"So, no one besides agents Speyer and Dewey?", captain Wesker rubbed his forehead as he was walking shoulder to shoulder with the less experienced machine expert.
"No, at least not that I know of, sir. And I didn't see Dewey's body. It was Chris, I mean, our agent Redfield, who told me", Valentine informed him, "I did see Speyer's remains, and his death must've sucked, too".
"I would have to agree with that sentiment, yes", the older man continued as they proceeded closer to the steel gate that was at the end of this long hallway.
"Not that there's a good way to die, right? I mean, but the deaths so far have been especially gruesome", the female officer went on, "Ever since tonight started and seeing Kevin in that copter and what happened to poor Joe right in front of us, it just makes it seem as though people dying naturally is a myth, just not the sort of thing you can prepare for".
"Umbrella specializes in the act of shortening the lifespan of everyone who is unfortunate enough to come into contact with its delightful range of products that never did make it into their brochure, in as violent and inhumane a manner as possible. I am sure that their mothers are very proud", the STARS leader confirmed, "I have some special plans for them once we get the survivors out of here. But some moderately good news is that from my end, I do not have any casualties to report to you, which at least leaves some speculation on the demise of any others of our ranks. I do know that agent Chambers is alive, at least. How ironic to have met that youngster under such conditions. And so is agent Burton, at least he was when I saw him a few minutes ago, even if his behaviour was most disconcerting".
"Ah, so Umbrella is behind all this shit", Valentine snorted, "Figured it was them who were trying to pull our strings. They weren't even smart enough to take their damn logo off the grenade launcher that's sitting behind me. But you noticed something about Barry too, I take it".
"The grenade launcher? Really? I assumed you found that weapon from someone in Bravo team", he stole a quick glance in her direction before turning his attention back ahead of them both, "We can take our time and interrogate this company's officials to our heart's desire so as to discover their intentions behind leaving those weapons. And if Vickers should ever return to us, there's a few more such armaments to use at our disposal. I'm sure you'll be glad to know that. I would not worry too much about any puppet masters, Valentine. I am confident that they will receive the punishment they have earned in due time".
"I wish I had your confidence on that, captain", Wesker's communication was usually reserved only for Barry and Frost, so the female agent had expected him to be more icy with her, but was pleasantly surprised that the aloof demeanour usually gracing their leader's disposition was all but gone, "So Rebecca's fine too, that's good".
She nodded with a grin as she continued.
"Goodness knows that Chris couldn't stop talking about her", she gave a quick laugh, and stopped when the older man didn't smirk in response.
It was then that both agents heard the gate that was about twenty yards in front of them opening from the other side, before officer Redfield stepped through the entrance, followed closely by officer Chambers, each of them carrying a handgun.
"Chris!", the smile on Valentine's face widened as she suddenly saw their numbers doubling.
The young woman jogged ahead of the captain's slower pace, quickly shortening the distance between herself and the Alpha team marksman as she kept the shotgun across her torso in a diagonal pose. Surprisingly, Redfield didn't return the friendly look in her eyes, instead merely appearing like he viewed her as an annoying obstacle.
"Hey, Chris!", the machine expert stopped moving towards him when she was within an arm's reach of the young man, the eager expression still on her face, "You two OK?".
"Hi, Jill", Redfield summarily walked past the young woman after the curt greeting and continued marching towards captain Wesker, his eyes focused on something that was obviously not her.
Feeling very surprised and confused by his reaction, she turned around and watched him leave as he kept moving away, as if she was nothing but a barely-known colleague at work and this was nothing but a boring day on the job. While she did, agent Chambers came closer to her, the youngest member of STARS eagerly gripping Valentine's upper arm with her free hand. She was about to ask them both to explain themselves when she heard officer Redfield speaking, but the young man was addressing the leader of both STARS teams.
"Hey captain", the marksman casually reached within his uniform and withdrew the 9mm clip that he had discovered a short time ago, "I found something interesting that you should probably see. It was sitting on a filing cabinet".
When he was close enough, Redfield casually tossed the clip in captain Wesker's direction, continually walking forward at a quick pace as his supervisor kept the Magnum pointed towards the floor and moved to catch the 9mm clip with his free hand. Wesker had made the mistake of paying attention to the container of ammunition that was tossed in his direction, as that was Redfield's plan all along since he took advantage of the distraction to slam the barrel of the Magnum into the side of the captain's head.
The result was that Wesker's face whipped to the side as the sunglasses flew off his head and the older man was knocked down on his hands and knees, all the while everyone there heard agent Valentine yelling out officer Redfield's first name. And while he tried to ignore the throbbing in his forehead and began climbing back up to his feet, captain Wesker intentionally ignored the desire to pick his Desert Eagle or shades off the floor, having to admit that Redfield was clever with his diversionary tactic and even quicker with his attack.
"Chris! What are you doing!", the next voice in the damp corridor was officer Valentine's as she ran towards Redfield's direction from behind him and stopped only when she reached the spot where the young man stood, intentionally placing herself between the incensed STARS agent and the stunned captain who placed his own left index finger on the wounded side of his head, confirming that no blood was there.
Always the loyal STARS officer, Valentine turned her back to Wesker and remained face to face with the marksman, the look of concern vivid on her face as she kept the shotgun pointed towards the floor with the left hand and placed her right palm on Redfield's chest in an effort to separate her two comrades. The next sensation she felt was a gasp of further surprise as the angry officer switched the handle of the magnum revolver from his right grip to his left one, while simultaneously wrapping his right arm around her waistline, thus embracing Valentine as he pulled her closer to his body. Then, quickly turning them both in a clockwise motion by 90 degrees, Redfield made sure to be staring in Wesker's direction past his left shoulder, all the while pointing his handgun towards the STARS captain's chest, disregarding concerns as to how the scenario may have looked to agent Chambers. Satisfied that Valentine was at least content to be explained the whole mystery regarding his behavior while she reflexively wrapped her right arm around his lower back, he could take his time to catch the machinist up about the details that he and Chambers had come across a short time ago.
"He brought us here on purpose!", Redfield started a summary of his accusations as he pressed his face ever closer to Valentine's head as she kept gazing in Wesker's direction just as he was, "He's part of this place. His picture is in that damn lab that we came from, along with several other fucking scientists and descriptions of the monsters they have running around this hellhole. And all this time...".
Redfield lightly separated himself from Valentine as he kept talking, turning his full attention towards the antagonist who remained several feet ahead of him.
"ALL this fucking time, you've been pretending to be one of us, pretending to be our friend, our leader! YOU were going to get us out of here!", he became more agitated as he held the handle of the firearm with both palms, always pointing the weapon towards his enemy as he continued, "While you knew EXACTLY what was going on but kept going on as if this was all new to you too. But as far as I'm concerned, YOU'RE responsible for ALL our deaths so far, you prick! Joseph, Forest, Dewey, Kevin, Kenneth, and only God knows how many others, EVERYBODY who's dead is because of YOU! I swear, I'd kill you right now if it didn't go against everything I believed in when I took that oath. No, you are going straight back to Raccoon City and you are going to ROT for what you've done for the rest of your life!".
"What? What are you guys saying?", Valentine's head turned from Redfield to Wesker, then to Chambers, then back to Redfield again, "This place is run by Umbrella. What do you mean you saw the captain's picture a few min...".
"His picture is in the lab, Jill!", Redfield interrupted her without taking his eyes off the silent STARS leader who was now standing back up, "Dressed in a goddamn lab coat, of all things. I guess that's one place you forgot to remove your picture from, isn't it?".
"Granted your rage is not undeserved, Chris, but I would ask that you put it aside momentarily so as that I may shed some light on this matter as it were", the leader of both STARS teams stated once there was an opening to do so.
"Shut the hell up!", Redfield snapped back.
"Oh, jeez! You're kidding me", Valentine sighed to herself as she rubbed her eyes with her right hand before addressing agent Wesker, the female agent's loyalties immediately decided, "Spill it, captain, if that's what you really are".
"As justified as your indignation is, I would have to respectfully advise that you be wary with your firearm", the oldest person there replied in a calmer tone, still ignoring the headache in his cranium, "I had been prepared for this event to happen, though I was hoping that the surroundings were slightly more amicable or if it were not to take place at all. It would be unfortunate if your itchy trigger finger were to cause an accident, agent Redfield. Twofold, not only would I be unable to let you in on whatever secrets are left to be shared, I'd be removed from this life long before my purpose is fulfilled".
"Cut the philosophical bullshit and start talking!", the younger man barked, his hold on the Magnum shaking as he did.
"As you wish", the Alpha team captain moved in a deliberately slow fashion, bending at the knees until he retrieved the sunglasses off the floor, again suppressing the urge to retrieve his handgun, and then placed the shades back on his face as he stood up and addressed the three STARS members in front of him, Chambers having joined the others in a small group, "Firstly, contrary to your evidence, I am an RPD captain. I started out as a member of the elite security squad for Umbrella, for a sum of years greater than that of Agent Chambers' age. Then I was sent under cover at the RPD because some of the city's fine citizenry were getting tetchy of our supposedly legal operations. I've been an officer for as long as you've known me now, even if I began as such with only the intent of spying on my kin".
"Oh, this is great", Valentine countered, her attention fixed towards the high ceiling as she slapped her own leg with her bare hand in frustration, "So what is this mansion, like, your home? All this time of supposedly being shocked at what you've been seeing and supposedly wanting to get us out of here, just a pretence?".
"That's not a lie, none of it", Wesker shook his head, not finding it odd that his arms were resting by his sides even though he was supposed to be on the receiving end of an armed interrogation, "The federal government allegedly supplied Umbrella with a long term contract, a license, as well as a very generous budget in exchange for our research.
The entire company is such a covert operation that only the country's president and the Chiefs of Staff know of our existence, at least the part of the company that's not merely working on a cure for the common cold. Our origin was based on the need that arose from international conflict. Whenever there's an agreement between countries to discontinue the use of certain kinds of biological weapons, all it means is that those countries are, of course, building up their supply in secret. Think of it. The side who always wins in the battlefield is the one with access to better weaponry, even after all sides supposedly agreed to not use that weaponry, since doing so is called too inhumane a fashion of killing. So no nation would ever truly do away with studying the development of a biological weapon that could be carried by one soldier into enemy territory and then take ten minutes to wipe out every human within a mile radius of the strike zone. Our job was to find antidotes to those viral attacks, all the while knowing that somewhere else, this country's developing those same weapons to use in wartime against enemy nations".
The RPD captain paused for an instant, knowing that he had covered the simple part of his explanation, and wondering how he was going to convince these three individuals of the more complicated bits to his story, especially considering that he was still learning of them himself.
"But that was a lie", he finally sighed after a break, looking intently into Redfield's accusing glare and the more curious stare that the two female agents gave him,
"The company which I pledged my allegiance to has been deceiving me for two long decades now. Tricking me into dirtying my own hands by working on its behalf while it conducted biological weapons research on human beings and doing viral research for sale to the highest bidder, and their work also caused the catastrophe that's been plaguing the city for weeks now. Thus all the zombies you see here and the ones who've been spilling into the city itself".
"You expect us to believe this", Valentine casually crossed her arms in front of her chest, "That you, captain Wesker, was taken for a fool, considering you always know what's going on".
"I realize I've held some very pertinent information from all of you", the older man replied, "But I never had any malicious intentions towards you, not once. As soon as I found out that human experiments were taking place, I knew I had to take Umbrella down, but also that you'd never trust me if I told you the whole truth just now. Instead, I brought enough weapons and ammunition while flying over here so as to decimate this entire mansion and the labs within it, only if Vickers hadn't flown off with the weaponry. Thus my contention that we'd have many more tools to use at our disposal if young officer Vickers comes back to us, Jill. Our pilot is carrying as much heavy artillery as the helicopter can manage, and he doesn't even know it. Besides the speciality weapons I had arranged to be delivered illegally from my contacts with the military, there's an unassembled mini-gun with a thousand rounds of ammunition, and five dozen incendiary hand grenades, all put on that helicopter for the purpose of helping us raze this place to the ground".
"OK, I'm not saying I believe you or anything, captain", the Alpha team machinist uncrossed her arms and kept the shotgun pointed towards the floor, "Even if I do remember you saying that, you still haven't explained why you'd bring us into the middle of this goddamn meat grinder if you were truly on our side and wanted Umbrella destroyed".
"Even I had no idea the infestation of monsters was this massive", the older continued, "This is why I wished to have STARS brought to Raccoon City, in case there was an accident that needed to be dealt with. But once we landed in the forest, it became overly obvious how out of control the presence of these infected creatures was, even exceeding my expectations, and I had believed myself to be ready for the worst".
The look on the faces of the three agents was indicating that they weren't being convinced by his arguments.
"You can do whatever you wish, you can even execute me if it'll suit you", he added, feeling physically tired for the second time tonight, "There's little I'll be able to do about it. But that won't change the fact that we're on the same side here. What I said before was all true. These monsters are a deadly threat to the city's population, and we're the most qualified to destroy both them and their creators. After hiding behind the protection of the federal government, Umbrella now has its influences everywhere in Raccoon City, with the police, the courts, the press, you name it. Irons was the one who sent the Bravo team here after being ordered to do so, for reasons that are still unknown to me, and I had to physically assault him before he would even inform me of the exact location where the Bravo's helicopter was sent to. So I organized Alpha team to be brought here against the chief's orders, that's true. But it was only to rescue Bravo team and to eliminate this threat to the city, nothing more".
"Uh... I know all this other stuff is kinda important but well, I have a question that I … Can I ask you a question?", agent Chambers spoke up for the first time, hearing her own voice shake momentarily as she was still standing behind Redfield and Valentine, but addressing the STARS captain.
When she didn't hear any protests from any of the three people there, she continued.
"Chris and I found these descriptions of several creatures in the lab", she recalled, "We already ran into most of them. But there are two others that we haven't seen yet. The chimera and the tyrant. Know anything about them?".
"No", Wesker shook his head, frustration getting the better of him yet again, an emotion that he was getting too familiar with as of tonight, "I didn't even know of the existence of most of these creatures, except for the dogs and hunters, who were necessary for testing, or so I was told. And only a handful of them were supposed to exist. I had no idea so many were running about, both inside and outside the grounds. As for the other creatures, I'm finding out about them at the same time as you, I'm afraid".
"No, no, no!", Redfield shook his head as he reached into his uniform pocket after freeing his left hand from the handle of the firearm, always keeping the weapon pointed at his adversary, "See, all this bullshit he's coming out with may be credible, if you were to suspend disbelief, I mean. But he's still lying, Jill. Look, Becca found these near the projector in the lab. She showed me while we were coming over here to find you two".
The young man withdrew a palm-sized photograph that wasn't unlike the large image on the projection screen, of a line of men in white laboratory coats, and the one at the farthest right was Albert Wesker himself, and handed the picture to officer Valentine for inspection.
"A scientist? You?", the older of the two women asked after having a quick look at the photograph, "And you didn't know of the kinds of experiments that were taking place alongside you?".
"I was involved with research, however, that occurred when I was 16 years old", Wesker remembered, "That picture is undoubtedly older than agent Chambers, taken many years before my transfer".
"You don't look 16 there!", Redfield snapped back, "You're as old as you are now!".
"The date behind the picture is from last year!", Valentine countered, sounding indignant for the first time after having turned the photograph around and then back again.
"What? Impossible", Wesker shook his head in denial.
"Unless she's lying or so retarded that she can't read simple numbers, which she's not", Redfield replied on her behalf, recalling that he hadn't thought to look for a date behind the photo himself, "Or maybe you're the same lying son of a bitch who's been leading us in circles for ages now".
"Then it must've been doctored", the captain felt as puzzled over the new mystery as he sounded, "I do not have another explanation, Chris. If Umbrella's been engineering a Machiavellian ruse with my mind for all these years, there is nothing I would put below them, not even doctoring evidence to blame people who they knew they could not trust".
"Sure, and I look like I was born yesterday", Redfield angrily responded, "You think that's more believable than fucking Umbrella picking you up from this shithole after we're all dead because you've tested your monsters on us?".
"Who from Umbrella, Chris!", Wesker's exasperation was evident as his voice became more weary, "This is a disaster for the board of directors, so much so that I'm sure everyone who was involved with the company is desperately trying to ensure their own existence. No one is going to care about the whereabouts of one missing agent. I'm not part of Umbrella any more, I'm only a part of STARS, here on a search and destroy mission to eradicate my former employer and rescue my new colleagues".
"Nice words, Wesker", the marksman sighed as he approached the older man while withdrawing a pair of handcuffs, "Too bad the evidence all points against you. Now, you can either come quietly and serve the rest of your sorry life in prison once we get out of here, or you can do me a favor and resist arrest so I can put you out of my misery with a bullet to your head. What's your choice?".
"Hold on, Chris, please", Valentine interjected by placing her free hand on Redfield's forearm, thus stopping the young man's forward progress, "No one's going to execute anyone here, OK?".
"You guys can't possibly be buying his idiotic story!", the Alpha agent countered, always careful to never take his eyes off the spot where Wesker stood, "Just look at the damn picture, Jill. Even now, he's lying through his teeth. He was only a scientist decades ago indeed"..
"Look, I don't know what to believe", the female officer from Alpha team replied, "But your theory that he's here to watch us die is as crazy as his story of being a double agent and being on our side now. I mean, jeez, we'd both have been torn to ribbons in the forest right now if it hadn't been for him".
Valentine looked at Redfield first, then switched her gaze to Wesker, sighing at the decision she was being forced to make as both men's attention were on her, a look of concern and a desire to do what's right for everyone who was involved weighing heavily on her features.
"I think you can appreciate the sensitive situation you're putting us all in when you say that...", the older of the two women began addressing their captain before a loud, primal scream interrupted her from behind their position.
As agents Redfield, Valentine and Chambers either looked over their shoulders or turned around to face whatever was behind them, all four members of STARS spotted a group of approximately a dozen hunters who rushed through the gate that Redfield and Chambers had used a few minutes ago. The large, hunched-over monsters dashed past the opened metal entryway and bolted straight towards their human targets.
Captain Wesker heard officer Redfield screaming something incoherent as the entire scene played out in slow motion in front of his eyes. He was paying no attention to what was said as he saw the marksman grabbing Rebecca Chambers by the shoulder and pulling the 18-year old medic behind him, thus placing himself between the youngest member of STARS and the wave of juggernauts who were quickly approaching. Simultaneously, Valentine yelled something on her own while she opened fire with the shotgun, striking the nearest hunter in the abdomen and forcing that creature to drop on its hands and knees, before it quickly disappeared beneath the feet of its followers. As all that occurred, amid the chorus of three screaming agents and the sounds of a Magnum and a shotgun, the man in the shades dove for his Desert Eagle, with the intent of then placing himself between his officers and the line of green-skinned beasts. The hope was that, much like the ally he had fought side by side with a short while ago, these monsters would obey his command to cease their attack. But failing that, he had eight fresh rounds in his Desert Eagle to rely upon.
A distant part of Wesker's mind pointed out that his protection of the three members of his unit was probably the best way to erase all doubt in their minds that he was on their side, and could thus count on their help to hunt down and destroy Umbrella later. But that was for a future date, after he ensured that all three of those individuals left this scenario alive.
As soon as he turned his attention towards the violent confrontation that was several feet away from him, though, captain Wesker's forehead screamed out in pain, this time the headache being several times worse than what he'd been experiencing lately. His head shook uncontrollably, even as he kept trying to march towards his three colleagues, still watching their defence against the onslaught of infected adversaries. Keeping the Desert Eagle in his right hand, the STARS leader clutched at his hair with his left fingers, looking down at the floor and screaming out in blinding pain whose source he didn't understand. It only lasted for a few seconds, and by the time the yell was over, the pain disappeared completely, and Wesker stood back upright, a smile adorning his lips as he viewed the desperate attempts for survival by all three STARS officers.
But this time, the oldest person there simply turned around and walked away, leaving the deadly standoff behind him as he had more urgent matters to attend to. As he was making his way in the opposite direction of the hallway, a stray hunter appeared in front of him, but Wesker merely shoved the creature aside since it annoyed him. As the green behemoth left the STARS captain alone and rushed past him in its efforts to reach the other three humans, the smirk on Wesker's face widened since his plan was working out exactly as he predicted it would.
"I do believe, ladies and gentlemen, that you're going to be earning some extra combat pay tonight", he mused as he strolled further away, the sound of the gunfire becoming less clear behind him with every step he took.