Pandemic: Resident Evil VI

Chapter Forty Eight: Leap of Faith

"What says that guy wasn't lying his ass off?" Piers asked as the Humvee flew past streetlights on the road. "For all we know, Ada could be headed in the opposite direction."

"No, Tobias wasn't lying." Chris replied, swerving to go around the slower civilian traffic. "Not about something like this."

After leaving the warehouse, sure enough there was a military grade Humvee waiting for them outside, just like the yellow eyed man promised, and after the survivors of Alpha Team climbed into the vehicle, the Captain started driving south toward the Military Port. Tobias had told him to follow the road along the harbor that would take him right past Kwun Lung Plaza, and the port would be right there, along with Ada as she tried to escape on the largest ship docked at the first pier.

"Why are you helping me catch her?" Chris had asked during their conversation. "What do you get out of this?"

"It's more of what I didn't get." Tobias had replied. "She made a promise to my wife in exchange for our assistance, and… let's just say that breaking Gillette's heart is a pretty bad idea, and we won't be helping her anymore."

The yellow eyed man hadn't explained what was meant by breaking his wife's heart, but this was soon forgotten as the Captain's thoughts reviewed the rest of their conversation, particularly the part about Alexia. Beginning with the revelation that she couldn't mess with Chris's memories anymore, since according to her research one more attempt would probably kill him, she instead decided to be completely honest with him. The bottom line was that Alexia wanted him back, and was willing to do damn near anything in order to make that happen.

Was it tempting to go back to her when this was all over? Yes, it was, especially since one of the Captain's biggest regrets in life was that he had been unable to avoid killing Alexia back in Antarctica… a lie… and she had been there with him the whole time, under the guise of eccentric billionaire, Amelia Ashland. On the other hand, she had been manipulating his memories since the end of 1998, so… just about fifteen years now, so why on Earth would Chris want to get back with her? She was a Tyrant, a product of Umbrella's illegal research, and no different than Gillette.

Instead of arguing with him about this, Tobias began to tell him all about Gillette, how she was made in the image of a beautiful young woman, to be deployed in the battlefield as a victim, where she would latch onto any man willing to take her in. That man would then take her back to where his family and friends were hiding, where she would immediately infect them, before leaving to find another man so that the process could start over again. Unchecked, Gillette had the potential to become a worldwide disaster, but instead she had only been responsible for a few instances.

"Her program can't reset, because I didn't die." The yellow eyed man had explained. "As long as I'm alive, she's bonded to me, and that stops her from carrying out the worst case scenario."

At first Chris didn't understand what any of that had to do with, well… anything, since even though the two of them were bonded, there was still the Starlight Disaster, and the massacre at CIA Headquarters right when Leon was returning from Spain… but then the Captain realized that Tobias wasn't only speaking about his own relationship… he was comparing it to him and Alexia. The word used was containment, to describe the effect Chris had on his own wife, but what was that suggesting? That Alexia was somehow the prisoner in all of this?

"Redfield, I've known Alexia a hell of a lot longer than you have." The yellow eyed man had continued. "She went into the ice with a plan to remake the world in her own image, but then she met you, and that's the only time I've ever seen her distracted from her work… when she's with you."

But what did that mean? Was that the worst case scenario, similar to the one he described about Gillette? Was Chris's relationship with Alexia keeping her distracted from unleashing… whatever her plan had been before freezing herself in Antarctica? Thanks to the recent clarification of his memories, the Captain now knew about several of her secrets, including the secret laboratory underneath Terragrigia that was… delayed because Alexia was spending all her time with him in his apartment… and there was her original plan in Antarctica that… that never even got started because of all the time Alexia spent with him…

That was the end of the conversation, with Tobias telling him that he and his wife were leaving China as soon as he left the warehouse, but it definitely gave the Captain a lot to think about as he slowly followed his soldiers' trail back to the entrance. Was Alexia going to destroy the world if he didn't go back and… and distract her some more? She was far more powerful than Wesker had been, and a great deal smarter, so was it possible? Again, part of him wanted to go back to her, since he had been pretty happy… after all, she was smoking hot, amazing in bed, and… yeah, that tendency to mess with his mind was a pretty big red flag.

Chris's thoughts were pulled back to the present when he had to swerve to pass another civilian vehicle, and now he was aware enough of his surroundings to hear Piers' latest call for backup getting denied. Headquarters was adamant that his team pull out of the danger zone until the threat could be properly assessed, but if they did that Ada was sure to get away. So Piers shut off the radio just in time for the Humvee to start down a long hill… a hill where the ocean was visible at the bottom… along with the Military Port as well as the ship that Tobias had mentioned.

"A ship?" The Lieutenant commented as they got closer. "That's a fucking Aircraft Carrier!"

The four remaining soldiers in the back of the vehicle muttered nervously to each other, pointing to the large ship as they picked up speed down the hill, but there was no denying it… the ship up ahead was a full size military Aircraft Carrier, and… and it was starting to get underway. Even though it was night, there was so many bright lights around the port that it was lit up clear as day, allowing Chris to see that the gangplanks were being removed, and waves were being created behind the ship in reaction to the engine's rotors starting to spin underneath.

"Crap, the ship's already pulling out." Piers continued as the Humvee picked up even more speed. "We'll never make it down there in time to get onboard, and… and… Captain, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" The Captain replied, pushing down the accelerator even more. "I'm getting us there in time."

The main gate of the port was open, and from there it was a straight shot to where the loading ramp was still sitting near where the aircraft carrier was starting to pull away, so if he could use the hill to build up enough speed, then maybe… just maybe what Chris was about to try wouldn't get them all killed. Piers and the others seemed to have their doubts, however, and expressed them more loudly as the Humvee reached the bottom of the hill, and sparks flew when the vehicle scraped against the metal edge of the gate.

"Captain, what the hell are you doing?!" The Lieutenant yelled as they barreled toward the water. "Chris, this truck weighs two tons, it's not gonna work!"

"Not with that attitude, it won't!" Chris yelled back, trying to keep the wheel steady. "You have to trust me, Piers, now all of you just hold onto something, and try not to move!"

Dock workers leapt out of the way to avoid the speeding vehicle, and somehow the Captain imagined that getting to the ramp would take a lot longer than it did, because before he knew it the truck bounced when it hit the bottom of the ramp, and slowed down a little before flying up into the air. The aircraft carrier was just starting to really move, and its cargo bay was still open, with the Humvee's engine revving all the way since there was no longer ant ground to resist the spinning of its wheels as it got closer to the cargo doors… closer… dropping lower… closer… lower…

CRASH! Coming in a little lower than expected, the bottom of the front bumper struck the bottom edge of the open cargo doors, causing everyone inside the Humvee to get violently shaken around as the vehicle flipped forward. The windshield shattered completely upon impact, with Chris feeling a few stinging cuts to his face from the fragments as the truck flipped right side up again, only to do another partial flip before coming to a hard stop against the inner hull of the ship. Slowly the Humvee slid downward, leaving the men inside upside down when everything finally stopped.

"See, Piers?" Chris asked, breathing heavily while trying to reach the door handle. "I told you… we'd make it."

All around them the cargo bay was getting darker as the heavy doors slid shut, cutting them off form the intense light of the military port, and now trapped within the much dimmer interior of the aircraft carrier. The good news was that everyone seemed to be more or less unharmed, although pretty well shaken from their arrival, but now… but now they were trapped inside this ship, and yes there was a chance that Ada wasn't even there. After a few hits the Humvee's door opened, allowing the Captain to pull himself out of the now completely wrecked vehicle, and although the one behind him was able to open as well, both doors on Piers' side needed to be pulled open so everyone else could get out.

"What… the fuck… is wrong with you?!" Piers yelled, shoving Chris as soon as he was on his feet. "We could've all been killed just now because of you! I mean… what the fuck were you thinking, pulling a stupid stunt like that, huh?!"

"I'm thinking of accomplishing the mission, Lieutenant!" Chris yelled back. "You think that's the craziest thing I've ever had to do in this job?! I once crashed an airplane into a God damn volcano, and…

Suddenly the Captain's words were interrupted as the lights mounted on the walls of the ship's cargo bay got a lot brighter, and then the hatches both right near the Humvee and on the other side of the room opened, allowing several, no… dozens of infected, rifle carrying J'avo to storm into the cargo bay. In a few seconds the remnants of Alpha Team were surrounded, and since they were outnumbered three to one, and the enemy was not already shooting at them, there was no choice but to lower their weapons as a smaller figure moved through the crowd… a figure wearing high heels.

"Wow, you boys just can't get enough of me, can you?" Ada asked smugly as the J'avo slowly closed in. "That was a pretty neat stunt, but between you and me, I don't think you're gonna like the result."