The Woman Who Wasn't There
Chapter VI
Jill felt a headache coming on. A large, piercing one starting back behind her right eye and slowly spiraling its way around the rest of her brain. The situation had gotten completely out of control. A year ago, she never would have imagined herself spying on Chris like she had at the mall. She never would have deliberately kept things from him because she was afraid he wasn't acting objectively at best, rationally at worst. And she never would have spent five hours in the basement headquarters of the RLF listening to Wayne explain why "The Prisoner" was the greatest television show ever while his associates illegally searched through government data bases for a match to the photograph they had taken of Ada Wong.
Clark had begun countering Wayne with the classic episodes of "The Outer Limits" when his attention was brought back to one of the several computer screens. It had stopped searching. It had a match.
Jill rose from the RLF's dilapidated couch and made her way over to the workstation. The woman on the screen had shorter hair, highlighted with blond streaks, but it was definitely Ada Wong. It had to be.
Clark read off the woman's file. "Okay, says her name is Miranda Chang - we'll have to check that alias - and that she was arrested two months ago at a protest outside of a chemical facility in upstate New York. Bunch of college kids got together to show their displeasure with this company's less the earth friendly waste disposal methods. It wasn't that serious - a couple of cops got some bloody noses, some protestors got a little more than that, but that was about it. This is only on government file because somebody made some bomb threats."
Jill was confused. "What would Ada Wong be doing at an eco-protest? I don't think Umbrella would care enough about some whiny college students to have her infiltrate their group."
"I hardly think they're 'whiny' but that's not the point," Wayne answered. "Did the plant have anything to do with Umbrella? Competitor maybe? She wouldn't be there without a reason."
But none of them had an idea what that reason could be. Jill let the conspiracy theorists do what they did best while she speculated on her own. Two months ago, Ada wouldn't have even been working for Umbrella anymore. Two months ago.hadn't Leon mentioned something about Ada being in an infirmary for a long time after Raccoon City? Could Ada have even been there? Maybe the woman wasn't Ada Wong. Maybe it was and she had lied to Leon. That still didn't tell Jill why she was there.
"Oh, shit." All eyes turned to Clark. After reading "Miranda's" file, he had already started checking into the incident.
The look on his face made Jill's headache pulse anew.
"I don't think this has anything to do with Umbrella. Not directly, anyway. I've got the arrest record of another person at the protest, the guy who organized it. His name's James Myers." Clark looked at Jill for emphasis. "You might have heard of him. He's a higher up in The Gaea Group."
Two months ago. Or about two weeks after The Gaea Group had published its first article from "reliable sources" about the threat of Umbrella. At the time, Barry didn't think anything would ever come from the article.
It looked like he was wrong.
***
"Um, Barry? You're kind of crushing me here."
Barry let Claire go with a laugh. After his long train trip, he was so grateful to see Claire was the Redfield meeting him at the station that he had scooped her up in a bear hug when she had come over to greet him.
"Sorry, Little Sister, but it's good to see a familiar, friendly face after staring at the back of a seat for hours on end."
Claire let the "Little Sister" comment slide. She used to take offense to being referred to only in the context of being Chris Redfield's sister, but then she realized Barry only did it to tease her, knowing full well the effect it had on her. She figured it was Barry's way of letting her know he considered her one of them. She then teased him in kind for acting like a boy in a schoolyard around the girls that he liked.
She did make a note of Barry's use of the word "friendly" though. Jill had mentioned that Barry hadn't appreciated his abrupt summons back to the townhouse. The train ride apparently hadn't improved his mood about it.
She felt some kind of apology was in order, even if it wasn't from the one who should be giving it. "I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer with your family. This just came out of nowhere and it really could be the payoff we've been looking for. If everything works out, you could."
"I feel a lot better about all this if you stopped using the words 'could' and 'if' so much," Barry said, interrupting her.
Claire could only look at Barry sympathetically. Hadn't she and Jill just said the same thing the other night? "I think I'd feel a lot better if I stopped using them myself. But I can't," she confessed.
"Shit. I knew this wasn't everything Redfield said it was. I want that asshole Wesker as much as he does, but I'm not willing to walk around with a fucking blindfold on to do it. What's Jill thinking about this?"
"She not happy either. So much so, she skipped out on our meeting with Ms. Wong this evening. It was quite the night. After some deep soul searching - if Ada Wong does in fact have a soul - she actually managed to cough up some extremely vague information about her employers."
"Big shit. Let me guess though. She gave you just enough so that you can feel like she's telling the truth, but not enough so that you have time to track down her employers and confirm it."
"I'd say you were psychic, but that's pretty obvious." Almost to herself, she added, "To me and you anyway."
Barry picked up on her disappointment. "I know where you brother's at. Kennedy with him on this, too?"
Claire nodded. Barry shook his head as he picked up his bags. He had thought Leon and Claire had a sort of a "will they or won't they?" thing going on, but he had chalked it up mostly to the fact that Leon was the only guy Claire spent any time with that she wasn't related to and who was close to her own age. He hadn't thought Claire was really serious about the former.
He needed to talk to Jill. She was the most level-headed. If she wasn't convinced, it would be for a reason. Her missing of a supposedly crucial meeting with Ada wasn't inspiring him. Neither was Chris's obsession with Wesker. And judging from Claire's reactions, Leon's motives were based more in his pants than on evidence. That's just plain scared Barry.
"Fuck," he sighed.
Claire nodded once more. That seemed about right.
***
It was late. Very late. Leon had a dozen reasons to be heading home right now, but only one to be staying. That reason poured him another glass of wine and offered him more of the odd looking appetizer things she considered snack food. These had black olives and some sort of pinkish paste on top of a small slice of rye bread in the shape of a daisy.
"I don't supposed you have any chips or anything?" Ada gave him a look worse than the one she gave him when he asked if she any beer instead of wine. "You certainly do have your tastes, don't you?" Leon mused.
"I appreciate the finer things in life. And yes, you should take that as a compliment." Ada said over her shoulder as she rummaged through the small hotel refrigerator. She came up with a bag of baby carrots. Leon shook his head no. "That's as mundane as I get, Leon. If you want, you can check the room service list to see if it has anything that's more your fancy."
"Right, I'll order a couple of lobsters and topple the Company through outrageous hotel expenses," Leon joked.
"Sadly, they're financed enough to write off the excesses of even the most extravagant employees. Such as myself."
"A part of you likes this." Leon said it plainly and abruptly, surprising both Ada and himself.
Ada sat down on the bed and folded her legs underneath her. "Do I like this?" she asked while waving her hands around the lavishly furnished room. "Do I like the luxury? The mystery? The danger? The power one can hold by never being quite who they seem?" Ada laughed to herself. The utter lack of humor in it worried Leon. "Of course I like it. But I hate being a slave much more."
"I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? Why? You've been the one person I've met who actually gives a damn about me beyond what I can do for him. Without you, I'd be looking forward to a future of punching the Company time clock until something kills me."
"Ada." He couldn't continue. He had already said too much. How could he have asked her if he liked this life? Her whole reason for being here was to escape it.
"Leon, don't worry about me. And don't ever feel sorry for me. I'm chosen my life, now I have to deal with it. And maybe, starting with this mission, make amends."
"We want to help you."
"You want to help me. Everyone else wants Wesker. I don't hold that against them. I'd be reacting the same way if the roles were reversed."
"I don't know how you can be so understanding. I half expected Chris to lunge over the table and start choking you."
Ada laughed again, this time with warmth. "I'm glad you're concerned about me, Leon. It's been a long time since I've had that. But it works both ways. I don't want to alienate you from your friends."
"Chris and I have never been the best of friends."
"And Claire Redfield?"
"Claire?" He could write a book on Claire and still not be able to fully describe what was between them. A few words to Ada couldn't begin to convey that relationship. "It's.uh, well we're friends - close friends. We."
Ada held up her hand to stop him. "I think I get the general idea. What about Jill Valentine? How has she been reacting to the situation at hand?"
"Jill's.leery. It's nothing personal. She's just suspicious by nature. At least she has been since all this Umbrella stuff started."
"Yes, she's been changed by Umbrella." Ada shifted on the bed, bringing her legs up to her chest and resting her head on her knees. "We all have."
***
Claire and Barry beat Jill home by a few hours. They spent that time rehashing everything they knew so far with Chris in a tense conversation punctuated by Chris's adamancy, Claire's doubts, Barry's complaints and a hefty dose of profanity from the two men. Claire kept her curses to herself.
"And this doesn't stink at all to you?" Barry asked.
"Oh, it reeks," Chris conceded. "But even it is all a trap, we're still getting close to the people in power."
"What a great consolation that'll be right before they kill us."
"I'm going to play it safer than that, Barry. I'm not stupid. I don't trust that Wong woman as far as I can throw her and I'm planning this out accordingly. I'm not going to just follow her orders."
Barry grunted. "But we're just supposed to follow yours."
Jill picked that moment to walk through the front door. The anger in the room was palpable. Claire was off to the side, nearly in the kitchen, with her arms crossed and mouth shut tight like she desperately wanted to say something but knew she shouldn't. Barry and Chris were exchanging glares.
Jill didn't exactly anticipate dropping a new bombshell on them.
Especially on Chris. He was already fuming. "Where the hell have you been? How long can it take to drop off a cell sample?"
It was time to come clean. "The RLF and I took a side trip - out to the mall where you met Ada tonight. They wanted to get a photo of her so they could compare it ones in government databases. I've been having them do a background check on her. I would have told you sooner, but I didn't want you to think I was questioning you or going behind your back."
Chris threw his arms up in the air. "This is fucking unbelievable. You'd think I'd give a damn that you wanted to check out Ada Wong? You really thought I would care? Christ, Jill, I don't like the woman either. Why would you think I would get pissed off at you for trying to cover our backs?"
"Well," Jill said sharply. "It's been a little hard to tell lately what will set you off and what won't. If, there actually is anything that won't."
"And hiding things from me? What the hell is that supposed to do?"
"I didn't want to get you worried unless I was sure there was something to be worried about."
"Bullshit. That's not what you said ten seconds ago."
"I'm sorry, but I was doing what I thought was right. You haven't been acting yourself about this and given how angry it's getting you, you can understand why I might be inclined to proceed with caution around you."
They kept going, finally giving voice to all the frustrations that had been building not just since the appearance of Ada Wong, but since they first stumbled upon that mansion in the mountains. Having it out could be considered healthy for Chris and Jill, but Claire and Barry were finding it uncomfortable. Claire had retreated fully into the kitchen. Barry was sidling slowly in that direction. Barry Burton was a big man with lethal combat training who had employed said training on more than one occasion, but he knew better than to get between a couple in a fight as heated the one raging now.
When he finally made it to the kitchen table, he sat down with a sigh. "When did it get this bad?"
"I wish I knew. Then maybe I could fix it. Fix him." Claire glanced at her brother. He was saying something about trust.
"I know your brother. I know his intentions are good here. But you know the saying about the road to hell."
"We've been driving that route for months now. And I haven't seen any off- ramps."
"You want to know what the worst thing is? I'm hoping like hell that this thing pays off. That we really can end this in one shot. As much as I've been arguing with Chris about it, I want to believe like he does that is for real. Or that we can make it for real."
"Barry Burton, an optimist? Surely not." The truth was she had made the same wish herself. But something Jill had just said stuck out in her mind - that she hadn't said anything to Chris because she didn't want him to worry unless there was something to worry about. Did that mean the RLF had found something out?
Claire jumped out of her chair and over Barry's warnings, approached Jill. "What did the RLF come up with? They found something out, didn't they? Come on, tell me, Jill."
Chris nodded his head in encouragement, the fight forgotten more quickly than it started.
"Right. The photo we took at the mall." Jill started hesitantly. She never liked delivering bad news. "They matched the photo up with a woman who was arrested at an environmental protest. The protest was organized by the head of the Gaea Group. It was held shortly after they ran the article about Umbrella. The timing is too close to be a coincidence. And I can't think of a good reason why Ada or her employers would care about the protest itself."
"So she's been tracking us for two months now." Claire concluded.
"Tracking us for two months," Chris said, "but she didn't find Leon until recently. Either it took her awhile to pinpoint where we were or she's been biding her time."
"I thought you told me she found you all at the memorial service for Raccoon City. Maybe her lead on the Gaea Group didn't go anywhere and it really took her that long," Barry offered.
"Of course, that doesn't answer the question why she was searching for us."
"Or, Jill," Chris added, "Who told her to start searching."
"Okay, so all we know now is that she has been looking for us," Claire summarized. "She knows we're affiliated with the Gaea Group and she used that to try and get to us. But that failed or else the men in suits would have been after us already. Then again, maybe it didn't and she's plotting something with her company."
"Or maybe she's known where we were all along and never turned us in because that's the kind of person she is." Everyone turned to Leon, who was standing at the threshold of the front door. They had been so engrossed in their discussion, they hadn't heard him return. He was making his presence known now. "What is it going to take for you people to trust her? She's been here for how long now without anyone from the Company showing up? If she was really selling us out, what the hell could she possibly be waiting for? She knows we're all here. She knows what we intend to do."
"How much did you hear, Leon?" Jill asked. "Did you hear that she's been tracking us for the last two months?"
"What difference does that make? She wanted to find us so she could help us."
"You mean help herself," Chris said. "And are you trying to tell me this woman had this whole thing with Wesker set up for that long and has been desperately trying to find us just so she could hand him over? You'd think people dealing in covert operations like this company would keep a tighter lid on their employees itineraries."
Claire, sensing the start of yet another fight, felt like she wanted to scream. So she did. All talk stopped and Claire became the center of attention. She took a few seconds to collect her thoughts. "Okay, now that you are all listening, I think we need to settle this once and all. We should meet with Ada again. We confront her about the protest. We listen to her answer. We make her give us a name beyond "some company in England" for her employers. If she doesn't talk, we walk. If she does talk, we call the RLF and see what they can come up with in an hour or two. They'll appreciate the challenge. After we have all the information, we meet without Ada and discuss in a calm, rational manner and make a final decision. Because I am sick to death of hearing the same arguments over and over. We commit one way or the other and that's it. We're committed. If it's a go, we review the plan with Ada and hammer out the details. Does that sound like something we can all live with?"
"And I'm supposed to be the bossy one," Chris said sarcastically. Catching a glare from Claire, he answered more seriously, "Yeah, that sounds fair to me. Everybody else?"
The rest of the group nodded. At the very least, they were taking a step forward.
They left the room one by one. Jill headed up the stairs alone as Chris went towards the basement. Leon went up to his room soon after. Neither of the three said anything.
Barry gave a yawn and announced to Claire he'd be retiring too. He hadn't been able to sleep much on the train. Before he left, he said to Claire, "Nice work, little sister. With you calling the shots instead of Chris, I feel better about this already."
At first she thought he was kidding. But after everything that had been said tonight, she realized just how serious he was.
***
"All right, the gang's all here. Let the interrogation begin." They were back at the mall again, having been unable to come up with a better meeting place. As Ada had said, all were in attendance.
"Ada," Leon admonished, "I don't think this is the time to be derisive."
Chris agreed. "No, it's not. We ask you straight questions, you give us straight answers."
"Fine. Ask away."
Jill started the questioning this time. "Why were you at an environmental protest in New York two months ago?"
Ada didn't act surprised by the question. "That was my first mission after being released from the infirmary. The Company wanted to give me something easy to start with. The man that organized the protest had posted an article on the Gaea Group website about Umbrella earlier. The Company wanted me to check him out and see what information the man, or should I say the man's sources, had. It was easy enough to guess who he was quoting. There are only so many people who have gone against Umbrella and lived to have a nice article about it published. You all should really be more careful."
"So the Company knew it was us. Why didn't they come after us then?"
"The Company knew it was you, Jill, but they didn't know where you were. You were apparently smart enough not to give out your home address. I determined Myers didn't know anything and his little enviro-groupies knew even less, so I moved on to the next mission. Sorry, but you five aren't high priority enough for the Company to waste resources digging deeper."
"Wait a second," Claire interrupted. "Your company approached both Leon and me and now you're saying they don't think we're important?"
"No, they approached you because they knew exactly where you were. And that was before the fiasco at the island and Antarctica. After that, the Company figured you all were doing them a favor by screwing over Umbrella. You do have a penchant for blowing up their expensive facilities."
"What about Wesker? He was there too. He went after both Claire and me then. If the Company didn't care, why would he?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Mr. Redfield, Albert Wesker is an asshole who holds personal, petty grudges. You and your sister are on his list. That's why he attacked you. His real business was always with the Ashfords. You were only a fringe benefit."
"So why did they send you to the memorial service if they didn't care about finding us?" Claire asked.
"As I told Leon, they didn't send me. I was in the area to check out that underground storehouse. I went to the service on my own. It was serendipity that I saw the three of you there. I wanted out before then, but didn't know how to do it. Between seeing you and the upcoming rendezvous with Wesker, everything fell into place."
"Yeah, we've noticed how convenient everything is," Barry grumbled.
"Sometimes, Mr. Burton, good things come to those who wait." Ada folded her hands on the table. Clearly, she thought she was in control of the situation.
Chris was of another opinion. "The name of your employers. Full name. I don't want to hear some code name or fake dummy company name."
"I thought I told you."
Leon placed his hand over Ada's. "I'm sorry about this, but we need to know. We're in enough danger as it is, we can take on a little more. You don't have to worry about that. We need to hear this. Give us one more show of good faith."
"Leon." Ada looked around. Jill's face betrayed no emotion. Impatience showed on Chris and Barry's. Ada thought she saw disappointment in Claire - disappointment that had nothing to do with the Company's name. And Leon.the sincerity of his concern in and of itself was almost enough to get her to reveal the information. Everyone taken together convinced her to go ahead. "All right. You want it, that's fine. But I can't warn you enough to not mess with these people. I take no responsibility for what may happen to you or your associates."
"Cut the drama queen bullshit, lady," Barry said. "And just give us the damn name."
"I'll give you two. I apologize, Mr. Redfield, but dummy names and code names are all the Company has. Branford & Locke is the official public name. The majority of it really is a legitimate chemical manufacturer, much like Umbrella. The sub-department that handles the less than legal dealings is the oh-so-imaginatively titled Department 12. Or, as it's referred to by all its employees - the Company. That's all I can tell, because that's all I know. I don't know the level of involvement the owners of Branford & Locke have with the Company or even if they know about it. I report to Wesker and another man in the department whose name I've never been given. As for the other employees, I only have contact with them when a mission demands it. I can't give you any names there either. I only know Wesker's from his Umbrella file."
Jill couldn't believe it. "How do you function without knowing anything about the people you're working with? How can you rely on each other?"
"The first thing you learn at the Company is that you can rely only on yourself," Ada explained. "But we do know some things about each other - amount of combat training, special skills, level of clearance, that sort of thing. Absolutely nothing personal beyond the impressions we form of them. To drive the point home, we're identified by numbers. I'm number 2328."
Barry shook his head and mumbled a curse under his breath. If Chris felt any sympathy for Ada the coldness of her employers, he didn't let on to it. "Jill, call the RLF. Have them verify as much as they in the next two hours." He got up from his chair to leave. Addressing Ada, he said, "Leon will call you when we're ready to give you our decision."
He left and the others quickly followed after him. Except Leon. He lingered behind to say goodbye to Ada and to ask how she thought things had gone.
"I think things went exactly as I thought they would," she answered.
***
Have you confirmed the target's location?
Affirmative.
Can we obtain target without incident?
Negative. Target and associates are capable of posting resistance. We cannot risk target being injured.
Understood. Recommendations?
Proceed as planned.
***
Author's Notes - Heh, to think I planned on posting this once a week once. Ah, ambition. Anyway, I'm very sorry it took me so long to post this. I had no idea several months had passed since the last update. I just lost track of time, I guess. Bad Aerika, bad. I WILL finish this story. I can't say when, but it will happen. Many thanks to those who have urged me to get off my butt and start it again.
Next up: The plan's finalized (for real), the gang heads to Florida and Jill reaches out to the Spanish community.
Chapter VI
Jill felt a headache coming on. A large, piercing one starting back behind her right eye and slowly spiraling its way around the rest of her brain. The situation had gotten completely out of control. A year ago, she never would have imagined herself spying on Chris like she had at the mall. She never would have deliberately kept things from him because she was afraid he wasn't acting objectively at best, rationally at worst. And she never would have spent five hours in the basement headquarters of the RLF listening to Wayne explain why "The Prisoner" was the greatest television show ever while his associates illegally searched through government data bases for a match to the photograph they had taken of Ada Wong.
Clark had begun countering Wayne with the classic episodes of "The Outer Limits" when his attention was brought back to one of the several computer screens. It had stopped searching. It had a match.
Jill rose from the RLF's dilapidated couch and made her way over to the workstation. The woman on the screen had shorter hair, highlighted with blond streaks, but it was definitely Ada Wong. It had to be.
Clark read off the woman's file. "Okay, says her name is Miranda Chang - we'll have to check that alias - and that she was arrested two months ago at a protest outside of a chemical facility in upstate New York. Bunch of college kids got together to show their displeasure with this company's less the earth friendly waste disposal methods. It wasn't that serious - a couple of cops got some bloody noses, some protestors got a little more than that, but that was about it. This is only on government file because somebody made some bomb threats."
Jill was confused. "What would Ada Wong be doing at an eco-protest? I don't think Umbrella would care enough about some whiny college students to have her infiltrate their group."
"I hardly think they're 'whiny' but that's not the point," Wayne answered. "Did the plant have anything to do with Umbrella? Competitor maybe? She wouldn't be there without a reason."
But none of them had an idea what that reason could be. Jill let the conspiracy theorists do what they did best while she speculated on her own. Two months ago, Ada wouldn't have even been working for Umbrella anymore. Two months ago.hadn't Leon mentioned something about Ada being in an infirmary for a long time after Raccoon City? Could Ada have even been there? Maybe the woman wasn't Ada Wong. Maybe it was and she had lied to Leon. That still didn't tell Jill why she was there.
"Oh, shit." All eyes turned to Clark. After reading "Miranda's" file, he had already started checking into the incident.
The look on his face made Jill's headache pulse anew.
"I don't think this has anything to do with Umbrella. Not directly, anyway. I've got the arrest record of another person at the protest, the guy who organized it. His name's James Myers." Clark looked at Jill for emphasis. "You might have heard of him. He's a higher up in The Gaea Group."
Two months ago. Or about two weeks after The Gaea Group had published its first article from "reliable sources" about the threat of Umbrella. At the time, Barry didn't think anything would ever come from the article.
It looked like he was wrong.
***
"Um, Barry? You're kind of crushing me here."
Barry let Claire go with a laugh. After his long train trip, he was so grateful to see Claire was the Redfield meeting him at the station that he had scooped her up in a bear hug when she had come over to greet him.
"Sorry, Little Sister, but it's good to see a familiar, friendly face after staring at the back of a seat for hours on end."
Claire let the "Little Sister" comment slide. She used to take offense to being referred to only in the context of being Chris Redfield's sister, but then she realized Barry only did it to tease her, knowing full well the effect it had on her. She figured it was Barry's way of letting her know he considered her one of them. She then teased him in kind for acting like a boy in a schoolyard around the girls that he liked.
She did make a note of Barry's use of the word "friendly" though. Jill had mentioned that Barry hadn't appreciated his abrupt summons back to the townhouse. The train ride apparently hadn't improved his mood about it.
She felt some kind of apology was in order, even if it wasn't from the one who should be giving it. "I'm sorry you couldn't stay longer with your family. This just came out of nowhere and it really could be the payoff we've been looking for. If everything works out, you could."
"I feel a lot better about all this if you stopped using the words 'could' and 'if' so much," Barry said, interrupting her.
Claire could only look at Barry sympathetically. Hadn't she and Jill just said the same thing the other night? "I think I'd feel a lot better if I stopped using them myself. But I can't," she confessed.
"Shit. I knew this wasn't everything Redfield said it was. I want that asshole Wesker as much as he does, but I'm not willing to walk around with a fucking blindfold on to do it. What's Jill thinking about this?"
"She not happy either. So much so, she skipped out on our meeting with Ms. Wong this evening. It was quite the night. After some deep soul searching - if Ada Wong does in fact have a soul - she actually managed to cough up some extremely vague information about her employers."
"Big shit. Let me guess though. She gave you just enough so that you can feel like she's telling the truth, but not enough so that you have time to track down her employers and confirm it."
"I'd say you were psychic, but that's pretty obvious." Almost to herself, she added, "To me and you anyway."
Barry picked up on her disappointment. "I know where you brother's at. Kennedy with him on this, too?"
Claire nodded. Barry shook his head as he picked up his bags. He had thought Leon and Claire had a sort of a "will they or won't they?" thing going on, but he had chalked it up mostly to the fact that Leon was the only guy Claire spent any time with that she wasn't related to and who was close to her own age. He hadn't thought Claire was really serious about the former.
He needed to talk to Jill. She was the most level-headed. If she wasn't convinced, it would be for a reason. Her missing of a supposedly crucial meeting with Ada wasn't inspiring him. Neither was Chris's obsession with Wesker. And judging from Claire's reactions, Leon's motives were based more in his pants than on evidence. That's just plain scared Barry.
"Fuck," he sighed.
Claire nodded once more. That seemed about right.
***
It was late. Very late. Leon had a dozen reasons to be heading home right now, but only one to be staying. That reason poured him another glass of wine and offered him more of the odd looking appetizer things she considered snack food. These had black olives and some sort of pinkish paste on top of a small slice of rye bread in the shape of a daisy.
"I don't supposed you have any chips or anything?" Ada gave him a look worse than the one she gave him when he asked if she any beer instead of wine. "You certainly do have your tastes, don't you?" Leon mused.
"I appreciate the finer things in life. And yes, you should take that as a compliment." Ada said over her shoulder as she rummaged through the small hotel refrigerator. She came up with a bag of baby carrots. Leon shook his head no. "That's as mundane as I get, Leon. If you want, you can check the room service list to see if it has anything that's more your fancy."
"Right, I'll order a couple of lobsters and topple the Company through outrageous hotel expenses," Leon joked.
"Sadly, they're financed enough to write off the excesses of even the most extravagant employees. Such as myself."
"A part of you likes this." Leon said it plainly and abruptly, surprising both Ada and himself.
Ada sat down on the bed and folded her legs underneath her. "Do I like this?" she asked while waving her hands around the lavishly furnished room. "Do I like the luxury? The mystery? The danger? The power one can hold by never being quite who they seem?" Ada laughed to herself. The utter lack of humor in it worried Leon. "Of course I like it. But I hate being a slave much more."
"I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? Why? You've been the one person I've met who actually gives a damn about me beyond what I can do for him. Without you, I'd be looking forward to a future of punching the Company time clock until something kills me."
"Ada." He couldn't continue. He had already said too much. How could he have asked her if he liked this life? Her whole reason for being here was to escape it.
"Leon, don't worry about me. And don't ever feel sorry for me. I'm chosen my life, now I have to deal with it. And maybe, starting with this mission, make amends."
"We want to help you."
"You want to help me. Everyone else wants Wesker. I don't hold that against them. I'd be reacting the same way if the roles were reversed."
"I don't know how you can be so understanding. I half expected Chris to lunge over the table and start choking you."
Ada laughed again, this time with warmth. "I'm glad you're concerned about me, Leon. It's been a long time since I've had that. But it works both ways. I don't want to alienate you from your friends."
"Chris and I have never been the best of friends."
"And Claire Redfield?"
"Claire?" He could write a book on Claire and still not be able to fully describe what was between them. A few words to Ada couldn't begin to convey that relationship. "It's.uh, well we're friends - close friends. We."
Ada held up her hand to stop him. "I think I get the general idea. What about Jill Valentine? How has she been reacting to the situation at hand?"
"Jill's.leery. It's nothing personal. She's just suspicious by nature. At least she has been since all this Umbrella stuff started."
"Yes, she's been changed by Umbrella." Ada shifted on the bed, bringing her legs up to her chest and resting her head on her knees. "We all have."
***
Claire and Barry beat Jill home by a few hours. They spent that time rehashing everything they knew so far with Chris in a tense conversation punctuated by Chris's adamancy, Claire's doubts, Barry's complaints and a hefty dose of profanity from the two men. Claire kept her curses to herself.
"And this doesn't stink at all to you?" Barry asked.
"Oh, it reeks," Chris conceded. "But even it is all a trap, we're still getting close to the people in power."
"What a great consolation that'll be right before they kill us."
"I'm going to play it safer than that, Barry. I'm not stupid. I don't trust that Wong woman as far as I can throw her and I'm planning this out accordingly. I'm not going to just follow her orders."
Barry grunted. "But we're just supposed to follow yours."
Jill picked that moment to walk through the front door. The anger in the room was palpable. Claire was off to the side, nearly in the kitchen, with her arms crossed and mouth shut tight like she desperately wanted to say something but knew she shouldn't. Barry and Chris were exchanging glares.
Jill didn't exactly anticipate dropping a new bombshell on them.
Especially on Chris. He was already fuming. "Where the hell have you been? How long can it take to drop off a cell sample?"
It was time to come clean. "The RLF and I took a side trip - out to the mall where you met Ada tonight. They wanted to get a photo of her so they could compare it ones in government databases. I've been having them do a background check on her. I would have told you sooner, but I didn't want you to think I was questioning you or going behind your back."
Chris threw his arms up in the air. "This is fucking unbelievable. You'd think I'd give a damn that you wanted to check out Ada Wong? You really thought I would care? Christ, Jill, I don't like the woman either. Why would you think I would get pissed off at you for trying to cover our backs?"
"Well," Jill said sharply. "It's been a little hard to tell lately what will set you off and what won't. If, there actually is anything that won't."
"And hiding things from me? What the hell is that supposed to do?"
"I didn't want to get you worried unless I was sure there was something to be worried about."
"Bullshit. That's not what you said ten seconds ago."
"I'm sorry, but I was doing what I thought was right. You haven't been acting yourself about this and given how angry it's getting you, you can understand why I might be inclined to proceed with caution around you."
They kept going, finally giving voice to all the frustrations that had been building not just since the appearance of Ada Wong, but since they first stumbled upon that mansion in the mountains. Having it out could be considered healthy for Chris and Jill, but Claire and Barry were finding it uncomfortable. Claire had retreated fully into the kitchen. Barry was sidling slowly in that direction. Barry Burton was a big man with lethal combat training who had employed said training on more than one occasion, but he knew better than to get between a couple in a fight as heated the one raging now.
When he finally made it to the kitchen table, he sat down with a sigh. "When did it get this bad?"
"I wish I knew. Then maybe I could fix it. Fix him." Claire glanced at her brother. He was saying something about trust.
"I know your brother. I know his intentions are good here. But you know the saying about the road to hell."
"We've been driving that route for months now. And I haven't seen any off- ramps."
"You want to know what the worst thing is? I'm hoping like hell that this thing pays off. That we really can end this in one shot. As much as I've been arguing with Chris about it, I want to believe like he does that is for real. Or that we can make it for real."
"Barry Burton, an optimist? Surely not." The truth was she had made the same wish herself. But something Jill had just said stuck out in her mind - that she hadn't said anything to Chris because she didn't want him to worry unless there was something to worry about. Did that mean the RLF had found something out?
Claire jumped out of her chair and over Barry's warnings, approached Jill. "What did the RLF come up with? They found something out, didn't they? Come on, tell me, Jill."
Chris nodded his head in encouragement, the fight forgotten more quickly than it started.
"Right. The photo we took at the mall." Jill started hesitantly. She never liked delivering bad news. "They matched the photo up with a woman who was arrested at an environmental protest. The protest was organized by the head of the Gaea Group. It was held shortly after they ran the article about Umbrella. The timing is too close to be a coincidence. And I can't think of a good reason why Ada or her employers would care about the protest itself."
"So she's been tracking us for two months now." Claire concluded.
"Tracking us for two months," Chris said, "but she didn't find Leon until recently. Either it took her awhile to pinpoint where we were or she's been biding her time."
"I thought you told me she found you all at the memorial service for Raccoon City. Maybe her lead on the Gaea Group didn't go anywhere and it really took her that long," Barry offered.
"Of course, that doesn't answer the question why she was searching for us."
"Or, Jill," Chris added, "Who told her to start searching."
"Okay, so all we know now is that she has been looking for us," Claire summarized. "She knows we're affiliated with the Gaea Group and she used that to try and get to us. But that failed or else the men in suits would have been after us already. Then again, maybe it didn't and she's plotting something with her company."
"Or maybe she's known where we were all along and never turned us in because that's the kind of person she is." Everyone turned to Leon, who was standing at the threshold of the front door. They had been so engrossed in their discussion, they hadn't heard him return. He was making his presence known now. "What is it going to take for you people to trust her? She's been here for how long now without anyone from the Company showing up? If she was really selling us out, what the hell could she possibly be waiting for? She knows we're all here. She knows what we intend to do."
"How much did you hear, Leon?" Jill asked. "Did you hear that she's been tracking us for the last two months?"
"What difference does that make? She wanted to find us so she could help us."
"You mean help herself," Chris said. "And are you trying to tell me this woman had this whole thing with Wesker set up for that long and has been desperately trying to find us just so she could hand him over? You'd think people dealing in covert operations like this company would keep a tighter lid on their employees itineraries."
Claire, sensing the start of yet another fight, felt like she wanted to scream. So she did. All talk stopped and Claire became the center of attention. She took a few seconds to collect her thoughts. "Okay, now that you are all listening, I think we need to settle this once and all. We should meet with Ada again. We confront her about the protest. We listen to her answer. We make her give us a name beyond "some company in England" for her employers. If she doesn't talk, we walk. If she does talk, we call the RLF and see what they can come up with in an hour or two. They'll appreciate the challenge. After we have all the information, we meet without Ada and discuss in a calm, rational manner and make a final decision. Because I am sick to death of hearing the same arguments over and over. We commit one way or the other and that's it. We're committed. If it's a go, we review the plan with Ada and hammer out the details. Does that sound like something we can all live with?"
"And I'm supposed to be the bossy one," Chris said sarcastically. Catching a glare from Claire, he answered more seriously, "Yeah, that sounds fair to me. Everybody else?"
The rest of the group nodded. At the very least, they were taking a step forward.
They left the room one by one. Jill headed up the stairs alone as Chris went towards the basement. Leon went up to his room soon after. Neither of the three said anything.
Barry gave a yawn and announced to Claire he'd be retiring too. He hadn't been able to sleep much on the train. Before he left, he said to Claire, "Nice work, little sister. With you calling the shots instead of Chris, I feel better about this already."
At first she thought he was kidding. But after everything that had been said tonight, she realized just how serious he was.
***
"All right, the gang's all here. Let the interrogation begin." They were back at the mall again, having been unable to come up with a better meeting place. As Ada had said, all were in attendance.
"Ada," Leon admonished, "I don't think this is the time to be derisive."
Chris agreed. "No, it's not. We ask you straight questions, you give us straight answers."
"Fine. Ask away."
Jill started the questioning this time. "Why were you at an environmental protest in New York two months ago?"
Ada didn't act surprised by the question. "That was my first mission after being released from the infirmary. The Company wanted to give me something easy to start with. The man that organized the protest had posted an article on the Gaea Group website about Umbrella earlier. The Company wanted me to check him out and see what information the man, or should I say the man's sources, had. It was easy enough to guess who he was quoting. There are only so many people who have gone against Umbrella and lived to have a nice article about it published. You all should really be more careful."
"So the Company knew it was us. Why didn't they come after us then?"
"The Company knew it was you, Jill, but they didn't know where you were. You were apparently smart enough not to give out your home address. I determined Myers didn't know anything and his little enviro-groupies knew even less, so I moved on to the next mission. Sorry, but you five aren't high priority enough for the Company to waste resources digging deeper."
"Wait a second," Claire interrupted. "Your company approached both Leon and me and now you're saying they don't think we're important?"
"No, they approached you because they knew exactly where you were. And that was before the fiasco at the island and Antarctica. After that, the Company figured you all were doing them a favor by screwing over Umbrella. You do have a penchant for blowing up their expensive facilities."
"What about Wesker? He was there too. He went after both Claire and me then. If the Company didn't care, why would he?"
"In case you haven't noticed, Mr. Redfield, Albert Wesker is an asshole who holds personal, petty grudges. You and your sister are on his list. That's why he attacked you. His real business was always with the Ashfords. You were only a fringe benefit."
"So why did they send you to the memorial service if they didn't care about finding us?" Claire asked.
"As I told Leon, they didn't send me. I was in the area to check out that underground storehouse. I went to the service on my own. It was serendipity that I saw the three of you there. I wanted out before then, but didn't know how to do it. Between seeing you and the upcoming rendezvous with Wesker, everything fell into place."
"Yeah, we've noticed how convenient everything is," Barry grumbled.
"Sometimes, Mr. Burton, good things come to those who wait." Ada folded her hands on the table. Clearly, she thought she was in control of the situation.
Chris was of another opinion. "The name of your employers. Full name. I don't want to hear some code name or fake dummy company name."
"I thought I told you."
Leon placed his hand over Ada's. "I'm sorry about this, but we need to know. We're in enough danger as it is, we can take on a little more. You don't have to worry about that. We need to hear this. Give us one more show of good faith."
"Leon." Ada looked around. Jill's face betrayed no emotion. Impatience showed on Chris and Barry's. Ada thought she saw disappointment in Claire - disappointment that had nothing to do with the Company's name. And Leon.the sincerity of his concern in and of itself was almost enough to get her to reveal the information. Everyone taken together convinced her to go ahead. "All right. You want it, that's fine. But I can't warn you enough to not mess with these people. I take no responsibility for what may happen to you or your associates."
"Cut the drama queen bullshit, lady," Barry said. "And just give us the damn name."
"I'll give you two. I apologize, Mr. Redfield, but dummy names and code names are all the Company has. Branford & Locke is the official public name. The majority of it really is a legitimate chemical manufacturer, much like Umbrella. The sub-department that handles the less than legal dealings is the oh-so-imaginatively titled Department 12. Or, as it's referred to by all its employees - the Company. That's all I can tell, because that's all I know. I don't know the level of involvement the owners of Branford & Locke have with the Company or even if they know about it. I report to Wesker and another man in the department whose name I've never been given. As for the other employees, I only have contact with them when a mission demands it. I can't give you any names there either. I only know Wesker's from his Umbrella file."
Jill couldn't believe it. "How do you function without knowing anything about the people you're working with? How can you rely on each other?"
"The first thing you learn at the Company is that you can rely only on yourself," Ada explained. "But we do know some things about each other - amount of combat training, special skills, level of clearance, that sort of thing. Absolutely nothing personal beyond the impressions we form of them. To drive the point home, we're identified by numbers. I'm number 2328."
Barry shook his head and mumbled a curse under his breath. If Chris felt any sympathy for Ada the coldness of her employers, he didn't let on to it. "Jill, call the RLF. Have them verify as much as they in the next two hours." He got up from his chair to leave. Addressing Ada, he said, "Leon will call you when we're ready to give you our decision."
He left and the others quickly followed after him. Except Leon. He lingered behind to say goodbye to Ada and to ask how she thought things had gone.
"I think things went exactly as I thought they would," she answered.
***
Have you confirmed the target's location?
Affirmative.
Can we obtain target without incident?
Negative. Target and associates are capable of posting resistance. We cannot risk target being injured.
Understood. Recommendations?
Proceed as planned.
***
Author's Notes - Heh, to think I planned on posting this once a week once. Ah, ambition. Anyway, I'm very sorry it took me so long to post this. I had no idea several months had passed since the last update. I just lost track of time, I guess. Bad Aerika, bad. I WILL finish this story. I can't say when, but it will happen. Many thanks to those who have urged me to get off my butt and start it again.
Next up: The plan's finalized (for real), the gang heads to Florida and Jill reaches out to the Spanish community.
