Note from the author:
The story behind this fanfic is weird to say the least. This is my first story I have ever written. The first one I wrote in English. And the first to publish anywhere. It was just smacking and settling in my head for several days and suddenly, out of nowhere, I felt a strong need to put it on paper (or rather a monitor ;)). I've read a few fanfics in my life but never felt the urge to write any. When I sat down to write, I couldn't tear myself away and it gave me great joy, despite the greatest difficulty for me which is writing in a foreign language. I do not have contact with the English language on a daily basis, I maintain my linguistic skills only thanks to YT, movies and music, so 1. I am very sorry for grammatical mistakes (proofreading by a native speaker is my dream) 2. I wish I knew English well enough to fully reflect my thoughts, I tried my best. But I leave this for you to evaluate, not myself ;)
Another thing is that I'm not even a huge fan of RE, I've never played any game, I know the content only briefly from YT, so the story will be loosely based on games. I apologize in advance for any mistakes in this matter, but the content focuses primarily on the description of feelings and relationships, not the canon.
Well, that would be it ... :)
The cell door slammed behind the two men. It was a small single bedded room, but bright and modern. It looked more like a hospital room than a cell. The only small window in the room looked out onto the same bright, featureless corridor. The younger man began to make a circle around the room, touching the walls with his hand. He was calm. As always.
- They must have known about us, we made no mistake.
- Yes, no mistake were made.
The older one answered as he sat down heavily on the bed.
- Although we could have done better reconnaissance before and right after landing on the island which I advised you, Captain.
- "No shit" Chris thought.
It was supposed to be a routine intelligence operation. They had been stationed in the Mediterranean for a month now, along with Charlie team. But the mission was delayed, so they spent days in barracks waiting for action. Although they were stationed practically on the seashore, the personnel was not authorized to leave the base.
And Chris began to get bored.
When he heard about unusual activity on one of the islets, he was the first to go to scout. Even though it was not a mission for a man of his rank, he would do anything to leave these damned, stuffy barracks even for a moment. Apart from all that, the organizers of this action were also only humans and, according to Chris, they invented these "unusual activity" on the island just to plan anything other than an evening pool table. He also had an advantage over the others that his partner was the best sniper in the entire organization, a guy who could spot a moth flying at night. If there was anything other than gulls lurking on that island, or a large heron that Chris suspected of all the fuss, Piers would spot it right away. And with nothing there, they would be able to spend the whole day exploring the island, sunbathing and swimming in the sea. It sounded like heaven compared to what awaited them at the base.
At least for Chris. It's hard to say what Piers thought about it, because he was a man with ice rock emotionality. In Antarctica. On the coldest night Earth has ever seen. He could just be like that, or, as Chris believed, he had become like that because of the profession he chose. The military wasn't kind to pretty, young boys like him. He was also extraordinarily talented, which put him at risk of working with similar extraordinary talents, people who were great at what they did, but not necessarily emotionally stable. Unfortunately, for the army and many special units, only the results counted, if they were good, no one questioned the commander's approach to his soldiers. Chris had seen it many times and was glad that his organization had procedures in place to eliminate any form of mental or physical abuse of subordinates. To be honest, if the organization didn't have them, Chris wouldn't be in it either. He was a good commander, but above all, a good man.
When he informed Piers of their mission, he nodded.
- Okay, let's go Captain.
It was a great progress in their communication. His lieutenant had been on the team for two years. For the first year, he responded to every words:
- Affirmative
or
- Yes, Sir
No matter if it was a serious official order from Cpt. Redfield or invitation to a bar for a "buddy beer" from civilian Chris. Which is a story for later. Anyway, any other, more human-sounding answer had been unavailable for a long time. With time, however, it began to change, Piers slowly got used to the atmosphere of the team, which only confirmed Chris's assumptions that he did not have this cold in his core. Besides, they got along great, the guy was smart, incredibly good at what he doing and never let him down. Chris sometimes joked that Piers had metal under his skin, not a flesh, because he was working like a robot, not a human. The lieutenant did not mind such jokes. Or he didn't show it. It was impossible to say what he has on his mind anyway.
They had been prepared for the main action for a long time, so it did not take long to pack their equipment, except of course the swimming trunks that Chris threw into his backpack, having only the sea waves and golden sand in his mind.
The weather was beautiful, with no risk of a storm, so they were given a standard tactical pontoon with a silent electric motor. The briefing was hilarious, the main commander of this, very important mission, talked about it incredibly meticulously, to be summed up by Chris:
- Greg, we're just going to check the nest of a large heron or other cormorant, don't get so excited.
And he burst out laughing. His colleague, Captain Gregory Davis, was clearly disconsolate that his participation in this mission had ended and all he had to do was return to the barracks and wait for a radio report from Alpha leader.
Chris, on the other hand, was very excited about the idea of carefree sunbathing. The short journey to the island passed in silence. It was not, however, an awkward silence. Just silence. Chris quickly learned that Piers was great "silence" companion. Captain was not the type of noisy extrovert or choleric nerve that were many in his profession. He appreciated the healthy silence more than the thoughtless stream of words just to fill the silence with something. When the silence itself meant so much. For example, that you feel comfortable with the other person in it.
- This is where I can start my initial observation, sir.
The silence was broken by Piers. Which was rarely the case.
- Oh, Piers, come on, you know that this "mission" is completely irrelevant. Davis made it up to avoid falling into alcoholism while sitting in the base for three weeks uselessly. We, meanwhile, can have a great day sunbathing here, don't say you haven't thought about it.
Before Piers could say anything, Chris turned on the radio on:
- Alpha to base, permission to start observing the island, over
- Base to Alpha, permission granted, out
- It's hilarious - Chris said with a chuckle as he turned off the radio.
- Okay Piers, set up your gear so those on base can see you doing this and start observing. But fast, because every minute we spend on that damn pontoon is a minute of lost sunbathing.
Chris was already on the full vacation mood. Piers said nothing, but began to assemble his sniper rifle while Chris grabbed the binoculars. The lieutenant did not even have time to attach the scope (and in assembling his beloved rifle he was a virtuoso of speed) when Chris turned on the radio:
- Alpha to base, the coast is clean, we go ashore, out.
And without waiting for any reply from the base, he tied the pontoon to the shore.
- Well, now it's finally time to have fun partner, they won't see us physically behind the rocks, and the GPS readings won't tell them that instead of observing we're lying on the beach. It couldn't be better! Come on, let's go!
Piers has not seen his Captain so happy for a long time (or never?), literally like a teenager who went playing truant with his favorite friend. And that friend in this case was Piers, so he had no choice but to join in. He was also not delusional, he shared Chris's opinion that this whole "mission" was completely unnecessary.
- I'm coming… however, it will be wise to watch the area carefully before we go further into the island.
- Yes, yes of course, I would personally give my life to your eyes without hesitation, you're the best.
However, it is difficult to observe the area closely when your partner is practically running forward in joyful jumps. As soon as they were behind the veil of ascent Chris began to take off his tactical outfit. He was practically only in his pants with one gun in holster and of course in a backpack with swimming trunks.
- Do the same Piers, you will cook in these clothes. Meanwhile, they will wait for us here. I do not think they will be attractive to seagulls, or I apologize, to the local chupacabra that prowls here.
He chuckled again, not losing his good humor for a second. Piers got rid of his heavy vest with extra ammo.
- I am ready.
- Are you really going to carry this gun with you?
- I will leave my rifle (he emphasized the word rifle) only if I have a choice to leave him or a member of my team.
- This is not part of the BSAA rules.
- Nope.
Chris thought Piers would add that it was his own rules, but he didn't. And he was so familiar with the character of his partner not to pursue the topic further.
- But you, Captain, from what I can see, are far from a state of hm... unusable. That's why I take the rifle with me.
- You're absolutely right Lieutenant, I haven't felt so good for a long time, so ... go ahead go, go, go, gooooo!
And he started running ahead, waving his arms as if he was going to fly away into the blue distance. Suddenly he heard a sound that was kind of familiar, but never heard before. He turned and saw ... Piers was laughing. He ran after Chris and laughed. Chris immediately thought that even if the island had a bloodthirsty chupacabra running around, the sea was ice cold and the beach was rocky, it was worth going here to hear him laugh. It was literally a milestone for Piers. Captain however didn't make a big deal out of it, allowing the moment to be as natural as possible. Instead, they were still jogging and Chris was throwing daddy jokes letting the moment last.