quietly.

The room that the Council met in was more of an audience hall. It was designed to be impressive and imposing with dark colors, expensive and exotic furnishings, gold leafing on the molding, and everything was angled so that you had to look to the front. A raised dais held three posh, executive chairs on which the three most powerful people in Haven sat. Anise and her companions ignored the chairs available to sit it. They also ignored Captain Jonathon Dough, who was unhappily glaring at her and Morrison. Guy couldn't seem to decide who he detested more. Anise had thought about telling John Doe the many ways she wanted to see him end up with a tag on his toe.

"Ah, Anise. Lovely to see you." Cheerily greeting her was Andrew. Suave business suit and swanky tie, sitting in a posh leather chair, dark hair perfectly streaked with gray, he still looked like the business magnate that had funded the resistance from the beginning. Andrew Klein was head of Klein Mining Industries, that had been Umbrella's only true rival in the games of money and power. Anise had heard stories of the great arguments between him and Albert Wesker, CEO of Umbrella Corporation. He cocked his head on seeing Buck tromp in behind Anise. "Buck and Lt. Morrison as well. I'm excited to see that you seem to have patched up your relationships."

The short, lean little man was almost omnipotent, but rather friendly and eccentric. He wasn't a bad guy really. It was the company that he kept that Anise was not a fan of.

"New development." Anise deadpanned. Beside her, Buck choked back a laugh. She had trouble keeping her face serious. As usual, Morrison was studiously professional. "What did you want?" Relatively polite, Anise responded. Looking at the trio of well-dressed Council members, she was very aware of her sweat-soaked gym clothes.

It was Mathilde Archhorne who responded, her speech clipped and formal. "Ms. Barrows." Correction, Mathilde Asshorne. "We find ourselves in need of your unique assistance."

Anise straightened her posture, narrowed her eyes, and raised one eyebrow. "Unique assistance?"

Ad Geerards, Anise wondered what kind of culture his odd name came from, stroked his snazzy brown and gold tie and met her curious gaze. "Unfortunately, yes."

Whatever they wanted, Anise thought, it rankled them to admit needing her help. A smile danced on her lips, though she remained cautious of anything the Council asked her to do. "How is it that you find yourselves unfortunately in need of my one-of-a-kind help?"

The three members of the Council exchanged glances. Mathilde frowned, Ad nodded, and Andrew smiled. They returned their various expressions to the enhanced woman. Andrew straightened his jacket. "Anise, we would like you to lead an expedition to an Umbrella facility located in the Big Apple."

"New York City?" Anise squeaked.

Andrew chuckled. "The city that never sleeps."

"You're fucking serious?" The enhanced woman demanded.

"You'll accept, won't you, Anise?" Andrew's smile continued.

"Of course she will." Mathilde scoffed. "The woman has been scraping to get out since she got here."

Ad's dedicated stare unbalanced Anise more than the crazy request to send her away. There was something about the guy, with his soft accent that she couldn't pinpoint, and the unnerving gaze he frequently used. It wasn't that his expression was vacant. No, it was more than expressive. What it was expressing was what Anise could never figure out. Ad was almost impossible to read. She peeled her vision away from his, feeling sweat trace a cold trail down her spine.

Completely bewildered about how this had happened, sentences evaded Anise. "Explain. Now."

"Arrogant little dyke." Mathilde muttered to herself, entirely aware that Anise could hear her, judging by the smirk on her darkly painted lips.

Fists curling painfully, Anise bit her cheek in an effort to stay civil. Going outside without a fight, hell, she'd do a lot to see that happen.

"Well, you see..." Andrew began, only to be cut off by a gesture from Ad. The small man dipped his head and relaxed into his chair.

"Anise." His simple tone gathered her attention. "One of our contacts within Umbrella says that the corporation has developed a cure for the T-virus."

Silence settled in the chamber for several long moments before Anise realized they were waiting for her to react. That they had contacts within Umbrella was no surprise. Why ask Anise though? "Sounds dandy. Why me?"

Ad smoothed out a stubborn wrinkle in his jacket. "Mr. Briggs is already waiting for us to send someone to retrieve him and the cure he's carrying. But for obvious reasons, he can't trust just anyone. And the only faces he knows are my own and Mrs. Archhorne's. She and I are bureaucrats, not fighters. We likely would not survive to even see Mr. Briggs."

Agreeing wholeheartedly, Anise nodded.

"The only other person whose face he knows is yours, Anise."

Oh. Anise's lips pressed together tightly. There was the reason that the Council was willing to let her go. A real cure, stolen from under Umbrella's nose. She was willing to bet that Albert Wesker was the only person that Asshorne liked less than Anise. Thinking about that reminded Anise of the uneven balance of powers in Haven, of the conditions her people were forced to endure, and of her loyalties to her Keepers and friends. There was one thing she was willing jeopardize her chance at sunshine for. She swallowed her pride.

"I'll go." She said.

Andrew smiled, and the others wore satisfied expressions.

"If you let Morrison take teams out." Anise sucked in air. "At his discretion."

Morrison's breath stumbled. The Council's faces grew dark.

"Ms. Barrows," Mathilde began.

"I will not negotiate on this." Anise said. She met each of their eyes, fiercely. Several silent moments passed.

Buck cut through the tension with his casual smile. "These aren't the Halls of Moria, and we are not dwarves."

"What?" Mathilde looked confused.

Ad grinned boyishly.

Andrew laughed.

"Everyone is desperate for a little sunlight." Buck continued. "The area outside Haven can easily be modified for a park."

"Mr. Buck..."

"Has a most excellent point." Ad intervened. "Come now, my friend, I've heard you moon about missing your walks outside."

The uptight woman's expression shifted to one of longing. Anise could barely believe it. Buck was a genius.

"I admit I'd love to get a sunburn." Andrew said.

"But, sir! The danger reported by the scouts..." Captain Dough sputtered.

"Is danger every one of my team is well aware of. So are most of the civilians." Morrison met his 'superior's' angry gaze. "Those that are not can be educated. Haven needs fresh supplies. The people need to go outside."

"We are creatures of the sunlight." Buck added. "Going out, facing the danger, feeling the wind on their faces will remind everyone of hope."

"Hope." Quietly, Andrew seemed to taste the word on his lips.

The captain's face stalled; his jaw flexed.

Buck focused his charming blue eyes on Mathilde. "It's time to start living again."

All eyes settled on Buck and Mathilde's staring contest. With great effort, Anise kept her mouth shut.

"Hope." Mathilde said.

"Hope." He echoed, still smiling at her.

The Council members looked at each other. No one asked the fuming captain for his opinion. Heads nodded. Mathilde spoke, much to Anise's surprise. "Lt. Morrison will be in charge of the forays outside from now on." She smiled wistfully. "I do miss sunbathing." Her features hardened as her eyes settled once more on Anise. "Ms. Barrows, assemble your team. Be ready in three days. We expect you to see Dr. Brandon for last minute exams before you leave."

Anise kept her scathing retort about where the woman could shove the exams to herself. "Sure thing."

Feeling the dismissal, Anise and her backup made their exit. Morrison radioed to Jenkins that the team should continue the game without them. The guys began an earnest discussion about the logistics of the journey as they stepped back through the polished oak doors. Anise followed behind, unable to keep her mind from tuning them out. She was going outside again.

Rain was out there. Somewhere.

Anise smiled at Buck. She was well behind him, so only his shaggy blond mop saw her eyes glisten and her chin tremble. Hope indeed. Heart full, she lengthened her stride to catch up with her friends. She threw her arms around both, grinning from ear to ear.