As Cold Blood Runs-

As Cold Blood Runs-Chapter Five

Terms of Engagement

OK, I'm sure that you get the picture-I don't own Resident Evil, although I don't want to be sued, so I have to keep writing this stupid disclaimer.

Leon

A quick change of plan: 5:30 PM

What makes a person evil? Is it genetics, or just the way they were raised? Or...is it the strong need for attention? I'm not really for sure. But, out there, there are evil people. And we all have had our share of encounters with them. In Racoon, evil people destroyed a beautiful suburban midwestern town. On Sheena and Rockfort Islands, evil people once again struck. And in New York, evil people entered my home on an assanation attempt, but come to find we weren't home, my home was burned to the ground.

I pushed my bangs from my eyes as I sat there listening to Claire, who was in hysterics over the matter. The tension was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Chris, who had only been in the apartment for thirty hours, was angered, and people who hadn't even known that I was here, such as my mother, father, and sister were also angered. The dining room was just a brooding place for anger, I guess.

"So let me get this straight," I said to Claire. "Bio-Port sent their strike force to kill us and blow up our home?"

"That's the way it looks," she said. "What are we going to do now?" I stood up and sat down by her, took her into my arms, and held her. She just started bawling, and wouldn't stop.

"What if we'd been there earlier?" she cried.

"Shhhhh..." I whispered. "The important thing is that we weren't there. Material things can be replaced. Human lives can't."

"Which Umbrella isn't our only concern, guys. We're still up against two international corporations," Seth, who was regularly quiet, said. "I owe them, personally."

"About what they did to you?" Ark asked.

"More than that," he said. "Here, I'll tell you my story."

Seth

Infernal Wind: January 3, 1997

It was my seventeenth birthday. I used to live in a town in Michigan, called Red Springs. My father, a tall and skinny man with jet-black hair and icy blue eyes, was Chief of Security for a bank in town. He had taken off of work, just to take me to a hockey game in Detroit. The Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues. It was a hell of a game, although in the end St. Louis came out on top. We left, spirits high, and began the 3 hour long drive back home. It was really quiet, until we were about 15 minutes from the house. Dad had a look in his eye...he seemed depressed.

"Seth," my father said.

"Yeah, Dad?" I asked.

"Do you remember your mother?" Come to think of it, I really didn't remember a whole lot. I was eight when she died, and my little sister Heather was only nine months old. So, basically I grew up without a mother. I didn't really think it hurt me too bad, but I knew Heather would wonder where her mother went. My aunt Nichole, my dad's sister, had recently moved in with us to help with Heather. Father was always working, so Nichole or I was always taking care of Heather when I was out of school.

"A little," I said. He sighed and looked at me.

"You know, you remind me so much of her, son." People always said I looked like my dad. Back then, I was actually kind of skinny myself, before they did this to me. But it was always apparant I had my mother's reckless spirit. I never turned down a dare, and was always getting into trouble.

"I miss her so much," he whispered. "She would be so proud of you, my son." My father looked at me with pride in his eyes. "Because I am." I didn't say anything, I just looked at him and smiled. I sat back and closed my eyes, and apparantly fell asleep, because the next thing I knew, we were home. We groggily climbed out of the silver Chevy Silverado, and headed for our house. I was pretty sure that they were already asleep, because my watch said 3:30 AM. Just as I got to the house, I saw a blood spot on the doorknob. I was also suspicious of the black van across the street. Something just wasn't adding up.

"What's going on?" I whispered. Dad came up, and looked at it. We warily opened in the door, and walked in, noticing a blood trail up the stairs. We ran up, and it ended, going into my aunt's room. I had no earthly idea of what the hell was going on, but regardless, I kicked the door open, and what I saw horrified me. My aunt and sister were lying in pools of blood on the carpeted floor, dead. I screamed for my dad, and he came in. I knelt down and tried to pick up a pulse. Of course, there was none.

"Holy shit," he whispered. I was sickened, and turned my head and vomited. Just then, the closet door bounded open, and three black-clad, armored soldiers attacked. My dad had one by the throat, but the others emptied clips from an Ingram M-11 assault pistols into him. He collapsed to the floor next to my sister and aunt. They then turned on me. I rushed out the door, and slid down the banister to the first story, and fled out the door. I ran down the street, and I noticed that the assailants were getting back into the van. I jumped behind a bush, and picked up a big stick from a Mimosa tree. The van slowly drove by, and I could partially recognise what they were saying, but I didn't hang around. Dumb move. I jumped out of the bushes, and I saw the back door of the van open. One of the soldiers jumped out, and had what looked like a heavy bazooka-type weapon. But when he fired it, a blue pulsating light was emitted from it, and it hit me. It stung like hell, for the amount of time I was awake. Within a matter of seconds, I was completely paralyzed. But I could still hear them.

"Is he fit as a specimin?" Specimin??

"I don't know, he looks like it. According to the forms, he's the right kid."

"Let's get him back to William. He'll tell us there."

"Yeah, let's get him in the van."

Leon:

"And I soon awoke, strapped to a surgical table. William Birkin, I think that what his name was, had needles going every which way out of me, filling me with what he called the "G-Enesis Syrum." I was then lowered into a cryogenic tube, and then, I awoke when you all found me," Seth said. Claire looked at him sorrowfully.

"My God..." she whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, Claire," he said. "You guys saved my life, and for that, I'll forever be grateful." He walked over to a window, and stared through it. "You guys are the only friends I have left. Everyone else I knew and cared for is dead. And for that, they will all pay dearly." With that said, he walked back down the hallway, and into the guest room where he was sleeping. Claire went back into the living room, leaving me to sit there, pondering on the horrific story that Seth had just told me. I felt sorry for him. He had gone through hell and back, and now he stood ready to stand with us and fight. I stood up, and checked my watch. Damn, it was already seven, and we were supposed to be getting our stuff ready. I stood up, streched, and headed for the living room to begin getting my stuff ready.

Assault and Battery: 8:00 PM

I pulled up to the drive-through window at the local Burger King, awaiting my food. I was on supper duty, so I had Claire pack my stuff for me. I had eleven orders expected to be filled, and it would be an armful. Thank God that Mom and Dad had eaten earlier, because then there would have been even more. It seemed to me that fast-food wasn't necessarily fast, but slow as hell. It really got on my nerves. I sat there, in the Explorer, fiddling with the phone in the pocket of my jacket. I was in a trance of boredom as I sat and listened to Metallica's newest song. I sat tapping the steering wheel, attempting to follow the drum beat, but to no avail. But I was suddenly awakened by the ringing of my phone. I didn't see one of those Burger King servers coming, so I answered.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Leon!" It was Claire. "Get back here, quick!"

"What's going on?!" I shouted.

"Just hurry up and get back. Screw the food."

Just as she said that, a teenage girl popped through the window.

"You're total is $32..." she began.

"Cancel the order!" I shouted as I drove off.

Half an hour later, I arrived back at the house. Nobody was home. Strange. I pulled up into the drive, shut off the Explorer, and got out. No lights were on, and I was beginning to get confused. I opened the door, and saw Chris, Ark, and Claire sitting around the table. They all had saddened looks, especially Claire. Something was wrong...really wrong.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"They were here...five of them," Chris said. "They came in, and got the kids. We tried to fight them off, but..." he whispered. "They fired a stun grenade, and knocked us out cold."

"Where did they go? Where are the others? My parents?!" I asked.

"Carlos and Jill are off collecting munitions. Seth's trying to clarify who came in here by looping the security camera, and we got your parents somewhere safe. They're going to Ark's cabin, outside of Albany." Ark said. Munitions? Did that mean...?

"So we're going after these guys?" I asked.

"We have no choice," Chris answered as I sat down by Claire. "We're going back to Michigan." With that, he stood up, and went into the den, where I was sure Seth sat friviously working. Ark went over to the phone, and dialed someone up.

"You ok?" I asked Claire. She looked at me, with deep saddened eyes.

"Yeah. It's just..." she began.

"I know, I'm worried about Sherry also. And my sister. But we'll find them. I promise," I said.

"What if they try to do something to her or the others?" she asked.

"They won't." I saw Chris come in as he said that. Ark hung up the phone.

"I got ahold of Mick," he said. "He wants us to..." he began.

"No," I said. "This is our fight. Not theirs," I said. I turned back into the living room, and plopped down. I was in shock. But the question was who did it? Umbrella or Bio-Port? Whoever it was, they would pay big-time. They got my sister involved, and that was absolutely not cool. Anger built up inside of me like I had never felt it before.

"Hey Leon!" It was Chris.

"Yeah?" I shouted back.

"Come in here! We've found something!" I jumped up, and ran into the den. Seth sat at my father's computer, and had the footage from my parents' security camera on screen. He looked intense in his work, and what he saw startled him.

"What's going on?" I asked as I went over by Chris to look at the moniter. I saw five black clad soldiers, and I saw the group out cold, as what was the expected result of a stun grenade. I saw them picking up the kids: Amy, Rott, Lily (who has been somewhat quiet, but soon, things were going to change), and Sherry.

"Fuck..." I whispered. Nothing seemed to be able to identify them except...the blue and gold vortex, Bio-Port's corporate logo.

"That's Bio-Port's men," I said.

"Dammit, someone in their corporate hierarchy wants us bad," Chris said. "First they blow up our house, and now they kidnap the children." Things were getting really confusing. We were hunting Umbrella, and Bio-Port was hunting us.

SLAM! I heard the front door close, and Carlos and Jill walked in, along with another guy I had never seen before. He was tall, and broad-shouldered, with brown hair, and a brown beard. He was in a flannel shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of those heavy-duty work boots.

"Hey, we're back," he said. Chris came in, and saw them with several cases of ammunition.

"Good job, guys," he said. "We'll be ready to leave in the morning." He saw the quizzical look on my face, and realized that I had no idea of who was with Carlos and Jill.

"Leon," he stated. "This is Barry Burton, a survivor of the Spencer Mansion incident, and the one who rescued Jill and Carlos from Racoon City." He came over and shook my hand.

"Nice to finally meet you," he said. "Chris has told me a lot about you."

"Same here," I answered as we gathered around the dining room table. Chris had a serious look to his face, and I knew that it was time to get down to business.

"OK, fellas," he began. "Now it's our turn to go on the offensive. Tomorrow morning, we leave from a private airfield south of here, headed for Lansing, home of Bio-Port International. More than likely, the kids will be there." We all nodded, and Seth, who was still in the den, suddenly shouted.

"Chris! Jill! Barry!" he screamed. "Get back here, pronto!" The three survivors of the first Racoon incident rushed back to the den. I heard something that sounded like a little mini-tape recorder rewinding, and then, they came back in, faces white as ghosts.

"Claire..." Chris whispered. "He did it...he survived."

"Who?!" she shouted.

"Listen," he said as he pressed play on the recorder.

"I'd like to congratulate on your recent sucess, Christopher. But too bad it was in vain. You may have put the Genesis project back for many years, but we took something from you worth even more. The precious children who have been travelling with you for so long, are now in our hands. And that little Birkin girl, well, when we get done with her, Genesis will seem obselete." I could hear the thick malice and hatred in the strange voice. I didn't even know who was speaking, but whoever it was made my blood boil.

"By now, you know where the children are, and you definately know what we want. Meet in the RAID office at Bio-Port HQ at 1300 hours, tomorrow, or else your little friends will pay the price of your meddling." That's it. That crazy motherfucker, whoever it was, was going to pay. But as angry as I was, Claire was frightened even more.

"Oh my God..." she breathed. "Wesker..."

Well, our heroes finally figured out that Albert Wesker still lives, and is behind the whole thing. But what is to be expected once they arrive? What does Wesker have in mind? You'll just have to wait for the next chapter of As Cold Blood Runs. Ciao!