Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil, Capcom does. The only thing I do own is this story.

Cause Be the Carrier

(Book one of the Redemption series)

Chapter Five- Under Pressure

By: Striker

"So Umbrella really is afraid of us." Claire said. "Well, that's some good news."

Leon chuckled. "Does us a lot of good now. We're behind bars."

Ark was sitting on the bench. "Then maybe we should find a way out of here. Our weapons are sitting right there." He pointed to a large chest next to the three guards. "We get out and we're set."

"Only one problem." Carlos said, still huddled next to Rebecca. "These walls are solid rock and those guards have the key. We should wait until the others get here."

Leon walked up the bars and leaned on them. "Hey, don't we each get one phone call?"

"Yeah," Claire added, "I want to order a pizza."

"I want to call my lawyer." Ark said.

One of the guards looked at the prisoners. "Shut up and sit down. You don't get anything." He replied in an annoyed tone.

"I can't believe that we have to sit here and watch over these bastards." One of the other guards said.

"Hey, we heard that." Rebecca said. "If you can't say anything nice about someone, then don't say anything at all."

The guards just snickered to each other and continued with their own conversation.

"That got us nowhere." Carlos said. "Any other ideas?"

Claire sighed and leaned against the wall. "I guess we wait."

Chris gripped his shotgun and edged towards the door to the prison block. He looked back at the others. "Ready?" They nodded, readying their weapons. They had managed to get to the prison without being detected. Chris slowly reached for the doorknob and held it tightly. He counted to three before bursting through the door. "OK, get your hands up." He commanded, catching the men off-guard.

"Chris." Claire said in delight. "It's about time you got here. These cells are freezing."

"You're welcome." Chris replied.

Jill took the keys off the guards and unlooked the cell door. "We got here as quickly as we could. There are just too many guards here."

"That's because Umbrella wants us dead." Carlos said. "The guy in charge of this place told us that Umbrella considers us a major threat to the company."

"That man would be Tony Fell." Hunk said. "I remember that he was one of the few who said that you people didn't pose that great a risk. That could be the advantage we can use to beat him."

"Where is he now?" Chris asked.

"Said he went to the main lab." Ark said. "Had to check on the Z-virus. That thing is already complete."

Jill sighed. "Great. We heard two scientists talking about the damn thing. Makes creatures just like the one Birkin turned into when he injected himself with the G-virus, only worse."

"Where are your weapons?" Barry asked.

Leon ran over to the chest and opened it. "Everything's here. All we have to do now is get to the main lab."

Claire and the others got their weapons while Barry and Hunk pushed the guards into the cell. Jill closed the door and broke the key off in the lock. Chris looked out the door. "We know where the main lab is. It's on this level. All we have to do is destroy the virus and get out of here."

"We should take a sample with us." Rebecca said. "That way we have some proof of what Umbrella is doing."

"Then we can lead the authorities back to this place and expose Umbrella." Barry added. "Good idea."

"Then let's go." Chris said. The group quickly left the cells and ran down the hall.

Leon and Claire sprinted on ahead. As they rounded a corner they came face to face with a group of eight guards. "This isn't good." Leon said.

The guards raised their weapons. "This definitely isn't good." They ducked back behind the corner as the guards opened fire. "He got a little trouble." Claire said. "There are about eight of them blocking our way."

Hunk unclipped one of the grenades from his belt. "I knew I'd need these." He popped the pin and tossed the explosive down the hall at the guards. The men tried to scramble away as the grenade went off, killing most of them and injuring the rest. The team quickly continued down the hall passed the injured solders.

"Having fun yet?" Chris called back to the others.

"And I thought that this was going to be a boring vacation." Ark replied.

Fell held up the vial containing the completed Z-virus. "At last it's done." He placed it in a protective case with several other vials and closed it. "All we have to do now is deliver this to the branch office in Miami for transport to Paris." Fell stood in the main lab of the facility. The room was large, with various pieces of high-tech equipment set against the walls. There were several tables and other machines throughout the room. Along one wall ran a row off glass tubes that would house bio-weapons. In the back of the lab was the incubation room where the virus was grown. Florescent lights illuminated the room. Fell looked around the lab. "Soon this lab will produce the next generation of bio-weapons. I may even get promoted for this."

A guard ran up to Fell. "Sir, the terrorists have escaped and are heading this way. They've already overtaken several guards. They should be here within five minutes."

"This is not good." Fell said. "Announce that the facility is under attack and give the evacuation order. Set up a perimeter in front of the door to these labs and make sure they don't get through."

"And what if they do Sir?" The guard asked.

Fell turned to a large glass cylinder against the far wall. "Then we release the Tyrant to kill them. Will not let those pests ruin our plans. In fact, let the Tyrant loose now. We can have someone lead it into the outer lab. Come, we must hurry before our enemies arrive."

Fell ran over to a consol and pushed a few buttons. The cylinder hissed as it opened. Mist poured from the cylinder as a growl came from inside. Fell and the others in the room hid as the Tyrant emerged from its tome. It looked like the other Tyrants except for its hands, which looked like giant, spiked maces. One of the scientists bolted for the door to the outer lab. The Tyrant saw the man and began to pursue him.

As the Tyrant neared the door Fell turned to the guard. "Get some more men here pronto. In case those fools get past that monster I want some backup. Also, get the boat ready. I want to leave as soon as possible."

"Yes Sir." The guard took out his radio. "I need two squads to the main lab on the double. Use the route from the docks. Get here as soon as you can. Also give the evac order. I want all personnel out of here."

Fell turned back to the door the Tyrant had left through. "Soon our enemies will be dead and this company will have the most powerful weapon in the world."

Leon took down two more guards with some well-placed shots from his Glock. Barry dropped the last guard with a shot from his magnum. The team moved past the dead guards to the door to the main lab. Carlos, Ark, Claire, and Hunk kept watch as the others walked up to the door.

"Get ready people." Chris said. He was about to open the door when a loud voice boomed throughout the halls.

"This facility is currently under attack. All personnel except security personnel immediately evacuate the facility."

"They're getting everyone out." Claire said. "Maybe they're getting ready to blow this joint?"

"If that's the case then things can't get any worse." Jill said. Suddenly a scream came from inside the lab. "I spoke too soon."

"What the hell was that?" Barry asked.

"Do you want to know?" Leon replied.

"Whatever it is it can't be pretty." Jill said.

Chris hit the button next to the door. The door slid open revealing a small lab area. There were tables scattered around loaded with microscopes, beakers, test tubes, and other lab equipment. Cabinets filled with chemicals and supplies lined most of the walls. A door across the room from the team had "Inner Lab Area" written on a plague beside it. A door on the right wall that led to a supply closet lay open. The team cautiously entered and spread out.

"Where do you think that scream came from?" Claire asked.

"What did that scream come from?" Leon replied.

Rebecca glanced around. "Maybe there are some monsters loose in here?"

"Don't get jittery on me." Chris said. "Whatever it is we can handle it." As soon as he said that the Tyrant exited the supply closet, its one fist bloody. "Except maybe that."

Barry stared at the Tyrant. "That's a new one."

"They all look the same to me." Ark said. "What's that thing supposed to do, club us to death?"

"Exactly." Claire said. "I fought one like this on Rockfort. I killed it too. Off coarse I did send it out the back of a place with a bomb."

"I suppose those grenades of yours won't stop this thing." Jill said to Hunk.

Hunk shook his head. "They would just piss it off."

"Then we'll have to do this the old fashion way." Chris said. "Aim for the head, we may be able to drop it that way."

The team spread out and began to fire at the Tyrant. The creature seemed unaffected by the bullets. It looked around for a target. It focused on Barry, who was firing off his magnum. It started to approach, ignoring the others. Barry ran out of bullets and popped open the chamber. He saw the creature coming at him and ran behind one of the tables, putting it between himself and the Tyrant. The Tyrant stopped at the table and raised its arm. In one quick downward motion it smashed the table into pieces. Barry finished reloading and pumped four slugs into the monster's chest. The Tyrant lifted its arm and prepared to crush Barry. He dove to the side just as the monster's fist crashed into the spot he was just standing. Barry scramble to his feet as the creature turned to him. Chris and Jill ran up behind the Tyrant and fired their shotguns into the Tyrant at point-blank range. The creature turned and marched towards them. The pair found themselves backed up against one of the cabinets. The Tyrant lunged forward with a punch. Chris dove to the left while Jill dove to the left. The Tyrant's fist crashed into the cabinet. It roared and pulled back its fist, which was smoking as various chemicals ate at the tissue of its hand. It turned to Chris, who was just getting up. He looked up to see the monster closing on him.

Suddenly a microscope slammed into the side of the Tyrant's head. "OVER HERE!" Claire called. She, Leon, and Carlos opened up with their assault rifles while Ark fired off his Glocks. The Tyrant began to approach the group.

Hunk slapped a fresh clip into his MP5. "Damn, this thing won't go down. It should have dropped by now."

"If we could incapacitate it taking it down would be much easier." Barry said.

"You mean like blinding it?" Rebecca asked. "I have an idea." She opened the cabinet behind her and began searching through the bottles.

"What are you doing?" Barry asked.

Rebecca found a bottle of hydrochloric acid. "Incapacitating it." She said. She hurled the bottle at the Tyrant's face. The monster roared in pain as the strong acid ate at its flesh and eyes. It swung its arms around wildly, unable to see.

"ALL RIGHT BECKY!" Jill yelled.

"Nice one." Ark said.

Rebecca grabbed another bottle of acid and threw it at the Tyrant in the chest. She continued to hurl bottles at the beast, the chemicals burning through the monster's skin. The Tyrant thrashed wildly and dropped to its knees. Most of the skin on its face has come off, showing bone.

"Blast it." Chris ordered.

The team fired at the Tyrant, hitting it in the head. It a rage it bolted in Rebecca's direction. She moved out of the way just in time to avoid the monster's charge. It crashed into the cabinet, causing more chemicals to rain down on it. It spun around and roared as the chemicals burned its body. Jill saw that the acid Rebecca had thrown at the Tyrant's chest had partially exposed its heart.

"Claire," Jill said, "aim for its heart."

Claire aimed her .22 rifle at the creature's heart and fired off three rounds. The Tyrant jerked with each shot and fell forward. "Got it." Claire said.

"Finish it off." Chris said.

Carlos and Barry walked up to the Tyrant's silent form and unloaded their magnums into the back of its skull, killing it for good.

Carlos walked over to Rebecca. "Great idea Becky. You really messed it up good."

"It was nothing." Rebecca said, beaming.

"That took a lot of guts." Claire said.

"I'd say." Barry said. "I would never think of doing something like that."

Jill looked down at the dead Tyrant. "I can't believe we beat this thing without some heavy explosives."

"This should go down as one of our greatest victories." Leon said.

Chris loaded his shotgun and headed for the inner lab. "Don't start celebrating yet. We still have to get that virus."

Fell held the case close to him. The sounds of combat had ended and now the room was filled with silence. "They killed it." He said to himself. "They are dangerous. I shouldn't have underestimated them." He crouched behind one of the tables and gripped a Glock.

The team entered the lab and spread out. "Where is everyone?" Claire asked. "Shouldn't this place be full of people?"

"They must have evacuated the plant." Barry replied.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Jill said. "I feel like we're being watched."

Fell sprang up and aimed at Jill. "Right you are my dear. So this must be all of you. I see you managed to get past my Tyrant. I'm beginning to see why the higher ups want you dead."

"Give us the virus." Chris said. "It's over."

"Why should I do that?" Fell asked.

Chris pumped the shotgun. "Because if you do you'll get out of this alive. We're not going to let you make any more of your weapons."

Fell turned to Hunk. "You traitor. You could you turn your back on this company. You could have been rich."

"After what happened in Raccoon I'm, through with this company." Hunk replied. "I'm not going to let you cause anymore death."

"I can't let you take this virus." Fell said. "And if you try, you will die." At that moment several other guards emerged from behind the tables and machines. "KILL THEM!" Fell roared.

The lab erupted into a massive shootout. Both sides fired at they dove for cover. Three guards dropped as they were hit in the head. Carlos caught a bullet in his left shoulder and was knocked to the ground.

"CARLOS!" Rebecca yelled. She quickly crawled to him and looked at his shoulder. "How bad is it?"

"I think the bullet hit the bone." Carlos replied through gritted teeth. "It hurts like hell."

Rebecca took out some medical supplies and tried to patch up the wound. "Don't move, I'll fix this."

"MAN DOWN!" Barry roared over the gunfire.

"TAKE THEM OUT!" Chris shouted back. The group quickly finished off the rest of the guards. Jill took out two men, Barry got another, and Ark blasted two more. Chris saw Fell run for the side door. He fired several rounds at Fell, missing every time. "Shit."

"What do we do about Carlos?" Claire asked.

Carlos was leaning against one of the tables. Rebecca was going her best to stop the bleeding. Jill, Leon, and Barry were crouched around him. "I'm OK Chris. It's just a scratch."

Carlos tried to get up, but Jill held him down. "Don't even move." She turned to Chris. "He can't go on."

Chris looked back to the door and then down at Carlos. "Barry, get Carlos back to the boat."

Barry nodded. "We'll be waiting at the docks."

"Jill, Claire, Leon, Hunk, come with me." Chris said. "We need to stop Fell before he gets away."

"Be careful." Ark said. "We'll see you soon."

"Count on it." Leon replied.

Chris' group ran after Fell while Barry and the others helped Carlos out of the lab.

Author's Comments: The team may have beaten the Tyrant, but Fell got away with the virus and Carlos is hurt. Things just keep getting worse. At least Umbrella is scared of our heroes. You can also see why. Taking down a Tyrant without a rocket launcher. If being able to say that wouldn't intimidate anyone, I don't know what would.

In the final chapter the chase is on. Chris and his little party have to hunt down Fell and stop him from getting away with the virus. However, Fell won't make it that easy for the team. Plus, can Barry and his group get Carlos to safety? And what about the facility? Find out all the answers to these questions in the finale of Cause Be the Carrier: Chapter Six- High Tide.