Story: Zirconia

Chapter Two: Begin

"The secret to getting ahead is getting started."

-Mark Twain, 1835-1910

The buzz of the office and the lawn outside was louder than an average Monday morning. The news of grisly murders in the outskirts of the city had been 'leaked' to the media last night. It had left the station with a group of reporters outside searching for information on what the city planned to do about it. Irons and Carlsen were playing damage control with the wolves surrounding the podium in the yard. Thus far, it wasn't a S.T.A.R.S. problem, at least not publicly.

That suited me perfectly, I had enough paperwork given my double duty as Umbrella operative and S.T.A.R.S. Captain. I had to run handgun qualifications today, not that I expected any team member to fail, but standards required they test every few months. I'd made sure it was timed before the upcoming tests we'd be performing with them. I didn't want anyone not fully vetted involved as that could create variables in the data gathered. I stopped working on the report I was updating, saving progress and backing out of my login so the computer locked.

Sliding my sunglasses on with one hand, I picked up the folder that had all the forms for arms requalification and headed toward the door. I paused before leaving, a fist in the air in front of me that swayed counterproductively in the air where it continued the motion of knocking without a surface. I hadn't expected the brunette with touches of auburn in the dark tresses. Blue eyes widening as she drew her arms down and behind her.

I hadn't thought much of the impromptu meeting on Friday once I'd let her leave the office. It had been entertaining, but I'd put it out of my mind as I prepared what data to release to the media over the weekend. I'd assumed she'd run and never return after submitting the application I'd had her fill out to cover our little deception with Chris. Yet, here she was, her cheeks starting to flush as she looked up at me.

"Hi, uh. I didn't your secretary. The desk I was directed to was empty. I don't know who to go to. To get trained I mean." She said, putting her hands behind her in a poor attempt at looking respectful. The 'at ease' position wasn't meant to be taken when one was idly fidgeting by tapping toes on the ground. Did she know how uncomfortable she looked? A few other officers were glancing our way. I probably should just send her home, if it hadn't been for the glare her brother had leveled on me, I likely would have. But that would send the false signal his actions influenced my choices.

"Miss Redfield. It's good to see you are so punctual. I'm afraid my secretary couldn't make it in today as she had some sort of issue she needed resolved to travel tomorrow." I explained, holding the folder toward her. "You'll have to learn on your feet. I'll assign someone to teach you the basics when we return from qualifications. I'll need you to record data as people shoot. I'll help you when we get downstairs."

"Oh…okay." She took the folder and crossed it over her chest, fingers curling around the edges so she wouldn't drop anything. She seemed surprised she wasn't getting training but adjusted to it easily enough. She might be useful the next two weeks if she could conform to new needs readily. At least, I knew her presence would put Chris ill at ease. Would it be enough to knock him down from top spot at the range?

"Listen up!" I raised my voice over the hum of office chatter so the team would quiet. "We'll be heading down to start our qualifications. Miss Redfield here will be helping with paperwork. She'll be working in the office while my regular secretary is on vacation. I believe most of you know her, she's Officer Redfield's younger sister."

"Nice, good choice boss." Vicker's said, offering her a wave and thumbs up. There was a smattering of other greetings before I started walking.

"As Enrico has other appointments, I'll be running Bravo team through the qual's after I finish with Alpha." I continued after the introduction, walking toward the steps. "S.T.A.R.S. Alpha team, let's go."

They grumbled lightly but followed to the shooting range. No one was excited about spending time on these sorts of tests, but they were a required evaluation. My team was caught up on other requirements so this would resolve them from any other tests. I expected more problems from Bravo team. Enrico was horrible about keeping everyone's paperwork up to date. It had been a constant issue between us. He didn't care much for all the red tape, even when I'd offered to run the tests for his team, so he didn't have to, he'd refused. I had to involve Irons.

The upcoming 'incident' couldn't happen soon enough, I was ready to be rid of him. He'd been a taxing 'second-in-command' since he often disagreed with me. It didn't help that most of the teams had wanted him in charge instead of me before I was assigned so there was still a little dissent here and there. I wouldn't miss the Bravo team.

"These are the forms we'll be working on." I explained after taking the folder from Claire, opening it on one of the tables and gesturing her closer so I could explain it. I was enjoying this little game; it took so little to earn dirty glances from Chris at getting close to his sister. "Each member should have their own sheet already prepared as by their name here. People will come up and shoot, you'll get their final sheets and record totals by this form."

I turned to another sheet that gave her the example as to how scores were decided, and she nodded. It wasn't difficult, she'd be able to handle it. Normally I'd do it myself but now that she was here, I wanted to see how badly Chris let himself get bent out of shape.

"Okay, I think I can do this." She nodded at it. "Seems pretty simple."

"Good. Here. You'll want to make sure you get a good seal on these." I said, reaching to her with a headset to put it on myself. Carefully pushing her hair out of the way to make sure it wasn't over her ears, noting the blush that accompanied her lack of protest. I generally would have just handed them over and left it to her if she got hurt. The vein threatening to pop in his forehead made the gesture worthwhile.

"You know the drill." I barked at the officers, returning to the matter at hand. "Get in line. You first Burton."

About an hour later…

Releasing the pressure from my head, cool air washed over the insulated skin. It got hot in those headsets, and my head hurt a little after all the time it'd taken to do both the teams. I ran my hand through my hair after taking the headset off to straighten it. The Captain was gentle, his touch barely brushing my ear when he tucked loose strands earlier. If he hadn't gotten my hair out of the way it would have been even more uncomfortable.

"All right. Can you finish up the forms here?" He asked after Sullivan finished his shoot. "I will have Valentine come down and help with cleanup, then she can show you how to input the forms. When she's done, I'll set you up an account so come get me."

"Yes, sir. Thank you." I said. I didn't want him to think I wasn't taking my job seriously.

I wasn't sure how to take Captain Wesker, he was kind one moment then severe the next. He'd been pleasant with me so far; his crucial tone had thus far been retained for the officers. Then, I was pretty sure he didn't like my brother, so I was nervous about being here.

I knew it'd thrown Chris off as well. He'd not gotten the best score on the test, which he should have. He normally was at the top when it came to guns. When Chris had finished his turn, he'd wanted to wait but Wesker had sent him out. I knew it annoyed him. He was unhappy with all of this. I'd had to convince him I'd changed my mind on taking a break all summer and just wanted a short job for motorcycle parts. After Wesker's little display putting on my muffs Chris probably had the wrong idea. He still thought of me as the kid that used to cry and crawl into his bed to avoid nightmares. He had never taken well to me dating. The last time I'd tried to go out back in high school he'd dislocated the kids shoulder for holding my hand. Me being here had thrown a kink in his usual groove. I hoped he wouldn't get into extra trouble on my account.

"Hey, you okay?" Jill asked as soon as she came in, stopping near the door to frown at me. "What happened? How did you end up working for Wesker? Chris is…well, you know."

Boy, I knew.

"After you ditched me here Friday night." I didn't even try to hold in the bitterness. "Wesker brought a perp into the interrogation room. I had to explain what I was doing there, or he wasn't gonna let me leave."

"What?" Jill scowled further, walking in to start cleaning up. "You told him I caught you drinking?"

"I said you saw me in the bar and left me in the room, he could guess the rest." I replied, keeping my eyes on my own work, not wanting to mess up numbers. "He said taking up a job here would be better than me ending up in jail next time. He didn't throw me into a cell. He didn't tell Chris either, and I guess you didn't since the only thing I got chewed out about this weekend was planning to come here this morning."

"I just thought it might make you think before doing it again." Jill sighed at me, and I wasn't looking at her. I was still mad at her. This was her fault. "I didn't know Wesker would end up involved. The Captain is doing good though, keeping you out of trouble. I'm surprised he was so lenient."

"Yeah, him driving Chris to insanity is sure helpful." I returned. "You saw it before. He was baiting Chris on purpose helping me. What's up with that?"

"Maybe he was just making sure you had a proper seal since you aren't used to this." Jill said, sounding skeptical about her own explanation. "Besides, Chris has to get over being overprotective. It doesn't do him any good. The Captain has probably heard the rumors about how Chris is when it comes to you. He's just challenging him."

"Yeah, cause I wanna be used as a tool." I murmured.

"Well, would you rather he was interested?" She was grinning when I glanced up toward her in surprise at the implication.

"Well, it'd be better than being the middle person since I don't think my brother and Wester like each other." I returned after recovering from the comment. "Besides, he isn't really bad to look at."

"Don't let Chris hear you say that." Jill laughed at my comment. "Though I can't argue he cuts a nice figure he's married to his job. I've never seen him take an interest in any of the women and a lot of the staff have tried flirting with him."

"That include you?" I asked, giving up on my anger at her. She'd had my best interest at heart and I didn't have any other friends in Raccoon City I could chat to boys about.

"I haven't dared." Jill shook her head, light brown locks drifting left and right. "He's handsome and I look up to him as a Captain, but I…"

"Wanna jump my brother, gross." I commented, grinning at the blush that crept to her face.

"Well, it's not like he's noticed." Jill remarked, not arguing with my point, then turning toward me to point at me. "I don't want you telling him either. It would just make our work more difficult if we tried dating. We aren't supposed to date in the office, it's a conflict of interest. Probably why Wesker always keeps things professional. I wish I was that good at compartmentalizing."

"No, you don't." I shook my head at her. "The whole hard-ass thing works for your Captain; it wouldn't work for you. That isn't who you are."

"Thanks, Claire." Jill nodded to me. "You have really grown up. Come on, this is good. Lemme show you how to input those forms."

Upstairs, I didn't see Chris at his desk despite several members still being around typing. Was that good? Bad? Was he being yelled at in the closed office we paused near? I didn't hear raised voices over the thrum of softer conversations out here so that was promising. I sat near the desk where Jill pulled up a second chair for me then sat at the computer.

"So, you'll get a login, probably today. Wesker will have to deal with that himself cause none of us have the permissions to make you an access given you'll be dealing with his files." Jill explained as we waited for the machine to boot. "Most of the software isn't too bad to work with. Only a few forms that don't work as intended."

It was another ninety minutes or so before I felt well acquainted with what she was showing me. The job wasn't as bad as I first expected. Mostly it was paperwork since Wesker didn't have it set up for me to screen calls, which I guess would have otherwise been a part of the job. Some of the other paperwork and scheduling he handled himself as well. With him dealing with the lion's share, I was pretty much here to do data-entry by the sounds of it. I could handle that.

"Okay, I'll leave you these and you'll just need to get a login." Jill announced, logging her account out. "Wanna grab some food? Seems like everyone else has gone out or ordered something already."

"I should make sure I'm squared away here first, but thanks." I said, ignoring the gnawing sensation. I hadn't eaten much today, but I didn't want to mess this up.

"Hang in there, Claire." Jill smiled at me and took off, leaving me to eye the door of my boss's office nervously. I'd already made a fool of myself this morning. Hopefully, he wouldn't open the door just as I was about to knock this time.

After qualifications, a little earlier…

"Don't you walk away from me." The tone was harsh, demanding. I glanced over a shoulder at Chris since he'd been nipping at my heels all morning. The moment I'd come up from the quals he'd zigzagged across the office toward me. He still looked angry. He had gotten a lower score than usual shooting, so my attention to his sister had affected his performance, disappointing given he shouldn't allow such distractions. The rest of the room was watching, they were expecting a show. I didn't plan to provide it.

"Do you have a problem, Officer Redfield?" I asked as I opened my door to walk inside. "I have a moment if there's something you need to discuss."

He stalked after me, his footsteps much heavier on the floor as he came in after me, shoving it closed.

"What are your intentions with my sister?" He demanded the moment the door clicked. Loudly enough I expected people could still hear him. I sat in my chair and perked a brow at him. Had my putting her headphones on really gotten under his skin this much? He'd always been difficult though; he'd been one of the few I'd taken on my team that had been outspoken about Enrico being leader. He had potential, but let unimportant details get in his way. This bizarre obsession with his sibling was a new example of his hang-ups.

"I plan to have her file the qualifications paperwork once she is trained on proper procedures and has a login." I retorted, being purposefully obtuse as to his implications. If he wanted to confront me like a hormonal teenager, I'd let him make a complete fool of himself.

"You know what I mean Wesker! What was that with the headset?" He walked up to the right of my desk as opposed to standing opposite it; no idea how absurd he sounded. "Claire's only nineteen, what are you? Forty?"

"Officer Redfield, I didn't want your sister to suffer ear damage." I remarked, not impressed with his attempt to be intimidating. "You'll want to consider altering your behavior, unless you believe I need to pull your badge for insubordination."

He narrowed his eyes at my threat, staring several moments before backing up behind the desk, speaking in clipped tones. "That won't be needed, sir. I apologize, I just want to make sure Claire is safe."

"Yes, I can see that. Would you interject like this had she come to work for anyone else in the office? Would you have rather I have passed her request for temporary work to Irons?" My implication raised his cackles further, and he shook his head.

"No. No. I see what you mean." He nodded to me at that, falteringly appreciative.

Irons didn't have the best reputation in the office with the female employees. The man was a cretin, useful for my cause, but careless in his vices. At least his poor behavior had let me set myself as more trustworthy though as I had set up the image that I kept the lecher in check when it came to the S.T.A.R.S. female members after he'd come on to Chambers and I'd interfered.

Chris' blindness when it came to his sibling would make the next two weeks more difficult if he couldn't keep a lid on it. To a point, I could understand the sentiment. I did care about Alex. Then, I understood I didn't have to interfere on Alex's behalf to know she was doing well. Alex was very capable of taking care of herself. Understanding the irony of my reasoning with him before I said it I still offered advice. "Miss Redfield is an adult. You should trust her to act as one."

"I know…" Chris sighed, finally giving up on this misplaced anger toward me. "Just look out for her. She's been through a lot."

"I always take care of my people," I retorted. "If we're done with your personal controversy, I need you back on the mountain investigation. A call came in while we were in qual's that another body was found. This one was partly eaten; it seems we're dealing with cannibals on top of whatever else is wrong with these murderers. Sgt. Carlsen should be your point of contact as he discovered the issue himself. He should be done with the morning conference by now. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir." He saluted again, walking out. At least he didn't slam the door this time. I was able to get a couple hours of work done before another Redfield interrupted. At least she'd knocked and waited for me to call out before poking her head into the room.

"Er…Cap…tain Wesker." She had no idea what she should call me. I didn't correct her, waiting for her to explain why she was leaned half into my door. "I need you to set me up an account, I finished working with Jill. I'm ready to start entering the data but need to be able to access the computer."

"Yes, come in. I'll set it up." I motioned her closer. I had planned to break soon for lunch so I would just do so a little later and get her arranged. "Your ears all right?"

"Uh, yep. The muffs worked well." She said, reaching up to touch her ear where I'd tucked her hair. Good, she remembered the gesture. Just as well, I liked being remembered by the right people, given her area of interest there was always the chance we would come across each other again in the future. "You all right? Aren't you hungry? Most of the others have left for lunch already."

"I'll be going to get something nearby as soon as we're done here." I replied, turning my attention from her to the computer, moving to the proper software to manage accounts and permissions. "I expect you'd like to eat as well."

Her stomach let out a small rumble and she sputtered a moment before just nodding, the pink back on her face. "Sorry. I didn't eat much this morning and didn't want to be late."

"You shouldn't skip meals." I remarked, it'd become an automated reply over the years. I had several replies I'd gotten accustomed to using in various pedestrian conversations. I got up from the computer after getting the usual username set up, nodding to my seat. "Here, you'll need to enter your own password."

"Oh, okay." She approached, sitting slowly in my chair and jumping when I pushed it in a little for her. She wasn't accustomed to having someone with proper etiquette nearby. "Do I need anything in particular? A blood sample maybe?"

I laughed. Despite knowing she meant the password the possibility of it being a legitimate desire in my non-cover life made the comment more entertaining than it would have been otherwise. "At least eight character's long with any combination of letters, numbers, and symbols but at least one of each."

She nodded at that; it was a standard security measure. She didn't even think twice about me standing right here as she entered the code. She was a little too trusting for her own good, but at least I was the one that had seen it. Fair enough, though I knew the 87 she'd used was in reference to when her parents died. She'd been nine when they'd passed, Chris had been fifteen and somehow managed to keep them together. I'd read about it in his files. His determination to survive and protect his sister was one of the reasons I'd wanted him to put on the team for testing. He was certain to give us excellent feedback.

"That it?" She asked after the screen changed when she entered the password a second time to confirm it.

"Yes. You should be able to access from the secretarial computer now." I nodded. Then, on a whim, asked. "Care to get go with me to get a bite, as the rest of the office seems to have ditched us?"

"Oh, uh." She offered me a bright smile after getting over her initial surprise, a sparkle entering her gaze as she added an addendum to her participation. "If you'll answer a question for me, about yourself."

"Oh?" Her sudden interest was peculiar. "What would you like to know?"

"Why do you cover your eyes all the time?" She got more serious, leaning back from the computer and rotating the chair to look at the sunglasses she referenced. "I think people would find you less intimidating if you weren't always sporting them."

"Doubtful."

No one here had seen my deformity, and I planned to keep it that way. There had only been a handful of people in my life that had seen the strange cat eyes the experiments had left me with. Wearing contacts for more than short periods was painful and dulled my vision. I would occasionally for appearances, but this was a better solution.

"I have extreme light sensitivity." I said instead, accustomed to the excuse when people asked about the eyewear. "It is painful to walk around without them."

"Oh, I'm sorry then." She didn't pursuit the line of questioning, already uncomfortable with where it'd gone. I held a hand toward her, offering to help her up.

"Nothing to be apologizing for, let's go." I smirked a bit when she took my hand. It was always nice to build my list of allies. Then, it was a mistake in the making. I shouldn't have ever hired her, asked her to accompany me, tucked that strand of hair out of her face. How could I know those small impulses would come to simultaneously unravel and consolidate my future?

End Chapter

Okay, not entirely Wesker's perspective, but chapters will go back and forth sometimes. I will continue this as my life allows. I'll be without internet for most of the rest of this week so don't expect updates in that time as I couldn't put them up if I had them. : )

-Aura

To my reviewers:

Evolution-500 – Hope you'll continue to enjoy it. : )

Ultimolu – Yeah, some disturbances are going on.