Nicholai stood in the elevator, watching as the floor number steadily rose. Soon he would have to face Charles Spencer. The only thing worse would be the fact that Wesker would be there too. That snake would find great enjoyment out of his misery. The elevator finally reached the top floor. The doors opened and Nicholai stepped out, only to find Wesker waiting for him.
Nicholai glared at him. "I don't have time for any of your shit."
"Relax," Wesker said, "I'm not here to rub your failure in your face. I shouldn't talk."
Nicholai raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Simple. I too have failed in eradicating those pests. Of coarse, I gave them to little credit. I underestimated their abilities. And I'm not even going to get into what happened in Antarctica."
"Still mad that Alexia beat you so easily." Nicholai was pleased that Wesker had messed up too. "It wasn't your fault that the Ashfords created a more powerful virus than the one you were infected with."
"And it wasn't your fault that Hunk, Ada, and Hunk's whole team turned traitor and sided with the enemy." Wesker said. His mouth curled into a smirk. "Must have been embarrassing having your best men switch sides."
Nicholai pointed at Wesker. "But at least I knew they would turn. In fact I set them up, much like you did with the S.T.A.R.S. unit of yours."
"And even though you had everything planned out, they still escaped. Face it, you dropped the ball. Now it's my turn." Wesker turned and headed for Spencer's office.
"Too bad for you that in a few hours time I will have corrected my error." Nicholai started for Spencer's office, ready for the worse.
Spencer sat at his desk, his head down. Before him stood Nicholai and Wesker. Slowly he raised his head. "I sent you plenty of soldiers. I gave you the best equipment. I even sent over a small army of B.O.W.s, including two Tyrants. I even had our best strike team sent in for this mission. You insured me that this plan of yours wouldn't fail. Instead, I lost another facility, the B.O.W.s were lost, this team of yours turned on us, and those bastards survived. Not only that, but they also fled their base and are now God knows where. Tell me how this happened."
"They were better than I anticipated." Nicholai said. "Also, the team led by Hunk was already questioning this company. That was a problem I knew I had to solve. Even I was surprised that they managed to kill the Tyrants and destroy the plant. I am also led to believe that Redfield expected me to locate his base and was prepared for the attack. But that doesn't matter. No matter where he goes, I will find him."
"Somehow I don't share your confidence." Spencer sneered. "I expect results, not excuses. I thought that you could get the job done, but obviously my faith was misplaced. You are dismissed from your post. Wesker will take over from here."
"With all due respect." Nicholai began.
"SHUT UP!" Spencer roared. "YOU FAILED ME! I WILL NOT TOLERATE FAILURE! NOTHING YOU SAY OR DO WILL ACCOMPLISH NOTHING! BECAUSE OF YOUR MISTAKE, WE NOW HAVE MORE ENEMIES TO DEAL WITH! YOU HAVE MADE THIS SITUATION WORSE!"
"I know where they are."
Spencer looked at him inquisitively. "What did you say? You know where they are." Spencer's face became stern. "Tell me."
"A military base Northwest of Raleigh, N.C. One strike and I can have them eliminated." Nicholai said. "All I have to do is give an order and…"
"Enough." Spencer interrupted. "You have done your job. You have been relieved of your duty. I don't need you slipping up again. As soon as the new bio-weapons are finished, they will be sent in."
"That won't be necessary." Nicholai said. "My men have orders to move in on the enemy. They will be in position by tomorrow morning. Soon the S.T.A.R.S. will be dead."
"Did you say S.T.A.R.S.? What do you mean by S.T.A.R.S.?" Spencer asked.
Nicholai swallowed hard. "Redfield told me to tell you that the S.T.A.R.S. are coming for you. It seems that the survivors are calling themselves S.T.A.R.S. now. He also said that he is not running from us anymore. According to him, the S.T.A.R.S. are now on the offensive. But my men will see that the S.T.A.R.S. won't be a problem."
"About your men. I did not authorize their deployment." Spencer pointed sharply at Nicholai. "They should be heading back here."
"This is the best time to attack." Nicholai responded.
"THAT IS MY DECISION! I WILL NOT PUT UP WITH
INSUBORDINATION! YOU WILL FOLLOW MY ORDERS! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
"Yes sir." Nicholai said. "What about my men?"
Spencer closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I will give them this one last chance. If they fail, you will take full responsibility for what happens. Wesker will then take over this project. Do you understand?"
"Sir." Nicholai breathed a sigh of relief. The termination of the S.T.A.R.S. would put him in good favor with Spencer. It would be unfortunate that he wouldn't witness the event.
"Better hope that your men don't fuck up." Wesker said coyly.
"You should shut your mouth." Spencer snapped.
"Whatever do you mean?" Wesker asked. "What did I do?"
"If you had done your job and killed off the original S.T.A.R.S. members, this whole problem wouldn't have arisen. Your failure caused all of our troubles." Spencer leered at Wesker. "This, in a way, is your fault."
Wesker balled up his fists, trying to hold back the urge to snap Spencer's throat. "How could anyone have foreseen these developments? How was I to know that Redfield and the others would survive all the bio-weapons? Besides. There were plenty of opportunities to exterminate the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members, but no one took them. If I may, I believe that Mr. Umbrella is really to blame. He let this situation get to this point."
"But you should have got the job done." Spencer snapped back. "Now you will have the chance to make up for your mistakes. Pray you don't fail me. I will not be as forgiving as the old fool. Now go. In the event that Nicholai's men fail, you will have the duty of exterminating any of Redfield's group that survives. This meeting is over."
Nicholai and Wesker saluted and left the office. Spencer looked down at the reports. The bio-weapons were ready for action. Soon they would be available to the highest bidder. Spencer smiled as he though about the power he held in his grasp. Umbrella would see the true glory his grandfather intended. All that stood before him were the S.T.A.R.S.
"Soon you will be no more." Spencer turned his chair to face the giant portrait of Edward Spencer. "With the S.T.A.R.S. deaths, I will make sure your dream becomes a reality."
Wesker stormed into his office. "FUCK!" He slammed his fist into the wall, leaving a crack in the concrete. How dare Spencer lay all the blame on him. Of coarse, why should he care? The Spencers were crazy anyway. Insanity seemed to run through the whole family. Lord Edward Spencer was nuts enough to have his mansion built the way it was. It had been a nightmare maneuvering through the place. He was lucky that he could manipulate Barry into helping him. Having Chris and Jill find the copper plates for the back door, as well as solving all the puzzles for him was also a fortunate event. Edward Spencer's obsession with puzzles was disturbing. God knows what would have happened if Charles' father, Franklin, had took over.
"That would have been a nightmare." Wesker growled. "The Ashfords weren't any better."
The Ashfords. They were just as insane. Alexander had conducted his twisted experiments. He literally produced his own children! Those two were just as bad.
"I'll have to thank you for killed them off, Chris."
Wesker probably owned the Redfields for getting rid of the Ashfords. Those two lunatics were probably fucking each other whenever they had the chance. Alfred was a bona fide loon. That cocky bastard considered himself better than others. It was rumored that he even dressed up as his sister. Plus, he was too devoted to her. If he had gotten his hands on Alfred, he would have put that pompous asshole in his place. Alexia was worse. Wesker's face still hurt from where that bitch had slapped him. It was too sad that she had degenerated into a monster. Served her right. She was stupid to inject herself with the T-Veronica virus and expect to be just fine. Alexander should have been a fair warning.
"At least they turned control over to Mr. Umbrella."
Of all the people to control Umbrella, Mr. Umbrella was the best. He wasn't insane or egotistical. He did what had to be done for the company. He was fair, not yelling at any of his employees for making a mistake. Wesker knew full well that Spencer had planned Mr. Umbrella's death. Everyone knew it. The problem was that everyone was afraid to speak for fear of punishment. Mr. Umbrella was a good man. He did not deserve to die because some ungrateful prick wanted control.
Soon that would change. Spencer would not be around for long. Soon the balance of power would fall in his hands. The first step was already done. However, Wesker knew he could not do this alone. Now an opportunity presented itself. Wesker had waited for this moment. From past experience, the S.T.A.R.S. would prove difficult to kill. It was only natural that Nicholai would fail. Now the man was facing a fate he didn't want. This would give Wesker an ally. The trick was to get him to cooperate.
Wesker left his office and headed to the one place he was sure Nicholai would go. Sure enough Nicholai was in one of the rec rooms, trying to unwind by watching TV. Wesker slipped through the door and took a seat next to Nicholai.
"Come to gloat over my misery?" Nicholai asked, his eyes not moving from the TV.
"Why should you be miserable?" Wesker replied with a question of his own. "As you said, your men will take the S.T.A.R.S. by surprise. They will be dead."
Nicholai rubbed his neck. "It's just that whenever it seems victory is in sight, the S.T.A.R.S. manage someway to survive. I have a feeling that this time will be no different. I just know that the S.T.A.R.S. will escape. When that happens, I'm through. I fear what Spencer will do to me."
"In that case, perhaps you should have some insurance." Wesker flashed a devilish grin. "A little backup if you will."
"What are you getting at Wesker? I have no time for games."
"I'm saying that you should align yourself with someone who will watch your back."
"Like you I suppose."
"You are smart. That's exactly what I'm saying. We should make a little pact. Swear to cover each other. To watch out for each other. To work together as a team. Do you get what I am saying?"
Nicholai smiled. "I knew you were trying something. Tell me why I should trust someone who has a record for betraying others?"
"Because we have two common enemies."
"Who?"
"One, the S.T.A.R.S. They have been a thorn in both our sides. Second," Wesker leaned towards Nicholai and spoke in a low voice. "Spencer."
Nicholai let out a gruff laugh. "The first one I agree with, but the second one I have to disagree with."
"Why, we both know that Spencer had Mr. Umbrella killed. We both know he will destroy the company. He is dangerous and will kill us both. I say we have a backup plan. I am willing to let you in on my plan."
"What is it?"
"First you must swear not to tell this to anyone. If you do, I will kill you, understood."
"Fine. I guess joining you will be better than facing Spencer."
"Good. Come with me." Wesker led Nicholai to the lab were the bio-weapons were kept. "This is part of my plan." Wesker led Nicholai to the cryo-tubes.
Nicholai peered inside. "Oh my God."
"Amazing, isn't it? Spencer had these created as the perfect bio-weapons. The crown jewel lies back here." Both men walked over to the massive cryo-tube. "This is the ultimate bio-weapon. The S.T.A.R.S. will have no chance against it."
"How are you so sure? And how do you know that it won't turn on you?" Nicholai was curious as to why Wesker was so convinced that these creatures were perfect.
"Because Spencer had them go through mental conditioning. They will obey orders without question. They also know that the S.T.A.R.S. are their enemies. I, however, added something. These creatures will obey me completely. If I were to order one of these B.O.W.s to kill Spencer, no matter what he said, they wouldn't listen to him. My orders are supreme to all others."
'I guess I have done the right thing. I will help you, but if you stab me in the back, you will be sorry."
"Don't worry. This is only a small part. When the time comes, we will be in complete control. And if we're lucky, the S.T.A.R.S. will help us accomplish our goal." Wesker smiled to himself. Soon he would have not only revenge, but power as well.