Disclaimer: The hard working people at Capcom own Resident Evil. This excruciatingly long story is mine. All names and places have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.
Written by: Striker
"MILITARY!" Spencer roared. "YOUR SOLDIERS WERE CAPTURED BY MILITARY!"
"The military was waiting for my men." Nicholai said. "Our base in Atlanta was also taken. I received a message before the base was taken. I don't know where the S.T.A.R.S. were taken, but I lost all my men."
"You assured me that the S.T.A.R.S. would be eliminated." Spencer's face was starting to get red. "You said that there would be no problems."
Nicholai felt as if he was going to shit his pants. It had been a few hours since contact was lost with his men. The last thing to come through was the base being attacked by the U.S. Army. This came after contact was lost with the men in Fort Collins. Nicholai now found himself in Spencer's office, facing his boss's fury. "I didn't know that the military was involved. I have no idea how they could have known where the S.T.A.R.S. were."
"Ark Thompson." Spencer seethed. "He is an investigator for the government. He could have told the military where the S.T.A.R.S. were. You should have seen that."
"How could anyone have seen that?" Wesker asked. He gave Nicholai a sly grin. "Even I couldn't have seen that coming. Besides, if it weren't for the army intervening, Nicholai's men would have done the job. This reminds me of the Spencer Estate. How was I to know that the Tyrant was going to impale me? That was unforeseen. Just like no one expected Mr. Umbrella to die in such a horrible accident. Life can be so cruel."
Spencer eyed Wesker suspiciously. That man was smart. Perhaps too smart. Spencer regained his composure. "Very well, this was unforeseen. However, this presents us with a bigger problem. If the S.T.A.R.S. talk, what they know could be disastrous for me. The U.S. Government has already been sniffing around for a while. Plus the loss of property is staggering. This is indeed a serious problem."
Nicholai resented Spencer calling his men "property" like they were things to be thrown away. The man cared more about those beasts than the people working for him. "My men will not talk, no matter what happens to them. And I doubt the S.T.A.R.S. joined the government."
"He's right." Wesker added. "By now the only people the S.T.A.R.S. believe they can trust is each other. Remember how no one believed the surviving S.T.A.R.S. after the mansion. I believe Redfield still has a strong mistrust towards the government. He probably believes that the government wants him to keep quit. No, he is not that trusting of a man. That will make any alliance between the S.T.A.R.S. and the Army difficult."
"I see your point." Spencer said. The S.T.A.R.S. mistrust would be an advantage. "But consider if they do help the government. What then?"
"The S.T.A.R.S. have no hard evidence." Nicholai said calmly. "Their own actions have seen to this. Every base they have been to they have destroyed. Even the papers they have could be considered circumstantial evidence. We could claim that those documents were forged."
"With any luck they'll all end up in mental institutions." Wesker smiled, removing his shades. His reptilian eyes adjusted to the light. "Do you honestly believe that anyone will believe that we, The Umbrella Corporation, would create a virus? Umbrella cures diseases. What the people will believe is that the S.T.A.R.S. are terrorists that seek to destroy Umbrella. We could even say that they work for Bio-Tech."
Spencer still was unimpressed. "These are all assumptions. If Redfield is smart, he will try to make a deal with the Government. We may have to change our name and move to another location. How could things come to this? The company MY GRANDFATHER created will be ruined by a group of insects that should have been exterminated long ago." Spencer closed his eyes.
"All is not lost." Wesker said.
Spencer's eyes shot open. "What?"
"Think of it this way. The U.S. Government needs the S.T.A.R.S. Without them the government has no case. I intend to set a trap that Redfield and his pathetic friends won't escape."
"And how are you going to do that?" Spencer asked.
"I believe that these terrorists have been hacking into our computer systems. That will allow us to hang out the bate. There is a factory in Ohio near Tiffin. We no longer use it, but we could make it seem like it produces Tyrants. The S.T.A.R.S. will jump at the opportunity to destroy a facility that makes Tyrants."
"And why should they Wesker?" Spencer asked.
Wesker's smile got bigger. "Because the S.T.A.R.S. loath them. Out of all the creatures we have made, the Tyrant class has been the most powerful. The S.T.A.R.S. know this and will do anything to prevent this. If we set the trap, they will come."
Nicholai continued. "The new B.O.W.s are ready. We'll send in weaker B.O.W.s to make the S.T.A.R.S. lower their guard. And then the new one's attack and kill those bastards."
"Excellent." Spencer put his palm together and tapped his fingers against each other. "You may carry on your plan Wesker, but Nicholai stays here."
"But I need Nicholai to help me escape." Wesker said, pointing at the Russian. "Part of my plan is to set the self-destruct device to kill whoever manages to survive. Nicholai will have to start up the emergency escape train to insure we are not caught in the blast."
"Very well." Spencer growled. "But don't slip up. If this plan fails, you both will pay."
"Yes Sir." Nicholai and Wesker replied together. The two men left the room. When they were far enough away, Wesker spoke to Nicholai.
"This time the S.T.A.R.S. won't escape. I will see to it myself." Wesker put on his shades headed for the elevator.
Nicholai stopped for a bit. "We'll see." He said before heading to the elevator himself.
The vans rumbled into Fort Belvior. They pulled up in front of a large building that was the HQ for the base. The vans stopped and the occupants got out. "Welcome to Fort Belvior. This is where Operation Umbrella will commence from." Peterson said.
Chris looked towards the direction of the barracks. "Where will we be staying?"
Peterson smiled. "Like I said, you'll have a place to stay. However you won't be staying on base. There's a small development going up a short distance from here. I saw to it that several of those homes would be given to you and your team. We've paid for everything. You'll also be provided transportation, so you can go into the city. D.C. is only a few miles away. We also set up a special lab. Most of the equipment we got from the CDC in Atlanta. It may prove helpful for this operation. I also believe your stuff has arrived. Sergeant, get these people their belongings."
"Yes sir." Monroe ran over to some trunks that had just pulled up. He leaped onto the back of one and began looking over the objects. "Just call me Santa, ho, ho, ho. What do we have here? This must be one of the kids." He held up a white bear with a British flag on its shirt.
"MY BEAR!" Rebecca shouted. She ran up and grabbed it before Monroe could say anything. She stood hugging it tightly, a happy expression on her face.
"OK." Monroe said. "Cool." He held up Barry's gun lighter. "I have one of these, except mine's a cannon."
Barry walked up and took the lighter. "Believe me, I wouldn't miss this."
Monroe dug around some more. "Whoa, I always wanted one of these." He held up the hat Claire had bought for Leon.
"Whom does that belong to?" Rick said between chuckles.
Leon hung his head. "Uh."
"It's Leon's." Claire said. She walked up and snatched the hat. "Does anyone have a problem with that?" She gave it to Leon, who avoided the stares he was receiving.
"Here we have a little building." Monroe held up the model of Buckingham Palace.
Sherry ran up. "That's mine."
"Here you go." Monroe handed Sherry the model. He continued to dig as Sherry ran back to Claire. "And here's a picture of the happy couple, or I think." He held up the picture of Chris and Jill. Monroe looked at Jill, then back at the picture several times. "You look the same except your hairs short and red."
"Personal info." Chris said.
"Right." Monroe held out the picture for Chris to take. He then jumped off of the truck. "That's it for personal effects. Only things left in the truck are clothes, underwear, and a pair of Hawaiian boxers. I won't ask who owns them." All eyes turned to Carlos. "Cause I just got my answer."
"By the way," Carl said, "We have three more very valuable possessions that I believe belong to Mr. Burton." He spoke into a radio. "Let them out."
The door to the HQ opened. A woman and two girls emerged The woman was pretty with shoulder-length, blonde hair and wore a pink shirt and brown blouse. The taller of the two girls had the same color hair as the woman and wore an Old Navy fleece and a pair of jeans. The other girl had fire-red hair and wore a gray polo shirt and jeans. The woman looked around before spotting Barry.
Barry couldn't believe the sight he saw. "KATHY, NATALIE, JENNA!" Barry tore off towards them. Kathy rushed to Barry, tears running down her face. The two met and wrapped their arms around each other. They started to kiss passionately.
"DADDY, DADDY!" The younger girl, Jenna, ran to Barry. The other girl, Natalie, followed her sister.
"NATALIE, JENNA!" Barry crouched down as his two daughters ran into his arms. "I miss you so much."
Chris smiled at the scene. He had figured that Barry would see his family after Umbrella was defeated. In fact Chris had figured that everything would play out this way. He looked at his sister, who was next to Leon. His reunion with Claire had been just as emotional. He steadied himself and walked towards Barry's family. He approached Kathy and said something he knew he had to say. "I'm sorry for getting Barry involved in this. I'm sure it must have been difficult not having him around."
"No need to apologize." Kathy said. "It was something he had to do. If he wasn't fighting against Umbrella, who would be? I'm just glad we're with him."
"So am I." Chris replied. "I know how important family is."
"But how?" Barry asked.
Carl stepped forward. "It was simple really. Ark learned where your family was staying and we did the rest. We decided that it would be better to bring them here so you could be together. Actually it was my idea. Think of it as a little bonus. And speaking of bonuses, I have one for you Chris. He should be here soon."
"What could you possibly have for me?" Chris was puzzled until he heard a familiar voice call him.
"CHRIS! I didn't expect to be working with you."
Chris turned to see an old friend. "Stan?" Chris walked up to his friend. "What are you doing here?"
"Apparently working with you." Stan replied. Both men gave each other a hearty hug and laughed, slapping each other on the back. Stan stepped back and held Chris' shoulders. "I was stationed at Bolling Air Force Base and then got transferred here to be a pilot for some S.T.A.R.S. team. I had no idea you were with them."
"Long story." Chris said. "You haven't changed a bit." Chris looked over his friend. Stan still had short, black hair and brown eyes. He was 5'9", an inch shorter than Chris. He also had the same stocky build.
"Neither have you." Stan replied. "At least it'll be good to fight beside you again. I tell you, the partners I've had recently have been dicks."
"Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends." Chris led Stan back to the group. Barry was already busy introducing his wife and children.
After the intros, Peterson called to the group. "Listen up. Your stuff will be taken to garages. There it will be loaded into several cars we have for each of you. You will have to identify your stuff, as our men didn't know what belong to whom. After that you will be given direction, keys, and number to you homes. I suspect that most of you don't have clothes so you each get a credit card. Don't max it out. The houses are all the same. They're two-story, two-bedroom, white houses. We have split you up into pairs based on information provided by Mr. Thompson. I hope you find your homes to your liking. Dismissed."
The group climbed into the vans and headed to the waiting cars. The vehicles were beautiful, white Chrysler Town & Country mini-vans. There were nine. Each one had the keys and directions to the development, complete with map. The boxes were quickly sorted and loaded into the appropriate vehicles. Kathy's luggage as well as the girls was already in Barry's Town & Country. It was decided that the group would follow Chris. After the team settled in they would go into D.C. so James' group could get some clothes. Chris pulled out of the base with the rest in tow. Jill navigated for him. When they reached the development their mouths dropped.
"It's beautiful." Jill gasped.
"No kidding." Chris replied.
Each car pulled into the driveway of each house. It would be Chris and Jill, Claire, Leon, and Sherry, Carlos and Rebecca, Barry and his family, Ark, Eliza, Rott, and Lily, James and Ada, Max and Kelly, Jeff and Jess, and finally Janet and Rick. Each house was a white, two-story building with a deck and garage. The inside was also impressive. The front door opened into a living room to the right and a kitchen to the left. The living room had a sky-blue carpet and white furniture, while the kitchen floor was sparkling, white linoleum and loaded with appliances. Towards the back was a study to the right with a dark-brown rug and a large, oak desk. A dining room was to the left with a shiny, hardwood floor a large, pine table. A staircase along the right side of the living room led upstairs. A lovely beige carpet ran the length of the hall. Two bedrooms were on the right side. A laundry room and spare room were on the left side. At the end of the hall were a bathroom and two other spare rooms on either side. In some of the houses, the spare rooms had been turned into bedrooms for the children. All in all, the houses were more than the S.T.A.R.S. had expected.
"I can't believe this is our new house." Kathy said.
Barry laughed and looked at his daughters, who were wide-eyed and amazed. "Nether can they. Let's get our stuff inside."
Those with stuff proceeded to move in. Those without belongings explored the houses. Rick ran next door to Jeff.
"I tell ya Jeff, we sure picked the right side." Rick said.
Jeff turned to Rick. "Amen."
Claire, Leon, and Sherry were finished pulling the bags from the back of the car. Suddenly, Claire froze like she remembered something. "Wait a minute, if we're going out, I need a shower." She ran into the house.
"Claire, wait." Leon ran after her only to see her legs disappear up the stairs. Sherry ran up next to him. Together they heard the heavy thud of footsteps run down the hall, then the sound of the bathroom door opening. Then they heard the sound of Claire shedding her clothes and the shower turning on. Leon stood with a goofy grin.
"Why are you smiling?" Sherry asked.
"You'll see soon enough." Leon replied. After a few seconds, they heard the shower turn off, a small commotion, and finally the sound of footsteps running back across the hall.
"Honey." Claire came halfway down the stairs wrapped in a towel. "I just remembered that my…"
"Clean underwear's still outside." Leon finished. "Don't worry, finish your shower. I'll bring the bag up to you."
Claire smiled and ran back upstairs. Sherry turned to Leon. "I thought you would make Claire go out and get her underwear herself."
"No way." Leon said. "Chris would kill me."
Ada stood on the back deck. The view was breathtaking. She saw a river and rolling hills. When spring rolled around, the hills would be covered in flowers. She couldn't help but enjoy the scenery. James stood at the sliding, glass door off of the study. Ada turned to him. "I can't believe this is ours. It's like I'm dreaming."
"Then I hope you never wake up." James said. "We should thank Major Peterson. And I also think we owe him. Umbrella has to go down, and it has to go down for good. But that's in the future. Now I think we should enjoy ourselves. We're going to D.C."
"I can't wait." Ada said. "I heard there are so many good shops in the city. I want to pick out some nice clothes."
James walked up and put his arm around her waist. "As soon as the others are ready, we'll go. Now let's see what the upstairs looks like." They both walked inside and closed the door.
Chris dropped the heavy bag on the bed. The bedroom was nice. The walls were white. The ceiling was tan with a white ceiling fan over the bed. The bed had cream-colored sheets and a blue quilt. A sliding door opened onto a small balcony. As Chris slid the door open, a gentle breeze blew the light blue curtains. A door on the right opened into a small bathroom. Against the left wall was a large closet and dresser. A mirror hung above the dresser. On either side of the bed was a small nightstand with a lamp. A tall dresser stood in the far, right corner. "Wish Barry's place was like this." Chris said.
"Well this is ours now." Jill walked in a set her bag down in front of the closet. "Besides, Barry isn't one for luxury. Remember his house in Raccoon."
Chris smiled. "Nothing fancy, just the essentials. He never did try to impress anyone."
Jill looked at the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower."
"Better make it a quick one, I need one too." Chris said.
"You know, we could always take one together." Jill mused, grabbing Chris' arm and tugging him towards the bathroom.
Chris broke free and put his hands on his waist. "I say, what has gotten into you Miss Valentine." He said, talking in his best southern accent. "This is no way for a proper lady to behave."
Jill started to pout. "You're saying you don't want to take a shower with me."
"I didn't say that," Chris said, "It's just that I didn't expect this kind of behavior from you. Guess I'm seeing a side of you I never have before."
"There's a lot you don't know." Jill replied. "Now let's go."
Giggling like two teenagers, Chris and Jill walked into the bathroom and shut the door.
The shopping trip was to D.C. ended up turning into a tour. The S.T.A.R.S. team drove by all the monuments before making it to the shops. The women had a ball while the guys got stuck holding the boxes. Leon, Carlos, and Ark ducked into one of the Starbucks coffee houses for a brake. In the clothing stores Janet and Eliza bought what they needed while the other women tried on numerous outfits. Chris was helping James when he noticed Jill emerge from a jewelry store. He thought nothing about it, figuring that she had bought something for herself. A little more sightseeing and it was time to go home.
It was around eight and Chris was in the living room. He was watching TV, trying to unwind from a rough day. A phone call from Peterson had the S.T.A.R.S. back at Fort Belvior at ten. Chris was tired. He could tell from the dark spots forming under his eyes. He found a program he liked and began to watch it. It was a special on the German battleship the Bismarck. He had gotten into these types of programs when he first joined the S.T.A.R.S. He figured it was the military training that had done it. The program was at the part where the Bismarck was in battle with the Hood, a British battleship. He was so engrossed in the program that he failed to see Jill come down the stairs.
"I thought you would be watching something about airplanes, not boats." She said.
"Hey, this'll work." He replied.
Jill sat down next to him. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "I have something for you."
"Oh boy. I wonder what it could be." Chris said, faking enthusiasm.
"I'm so glad you're ecstatic." Jill said.
Chris shot her a grin. "You want I should burst into flames."
She slapped his arm. "Come on, this is serious. Since you gave me a necklace to show how much you love me, I thought it was only fair to return the favor. I got you this today." She produced a small box. "Open it."
Chris opened the box to find a diamond-covered bracelet. "Thanks but I can't wear this. It's jewelry."
"It's a men's bracelet." Jill said. "Put it on."
Chris snapped the bracelet on his right wrist. "It's great. This must have cost a lot."
"Nothing's too good for you." Jill moved her arm around his waist. "I love you Chris."
"I love you too Jill." Chris looked at the stairs. "I would say we should go upstairs, but why waste time?"
"Now I'm seeing a side of you I didn't know you had." Jill said.
"I got plenty more. At least I was right about one thing."
"What's that?"
"Today was a busy day." Jill laughed as Chris kissed her forehead. "Now let's get to bed. We have a lot to do." With that, the pair switched off the TV and ascended the stairs.
Author's Comments: Chris sure was right. A lot of surprises were in store for our heroes. A family reunion, old partners joining back up, and a few new homes. What could get any better than this? Oh yeah, Jill's gift to Chris. And I know what you're saying, but no. Chris wearing a bracelet doesn't make him a pansy. Speaking of that, look for both the necklace and bracelet to pop up in the next parts. Also, Wesker has a plan. That's right, for all of you who begged for him, Wesker returns. You know sparks will fly when the S.T.A.R.S. and Wesker collide. On a side note, Bolling Air Force Base is real. I've been to it. Also, I've been to D.C. There are tons of shops and about three Starbucks I've seen while driving through it. Finally, all the houses are the same. Makes it a hell of a lot easier to have nine identical houses than nine different houses.
In the next chapter the S.T.A.R.S.
take the bate. Chris and the crew prepare for action and get some new threads.
But Wesker is also getting ready. See how in RE Armageddon: Part IV, Chapter 9-
Battle Plan.