Resident Evil: The Recurring Nightmare of Hope
Chapter Five: Intentions and Interpretations
Jill quickly cleans up what remains of the phone after it was shattered by her partner, who remains silent in the corner of the room with a new phone against his ear. All the years these two have been together, Jill has never seen Chris this mad, not even when they found out Wesker is still alive. This mad of a Chris scares her, as he isn't saying anything, isn't doing anything, he is just sitting down on the floor listening intently as Leon explains what went wrong.
"You let her go by herself?" the voice is calm that scary kind of calm before stuff starts flying around the room.
Jill cringes as she hears Leon's reply over the phone, "She fucking slipped out while I was sleeping, DAMN IT! You think I would've let her go alone, KNOWING where she was going!?"
Chris's blue eyes shimmer with either held back rage or sorrow, Jill can't be sure which, "I'm getting on a plane tonight. Gather what you can about where she went and I'll meet you at the hotel in the morning. Where are you staying?"
The reply is quieter, so Jill leans over to read the name of the hotel Chris has scribbled into the floor of the office, "Fancy…"
Chris ignores her and closes the connection, tossing the phone back to Jill as he stands up, "Come on. We're leaving, now."
"What happened to Claire, Chris?"
The male stomps through the office in front of her, stopping only to grab the bags they packed two days before, "She went to investigate Sherry's whereabouts last night. She's not answering the phone they bought in Paris. Leon thinks the address they had was a trap and someone took her."
Jill places a hand over her mouth, "Oh god… So we're going to help right?"
It would be a dumb question if she didn't know Chris better as well as she does, and his answer proves her right, "No, we are going to find the son of a bitch who took her."
11
Leon hangs his head as the phone hangs limply in his hand, the device beeping before he drops it onto the cradle, "Claire…"
No time for self-loathing, no time to curse himself for not keeping a better eye on her, no time for anything other than focusing on finding Claire Redfield. According to the map on his laptop, the location they had on Sherry is about an hour away from here. Probably even shorter at night with less traffic, but still that only accounts for one hour of his now sixteen hour absence. The photo of Sherry is missing, signaling that Claire took it and the GPS to find the young girl.
"Damn it, Claire, why go by yourself?" Leon soon finds himself pacing the hotel room in agitation and worry, his mind unable to calm down and allow himself the rest he needs.
Leon desperately wants to go after her, but he knows it's borderline suicide. If he goes and gets captured or killed, how will Chris and Jill even know where to begin to search for Claire? A growl fills the air as the former cop finds himself stuck between what he wants and what he needs… Hopefully Chris and Jill can get her sooner than they did… Any time lost is another moment Claire could be killed.
"Her mistake has now become my mistake…"
11
"Ma'am, I don't have time to argue… I need to get on the next immediate flight to Paris, NOW," Chris has now turned a very disturbing shade of red as the woman at the counter types away on the computer.
"I'm sorry, sir. There are no openings on the next three flights. If you would like I could put you on the waiting list and see if there is an opening that becomes available," the gum in her mouth is smacked loudly just to irritate Chris some more.
Before Chris can become violent and put a serious hitch in their plan to get to Paris, the burner phone in his pocket begins to ring, "Chris, only one person knows that number…"
He glares at the attendant behind the counter before turning from the desk and placing the phone against his ear, "Barry?"
"See if you can get to private hangar three. I left a message with security to let you through."
Chris doesn't question it, this is Barry coming through for him with a plane to get them to Paris, which in incredibly good timing seeing how there is no way they were getting a commercial flight. The two make their way to the exit to the private hangar area, but are stopped by a rather large man in what almost resemble military combat fatigues.
"I'm afraid I can't let you pass, boss's orders," the voice is deep and the remnants of a foreign accent linger on the words.
"Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. Barry said he sent word to let us through," Chris gazes past the man but growls as a hand is placed against his chest, preventing further movement.
"I know what has been said. My orders still remain to let no one pass, not until the BSAA arrive," there is a gasp from Jill before Chris drives his knee into the solar plexus of the man before him and leans him against the wall.
"You'll be fine; I just knocked the wind out of you. You'll be down for a few minutes," Chris hands a bottle of water to the man before continuing. "Sip this slowly and when the agents from the BSAA arrive, make it sound like I did a real number on you. You'll be rewarded for your bravery.. Thanks, buddy."
A soft pat on the back before the two make their way out onto the tarmac of the private hangars, "Which hangar did he say we were going to?"
Chris squints his eyes as a bright light is flashed at them, "He didn't, but I am sure that is where he's at."
As the two BSAA Agents slowly make their way to the lighted hangar, a friendly voice calls out to them, "Yo!"
A smile creeps across Jill's lips as Barry waves at them from the entrance, looking around cautiously before pointing them toward the plane that is slowly beginning to taxi onto the runway. A quick increase in speed allows the two to catch up to the plane, where a man inside helps them in with a free hand. Chris takes a seat on the left side of the plane, while Jill sits in the seat next to him, both sighing in relief about finally getting on their way to Claire.
As Chris rummages through his bags and pulls out a small laptop, Jill takes the object from him, "Look, I know you are worried about your sister, Chris… But get some sleep; I know you have been up for the past two days with little to no sleep…"
He scoffs the suggestion away and snatches the device back; opening it to the file Leon sent them about what they learned of the Bio-Weapons purchase that went down in Paris. If everything that they have learned of in the past few years has really begun to form into one master plan to start a BOW war, the BSAA is definitely going to need better firepower and more knowledge of each and every virus and parasite out there. As Chris reads the information Leon sent over, his mind begins to picture how it all would go…
The interior of the airplane gives way to a large command center-like room where one man looks over a giant map of the world, or the current area in contest. He barks orders at a small group of men, each one with knowledge of the particular area their Tyrant is operating in. These men then relay the orders to the Tyrants they control through the NE-Alpha Parasite and various cybernetic implants. The interior then changes to a warzone with blood lining the streets and walls of numerous buildings ablaze in fire. Bodies, both human and Bio-Organic line the streets as a Tyrant slowly walks down the road, his eyes flashing as the orders received are then transmitted to the Hunters via the Plagas parasite.
"Open fire!" some soldier says off in the distance as the pops of mortar cannons fill the night sky.
Small explosions rock the territory as the green skin of the MA-121 Hunters scurry over rooftops and leap from alleyways and windows all around. The soldiers are quickly decimated by the thorough control of not only the Hunters, but the Tyrants as well, leaving no survivors, no safe haven, and no hope.
Chris shakes the image violently from his mind, the battlefield quickly turning back into the quiet interior of the plane making its way across the Pacific Ocean on the almost twelve-hour flight to Paris, "You okay, Chris?"
He looks over at Jill, who stopped her reading a report from Hunnigan on the research into the Plagas Parasite just in time to see the last vestiges of sweat fall from his face, "Yeah, just not liking where all this data is leading… Full-scale BOW Warfare controlled by a handful of people. It's just crazy, thinking that an apocalypse is this close to home and reality…"
A nod from his partner, "Agreed, but we know our first step in preventing this… If the kidnappers were using Sherry to trade the G-Virus for what the data for Hunters and Tyrants, then finding your sister and Sherry are our priority. The two have definitely overlapped now."
Chris sighs and tries hard to not focus on Claire, opting to pull a case from the bigger bag and place it down on Jill's lap, "What's this?"
"Figured you would need a lucky charm in this endeavor, Jill…" the case is opened to reveal a hefty handgun with a silver barrel and a dark wood accent on the grip.
"Is this…?" Jill is rendered speechless as she pulls her personal Samurai Edge custom of the 92F from her time in S.T.A.R.S. in Raccoon City.
"I couldn't bring myself to melt it down like you asked… Had a friend of Barry's give it a tune-up, you should find that it handles as well as it did in the mansion, if not better. If we somehow find that a scientist from Umbrella is behind this nightmare, it'll be justice to end it with that weapon," the barrel reflects in Chris's eyes as Jill examines the weapon thoroughly, her face not trying to hide the comfort this weapon gives her.
Chris smirks and replies, "The BSAA may have allowed us to take our fight internationally, with restrictions of course… But S.T.A.R.S. knows how to handle biohazard outbreaks."
Jill nods and slides the weapon back into the case before resting the container between the two of them on the floor, "So, you gonna do it?"
"What?" Chris continues reading the report.
"Punch Leon for losing your sister?" a laugh from her male partner as the plane drums on across the ocean.
11
There is a sudden burst of sound as Claire comes to, her eyes slowly opening due to both how long she must have been unconscious and from the pain in the back of her skull. Blue eyes slowly bring into focus the room around her, taking in every detail until she realizes where she is. Claire finds herself in the exact same room she walked into before being attacked, only this time she is bound to a chair that is bolted to the floor.
She fights the urge to say anything, not wanting to alert her captors to her being conscious, instead using this time to get any bit of information she can in case she finds herself able to contact Leon or, on a good side, get out of here, "No, I don't think she is awake yet."
The sudden voice startles her, but she remains quiet, her eyes locking with the small table off to one side behind her. With the chair firmly attached to the floor there is no way for her to reach it, but at some point she might be somewhat free, so a good idea to take notes while she can. A flash of brighter light fills the room as the door is opened and a squat man quickly walks in before the door is slammed shut and locked violently. He approaches her and pulls something from his breast pocket, the light from the end blinding as he begins a check of her vitals, using the light to test her vision for some kind of damage from the hit that knocked her out earlier. When he is satisfied with the results, the pseudo-doctor takes a seat in a chair not far from hers and pulls out a pad and a pencil.
"So," his accent is heavy Spanish, but he seems to speak English very clearly, "why are you here?"
Claire stares at the man, keeping her mouth shut, until something thin smacks across her face, the item appearing to be a telescopic pointer, "Answer me!"
"Sherry Birkin," Claire feels the whelp grow across her left cheek, "I'm here for Sherry Birkin."
A note is scribbled before the man speaks again, "Who are you?"
"Santa Claus," Claire smirks as she feels Leon's sarcasm in that reply.
Another sharp smack from the metal pointer, "Keep trying my patience and we'll move to less friendly items, amiga…"
Claire spits the blood that creeps into her mouth to the floor before replying, "You people should already know… Only a handful of people know that Sherry exists…"
A laugh as the man claps his hands together in a pleased manner, "Excellent, you are everything they have told me and so much more, Miss Redfield…"
"Well, would only be polite to offer a girl your name… Normally I only accept foreplay after a drink, but I can," Claire winks at him, "make an exception in your case."
"Ah, not going to work, Claire. You aren't just a prisoner here…" the doctor stands up and tucks the notepad into a pocket in his jacket. "You are my prisoner. Enjoy your stay with us. We will be leaving soon."
As the man walks out of the room, Claire smirks and replies, "They know…"
Her smile dies as a slight chuckle rolls around her captor, "We know and we are prepared for them. Get some rest, Miss Redfield, we have a lot of work tomorrow…."
Christ, who are these people? Claire's eyes grasp a look at a marking on the doctor's arm, having a hard time distinguishing it as some kind of weird cross.
As the door is slammed and locked again, Claire begins using her left foot to draw her rendition of the cross on the floor. Once the cross is sufficiently scraped into the floor, the redhead then begins twisting her wrists against the rope and wire used to bind her to the chair, remembering a trick Leon once taught her.
"Why in the hell would I want to cut myself!?" Claire backs up aghast as Leon has used the rope and chair to cut his wrists slightly.
He huffs from the pain and then begins working the blood into the nooks and crannies of the knot around his arms, "Because the blood will work to lubricate your hands and make the rope swell. So you either get your wrists free, or the rope swells up enough where you can later on begin working to break the separated strands. Of course, this is only a solution if you were tied up when unconscious."
Claire laughs and replies, "Yeah, if I'm awake, puff out my chest so the rope will be looser when I breathe out."
She gasps as Leon is now standing before her, his wrists still bound, "Much like I just did… Know how to prevent that if YOU have to tie someone up?"
"Knock them out?" she smirks at the aggravated look on his face.
"I deserved that… Next we will discuss the different types of knots to use in what situation and how to break out of each one."
"My, isn't someone full of useful information about tying someone up… Just what kind of games are you playing with my sister?" Chris smirks from the doorway as Claire blushes a bit.
Claire sighs at the memory and keeps working at freeing herself, I need to locate a weapon…
11
Leon keeps his feet steady as he leans against one of the walls just outside the security checkpoint in the airport, realizing that his nervous antics have raised suspicion from the airport security nearby. Their plane is due in at any minute, but any minute is a minute too long for Leon now. Claire has been missing for over a day now he feels it in his gut that the trail is growing cold, too cold to follow. Every second that passes pushes Leon closer and closer to the edge of not only his patience, but his sanity as well.
She might die thinking I was angry at her… Leon ejects the thought with enough force to make him light-headed.
Now is not the time to think about what could've been as letting his mind become distracted will only hinder his ability to participate in her rescue. There is a little commotion from a side door he marked as an exit point during his initial twenty minutes in the airport, but he ignores it until a familiar voice grasps his attention in a death-grip.
"Let me go you bastard! It was a private flight. What do you not understand about PRIVATE!?" Chris is screaming at one of the guards by the door they entered through from the private hangars.
"I am sorry, sir, but your flight wasn't on our flight schedule today. I need to see your papers and passport," the guard is making a terrible mistake by not backing down from the angry Redfield, but Leon knows he is just doing his job.
"Whoa whoa, easy there guys…" Leon walks up to the commotion, pulling his BSAA badge from his back pocket.
"I am Agent Leon Kennedy from the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, North-American Branch. These two are with me. Their flight wasn't recorded because the American Government has a deal with the French Government concerning our affairs. Sorry for the trouble, if you call this number," a card is flicked from his wallet, "I'm sure they can explain everything."
The guard looks confused and angry, but finally settles on confused and walks away saying something to his partner in French, "Glad to have you guys here…"
Leon expects a reply from the two but only receives a gasp from Jill as Chris throws a mighty punch at the younger BSAA Agent, "You son of a bitch!"
"I deserve that, I'm sure," the line of blood is swiped from his lip as Leon recoils from the hit, noting that both he and Chris probably share the same frantic and worried eyes.
Jill coughs to clear the air and then looks over at Leon, "So where are we going?"
"Well I figure we could g-" Chris glares at him, the look making him rethink his next few words, despite the fact that he has barely slept since Claire went missing.
"Ahem, we can rent a car and head out to her last known whereabouts…"
Chris relaxes a bit until Jill steps up, "That would be?"
"On the back of Sherry's photograph was a set of coordinates that registered as a house north-east of Paris, about an hour's drive. Something must have happened to her there," Leon keeps his gaze on Chris for any more violent outbursts as they make their approach across the way to a car rental shop.
If this mission doesn't kill me and we fail to find Claire, Chris is going to break me in half…
END