Note: So I kept the chapter title. Here it is!
Chapter Three: Time is of the Essence
After a few minutes had passed between Barry and Chris' talk over the radio, the soundboard emitted a series of warning beeps, and suddenly the digital numbers on the small screen changed from a green color to red, the display going from radio frequency to a countdown timer, starting the countdown from fifteen minutes.
"Shit," he said to himself, becoming furious.
So they really are going to destroy the city. They're actually stooping this low…
Quickly the older Redfield took the receiver and spoke.
"Barry? Barry, are you there? It's Chris, over," he said, regarding radio protocol.
"Go ahead, Chris," came the voice of Barry.
"Just letting you know, you have fifteen minutes to get out of there," he warned.
"Damn. Those bastards are actually going to blow up the city…all right. Thanks, Chris. Over and out."
"Roger that," Chris said, and put down the receiver. While in radio static, he heard the familiar male's message once again, and decided to check some other frequencies. Maybe he'd pick up some top Umbrella information. He didn't have to go very far up the dial, for he heard yet another voice come over the air.
"…safely managed to escape the city with my objectives completed, sir," said a voice. From what Chris heard, the voice had a clear Russian accent.
"All the combat data collected?" Another voice asked, his voice deep and having an enigmatic tone.
"Affirmative. As expected, sir, there were a few…incidents. However, they were dealt with as according to plan, and nothing went wrong," the Russian said.
"As for the Nemesis? Did it accomplish what it was supposed to?" asked the other.
"You mean dispose of the remaining troublesome S.T.A.R.S.?"
Chris listened intently. An unnatural pause intervened.
"I have reasonable certainty. I don't think they lasted against the Nemesis, but if they managed to dodge him thus far, they won't survive the incoming missile," the Russian said affirmatively.
"Excellent. You have done well. I trust that you're on the escape chopper now?" the superior said.
"Yes, sir. I am heading for the rendezvous point now," the Russian replied. "I will report back when I arrive at the destination."
"Very good. I expect a full report from you," the superior said.
"Of course. Over and out," the Russian signed off. A click was heard, and that was the end of that. Static returned to the air.
Twenty minutes remained. Chris returned to Barry's frequency and waited. He could do nothing except for sit there and wait, wait for a voice, something. He stared blankly at the time. In the process, he once again heard the recording message telling the Umbrella supervisors to evacuate. Ten minutes left to destruction.
Taking off the headset in order to stretch, Chris stood up from his seat and stretched. He looked out the window, looked at the brightening sky, and suddenly he could make out a sound, at first sounding like an aircraft flying overhead. Whatever it was, it was moving toward him. Trying to look up through the window proved to be futile, so Chris ran out the door he came in, out the broken front door, and looked up to find the source of the sound, the sound getting increasingly louder. To his left, towards the brightening horizon, he finally saw it, and his heart sank. Flying toward him, moving at a quick speed, was the grim reaper of Raccoon City. He could see the smoke trailing behind the incoming projectile, and as he watched it fly overhead, so did the feeling of despair increase. It continued its projected path toward the fallen city with the same steadfast flight pattern, as if it was on a death march.
It really is a reality…
Fading into a tiny speck in the sky, he headed back into the edifice, and saw the time left. Seven minutes. Seven minutes before an explosion leveled the city. Momentarily fumbling with the headset, he managed to get a grip and placed it to his head. Snatching the receiver, he pressed the talk button.
"Barry! Barry, come in!" Chris yelled into the receiver.
"Chris! What is it?" Barry asked, surprised by the loudness of Chris' voice.
"I just saw the missile fly over me! It's actually happening. It's heading straight for the city, and you have less than 8 minutes to get out of there!" Chris warned.
"Relax, Chris. I'm at the source of the distress call…apparently a member of Umbrella's military mercenary squad made the call. Name's Carlos Oliviera. We're at the warehouse near the lab, but I am waiting for one more, according to him. Jill's on her way out!"
Chris' face suddenly registered surprise. "Jill's alive?" He asked, his voice a mix of surprise and anticipation.
"According to Carlos, she is. She's on her way here, but if she doesn't come, I will have no choice but to pull out of here. How long do I have?"
Chris looked at the flashing red countdown timer. "Seven minutes. That's all you've got."
"Seven minutes…" A slight pause was heard, probably Barry thinking about his fading options. "It's gonna be a close call, whatever gets done. Thanks for the update."
"Keep me posted." Chris said, his voice firm and resolute.
"Will do. I'll get out of this one. I've been in worse." He signed off, and Chris slowly placed the mouthpiece down. Looking at the falling numbers, his body began to experience feelings of worry. Barry would be cutting it very close, indeed. He had known Barry for a very long time, and Chris hated the possibility that he is risking his life, with certain death closing in at just over six minutes. But…that was part of the job. Even though he was no longer with the Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S., he was still one at heart, and he was performing his duty. It came with the territory. Looking out the window once again, he could just see the top of the Sun appearing at the horizon.
Such a cruel irony. How can there be a gorgeous sunrise when there's about to be a city destroyed? O cruel fate…
In the midst of his philosophical thought, an alarm cut through the radio static, loud and piercing. His eyes glared at the little countdown screen. Five minutes until impact. Five fucking minutes. Soon there would be nothing left, everything reduced to indiscernible rubble.
Over one hundred thousand innocent men, women, and children…all about to be wiped. What did they ever do to you, Umbrella, to deserve such a cruel fate?!
"Nothing!" Chris yelled in fury, and pounded his fist on the control panel. His worry and fear gave way to anger. Umbrella had most of the population under its employ, but little would they realize they would meet such a horrific end. They didn't deserve to die…not like this…infected with a mutagenic virus against their own will, then to be destroyed as some plot to cover up Umbrella's actions. Not like this…
Four minutes. Chris could feel the familiar feelings of worry and dread slowly creep back into his turbulent psyche.
Come on, Barry. How close are you going to get before you have no choice but to get out of there? You're freaking me out over here.
"Attention. The Raccoon City project has been abandoned. Political maneuvering to delay federal plans has failed. Missiles will be launched at daybreak. All remaining supervisors evacuate immediately. This message is being broadcast on all available channels and will repeat again in 5 minutes."
"No, you won't," Chris said to himself. "In 5 minutes, you will no longer be here. You'll be gone, just like all the others. Shut up. Shut up right now!" He pounded his fist against the control panel in anger again. Helpless to the situation, he sank his head into his hands, paused in thought.
Claire…please…please forgive me. I would have told you, told you everything, but there was no time. No time to explain the grave seriousness of it all. I had to keep you safe, safe from the resident evil. My only hope is that you did not head into the city after me, looking out for my safety and well-being—
Another short siren sound filled the empty room. Three minutes.
Damn that siren. Where was I? Oh, yes. If you did head into the city, my only hope for you, the only thing I can wish for is that you survived Umbrella's death maze alive. I apologize for not telling you earlier. Had I did, you would have stayed where you were, safe, secure, out of the range of the crazy madness that has come down to this, out of harm's way. Because of my idiotic neglect being so caught up in the swing of it all of telling you how bad the scope of the matter truly and really was, you put your life on the line to try to meet me, make sure I was doing okay. You walked into a world of unfamiliarity, and it is my only hope that the worst has spared you, and that you made it out of the city alive. We will see each other again, hopefully soon. That way we can end the worry for both of us. I blame myself for letting someone younger and with less experience in police activity go to Raccoon out of worry. Such is familial love. Please forgive me, Claire.
Two minutes.
Barry, if you're trying to scare me, you're doing a damn good job of it!
His palms began to become sweaty, the calloused skin slick from the ever increasing pile of stress. His heart began to quicken, seeming like it was pumping faster with each falling second. Time was his enemy now. Suddenly he heard a crackling sound on his headset, the static breaking.
"Chris?" asked Barry's voice. "Chris, can you copy?"
He quickly grabbed the mouthpiece. "Barry! It's Chris! Glad to hear your voice, man!"
"I'm getting the hell out of here now. I've got Jill—" A blaring siren sounded on the control panel. One minute remained.
"—what was that?" Barry asked.
"You have one minute to clear the city," Chris said firmly. "The city goes in one minute."
"I've just left the ground. Both Carlos and Jill are here."
Fifty seconds.
"Excellent," Chris said quickly. "Can you get out of there in time?" He said, almost impatient.
"We'll see. I'm giving it everything's she got. It's gonna be close," Barry confirmed.
"A little too close for comfort," Chris said, his eyes unwavering from the diminishing timer. His heart was pounding now, and the sounds of his own frantic heart seemed to drown out the sound of Barry.
Forty seconds.
"So far, so good. We just might make it." Chris could hear the faint voice of Jill in the background. "Hold on a sec."
The timer was now beeping every second as the time continued to fall.
Time and tide waits for no one…
Thirty seconds. Thirty seconds until destruction.
"Thirty seconds, Barry," Chris warned.
"Copy that."
"It's here…" said Jill.
"What?" Chris demanded.
"I see the missile," Barry said. "It's heading straight for the city center," He added, sounding defeated.
Twenty. Twenty fucking seconds.
"Where are you? I'm coming there to land. This thing doesn't have too much fuel left."
"Follow the main highway. You'll see a car parked near a building. You can't miss it. Land right on the highway."
"You got it," Barry confirmed.
Ten seconds until complete devastation.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
In six.
Suddenly the ground shook slightly where Chris was sitting. He ripped off his headset and bolted for the exit. When he managed to get outside, the cool morning air hitting his sweaty skin, he looked in the direction of Raccoon City—
--when a sudden bright white light filled the sky, covering everything. A tremendous explosion filled the air, the sound of several hundred tons of TNT loud, even from fifteen miles away from city limits. Chris stared in horror at the cloud that appeared almost of nowhere, enveloping the city in a blanket of death, smoke, and radiation.
NO! God damn it, no!
His heart felt crushed, and seeing his city reduced to dust, the city that he and others tried so hard to protect, enveloped him with feelings of remorse, accompanied with bitter hatred and regret. He must have stood there for a minute or so, watching in blank horror as the reality slowly sank in. Raccoon City was gone. Suddenly he realized that Barry was flying out of the city.
"Oh, shit. Barry!" He cursed himself aloud as he ran back, sprinting almost, to the radio room. He picked up the headset dangling by its cord and put it on his head. All that he heard was silence. Not static, no radio noise, but silence. A panic began to grip him. He turned the tuning dial up and down, running through all frequencies.
Silence.
An eerie quiet.
"Barry?" He asked, his voice wavering.
He turned the dial one full revolution.
Total silence.
The timer read zero.
All radio contact was dead.
A/N: I am so shocked that I am able to put up four chapters in 4 days. This is damn amazing. I have never typed this quick in my life. Like it? Review the story! Soon, probably in another day or two, I probably will have posted Chapter Four: In the Fray. Again, this chapter title is tentative, and may change.