The next morning, Sara arrived at the office somewhat hungover following a wakeful night. The events of the previous afternoon had haunted her relentlessly, chasing away sleep whenever she'd begun drifting off.
The horrors Sara had witnessed in the church were branded on her mind, and her heart ached for Jenya who had lost her sister and her husband all in one day. Rage mingled with grief as she recalled the grim parade of black body bags being wheeled into the coroner's vans.
Sara stepped off the elevator, stifling a yawn.
"Hey, Rios," a fellow agent called to her as he passed the elevator bank. She started slightly, her heavy thoughts scattering. "Olmire wants you and Kennedy in the briefing room ASAP."
"Got it, thanks," Sara replied. "And a good morning to you, too," she muttered as she walked on.
Sara entered the briefing room. Leon was already there, clutching his usual cup of sweet black coffee and studying the glass board intently. It was covered with photographs and notations of the wedding victims. His expression was dour as he analyzed the data.
"Hi, Leon," she greeted him softly.
He turned to her, his austerity relaxing briefly into one of his rare, bright smiles. "The first pleasant face I've seen today," he said.
Sara smiled sunnily. "Ditto."
Leon took up a cup of coffee sitting on the table and handed it to her. "I figured you might need this," he said. "Bet you had a night like I did."
"Ooh. You're my savior!" she said, accepting it gratefully. "If you mean your eyelids were practically taped open, yeah."
Leon chuckled lightly before returning his attention to the glass board. "The unit's been working around the clock gathering intel on the victims and the viruses we found in the church and Matsuo's study. They've also been investigating the global attacks. Olmire's collecting the info for us now."
Sara analyzed the photos as well. "This is one hell of a knot," she remarked. "Hana Matsuo's kidnapping, her father's murder, now a global outbreak. It's like a thousand-piece puzzle."
Leon cocked his head thoughtfully. "There's no question in my mind this is an inside job at Seishin Cosmetics. But this worldwide attack… Why?"
Sara reflected on Leon's words, but her musings were interrupted by two familiar voices approaching the briefing room. She turned to the door to see Chris Redfield and his new wife and longtime partner, Jill Valentine, entering. Both were attired in BSAA uniforms.
"Chris, Jill!" Sara exclaimed. She quickly approached them, hugging both in turn.
"Well, if it isn't the newlyweds," Leon said, as he clasped hands with Chris and half-hugged Jill.
"Yeah, we sure started off with a hell of a bang," Chris said in his gruff voice, his brown eyes flashing.
"I'm sorry about your honeymoon," Sara said sympathetically. "Talk about being rudely interrupted."
Jill shrugged. "It's a bitch, but that's the job. Bioterrorists don't care about timing; much less do B.O.W.s. Nice seeing you guys again, though. Shame it's not under happier circumstances."
"How's Claire doing?" asked Leon.
Chris installed his brawny frame into a seat at the table. "She's on relief detail with TerraSave trying to help clean up this mess. The devastation was massive in a lot of places."
TerraSave, like the Red Cross, was a disaster relief organization. Unlike the Red Cross, however, TerraSave was dedicated solely to helping victims of bioterrorism. It had been formed after the Raccoon City destruction incident during which a virus known as the T-Virus had caused the city to fall to ruin. The infected had become the undead, killing and feeding on the living as they spread the infection. Leon, Jill, Chris, and his younger sister Claire were among the few who had survived the ordeal, each taking up the fight against bioterrorism in their own way.
Sara clucked her tongue. "Claire and her team really have their hands full with this. I admire her; that's a pretty overwhelming job."
"That's my sister for you; she's got a lot of heart. It's what she does, just like this is what we do. Opposite sides of one same coin," Chris said.
Jill turned her sharp blue eyes to the glass board. "So this is your mural of woe," she remarked. "Terrible."
"So what brings you guys this way?" asked Leon.
"HQ's deploying us to Japan to support Far East BSAA," Jill answered. "The outbreak there is pretty heavy and a little more out of control than it is here. Since we've dealt with the situation head-on, we thought we'd share our intel with the DSO in person before heading on out," Jill replied.
At that moment, Deputy Director Olmire swept into the room. "Good morning, everyone. Ah! Captain Redfield and Agent Valentine! So glad you could join us. Well, let's get down to brass tacks here. If you'll all take a seat, we can get started."
Everyone took their places around the table and watched Olmire expectantly.
Olmire glanced at the glass board and breathed a quiet sigh. She turned back to the assembled agents.
"From Eito Matsuo's murder to this sudden outbreak, a lot has transpired. Things have gotten so far out of hand, I hardly know where to begin."
Olmire paused briefly then, gathering her thoughts, she stood erect and continued. "There's an interesting development regarding the samples taken from Matsuo Mansion and the church. Tests revealed that the viruses weren't identical, but they do share similar genetic material. Plant DNA was also found in the viruses' composition. Researchers are still trying to determine the sources of the plant DNA.
"Now, we haven't completed a thorough investigation, but there definitely seems to be a pattern in the reception of the viruses. Male victims received one virus while females received another. Volatile mutations occurred with every new victim that was claimed, due to cellular changes."
"His and Hers viruses," Leon reflected darkly. "That's different."
"Another discovery made was that the viruses died with the hosts. Once the hosts' cells died, the viruses stopped replicating and were rendered nonvirulent," Olmire added.
Sara's brows shot up. "The viruses died? So this could be over?"
"Far from it," Olmire replied grimly. "Early this morning, Ms. Karen Braithwaite, quality engineer at Seshin Cosmetics headquarters in Los Angeles, received an anonymous email requesting assistance. I'll present it to you now."
Olmire turned on the projector and displayed an email written in Japanese. "The translation reads: 'This is an emergency message. Please send help. The outbreak was only the beginning. The virus must be stopped!'
"We traced that email to a town in Japan called Fukushū which was abandoned thirty years ago after a chemical fire ravaged it, forcing its surviving citizens to relocate," Olmire informed them.
"Hell of a lead! Maybe Hana Matsuo sent the message," Chris suggested.
"I doubt it," said Leon. "I'm sure she'd have identified herself. The message doesn't even mention the kidnapping―there's no cry for rescue. It only refers to the outbreak and requests aid to stop the virus."
"Strange that they contacted U.S. headquarters instead of Japan's. Local authorities could get involved and send help faster," said Sara
"The sender probably wrote to the first contact they could reach in a hurry," Olmire responded.
"Sounds like somebody's having second thoughts about the project then," said Jill.
"Yeah; it also means the mastermind's really just getting started," Leon reasoned. "They're planning something bigger."
"You think this was some kind of trial run?" Sara asked, dread gathering within her.
"Sure looks that way," replied Chris. "A deliberate trial on very specific targets. Every recipient was a shareholder in the Seishin Cosmetics company or related to one."
Sara's stomach went cold. "So the bride at the wedding…"
"Mirai Singh's husband-to-be, Roger Tilman, was a shareholder," Olmire said. "He had recently acquired stock in the company. As far as we were able to learn, the 'gift' arrived just a half hour before the wedding was to take place. Mirai thought it was a gift from Tilman."
"I'd say this is corporate sabotage, except that Seishin Cosmetics members weren't the only ones victimized," said Leon.
"Um, the bride's sister, Jenya," Sara began somewhat shyly. "She was pregnant, and she had a little girl. What happened to her?"
Olmire paused to check one of many files on the table beside her. "Jenya Greene, Benjamin Greene's widow. She tested negative for infection. However, the stress of the incident induced early labor. The child was born a month prematurely. Mrs. Greene's daughter, Olivia, was left in her grandparents' care."
A heavy silence fell over everyone at this news. Sara glanced at Leon, seeing him tense slightly. She knew he had been forced to terminate Benjamin Greene personally. They hadn't discussed the incident further, but she understood the emotional toll it had taken on him. Bioterrorism did more than claim lives; it wounded minds and shattered spirits.
Leon resumed the discussion calmly, but a quiet ire burned in his eyes. "Matsuo's maid confirmed that the package he received was from Tokyo. Were all the deliveries from Seishin's Tokyo Headquarters?"
"Actually, Far East BSAA intelligence has informed us that the packages were sent from Tokyo, but Seishin did not authorize the shipments," Jill explained. "In fact, the packaging used hadn't even been approved for distribution."
"There are so many things that just don't click!" Sara hissed aside in frustration.
Sara felt her ears grow hot as every eye turned to her.
"Do you have any thoughts, Agent Rios?" asked Olmire.
In a room of seasoned anti-bioterrorism fighters, Sara felt rather like a freshman student talking out of turn. Leon caught her eye and bobbed his head discreetly in encouragement. The grave interest in Chris' and Jill's faces persuaded her to continue.
"Well, as Agent Kennedy pointed out, this is clearly more than corporate sabotage. And that raises a slew of questions." Sara began ticking them off on her fingers.
"Clearly the bioterrorist had intended to kill Matsuo, so why kidnap his daughter? The shareholders weren't just assassinated―they were infected by a vicious virus; why cause widespread destruction? The different viruses with expiry periods… what message are they sending?"
Leon steepled his fingers, leaning back in his seat meditatively. He turned a meaningful gaze on Chris. "This has all the markings of…"
"A vendetta," he and Chris finished in unison.
"Like the Glenn Arias incident. Arias was a wanted death merchant who went on a rampage after a government drone strike killed his bride and family on his wedding day," Chris explained, turning to Sara. "He took his revenge by unleashing a virus on New York City. Son of a bitch sure gave us hell to take out."
Leon huffed. "You can say that again."
"So maybe somebody had a grudge against the Seishin Cosmetics bigwigs and are taking it out on the rest of the world, too. Makes sense," Jill said pensively.
Olmire nodded. "A very sound theory, Agent Valentine," she said. "One which I want you, Agent Kennedy and Agent Rios, to investigate. I'm sending you both to Fukushū, Japan."
Leon inclined his head.
"Japan?" Sara asked, keeping her voice steady by an effort. Her stomach went cold. This case was unnerving enough domestically, but it never occurred to her that they would be taking it international.
"Yes," replied Olmire. "There's a little village about two miles away from Fukushū called Kuraishi. You're to head there. There you're to contact the authorities to escort you into Fukushū. It's my hope you'll not only find answers, but Ms. Matsuo as well.
"We don't want anyone obstructing the investigation so, in the interest of avoiding unwanted attention from the locals, you're to pose as a civilian couple spending a night in the village. That should present no problem for you under the circumstances."
Sara's ears burned again. It was common knowledge within the Division that she and Leon were dating, but no one knew that, except for occasional heated kisses, they maintained a chaste relationship. She loved Leon dearly, but had adamantly avoided crossing that point of no return.
Sara refused to press Leon, but after two years, they still hadn't discussed their future together. Her heart already at stake, she was unwilling to take further risks. The bare thought of being in a hotel room alone with him made her feel awkward. However, she was a professional now, and personal issues must be set aside for the moment. The case took priority.
"Absolutely not a problem," she declared solemnly.
"Nope," Leon agreed nonchalantly.
"Excellent," Olmire said approvingly. "Far East BSAA and North American BSAA are working in tandem, so you can expect support from both ends on this mission."
"That includes extraction," Jill said. "Chris is leading the company being deployed to Japan; I'll be part of the unit, too. Sometimes governments can get a little territorial, so if you need backup, you contact us."
"Got it," Leon replied.
"Ingrid Hunnigan will be your Field Operations Support agent," Olmire informed Leon and Sara. "She'll be sending you satellite data and any required information via your communications devices. Take the remainder of the day to prepare for your departure. You leave this evening at seventeen hundred hours. Any questions?"
Leon and Sara shook their heads simultaneously.
"Good. Best of luck to you all."
Having concluded the briefing, Olmire sailed out of the room, leaving the four friends in somber contemplation.
"Well, that's it, then," Jill said presently. "Oughta be just like a second honeymoon."
"It'll be pretty much like your first, actually," Leon quipped.
"Got that," Chris agreed.
They shared a low, uneasy chuckle.
"Be careful out there," Chris told Sara and Leon. "Watch each other's backs. An abandoned town? Anything can be waiting for you out there."
Sara forced a smile. "We'll do our best. Be careful yourselves."
"Roger that," Jill affirmed.
Having exchanged parting embraces, the group went their separate ways.
"God, I feel like such a greenhorn right now," Sara muttered as she and Leon headed back to their desks. "I just hope I make good out there."
Leon turned to face her. "We're expected to do our best, and I know you will," he assured her, his tone surprisingly gentle despite his stern visage. "Drive you home?"
Sara smiled, relieved. "I'd really love the company," she replied.
"Great. Then we're off to Japan." Leon scoffed. "Well, I always wanted to see Japan in the spring. The sakura trees oughta be a sight this time of year."
"I can't wait," Sara returned dryly.