Chapter 2: Arrival
The helicopter swung wide around the helipad, causing Joey to turn away from the whipping winds of the blade. Paper and dust sprayed off the helipad and swirled down into the ocean below. A couple of fliers stuck to the side of the bullet proof Patriot Ray had left him, it seemed like the best selection for picking up a group of investigators. Plus, he was too close to Cartel country to stop being cautious. They still weren't happy that he had not only killed Catalina and blown up their chopper, but he still hadn't been in this area for over a year and there was a chance they had forgotten about him. The chopper landed and six people worked to unload the boxes from the belly of the giant metal beast. Two men carried a large box down to the Patriot and slid it into the back of it, the shocks bouncing hard as they set it down. They hurried back as two others loaded duffel bags next to the box. Joey couldn't help but grin, whoever they were they came prepared. "Mr. Cain?" Joey turned to find himself facing a beautiful, shapely brunette wearing a dark blue beret. "Are you Mr. Cain?" "Yes, Trent told me the password. STARS." The woman smiled at him, extending one gloved hand. Joey recognized them as the type military and SWAT members used. "Jill Valentine." She said, pumping his arm once in a firm grip. "Could you help us with these?" Joey nodded, her voice almost drowned out by the high whine of the blades. There was one more box that the others hadn't gotten; from the weight of it he judged that they were guns. A dark- haired man came down from the helipad as the chopper lifted into the night Jill and he talked quickly. He heard the name Barry mentioned several times as they moved past him. Joey and the other man set the guns in the back of the Patriot and he closed the tailgate. "Okay, as long as there isn't anything else we can get out of here." He turned in time to catch a glimpse of a blue pick-up moving towards them. "GET IN NOW!" Joey shouted, running to the driver's side and jumping in. He started the Patriot and slammed it into reverse. "What is it?" Jill asked, putting her seat belt on next to him. Joey didn't have time to responds as the Cartel Cruiser skidded around the corner. Joey didn't wait; he pulled the Uzi from under his jacket and opened up on them. Still firing, he slammed on the gas and smiled as he thought of his choice of vehicles. "Is there something we should know?" Jill shouted as she pulled a 9mm Glock from her coat and fired at the second Cruiser. "Well, just that they want me dead and you guys because you're with me." Joey turned hard to the left, maneuvering the car around a private jet and past a jumbo. "They were headed by my ex-girlfriend who left me for dead and I kinda killed her and they're still pissed. But don't worry, this is a bullet proof Patriot." The Patriot smashed through the crossbars to the airport, the cruisers right behind them. Once on the main road, Joey headed up the hill and to the right. The bell warning for the bridge started, causing a new smile to play across his lips. "No problems." He said, pressing the accelerator to the floor. "Uh, Señor Cain. The bridge is going up!" Carlos Olivera cast a sidelong glance at Rebecca Chambers, unsure what else to say. "I know. Don't worry, I do this all the time." There was a long line of cars blocking the path, so Joey drove up on the railing sparks flying behind them as the cruisers followed. Joey gritted his teeth as they moved past the last cars and onto the bridge as it began to rise. The Patriot was now driving on only two wheels, but Joey corrected it quickly without slowing. The first cruiser managed to make it on too, but the second smashed into the bridge's bottom and stopped. "Okay, now what?" Leon Kennedy asked as he returned fire with the Columbians. He saw the answer to his question and braced for impact. "Man, I should have joined the army." He growled, holding Claire Redfield close to him as the Patriot went airborne. After a few seconds of weightlessness, the Patriot hit the ground and bounced. Joey fought for control of the heavy vehicle, winning as they slid to a stop mere inches from the edge of the loop, the Park below. The Cartel, however, were not luck. They had landed on their top and slid past them off the edge. Joey looked back at the explosion and turned to Jill with a smile on his lips. "Welcome to Liberty City." Jill rolled her eyes and continued to reload her clips.
"The man who killed Catalina was in the area earlier, we were tipped off by one of our Jamaican contacts who saw him heading into the airport. He managed to kill four of the eight men I sent, apparently he out drove them. What should we do boss?" Jose sat across from the boss, no one knew his name and he was referred to a Tyrant. The boss turned towards him, wearing his sunglasses as usual and smiling like a shark. "He picked up a group of six people, you said. Who returned fire on your men? Well, I want them found and I want them eliminated. If I have to do it myself, you know what will happen." Jose swallowed heavily, barely able to make out the bosses blond hair in the dim light. "Yes sir, I'll see to it personally." With that, Jose jumped to his feet and hurried out the door. Albert Wesker smiled after him as he looked down at the pictures taken by the airport's security cameras. "The Redfields and crew, just what I need when I'm so close to getting that new virus sample for Trent. I can't trust these morons, so I'll have to use a few friends from the Redfields' past." Flipping the switch under his desk, Wesker turned to watch the wall slide up to reveal two stasis tubes. The specimens' vitals were in the green, all he had to do was push a button and the tubes would drain and they would wake up. "What the hell." Wesker muttered and pushed the drain button.
"Mr. Cain, this is Chris Redfield and his sister Claire." The two shook his hand as they walked past him to enter the safe house. "Carlos Olivera and Rebecca Chambers." Carlos took his hand and said something to him in Spanish that no one under stood. "And Leon Kennedy." Leon shook his hand, "You're nuts, you know that?" "Yeah, but I'm gonna be a rich nut after this job." Leon laughed at that and joined the others in the elevator. "We've got the whole top floor, twenty rooms in all. You can get settled in while I move this stuff up." "Don't you need some help?" Jill asked with a concerned look on her face. Joey shook his head and motioned to the hand truck in the back of the garage. "Okay, see you upstairs." Jill said, hurrying to catch the elevator. Joey couldn't help but watch her rear as she ran he was a guy after all. Once the door shut, he set to work loading the boxes onto the hand truck. The heavier boxes he simply slid onto the hand truck, but it still took him four trips to get all the boxes upstairs. Leon stood by the window, a pair of binoculars in his hand as he scanned the Staunton Island Plaza's twentieth floor. "Not a whole lot going on over there, but it looks like its only a file room and such. Might be a good place to start our search." Claire was lying prone on the bed, marking spots on a map with red marker. Each mark represented a place owned by Umbrella. She wore one of Leon's old baggy police academy shirts and a pair of short denim cutoffs. "Or it could just be a file room. But look at this, according to the addresses Trent sent us, they have several warehouses in Portland and Shoreside Vale. And this newspaper clipping says that the PanLantic Construction is remodeling the sub-levels of what used to be the Love Media building." Leon sat down next to her reading the clipping in her hand. "Seems like a good chance they're building another Lab." Claire said sweetly, looking up at him with her big grayish colored eyes. "Yeah, but Umbrella usually hires outside companies to build their labs, that way there is no one around who knows those labs exist." Leon said lightly, his brow furrowed with concentration. "Look at what the reason is though, there isn't enough power to run all the labs so they are having them install several high-powered turbines and other electrical equipment. I'm willing to bet that if we start there and follow the wires, then we'll find the lab." Claire rolled on her back, her hair encircling around her head like an aura of light. It was Leon who had finally helped her decide to use the blond highlights she had bought. "Admit it, I'm just that damn good." "Well, we'll just see what the others have to say tomorrow during this meeting your brother has planned. In the meantime," Leon used his fingers like they were legs to walk up Claire's leg; "I'm going to take a shower. Care to join?" Claire laughed heartily at that one rolling off the bed and grabbing the remote. "Oh, I'm sure Chris would just love that." Claire puffed her chest out and acted like she was making muscles. "Leon," She said in a deep voice, "I need to talk to you.. What the hell are you doing in the shower with my baby sister!" The two shared a laugh, Claire swiping at him with a pillow. "No, he means well, but that would be pushing it too far. Remember how he freaked when we announced we'd be staying in the same room together last week. I don't want to go through another 'Over My Dead Body' fight and need to call on Jilly for help." Leon nodded and smiled, remembering the argument well. He though it was weird that Jill and Chris could share a room, but Claire and him was viewed like the plague was viewed in Europe. Jill had finally stepped in and taken Chris aside, it was good timing too because Leon was sure that Chris was going to tear his head off. Finally Chris had consented, but Leon felt that he still wasn't thrilled about the idea. But for now Leon would keep his libido in check if that was what Claire wanted. "I'm going to go check on Claire real quick!" Chris shouted, moving towards the door as Jill started the shower. He was sure he could make it through the door before- "-Don't even think about it, Chris. Just because you're her big brother doesn't mean you have the right to barge into her private life. What are you going to do if you go bursting into the room ready to beat Leon into a pulp and they're watching My Dog Skip?" Jill asked, moving to block the door. Chris snickered at that one, moving back to the bed. "Yeah, just like my sister to watch a movie that would make her cry. More like a Jackie Chan movie." The two sat next to each other on the bed. "You know, we've got a big day tomorrow. I'm going to take a shower and then go to sleep. So you better be here when I get back. or else." Chris watched as she walked into the bathroom. He decided against going to check on Claire, he'd probably end up bursting in on Carlos and Rebecca. He lay back, turning on the TV to the local news channel. They were having more attacks on citizens; Chris felt a wave of deja vu as he picked up the file that Trent had sent them before they had come to Liberty City. He hoped it wasn't another T-Virus outbreak.
The helicopter swung wide around the helipad, causing Joey to turn away from the whipping winds of the blade. Paper and dust sprayed off the helipad and swirled down into the ocean below. A couple of fliers stuck to the side of the bullet proof Patriot Ray had left him, it seemed like the best selection for picking up a group of investigators. Plus, he was too close to Cartel country to stop being cautious. They still weren't happy that he had not only killed Catalina and blown up their chopper, but he still hadn't been in this area for over a year and there was a chance they had forgotten about him. The chopper landed and six people worked to unload the boxes from the belly of the giant metal beast. Two men carried a large box down to the Patriot and slid it into the back of it, the shocks bouncing hard as they set it down. They hurried back as two others loaded duffel bags next to the box. Joey couldn't help but grin, whoever they were they came prepared. "Mr. Cain?" Joey turned to find himself facing a beautiful, shapely brunette wearing a dark blue beret. "Are you Mr. Cain?" "Yes, Trent told me the password. STARS." The woman smiled at him, extending one gloved hand. Joey recognized them as the type military and SWAT members used. "Jill Valentine." She said, pumping his arm once in a firm grip. "Could you help us with these?" Joey nodded, her voice almost drowned out by the high whine of the blades. There was one more box that the others hadn't gotten; from the weight of it he judged that they were guns. A dark- haired man came down from the helipad as the chopper lifted into the night Jill and he talked quickly. He heard the name Barry mentioned several times as they moved past him. Joey and the other man set the guns in the back of the Patriot and he closed the tailgate. "Okay, as long as there isn't anything else we can get out of here." He turned in time to catch a glimpse of a blue pick-up moving towards them. "GET IN NOW!" Joey shouted, running to the driver's side and jumping in. He started the Patriot and slammed it into reverse. "What is it?" Jill asked, putting her seat belt on next to him. Joey didn't have time to responds as the Cartel Cruiser skidded around the corner. Joey didn't wait; he pulled the Uzi from under his jacket and opened up on them. Still firing, he slammed on the gas and smiled as he thought of his choice of vehicles. "Is there something we should know?" Jill shouted as she pulled a 9mm Glock from her coat and fired at the second Cruiser. "Well, just that they want me dead and you guys because you're with me." Joey turned hard to the left, maneuvering the car around a private jet and past a jumbo. "They were headed by my ex-girlfriend who left me for dead and I kinda killed her and they're still pissed. But don't worry, this is a bullet proof Patriot." The Patriot smashed through the crossbars to the airport, the cruisers right behind them. Once on the main road, Joey headed up the hill and to the right. The bell warning for the bridge started, causing a new smile to play across his lips. "No problems." He said, pressing the accelerator to the floor. "Uh, Señor Cain. The bridge is going up!" Carlos Olivera cast a sidelong glance at Rebecca Chambers, unsure what else to say. "I know. Don't worry, I do this all the time." There was a long line of cars blocking the path, so Joey drove up on the railing sparks flying behind them as the cruisers followed. Joey gritted his teeth as they moved past the last cars and onto the bridge as it began to rise. The Patriot was now driving on only two wheels, but Joey corrected it quickly without slowing. The first cruiser managed to make it on too, but the second smashed into the bridge's bottom and stopped. "Okay, now what?" Leon Kennedy asked as he returned fire with the Columbians. He saw the answer to his question and braced for impact. "Man, I should have joined the army." He growled, holding Claire Redfield close to him as the Patriot went airborne. After a few seconds of weightlessness, the Patriot hit the ground and bounced. Joey fought for control of the heavy vehicle, winning as they slid to a stop mere inches from the edge of the loop, the Park below. The Cartel, however, were not luck. They had landed on their top and slid past them off the edge. Joey looked back at the explosion and turned to Jill with a smile on his lips. "Welcome to Liberty City." Jill rolled her eyes and continued to reload her clips.
"The man who killed Catalina was in the area earlier, we were tipped off by one of our Jamaican contacts who saw him heading into the airport. He managed to kill four of the eight men I sent, apparently he out drove them. What should we do boss?" Jose sat across from the boss, no one knew his name and he was referred to a Tyrant. The boss turned towards him, wearing his sunglasses as usual and smiling like a shark. "He picked up a group of six people, you said. Who returned fire on your men? Well, I want them found and I want them eliminated. If I have to do it myself, you know what will happen." Jose swallowed heavily, barely able to make out the bosses blond hair in the dim light. "Yes sir, I'll see to it personally." With that, Jose jumped to his feet and hurried out the door. Albert Wesker smiled after him as he looked down at the pictures taken by the airport's security cameras. "The Redfields and crew, just what I need when I'm so close to getting that new virus sample for Trent. I can't trust these morons, so I'll have to use a few friends from the Redfields' past." Flipping the switch under his desk, Wesker turned to watch the wall slide up to reveal two stasis tubes. The specimens' vitals were in the green, all he had to do was push a button and the tubes would drain and they would wake up. "What the hell." Wesker muttered and pushed the drain button.
"Mr. Cain, this is Chris Redfield and his sister Claire." The two shook his hand as they walked past him to enter the safe house. "Carlos Olivera and Rebecca Chambers." Carlos took his hand and said something to him in Spanish that no one under stood. "And Leon Kennedy." Leon shook his hand, "You're nuts, you know that?" "Yeah, but I'm gonna be a rich nut after this job." Leon laughed at that and joined the others in the elevator. "We've got the whole top floor, twenty rooms in all. You can get settled in while I move this stuff up." "Don't you need some help?" Jill asked with a concerned look on her face. Joey shook his head and motioned to the hand truck in the back of the garage. "Okay, see you upstairs." Jill said, hurrying to catch the elevator. Joey couldn't help but watch her rear as she ran he was a guy after all. Once the door shut, he set to work loading the boxes onto the hand truck. The heavier boxes he simply slid onto the hand truck, but it still took him four trips to get all the boxes upstairs. Leon stood by the window, a pair of binoculars in his hand as he scanned the Staunton Island Plaza's twentieth floor. "Not a whole lot going on over there, but it looks like its only a file room and such. Might be a good place to start our search." Claire was lying prone on the bed, marking spots on a map with red marker. Each mark represented a place owned by Umbrella. She wore one of Leon's old baggy police academy shirts and a pair of short denim cutoffs. "Or it could just be a file room. But look at this, according to the addresses Trent sent us, they have several warehouses in Portland and Shoreside Vale. And this newspaper clipping says that the PanLantic Construction is remodeling the sub-levels of what used to be the Love Media building." Leon sat down next to her reading the clipping in her hand. "Seems like a good chance they're building another Lab." Claire said sweetly, looking up at him with her big grayish colored eyes. "Yeah, but Umbrella usually hires outside companies to build their labs, that way there is no one around who knows those labs exist." Leon said lightly, his brow furrowed with concentration. "Look at what the reason is though, there isn't enough power to run all the labs so they are having them install several high-powered turbines and other electrical equipment. I'm willing to bet that if we start there and follow the wires, then we'll find the lab." Claire rolled on her back, her hair encircling around her head like an aura of light. It was Leon who had finally helped her decide to use the blond highlights she had bought. "Admit it, I'm just that damn good." "Well, we'll just see what the others have to say tomorrow during this meeting your brother has planned. In the meantime," Leon used his fingers like they were legs to walk up Claire's leg; "I'm going to take a shower. Care to join?" Claire laughed heartily at that one rolling off the bed and grabbing the remote. "Oh, I'm sure Chris would just love that." Claire puffed her chest out and acted like she was making muscles. "Leon," She said in a deep voice, "I need to talk to you.. What the hell are you doing in the shower with my baby sister!" The two shared a laugh, Claire swiping at him with a pillow. "No, he means well, but that would be pushing it too far. Remember how he freaked when we announced we'd be staying in the same room together last week. I don't want to go through another 'Over My Dead Body' fight and need to call on Jilly for help." Leon nodded and smiled, remembering the argument well. He though it was weird that Jill and Chris could share a room, but Claire and him was viewed like the plague was viewed in Europe. Jill had finally stepped in and taken Chris aside, it was good timing too because Leon was sure that Chris was going to tear his head off. Finally Chris had consented, but Leon felt that he still wasn't thrilled about the idea. But for now Leon would keep his libido in check if that was what Claire wanted. "I'm going to go check on Claire real quick!" Chris shouted, moving towards the door as Jill started the shower. He was sure he could make it through the door before- "-Don't even think about it, Chris. Just because you're her big brother doesn't mean you have the right to barge into her private life. What are you going to do if you go bursting into the room ready to beat Leon into a pulp and they're watching My Dog Skip?" Jill asked, moving to block the door. Chris snickered at that one, moving back to the bed. "Yeah, just like my sister to watch a movie that would make her cry. More like a Jackie Chan movie." The two sat next to each other on the bed. "You know, we've got a big day tomorrow. I'm going to take a shower and then go to sleep. So you better be here when I get back. or else." Chris watched as she walked into the bathroom. He decided against going to check on Claire, he'd probably end up bursting in on Carlos and Rebecca. He lay back, turning on the TV to the local news channel. They were having more attacks on citizens; Chris felt a wave of deja vu as he picked up the file that Trent had sent them before they had come to Liberty City. He hoped it wasn't another T-Virus outbreak.