The heated moment Dorian and Alexis were sharing would only be naturally interrupted by the mission at hand. Shortly after putting on the leftovers of her combat trousers, Alexis could hear Dorian's earpiece receive an incoming call; she could hear the soft beep at the start.

"General Savage here."

"This is Wesker," he said over the earpiece, "Have you reached the Training Centre yet?"

"In the tunnel now."

"For some reason, I can't see that. The surveillance is down..."

"Oh… pity… In any case, I just regrouped with Captain Daemith."

"I dare say you took your damn time getting ready," Wesker almost snarled, even if he did, he was not very threatening over a radio. "You're falling behind."

"I assure you, I'm doing what's required for a hundred percent success. The poor girl needed some strict motivation and-"

"Get your team together and do what's necessary to get the job done. You are not helping yourself with this imperfection, General."

Dorian sighed, rolled his eyes to Alexis and silently mocked Wesker by mimicking him. "I'm finishing up now, Dr Wesker, I won't waste any more time."

"Make good on that claim, General. Your time is limited, and our patience is wearing thin." Wesker ended his transmission and left Dorian without a smile.

"Was that command?"

Dorian smiled at her. "Yeah… Wesker is grinding my balls hard."

"Good ol' Wesker. I imagine Birkin is too."

"Yup, like the old married couple they are. You ready to continue?"

Alexis tugged at her trousers; they were held together only by a paper clip Other than that, she still had her vest on, only it wouldn't zip back up. Bra, panties, well, they were fubar. Most of her clothes burned during the train's derailment.

"I need to find something better to wear."

"We don't have the luxury of time, but we will find something more suitable during the mission. Business is before pleasure."

Alexis shook her head side to side wistfully. "Pleasure… My head was soaring through the clouds... My mind was in the state of euphoria..."

"Happens with a lot of girls. At least you feel better. Just needed some positive reinforcements."

"I don't have a care in the world right now..."

Alexis moved forward and kissed Dorian on the lips. She latched onto him tighter than usual; his back hurt and felt all scratched up. Something was poking him hard in the back. He gently pried Alexis off; her skin shuddered under his fingertips.

Alexis felt shamed and brushed her messy hair back over her right ear. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry about it. It's how couples express their intimacy."

Alexis looked up. "In the heat of the moment, I feel stronger. My eyes were opened. No cares. No worries. I feel so much better now."

Dorian let go of her and checked out her ample figure, top to bottom. The torn leftovers were better than being buck naked. "As much as I don't mind seeing your body, you'd be posing as a combat risk if you don't find something to wear. You know that, right?"

"Yes, General."

"Best worry about that first."

Dorian adjusted his groin and belt, putting everything where it had to go. The several pouches around his waist were loaded with reserve clips, same as the ones connected to the straps over his shoulders.

Alexis could see the sheathed knife on his back and a couple of red grenades in smaller pockets connected to a band around his forearms. The armour he wore was different, a titanium vest with kneepads and elbowpads. His MP5 was slung over his right shoulder and he looked back at Alexis who was waiting.

"Ready?" he asked, nicely with a smile.

Alexis looked down at her leftover uniform. The warmth was a painful loss since she was cold-blooded; at least she was still armoured. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"You armed?"

Alexis patted her hip holster. "My magnum's all I got left."

"That'll do." Dorian's silenced MP5N was loaded with hollow-point rounds, with his good Browning HP loaded with cop killers. Armour piercing. She'll be fine. "Let's go." Dorian brushed past Alexis and walked to the door behind her.

The fumes of the sewer water hit Dorian like a freight train, his heightened sense of smell was battered with the rotting stench of waste, food and even had a slight aftertaste of sulphur. He dropped into the dark, murky waters first with Alexis close by him like a faithful bodyguard; she needed to learn from the best and study how he works.

Iron bars blocked the way ahead and behind in this dank tunnel. He pointed out the ladder for Alexis to start climbing and walked to the bars ahead. Dorian slid his gloved fingers around one of the bars and pulled it back, testing its strength. He didn't strain at all, was like plucking the wings off a fly.

The bar came off. He discarded the curved bar at his feet and gripped the bar next to the one he ripped off. He pulled the second bar off a lot quicker and threw it away. There was enough room for anyone with a huge bust to squeeze through. With it being so dark ahead, it wasn't worth trekking through - just a bit of curiosity.

Alexis let Dorian take the lead and climb the ladder first. She matched his pace and stayed close by his feet. "What was down there?"

Dorian stopped and looked down at her, twisting his body around. "Nothing. It just wasn't marked on the area map. Thought it could be a short-cut, but knowing my luck we'd get lost or off track." He resumed climbing with her.

In time halfway up the ladder, Alexis noticed something red on Dorian's back. The red and white Umbrella logo on his armour was heavily scratched with deep claw marks cut through. She saw the blood dripping through the grooves of the layered metals.

"You're bleeding."

"Am I?" Dorian stopped again and twisted his body around to feel up his back better. His finger ran along the cavity; the grooves were smooth and precise.

"I think that was me..." Alexis said sheepishly.

"You think?" He chuckled. "Worst sex injury I ever had mind you." He started climbing again, at a slower pace. "Did feel my back hurting earlier."

"It was my first time..."

"I drew the first blood; it's only fair."

"You're so lewd..."

"Ha! You love it."

Alexis murmured in acknowledgement. "So what are the mission details anyway? If they're important enough to have Wesker, not in the best of moods I assume, order you down here, why haven't you disclosed them to me? Are they classified?"

"Not at all, in fact, we're gonna need all the help we can get. Even from those nosy trespassers."

"Oh... Benton said those people could do more harm than good."

"I agree. Considering the circumstances, however… I'm afraid we might have to work with them. The extra human resources could come in handy, but don't worry, we'll get rid of them once they have served their purpose. Or if they get suspicious, whatever comes first." Dorian chuckled at his little inside joke, which got worse the more he thought about it.

Sounds much more convincing from you." Alexis smiled. "I cannot wait to get back out there. I need to earn Benton's trust. It's... important to me."

"I'm sure it is. I'll go over the mission once we regroup with him."

"Guess this is the part where we hide our relationship? Again..."

"I'm sorry my big, beautiful predator, that's the way it has to be… for now, at least."

Alexis frowned. "I know… I'm glad you still care."