Forever
-chapter two
"Am I giving enough,
Is it all it should be?
When water gives breath,
Will you still swim with me?
So afraid to come close,
It may be to slow,
It may be to much,
For you to consume.
And I want to know If i can live inside your world,
And I want to know if i can give it to you,
You know that I want to say it,
You know that I need to say it,
You know that I'd love to say it,
My love just goes on and on and on."
- Voices of Theory, " Say It"
" GO! GO! GO! "
...Barry Burton screamed as he urged his Charlie squad out the doors of the APC (1). Nine men and women poured out the rear door of the heavily armored truck, each carrying machine guns, save for Barry himself, who carried his usual Colt Python. Despite the availability of some very heavy firepower for S.T.A.R.S., Barry refused all of them, saying that the Colt had gotten him through some tough times and it would do it again. Stubborn as ever, Rebecca had commented.
The ten strong squad proceeded down the street, weapons drawn and ready to fire, the first three squadmates carrying bulletproof shields. Barry made a hand signal, and one of his squad moved to the rear-entrance of the building he was assigned to take. The squad member held a door rammer, an instrument used to bust open doors that were either too stubborn to lockpick or had no lock at all. Three more covered the squad member with the door rammer, ready to bust inside once the door was removed. The entire squad wore only the standard S.T.A.R.S. training vests (the ones from RE1 -author) and fatigues, and not full combat gear as with other non-training situations.
Chris Redfield watched from a distance at the situation taking place in front of him. Each of Barry's people wore a small transimitter inside their vests that would beep and ring loudly if they were shot. Their weapons fired laser beams that would cause these transmitters to beep and disable that person's weapon from being fired by that same person. To anyone watching the excersize it all looked like a much more complicated and expensive game of laser tag.
From here Chris couldn't help but notice that Barry's squad was disorganised.
" Who's that at point? "
" Jose Venezuela. New recruit, male, 19 years old, 6' 9", 245. " Leon Kennedy answered, after checking his clipboard, " he's a good soldier, but a little weak physically. Nice shot though." Leon stood with Chris on a hill opposite Barry's squad, checking every detail of the less experienced squad's movements. He looked through his binoculars at Charlie squad and got Chris' attention.
" He's taking too long, Chris. That door should be history by now. "
" Give him one more try, then signal Carlos. "
" Roger. "
Jose failed again to bust the door open, and Leon unhooked the radio from his belt and turned it on. Carlos Oliviera stood on top of a building opposite Charlie's squad, looking through the high-power scope of his sniper rifle at the squad below. A perfect sniper's position.
" Leon to Carlos, come in. "
" Aye Leon, dis is Carlos. "
" Carlos, open fire, try to pick on Mikael, then take Wolf out while you're at it."
" Got it, Carlos out. "
After a moment's consideration Carlos opened fire with his sniper rifle at the squad below. Chris and Leon both wanted to see how Barry's people would react to this unexpected diversion. Carlos got his target in the crosshairs of his prop PSG - 1 (2) , and pressed the trigger.
" BEEP BEEP BEEP! "
Mikael Jefferson's transmitter went off, and he immediately dropped his weapon and fell to the ground belly down. He was "dead" for the rest of the training mission.
" SNIPER! Roof! Pattern Echo! Pattern Echo! " Barry screamed after recognizing this new threat. Immediately his entire squad went into whatever cover was available, while Jamal Kingsland, his own team's sniper, sighted Carlos and began to return fire with his own sniper rifle. Many of Jamal's shots missed by wide marks, but it his purpose wasn't to hit him necessarily; just to keep Carlos down until the door was busted open.
" JOSE! Get that damned door-"
" BEEP BEEP BEEP! "
Barry's transmitter went off, as Carlos "killed" him. Carlos smiled. It was a headshot. Anytime he saw a laser hit Barry's head he smiled. Carlos continued to fire las beam after laser beam into Barry's forehead, for no other reason than to annoy him.
" Goddammit. " Barry swore, as he knelt down, away from Carlos, and watched his team mill around in confusion after the loss of their leader. He was "dead."
Micheal Damas, Charlie's second in command, rapidly began issuing orders following Barry's demise.
" Jaime! Get that door down! Anderson! Fernandez! Pattern Alpha!"
Lisa Anderson and Andy Fernandez sprayed machine gun fire into Carlos' position. Carlos ducked down, as he saw a barrage of laser beams fire straight at him. It was too late. He swore.
" BEEP BEEP BEEP!"
" Got him! " Lisa shouted. Finally Jose had managed to get the door down, and the remaining eight members of Charlie stormed through into the abandoned building S.T.A.R.S. used for training excersizes.
" That's enough! " Chris shouted to Charlie's remaining members through the comm-link, as he ran down the hill, followed closely by Leon. " You guys took way too long to bust that door up. You'd all be dead by now in a real life situation. "
" Sorry, sir. " Jose apologized.
" Don't worry bout it. Alpha's turn. We'll do the same excersize, and Barry, you can call whatever obstacle you want on us. "
Barry dusted himself off and got up after holstering his Colt. Chris couldn't help but notice an evil smile on his old friend's face.
" Alrighty. Bryant, Jefferson, clean that door up. Kingsland, get on that roof, Venezuela, plan X...." He walked away and issued orders to the rest of his team as Alpha team began to put on their seperate transmitters and pick up their weapons. Chris wondered what plan X was.
*I love surprises.
" Let's show these rookies how it's done, folks. " Chris ordered to his squad, " Suit up and get ready to ride. Alright, this is how it's gonna go: Leon, on point, Claire and Jimmy back him up. Carlos, you and Becca in the middle, followed by Hunk, J.D., and Anna. I'll bring up the rear with Jill. Bust in and stay frosty. Let's move! " Chris finished. He watched as his team hopped into the heavily armored transport. He himself hopped in and closed the door behind him as the APC's driver began to circle around the building to drop them off.
He sat down opposite Jill, who wore her trademark blue beret and combat fatigues, complete with shoulderpads and the skintight blue top. She smiled at him as she adjusted her beret slightly and brushed stray bangs away.
Chris smiled back.
*I'll never get tired of seeing her in that outfit.
Then suddenly he had no time for thinking as the APC grinded to a halt behind the same building Barry's team tried to take in precisely the same position. Chris opened the door and hopped out.
"MOVE! MOVE! " he ordered, pointing at the building, as the rest of the team spilled out and organised into much the same pattern as Barry's people, with Leon, Claire, and Jimmy carrying bulletproof shields. Alpha moved in a trim, organised fashion, a contrast to the disorganization that Charlie displayed earlier.
" Carlos! Take that door down!"
" Got it!"
The team pressed up against the wall as Carlos readied the door rammer and banged it in precisely the right spot. The door swung open, it's lock neutralised. Leon stormed in on point, his weapon held directly in front of him, shield discarded and strapped on his back. Claire and Jimmy followed, along with the rest of the team into a narrow hallway, with a door at it's end and a flight of stairs to the right of their current position.
A door in front of them was half open, and the former R.P.D. member saw shadows moving on the floor in the room.
*Clumsy mistake, Charlie.
Leon made a signal, holding a fist up in the air. Instantly the entire team crouched down on one knee.
" Tangoes straight ahead, four, maybe five. Behind that door. Request permission to assault. " Leon asked Chris in a soft voice through the comm-link.
" Granted. Take em' down. "
" Leon put one finger in the air, signalling Claire and Jimmy. He pointed forward, and Claire and Jimmy rushed forward, weapons trained on the door.
" Carlos and Bec, back them up. Rest of you, with me. " Chris ordered. Carlos and Bec moved to support them, while the rest of the team followed Chris up the nearby flight of stairs. Chris couldn't help but notice how close Chico was pressed to Bec, but then he shoved the unimportant thought out of his head and pointed with a finger at the top of the stairs.
" Jill, on point. "
Jill moved forward to the head of the group, machine gun shouldered and ready. Chris couldn't help but look into her fierce blue eyes, tense with concentration. She winked at him and smiled. Chris smiled back.
He heard transmitters going off downstairs.
" Leon, report. "
" Jimmy's down, nailed all four of the tangoes, though. "
" Roger. Proce- "
" BEEP BEEP BEEP! "
Jill.
Her transmitter went off as six Charlie members disguised as terrorists appeared at the top of the stairwell and "shot" her down. Chris returned fire, and soon a shootout was taking place as laser beams shot back and forth across the hallway and the stairwell.
" Leon! Five, no, six, tangoes contacted on top of stairwell 7-B, facing heavy opposition, shots fired, one member down, possibly a casualty, over!"
" Roger, moving to support, Alpha B. "
" Negative, Alpha A. Remain stationary, prepare to recieve my team. "
" Roger, remaining stationary. Preparing to recieve retreating team. "
Jill watched from her position lying down the furious exchange of fake gunfire between her comrades.
*Comrades, hah! You're watching Chris, girl.
Her mind corrected her as her gaze drifted to Chris, who was shouting a report of his team's situation to Leon downstairs. She watched his toned, heavy arms grip the his machine gun and intense, piercing chestnut eyes scan the hallway for valid Charlie targets. His short, spiked hair...
*What I would give to run my hand through his hair...
He was no body builder, but he was well built nonetheless. She watched as Chris calmly shoulder-rolled to the middle of the hallway, landed on one knee, press the trigger of his weapon several times, and roll back to his previous position.
*You're obsessed, girl.
Jill shook her head and let her mind correct herself. Chris was no more than a friend, and he probably thought of her as nothing more than a friend. Besides, if he liked her...
*....he would have made a move by now...
Chris wondered that none of the laser beams seemed to be coming from his weapon, or the weapons of his squadmates. Only Hunk seemed to have a working weapon, and it seemed the Charlie terrorists were concentrating fire on him the most. Seeing that the odds were against him and with no working weapons, Chris made an order.
" Rest of you back down, join up with Leon. GO GO G-" The rest of the team ran down the stairs to join back up with Leon, but he couldn't finish his sentence.
" BEEP BEEP BEEP!"
" Goddammit! " Chris swore, as he dropped his weapon and sat down beside his best friend, up against the wall she was leaning against. He knew that the rest of the mission could take up to a half an hour more, especially with the way Leon made orders.
She was giggling. Jill had a soft, funny way of laughing that made Chris smile everytime he saw it.
" What's so funny? We're both dead!" Chris joked, as three Charlie "terrorists" ran down to pursue the rest of his squad, and the other three moved into a nearby hallway to hunt down Leon's team.
" We fell for the oldest trick in the book. "
" What would that be? "
" Going into a AO (3) without ammo! Look. " Jill held up her weapon. There were no batteries in the gun, so it couldn't shoot it's beams. Her giggling soon turned into full fledged laughter.
" Barry!, " she continued, " he knew we would beat his rookies silly so he took the batteries outta our weapons! " she laughed.
Chris couldn't help but laugh.
" God I hate that guy. " Chris said saracastically. He smiled at his partner.
Jill's expression suddenly turned to a happy, yet serious one, as she steeled herself for what she was about to say.
" You have a nice smile. " she said.
" Well thanks, " Chris answered, as he felt his cheeks warm up, " you do too. "
Jill blushed. She put a hand on her cheek as she smiled at him.
" So we're dead, huh? " Jill said, eager to say something and not let the silence overwhelm them.
" Yeah, but you know what? "
" What? " Jill said, as she moved closer to where Chris was sitting so that they were touching elbows. She wasn't sure where he was going but she made sure that he knew she was open to it.
" If we die on a mission, I'd be honored if I died beside you. "
Jill's cheeks turned bright red.
" Me too. Partner. " she held up her fist, and Chris hit it, then they both turned their wrists so their fists were horizontal, locking them up. It was their handshake, since they first became partners back in Raccoon City before the entire Umbrella mess began. That seemed like a lifetime away, Jill noted. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, much like they did when they escaped from the Spence Mansion on board the helicopter. She moved her hand up to hug his arm, when her palm brushed up against the scar he bore on his bicep, the one he had recieved from the original Tyrant from Spencer Mansion.
" Tyrant.." she muttered softly. She remembered how he got the wound, when he had pushed her out of the way of Tyrant's sweeping claw, only to be glanced by the knife like blades. It was a flesh would for him, deep and painful indeed, but it would have been fatal for her had he not tackled her and pushed her out of range. Chris would wear a scar for the rest of his life it meant that Jill could feel better.
" You saved my life that day. " Jill said softly, looking up at Chris with her blue eyes, eyes that were wearing a look that was deep and reflective. " You, you saved me from that prison....then you saved my life. " she finished. She closed her eyes, still leaning against Chris' shoulder, hand still resting on his bicep, over the scar.
Chris brought his arm over Jill so that he was hugging her back.
" Thanks. " she said softly, which Chris would not have heard if she were not as close to him as she was now.
" Don't worry. We're all alive now, that's all that matters..." He rested his head softly on the top of her beret, so they were both leaning on each other. Jill slowly moved her arms so that they went around his waist, while Chris hugged her back with the same arm Jill was leaning on. She closed her eyes, savoring every second that this time gave her.
*Chris....I wish I could stay like this forever....
She looked up with happy eyes at Chris, who looked back at her with much the same look. Jill steeled her nerves for what she was about to say. Whether he loved her or not, she had to know, knowing that if he said no it would kill her...
Meanwhile thoughts were going through Chris' head a mile a minute. She was hugging him now, but she had hugged him many times before. They were, after all, the best of friends and had known each other for as long as Jill had been a member of S.T.A.R.S.
*Come on, don't make it more than it is, old boy.
He tensed up slightly as she began to speak.
" Chris....I....We've.....we've been...toget-..partners for five..years...and...I....I was wondering...." she said, unable to voice her opinions. She was talking mainly to Chris' vest, and not his face, which she knew would be too hard for her to face. " Chris, I..."
" Beep!"
" Goddammit., " Chris muttered, as he picked up a message from a teammate through his comm-link. He looked at his small, hand-held radio, then at Jill, who smiled up at him.
" Answer it, Chris. "
" Okay, " he said, as he pressed the button, one arm still around Jill. Whoever was placing this call, would personally assign them to a week of toilet cleaning duty.
" Chris! " came the voice of Leon. " game over. "
" Report, Leon. "
" Three casualties: Jimmy, you and Jill. Ten Charlie casualties, we wiped them out. But we took the rest of the building, despite the fact that between the seven of us only three weapons worked, so we stole Charlie casualties' weapons! "
" Nice thinking, Leon . "
" Thanks. Say, why haven't you and Jill come down yet? Game's over, you know. "
" I know. We'll be down in a sec, we were...just checking something. Chris out. "
" Roger. Over and out. "
Chris could have sworn he heard Becca say 'he must be doing Jill up there!' but he wasn't sure if it was here or his imagination. He sighed as he turned off on the radio. Jill looked up at him, still in his arms.
" What's up? "
" Game's over. Let's go down. "
" Okay.." Jill said, though she was reluctant to leave. Everything was perfect, she was about to tell Chris how she felt, and now, it was over. She untangled herself from Chris as he stood up. He held his hand out to her, and she took it and stood up.
" Thanks, Chris, for...for everything. "
" So what was it you were going to tell me? " Chris said, still wearing his smile.
*His happy, quirky, crazysexycool smile.
" Oh, umm, that....It's nothing. I'll tell you later, it can wait... "
" Okay, you can tell me at the park! Let's go, shall we, Mizz Valentine? " He said in his best English accent. He sounded like a chicken with a shotgun shell down it's throat, but Jill didn't mind. He offered his arm, bent at the elbow, which Jill eagerly put her arm into.
" Ov course, Monsieur Redvield. " she smiled.
*The park! With everyone else??? You're in the deep shit now, girl.
They started down the stairs to meet up with the rest of the team.
Author's note:
* - indicates a character's thoughts.
(1) : Armored Personnel Carrier
(2): PSG-1: one of the more powerful and accurate sniper rifles in the world, not unlike the one Sniper Wolf uses in Metal Gear Solid.
(3): Area of Operations.
Well there it is, Chapter Two. PLEASE write a review because if you don't tell me what you like or dislike about the story I'll never know! Chapter Three should be posted around Wednesday, at the most. What will happen at the park? What will happen after the park? What is Carlos' mother's second cousin's best friend's name? These answers and more (ok, maybe not the last one) next chapter! Same Fan-Channel, same Fan-Time, same Fan-Author!
"If you're ever in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at the enemy, throw one of those little pumpkins. Maybe it'll make everyone think about how stupid war is, and, while their thinking, throw a real grenade at them."
-Lisa Anderson, who I put in the story as a cameo cuz she begged me after she gave me this quote.
-chapter two
"Am I giving enough,
Is it all it should be?
When water gives breath,
Will you still swim with me?
So afraid to come close,
It may be to slow,
It may be to much,
For you to consume.
And I want to know If i can live inside your world,
And I want to know if i can give it to you,
You know that I want to say it,
You know that I need to say it,
You know that I'd love to say it,
My love just goes on and on and on."
- Voices of Theory, " Say It"
" GO! GO! GO! "
...Barry Burton screamed as he urged his Charlie squad out the doors of the APC (1). Nine men and women poured out the rear door of the heavily armored truck, each carrying machine guns, save for Barry himself, who carried his usual Colt Python. Despite the availability of some very heavy firepower for S.T.A.R.S., Barry refused all of them, saying that the Colt had gotten him through some tough times and it would do it again. Stubborn as ever, Rebecca had commented.
The ten strong squad proceeded down the street, weapons drawn and ready to fire, the first three squadmates carrying bulletproof shields. Barry made a hand signal, and one of his squad moved to the rear-entrance of the building he was assigned to take. The squad member held a door rammer, an instrument used to bust open doors that were either too stubborn to lockpick or had no lock at all. Three more covered the squad member with the door rammer, ready to bust inside once the door was removed. The entire squad wore only the standard S.T.A.R.S. training vests (the ones from RE1 -author) and fatigues, and not full combat gear as with other non-training situations.
Chris Redfield watched from a distance at the situation taking place in front of him. Each of Barry's people wore a small transimitter inside their vests that would beep and ring loudly if they were shot. Their weapons fired laser beams that would cause these transmitters to beep and disable that person's weapon from being fired by that same person. To anyone watching the excersize it all looked like a much more complicated and expensive game of laser tag.
From here Chris couldn't help but notice that Barry's squad was disorganised.
" Who's that at point? "
" Jose Venezuela. New recruit, male, 19 years old, 6' 9", 245. " Leon Kennedy answered, after checking his clipboard, " he's a good soldier, but a little weak physically. Nice shot though." Leon stood with Chris on a hill opposite Barry's squad, checking every detail of the less experienced squad's movements. He looked through his binoculars at Charlie squad and got Chris' attention.
" He's taking too long, Chris. That door should be history by now. "
" Give him one more try, then signal Carlos. "
" Roger. "
Jose failed again to bust the door open, and Leon unhooked the radio from his belt and turned it on. Carlos Oliviera stood on top of a building opposite Charlie's squad, looking through the high-power scope of his sniper rifle at the squad below. A perfect sniper's position.
" Leon to Carlos, come in. "
" Aye Leon, dis is Carlos. "
" Carlos, open fire, try to pick on Mikael, then take Wolf out while you're at it."
" Got it, Carlos out. "
After a moment's consideration Carlos opened fire with his sniper rifle at the squad below. Chris and Leon both wanted to see how Barry's people would react to this unexpected diversion. Carlos got his target in the crosshairs of his prop PSG - 1 (2) , and pressed the trigger.
" BEEP BEEP BEEP! "
Mikael Jefferson's transmitter went off, and he immediately dropped his weapon and fell to the ground belly down. He was "dead" for the rest of the training mission.
" SNIPER! Roof! Pattern Echo! Pattern Echo! " Barry screamed after recognizing this new threat. Immediately his entire squad went into whatever cover was available, while Jamal Kingsland, his own team's sniper, sighted Carlos and began to return fire with his own sniper rifle. Many of Jamal's shots missed by wide marks, but it his purpose wasn't to hit him necessarily; just to keep Carlos down until the door was busted open.
" JOSE! Get that damned door-"
" BEEP BEEP BEEP! "
Barry's transmitter went off, as Carlos "killed" him. Carlos smiled. It was a headshot. Anytime he saw a laser hit Barry's head he smiled. Carlos continued to fire las beam after laser beam into Barry's forehead, for no other reason than to annoy him.
" Goddammit. " Barry swore, as he knelt down, away from Carlos, and watched his team mill around in confusion after the loss of their leader. He was "dead."
Micheal Damas, Charlie's second in command, rapidly began issuing orders following Barry's demise.
" Jaime! Get that door down! Anderson! Fernandez! Pattern Alpha!"
Lisa Anderson and Andy Fernandez sprayed machine gun fire into Carlos' position. Carlos ducked down, as he saw a barrage of laser beams fire straight at him. It was too late. He swore.
" BEEP BEEP BEEP!"
" Got him! " Lisa shouted. Finally Jose had managed to get the door down, and the remaining eight members of Charlie stormed through into the abandoned building S.T.A.R.S. used for training excersizes.
" That's enough! " Chris shouted to Charlie's remaining members through the comm-link, as he ran down the hill, followed closely by Leon. " You guys took way too long to bust that door up. You'd all be dead by now in a real life situation. "
" Sorry, sir. " Jose apologized.
" Don't worry bout it. Alpha's turn. We'll do the same excersize, and Barry, you can call whatever obstacle you want on us. "
Barry dusted himself off and got up after holstering his Colt. Chris couldn't help but notice an evil smile on his old friend's face.
" Alrighty. Bryant, Jefferson, clean that door up. Kingsland, get on that roof, Venezuela, plan X...." He walked away and issued orders to the rest of his team as Alpha team began to put on their seperate transmitters and pick up their weapons. Chris wondered what plan X was.
*I love surprises.
" Let's show these rookies how it's done, folks. " Chris ordered to his squad, " Suit up and get ready to ride. Alright, this is how it's gonna go: Leon, on point, Claire and Jimmy back him up. Carlos, you and Becca in the middle, followed by Hunk, J.D., and Anna. I'll bring up the rear with Jill. Bust in and stay frosty. Let's move! " Chris finished. He watched as his team hopped into the heavily armored transport. He himself hopped in and closed the door behind him as the APC's driver began to circle around the building to drop them off.
He sat down opposite Jill, who wore her trademark blue beret and combat fatigues, complete with shoulderpads and the skintight blue top. She smiled at him as she adjusted her beret slightly and brushed stray bangs away.
Chris smiled back.
*I'll never get tired of seeing her in that outfit.
Then suddenly he had no time for thinking as the APC grinded to a halt behind the same building Barry's team tried to take in precisely the same position. Chris opened the door and hopped out.
"MOVE! MOVE! " he ordered, pointing at the building, as the rest of the team spilled out and organised into much the same pattern as Barry's people, with Leon, Claire, and Jimmy carrying bulletproof shields. Alpha moved in a trim, organised fashion, a contrast to the disorganization that Charlie displayed earlier.
" Carlos! Take that door down!"
" Got it!"
The team pressed up against the wall as Carlos readied the door rammer and banged it in precisely the right spot. The door swung open, it's lock neutralised. Leon stormed in on point, his weapon held directly in front of him, shield discarded and strapped on his back. Claire and Jimmy followed, along with the rest of the team into a narrow hallway, with a door at it's end and a flight of stairs to the right of their current position.
A door in front of them was half open, and the former R.P.D. member saw shadows moving on the floor in the room.
*Clumsy mistake, Charlie.
Leon made a signal, holding a fist up in the air. Instantly the entire team crouched down on one knee.
" Tangoes straight ahead, four, maybe five. Behind that door. Request permission to assault. " Leon asked Chris in a soft voice through the comm-link.
" Granted. Take em' down. "
" Leon put one finger in the air, signalling Claire and Jimmy. He pointed forward, and Claire and Jimmy rushed forward, weapons trained on the door.
" Carlos and Bec, back them up. Rest of you, with me. " Chris ordered. Carlos and Bec moved to support them, while the rest of the team followed Chris up the nearby flight of stairs. Chris couldn't help but notice how close Chico was pressed to Bec, but then he shoved the unimportant thought out of his head and pointed with a finger at the top of the stairs.
" Jill, on point. "
Jill moved forward to the head of the group, machine gun shouldered and ready. Chris couldn't help but look into her fierce blue eyes, tense with concentration. She winked at him and smiled. Chris smiled back.
He heard transmitters going off downstairs.
" Leon, report. "
" Jimmy's down, nailed all four of the tangoes, though. "
" Roger. Proce- "
" BEEP BEEP BEEP! "
Jill.
Her transmitter went off as six Charlie members disguised as terrorists appeared at the top of the stairwell and "shot" her down. Chris returned fire, and soon a shootout was taking place as laser beams shot back and forth across the hallway and the stairwell.
" Leon! Five, no, six, tangoes contacted on top of stairwell 7-B, facing heavy opposition, shots fired, one member down, possibly a casualty, over!"
" Roger, moving to support, Alpha B. "
" Negative, Alpha A. Remain stationary, prepare to recieve my team. "
" Roger, remaining stationary. Preparing to recieve retreating team. "
Jill watched from her position lying down the furious exchange of fake gunfire between her comrades.
*Comrades, hah! You're watching Chris, girl.
Her mind corrected her as her gaze drifted to Chris, who was shouting a report of his team's situation to Leon downstairs. She watched his toned, heavy arms grip the his machine gun and intense, piercing chestnut eyes scan the hallway for valid Charlie targets. His short, spiked hair...
*What I would give to run my hand through his hair...
He was no body builder, but he was well built nonetheless. She watched as Chris calmly shoulder-rolled to the middle of the hallway, landed on one knee, press the trigger of his weapon several times, and roll back to his previous position.
*You're obsessed, girl.
Jill shook her head and let her mind correct herself. Chris was no more than a friend, and he probably thought of her as nothing more than a friend. Besides, if he liked her...
*....he would have made a move by now...
Chris wondered that none of the laser beams seemed to be coming from his weapon, or the weapons of his squadmates. Only Hunk seemed to have a working weapon, and it seemed the Charlie terrorists were concentrating fire on him the most. Seeing that the odds were against him and with no working weapons, Chris made an order.
" Rest of you back down, join up with Leon. GO GO G-" The rest of the team ran down the stairs to join back up with Leon, but he couldn't finish his sentence.
" BEEP BEEP BEEP!"
" Goddammit! " Chris swore, as he dropped his weapon and sat down beside his best friend, up against the wall she was leaning against. He knew that the rest of the mission could take up to a half an hour more, especially with the way Leon made orders.
She was giggling. Jill had a soft, funny way of laughing that made Chris smile everytime he saw it.
" What's so funny? We're both dead!" Chris joked, as three Charlie "terrorists" ran down to pursue the rest of his squad, and the other three moved into a nearby hallway to hunt down Leon's team.
" We fell for the oldest trick in the book. "
" What would that be? "
" Going into a AO (3) without ammo! Look. " Jill held up her weapon. There were no batteries in the gun, so it couldn't shoot it's beams. Her giggling soon turned into full fledged laughter.
" Barry!, " she continued, " he knew we would beat his rookies silly so he took the batteries outta our weapons! " she laughed.
Chris couldn't help but laugh.
" God I hate that guy. " Chris said saracastically. He smiled at his partner.
Jill's expression suddenly turned to a happy, yet serious one, as she steeled herself for what she was about to say.
" You have a nice smile. " she said.
" Well thanks, " Chris answered, as he felt his cheeks warm up, " you do too. "
Jill blushed. She put a hand on her cheek as she smiled at him.
" So we're dead, huh? " Jill said, eager to say something and not let the silence overwhelm them.
" Yeah, but you know what? "
" What? " Jill said, as she moved closer to where Chris was sitting so that they were touching elbows. She wasn't sure where he was going but she made sure that he knew she was open to it.
" If we die on a mission, I'd be honored if I died beside you. "
Jill's cheeks turned bright red.
" Me too. Partner. " she held up her fist, and Chris hit it, then they both turned their wrists so their fists were horizontal, locking them up. It was their handshake, since they first became partners back in Raccoon City before the entire Umbrella mess began. That seemed like a lifetime away, Jill noted. She smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder, much like they did when they escaped from the Spence Mansion on board the helicopter. She moved her hand up to hug his arm, when her palm brushed up against the scar he bore on his bicep, the one he had recieved from the original Tyrant from Spencer Mansion.
" Tyrant.." she muttered softly. She remembered how he got the wound, when he had pushed her out of the way of Tyrant's sweeping claw, only to be glanced by the knife like blades. It was a flesh would for him, deep and painful indeed, but it would have been fatal for her had he not tackled her and pushed her out of range. Chris would wear a scar for the rest of his life it meant that Jill could feel better.
" You saved my life that day. " Jill said softly, looking up at Chris with her blue eyes, eyes that were wearing a look that was deep and reflective. " You, you saved me from that prison....then you saved my life. " she finished. She closed her eyes, still leaning against Chris' shoulder, hand still resting on his bicep, over the scar.
Chris brought his arm over Jill so that he was hugging her back.
" Thanks. " she said softly, which Chris would not have heard if she were not as close to him as she was now.
" Don't worry. We're all alive now, that's all that matters..." He rested his head softly on the top of her beret, so they were both leaning on each other. Jill slowly moved her arms so that they went around his waist, while Chris hugged her back with the same arm Jill was leaning on. She closed her eyes, savoring every second that this time gave her.
*Chris....I wish I could stay like this forever....
She looked up with happy eyes at Chris, who looked back at her with much the same look. Jill steeled her nerves for what she was about to say. Whether he loved her or not, she had to know, knowing that if he said no it would kill her...
Meanwhile thoughts were going through Chris' head a mile a minute. She was hugging him now, but she had hugged him many times before. They were, after all, the best of friends and had known each other for as long as Jill had been a member of S.T.A.R.S.
*Come on, don't make it more than it is, old boy.
He tensed up slightly as she began to speak.
" Chris....I....We've.....we've been...toget-..partners for five..years...and...I....I was wondering...." she said, unable to voice her opinions. She was talking mainly to Chris' vest, and not his face, which she knew would be too hard for her to face. " Chris, I..."
" Beep!"
" Goddammit., " Chris muttered, as he picked up a message from a teammate through his comm-link. He looked at his small, hand-held radio, then at Jill, who smiled up at him.
" Answer it, Chris. "
" Okay, " he said, as he pressed the button, one arm still around Jill. Whoever was placing this call, would personally assign them to a week of toilet cleaning duty.
" Chris! " came the voice of Leon. " game over. "
" Report, Leon. "
" Three casualties: Jimmy, you and Jill. Ten Charlie casualties, we wiped them out. But we took the rest of the building, despite the fact that between the seven of us only three weapons worked, so we stole Charlie casualties' weapons! "
" Nice thinking, Leon . "
" Thanks. Say, why haven't you and Jill come down yet? Game's over, you know. "
" I know. We'll be down in a sec, we were...just checking something. Chris out. "
" Roger. Over and out. "
Chris could have sworn he heard Becca say 'he must be doing Jill up there!' but he wasn't sure if it was here or his imagination. He sighed as he turned off on the radio. Jill looked up at him, still in his arms.
" What's up? "
" Game's over. Let's go down. "
" Okay.." Jill said, though she was reluctant to leave. Everything was perfect, she was about to tell Chris how she felt, and now, it was over. She untangled herself from Chris as he stood up. He held his hand out to her, and she took it and stood up.
" Thanks, Chris, for...for everything. "
" So what was it you were going to tell me? " Chris said, still wearing his smile.
*His happy, quirky, crazysexycool smile.
" Oh, umm, that....It's nothing. I'll tell you later, it can wait... "
" Okay, you can tell me at the park! Let's go, shall we, Mizz Valentine? " He said in his best English accent. He sounded like a chicken with a shotgun shell down it's throat, but Jill didn't mind. He offered his arm, bent at the elbow, which Jill eagerly put her arm into.
" Ov course, Monsieur Redvield. " she smiled.
*The park! With everyone else??? You're in the deep shit now, girl.
They started down the stairs to meet up with the rest of the team.
Author's note:
* - indicates a character's thoughts.
(1) : Armored Personnel Carrier
(2): PSG-1: one of the more powerful and accurate sniper rifles in the world, not unlike the one Sniper Wolf uses in Metal Gear Solid.
(3): Area of Operations.
Well there it is, Chapter Two. PLEASE write a review because if you don't tell me what you like or dislike about the story I'll never know! Chapter Three should be posted around Wednesday, at the most. What will happen at the park? What will happen after the park? What is Carlos' mother's second cousin's best friend's name? These answers and more (ok, maybe not the last one) next chapter! Same Fan-Channel, same Fan-Time, same Fan-Author!
"If you're ever in a war, instead of throwing a hand grenade at the enemy, throw one of those little pumpkins. Maybe it'll make everyone think about how stupid war is, and, while their thinking, throw a real grenade at them."
-Lisa Anderson, who I put in the story as a cameo cuz she begged me after she gave me this quote.