Chapter 1
The Mission
Standing in the fluorescent-lit elevator, with their hair cut high and tight and wearing Umbrella Corporation black combat uniforms, the two men stood with expressions of boredom on their faces. They'd done this hundreds of times over the past few years, ever since graduating from high school together and being enlisted by the Umbrella Corporation. Both men had been friends for a number of years, and it was known that if one said no, so would the other. But Umbrella wanted these two. Darryl Flowers and John Collidge. It was a decision they had never regretted. The two men excelled at urban warfare and had the dirty side one needed to do their sort of work.
But, beneath their veil of boredom, the two men were both very nervous. For, while the elevator ride was boring, mundane and routine, the mission they were heading to be briefed on right now was anything but. They knew this much, because two teams had been sent into that god forsaken city and bought their collective farms there.
While details of the mission, of course, were classified, information leaked like a sieve. Especially since the word had got around that the corporation was in it up to their nostrils with the government. Something about an experiment going wrong. The assumption that Racoon City was the place in question was assumption of course, since information like that didn't ever spread. But what else could it be? Ever since the Government quarantined that sleepy little town, the rumour mill has been going into absolute overdrive. And why else would they only give orders to Darryl and John.
The elevator stopped and let out its ever-annoying beep, indicating that the doors were about to open. The elevator doors slid apart and revealed the familiar long, narrow hallway lit with the familiar pale white light. Normally, this hallway would be so empty you could see the end of it. But not now. Right now the hallway was a scene of chaos, as lab technicians and government officials ran around, each in their own little world. The two men took one step out of the elevator and just stood, watching the pandemonium. Darryl draws in a deep breath through his nostril, pauses, and then releases it.
John turns to him. "Shall we?" He asked. Darryl turned to look at him for a second, then turns back. "Lets go," replies Darryl, as the two step off, dodging the frantic workers. Despite all the commotion, they didn't have to raise their voices to be heard. "They'd better have a damn good excuse for calling us back. We were on holiday!" exclaimed John. Although he complained, Darryl knew he too was glad to be back. Holidays never really did suit them.
Their holidays were full of bar fights and gangs attempting to rob them. One advantage of being one of the highest paid Umbrella employees and a soldier of fortune on the side is that you always had a lot of money. And there were always lots of people that wanted to take that money off of you. But both had broken the mould when it came to unarmed combat.
Darryl gave a slight 'humph' indicating an agreement in their language. He also had an answer for his comrade. "Scuttlebutt is they have a big job that the government is forcing them to do. And it needs to be done by the best." John gave a little laugh and replied, "Explains why we're here. So what do you think the big job that they're being forced to do is? Racoon City?" Darryl, not wishing to give off any emotion this time, as he had every other time that damn city was mentioned, coolly replied with a simple, "Maybe." But he sure hoped so.
They turned the corner leading to the briefing room. A thick steel door guarded the room. Off to one side was a small screen with the silhouette of a hand on it. This room, although possibly the most important room on the Operations level, was very lightly guarded. It was thought that there were enough security systems before this door to worry about it. For example, the forum security, on the street level. After that the unknown number of card readers, and also the special card needed to get onto this level in the first place.
Darryl put his hand on the palm printer analyser, which, after scanning his hand, gave a short but sweet *beep* and flashing his details up on the screen, told him that he was authorised. John repeated the process, in a ritual they had performed so many times. The door slid open and the two men stepped through.
Inside there was the familiar, almost comforting, briefing table. But seated around it where some new faces. Of those he could recognise, there was an Army and an Air Force General, probably advisers to the man who sat next to them, the President. Next to him was a man he didn't like a great deal, the Director of Operations - USA Division. Lewis Cramer was a ruthless person. His level of concern for the men under his command was met only by the level of concern he gave to the bottom of the toilet bowl. But this ruthlessness was not perpetuated in the man standing up the front. A man he felt was like a father to him. George Carter. George had been the man that recruited him into Umbrella and was also his basic training instructor.
George Carter was now a burly man with greying hair, moustache, a beer gut and a sailor's handshake, but this did nothing to diminish the fatherly quality he exuded to everyone, not just Darryl. How one man could have so much love for people he hardly knew was always above Darryl, thinking back to his basic training. Caring for them, nurturing them, loving and supporting them, but never babying them. When Darryl graduated, he made sure he kept in contact with old George.
As he walked through the room he walked right up to his old teacher with arms open and the widest smile. George returned the expression and put his hand out. He met his hand and they exchanged handshakes that could have turned coal to diamond. "Oh, it's so good to see you again George. How have you been? How are the kids?" Darryl asked. George replied to each question in turn, "I've been great. The kids are great too. They're in high school now. How about you? How have you been?"
Before Darryl got a chance to reply Lewis made an obvious cough, saying more then he needed to. George indicated the chair in the top corner of the table. "Please, take a seat why don't you?" Darryl sat down and John pulled up the seat next to him. On the table was a manila envelope with the words 'Umbrella Inc. Top Secret' plastered all over it in red. No one else had opened their files yet, so neither didn't they.
George clapped his hands together and started to talk. "Ok, now that you're all here, let's begin, shall we? Ah, I've already introduced the rest of you, but ah, everyone, this is Darryl Flowers and John Collidge. You'll find their profile, like everyone else's, in the 'Personnel' section of your file. Which I ask you do not open just yet. " "Ah, this is President George W. Bush, and these are Generals Marvin and Donohue. On your side is Ian Riggs, Carlos Rodriguez, Nick Burnside and Ryan Lee on the end."
George continued. "Ok, you can now open your files. Let me run you through them. The first one you see is a general overview. You can read these in your own time. Next are research notes."
Darryl looked at his research notes quickly as George went through them and noticed simply paper after paper with either one of two titles. 'T' or 'G'. Confused, Darryl thought he'd definitely be going through that with interest.
George finished going through the files, categories like 'Locations' and 'Personnel'. He then passed the meeting over to Lewis Cramer. Darryl, even though he held a deep disgust for this individual, did not let his attention waiver for even a second, knowing that this mission was important.
Lewis walked up to a podium that stood next to a projector screen. "Lights!" He called out, indicating that it was time to begin his presentation. For such a despicable human being, he sure was good at giving a mission brief. The projector at the back of the room hummed to live.
The first slide clicked into place. It pictured a quiet mid-western town, surrounded by a large mountain ridge and pristine forests. The voice in the darkness started. "This is Racoon City. Located at the base of the Arklay Mountains. This photo was taken in 1997." The slide clicked over again. This time it showed the same mountains and pristine forests, but the city was in ruins. "This photo was taken one week ago." There was a number of gasps from people how didn't know what was going on. Not among them the President of Umbrella - US Division, sitting up the back cloaked in shadows. One of the generals was first to speak. "What the hell happened?!?" Making no attempt to hide the surprise and horror in his voice. The slide clicked again, showing a picture of some dead, decaying corpses lying on the ground. Only something was wrong. It took Darryl a second to realise what it was. They weren't lying. They were STANDING!!!
Trying to speak through the utter confusion racing through his mind, all the could muster was a gasped, "What the hell? Tho..those people are standing!" Lewis was impressed. "Very astute of you Mr Flowers. Yes, these people you see are standing. They have been infected by one of the two viruses mentioned in your file. And they have over run Racoon City. Information about the dates has so far not been very forthcoming, though reports had been coming in to the police department as early as Mid-September, but we can confirm that as off September 25 the city had been completely over run. We have a UBCS team in there now, but reports are that they are being overpowered."
Lewis went on to explain the history of both the viruses, their creator, the Umbrella Lab there, the accident at the mansion, the accident in the city as well as the previous teams. He spilled his guts because, Darryl suspected, the President was getting the brief as much as the rest of us were.
Cramer, after spending the better part of an hour stating what has happened, finally got to the part that interested Darryl, what will happen. As Lewis began describing the measures they will be taking, Darryl, always impatient for the point and then the details later, stopped Lewis Cramer mid sentence with, "Lew, cut the crap already! Just tell us what our job is." Darryl tapped his pen on his notebook awaiting an answer and something he can write down.
Cramer, feeling almost defeated by Darryl's comment, replied steadily, "Your job, by order of the US Government, is to go in to Racoon City and attempt, to all reasonable standards, to clear the area and reclaim it." Darryl was satisfied with that answer, and in the darkness, jotted down the only words he needed to know. 'Search and Destroy'.
Standing in the fluorescent-lit elevator, with their hair cut high and tight and wearing Umbrella Corporation black combat uniforms, the two men stood with expressions of boredom on their faces. They'd done this hundreds of times over the past few years, ever since graduating from high school together and being enlisted by the Umbrella Corporation. Both men had been friends for a number of years, and it was known that if one said no, so would the other. But Umbrella wanted these two. Darryl Flowers and John Collidge. It was a decision they had never regretted. The two men excelled at urban warfare and had the dirty side one needed to do their sort of work.
But, beneath their veil of boredom, the two men were both very nervous. For, while the elevator ride was boring, mundane and routine, the mission they were heading to be briefed on right now was anything but. They knew this much, because two teams had been sent into that god forsaken city and bought their collective farms there.
While details of the mission, of course, were classified, information leaked like a sieve. Especially since the word had got around that the corporation was in it up to their nostrils with the government. Something about an experiment going wrong. The assumption that Racoon City was the place in question was assumption of course, since information like that didn't ever spread. But what else could it be? Ever since the Government quarantined that sleepy little town, the rumour mill has been going into absolute overdrive. And why else would they only give orders to Darryl and John.
The elevator stopped and let out its ever-annoying beep, indicating that the doors were about to open. The elevator doors slid apart and revealed the familiar long, narrow hallway lit with the familiar pale white light. Normally, this hallway would be so empty you could see the end of it. But not now. Right now the hallway was a scene of chaos, as lab technicians and government officials ran around, each in their own little world. The two men took one step out of the elevator and just stood, watching the pandemonium. Darryl draws in a deep breath through his nostril, pauses, and then releases it.
John turns to him. "Shall we?" He asked. Darryl turned to look at him for a second, then turns back. "Lets go," replies Darryl, as the two step off, dodging the frantic workers. Despite all the commotion, they didn't have to raise their voices to be heard. "They'd better have a damn good excuse for calling us back. We were on holiday!" exclaimed John. Although he complained, Darryl knew he too was glad to be back. Holidays never really did suit them.
Their holidays were full of bar fights and gangs attempting to rob them. One advantage of being one of the highest paid Umbrella employees and a soldier of fortune on the side is that you always had a lot of money. And there were always lots of people that wanted to take that money off of you. But both had broken the mould when it came to unarmed combat.
Darryl gave a slight 'humph' indicating an agreement in their language. He also had an answer for his comrade. "Scuttlebutt is they have a big job that the government is forcing them to do. And it needs to be done by the best." John gave a little laugh and replied, "Explains why we're here. So what do you think the big job that they're being forced to do is? Racoon City?" Darryl, not wishing to give off any emotion this time, as he had every other time that damn city was mentioned, coolly replied with a simple, "Maybe." But he sure hoped so.
They turned the corner leading to the briefing room. A thick steel door guarded the room. Off to one side was a small screen with the silhouette of a hand on it. This room, although possibly the most important room on the Operations level, was very lightly guarded. It was thought that there were enough security systems before this door to worry about it. For example, the forum security, on the street level. After that the unknown number of card readers, and also the special card needed to get onto this level in the first place.
Darryl put his hand on the palm printer analyser, which, after scanning his hand, gave a short but sweet *beep* and flashing his details up on the screen, told him that he was authorised. John repeated the process, in a ritual they had performed so many times. The door slid open and the two men stepped through.
Inside there was the familiar, almost comforting, briefing table. But seated around it where some new faces. Of those he could recognise, there was an Army and an Air Force General, probably advisers to the man who sat next to them, the President. Next to him was a man he didn't like a great deal, the Director of Operations - USA Division. Lewis Cramer was a ruthless person. His level of concern for the men under his command was met only by the level of concern he gave to the bottom of the toilet bowl. But this ruthlessness was not perpetuated in the man standing up the front. A man he felt was like a father to him. George Carter. George had been the man that recruited him into Umbrella and was also his basic training instructor.
George Carter was now a burly man with greying hair, moustache, a beer gut and a sailor's handshake, but this did nothing to diminish the fatherly quality he exuded to everyone, not just Darryl. How one man could have so much love for people he hardly knew was always above Darryl, thinking back to his basic training. Caring for them, nurturing them, loving and supporting them, but never babying them. When Darryl graduated, he made sure he kept in contact with old George.
As he walked through the room he walked right up to his old teacher with arms open and the widest smile. George returned the expression and put his hand out. He met his hand and they exchanged handshakes that could have turned coal to diamond. "Oh, it's so good to see you again George. How have you been? How are the kids?" Darryl asked. George replied to each question in turn, "I've been great. The kids are great too. They're in high school now. How about you? How have you been?"
Before Darryl got a chance to reply Lewis made an obvious cough, saying more then he needed to. George indicated the chair in the top corner of the table. "Please, take a seat why don't you?" Darryl sat down and John pulled up the seat next to him. On the table was a manila envelope with the words 'Umbrella Inc. Top Secret' plastered all over it in red. No one else had opened their files yet, so neither didn't they.
George clapped his hands together and started to talk. "Ok, now that you're all here, let's begin, shall we? Ah, I've already introduced the rest of you, but ah, everyone, this is Darryl Flowers and John Collidge. You'll find their profile, like everyone else's, in the 'Personnel' section of your file. Which I ask you do not open just yet. " "Ah, this is President George W. Bush, and these are Generals Marvin and Donohue. On your side is Ian Riggs, Carlos Rodriguez, Nick Burnside and Ryan Lee on the end."
George continued. "Ok, you can now open your files. Let me run you through them. The first one you see is a general overview. You can read these in your own time. Next are research notes."
Darryl looked at his research notes quickly as George went through them and noticed simply paper after paper with either one of two titles. 'T' or 'G'. Confused, Darryl thought he'd definitely be going through that with interest.
George finished going through the files, categories like 'Locations' and 'Personnel'. He then passed the meeting over to Lewis Cramer. Darryl, even though he held a deep disgust for this individual, did not let his attention waiver for even a second, knowing that this mission was important.
Lewis walked up to a podium that stood next to a projector screen. "Lights!" He called out, indicating that it was time to begin his presentation. For such a despicable human being, he sure was good at giving a mission brief. The projector at the back of the room hummed to live.
The first slide clicked into place. It pictured a quiet mid-western town, surrounded by a large mountain ridge and pristine forests. The voice in the darkness started. "This is Racoon City. Located at the base of the Arklay Mountains. This photo was taken in 1997." The slide clicked over again. This time it showed the same mountains and pristine forests, but the city was in ruins. "This photo was taken one week ago." There was a number of gasps from people how didn't know what was going on. Not among them the President of Umbrella - US Division, sitting up the back cloaked in shadows. One of the generals was first to speak. "What the hell happened?!?" Making no attempt to hide the surprise and horror in his voice. The slide clicked again, showing a picture of some dead, decaying corpses lying on the ground. Only something was wrong. It took Darryl a second to realise what it was. They weren't lying. They were STANDING!!!
Trying to speak through the utter confusion racing through his mind, all the could muster was a gasped, "What the hell? Tho..those people are standing!" Lewis was impressed. "Very astute of you Mr Flowers. Yes, these people you see are standing. They have been infected by one of the two viruses mentioned in your file. And they have over run Racoon City. Information about the dates has so far not been very forthcoming, though reports had been coming in to the police department as early as Mid-September, but we can confirm that as off September 25 the city had been completely over run. We have a UBCS team in there now, but reports are that they are being overpowered."
Lewis went on to explain the history of both the viruses, their creator, the Umbrella Lab there, the accident at the mansion, the accident in the city as well as the previous teams. He spilled his guts because, Darryl suspected, the President was getting the brief as much as the rest of us were.
Cramer, after spending the better part of an hour stating what has happened, finally got to the part that interested Darryl, what will happen. As Lewis began describing the measures they will be taking, Darryl, always impatient for the point and then the details later, stopped Lewis Cramer mid sentence with, "Lew, cut the crap already! Just tell us what our job is." Darryl tapped his pen on his notebook awaiting an answer and something he can write down.
Cramer, feeling almost defeated by Darryl's comment, replied steadily, "Your job, by order of the US Government, is to go in to Racoon City and attempt, to all reasonable standards, to clear the area and reclaim it." Darryl was satisfied with that answer, and in the darkness, jotted down the only words he needed to know. 'Search and Destroy'.