The woman who had been calling herself Ada Wong pressed two perfectly painted fingers to the bridge of her nose, sighing as the human-B.O.W hybrid grunted its way through its latest report.
The J'avo had been a mistake, but one she had been able to use to her advantage. With their eroding humanity came a pack-like mentality, they were more animal than human even without spouting hideously mutated limbs. They needed a leader to keep them from going feral, and Ada was more than capable of keeping them in line.
With a flick of her wrist she dismissed the J'avo from her sight and released an exasperated sigh. "Oh Archer, what have you been up to?" she asked the empty room, turning to peer from the large window adorned with satin curtains. There was a perfect view of the immaculate gardens below, only spoiled by the guards pacing back and forth. The beauty above was such a contrast to the horrors below ground. 'Ada' smiled as she considered the irony. What was on the surface could never be taken as truth...
Which was the case, it seemed, for all her recent subjects. Including Doctor Archer.
Perhaps she'd been naïve to believe the threat against his family would have been enough to keep him in line. She'd thought it had been demonstrated on several occasions that she was a woman of her word who did not take betrayal well. Her mind was already filled ideas of retribution. She would not be taken for a fool, not by any man. Not again.
For now she needed to formulate a new plan. If Archer was slipping information to Sherry Birkin she'd have to be sure he hadn't already done the same with Muller. Perhaps she could teach them all a lesson. Three birds, one stone.
Archer would have to go regardless, which was a shame since he was a brilliant doctor and researcher. She had also been keen to see his reaction when he saw what his work had achieved. The Ada lookalike had already supplied Simmons with the new strain of C-Virus of course, since she wasn't ready for him to know that she was no longer his play-thing. It would have been a delight to see the good doctor's face when he saw the news reports of a familiar infection taking over Tall Oaks. She did enjoy a good twist. It was shame, she thought to herself as she turned from the window and moved to her dresser, her fun was spoiled.
Perhaps instead she could torment the knock-off version of Wesker in her basement. Jake had been easier to get to than she'd anticipated. For all his bravado he was a fragile creature, like most of the male species, she thought with a grimace. Ada pulled a freshly cleaned dress and matching heels from the dresser and tossed them on the large four poster bed. The knowledge that his own blood was responsible for a super virus that would decimate humanity might just break the poor boy entirely. Those broad shoulders carried more guilt than Jake Muller would ever admit. It shouldn't take much more to take him to the edge.
It was what to do with him after that was still troubling her. She was happy to let Simmons begin to wash the world clean, but she needed to be the one with the power when all was done. Muller's DNA would play a part in that. As would Birkin's.
Ada had kept her distance from Sherry. There was something about the blue eyed woman that left her unsettled. Perhaps the knowledge that Sherry was just as much a victim of Simmons' mind games and betrayal as she had once been... could it be that she actually had some humanity left?
Laughing out loud she dismissed the thought. There was no room for humanity in the new world.
As she dressed an idea popped into her head, a potential solution to her newest problem whilst also offering up what would surely be an afternoon of amusement. The reflection of her mirror smiled back at her. "Well, Ada... best get back to work."
Sherry wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed, but she knew it had been at least a day since Archer's visit to her room. One of the J'avo had placed her breakfast on the table and left without even glancing in her direction. Sherry had tried to make small talk with the guards shortly after her capture, she knew they understood her, they simply refused to acknowledge her presence unless taking her from her room to the lab. It was clear that they were under instruction not to engage with her. It must come on in handy, Sherry considered, to have B. that could follow orders like that.
After circling the room for what could have been the thousandth time Sherry shot a worried look at the two-way mirror, wondering if there was even anyone on the other side. Archer had told her she was due a procedure early in the morning. There must have been a reason for the delay, they never missed a treatment. Sherry wasn't sure if this was a sign of something good or...
Is this what the note had meant? The words 'be ready' had been scrawled at the top of a printed map of the facility, a pathway to a series of ventilation shafts messily highlighted. Was whatever Archer had planned going to be happening so soon?
Eventually she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. The sight of the door swinging open usually filled her with fear at whatever horror she was being taken to endure next, but for now she felt relief. Except it wasn't the doctor that entered her room. Armed J'avo gestured and pointed for her to follow them. Sherry complied, her heart thumping erratically as she followed after them.
It wasn't unusual for Archer to be waiting in the labs rather than escorting her himself. Perhaps his plan would begin after the J'avo had left them unattended, as Archer would sometimes instruct them to do during the more invasive treatments. In her mind Sherry pictured the map, plotting out key points that she recognised to help guide her during her escape. If she was correct, the locker room he'd circled was just down the hall-
Sherry's thoughts were interrupted when she was roughly pulled through a door she'd not been through before. Bare, concrete steps led to a cold hallway. Wherever she was, it wasn't the labs she was used to. Footsteps echoed around them as they travelled deeper, the ground beginning to slope in a way that reminded Sherry of the icy mines. Sherry thought of Jake. She needed to speak to Archer, to know that Jake was in on whatever plan he'd formed. Even if the plan was successful she wouldn't be able to call for help in time before whoever was running these labs moved him elsewhere, or worse.
Which also left Sherry with a problem. If Jake didn't make it... could she leave without him?
The twist and drop of her stomach told her No. But she also knew the reason wasn't just because it was her job as an agent to protect and deliver him to her bosses.
Sherry wondered, if the tables were turned, would Jake come for her?
Heavy steel doors loomed before them, and all thoughts of escape left Sherry's mind. This couldn't be right. Why would Archer bring her down here?
Two J'avo stood either side of the doors and swiped their IDs in synchronicity. A light above them flickered, a camera whirred and fixed on them before the doors began to groan. They pulled back into the walls with a grinding screech that pierced the air. Beyond them was another corridor, but this one was not filled with echoing silence.
The screech of the doors had in fact come from something within that room. Locked behind another reinforced door somewhere to the left. On the right Sherry could hear growls that made her hair stand on end. The corridor was lined with them, more doors that hid their contents from view but couldn't block out the nightmarish sounds from within. Her legs felt like they would crumble as the J'avo roughly pushed her forward. Sherry's blood ran cold as she kept her eyes fixed forward as they made their way up a stairway, stopping frequently to pass security checks. She soon became aware of the cameras that followed her every move.
The noise from the creatures below faded as they entered what looked like an observation room. The room was empty. The floor stepped down to create a platform which featured a window that filled the wall. Sherry stared at the darkness beyond it, sure that she could see something moving in the shadows.
Another nudge from the J'avo left Sherry stumbling. By the time she steadied herself she realised she'd been left alone, the door behind her locking with a series of thuds and metallic creaks.
She didn't want to look, but Sherry knew whatever the purpose was for her being here was behind that window. She took a breath, forcing one foot in front of the other. Why would they feel the need to showcase yet another monster to her like this? It had been months since they'd locked her in a cell with one of their test creations, taking data not just on what power the G-Virus had bestowed upon her but on how their latest B.O.W fared in a fight against it. For one terrible second Sherry considered that it might even be Jake behind that window...
"Thank you for joining us, Miss Birkin."
A voice made her start, a small shriek escaping her as Sherry's eyes landed on the speakers fixed on the wall. The voice that echoed through sounded strange and disjointed, like it was being purposefully disguised.
"I apologise for your wait today, but we had a few last minute changes in schedule. It seems there has been insurrection in our midst. A plot to overthrow all the hard work and sacrifice carried out in the name of evolution."
"No..." Sherry breathed, her eyes widening.
What she'd begun to fear... that was why she was here. The doctor... the note...
Light filled the room, making Sherry blinked as she backed away from the window until her back hit the cold wall. But there was no way to miss the oversized, grotesque form that began to thrash and scream against its bindings in the blinding light. Muscles that bulged and split, hands that had been stretched into claws... an eye protruding from a shoulder that swivelled uncontrollably until it landed on her.
The scream was caught in her throat as she gagged. For a second it wasn't Archer's disfigured face that turned to her, but her fathers.
She didn't realise the question had fallen from her lips, repeating like a mantra, until the voice began to speak again.
"Why? Because I thought this was a fitting fate for the man who thought to betray me. Don't you see the irony? Archer was tortured, of course. He kept us busy today. His guilt over a few little experiments became too much for him. Add you to the mix," the voice spat, growing bitter, "you who reminded him of his precious daughter, and Archer broke. This just seemed... poetic, don't you agree?"
At some point Sherry realised she had crumpled against the wall, sliding down so her knees were pressed against her chest as she took shallow, shuddering gasps.
"We shan't be letting this opportunity go to waste however."
Sherry stopped breathing altogether when she noticed more movement in the room, a door opening behind the chained figure of what had once been Doctor Archer. Sherry stared, disbelieving as another form was pushed into the room.
She was on her feet in seconds, leaping to the platform and running to the window to beat uselessly against it as she saw Jake's face twist from revulsion to confusion as he recognised the beast in front of him. Sherry wasn't sure he could hear or even see her until his eyes landed on hers, widening even further as he called her name.
"What are you doing?" Sherry demanded of the bodiless voice, "Why? You've punished Archer, you've punished me. Why bring Jake into this?"
For a moment she didn't think she would receive an answer until the speakers crackled overhead, a silent few seconds feeling like an hour as Sherry watched Jake back away from swiping claws.
"All in the name of the betterment of the world."
Sherry didn't know what to make of the reply she was given before the sound of static disappeared, telling Sherry whoever she'd spoken with was done with talking. Simultaneously the chains holding Archer back were suddenly dropped to the floor with a clanging thud. Sherry could hear the cursing coming from Jake before a roar drowned him out. Her eyes searched the empty room, her hands feeling the edges of the window as she prayed to find a weakness. She knew it was hopeless, but to stand and watch was unbearable.
There was nothing she could do. Archer had been forced to suffer an unthinkable fate all because Sherry had stirred up some residue of fatherly instinct. He was just another victim left in the wake of destruction of the Birkin legacy. And Jake...
Jake was going to die right in front of her. Sherry screamed, her fists pummelling the reinforced glass until she felt her skin split and re-heal, leaving her blood smeared across it.
There was nothing she could do...