RESIDENT EVIL: THE LAST MISSION
By Gary Stark
CHAPTER 1
Ada Wong shifted in her seat as she reached for the bucket of fried chicken on the table. She took a bite of the greasy meat and dropped the wing back into the tub. Wiping her mouth she got up and strolled over to the binoculars set up on a tripod by the window. With them she could see the front door of the apartment building across the street. Earlier she had watched Leon Kennedy leave in his new police uniform on his way to his new job in the NYPD, and now she waited for him to return home.
She worried about how he would react to meeting her again since Raccoon two years ago. She knew he would be surprised and probably pissed but there was no other way she could work it. She had to talk to him.
Beside the bucket was an open file. In it were details about a secret lab that had survived when the government shut down Umbrella for its involvement in the destruction of Raccoon City. There were newspaper clippings and a copy of Time Magazine with a picture of Leon and the other S.T.A.R.S on the cover. They had been the heroes of the whole case. Everything about the Spencer Estate, the Raccoon Lab, Rockford Prison, all of Umbrellas shady operations were aired out thanks to them.
She glanced over the maps and reports again, wishing that she didn't need to bother with Umbrella any more, but she knew there was no way she could leave it alone.
The sound of a car pulling up outside brought her to her senses. She ran to the window and saw Leon getting out of his car. He walked wearily up to the door and disappeared inside. Ada smiled. This was it. She would make contact now.
Quickly she gathered up the papers and put them into a single strapped backpack. She put on her denim jacket then pulled the bag over her head. She gave herself a long look in the mirror. Her narrow brown eyes were bright and alert, and her shoulder length black hair was neat and shiny.
Turning out the light she left the apartment and strode across the street. It was late and the buildings were steeped in shadows. She reached his front door and took a deep breath. Her knuckles rapped on the door and Leon opened it. Standing in silence he tried to take in the new arrival.
"Hi." was all he could manage.
"Hi. Can I come in?" she asked gently. He stepped aside, gob-smacked and watched her stride in.
CHAPTER 2
Leon closed the door as Ada took off her backpack and put it on an armchair. He couldn't believe that she was here. Standing in his very apartment as if nothing had happened. He studied her closely. She had let her dark hair grow a bit, and she was wearing tight jeans and a denim jacket, her eyes were still razor sharp. He could tell she was feeling uncomfortable as he eyed her but he wasn't really interested.
"I-we thought you were dead." he said finally.
"I'm not. I escaped from Raccoon."
"But you never contacted me! Not even to say you were alright!" He seethed.
"I know, I know!"
"Jesus!" He paced around the open plan living room running his hands through his brown hair. "So why have you turned up now? Are you in trouble? Do you want me and Clair to traipse off after you on some other zombie hunt?"
That took her by surprise. She had no idea he had gotten together with Clair Redfield. Even since she started watching the building last week she hadn't laid eyes on her.
"Your with Clair? Since when?" He calmed down a little. The confusion on her face calmed him, he figures that she didn't know about them.
"W-we got together right after Raccoon." He informed her. Ada looked around the room.
"Where is she?" Ada asked.
"She went out of town to visit Chris and Jill in L.A. She's due back tomorrow."
"Oh..." Ada sat down on the edge of the armchair and opened her bag. She was hurting. She knew that Leon would be angry but he didn't seem to be happy to see her in the slightest. And with Clair on top of all that she was feeling miserable.
"I guess I better get on with business then." Leon took the folder as she handed it to him. She watched him scan its contents, brow furrowed. He sat down across from Ada on the sofa and loosened his tie.
"Is this for real?" he said with doubt in his voice. "An Umbrella lab they missed in the sweep?"
"Yes. It's all true. That's why I came here, to ask you to help me to take it out."
"But they believe us now. We don't have to do it ourselves any more. Just give this file to the authorities and the Marines will clear it out."
"The Marines can't do this one, Leon."
"Why not? They've done more since it became public that we ever managed before."
"But this is different. I don't trust anyone to pull off this one but us."
"Why not?"
Ada pulled her gaze from his eyes and got up. Leon stood and put his hand on her shoulder. "Ada?"
"There are some things that you don't know about me, Leon. I was working for Umbrella in Raccoon. My mission was to get hold of a sample of the G-Virus but I failed."
Leon turned her around to face him. He looked grim. Motioning for her to sit on the sofa he sat across from her in the chair and said:
"And?" Ada swallowed hard and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Telling secrets was hard for her. After living the life of an agent she found it hard to trust anyone and opening up to someone was unimaginable. But she had found someone she could trust. A person she could rely on not to try to kill her at least. She told the story.
"Raccoon was supposed to be my last assignment. With the money I was going to earn I planned to move abroad with my baby sister, May. When I left for the City Umbrella promised me that they would keep an eye on her until I came back. But when I didn't get the virus they kidnapped her and hid her in one of their labs." Wiping away tears of shame and anguish she continued. "I had no idea were to start looking for her. My only hope was that the UN would find her in one of the facilities they raided and bring her back to me. But they didn't. Then I got to hear rumours about a lab they missed in the Tropics and thought that it was the last place I had to look."
Leon nodded sympathetically. He was angry that Ada had betrayed him but couldn't bring himself to let her go on this mission alone, as he knew she would if he didn't help.
"We can't do it ourselves. We're going to need help. I think I can convince Chris or Jill to come. I don't want to ask Barry. He's got a family to think of..."
"You mean your going to help me? Really?" She was ecstatic. Jumping out of her seat she grabbed Leon and gave him a huge bear hug, tears streaming down her smooth cheeks.
CHAPTER 3
The sun streamed in through the window of Chris and Jill's apartment. On the beachfront people were playing around, jogging and having fun. Clair Redfield turned away from the scene when Chris entered the room carrying her bag. Smiling he said;
"Ready to go, Sis?"
"Yeah!" she grinned back. "I just wish I could stay longer and go to the beach again." She followed her brother out to the car and helped him put her case in the boot.
In the living room Jill grabbed the car keys (that Chris had forgotten again) and was halfway out the door when the phone rang. She picked it up and said:
"Hello?"
"Jill? It's Leon!"
"Hi Leon, we were just on our way out. Want me to get Clair?"
"Yeah, but it's actually you and Chris I needed to talk to."
"Uh...okay, I'll go and get them. Hang on."
In a moment Clair and Chris were in the room with Jill listening to Leon laying out the story on speakerphone. At first they weren't sure what to say to the prospect of going back into an Umbrella facility alone. Two years ago they had no choice, they had to do it to prove their stories and to stop Umbrella continuing their evil experiments. But now, as far as the S.T.A.R.S. were concerned it was all over.
"I understand Ada's need to do it herself. Hell, if it Clair I would go out there in an instant, but she has to realize the dangers involved." Said Chris.
"She knows fine well what Umbrellas capable of. She had to fight her way out of Raccoon same as the rest of us. But it's really important to her. And I want to help her."
"Well if you feel that strongly about it then... I'm in." said Clair.
"Clair?" cried Chris, shocked. "Well I guess if your going then I'm coming too."
"Me too. I don't want to be left out!" Jill added.
In New York Leon was beaming at Ada who was grinning back. Ada got up and moved closer to the phone.
"I just want to say that I'm really grateful to you guys for doing this for me. I know how hard it must be for you to go back to fighting monsters and stuff."
"Anything for a friend of Leon's." replied Chris.
The rest of the conversation was taken up by plans and ideas. Ada told the S.T.A.R.S. about the facility in the Tropics. Apparently there's a converted Oil Rig off the coast of a small chain of islands. Umbrella had managed to keep it secret from the UN and it now houses the entirety of Umbrellas experiments that were not confiscated or destroyed. She also told them of Umbrella's plans to make a come back under a new name and resume its activities under the pretext of a legal company.
The group agreed to take separate flights from were they were and meet up in the Caribbean, were they would find out about getting hold of some weapons.
CHAPTER 4
The clear blue sea gleamed like beaten silver in the orange light of the setting sun. Clair sat on the white sand of the empty, Caribbean beach looking at the horizon. She wore a red bikini and pink sarong; her hair fell about her shoulders like silk. Leon appeared at her side and touched her bare shoulder. She gasped, startled.
"Oh! It's only you." Standing she kissed him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The couple began to walk along the beach toward the hotel on the cliff hand-in-hand. "Chris says that they finally worked out a plan for this. Are you sure you still want to come with us?"
"Yes. I want to be there to make sure you don't do anything stupid!" Smiling and chatting they made their way back.
Chris, Jill and Ada were in one of their room when Leon and Clair knocked on the door. They stepped in and sat at the small table in the corner covered with loose pieces of paper and open files. They all looked determined as Chris stood and addressed them all.
"This is it, guys, our last chance to call the marines before we commit. Any takers?" They smirked nervously. He turned to Leon and Clair. "Ada has shown us all of her information on the lab and we agreed on a plan while you guys were out. The Oil Rig isn't far out to sea and we can reach it using one of the hire speedboats down at the marina. So far so good. Now, weapons were easier than I thought to get. I talked to the guy down at the gun store in the town and he says that we could have some Uzis and some Glocks free of charge cause he recognized me from the newspapers." He went to the other side of the large double bed and produced a satchel. "He also very kindly waved the 15 day waiting period and promised to keep it off his books." His piece was finished so he sat down and let Ada take up the explanation.
"Once we reach the Rig," she began "We can get aboard using one of the service ladders which runs up the legs of the structure. Then we split up and search for May. I doubt that there would be many Lickers or other land based creatures since the majority of the research done here was involving sea creatures." She scanned the faces of the others. Behind their strength and determination she recognized the all too familiar apprehension that had always stayed with her throughout her career. But she knew that these four were more than able to overcome the fear that she knew they felt. That she felt. " I'm afraid that's all we know about the place. I'm sorry I don't have more to offer you."
"Don't worry, Ada. You've given us plenty of information." Said Leon, placing a comforting hand on her forearm. Watching, Clair felt a pang of jealousy. She knew that they shared a history from Raccoon. She averted her eyes.
"Tomorrow night is when we go. Everyone better get some sleep." Said Chris. They left Chris and Jill alone in their room and all retired for the night to their own.
CHAPTER 5
Ada's silken hair whipped about in the wind as the boat carved its way across the black water. The moon hung low in the midnight sky casting its eerie white light over the sea. Chris steered the metal craft toward the rising form of the Oil Rig in the distance. Ada clutched the butt of her Uzi strapped over her shoulder as she stared out at the silhouette. May was out there. She could feel it. A jolt snapped her back from her musings.
"The water's beginning to get choppier. Hang on, guys." Warned Chris. She slid into the centre of the boat closer to Jill who was grasping the side and looking a little green. Jill was wearing jeans and a comfortable T-shirt, the same as Clair and Ada. Chris was dressed in black combat trousers and his favourite shirt. Leon wore khaki combats and a grey shirt. They all had Uzis slung on shoulder straps and Glocks in hip holsters.
Suddenly an amazing light scorched their eyes. A searchlight was locked onto the boat and followed it as Chris brought it to a stop. From the Oil Rig a voice, aided by an electronic bullhorn boomed out a rehearsed command.
"These are private waters. You are to turn back immediately or we will be forced to take extreme action."
They all looked at each other. "This is a first. What should we do now?" Chris ventured.
"We can't stop now!" Ada said. "Lets go a little further and see what they do."
Chris nodded and gunned the motor. The boat slowly edged closer and closer, still watched by the light.
"You have been warned." Came the reply to their advance. At the base of one of the huge pillars not one hundred meters away from them a metallic squeaking could be heard. Out of a dark opening in the pillar the S.T.A.R.S. could see a rippling wake meander toward them. A pointed object broke the surface of the water and rose upward. It was triangular in shape. Its grey exterior was rough and scarred by numerous boils and tumour like growths. It accelerated toward them, zigzagging, gaining speed.
"Holy crap! It's a goddamn SHARK!!" Yelled Chris. He spun the boat with great skill and sped away from the approaching fin. It gave chase. Everyone leaned into the middle of the craft as he turned again and hurried back in the direction of the Rig. The shark turned and followed, gaining easily.
Leon scanned the pillars looking for a way to get aboard and escape the mutated predator. He found it. At the base of the far pillar was a platform for small boats to dock and a ladder leading to the main deck.
"Chris! Look there!" He shouted pointing. Chris nodded and steered toward it. As soon as they came within around fifty meters of the Rig the patter of automatic fire chopped up the water around them. Some bullets chinked off of the metal hull forcing Chris to swerve again. The firing stopped as soon as they put some distance between them and the Rig but when they relaxed a little the shark reared up out of the water. Clair screamed when it grazed her corner of the boat and sank back down.
"We've got to get aboard the Rig to escape the shark! But they keep shooting at us!" said Jill.
"Hey, Chris can you hold us steady for a second?" Shouted Leon. Chris gritted his teeth and evaded the shark a second time before saying.
"Do what you got to do now, Leon, or I'll have to take us back to shore!"
Leon knelt at the side of the boat and drew his Glock. Aiming it carefully he took a bead on the search light. The muzzle of the blunt nosed pistol flashed and the light disappeared.
"Good shot!" Chris laughed, veering the boat toward the now dark pillars. The men on the Rig shot blindly into the gloom. Chris easily guided it through the water now erupting with the impacts.
Clair, Jill, Leon, Ada and Chris leapt from the boat onto the platform and started up the ladder. The huge shark suddenly sprang from the water and beached itself on the sheet metal. Every one but Chris was safely up the ladder. It gnashed at his legs but he jumped upward and grabbed a high rung. Its tail flailed impotently sending spray into the air. Chris looked back at it and coldly fired a single round into one of its black lifeless eyes. The flapping ceased.
As the flaking, rotting corpse of the Zombie-Shark slid quietly into the shadowy depths more bullets pinged off of the steel structure around them. They all reached the top of the ladder and scattered in all directions. Bounding behind crates and thick pipes.
From all around them rifle toting guards dressed from head to toe in black converged on them. Chris returned fire sporadically with his Uzi, managing kill three of them. Looking around he saw a hatch in the floor that lead down into the bowels of the Oil Rig some distance away from him. The path was protected by lots of pipes. Perfect.
He glanced across at the others. Jill and Clair were right behind him, but Leon and Ada were cut off. He called the girls to him and pointed to the hatch. They set off at a sprint. Reaching it together they dove inside.
Leon and Ada were crouching together behind some crates with no way to reach the escape. Leon was watching when Jill and Clair got away and knew what Chris meant when he looked at him pleadingly.
"Just go, Chris! We'll catch up with you!" He shouted over the barking of the M16s. Chris nodded and turned on his heals. His feet clanged hollowly on the metal floor and he ran. The soldiers saw him through the gaps in the web of pipes and fired but they never got through. He dodged the huge drilling equipment and slid on his side to the hatchway. It clanked behind him.
CHAPTER 6
From the control tower high above the main deck of the Oil Rig Doctor Harris watched the action unfold in the moonlight. He was annoyed that three of the intruders had made it inside but smiled as he watched his soldiers close in on the last two. He studied their faces. The ghost of recognition fluttered in his mind but he couldn't call it to the fore.
"Wait a minute. I know who you are now..." walking to a filing cabinet beside a vast computer console he pulled a thick folder. From the folder he removed some photographs and compared them to the people on the deck below. "Leon Kennedy." His brow furrowed. He was part of the group who brought Umbrella to its knees. And Ada Wong, one of their ex-operatives.
"Come to rescue your dear sister have you, - what the?"
Amongst the pipes and machinery his soldiers began to tumble to the floor under a blaze of Uzi fire. More came out of the woodwork but were driven back as Kennedy and Wong made a run under suppressive fire over the Helipad to the steel door at the base of the control tower. The sound of the door slamming and the bullets bouncing off of the metal rumbled through the room. Harris growled.
"This is not happening. You are NOT going to destroy all that I have fought to rebuild! BIOJECT will grow and flourish and none of you will stand in my way!"
He dropped the file into the bin and stormed out of the control room.
* * *
Leon slammed the door and slapped the deadbolt home. Ada smiled at him as she reloaded her Uzi.
"Your enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Of course not." She grinned snap cocking the automatic pistol. "Come on. You want to go up, or down?" Leon looked around the brightly lit stairwell they found themselves in and said.
"Chris and Clair went down, so we should try to hook up with them." Ada nodded and started down the steps when the soldiers started pounding on the metal door. They both yelped and ran off.
* * *
Chris, Jill and Clair ran along a grey feature less corridor. The women turned the corner; Chris looked back and saw moonlight slanting through the now open hatch cover and men piling inside. He hid quickly. Jill sidled up to him.
"Their coming." He whispered.
"What are we going to do?" She asked.
"You two hide in that room there, I'll lead them away from you."
"No, Chris! They'll kill you!"
"Don't, Chris." Clair added.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He kissed Jill for a long moment. Then spinning around the corner he shot the first two soldiers tip-toeing toward them. They toppled backward giving him an opportunity to run down the next corridor and into a room. The soldiers chased him, missing Clair and Jill completely as they hid in an open doorway.
Chris found that he was actually a small hallway leading to an extremely narrow corridor. Small living spaces lined the walls with bunk beds and sinks. A worker in greasy overalls staggered out of one ahead of Chris, roused from his sleep by the loud footsteps. He screamed when shots from the soldiers M16s tore up the walls and floor.
Chris grunted when one of the rounds grazed his shoulder, ripping open his T-shirt. Bleeding, he ducked and rolled to the right and found himself in a canteen full of eating troops. One stood and raised his pistol at Chris but caught a slug in the chest.
More bullets tore up the room just as Chris vaulted over the serving counter and ducked under a stainless steal counter top in the kitchen.
In the canteen the soldiers scattered, shouting as their colleagues charge in shooting. Chris recovered quickly and slipped out of a door at the back of the room while his pursuers searched for him amongst the chaos.
* * *
Jill and Clair listened to the sound of gunfire praying that Chris would be okay. When it ceased the agitated shouts of the soldiers replaced it and they knew that he had lost them.
Relieved, they began to look around the room they were hiding in. It was a storeroom with isles of metal shelves stacked with biochemical sample containers. They couldn't make sense of any of the labels on the football-sized canisters so they started to search the back of the storeroom.
On the back wall was an elevator. The numbers on the button pad read:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8/ NO ADMITTANCE/
Jill and Clair looked at each other. "What should we do?" Asked Jill.
"We came here to look for Ada's sister not to gather evidence, so there's no reason to go exploring. I guess that they would keep her in the no admittance area."
"I agree. Lets go down to eight, it's as close as we can get to it from here." They nodded and Jill pressed the button. The elevator pinged and the doors slid apart. They got in and pressed the button for level eight. Clair felt her stomach drop as the lift descended. Gripping the handle of her Uzi she stared hard at the doors and thought of her brother and of Leon.
* * *
Leon opened the door at the bottom of the stair well and stepped out into the dim corridor of level 7. He scanned the area with the barrel of his Uzi. It was clear so he waved for Ada to follow.
"Were do we look for May first, Leon?" she asked, desperate to reach her sister now that she was so close. He gestured with his head that she should come with him as he struck out in a random direction. After minute of wandering the corridors and peeking into empty rooms they came to an elevator. At first they paid little attention to it but when the glowing numbers began to move they halted. The display counted off the floors as the lift descended. 3,4,5... Leon and Ada raised their Uzis at the doors...6,7,8. It slid behind the metal doors and stopped below them. They breathed a sigh of relief.
"Who do you think it could have been?" asked.
"I don't know. It could have been a guard patrol or it could have been the others."
"We should go down the steps and check it out just in case." They both turned back and jogged to the stair well.
CHAPTER 7
Chris found himself outside in the cool night air. The breeze was pleasant against his skin. He looked at his shoulder; blood trickled down his arm staining his favourite blue T-shirt. A bandage from his cargo pocket easily stopped the flow from the flesh wound.
Glancing around he saw that he was on a narrow catwalk on the side of the Oil Rig. Pipes lined the metal wall and the waves rippled against the pillars far bellow him. A large yellow crane tilted out over the water to his left dangling a thin cable almost to the surface f the water.
"Freeze, ass hole!" commanded a deep voice from behind Chris. He did what he was told, his options already flying through his mind.
Shit, shit, shit!
"Drop the Uzi in to the water and turn around slowly." He took the strap off over his head and held it over the railing, letting the gun swing in the high wind. "I said drop it!"
It tumbled through the air and splashed into the water. He turned slowly to face the single soldier. His M16 was at his shoulder pointed at Chris's chest. The barrel was steady; he was a pro. The clatter of running footsteps signalled the arrival of six more troops. The first glanced at them as they ran around the corner giving Chris the split second he needed.
In a single smooth, lightning movement Chris drew his Glock from his hip holster and fired two rounds into the chest of the soldier. Pivoting on his heels he darted off as the corpse collapsed onto his buddies.
The catwalk had no doors for about fifty meters and was devoid of any cover. The guards would cut him down if he didn't think fast. The crane was angled so it hung over the catwalk; the cable was only about ten feet from the wall. Chris jammed the Glock into its holster and hopped onto the railing. The clatter of gunfire followed him as he leaped out over the water and grabbed hold of the swaying cable. His hands slid over the cold wet metal of the cable as he fell. His fingers struggled to get a grip on it. Above him the soldiers leaned out over the rail firing. The air around him seared with the passage of the red-hot bullets.
He finally came to a stop far below his agitated pursuers. Kicking with his legs he managed to swing to another catwalk and catch his breath. His palms were red and bleeding, but not seriously hurt. He could still hear the soldiers shouting for him stories above. He leaned over the railing backwards and flipped them off, grinning.
* * *
Level 8 was different to the rest Jill and Clair had seen. The ceilings were higher, the corridors wider and more comfortable. The walls were a stark white and the floor was so shiny that their images were reflected perfectly. It reminded the girls of a hospital, but creepier. Lots of double doors led off of the corridor. Looking carefully through the windows they found empty laboratories and abandoned offices.
A little way along they found a second elevator, which lead down into the restricted floors but couldn't use it with out a code. Exploring further they found a locked stair well. They blew the lock with a well aimed round from Jill's Glock and realized that it didn't go any higher than level 8 but went down for at least another ten floors. With Uzis drawn they proceeded down into the bowels of the Oil Rig.
As the doors slowly closed and Jill and Clair disappeared Leon and Ada crept into the corridors of level 8. They scanned the pristine halls and deserted rooms and wondered what to do next.
"We should try to go down, what do you think?" said Ada.
"I agree, I only wish we could find the others. They're probably on the other side of the Rig..." He trailed off. "Hey, look!"
Chipped wood and broken metal was spread over the floor in front of a doorway. Checking behind it thy found stairway that only went down.
"They must have come this way! The soldiers wouldn't need to shoot off the lock!" He bounced on his toes, excited by the discovery.
"Lets go then. They headed into the restricted area which is where May is anyway." Together they trotted down the steps.
CHAPTER 8
May sat on the cot in her cell scared out of her wits. She had been held up in the facility for what seemed like a lifetime hoping everyday that her sister, Ada, would rescue her. She had been well treated. The woman who looked after her, Doctor Breaker, was nice. She gave her plenty of toys and was always well fed and clean. But today's flourish of activity from the guards and the faint gunfire from the roof had the 13 year old worried. Even the creepy Dr. Harris was acting strange (for him). Dr. Breaker had stopped paying as much attention to her today, focusing on her work more after Harris threatened her to finish some kind of virus or else.
The door to her tidy little prison opened and Dr. Breaker ducked inside breathlessly. She approached May smiling, but seemed preoccupied.
"May, come with me." She said. May got up and let her guide her out and into the adjoining lab. Breaker knelt down to her and brushed a lock of her soft dark hair behind her ear. "You've got to go. I'm helping you to escape."
"What? How? Why?" May babbled, confused.
"It's gone on long enough. I can't be a party to the things that are going on here any more." Getting up she ran to her desk and pulled a red card key from the drawer. "Take this, go down to level 15. That's were the lifeboats are. Run this through the scanner at the far end of the hanger to release the catches and get in one. It'll launch automatically and sail itself to the harbour of the nearest town."
May stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans. "But what about you? I can't go alone."
"Don't worry about me," She gave May a hug, "I'll be fine. Go, quickly!"
She turned and jogged to the door. Looking over her shoulder she gave her friend a goodbye wave and disappeared into the hall.
Dr. Breaker prayed inwardly for her safety and was about to finish packing for her own escape when the girl was back at the doorway. Dr Harris dragged her into the lab by the back of her T-shirt and threw her into a chair.
"D-Dr. Harris! W-what's going on?" Breaker gibbered.
"I could ask the same of you, Dr. Breaker. Did your maternal instincts get the better of you?"
"No- I was-"
"Save it. I don't need people I can't trust on my staff." In one fluid motion he drew a Barretta from under the jacket of his black suit and shot Breaker in the head. She fell to the ground spasming. May screamed and began to cry. Harris approached her, she backed away from him but he grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her with him. "I need you to come with me now, my dear. It seems your sister has finally decided to put in an appearance." With that they left the lab.
CHAPTER 9
Chris jogged along the wide, white corridor passed a door that read:
"LIFE BOAT LAUNCH ROOM-ACCESS REQUIRED"
He made a mental note about it and carried on. He was pretty sure that he was on the very bottom level after his impromptu abseil down the side of the Oil Rig and decided to make his way up. He soon ran across a stair well and was about to take it when he heard a low moaning sound.
He crept along the passage to a darkened room at the end. More moans and shuffling came from within sending chills down his spine. Chris took a little torch from his pocket and held it against the barrel of his Glock and pointed them both at the door. With his boot he pushed it open allowing the beam of light to cut through the gloom.
As he stepped in the moans became more desperate. He realised with horror that it was coming from right at his side. The figure lurched toward him but caught his boot in the gut. Slapping the light switch by the door he spun (foolishly) into the room.
Zombies stood around the place like dummies. They all wore doctor's scrubs that were dusted with frost. Their bodies were extremely far-gone. Grey bone could be seen through the rotted skin of their faces, their extremities were black and frost bitten. There was around fifteen standing motionless in the vast hall. Only the one that went for Chris seemed to move at all. All round him was row upon row of man-size refrigeration units, some closed and working, some were open, their contents free, but most were offline, the corpses nothing more than vacuum packed slime.
"What the-it's the same as Caliban Cove Rebecca told us about! Refrigerating zombies to keep them fresh!"
On the floor, the thing that Chris kicked struggled to its feet. Its squishy stomach was pulverized from the impact leaving a stringy, gooey tear in its flesh. It grunted and hobbled toward him. The others made no move.
Not wanting to shoot it and possibly alert the guards Chris backed away from it. It stumbled toward him scrabbling at the side of one of the empty fridges with its gaunt fingers for balance. The S.T.A.R.S. thought fast, grabbing the nearest statue/ creature by the arm. Its flesh was cold and hard. Its entire body was still frozen solid. It toppled into the path of the on coming fiend like a stone pillar, laying at 45 degrees against the cold units creating a human barricade.
Chris laughed at the ridiculous sight of the zombie scrabbling to climb over the other, Chris leaped over the frost coated machine and walked out of the door, closing it behind him just as the zombie cottoned on that he was gone.
The corridor was still deserted so he began jogging up the stairs to the next level.
Clair held a fluffy teddy bear and stroked its ear. There were lots of teddies and dolls in the small cell. A comfortable cot sat in the corner, a dresser, closet and chest of drawers with a portable TV made up the rest of the furniture. There was yellow wallpaper on the walls with a blue boarder around the room. Pictures obviously drawn by a young child in crayon were stuck around the place, mostly showing a woman with dark hair a little girl holding hands.
Clair left the cell and went into the lab next door with Jill. "I think it's safe to say that this is were they were keeping May." She said. Jill nodded soberly looking through the ID of the dead woman lying in the middle of the floor.
"I had a flick through her journal; I found it in one of the drawers." Jill replied. "There are a lot of entries mentioning 'Little May'. I think this woman was the main person who looked after her. And from what I can make out she was really fond of each other. I'm sure that she never hurt her."
"That's good. Where do you think that they moved her to?"
"Where ever she is it only happened today. Look at today's entry. There's a note scribbled down after her regular paragraph."
"Something bad is going on, I believe that the authorities have finally found out about our work here to rebuild the Umbrella Corporation under the new name of BIOJECT. I can't continue to work here any more and have decided to turn myself in as soon as they breach the facility. But first I must help little May to escape before Dr. Harris decides that she's too much of a liability or uses her a hostage. May God forgive me for the evil I have contributed to and I hope that I can be punished suitably and then get on with my life..."
"I think that she was busted by this Dr. Harris character trying to free May and killed for it." Offered Jill
"But were is she now?" wondered Clair. Suddenly the door flew open and two Uzis were aimed straight at the two women. They turned, startled, and blew a sigh of relief when the weapons were lowered and Leon and Ada smiled at them.
"Leon!" Clair charged at him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a huge hug.
"What is this place? A lab?" asked Ada, looking around. Clair got off her boyfriend and said to her:
"Uh-yeah, it is. But we think it's where they've been keeping your sister, May. Look..." she pointed into the cell. Ada stepped inside and pulled a picture of herself off of the closet door. Smiling, she wiped a tear from her eye and folding the paper to put in her pocket.
"Have you seen her?" she asked
"No, but we're sure she's okay. This scientist was trying to help her escape, we figure that she was killed by some guy called Harris, the director." Jill responded, indicating the dead woman. "She's defiantly still on board."
"Well let's go and find her!" exclaimed Ada.
In the far corner of the room high up near the ceiling a hidden security camera panned and zoomed in on the group of people. In the security command centre Dr. Harris watched them closely. May sat on a chair, sobbing close beside him. He reached over the desk and picked up the mike connected to the P.A. system.
Jill, Clair, Leon and Ada turned as a clicking sound emanated from a speaker on the wall. A crackling, hissing voice radiated from it:
"Now hear this. All members of S.T.A.R.S. and personal affiliated with them in any way must report to the laboratory on level 9. There is someone here that I'm sure your desperate to meet! Ha ha ha ha ha..." The manic laughter faded in a roar of static and then cut off.
"He means May! We've got to go there now!" Ada was beside herself with worry. They all nodded and trotted out of the lab to the elevator, Clair pausing only a moment to place the teddy on the counter.
CHAPTER 10
"Ha ha ha ha ha..." The insane cackling reverberated through the narrow stairway, beating at Chris's eardrums.
Level 9! That's probably were the others will go!
The trouble was that having reached the top of the stairs, he had found another flight that lead even further up and he had already made his way almost to the top platform. Right now he was between levels 2 and 3! Frustrated, he turned back and bounced down the steep metal steps muttering some interesting four letter words...
Ada, Leon, Jill, and Clair carefully opened the door to the huge laboratory on level 9 and scanned it with their Uzis. It was full of row upon row of metal desks with fitted sinks and gas taps for Bunsen Burners. Against the walls sat large stasis modules 10 feet tall, with a tangled network of coiling pipes and power cables. They all had clear glass fronts and were full of bubbling fluid. Some were too murky to make out the contents of the modules; others held Hunters, lickers, the peeling corpses of dead men and women, and Tyrants of all shapes, sizes and styles in plain view. At the very back of the room was a raised platform, like a stage with railings along the front facing the distant doors and steps at each side. An emergency exit leading outside was next to a long narrow window staring out over the dark waters of the Caribbean.
Upon the stage stood a man. He was clutching a small, dark haired girl by the shoulder with one hand and a remote control device in the other. He was immaculately dressed. His black suit unblemished, his tie perfectly straight and every strand of black hair Brill-Creamed into place.
"May!" shouted Ada.
"ADA!" May attempt a dash for her beloved big sister but he pulled her close to him and moved his hand from her shoulder to around the back of her neck.
"Let her go, you bastard!"
"Now, now Ms Wong. You brought this on yourself. If you had honoured your agreement with the company your dear sister wouldn't be in this predicament. The fact is she was perfectly safe with us in the care of the late Dr. Breaker until you and your new friends decided to crash my little party." His glacial blue eyes twinkled with malice as he spoke. The team began to approach him, strolling down the long room. He let them get so far and stopped them in their tracks with a sudden shake of the girl. She cringed and cried out in pain as his fingers tightened around her neck. "That's far enough." He stared hard at them for a long moment then smiled. "Now...for the part of the show you've all been waiting for..."
His thumb pressed a glowing red button on the remote. He laughed hysterically, dropping it on the ground. "Enjoy!" Giggling he picked up May by the back of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans and tossed her into the arms of Leon who caught her, stumbling backwards. Harris spun and dove out of the Emergency Exit and ran up a flight of metal steps. The door locked itself behind him with a loud click. Leon dropped May to the floor and Ada picked her straight back up again, hugging her tightly.
But their reunion was to be cut short. Across the wide work benches one of the Modules hissed. White fumes sighed out from the sides of the glass window. The entire front panel popped open, like the lid of a sandwich box, and the murky, purple liquid poured out of it all over the floor. As the fluid drained, the glass steamed up giving the stunned heroes only the blurred silhouette of a hulking humanoid figure.
May cowered behind Ada as they all backed slowly toward the door. All Uzis were cocked and pointed straight at the glass. A huge meat hook hand reached out and pushed the panel off of the module revealing the heinous figure. It was huge, over 9 feet tall. Its skin was pale with a slight blue hue. Thick pink veins throbbed and pulsed under the surface. Its torso rippled with oversized muscles. A thick rough scar ran from its left collarbone to the right side of its pelvis, throbbing with every beat of its black heart. It was clothed only in thick black Kevlar trousers and boots. Its hands, the size of dinner plates clasped into tight fists. Bony spikes protruded from its back, curling upwards like rough, off-white rose thorns. More outcrops of death dealing spines jutted upward from its elbows, chaffing its triceps. Its face was bare. Two white slits passed for its otherworldly eyes, and a thin line of a mouth was slashed across the void of its visage.
The Tyrant hopped down out of the module and stretched. It's joints cracked loudly as it swivelled its head and rotated its shoulders. It turned to face the humans. Its cataract eyes locked on them and it pointed at them with on meaty finger. Marking them. It took a purposeful step toward them, its wet boots squelching in the puddle of nutrient fluid.
Leon's back was pressed against the wall next to the door. Slowly they all side stepped toward it. The Tyrant realized their impending escape and drove its hand into the metal of the long, wide lab bench. It buckled and twisted like tin foil. With a grunt the Tyrant hopped easily over the waist high, 7 feet wide pile of desk, its head almost touching the high ceiling. It was agile, very agile.
"Go, GO!" Leon shoved everyone out of the door. Ada snatched up May and carried her as they all sprinted out of the Lab.
Ker-aasshh!!!
The double doors of the Lab exploded outward with the impact of the new Tyrant. Splintered wood and shattered metal filled the corridor while it barrelled toward them at full tilt. It was fast, very fast!
The fleeing humans all ducked into the stairs. The Tyrants shoes squeaked as it tried to stop and slid past the doorway. They were going down, taking two steps at a time. Above them the heavy footfalls of their pursuer echoed all through the stairwell.
CHAPTER 11
A huge crash startled Chris. It came from the door to level 9, which he was two flights of stairs above. He crept down so he could see the doorway. Suddenly Leon, Clair, Jill and Ada burst through, Ada had a girl held tightly in her arms.
"Hey-!" he started, but they didn't hear him. A large bulky shape flew past the door in a blur, and then a massive Tyrant creature charged into the staircase and thumped down the steps after his friends.
Clutching his fully loaded Glock in his hand he took off after it. Leon and the others managed to stay ahead of it in the confines of the stairwell till they hit the bottom. Then, out of the doors they ran down the hall of level 15. The girls ran ahead while Leon stopped and fired a volley from his Uzi at the Tyrant as it jogged toward him. The bullets smacked wetly into the things chest and legs. One clipped its forehead making it flinch, but other wise it wasn't at all affected by the ragged holes that peppered its body.
"Figures." Leon muttered, annoyed. He turned and ran, following the others. Then, a sudden, crack of gunfire made him glance over his shoulder. The Tyrant wasn't facing him any more. The sound continued, shards of bone and spurts of blood flew from its head and face, and splattered onto the walls. After what seemed like hours the Tyrant wavered and toppled...
"Chris!" Leon shouted. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about Chris! He beckoned him to hurry, knowing that it wouldn't be down for long. He leaped over the twitching carcass while slapping a fresh clip into the butt of his Glock.
They caught up to the women who were waiting at the end of the corridor. Jill smiled when she saw Chris and grabbed him, planting a kiss on his lips.
The corridor dead-ended with two doors nearby. One at the very end and one with a sign on it a little way back.
"This one is no good." Said Chris. "It leads outside. It's where I got in. That one leads to the life boats I think." He pointed to the second door. They all nodded and walked to it. Ada let May down as Leon opened it and checked it was clear. It was. Everyone piled inside as the Tyrant appeared at the around the corner. Its face terribly injured. The heavy metal door slammed as it approached. A dead bolt clicked into place.
The Life Boat room was a long, high ceilinged room. There was a long metal walkway running along the side and dozens of Launches lined the left of the space, their large round hatches facing outward. Through the metal mesh floor the dark water could be seen boiling and surging around the base of the Oil Rig, the breeze rushed upward billowing the girls hair.
BOOM BOOM
Enormous thuds thundered around their ears as the Tyrant pounded on the thick steel door. The S.T.A.R.S. ran down to the launch at the end, as far as possible from the monster. Jill, Clair and Leon climbed through the hatch and strapped May into one of the seats.
"How do these things work?" Clair shouted over the cacophony.
"They're released from above the water," Leon explained, "Then they slid down ramps and fall the fifty or so feet till they hit it. They dip right under before surfacing. From the set up in the cockpit here I'd say that they have GPS to guide them home automatically."
BOOM BOOM
Chris skipped up the step to the launch controls. There were screens all around the main keyboard, each with a split screen view showing the feeds from cameras inside the launches. There was also a radio that buzzed and crackled. Grabbing the handset he flicked switches on it and twisted the frequency tuner. He adjusted it till he could hear the chatter on the military frequency.
"This is Christopher Redfeild of the S.T.A.R.S. Requesting immediate back up, over." He said calmly into the receiver.
"This is the battleship HMS Galahad sailing in International waters. Please state the nature of your situation Mr Redfeild, over." Replied a woman with a strong Scottish accent. She spoke quickly and clearly, obviously well trained.
"We found another Umbrella base! Its full of Tyrants and other creatures. You must change coarse to come pick us up and blow this place to hell." He rattled off the coordinates then listened for instructions. There was a terrible pause, during which the Tyrant continued its terrible banging against the door, the steal buckling and bending with every blow.
"We are coming to get you and will rendezvous at the coordinates within 10 minutes. Sit tight, Sir, over." He knew that the Tyrant would be inside before they ever reached them. Scanning the keys on the control board he found a large red one marked:
"RELEASE"
He pressed it. Nothing. Then he noticed the problem. There was a slot for an electronic key card needed to gain access to the mechanism. Gutted, he ran to the launch. Everyone was tightly strapped in waiting for him.
"What's the hold up?" demanded Clair.
"I radioed for help, a battle ship from the British navy is on the way. But the lifeboats are a no-go. We need a key card to work it and we don't have it."
BOOM BOOM...KRAANG!!
The Tyrants meaty fist finally pierced the metal door. It began to peel the sides of the round hole back like a banana. Everyone began to unbuckle their harnesses when May spoke up.
"Hey! Dr. Breaker gave me this. She said to use it on the life boats." Wriggling in the confines of the straps she tugged a shiny rectangle of red plastic from her jeans. Chris grabbed it and dove out of the hatch. The Tyrant was hauling itself through the tattered remains of the door and marched toward him. Ignoring it, he swiped the card through the reader and hit the RELEASE button.
The computer beeped and close by the sound of grinding gears and hissing hydraulics filled the length of the room. Chris darted for the Launch and lunged into the hatch, slamming it behind him.
He strapped himself into the front chair beside Leon as the craft lurched into motion. A soft whump sound vibrated through the floor and it began to slide along on its rails.
Suddenly they were all thrown against their harnesses as it came to an abrupt stop. The Tyrant creature held onto the back of the little vessel in its vice-like grip. It roared a wordless, inhuman snarl as it began to pull it back to the deck.
Then, the hatch burst open with amazing force, smacking it in the chin and knocking it off balance. Chris half hung out of it, having booted it open, and let loose an explosion of bullets from Clair's Uzi. It careered backward; its arms wind milling as it tried to stay upright under the barrage.
Chris tossed the empty gun at the Tyrant and hauled the hatch closed as the Launch began to slide back.
CHAPTER 12
Chris strapped himself in just as the Launch left the Oil Rig. He felt his stomach fill his throat as the torpedo shaped craft sailed out of the escape shoot high above the water and plummeted, hitting the surface with an incredible jolt and glided under. After less than a second it surfaced again and bobbed in the frothing waves before the motors took control and it began to skip along.
Chris and Jill opened the door and climbed out onto the deck. The breeze lashed their faces as they watched the sun heave itself over the horizon. A helicopter thundered overhead and hovered above the helipad of the Oil Rig. They watched as a platoon of Marines abseiled out of it and challenged the Umbrella soldiers. In the distance, a hulking grey battleship raced toward them.
* * *
Harris barged along the corridors of the Oil Rig past rushing soldiers and terrified techs and scientists. In his hand he clutched all of BIOJECT's research in a plastic case full of data disks. He patted the Barretta in the waistband of his trousers. He hardly ever used it and hadn't fired a gun in years before today.
With a crash he threw open the door at the base of the Control Tower leading to the helipad. He froze when he saw the huge copter hovering overhead, trailing about twenty ropes. Looking around he realized that the armed, uniformed men ducking around on the deck were not his own soldiers but bore the insignia of the Royal Navy. One of them noticed him and hefted a huge rifle at him.
"FREEZE!" he commanded. Harris yelped and leaped backward into the tower slamming the door. Whimpering, he bolted down the steps toward the Lifeboats, knowing that his only chance to rebuild Umbrella was to cut his loses and try again another day. His feet clanged on the metal stairs when, above him the Marine booted the door off its hinges and gave chase.
All over the Oil Rig the Umbrella soldiers were trying to defend the facility and being killed or rounded up in the process. While the invading Soldiers penetrated deeper inside Harris was running for his life. Stumbling on level 15, he spilled all of the data disks on the floor. He couldn't pick them up though because the marine followed him persistently.
Panicking he barrelled through the doorway of the Launch room fishing his key card from his inside pocket. He didn't notice that there were scraps of the metal door lying around the floor and the door itself was still in the frame, but peeled open like a blossoming flower.
His head hit something hard as he ran blindly to the computer consoles. Falling backward he hit his butt on the floor hard and looked up rubbing his throbbing temple. A man was standing over him. No, not a man, it was far too tall, too big to be a normal man. Then he understood that he was finished. The Tyrant stooped and picked him up like a rag doll. Harris stared into its white unseeing eyes and thought he saw its tattered face contort into a smile. It was the last thing he saw when his creation twisted his head from his shoulders and tore his torso into bloody ribbons of flesh and shattered bone.
The marine appeared at the doorway and witnessed the execution. He recognized the Tyrant creature easily from the vast file the authorities held and proceeded to destroy it. Blasting it with armour piercing bullets and grenades from the launcher on his rifle. Afterward it was nothing but a mass of tattered flesh, bone and sinew.
CHAPTER 13
As the HMS Galahad headed for the nearest port carrying nearly a hundred prisoners, Leon and Clair stood on the deck at the aft of the ship staring out over the water. Clair put her arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"How are Ada and May doing?" she asked.
"Their fine. May is glad to be out of the facility and with her sister again, they're both happy."
"What will happen to them when get back to the mainland?"
"Don't know. Ada might have to face charges for the work she did for Umbrella, but I think I can pull some strings for her."
"That's good."
"Hey," Leon smiled at her, " I don't want to talk about other people. I want to talk about us." With that he kissed her; she wrapped her arms around his shoulders kissed him back. She finally felt safe, they both did. It was all over now...
15
By Gary Stark
CHAPTER 1
Ada Wong shifted in her seat as she reached for the bucket of fried chicken on the table. She took a bite of the greasy meat and dropped the wing back into the tub. Wiping her mouth she got up and strolled over to the binoculars set up on a tripod by the window. With them she could see the front door of the apartment building across the street. Earlier she had watched Leon Kennedy leave in his new police uniform on his way to his new job in the NYPD, and now she waited for him to return home.
She worried about how he would react to meeting her again since Raccoon two years ago. She knew he would be surprised and probably pissed but there was no other way she could work it. She had to talk to him.
Beside the bucket was an open file. In it were details about a secret lab that had survived when the government shut down Umbrella for its involvement in the destruction of Raccoon City. There were newspaper clippings and a copy of Time Magazine with a picture of Leon and the other S.T.A.R.S on the cover. They had been the heroes of the whole case. Everything about the Spencer Estate, the Raccoon Lab, Rockford Prison, all of Umbrellas shady operations were aired out thanks to them.
She glanced over the maps and reports again, wishing that she didn't need to bother with Umbrella any more, but she knew there was no way she could leave it alone.
The sound of a car pulling up outside brought her to her senses. She ran to the window and saw Leon getting out of his car. He walked wearily up to the door and disappeared inside. Ada smiled. This was it. She would make contact now.
Quickly she gathered up the papers and put them into a single strapped backpack. She put on her denim jacket then pulled the bag over her head. She gave herself a long look in the mirror. Her narrow brown eyes were bright and alert, and her shoulder length black hair was neat and shiny.
Turning out the light she left the apartment and strode across the street. It was late and the buildings were steeped in shadows. She reached his front door and took a deep breath. Her knuckles rapped on the door and Leon opened it. Standing in silence he tried to take in the new arrival.
"Hi." was all he could manage.
"Hi. Can I come in?" she asked gently. He stepped aside, gob-smacked and watched her stride in.
CHAPTER 2
Leon closed the door as Ada took off her backpack and put it on an armchair. He couldn't believe that she was here. Standing in his very apartment as if nothing had happened. He studied her closely. She had let her dark hair grow a bit, and she was wearing tight jeans and a denim jacket, her eyes were still razor sharp. He could tell she was feeling uncomfortable as he eyed her but he wasn't really interested.
"I-we thought you were dead." he said finally.
"I'm not. I escaped from Raccoon."
"But you never contacted me! Not even to say you were alright!" He seethed.
"I know, I know!"
"Jesus!" He paced around the open plan living room running his hands through his brown hair. "So why have you turned up now? Are you in trouble? Do you want me and Clair to traipse off after you on some other zombie hunt?"
That took her by surprise. She had no idea he had gotten together with Clair Redfield. Even since she started watching the building last week she hadn't laid eyes on her.
"Your with Clair? Since when?" He calmed down a little. The confusion on her face calmed him, he figures that she didn't know about them.
"W-we got together right after Raccoon." He informed her. Ada looked around the room.
"Where is she?" Ada asked.
"She went out of town to visit Chris and Jill in L.A. She's due back tomorrow."
"Oh..." Ada sat down on the edge of the armchair and opened her bag. She was hurting. She knew that Leon would be angry but he didn't seem to be happy to see her in the slightest. And with Clair on top of all that she was feeling miserable.
"I guess I better get on with business then." Leon took the folder as she handed it to him. She watched him scan its contents, brow furrowed. He sat down across from Ada on the sofa and loosened his tie.
"Is this for real?" he said with doubt in his voice. "An Umbrella lab they missed in the sweep?"
"Yes. It's all true. That's why I came here, to ask you to help me to take it out."
"But they believe us now. We don't have to do it ourselves any more. Just give this file to the authorities and the Marines will clear it out."
"The Marines can't do this one, Leon."
"Why not? They've done more since it became public that we ever managed before."
"But this is different. I don't trust anyone to pull off this one but us."
"Why not?"
Ada pulled her gaze from his eyes and got up. Leon stood and put his hand on her shoulder. "Ada?"
"There are some things that you don't know about me, Leon. I was working for Umbrella in Raccoon. My mission was to get hold of a sample of the G-Virus but I failed."
Leon turned her around to face him. He looked grim. Motioning for her to sit on the sofa he sat across from her in the chair and said:
"And?" Ada swallowed hard and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Telling secrets was hard for her. After living the life of an agent she found it hard to trust anyone and opening up to someone was unimaginable. But she had found someone she could trust. A person she could rely on not to try to kill her at least. She told the story.
"Raccoon was supposed to be my last assignment. With the money I was going to earn I planned to move abroad with my baby sister, May. When I left for the City Umbrella promised me that they would keep an eye on her until I came back. But when I didn't get the virus they kidnapped her and hid her in one of their labs." Wiping away tears of shame and anguish she continued. "I had no idea were to start looking for her. My only hope was that the UN would find her in one of the facilities they raided and bring her back to me. But they didn't. Then I got to hear rumours about a lab they missed in the Tropics and thought that it was the last place I had to look."
Leon nodded sympathetically. He was angry that Ada had betrayed him but couldn't bring himself to let her go on this mission alone, as he knew she would if he didn't help.
"We can't do it ourselves. We're going to need help. I think I can convince Chris or Jill to come. I don't want to ask Barry. He's got a family to think of..."
"You mean your going to help me? Really?" She was ecstatic. Jumping out of her seat she grabbed Leon and gave him a huge bear hug, tears streaming down her smooth cheeks.
CHAPTER 3
The sun streamed in through the window of Chris and Jill's apartment. On the beachfront people were playing around, jogging and having fun. Clair Redfield turned away from the scene when Chris entered the room carrying her bag. Smiling he said;
"Ready to go, Sis?"
"Yeah!" she grinned back. "I just wish I could stay longer and go to the beach again." She followed her brother out to the car and helped him put her case in the boot.
In the living room Jill grabbed the car keys (that Chris had forgotten again) and was halfway out the door when the phone rang. She picked it up and said:
"Hello?"
"Jill? It's Leon!"
"Hi Leon, we were just on our way out. Want me to get Clair?"
"Yeah, but it's actually you and Chris I needed to talk to."
"Uh...okay, I'll go and get them. Hang on."
In a moment Clair and Chris were in the room with Jill listening to Leon laying out the story on speakerphone. At first they weren't sure what to say to the prospect of going back into an Umbrella facility alone. Two years ago they had no choice, they had to do it to prove their stories and to stop Umbrella continuing their evil experiments. But now, as far as the S.T.A.R.S. were concerned it was all over.
"I understand Ada's need to do it herself. Hell, if it Clair I would go out there in an instant, but she has to realize the dangers involved." Said Chris.
"She knows fine well what Umbrellas capable of. She had to fight her way out of Raccoon same as the rest of us. But it's really important to her. And I want to help her."
"Well if you feel that strongly about it then... I'm in." said Clair.
"Clair?" cried Chris, shocked. "Well I guess if your going then I'm coming too."
"Me too. I don't want to be left out!" Jill added.
In New York Leon was beaming at Ada who was grinning back. Ada got up and moved closer to the phone.
"I just want to say that I'm really grateful to you guys for doing this for me. I know how hard it must be for you to go back to fighting monsters and stuff."
"Anything for a friend of Leon's." replied Chris.
The rest of the conversation was taken up by plans and ideas. Ada told the S.T.A.R.S. about the facility in the Tropics. Apparently there's a converted Oil Rig off the coast of a small chain of islands. Umbrella had managed to keep it secret from the UN and it now houses the entirety of Umbrellas experiments that were not confiscated or destroyed. She also told them of Umbrella's plans to make a come back under a new name and resume its activities under the pretext of a legal company.
The group agreed to take separate flights from were they were and meet up in the Caribbean, were they would find out about getting hold of some weapons.
CHAPTER 4
The clear blue sea gleamed like beaten silver in the orange light of the setting sun. Clair sat on the white sand of the empty, Caribbean beach looking at the horizon. She wore a red bikini and pink sarong; her hair fell about her shoulders like silk. Leon appeared at her side and touched her bare shoulder. She gasped, startled.
"Oh! It's only you." Standing she kissed him.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." The couple began to walk along the beach toward the hotel on the cliff hand-in-hand. "Chris says that they finally worked out a plan for this. Are you sure you still want to come with us?"
"Yes. I want to be there to make sure you don't do anything stupid!" Smiling and chatting they made their way back.
Chris, Jill and Ada were in one of their room when Leon and Clair knocked on the door. They stepped in and sat at the small table in the corner covered with loose pieces of paper and open files. They all looked determined as Chris stood and addressed them all.
"This is it, guys, our last chance to call the marines before we commit. Any takers?" They smirked nervously. He turned to Leon and Clair. "Ada has shown us all of her information on the lab and we agreed on a plan while you guys were out. The Oil Rig isn't far out to sea and we can reach it using one of the hire speedboats down at the marina. So far so good. Now, weapons were easier than I thought to get. I talked to the guy down at the gun store in the town and he says that we could have some Uzis and some Glocks free of charge cause he recognized me from the newspapers." He went to the other side of the large double bed and produced a satchel. "He also very kindly waved the 15 day waiting period and promised to keep it off his books." His piece was finished so he sat down and let Ada take up the explanation.
"Once we reach the Rig," she began "We can get aboard using one of the service ladders which runs up the legs of the structure. Then we split up and search for May. I doubt that there would be many Lickers or other land based creatures since the majority of the research done here was involving sea creatures." She scanned the faces of the others. Behind their strength and determination she recognized the all too familiar apprehension that had always stayed with her throughout her career. But she knew that these four were more than able to overcome the fear that she knew they felt. That she felt. " I'm afraid that's all we know about the place. I'm sorry I don't have more to offer you."
"Don't worry, Ada. You've given us plenty of information." Said Leon, placing a comforting hand on her forearm. Watching, Clair felt a pang of jealousy. She knew that they shared a history from Raccoon. She averted her eyes.
"Tomorrow night is when we go. Everyone better get some sleep." Said Chris. They left Chris and Jill alone in their room and all retired for the night to their own.
CHAPTER 5
Ada's silken hair whipped about in the wind as the boat carved its way across the black water. The moon hung low in the midnight sky casting its eerie white light over the sea. Chris steered the metal craft toward the rising form of the Oil Rig in the distance. Ada clutched the butt of her Uzi strapped over her shoulder as she stared out at the silhouette. May was out there. She could feel it. A jolt snapped her back from her musings.
"The water's beginning to get choppier. Hang on, guys." Warned Chris. She slid into the centre of the boat closer to Jill who was grasping the side and looking a little green. Jill was wearing jeans and a comfortable T-shirt, the same as Clair and Ada. Chris was dressed in black combat trousers and his favourite shirt. Leon wore khaki combats and a grey shirt. They all had Uzis slung on shoulder straps and Glocks in hip holsters.
Suddenly an amazing light scorched their eyes. A searchlight was locked onto the boat and followed it as Chris brought it to a stop. From the Oil Rig a voice, aided by an electronic bullhorn boomed out a rehearsed command.
"These are private waters. You are to turn back immediately or we will be forced to take extreme action."
They all looked at each other. "This is a first. What should we do now?" Chris ventured.
"We can't stop now!" Ada said. "Lets go a little further and see what they do."
Chris nodded and gunned the motor. The boat slowly edged closer and closer, still watched by the light.
"You have been warned." Came the reply to their advance. At the base of one of the huge pillars not one hundred meters away from them a metallic squeaking could be heard. Out of a dark opening in the pillar the S.T.A.R.S. could see a rippling wake meander toward them. A pointed object broke the surface of the water and rose upward. It was triangular in shape. Its grey exterior was rough and scarred by numerous boils and tumour like growths. It accelerated toward them, zigzagging, gaining speed.
"Holy crap! It's a goddamn SHARK!!" Yelled Chris. He spun the boat with great skill and sped away from the approaching fin. It gave chase. Everyone leaned into the middle of the craft as he turned again and hurried back in the direction of the Rig. The shark turned and followed, gaining easily.
Leon scanned the pillars looking for a way to get aboard and escape the mutated predator. He found it. At the base of the far pillar was a platform for small boats to dock and a ladder leading to the main deck.
"Chris! Look there!" He shouted pointing. Chris nodded and steered toward it. As soon as they came within around fifty meters of the Rig the patter of automatic fire chopped up the water around them. Some bullets chinked off of the metal hull forcing Chris to swerve again. The firing stopped as soon as they put some distance between them and the Rig but when they relaxed a little the shark reared up out of the water. Clair screamed when it grazed her corner of the boat and sank back down.
"We've got to get aboard the Rig to escape the shark! But they keep shooting at us!" said Jill.
"Hey, Chris can you hold us steady for a second?" Shouted Leon. Chris gritted his teeth and evaded the shark a second time before saying.
"Do what you got to do now, Leon, or I'll have to take us back to shore!"
Leon knelt at the side of the boat and drew his Glock. Aiming it carefully he took a bead on the search light. The muzzle of the blunt nosed pistol flashed and the light disappeared.
"Good shot!" Chris laughed, veering the boat toward the now dark pillars. The men on the Rig shot blindly into the gloom. Chris easily guided it through the water now erupting with the impacts.
Clair, Jill, Leon, Ada and Chris leapt from the boat onto the platform and started up the ladder. The huge shark suddenly sprang from the water and beached itself on the sheet metal. Every one but Chris was safely up the ladder. It gnashed at his legs but he jumped upward and grabbed a high rung. Its tail flailed impotently sending spray into the air. Chris looked back at it and coldly fired a single round into one of its black lifeless eyes. The flapping ceased.
As the flaking, rotting corpse of the Zombie-Shark slid quietly into the shadowy depths more bullets pinged off of the steel structure around them. They all reached the top of the ladder and scattered in all directions. Bounding behind crates and thick pipes.
From all around them rifle toting guards dressed from head to toe in black converged on them. Chris returned fire sporadically with his Uzi, managing kill three of them. Looking around he saw a hatch in the floor that lead down into the bowels of the Oil Rig some distance away from him. The path was protected by lots of pipes. Perfect.
He glanced across at the others. Jill and Clair were right behind him, but Leon and Ada were cut off. He called the girls to him and pointed to the hatch. They set off at a sprint. Reaching it together they dove inside.
Leon and Ada were crouching together behind some crates with no way to reach the escape. Leon was watching when Jill and Clair got away and knew what Chris meant when he looked at him pleadingly.
"Just go, Chris! We'll catch up with you!" He shouted over the barking of the M16s. Chris nodded and turned on his heals. His feet clanged hollowly on the metal floor and he ran. The soldiers saw him through the gaps in the web of pipes and fired but they never got through. He dodged the huge drilling equipment and slid on his side to the hatchway. It clanked behind him.
CHAPTER 6
From the control tower high above the main deck of the Oil Rig Doctor Harris watched the action unfold in the moonlight. He was annoyed that three of the intruders had made it inside but smiled as he watched his soldiers close in on the last two. He studied their faces. The ghost of recognition fluttered in his mind but he couldn't call it to the fore.
"Wait a minute. I know who you are now..." walking to a filing cabinet beside a vast computer console he pulled a thick folder. From the folder he removed some photographs and compared them to the people on the deck below. "Leon Kennedy." His brow furrowed. He was part of the group who brought Umbrella to its knees. And Ada Wong, one of their ex-operatives.
"Come to rescue your dear sister have you, - what the?"
Amongst the pipes and machinery his soldiers began to tumble to the floor under a blaze of Uzi fire. More came out of the woodwork but were driven back as Kennedy and Wong made a run under suppressive fire over the Helipad to the steel door at the base of the control tower. The sound of the door slamming and the bullets bouncing off of the metal rumbled through the room. Harris growled.
"This is not happening. You are NOT going to destroy all that I have fought to rebuild! BIOJECT will grow and flourish and none of you will stand in my way!"
He dropped the file into the bin and stormed out of the control room.
* * *
Leon slammed the door and slapped the deadbolt home. Ada smiled at him as she reloaded her Uzi.
"Your enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Of course not." She grinned snap cocking the automatic pistol. "Come on. You want to go up, or down?" Leon looked around the brightly lit stairwell they found themselves in and said.
"Chris and Clair went down, so we should try to hook up with them." Ada nodded and started down the steps when the soldiers started pounding on the metal door. They both yelped and ran off.
* * *
Chris, Jill and Clair ran along a grey feature less corridor. The women turned the corner; Chris looked back and saw moonlight slanting through the now open hatch cover and men piling inside. He hid quickly. Jill sidled up to him.
"Their coming." He whispered.
"What are we going to do?" She asked.
"You two hide in that room there, I'll lead them away from you."
"No, Chris! They'll kill you!"
"Don't, Chris." Clair added.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He kissed Jill for a long moment. Then spinning around the corner he shot the first two soldiers tip-toeing toward them. They toppled backward giving him an opportunity to run down the next corridor and into a room. The soldiers chased him, missing Clair and Jill completely as they hid in an open doorway.
Chris found that he was actually a small hallway leading to an extremely narrow corridor. Small living spaces lined the walls with bunk beds and sinks. A worker in greasy overalls staggered out of one ahead of Chris, roused from his sleep by the loud footsteps. He screamed when shots from the soldiers M16s tore up the walls and floor.
Chris grunted when one of the rounds grazed his shoulder, ripping open his T-shirt. Bleeding, he ducked and rolled to the right and found himself in a canteen full of eating troops. One stood and raised his pistol at Chris but caught a slug in the chest.
More bullets tore up the room just as Chris vaulted over the serving counter and ducked under a stainless steal counter top in the kitchen.
In the canteen the soldiers scattered, shouting as their colleagues charge in shooting. Chris recovered quickly and slipped out of a door at the back of the room while his pursuers searched for him amongst the chaos.
* * *
Jill and Clair listened to the sound of gunfire praying that Chris would be okay. When it ceased the agitated shouts of the soldiers replaced it and they knew that he had lost them.
Relieved, they began to look around the room they were hiding in. It was a storeroom with isles of metal shelves stacked with biochemical sample containers. They couldn't make sense of any of the labels on the football-sized canisters so they started to search the back of the storeroom.
On the back wall was an elevator. The numbers on the button pad read:
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8/ NO ADMITTANCE/
Jill and Clair looked at each other. "What should we do?" Asked Jill.
"We came here to look for Ada's sister not to gather evidence, so there's no reason to go exploring. I guess that they would keep her in the no admittance area."
"I agree. Lets go down to eight, it's as close as we can get to it from here." They nodded and Jill pressed the button. The elevator pinged and the doors slid apart. They got in and pressed the button for level eight. Clair felt her stomach drop as the lift descended. Gripping the handle of her Uzi she stared hard at the doors and thought of her brother and of Leon.
* * *
Leon opened the door at the bottom of the stair well and stepped out into the dim corridor of level 7. He scanned the area with the barrel of his Uzi. It was clear so he waved for Ada to follow.
"Were do we look for May first, Leon?" she asked, desperate to reach her sister now that she was so close. He gestured with his head that she should come with him as he struck out in a random direction. After minute of wandering the corridors and peeking into empty rooms they came to an elevator. At first they paid little attention to it but when the glowing numbers began to move they halted. The display counted off the floors as the lift descended. 3,4,5... Leon and Ada raised their Uzis at the doors...6,7,8. It slid behind the metal doors and stopped below them. They breathed a sigh of relief.
"Who do you think it could have been?" asked.
"I don't know. It could have been a guard patrol or it could have been the others."
"We should go down the steps and check it out just in case." They both turned back and jogged to the stair well.
CHAPTER 7
Chris found himself outside in the cool night air. The breeze was pleasant against his skin. He looked at his shoulder; blood trickled down his arm staining his favourite blue T-shirt. A bandage from his cargo pocket easily stopped the flow from the flesh wound.
Glancing around he saw that he was on a narrow catwalk on the side of the Oil Rig. Pipes lined the metal wall and the waves rippled against the pillars far bellow him. A large yellow crane tilted out over the water to his left dangling a thin cable almost to the surface f the water.
"Freeze, ass hole!" commanded a deep voice from behind Chris. He did what he was told, his options already flying through his mind.
Shit, shit, shit!
"Drop the Uzi in to the water and turn around slowly." He took the strap off over his head and held it over the railing, letting the gun swing in the high wind. "I said drop it!"
It tumbled through the air and splashed into the water. He turned slowly to face the single soldier. His M16 was at his shoulder pointed at Chris's chest. The barrel was steady; he was a pro. The clatter of running footsteps signalled the arrival of six more troops. The first glanced at them as they ran around the corner giving Chris the split second he needed.
In a single smooth, lightning movement Chris drew his Glock from his hip holster and fired two rounds into the chest of the soldier. Pivoting on his heels he darted off as the corpse collapsed onto his buddies.
The catwalk had no doors for about fifty meters and was devoid of any cover. The guards would cut him down if he didn't think fast. The crane was angled so it hung over the catwalk; the cable was only about ten feet from the wall. Chris jammed the Glock into its holster and hopped onto the railing. The clatter of gunfire followed him as he leaped out over the water and grabbed hold of the swaying cable. His hands slid over the cold wet metal of the cable as he fell. His fingers struggled to get a grip on it. Above him the soldiers leaned out over the rail firing. The air around him seared with the passage of the red-hot bullets.
He finally came to a stop far below his agitated pursuers. Kicking with his legs he managed to swing to another catwalk and catch his breath. His palms were red and bleeding, but not seriously hurt. He could still hear the soldiers shouting for him stories above. He leaned over the railing backwards and flipped them off, grinning.
* * *
Level 8 was different to the rest Jill and Clair had seen. The ceilings were higher, the corridors wider and more comfortable. The walls were a stark white and the floor was so shiny that their images were reflected perfectly. It reminded the girls of a hospital, but creepier. Lots of double doors led off of the corridor. Looking carefully through the windows they found empty laboratories and abandoned offices.
A little way along they found a second elevator, which lead down into the restricted floors but couldn't use it with out a code. Exploring further they found a locked stair well. They blew the lock with a well aimed round from Jill's Glock and realized that it didn't go any higher than level 8 but went down for at least another ten floors. With Uzis drawn they proceeded down into the bowels of the Oil Rig.
As the doors slowly closed and Jill and Clair disappeared Leon and Ada crept into the corridors of level 8. They scanned the pristine halls and deserted rooms and wondered what to do next.
"We should try to go down, what do you think?" said Ada.
"I agree, I only wish we could find the others. They're probably on the other side of the Rig..." He trailed off. "Hey, look!"
Chipped wood and broken metal was spread over the floor in front of a doorway. Checking behind it thy found stairway that only went down.
"They must have come this way! The soldiers wouldn't need to shoot off the lock!" He bounced on his toes, excited by the discovery.
"Lets go then. They headed into the restricted area which is where May is anyway." Together they trotted down the steps.
CHAPTER 8
May sat on the cot in her cell scared out of her wits. She had been held up in the facility for what seemed like a lifetime hoping everyday that her sister, Ada, would rescue her. She had been well treated. The woman who looked after her, Doctor Breaker, was nice. She gave her plenty of toys and was always well fed and clean. But today's flourish of activity from the guards and the faint gunfire from the roof had the 13 year old worried. Even the creepy Dr. Harris was acting strange (for him). Dr. Breaker had stopped paying as much attention to her today, focusing on her work more after Harris threatened her to finish some kind of virus or else.
The door to her tidy little prison opened and Dr. Breaker ducked inside breathlessly. She approached May smiling, but seemed preoccupied.
"May, come with me." She said. May got up and let her guide her out and into the adjoining lab. Breaker knelt down to her and brushed a lock of her soft dark hair behind her ear. "You've got to go. I'm helping you to escape."
"What? How? Why?" May babbled, confused.
"It's gone on long enough. I can't be a party to the things that are going on here any more." Getting up she ran to her desk and pulled a red card key from the drawer. "Take this, go down to level 15. That's were the lifeboats are. Run this through the scanner at the far end of the hanger to release the catches and get in one. It'll launch automatically and sail itself to the harbour of the nearest town."
May stuffed it into the pocket of her jeans. "But what about you? I can't go alone."
"Don't worry about me," She gave May a hug, "I'll be fine. Go, quickly!"
She turned and jogged to the door. Looking over her shoulder she gave her friend a goodbye wave and disappeared into the hall.
Dr. Breaker prayed inwardly for her safety and was about to finish packing for her own escape when the girl was back at the doorway. Dr Harris dragged her into the lab by the back of her T-shirt and threw her into a chair.
"D-Dr. Harris! W-what's going on?" Breaker gibbered.
"I could ask the same of you, Dr. Breaker. Did your maternal instincts get the better of you?"
"No- I was-"
"Save it. I don't need people I can't trust on my staff." In one fluid motion he drew a Barretta from under the jacket of his black suit and shot Breaker in the head. She fell to the ground spasming. May screamed and began to cry. Harris approached her, she backed away from him but he grabbed her roughly by the arm and dragged her with him. "I need you to come with me now, my dear. It seems your sister has finally decided to put in an appearance." With that they left the lab.
CHAPTER 9
Chris jogged along the wide, white corridor passed a door that read:
"LIFE BOAT LAUNCH ROOM-ACCESS REQUIRED"
He made a mental note about it and carried on. He was pretty sure that he was on the very bottom level after his impromptu abseil down the side of the Oil Rig and decided to make his way up. He soon ran across a stair well and was about to take it when he heard a low moaning sound.
He crept along the passage to a darkened room at the end. More moans and shuffling came from within sending chills down his spine. Chris took a little torch from his pocket and held it against the barrel of his Glock and pointed them both at the door. With his boot he pushed it open allowing the beam of light to cut through the gloom.
As he stepped in the moans became more desperate. He realised with horror that it was coming from right at his side. The figure lurched toward him but caught his boot in the gut. Slapping the light switch by the door he spun (foolishly) into the room.
Zombies stood around the place like dummies. They all wore doctor's scrubs that were dusted with frost. Their bodies were extremely far-gone. Grey bone could be seen through the rotted skin of their faces, their extremities were black and frost bitten. There was around fifteen standing motionless in the vast hall. Only the one that went for Chris seemed to move at all. All round him was row upon row of man-size refrigeration units, some closed and working, some were open, their contents free, but most were offline, the corpses nothing more than vacuum packed slime.
"What the-it's the same as Caliban Cove Rebecca told us about! Refrigerating zombies to keep them fresh!"
On the floor, the thing that Chris kicked struggled to its feet. Its squishy stomach was pulverized from the impact leaving a stringy, gooey tear in its flesh. It grunted and hobbled toward him. The others made no move.
Not wanting to shoot it and possibly alert the guards Chris backed away from it. It stumbled toward him scrabbling at the side of one of the empty fridges with its gaunt fingers for balance. The S.T.A.R.S. thought fast, grabbing the nearest statue/ creature by the arm. Its flesh was cold and hard. Its entire body was still frozen solid. It toppled into the path of the on coming fiend like a stone pillar, laying at 45 degrees against the cold units creating a human barricade.
Chris laughed at the ridiculous sight of the zombie scrabbling to climb over the other, Chris leaped over the frost coated machine and walked out of the door, closing it behind him just as the zombie cottoned on that he was gone.
The corridor was still deserted so he began jogging up the stairs to the next level.
Clair held a fluffy teddy bear and stroked its ear. There were lots of teddies and dolls in the small cell. A comfortable cot sat in the corner, a dresser, closet and chest of drawers with a portable TV made up the rest of the furniture. There was yellow wallpaper on the walls with a blue boarder around the room. Pictures obviously drawn by a young child in crayon were stuck around the place, mostly showing a woman with dark hair a little girl holding hands.
Clair left the cell and went into the lab next door with Jill. "I think it's safe to say that this is were they were keeping May." She said. Jill nodded soberly looking through the ID of the dead woman lying in the middle of the floor.
"I had a flick through her journal; I found it in one of the drawers." Jill replied. "There are a lot of entries mentioning 'Little May'. I think this woman was the main person who looked after her. And from what I can make out she was really fond of each other. I'm sure that she never hurt her."
"That's good. Where do you think that they moved her to?"
"Where ever she is it only happened today. Look at today's entry. There's a note scribbled down after her regular paragraph."
"Something bad is going on, I believe that the authorities have finally found out about our work here to rebuild the Umbrella Corporation under the new name of BIOJECT. I can't continue to work here any more and have decided to turn myself in as soon as they breach the facility. But first I must help little May to escape before Dr. Harris decides that she's too much of a liability or uses her a hostage. May God forgive me for the evil I have contributed to and I hope that I can be punished suitably and then get on with my life..."
"I think that she was busted by this Dr. Harris character trying to free May and killed for it." Offered Jill
"But were is she now?" wondered Clair. Suddenly the door flew open and two Uzis were aimed straight at the two women. They turned, startled, and blew a sigh of relief when the weapons were lowered and Leon and Ada smiled at them.
"Leon!" Clair charged at him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a huge hug.
"What is this place? A lab?" asked Ada, looking around. Clair got off her boyfriend and said to her:
"Uh-yeah, it is. But we think it's where they've been keeping your sister, May. Look..." she pointed into the cell. Ada stepped inside and pulled a picture of herself off of the closet door. Smiling, she wiped a tear from her eye and folding the paper to put in her pocket.
"Have you seen her?" she asked
"No, but we're sure she's okay. This scientist was trying to help her escape, we figure that she was killed by some guy called Harris, the director." Jill responded, indicating the dead woman. "She's defiantly still on board."
"Well let's go and find her!" exclaimed Ada.
In the far corner of the room high up near the ceiling a hidden security camera panned and zoomed in on the group of people. In the security command centre Dr. Harris watched them closely. May sat on a chair, sobbing close beside him. He reached over the desk and picked up the mike connected to the P.A. system.
Jill, Clair, Leon and Ada turned as a clicking sound emanated from a speaker on the wall. A crackling, hissing voice radiated from it:
"Now hear this. All members of S.T.A.R.S. and personal affiliated with them in any way must report to the laboratory on level 9. There is someone here that I'm sure your desperate to meet! Ha ha ha ha ha..." The manic laughter faded in a roar of static and then cut off.
"He means May! We've got to go there now!" Ada was beside herself with worry. They all nodded and trotted out of the lab to the elevator, Clair pausing only a moment to place the teddy on the counter.
CHAPTER 10
"Ha ha ha ha ha..." The insane cackling reverberated through the narrow stairway, beating at Chris's eardrums.
Level 9! That's probably were the others will go!
The trouble was that having reached the top of the stairs, he had found another flight that lead even further up and he had already made his way almost to the top platform. Right now he was between levels 2 and 3! Frustrated, he turned back and bounced down the steep metal steps muttering some interesting four letter words...
Ada, Leon, Jill, and Clair carefully opened the door to the huge laboratory on level 9 and scanned it with their Uzis. It was full of row upon row of metal desks with fitted sinks and gas taps for Bunsen Burners. Against the walls sat large stasis modules 10 feet tall, with a tangled network of coiling pipes and power cables. They all had clear glass fronts and were full of bubbling fluid. Some were too murky to make out the contents of the modules; others held Hunters, lickers, the peeling corpses of dead men and women, and Tyrants of all shapes, sizes and styles in plain view. At the very back of the room was a raised platform, like a stage with railings along the front facing the distant doors and steps at each side. An emergency exit leading outside was next to a long narrow window staring out over the dark waters of the Caribbean.
Upon the stage stood a man. He was clutching a small, dark haired girl by the shoulder with one hand and a remote control device in the other. He was immaculately dressed. His black suit unblemished, his tie perfectly straight and every strand of black hair Brill-Creamed into place.
"May!" shouted Ada.
"ADA!" May attempt a dash for her beloved big sister but he pulled her close to him and moved his hand from her shoulder to around the back of her neck.
"Let her go, you bastard!"
"Now, now Ms Wong. You brought this on yourself. If you had honoured your agreement with the company your dear sister wouldn't be in this predicament. The fact is she was perfectly safe with us in the care of the late Dr. Breaker until you and your new friends decided to crash my little party." His glacial blue eyes twinkled with malice as he spoke. The team began to approach him, strolling down the long room. He let them get so far and stopped them in their tracks with a sudden shake of the girl. She cringed and cried out in pain as his fingers tightened around her neck. "That's far enough." He stared hard at them for a long moment then smiled. "Now...for the part of the show you've all been waiting for..."
His thumb pressed a glowing red button on the remote. He laughed hysterically, dropping it on the ground. "Enjoy!" Giggling he picked up May by the back of her shirt and the waistband of her jeans and tossed her into the arms of Leon who caught her, stumbling backwards. Harris spun and dove out of the Emergency Exit and ran up a flight of metal steps. The door locked itself behind him with a loud click. Leon dropped May to the floor and Ada picked her straight back up again, hugging her tightly.
But their reunion was to be cut short. Across the wide work benches one of the Modules hissed. White fumes sighed out from the sides of the glass window. The entire front panel popped open, like the lid of a sandwich box, and the murky, purple liquid poured out of it all over the floor. As the fluid drained, the glass steamed up giving the stunned heroes only the blurred silhouette of a hulking humanoid figure.
May cowered behind Ada as they all backed slowly toward the door. All Uzis were cocked and pointed straight at the glass. A huge meat hook hand reached out and pushed the panel off of the module revealing the heinous figure. It was huge, over 9 feet tall. Its skin was pale with a slight blue hue. Thick pink veins throbbed and pulsed under the surface. Its torso rippled with oversized muscles. A thick rough scar ran from its left collarbone to the right side of its pelvis, throbbing with every beat of its black heart. It was clothed only in thick black Kevlar trousers and boots. Its hands, the size of dinner plates clasped into tight fists. Bony spikes protruded from its back, curling upwards like rough, off-white rose thorns. More outcrops of death dealing spines jutted upward from its elbows, chaffing its triceps. Its face was bare. Two white slits passed for its otherworldly eyes, and a thin line of a mouth was slashed across the void of its visage.
The Tyrant hopped down out of the module and stretched. It's joints cracked loudly as it swivelled its head and rotated its shoulders. It turned to face the humans. Its cataract eyes locked on them and it pointed at them with on meaty finger. Marking them. It took a purposeful step toward them, its wet boots squelching in the puddle of nutrient fluid.
Leon's back was pressed against the wall next to the door. Slowly they all side stepped toward it. The Tyrant realized their impending escape and drove its hand into the metal of the long, wide lab bench. It buckled and twisted like tin foil. With a grunt the Tyrant hopped easily over the waist high, 7 feet wide pile of desk, its head almost touching the high ceiling. It was agile, very agile.
"Go, GO!" Leon shoved everyone out of the door. Ada snatched up May and carried her as they all sprinted out of the Lab.
Ker-aasshh!!!
The double doors of the Lab exploded outward with the impact of the new Tyrant. Splintered wood and shattered metal filled the corridor while it barrelled toward them at full tilt. It was fast, very fast!
The fleeing humans all ducked into the stairs. The Tyrants shoes squeaked as it tried to stop and slid past the doorway. They were going down, taking two steps at a time. Above them the heavy footfalls of their pursuer echoed all through the stairwell.
CHAPTER 11
A huge crash startled Chris. It came from the door to level 9, which he was two flights of stairs above. He crept down so he could see the doorway. Suddenly Leon, Clair, Jill and Ada burst through, Ada had a girl held tightly in her arms.
"Hey-!" he started, but they didn't hear him. A large bulky shape flew past the door in a blur, and then a massive Tyrant creature charged into the staircase and thumped down the steps after his friends.
Clutching his fully loaded Glock in his hand he took off after it. Leon and the others managed to stay ahead of it in the confines of the stairwell till they hit the bottom. Then, out of the doors they ran down the hall of level 15. The girls ran ahead while Leon stopped and fired a volley from his Uzi at the Tyrant as it jogged toward him. The bullets smacked wetly into the things chest and legs. One clipped its forehead making it flinch, but other wise it wasn't at all affected by the ragged holes that peppered its body.
"Figures." Leon muttered, annoyed. He turned and ran, following the others. Then, a sudden, crack of gunfire made him glance over his shoulder. The Tyrant wasn't facing him any more. The sound continued, shards of bone and spurts of blood flew from its head and face, and splattered onto the walls. After what seemed like hours the Tyrant wavered and toppled...
"Chris!" Leon shouted. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about Chris! He beckoned him to hurry, knowing that it wouldn't be down for long. He leaped over the twitching carcass while slapping a fresh clip into the butt of his Glock.
They caught up to the women who were waiting at the end of the corridor. Jill smiled when she saw Chris and grabbed him, planting a kiss on his lips.
The corridor dead-ended with two doors nearby. One at the very end and one with a sign on it a little way back.
"This one is no good." Said Chris. "It leads outside. It's where I got in. That one leads to the life boats I think." He pointed to the second door. They all nodded and walked to it. Ada let May down as Leon opened it and checked it was clear. It was. Everyone piled inside as the Tyrant appeared at the around the corner. Its face terribly injured. The heavy metal door slammed as it approached. A dead bolt clicked into place.
The Life Boat room was a long, high ceilinged room. There was a long metal walkway running along the side and dozens of Launches lined the left of the space, their large round hatches facing outward. Through the metal mesh floor the dark water could be seen boiling and surging around the base of the Oil Rig, the breeze rushed upward billowing the girls hair.
BOOM BOOM
Enormous thuds thundered around their ears as the Tyrant pounded on the thick steel door. The S.T.A.R.S. ran down to the launch at the end, as far as possible from the monster. Jill, Clair and Leon climbed through the hatch and strapped May into one of the seats.
"How do these things work?" Clair shouted over the cacophony.
"They're released from above the water," Leon explained, "Then they slid down ramps and fall the fifty or so feet till they hit it. They dip right under before surfacing. From the set up in the cockpit here I'd say that they have GPS to guide them home automatically."
BOOM BOOM
Chris skipped up the step to the launch controls. There were screens all around the main keyboard, each with a split screen view showing the feeds from cameras inside the launches. There was also a radio that buzzed and crackled. Grabbing the handset he flicked switches on it and twisted the frequency tuner. He adjusted it till he could hear the chatter on the military frequency.
"This is Christopher Redfeild of the S.T.A.R.S. Requesting immediate back up, over." He said calmly into the receiver.
"This is the battleship HMS Galahad sailing in International waters. Please state the nature of your situation Mr Redfeild, over." Replied a woman with a strong Scottish accent. She spoke quickly and clearly, obviously well trained.
"We found another Umbrella base! Its full of Tyrants and other creatures. You must change coarse to come pick us up and blow this place to hell." He rattled off the coordinates then listened for instructions. There was a terrible pause, during which the Tyrant continued its terrible banging against the door, the steal buckling and bending with every blow.
"We are coming to get you and will rendezvous at the coordinates within 10 minutes. Sit tight, Sir, over." He knew that the Tyrant would be inside before they ever reached them. Scanning the keys on the control board he found a large red one marked:
"RELEASE"
He pressed it. Nothing. Then he noticed the problem. There was a slot for an electronic key card needed to gain access to the mechanism. Gutted, he ran to the launch. Everyone was tightly strapped in waiting for him.
"What's the hold up?" demanded Clair.
"I radioed for help, a battle ship from the British navy is on the way. But the lifeboats are a no-go. We need a key card to work it and we don't have it."
BOOM BOOM...KRAANG!!
The Tyrants meaty fist finally pierced the metal door. It began to peel the sides of the round hole back like a banana. Everyone began to unbuckle their harnesses when May spoke up.
"Hey! Dr. Breaker gave me this. She said to use it on the life boats." Wriggling in the confines of the straps she tugged a shiny rectangle of red plastic from her jeans. Chris grabbed it and dove out of the hatch. The Tyrant was hauling itself through the tattered remains of the door and marched toward him. Ignoring it, he swiped the card through the reader and hit the RELEASE button.
The computer beeped and close by the sound of grinding gears and hissing hydraulics filled the length of the room. Chris darted for the Launch and lunged into the hatch, slamming it behind him.
He strapped himself into the front chair beside Leon as the craft lurched into motion. A soft whump sound vibrated through the floor and it began to slide along on its rails.
Suddenly they were all thrown against their harnesses as it came to an abrupt stop. The Tyrant creature held onto the back of the little vessel in its vice-like grip. It roared a wordless, inhuman snarl as it began to pull it back to the deck.
Then, the hatch burst open with amazing force, smacking it in the chin and knocking it off balance. Chris half hung out of it, having booted it open, and let loose an explosion of bullets from Clair's Uzi. It careered backward; its arms wind milling as it tried to stay upright under the barrage.
Chris tossed the empty gun at the Tyrant and hauled the hatch closed as the Launch began to slide back.
CHAPTER 12
Chris strapped himself in just as the Launch left the Oil Rig. He felt his stomach fill his throat as the torpedo shaped craft sailed out of the escape shoot high above the water and plummeted, hitting the surface with an incredible jolt and glided under. After less than a second it surfaced again and bobbed in the frothing waves before the motors took control and it began to skip along.
Chris and Jill opened the door and climbed out onto the deck. The breeze lashed their faces as they watched the sun heave itself over the horizon. A helicopter thundered overhead and hovered above the helipad of the Oil Rig. They watched as a platoon of Marines abseiled out of it and challenged the Umbrella soldiers. In the distance, a hulking grey battleship raced toward them.
* * *
Harris barged along the corridors of the Oil Rig past rushing soldiers and terrified techs and scientists. In his hand he clutched all of BIOJECT's research in a plastic case full of data disks. He patted the Barretta in the waistband of his trousers. He hardly ever used it and hadn't fired a gun in years before today.
With a crash he threw open the door at the base of the Control Tower leading to the helipad. He froze when he saw the huge copter hovering overhead, trailing about twenty ropes. Looking around he realized that the armed, uniformed men ducking around on the deck were not his own soldiers but bore the insignia of the Royal Navy. One of them noticed him and hefted a huge rifle at him.
"FREEZE!" he commanded. Harris yelped and leaped backward into the tower slamming the door. Whimpering, he bolted down the steps toward the Lifeboats, knowing that his only chance to rebuild Umbrella was to cut his loses and try again another day. His feet clanged on the metal stairs when, above him the Marine booted the door off its hinges and gave chase.
All over the Oil Rig the Umbrella soldiers were trying to defend the facility and being killed or rounded up in the process. While the invading Soldiers penetrated deeper inside Harris was running for his life. Stumbling on level 15, he spilled all of the data disks on the floor. He couldn't pick them up though because the marine followed him persistently.
Panicking he barrelled through the doorway of the Launch room fishing his key card from his inside pocket. He didn't notice that there were scraps of the metal door lying around the floor and the door itself was still in the frame, but peeled open like a blossoming flower.
His head hit something hard as he ran blindly to the computer consoles. Falling backward he hit his butt on the floor hard and looked up rubbing his throbbing temple. A man was standing over him. No, not a man, it was far too tall, too big to be a normal man. Then he understood that he was finished. The Tyrant stooped and picked him up like a rag doll. Harris stared into its white unseeing eyes and thought he saw its tattered face contort into a smile. It was the last thing he saw when his creation twisted his head from his shoulders and tore his torso into bloody ribbons of flesh and shattered bone.
The marine appeared at the doorway and witnessed the execution. He recognized the Tyrant creature easily from the vast file the authorities held and proceeded to destroy it. Blasting it with armour piercing bullets and grenades from the launcher on his rifle. Afterward it was nothing but a mass of tattered flesh, bone and sinew.
CHAPTER 13
As the HMS Galahad headed for the nearest port carrying nearly a hundred prisoners, Leon and Clair stood on the deck at the aft of the ship staring out over the water. Clair put her arm around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder.
"How are Ada and May doing?" she asked.
"Their fine. May is glad to be out of the facility and with her sister again, they're both happy."
"What will happen to them when get back to the mainland?"
"Don't know. Ada might have to face charges for the work she did for Umbrella, but I think I can pull some strings for her."
"That's good."
"Hey," Leon smiled at her, " I don't want to talk about other people. I want to talk about us." With that he kissed her; she wrapped her arms around his shoulders kissed him back. She finally felt safe, they both did. It was all over now...
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