Disclaimer: This story is based on the game series Resident Evil that is produced by Capcom. I make no money from this epic saga of mine, SO DON'T SUE ME!!!!
Resident Evil: Armageddon
Part III- Gaining Strength
Chapter 10- Clean Slate
Written by: Striker
The helicopters approached the S.T.A.R.S. hideout. Chris had remained silent since his conversation with Nicholai. The others in Chris' copter didn't speak either. Jill had shifted towards the back. She had a feeling that Chris wasn't too pleased with her. She could also tell he was in one of his bad moods. His tone when he gave that Russian prick that warning was one he used only when he was really pissed. She remembered when she had seen this side of him before. It was after the mansion incident. Chris had been one edge for some reason. It was mid-August and he had started to cause problems. He rarely talked to anyone, either he would be at his desk or hold up in the shooting range. One time he really flipped out. Elran of the Boy's Crime department accidentally walked into Chris. The coffee Elran had in his hand splashed into Chris' face. Chris had grabbed his face and cursed. He then turned around and slugged Elran, almost breaking the kid's jaw. Chris would have pounded him if Jill hadn't of stepped in. She had grabbed his arm, trying to get him to stop. When Chris saw her, he winked and walked off. He left for a "vacation" the next day. The day after she received a call from him. It was around midnight when she got over to his apartment. It was there she learned that he had been investigating Umbrella himself for the last couple weeks. When he talked to her, he had used the same tone he had just used with Nicholai. Jill hoped that Chris wasn't reverting to his old self.
In the other copter, the atmosphere was different. They had no idea that Chris had talked to Nicholai. They were happy to be alive. Jeff looked back at his passengers. "Tell me again where we are going."
Carlos pointed at the other copter. "Just follow them. They know where to go."
"Carlos, do you guys always cut it so close when you escape?" Jeff asked.
"Story of our lives." Carlos replied. "It seems that we're always barely getting out in time. When Jill, Barry, and I escaped from Raccoon City, we passed the missile and saw the city get disintegrated. One of these days I think our luck will run out and we'll go up with whatever place we're trying to escape."
Janet looked at Carlos. "What is it with your urge to blow everything up. If you didn't have every building you step foot in primed to explode, you wouldn't have that problem."
"We're blowing these places up so Umbrella can't use them to create their viruses or mutants." Ark said. "We can't shut them down, so we have to destroy them."
"You're a government investigator. Aren't you?" Kelly asked. "Why doesn't the government do something?"
Ark looked out the window. "We tried. The government tried to get an explanation from Umbrella about what happened in Raccoon City. We got an answer that said it was some form of plague or some other contagious disease. We got nowhere. That's why my friend Carl wanted to make a deal with Leon. We found out what happened from him, but his testimony wouldn't be enough. Therefore, we need to destroy as many facilities as we can."
"Then why don't you take that deal?" Max asked.
"Because most of us don't trust the government." Rebecca said. "Especially Chris."
"Maybe know you should try to convince Chris to help the government." Rick said. "We're really up the creek here. Nicholai and just about everyone else who works for Umbrella will be after us. We need all the help we can get."
"I don't know." Carlos said. "Maybe he will, maybe he won't. All I know is that the S.T.A.R.S. have just got some serious reinforcements."
"Don't be so sure." Jeff said. "We have to see what Hunk wants to do."
The copters flew over the hideout before landing. Sherry, Lily, and Rott stood on the porch. "Stand behind me." Rott said. He raised the hunting rifle, aiming at the cockpit of the nearest copter. He saw the door open and Chris climb out. Rott lowered the rifle and headed for the copter. "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OTHER HELICOPTER?" He yelled.
Chris turned to Rott. "We decided to trade it in." Chris waited as everyone climbed out. When Jill got out he motioned for her to follow him. They headed for the back yard.
"Where are they going, and who are they?" Rott pointed Hunk and his friends.
"One, those two had a difference of opinion. Two, these people are in the same situation we're in." Barry said.
Rott scratched his head. "You mean Umbrella wants to kill them too?"
"Yes," Hunk said, "We were betrayed by Nicholai because we had doubts about Umbrella. I guess they weren't just unfounded speculations, were they?"
Barry patted Hunk on the arm. "Usually when one of us suspects something, it's usually right." Barry started for the house. "Come on, we might as well have something to eat."
Rick and Max stopped when they saw the cabin. "We must have picked the right side." Rick said.
"Amen." Max replied.
The others began to head for the house. They were all hungry from their ordeal. It was getting dark and a bit cold. Eliza started to take Ark's jacket off so she could give it to him. "Keep the jacket." Ark said. "I left something in the copter. Tell the others I'll be in soon."
"OK." Eliza watched Ark disappear behind the copter. Not thinking much she went into the house.
Ark stood behind the copter. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He breathed a sigh of relief that it didn't get broken during the mission. He looked around to make sure no one saw him. He then quickly dialed a number and waited for an answer.
Chris led Jill to the woodpile. It had been covered by a large, blue tarp to prevent the wood from getting soaked. Chris dug at the ground with his left foot. "We need to talk…"
"If it's about the factory we never told me when to start timing you." Jill cut him off, surprising him.
"You should have started as soon as those elevator doors closed. You also should have taken into consideration how much time you had until the plant exploded."
"Get to the point."
Chris looked Jill dead in the eye. "You put your personal feelings for me before the mission. You can't do that. That's why I separated us, so we wouldn't let our worries for each other compromise what we were doing. This didn't go for you and me this went for everyone. Umbrella will use our relationships against us. They'll try to get us to react with our feelings and make a mistake. More importantly Wesker will use our feeling for each other to get us. He knows that we're close. He'll use that to his advantage, just like he used our trust and fears in the mansion."
"I didn't want to leave without you, that's all." Jill was on the verge of breaking down. "I didn't want to loose you."
"I know." He hugged her, letting her cry. "I probably would have done the same. We just can't make the same mistakes in the future."
"Don't worry," Jill sobbed, "I'll try not to."
"Let's go." Chris said. "The others are waiting and it's getting cold out. And thanks for waiting."
Jill smiled as she wiped the tears away. "Even if I did life off, I would have come back when I saw you come out onto the roof."
"We had a hard day, let's get something to eat." Chris and Jill headed for the back door. Meanwhile Ark approached the front of the house.
Barry and Rebecca spent an hour in the kitchen preparing dinner. They had help from Kelly, who turned out to be a good cook, and Chris, who got volunteered by Claire. The dining room table was wasn't big enough to seat everyone, so some ate in the kitchen and in the living room. Everyone was engaging in conversation, telling each other about their life and what they did before this whole mess with Umbrella started. Janet and Rick were still getting on each others backs, but toned it down because of the children. In fact, the children were getting along fine with the new people. Kelly and Sherry hit it off quickly, as did Eliza with Rott and Lily. The most important conversation, however, was in the dining room between Chris and Hunk.
"What can you tell me about Nicholai's operation?" Chris said before taking a spoonful of corn.
Hunk took a drink. "Well, his base is situated in the warehouse district of the city. There's a river that runs along one side. Attack from there would be dangerous due to the fact that there's no cover."
Chris swallowed. "What about manpower? How many people does he have available?"
"I'd say about thirty to forty men. I can't tell for sure
since I some of them could have been out on patrol." Hunk looked over at Ada.
"Ada and I took a little tour. He has enough men to protect that base if it
comes under attack."
"What about weapons?" Barry asked.
"They have sufficient firepower." Hunk replied. "From what I saw Nicholai had well over eighty guns and twice as much ammunition. He also had heavy explosives."
"Perfect for blowing up this building." Jill said, picking at her pork chop.
Ada took a drink from here glass. "They also had a lot of electronics there, as well as maps of the surrounding area. I saw several spots around the northern part of the city marked. I think you may have company soon."
Chris was thinking again, going over what was just said. He looked at Hunk. "Did Nicholai mention anything about Wesker?"
"Just that he doesn't trust the man as far as he can throw him. Nicholai believes that Wesker is planning something, and using Umbrella to do it." Hunk took another drink.
"So what else is new?" Jill said. "Wesker has double-crossed everyone he's worked for so far. Why should he stop now?"
Hunk continued. "He also told me that Spencer is creating…"
"Bio-organic weapons." Chris finished. "Project X."
"What's Project X?" Ada asked. "I was never told of it."
"That's funny. You were part of it." Barry replied. "This Project X is an operation to get rid of us. Spencer had planned a two-pronged attack. The first was with Nicholai and your team." Barry pointed at Hunk. "The second part involves Wesker and those bio-weapons. Nicholai was to find us and report to Spencer. If any of us escaped, Wesker would come in with those genetic monstrosities and finish the job. Since Nicholai failed, it's Wesker's turn."
"It won't be that easy." Hunk said. "Nicholai doesn't want Wesker to take over. He's afraid of failure."
"Why?" Barry asked.
"Because Nicholai is afraid of Spencer." Hunk responded. "And because he doesn't trust him. Nicholai believes the same thing that most of Umbrella's employees believe, that Spencer was behind Mr. Umbrella's death."
"The man kills off someone else so he can take over." The corner of Chris' mouth curled into a half-smile. "HA! I suspected that myself. The Spencers and Ashfords have been fighting over control of Umbrella for years. Each family claimed that they had founded Umbrella and that they created the T-virus. I'm not surprised that Spencer would do this. Thanks to Claire and I killing off the competition, we gave him the perfect opportunity."
"Nicholai also thinks that Spencer is mad." Ada said. "I heard that sometimes he gets so angry at people that he looks like he's going to kill them. He is not a nice person."
"I got that much reading that report." Barry said. "He's a nutcase."
"Between Nicholai and Wesker, we may be in a world of trouble." Jill said.
Chris stood up. "From what I see, we may still have a chance. With Eliza we have nine. Hunk has eight on his team. If we combine our forces, that'll make seventeen. That all depends on what Hunk wants to do." He turned to Hunk. "I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't what to do. If you decide to stay, great. If you decide to leave, I won't try to stop you. It's your decision, not mine."
Hunk stared at his plate. "I'll talk to my men now, see what they want to do. This has been a very surprising day. This morning we were with Umbrella. Now we are their enemy. Amazing how quickly your life can change."
"Sometimes it only takes one night." Chris said. "Or a few minutes."
Hunk and Ada got up and went to the front hall. Hunk called for his team. "Guys, come here. We need to talk."
Ada tapped Hunk on the arm. "Before we have this meeting, I have to talk to Leon."
"Make it quick." Hunk replied.
Ada walked up to Leon, who was sitting in the den with Claire and Sherry. "Leon, we need to talk."
"Sure." Leon got up and followed Ada out the front door.
Claire got up and was ready to follow when her brother stopped her. "Let them talk. This is something they have to work out on their own." He said. Claire nodded and sulked back to the couch.
Leon stood looking at Ada. "So what do you want to talk about?"
Ada lowered her head. "First I want to apologize."
"For what?"
"For the trouble I caused you. Claire said that you took my apparent death pretty hard. I want to tell you that I'm sorry."
"I did take it hard, but I got over it. I moved on, and now I'm with Claire. I love her very much. I don't want that to come between us. I know that you and Hunk are probably together. I don't care. I just hope we can be friends."
"I don't want to get between you and Claire either. Maybe if things were different, we would be together."
"Well, at least I know you're not dead. By the way, thanks for saving me from that Tyrant today. I own you one."
"More like two. Who did you think threw you the rocket launcher in Raccoon City? I figured that I had to help you for helping me."
"What do you mean?" Leon was confused by Ada's statement.
"That was the second thing I wanted to say. I wanted to thank you for opening my eyes. Every since Raccoon, I was a changed person. I began to see that what Umbrella was doing was wrong. I found it harder to face my life. It was as if you helped me find my conscience. I began to feel, to think. For the first time in my life, I couldn't abandon my identity like I was able to do with the others. You changed me."
"At least that's one thing I did right. I hope you decide to stay. We could use your help. Since Umbrella wants all of us dead, I say we should fight together. But no matter what happens, I hope we can be friends." Leon held out his hand.
Ada took his hand and shook it. "I hope so too. I better go Hunk is waiting for me." Ada ran back into the cabin.
Leon looked up into the sky and smiled. "Maybe if things were different." Leon laughed to himself and went back inside.
Claire was waiting for him. "Well?"
"We're just friends." Leon said. "We both have someone else."
"How do you feel, you know, with Ada being alive?"
"Happy and sad."
Claire looked at him questionably. "Why are you sad?"
"I'm happy because Ada's alive. I'm sad because I know that there's no way Steve can come back." Leon looked at Claire. "I'm sad that not everyone we cared about alive."
Claire gave Leon a hug. "As long as we remember him, he'll always be alive in our hearts."
Leon just closed his eyes.
Hunk's group was standing in a circle in the back yard. Hunk faced his troops and took a deep breath. "As you know, Nicholai has betrayed us. Because of that, we are now enemies of Umbrella. We also know the truth about Raccoon City. That makes us dangerous to Umbrella and their cover-up. We have two choices. We can leave and try to fight Umbrella ourselves. The alternative, and the choice I favor the most, is to join Chris' group. The way I see it, they need our help and we need theirs. I say we stay. What do you want to do?"
Ada stepped forward. "I say we stay. Out there we don't stand a chance. Like Chris said, seventeen is better than eight."
Jeff spoke up. "I think we should also stay. From what I heard, Ark is a government investigator. He told me that Leon was offered a deal by the U.S. government to help them. If we stay, we may be able to get on that deal."
Jess spoke next. "I think we should join them. They know more than we do. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if we helped them. Besides, we do need a place to stay."
Kelly raised her hand. "I want to stay. These people are nice. They seem to care about others more than themselves. And from what I saw in the plant, they know what they're doing. I say we stay."
"I'm with Kell." Max said. "They're good fighters and also care a lot about what they're doing. They offered us to join, so they must want our help. I say we give it to them."
"I'm in." Janet said. "By ourselves Umbrella would crush us. At least if we team up with these guys, we stand a chance of making it out of this mess alive. I also think we owe them for the plant. They didn't have to help us."
Rick was the last to speak. "I say go for it. These people need our help as much as we need theirs. Besides, I like these people. I think we'd make a great team. Maybe we can get a piece of that deal if we chip in. After all, we're in the same mess. Right?"
"It's agreed then." Hunk said. "Time to go tell Chris. He said he'd be in the living room." The group went back inside and made their way down the hall. The others had gathered around the TV. The children were on the floor. Barry was in his recliner. Ark sat in the chair next to the loveseat, Eliza sitting on the one arm. Carlos and Becky had taken the loveseat and looked like they were cuddling. Leon sat on the right side of the couch, his feet propped up on the coffee table, much to Barry's dislike. Claire was next to him, holding his hand. Chris was at the other end, leaning into the corner. Jill sat next to him, leaning one his chest. Her hands were on her knees, her legs doubled up. Chris had his arms around her. He looked up as Hunk came into the room. "We've made our decision. We what to help you, we want to join your team."
Chris smiled. "We had a talk about letting you in. I'm happy to say that we could use your help. Welcome aboard Hunk."
Hunk shook his head. "Don't call me Hunk. That was my name when I was in Umbrella. Call me by my real name, James Cooper."
"As for me," Ada said, "I'm Ada Wong, survivor from Raccoon City."
"If you guy's are going to join us," Barry said, "We need to decide where you're going to sleep. Let's see." Barry thought out a new room plan. "I'll stay where I am, as will the children, Becky, Carlos, and Ark. Chris and Jill will sleep in Chris' room. Jill's room will go to Jim and Ada. Claire will move into Leon's room so Max and Kelly can have hers. There are plenty of couches for the rest of you. I can get some blankets and pillows for each of you."
"Thanks." Jim said. "I appreciate what you're doing for my team."
"No problem. Funny thing is Spencer expected you to kill us. Instead you're helping us. I bet Nicholai can't wait to see Spencer. And like I said before, welcome aboard." Chris held out his hand. "You're now a part of S.T.A.R.S."
James took his hand. "Don't worry Chris, we won't let you down."
One day was all it took. In one day our lives were changed for the better. In that one day we became stronger than we ever were before. James' team found out the truth and chose to join us in our fight against Umbrella. We got some new allies, including Eliza, and scored a major victory over Nicholai. Most of all, we proved that we could work together to overcome anything Umbrella put in front of us. We saw this as another win, as proof that things were going our way. In reality, it was just one step towards the inevitable final battle we would fight against Umbrella. During this war someone told me that good and evil were picking teams for the great battle. When I asked about James' group, I was told that sometimes evil tricks people to joining its side. It's only when these people realize that they are fighting for the wrong team. I guess Jim and his group found that out the hard way. Fortunately for them, and for us, we survived and became what Spencer feared most. S.T.A.R.S.
Author's Comments: With that ends Part III. What a whirlwind chain of events. Chris' team and Hunk's team start out as enemies only to become allies. All it took was a little talking, a little fighting, and two cliffhangers involving a standoff and a double-cross for it to happen. Well, Nicholai is basically screwed. Come on, do you think Spencer will give him another chance. I think it would go like this. "I'm sorry Spencer. If I could only…" BANG! I would want to Nicholai right now. Also a few things to mention. One is that Ada DOES throw Leon the rocket launcher in his B game. From what I read form several web pages that the mystery woman LOOKS like Ada, SOUNDS like Ada, so it MUST be Ada. Two is that I got Hunk's real name off of several web pages. His name is James Cooper. Jim and Jimmy are nicknames for James. I should know, my uncle's name is James and I call him Jim. In the same vein, Kell is short for Kelly, or so I think. It's just like Becky is short for Rebecca. By the way, if I am wrong about Hunk's name, tell me nicely. I'd appreciate it. One final note, how about Ark. Get your conspiracy theories ready for who you think he called. Expect this issue not to be resolved for quite a while. And also assume that Eliza is part of the S.T.A.R.S. team, even if I didn't write a scene showing it. I can do that in the next Part.
We are halfway done with this massive story. Yippy! In the next Part the action heats up even more as new dangers abound. Everything is quickly escalating towards Armageddon. Soon the final pieces will be in place, and the countdown will be over. With only two parts remaining the war between the S.T.A.R.S. and Umbrella will intensify. In the next chapter, things look bad for the S.T.A.R.S. team as Umbrella finally discovers their hideout. Will our heroes live, or will this be the end of the line. Find out in RE Armageddon: Part IV, Chapter 1- On the Run.