To continue the fight
By: Bloodlover
Disclaimer: All the RE characters belong to Capcom. Except for the ones I made up for this story, please don´t use them without my permission. Hope you enjoy the story!
Chapter 9 – The first attack wave
February 11 1999, HCF HQ (Late night)
The new leader for the researcher team walked down the corridor to the lab. He had taken a short break to gather his thoughts. Since his very life was at stake on finding a way to make Burnside evolve, he better soon come up with something. Wesker would surely come back sooner or later.
Damn you Wesker! And damn YOU Burnside! It´s your fault that I´m in this mess. If you just could turn into the freak you´re supposed to be, I wouldn´t have a death sentence hanging over my head.
The fact that the young man still remained human was something that bothered the researcher. Steve Burnside had been turned into a monster and then back. It shouldn´t be a problem to turn him back into the freak he was before. So why was he still human?
Screw it! Sooner or later I´ll turn that stupid boy into the freak he was… Just a matter of time.
He swiped his card through the reader and walked in. Just a few were left despite Wesker´s threat. After all it is MY head that will roll should we fail. The thought was bitter and cynic but it was the truth. No one had their doubts about who would die if they didn´t successed. Worse than that, he would take Burnside´s place. They would throw the boy out, maybe in the trash dumpster… Fitting for HIM but they would put ME in the stasis tube! He shuddered again at the thought. He forced his voice to be steady as he addressed his collegues.
"Okay, who else is staying? Or do you want to face Wesker´s wrath?"
Before he could get an answer, red lights started to blink and an alarm shook them all. His researchers ran away like the cowards they were, but he stayed. Maybe, just maybe… This must mean he had succeeded! Wesker would REWARD him instead of killing him!
Carefully he went over to the tube. It oozed with cold. He opened it and looked down. Suddenly a hand came up and grabbed his throat in a deadly grip. The researcher looked terrified into the grim face of Steve Burnside. Who SHOULD have been asleep and SHOULD NOT be able to do this.
"Helpgauckk!" was all he could say before Steve tightened his grip. He moved his face so it was only inches away from the scared researcher.
"Shut up! Where… where am I?!" he rasped. He.. he looks like he has been raised from his grave! He´s going to kill me…
The researcher struggled to talk, to answer the question. If he didn´t he suspected that the young Burnside would kill him. He sure looks like he´s capable to do it.
"H…HCF head quarters!" he gasped.
"Where is.. this HCF?"
"Secret locatio..! Okay, okay I tell you! We are at one of the head labs of HCF. In Washington D.C…"
Steve rose from the tube, still holding onto the researcher. "Okay so that´s how it is."
The reseacher thought he might have seen hesitation in Steve´s eyes but it soon disappeared."In any case I´m getting out of here. And you´re going to help me." He began dragging the reseacher towards the door that led out of the lab.
Before they reached the door however, it opened revealing Wesker. At the sight of Steve and the researcher he grinned. "So. You´re finally awake! I must thank you…" he said to the researcher and stopped beside him. "…but I don´t have any more use for you now."
He tore the scared man away from Steve and swiftly snapped his neck. A cruel smile was on his lips as he looked down at his victim. "See it from the bright side. You didn´t have to take Steve´s place."
Steve took a few steps away from Wesker. He looked sickened and pale. "Why did you do that for?! And what do you want with me?! Who the hell are you?!"
Wesker just followed him, looking as arrogant as ever. "That fool had no more use to me. But you do however. I´m going to meet some… friends of mine. Including Claire Redfield."
When Steve heard Claire´s name he looked as Wesker had kicked him hard in the stomach. Then he turned grim again. "What are your plans for her?"
Wesker stopped before him. "You don´t need to know that."
Steve narrowed his eyes. "Tough luck! When it comes to Claire and her well being, I want to know. Tell me, what are your plans for her?"
The answer came swiftly and painfully. Wesker rammed into Steve, knocking him hard into the wall. He picked Steve up by the hair and glared into his scared eyes.
"There are a lot of lessons you need to learn Steve. The first one is that you will obey my orders. You come with me, don´t ask any questions. If you follow this you´ll meet Claire again. Most of all you can see her in one piece. Understood?!"
Steve tried to break Wesker´s grip but failed miserably. This guy can´t be human… I have to bide my time and wait for the right time. I.. I want to see Claire again. I have to play along.
"Okay. You win."
Wesker let go of him and Steve stumbled back. Now Wesker smiled down at him again but it wasn´t the same cruel smile as before. Now it looked amused. "Good. I knew you would come to your senses. Let me introduce myself, my name is Albert Wesker and I´m an old friend of Claire and her brother." The way he spoke of Claire made Steve shudder but he kept up his facade and nodded. "We´re going to meet her now. But first we´ll have to get you some clothes. After all you can´t go out like that. That wouldn´t be decent." Steve remembered now that he was naked. He suddenly felt very embarrassed.
Wesker laughed."Oh forget that Stevey my boy, I know where we can get some clothes for you. If you just come with me I´ll show you."
Wesker opened the lab door and Steve followed.
Umbrella HQ, location unknown
"Here it is!" exclaimed Ada with triumph as she and Leon stepped into the room. Leon felt also better now that they had found the security room. But he was also bothered with the lack off guards. Where is everybody? He turned to Ada.
"Ada, there isn´t so many guards around here. Do you think it might be a trap?"
"No it´s downtime now, most guards are patrolling other areas or take a break. After all this HQ is very well hidden. The threat of an attack isn´t very big. We should be…"
Someone coughed behind them. "May I help you?" Both of them turned around, terrified that they had blown it. A guard had came up behind them and they hadn´t even heard it!
"No… Just checking." replied Ada in a more calmer voice than Leon could have mastered.
"Then I guess I finally can take my break. Thank you guys!" said the guard happily and strolled out.
Leon waited until the footsteps were out of range, then walked over to the computers and began to check them. "Boy were we lucky! Better hurry up, good luck doesn´t last forever."
"Then let´s get to work!" Ada hurried over to one of the computers. After going through the files for what Leon felt forever she finally found what she searched for. "Bingo! I´ve hacked into the security Leon! Now just give me a minute…" She turned around to face him. "I think the room a couple of doors away is a file room. Why don´t you go through some of them? Might be evidence on Umbrella´s crimes or other interesting things... In any case you won´t be bored, better get some work done."
"Will you be okay?"
"Of course."
When he turned to the door Ada called out to him again. "Hey Leon!" He turned to face her. She wore a smile. "Thanks for caring. And take good care."
"You too." He replied before going. The door shut behind him.
Secret goverment base, somewhere in the U.S.A
Sherry went after the guard that was escorting her to the diner. He wasn´t very nice company, he scoffed at her all the time. When they finally arrived, he took a tray with food, pushed her down to a chair and placed himself so he could watch her. Sherry began to eat slowly. She hated it when people stared at her while she ate but didn´t dare to irritate the guard.
"Sir! I need to talk to you!" A young soldier, probably a rookie, came in. He looked very uneasy. Her guardian scoffed at him.
"Can´t it wait? I´m busy!"
"No! You… you have to come right now!"
The grunt seemed to consider the options. He then pushed himself from the chair and glared at Sherry. "You sit here and eat your food. Don´t go ANYWHERE! If I come back and find you´re gone… you´ll regret it." With that he followed his man out.
Sherry thought it would be a very bad idea to try and eavesdrop on them. She had no doubts that the unpleasant man would carry out his threats. On the other hand, she might hear some valuable information. Maybe the information she needed to get out of this horrible place?
Well Claire made her way out of Raccoon City, didn´t she? With the help of Leon of course and I´m sure that other lady is as tough as them. If they could do it why wouldn´t I be able to do it? Sherry looked around her. There wasn´t so many people here now, besides none of them seemed to care about her. No one would try to stop her. If someone tried she could always say she would just go to the bathroom. She rose from her seat and walked calmly to where her watchdog and the other soldier had gone to. It didn´t take her too long to find them. They were in an empty corridor and were currently engaged in a wild discussion.
"Sir, I´m telling you we should abondon this plan!"
The cruel man backhanded him hard. "Coward! You knew the drill from the start and you came along. Now you have to finish this! Think about what we´ll get…"
But the other soldier wasn´t calmed at all. He continued his panicked tirade, pacing back and forth. "Think about what we may LOSE! Whatever you say won´t change my mind, I won´t risk getting captured and tried for high treason for your sake. I quit!"
The brute took out his gun and pointed it at the scared soldier. "If you chicken out now, you won´t be among the living another second. We´re too close to succeed now. I will never let a cowardly shit like you ruin my future. Before you even say that the shot will be heard, let me tell you this. The gun is equipped with a silencer, if I shoot you now no one will ever know."
The soldier broke down and started to cry. "Okay, okay. You win, I´m sorry."
"Get your ass up. Tell me now, have you heard from Nicholai?"
"Yes, but he only says that we have to wait. On the other hand I have some good news too. I´ve taken care of Thompson."
"Good. Where did you dump the body?"
The soldier looked bewildered. "Body? What do you mean?"
The other man´s eyes narrowed menacely. "You were supposed to off him! Don´t tell me you let him live! Where is he now?"
"I knocked him out, gagged and tied him up and put him in a closet in my room on this base."
If Sherry thought she had heard her cruel watchdog sound angry before, what came was a total surprise for her. The worst of it all was that the hatred, disgust and anger was so focused, it truly terrified her. He grabbed his collegue and pushed him up the wall.
"If this clumsly mistake of yours have ruined my chances with Nicholai and Umbrella, you´ll wish you were dead. And that´s before I kill you." He shoved the other man hard into the wall and let go. Sherry almost felt bad for the soldier, almost. A man might die because of him and her own "guardian". She had to get to him before they got to him. The only problem was that she didn´t know which room this Thompson was in.
"Where is your room?"
"Block A, room 7."
Sherry silently cheered. She knew where that room was, she had been in that block before. There had to be a ventilation shaft somewhere. She carefully went over to the place where she had seen one and crawled into it.
Umbrella HQ, location unknown
Ada smiled to herself. Thanks to her tampering, the security were now down. When the attack came, Umbrella would never know what hit them. They´ll go down with their pants down. Very fitting. She went out of the program, closed it and rose from her seat with a happy sigh. Now she would just get Leon, they would contact the others, sabotage some more and get out. She opened the door and started down the corridor where she knew the file room were. Leon should be finished by now, hopefully.
When she came to the file room, something inside her told her that something had gone wrong. Please, just let Leon be safe… She made sure her weapon, a Browning, was ready and opened the door. The sight that met her made her gasp. All the files laid scattered on the floor. Leon was alive but he was bruised and held captive by an Umbrella soldier.
An Umbrella soldier she knew very well. It was Hunk.
"Well, well. If it isn´t Ada Wong herself!"
Ada pointed her weapon at Hunk. "Let him go you scum!"
"Tsk, tsk! We have so lot to talk about Ada. Lower your weapon."
Ada obeyed carefully and put her hands in the air. This wasn´t the first time she´d been clumsy. It had happened in Raccoon City. But the problem this time was that Hunk was no crazy scientist and Annette never had a hostage. This time Leon´s life was at stake, and he was also very dear to her…
Stop it now, Ada! You can only save him if you play it cool! "Haven´t you heard Hunk? My name isn´t Ada Wong anymore."
Hunk gave a bark. "New identity AGAIN? Never would I guessed. But you´re pretty good, ms. Superspy. Unlike this little runt…"
Leon´s eyes flared. "If you hurt her I´ll…" but he was interrupted by Hunk.
"Spare me that. Your macho babble is beginning to bore me."
Ada caught Hunk´s gaze and held it. "What do you want Hunk? Shall we get down to business?"
"Thought you´d never ask Ada. Just one second." With that he quickly brought two fingers to Leon´s neck and pushed. Leon´s eyes rolled up his head and he dropped to the floor without a sound. Before Ada could move, Hunk held up a hand. "Don´t worry, he´s just blacked out. He´ll come to in a few moments."
Suddenly, her radio began to beep. She looked at Hunk who motioned her to answer. "Yes?" she asked, trying to keep any strain from being heard. It was Dan Hawkins. Wanting to hear her report, no doubt. Hunk motioned at her to continue.
"Wong here. We´re done. Over."
"Good work! The mission will continue as planned. Now it´s our turn. Thank you, over and out!" The contact was broken and Ada heard only static.
She silently swore. She had tried to give subtle hints that all was not well but Hawkins had missed them all. The team would move out – right into a trap now that Umbrella would knew exactly when to expect them..
Hunk obviously didn´t share her feelings. "Good work indeed, miss Wong…" He took up his own radio.
"This is Hunk. The S.T.A.R.S are on their way. Deal with them." He turned it off and tossed it aside.
"Now that´s THAT has been taken care of, there is no need for you and your little boyfriend here… Time to say goodbye!"
He pointed his weapon at Leon´s head, Ada saw her chance. Hunk had turned his attention to Leon and forgot about her. Big mistake! NEVER turn your back to your enemy! She swiftly kicked his leg. He screamed, dropped his weapon and threw himself at her. She gasped, she never thought he would be THIS heavy. They landed on the floor in a heap. A sudden crunching noise made Ada gasp again, this time in despair. It was the radio, her only way of contacting the others. Even if she managed to take out Hunk there was no way she could warn them. Her worry made her stronger. She backhanded Hunk when she came on top and grasped around her to try and find her gun. Despite the grim situation, she managed to smile when she felt her hand around it. She swiftly brought it to Hunk´s face, pulled the trigger and he went limp. Ada panted heavily but there was no time for rest now. She went to check on Leon and took him in her arms. She gently shook him. "Leon? Wake up Leon!"
He opened his eyes, groaning as he began to rise. "Ada? Are you okay? What happened to that Umbrella guy?!"
She helped him up. "I took care of him, but we´ve got a bigger problem now. Hawkins contacted me and Hunk forced me to make the go ahead to the rest of the team. After that he contacted his men and told them about the plan, and he tried to shoot you, but I stopped him. I took him down for good but my radio broke…"
Leon groaned again, this time of frustation. "Damn! We have to find them. The qustion is how…"
Suddenly, Ada remembered. "Leon! We do have a chance! We have a map. All we have to do is get to the control room. If we find it we can trace them and maybe find a way to warn or help them."
"Great! Let´s go!"
TO BE CONTINUED!
So! Steve finally awoke! Hope you guys didn´t think I made him too out of character but then again he has been subjected to a lot of experiments, not to mention what the poor guy went through during Rockfort and Antarctica. So I would guess he isn´t quite the man he was before…And now he´s with Wesker… Poor guy!
Another one who is in big danger is Ark, can Sherry save him? And will the S.T.A.R.S succeed despite that Umbrella know of their plans? Not to mention the spy… The next chapter should answer these questions. Hope you enjoy the story. J