My gun snapped up, and the bullet lodged deep within the B.O.W.'s head, throwing it to the floor with a cry as my gunshot echoed off the walls. "Piers!"
I raced over towards him and wrapped my hand under his bicep to help him up. He staggered to his feet with a wince and a strained smile as he balanced himself out. He blinked down to the J'avo at our feet, "So these are Neo-Umbrella's finest, huh?"
A clang sounded off from the wreckage and catching our attention. My frazzled nerves relaxed as I saw Chris climb to his feet, seemingly unfazed by the crash and rounded near Ada's abandoned car. He clucked his tongue and pressed a finger to his earpiece. "Alpha to H.Q., we're closing in on Ada Wong."
"How will we find her on here?" I heard Piers ask as he followed close behind the captain towards a metal door leading into a small room.
"There's only one way she could have gone. C'mon. We don't have a moment to lose." The door creaked open, and Chris' form disappeared inside the black void.
The room was silent as I entered. Only a table stood in the center with empty boxes on them, and papers were strewn about. There wasn't anything on the documents worth noting, but I skimmed over the boxes to double check.
At the back of the room were a set of metal stairs. Piers' footsteps clanged off the metal walls as he neared the top and caught my eye. "Clear," he said as he reached the top and continued out of sight.
For such an important ship, it seemed awfully quiet in here. My body ached, and my heart thudded in my ears as I took the steps slowly.
Piers stood off to the side, investigating a doorway as I approached him. "We got some trouble."
I followed his gaze. We stood above the hangar to the ship, and covering every inch of the floor below was military trucks, vehicles, weapons and even jets. Crates stacked higher than me lined the far walls; the tips of the machine guns poked out of a few of them, catching the light above. The hair on the back of my neck prickled, and when I spun around, I spotted the unmistakable black hair of Ada bobbing across the far side of the hangar and towards a metal door. Before she dipped inside, she turned around and gave us a sly wave and smile.
"There she is! Damn it." I got two steps in on the catwalk before bullets pelted the ground and ricochet up into the wall above my head. A hand reached around my arm and yanked me back across the threshold of the door and behind Piers.
He focused on the snipers on the opposite end; his mouth pulled down as he spoke. "Looks like we got more of Neo-Umbrella's finest blocking our way." He shifted his gun in his hands and gave me a quick nod, to which I caught on right away. "Go!"
I whirled around the doorway and snapped my gun up, striking a J'avo through the shoulder where it tumbled to the ground.
Piers' shot struck through one of the snipers, sending it to the ground with a thud while I continued my onslaught with the other.
My scope shook over the bobbing head of the J'avo, but with no clear shot. I felt the whizz of one bullet clip by my ear and strike the metal wall behind me with a ding.
"Jade, get the last sniper! Chris and I are heading down in the hangar," Piers yelled over the roar of more J'avo.
"I'm trying, but he keeps moving!" I fired again but only clipped the sniper's arm. I reloaded with a grunt, really starting to feel the fatigue now as my hands shook just holding the gun.
This night needs to wrap up quickly.
Chris and Piers plowed their way through the hangar, their gunshots mixing in with the screams and yells of the other J'avo. I estimated about ten other ones showed up to cover Ada. Damn them.
My next shot finally hit the sniper. With a faint nod, I gathered enough strength and slid down the ladder to join the guys.
A trail of bodies was scattered around the area, the only sign that Chris and Piers had been through here. Just as I was closing in on them, an alarm sounded out, and the security lock doors started to activate and block off Ada's path.
"Great!" Piers roared while knocking a J'avo back with the butt of his rifle. "Now, what do we do? We can't bust through those doors."
Chris fired three times, striking down a mutated J'avo swinging at him and ducked under his claws. He bobbed his head around the hangar before settling on a door. "There!" He shouted and started for it. "We'll find a way to loop around."
He tossed open the door and charged into the deck of the boat with his gun raised. Immediately, we were bombarded with more gunshots and J'avo.
Shifting behind a beam, I reloaded my gun and waited for a lull in the firing before twisting out and taking aim. I knocked out the closest J'avo, but it still seemed like more were already taking its place.
Chris hunkered down behind the crates ahead of me, his sights set on a J'avo with a mutated arm not far off from him. It hid behind the reinforced shield and charged towards him with a scream. Chris shot out both its legs before it could take another step, and my shot finished it off for good. I joined him by the crates, keeping my eyes peeled for more enemies.
"Keep moving! Get up the stairs!" Chris tapped me on the shoulder while he held off the last remaining J'avo.
Piers and I charged up the stairs. My head felt fuzzy, and my one leg still trailed a step being the other; the pain was becoming unbreakable.
"Don't fall behind, Jade." Piers said, with no malintent. I caught his worried glance over his shoulder.
I sucked in a fresh breath of air and pushed forward.
We clambered across the next deck, the cold sea breeze blew across my sweaty skin, and the taste of salt stuck on my chapped lips as we neared another room. My foot caught the threshold, making me stumble inside the darkened room with a gasp. My gun flicked up, searching the area for hidden enemies, but nothing moved. "All Clear," I said and shifted to the side so Piers could fit through and started to search through the area for any information.
The projector hung from the ceiling and splashed pictures across the wall, painting the room in a dim glow. The empty chairs gathered in a semi-circle around the screen, and when I honed in on the pictures, I stopped.
The multiple photos showed the interior of Iesha's safe house in a state of disarray with overturned furniture and dead B.O.W.s strewn about. The photos taken outside were when my blood ran cold. The black water lapped at the walls where Iesha's body fell and to the small gravel area. Red blotches carried from the water and up the gravel towards the grass as if something large had dragged itself from the black water. My eyes shot to the bottom of the photo, where the time and date were stamped. I choked on my breath. The image was less than a day old.
"Can you feel it spreading through your body yet?" Ada's voice sliced through the silence in the room.
I whirled around, but she wasn't there.
Chris and Piers stood frozen to the spot, their heads shifting upwards towards the speakers where her voice bled through.
"I'm just giving you exactly what you gave me, Simmons. Don't be afraid; you're just becoming the monster you always were. You and everyone else on this planet. You may have formally changed the world into what it is today, but starting tomorrow, it's all going to change."
"I don't like the sound of any of that," Piers said.
A flicker of black caught my attention. My head snapped to the side where the windows to the other room stood, and just on the other side of them, Ada stood with her usual slack smile on her lips. She took off towards the exit when my mind finally caught up.
"Ada, stop!" My voice startled Piers and Chris. They jerked around and honed in Ada as she slipped through the door.
"Ada!" Chris yelled and bolted after her.
The sound of our boots clunking against the ground filled the air as we chased after her.
I reached the door first and flung it open. I only caught a quick glance of Ada's lower half as she disappeared over the ledge above me and out of sight.
"Don't let her escape!" Chris shouted as he reached the door.
Piers was already racing down the walkway when the shouting and gunfire started. "We got company!"
Shadows darted across the decks; their red goggles caught the glint of moonlight and reflected it through the dark as the J'avo picked up their guns and took aim. The flashes from the barrels of their weapons lit up their disfigured faces, showing the mutations in all their disgusting glory.
Bullets flew past, whizzing by my face and head and pelting the walls with a metallic clank as I rushed to keep up with Piers.
"Snipers on the deck." Piers skidded to a halt so suddenly, I nearly ran into him. His shots sounded over the rest with their carefully calculated accuracy as they split open the heads of the J'avo on the opposite side. After what felt like an eternity, he turned his gaze onto me and spoke between shots, "you mind giving me a hand?"
I replied with three quick shots, missing only one enemy, but it was still enough to catch Piers' smirk dancing along his lips as he raised his gun and fired one shot, striking down the final J'avo.
"Show off." My grumble came out in a pant as fatigue settled into my bones, and the dull pain in my leg flared back up as I ascended the stairs.
A hand clamped on my shoulder, and the closeness of Piers' voice startled me. "Give me your arm," he said and stalked his arm around my waist and drew me close while he plopped my arm across his shoulders. My body sank into his side, happy to be relieved of the added weight, and I couldn't help the sigh escape my mouth.
The black bodies of the J'avo dangled from the ceiling as we barged through the door. All their attention turned onto us as Chris raised his gun towards them, and their roars filled the air as they scurried over the pipes. The flash of lights from the bullets assaulted my eyes as Piers dragged me into the room and leaned me up against the wall so he could aid Chris. Blood splattered the ceilings and flooring as the J'avo's bodies slammed into the ground at our feet and screeched out.
"More are coming on your left!" I yelled to Piers and watched as he pivoted around and aimed his gun at the two J'avo, picking themselves off the ground; their limbs exploded into hardened shields and long claws as they raced towards him. His muzzle flash flickered across his strained face, and the muscles in his neck stiffened as he was pushed back by one of the J'avo.
I found my footing and snapped my gun up, and fired seven rounds into the side of the J'avo. It fell to its knees, giving Piers ample time to reload and finish it off with a bullet to the head.
Once the J'avo were dead, the room went silent, the only sound being the rapid puffs of our breathing as we gathered our senses. "There's a ladder over here-it's the only option," Chris said while staring up at the hatch of the ladder on the other side of the room.
He jumped onto the ladder, threw the hatch open and poked his head through and gave us a thumbs up before climbing the rest of the way out.
Using what little energy reservoir I had left, I pulled myself up the ladder but only made it halfway when the pain in my back and leg erupted.
"Jade?" Piers piped up under me, but I couldn't get a word out through my clenched teeth. A cold sweat formed, and my head swayed.
Just as I was about to let go, a hand slipped under my armpit and yanked me up, making me hiss as my back got tugged up through the hatch.
Chris' pressed face was the first thing I saw as he pulled me up and over to the side. "You good?"
Weakly, I nodded and leaned back on my butt to relieve the pain in my leg. "I... I'm fine. Just winded. Keep going. I'll catch up-"
"We'll wait." That was all Chris said and checked the area for any hidden enemies.
Piers knelt down beside me, sparing me a strained smile as he lifted my arm back over his shoulders, but I stopped him. "I'm fine. Let's keep moving." I staggered to my feet, making sure to hide the discomfort and gave Chris a reaffirming head nod.
Piers opened his mouth to say something, but Chris beat him to it. "Okay...if you're sure."
I nodded, and Chris took the lead and broke through the metal door. The wind clipped my face, and the smell of grease and fish hit my nose as I stepped out onto the deck, but I came up short when I spotted the dark figure at the other end.
Ada hardly acknowledged us as we surrounded her. She cocked her head over her shoulder, forgetting the phone pressed to her ear and grinned. "Still haven't had enough, huh?"
"Ada," Chris hissed and fixed his gun on Ada's face.
Her eyes flickered over our shoulders as if looking for something before returning her attention to Chris. "Did your team get lost, or is this all that's left...again? Gotta say, with your track record, I'd hate to be a part of your team."
An animalistic growl emanated from Chris. He took a threatening step towards Ada, but Piers reached out and stopped him. "Don't let her get to you."
She took in the sight with silent amusement, then, her eyes flickered to me, and her smile curled higher on her lips. "Isn't this a surprise-mercenary turned hero, what's wrong? Lost your edge when that city crumbled?" Her eyes trailed across my face and down to my injured leg. "Iesha was done in by the likes of you? Well, no matter, I should be thanking her, your teams...and your little friends...for being such great test subjects-"
The gunshot cracked the air, startling Ada and me. The virus gun she held flew out of her hand and over the side of the railing. She smiled and shook out her hand before returning to her lazy stance as if she hasn't been cornered.
Chris fixed himself and lowered his fuming gun before speaking. "Ever since what you did In Edonia, I have chased you across the globe, lost my men and wanted nothing more than to see you dead," Chris shifted on his feet and levelled with Ada. "But this isn't about me-it's about justice-it's over Ada."
"You're right; this is about justice," Ada's voice cut like a knife. "The missile will launch, and the dead will flood the streets, and there won't be anything you or the B.S.A.A. can do to stop it. Deja vu, boys? Raccoon revisited. But this time, it'll be the whole world."
"What do you mean launch?" I heard myself asking, but I didn't get a response when a loud thundering sound chopped through the air.
Before any of us could move, a bright flash of light splayed over Ada, and the site of the blacked-out helicopter appeared as if out of thin air.
Ada spun around and covered her hand over her eyes to get a better look when a single shot rang out, sending Ada back with a grunt before taking off out of sight once more.
I stood stunned in place and watched as Ada's hand drew back from her chest stained red. She stumbled around on her feet, looking lost and contempt before drawing her eyes up to us. "Well...played, but you can't stop what's...coming-" The heel of her boot knocked against the ledge, flinging her body over the side without any sound.
Chris and Piers raced towards the ledge, but all I could do was stand in place. My body refused to acknowledge what I saw. Iesha was dead, and now, so was Ada.
Is it really over?
"What the hell was that?!" Piers yelled, staring off into the distance where the helicopter took off. It was then that we noticed the briefcase at his feet. He bent over and opened it.
I finally found my footing and started towards him, keeping a close eye on the briefcase as I got closer. "What's inside?"
He plucked out a needle with sloshing red liquid inside. It looked similar to the information gathered about the C-virus. "It looks like a new strain," he said and studied it intently. "Looks like there are two missing."
"Take what's left; we'll show it to H.Q. when we get a chance," Chris said while pressing his finger to his earpiece. "This is Alpha to H.Q. Ada Wong is dead, but she mentioned a missile was preparing to launch at the city."
"We need more time! We're still locked in the city with the attacks and evacuations-"
"There isn't time!" Chris snapped. "The attacks were just a distraction. The real attack is with that missile!"
"Alpha, find that missile and disarm it! We can not let it launch."
Loud screams cut the air, cutting off Chris. A chill ran down my spine as I looked out across the ship. Dozens of black shapes ran across the bridge, yelling things, but I couldn't understand what. That's when I spotted it, the large missile being lifted up and pointed towards the city. "The missile!" I cried.
"We gotta get down there and stop it!" Chris yelled and turned back to the elevator beside the door. We fell inside and hit the button. The machine clunked and started to descend way too slow. I rocked on my feet, ignoring the pain it sent through my leg and just focused on the doors.
She was a monster, right up to the end. No care for the lives of others.
A tingling sensation touched the side of my face; curious, I cocked my eyes away from the door long enough to catch the concerned stare of Piers' gaze on me. He said nothing, but I understood everything. We are going to stop this-to stop her. We will.
The elevator jerked to a halt and the doors parted. Chris raced out first, followed by Piers and myself. Our boots clunked across the metal deck and around the corner, where we froze to the spot.
Ada's body laid sprawled out across the cement, her eyes glossy and staring into nothing as we slowly approached her. Piers and Chris only paid her a second glance before starting forward where the J'avo were gathering, but something in Ada's hand made me stop and second glance.
The syringe fell from her fingers, and a loud gasp emerged from her lips, startling me and throwing me back a step with a cry. Chris and Piers stopped, their questions going unanswered as I glared at Ada's twitching body as it convulsed and spewed the thick substance from her mouth and pores of her skin. It splattered at my feet, the stench making my nose curl as I took another step back.
She stumbled forward but cut caught herself and let out another spew of the substance towards me. I jumped back with a roll, crying out as the pressure on my spine pinched as I got back to my feet. Ada's body arched at an unnatural angle, bending her around like a rag doll as the substance gathered around her.
Chris and Piers raced back over. Anger etched on their hardened brows as they took in Ada's sight.
Her once clean face and clothes were now covered in the white-grey substance and oozed across the ground, and when she spoke, she sounded nothing like herself. "You still don't get it, do you? There isn't anything you can do to stop what's coming. Soon this frail shell of a society will collapse!" She jerked, sending a spray of the goo across the deck, just missing Piers as he jumped back. The substance piled under her feet, covering her waist and engulfing her inside its cocoon. Her face was a melted mess, but one eye still poked through, and no sanity was left behind it. "And you know what will be left? Nothing!" Her heretic laugh echoed in the night air and over the J'avo's screams as she descended inside the substance, leaving a chilling silence to the air.
"Captain? What do we-"
One of the limbs shot forward, whipping past my head and striking the wall behind me with a splat.
"Get out of there, Jade!" Chris yelled and fired into the mass of flesh.
"And I, Ada Wong, will reign as Queen of the new world!" Her disembodied voice resonated around the air.
"Seems like she didn't get the hint when she was shot," Piers uttered and jumped out of the way again as one of the limbs shot out at him. His bullets pelted into the flesh, but it didn't look like it did anything to it. "Bullets don't seem to be doing anything. Captain?"
"I'm working on it!"
My feet skidded across the floor and hopped over a crate as one of the limbs chased me. I fired off, but nothing slowed it down. My stomach twisted, and my mouth ran dry. That's when the J'avo started took aim and fired off at us.
"We're sitting ducks out here!" I dodged under a beam as a pelt of bullets ripped overhead.
"That missile is top priority. Piers!"
"Way ahead of you, Captain!" Piers took off over the deck and started up the ladder towards the bridge where the J'avo and missile were.
Propping myself up, I shot out two J'avo blocking his path, but Ada seemed to have other ideas. One of the limbs latched around my ankle, tossing me backwards and throwing me to the ground and dragged me closer. The harsh metal banged against my spine, making me scream as she yanked across the deck. I reached up, clawing at anything to grab ahold of, but I kept grasping at air.
"Jade!" Chris yelled and fired at the limbs, splattering more of the substance around and further angering Ada.
A face appeared in the mass of flesh, and a cracked smile peeled across her white face. My teeth hurt from clenching them so hard. Then, Ada's scream ripped through the air, and the limb dropped from my leg, giving me time to scramble towards Chris. He latched onto me and dragged me further away, not once taking his eyes off of Ada.
When I felt we were at a safe distance, I chanced a glance behind me and noticed the arrow sticking into her eye. It was quickly absorbed inside her flesh, and she glared off into the distance. Confused, I followed her eyes but didn't notice anyone there. "Who was that?" I asked, but Chris shook his head.
"Not a damn clue, but good thing they shot. Can you stand?" I nodded and found my footing. "We need to keep her busy while Piers takes care of the J'avo."
"Got it."
Just then, a loud bang erupted in the center of the deck, and the floor broke apart. One of the large jets we found stored there was beginning to rise up, and more J'avo with guns and military vehicles underneath it. Sitting in the pilot's seat was one of the J'avo; the red from its goggles burned into my face as it took control of the steering and the sound of the jet engines roared.
"Move!" Chris shoved me to the side, and the crack of gunfire erupted all around us.
My stomach lurched as we rolled out of the way, and my chest clenched. The shots from the jet ripped through the ship's exterior and kicked up sparks in our way. The other J'avo hunkered down, aiming their guns at Chris and me while a few others, I noticed, took off after Piers.
I tossed my head down to dodge another barrage of gunfire from the other J'avo and loaded up a new clip into my gun, and turned to face Chris. "I'll distract the J'avo!"
"And I'll take care of the pilot! Go!"
We broke apart and rushed around the corner when a lull appeared in the shooting. My gun ripped up and fired into the mess of J'avo.
"Could use some cover up here!" Piers' voice cracked through the radio.
He stood over the missile, changing over from trying to disarm it and fighting off stray J'avo as best he could. Even from this distance, I noticed the strain on his face.
A yell roared over the fighting, and my attention tore off from Piers and onto one J'avo lugging a rocket launcher. It loaded it up and was preparing to fire, but I already had my sites on him. Just as I pulled the trigger, a stray bullet whipped up past my cheek, startling me. My shot rang out, and a quick ting! Sounded out before a large explosion. I watched on as the rocket launcher exploded over the J'avo, ripping him apart and setting the nearby cargo aflame. The flames grabbed hold of the vehicle beside it, and that, too, exploded in a blinding light.
It quickly consumed the deck and the J'avo but also blocking Piers off from us. Ada's screams gripped my nerves, and I spun around to see the flames had also caught some of her. Her screams grated on my ears, immobilizing me as I tried to block it out. I could hear Piers and Chris' voices in my ear, but I couldn't understand what they were saying.
"Missile disarmed!"
Ada's limbs thrashed about, spraying more liquid around the deck and across my feet as I backed out of her reach. The center pit of flesh convulsed and retracted as it latched onto the walls and deck to get out of the fire's reach.
"J'avo are down!" Chris shouted over the screams as he hopped inside the jet and took control.
More J'avo survived the initial explosion than I thought, so I turned my attention back on to them and let Chris handle Ada once and for all.
The closest J'avo lunged towards me with a clawed hand, swiping it back and forth while it chomped at the air. I backed away, firing off shots to its legs to try and bring it down, but it moved too quickly. "I could use some assistance down here, Piers?" I rolled to the side, dodging a knife swing from another hidden J'avo, but put a bullet between its eyes.
"I can't! The fire blocked me off!" His curses could be heard over the air.
He was only able to give me aid with his gun. His single shots rang out methodically, ripping apart J'avo as they drew closer. "Captain, those are nitrogen bottles down there! Maybe we can use them," Piers said.
I spotted the blue bottles he referred to; they were close to Ada but not close enough.
"We need to lure her forward first!" Chris turned his attention on Ada and sent wave after wave of artillery on her as she slowly began to burn. She roared and lifted her form back up and sent a spray of residue across the deck, extinguishing the flames around her.
The hit came out of nowhere and sent me to the ground with a cry. A J'avo jumped on me, thrashing its mutated head forward as I held it off. It picked me up and slammed me back down, sending a convulsion of pain through my back. I bit down on my tongue and tried to shove the thing off me, but it was too strong. My arms shook, and my body was failing me. It threw me down again; this time, my scream ripped from my throat.
The shot cracked the night air and sent a spray of black blood over my chest. The J'avo shook and lurched to the side where it crashed to the ground in a heap of mutilated flesh. "Jade!" Piers yelled out.
I crawled to my feet, nearly tripping over the discarded rocket launcher the J'avo had dropped and gave Piers a thumbs-up. The flames were growing higher around him, blocking him into an even smaller section of the bridge. I was only able to see flashes of him, but I caught his thumbs-up as a reply.
The screech from Ada had us flinging our heads over towards the fight. Chris lured her forward and managed to shoot out the nitrogen bottles, catching her in the explosion and freezing a majority of her body. In a quick movement, I reached for the rocket launcher and fired towards her. Her body exploded into dust, cutting off her screams in an instant and leaving my ears ringing.
We did it.
"Way to go," Chris cheered. "Jade, hop inside; we gotta get Piers outta there!"
"On it!" I picked up my gun and jogged over to the jet.
Once I was settled inside the seat, Chris lifted off and swung the jet around. Piers backed into the corner as the flames grew and licked at his ankles. Sweat glistened off his face, and the wind off the jet kicked up the fire, nearly catching Piers.
"Shit!" Chris uttered and pulled the jet back so the flames would die off. "I can't get closer!"
"Try going over there," I pointed to a larger opening near the bridge, and the direction of the engines would push the flames to the other side.
The jet eased down, and the flames kicked back up, but not as bad as the first time. I leaned out, trying to offer my hand for him to grab.
Piers took a running start and used the railing to kick off and jump to the jet. I clutched at his hand, wincing as his added weight pulled on my shoulder.
"I got you!" I choke out as I tried to lift him, but I didn't have enough muscle. He grabbed hold of the side of the cockpit with his other hand and hoisted himself up, but the jerky movement of the jet knocked him back out, but he latched onto my hand and the side before he could fall. "Hang on!"
"Fuck!" Chris screamed. "The missile-it's preparing to launch! But how?"
Through the crack of my eyes, I managed to spot the missile spewing smoke out of its end and re-directing its position. "We have to stop it!"
Piers hit against the side of the jet as Chris pulled away. "Easy there, captain!"
Gunshots fired off at the side of the jet, catching sparks as they dinged over Piers. "We got more company. Looks like Ada was determined to have her plans play out." Chris eased the jet out of the J'avo's way and tried to keep it steady as Piers jumped inside the cockpit with me.
It was at that moment I realized there was only one seat in this cramped compartment. "I'm in, Chris! Take the missile out!" Piers plopped into the seat and sat me on his lap so the roof could close. I fell into his lap with a grunt and grabbed ahold of the sides so I wouldn't rock around, and tried to keep my distance-if that was possible.
"Take it out, Jade!" He yelled behind me.
I scrambled with the controls and pushed what I hoped were the correct buttons; when the gun clanked, I took hold of the controls and began firing off at the missile. "Crap!" The jet jerked to the side as a rocket whipped beside the wing.
"Ignore the J'avo! Get the missile!"
"I'm trying," I cried. "But the jet keeps moving!"
My knuckles were white as a sheet and hurt like hell, but I fired round after round at the missile as best I could while the J'avo shot at us. The target lined up, and I gave a triumphant cry as I released the rocket. My cry turned into shock as the rocket hit the target, but out of the smoke, the missile still launched. "It launched!"
"It's heading for the city!"
We all watched in horror as the missile left a fiery trail behind it as it raced over the city. Through the tension, a radio transmission cut in and a female's voice broke the silence. "This is F.O.S. Is anyone there?"
"Chris Redfield with the BSAA here?"
My eyes locked onto the missile. It drew closer to its target. My blood ran cold, and no matter how much I swallowed, my mouth was still dry.
"Hold on, I'm patching you through to Agent Leon Kennedy!" The woman said.
Chris' confusion wor off onto Piers and me, we shared a glance, but all I got as an answer was a shoulder shrug from Piers. "Leon!? Leon, where are you?" Chris' panicked voice cut the tension.
My heart pounded in my throat-it was getting harder to draw any breath in. Then, a mystery voice piped in.
"Chris! We're just outside of Tatchi. Why?"
"Get the hell outta there!" Chris screamed just as a blinding light erupted over the sky.
Blue smoke rained down on the city like an apocalypse. It covered the city to the highest skyscraper and engulfed it in its disgusting aura. All the screaming on the radio went dead, and the only sound in the jet wash from the engines and Chris repeatedly calling for this Leon person.
Arms tightened around my waist, and Piers' breath puffed out across the back of my neck. I could feel him shaking and the anger rolling off him in waves. My hand wound its way over my mother's necklace as I uttered a silent prayer. These people are dead, and it's my fault. I should have been faster with the controls!
I squeezed my hand into a tight ball at my sides, but what shocked me was something squeezed back. I tore my eyes off the city and down to my hand where it laid engulfed in Piers'. He squeezed back but said nothing.
Finally, the voice on the radio returned. "Ya, but things just got bad...real bad."
"Dammit!" I jerked at the sound of Chris banging a fist against the side of the cockpit.
"Chris, listen to me," Leon's voice took on a new darker tone. "I need you to rescue two hostages from an underwater oil field. Agent Sherry Birkin and Jake Muller... he's Albert Wesker's son."
"Wesker?" The shock in Chris, to say the least, was quite prominent.
Wesker? The name didn't mean anything to me, but it seemed to affect the captain, judging by his reaction.
"Chris, he's got antibodies for the C-virus."
"I got it." Chris sighed. "On my way."
"Good. Thanks."
"Leon, wait. There's something I have to tell you." Chris took a moment to prepare himself before he continued. "Ada Wong is dead."
The silence on Leon's end was deafening, but it was the quiet and almost brokenness of his voice that broke my heart.
"Copy. Sherry and Jake need you... don't let them down." The rest of the flight was made in silence as we landed at the oil field in the middle of the open water.
With my shock of the past five minutes not passing, heat gathered in my stomach and rose over my cheeks. I didn't dare look Piers in the eye as I stumbled out of our compromised position and landed roughly on the rig. The sound of him jumping out sounded beside me, but I paid him no attention as I stared at the massive metal doors ahead of us.
Chris gave us the signal to move forward, and Piers and I raced ahead first, taking each side of the door and pulled the lever. The metal groaned and thunked as the doors pried open, revealing an empty elevator inside. Chris raced in first to scout the area before giving us the clear to enter.
The elevator was large and dark; it groaned as it descended into the dark abyss of the sea. A queasy feeling spread through me at the thought of hundreds of feet of water now on top of me. What monsters await us now?
"If that ain't irony, then I don't know what is," Piers said, at last, breaking the silence. "A man who spent his whole life trying to destroy the world, and now his son is the only one who can save it."
I hadn't the slightest clue what they were talking about, but ever since the man over the radio mentioned Jake Muller's name, the captain's attitude did a complete one-eighty. I know he and the captain had a history together, but what?
"Maybe it's fate?"
"Says the man who killed his father," Piers replied. "Like I said-irony."
There was no malice behind Piers' words, but Chris retreated further into himself. He turned away from us and stalked over to the glass windows where the vast, dark sea spread out for all to see. Buildings piled high as skyscrapers filled the view; their ugly designs could be the only result of Neo-Umbrella and Ada, no doubt. It reflected them perfectly; only a sliver of their true self was laid out on the surface, while their deepest darkest secrets laid underneath where no one could see.
"I have been doing this for way too long," Chris sighed. "I have chased people across one side of the globe to the next, and for what? For some crazy lunatic to do it all over again anyway. Maybe its time I turn in my gun-"
"What?!" Piers cut in. "But you-"
Chirs finally faced us. The dark look on his face passed, and an easy smile touched his lips, and for the first time this night, he looked at peace. "I'm getting too old for this; I should pass this position on to someone more capable, competent and younger. I would like that person to be you, Piers."
"...Me? But I-I'm not ready for that."
"You've made it this far, haven't you? I wouldn't be able to trust anyone other than you to do this. It would be an honour."
I felt as if I was intruding upon a private matter. I was an outsider looking in. I didn't belong here.
Could I?
The thought came so suddenly I was almost convinced it was someone else thought. I rolled it over for a few short moments but pushed it to the back of my head. It was impossible.
"And what about you, Jade?"
My eyes lifted to Chris, the same easy smile touched his eyes, but it didn't fully reach his mouth. "Me?"
"Yeah, what do you want to do after this? I could imagine that you've paid back your debt and would be free to go-well, I could arrange something with the B.S.A.A. I'm sure. Or you could stay if you wanted."
Stay? With the B.S.A.A.?
It scared me how much my chest tightened and warmed to the idea, how every nerve wanted me to say yes. But the voice in my head still told me I would never belong here. "I don't think...I mean, it was a fun ride-the B.S.A.A and all…."
My eyes found Piers and the look in his eyes made me step back. Why was there so much anger in them? As soon as he caught my stare, his eyebrows relaxed, and his face softened, but his guard was still up.
Of all the events and things to have happened to me in the B.S.A.A., Piers was by far the most puzzling. Whenever I have him pinned as one thing, he surprises me again. The most worrying thing about that was that I was looking forward to having him surprise me repeatedly.
"The choice is yours," Chris' soft voice rattled around my head even as the elevator stopped and the doors dinged open. "Alright, let's finish this!"