Chapter Eleven: It keeps rolling and rolling! Thank you to all my reviewers. I'm finishing this ahead of time and I'll just keep posting the last few chapters as it gets more reviews. So if you want a cookie… * lol *
Note: Yes, I have decided to do a sequel-and devote another chapter to William Birkin and Annette LeDour's wedding. This'll be more Humor/Romance. You can look foreward to it shortly. Any help would be appreciated. * Huge grin *
But they still have to get outta the mansion…this isn't over yet!
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FELLOW TRAVELER'S VOICE (o.s.)
It's obscene, all the violence, all the
Lunacy. Shootings even at airports now.
You might say...we're the next endangered
Species...human beings!
CLOSE ON DR. PETERS, smiling affably, turning to his neighbor.
DR. PETERS
I think you're right. Sir. I think
You've hit the nail on the head.
-From "12 Monkeys"
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Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean
"Would you like another martini sir?"
The man stared at the stewardess with the bored disdainful eye of a connoisseur who sees something that he likes-and must have it.
"Yes thank you." He picked up the paper to signify that he was reading again. He knew that Wesker and Birkin would have been able to keep Irons from letting people know about the murders…
But the sudden "lack "of communication from Umbrella Faculty 299746.6.6. Was troublesome. Too much was at stake. And so he had been sent by the board of directors to make sure that everything was in proper order.
There could be no mistakes.
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Spencer Mansion Morgue
William Birkin and Albert Wesker had managed (Surprisingly) to fall asleep. At least Wesker had. William was still listening against the wall-his ears perked up for a forlorn hope that Annette would come back.
Why would she? He sighed and turned away from the wall, his head leaning against the smooth metal, She thinks you're a scientist whose only devotion is to his work. A man who only thinks about things that lives in test tubes.
Was that all he was?
Am I just a tool? A person who lives and dies at the company's command? Marcus had been that way. He didn't want to go out like that man had…lying in a pool of blood in his own laboratory…
But where had the bodies come from? They didn't use progenitor in this lab-they used T-Virus for the obvious reasons.
The only way that the virus could have gotten out of the executive training center would be if it were let out…
They had locked down everything. Somewhere deep in the Paris Faculty, they had the keys. He had to deny it. There was no way that any of it could be true…
The morgue attendant-the assistant-those people who disappeared…
He wondered whom Wesker had gone to see in town that day he said he was going to try to get some extra help.
"Wesker." Birkin whispered.
Wesker remained motionless.
"Wesker!"
Albert Wesker turned his head away from the sound.
"ALBERT!"
"What? What?" Albert Wesker shook himself, "I'm up, and I'm awake. What do you need?" he peered about dazed for a moment and scratched the back of his neck, "What the hell do you want Birkin?"
"I was just wondering who you went to see in town."
Wesker looked confused, and then shrugged, "A friend. You don't know him." He put his hands behind his head, "What difference does it make who I go see?"
Birkin said nothing. He scratched at an itch on his leg-inaccessible because of the haz-mat suits. They were hideous things-bright green with a great big faceplate.
"Albert?"
Wesker looked annoyed, "Will you stop calling me that?"
"How…how did you know that Irene was the one?"
Wesker smiled unconsciously. He had been wondering when Birkin would chew through the knot in his tongue about women and ask him. Tomcat was more then enough woman for the boy…
"Well…"
He had met Irene Verräter in a hotel trying to unlock her room. The pounding had awoken him-and he'd risen and been a good citizen, helping her out. He'd asked her to dinner-and she'd agreed but only if he'd pick her up from work.
He'd gone to the address to find the "City of New York" Medical Examiner's office-and Irene as one of their head employees.
I really don't want to tell a guy who spends most of his waking hours around the walking dead about how we met over an autopsy table.
The thing had been-for the first time the doctors had been in control. No armed guards were posted outside. There were no restrains-no straps. The dead remained dead.
And for him that had been a blessed relief.
He leaned his head back against one of the drawers, "After that, we went to dinner often-and after a few months I…took matters into my hands."
"You purposed."
"I was trying to be a gentlemen." Wesker's voice was hollowed by the suit, "And you were there-you knew my reasons…"
Birkin wondered if he should tell Wesker about what Irene had said the day she'd arrived.
"When I first saw Annette…I thought she was just a stupid woman. But then-she stood up to Dr. Westlake-and to so many others." Birkin laughed, "When Westlake gave her to me, I was thrilled. That and this Jack person…"
"We have yet to discuss that." Wesker shifted his weight, "When did you send out the specimen collectors?"
Birkin frowned. His blond hair was matted to his head and he desperately had to use the restroom. The problem with haz-mat suits…was that they were designed to protect…and not for comfort.
Maybe that's something I should do. Birkin thought, Design a comfortable haz-mat suit.
"I sent them out to go collect bird specimens. We were moving into phase three on our testing and I wanted avian subjects."
"What happened then?"
"They didn't return. I had work to do-we had an issue with a BOW-"
Wesker did not need to hear about that. This was why they no longer allowed scientists down into the labs at night by themselves.
"Anyway-they didn't come back so I sent out Jack and another team of specimen collectors. The woods are full of dangerous coyotes." He paused, "There's a thought. If I could get a team to capture a couple of coyotes then I could-"
"Birkin it didn't occur to you that something might be wrong?"
Birkin frowned, "I have important work to do. You're never around-so leading the faculty is left up to me, Dr. Wesker." Birkin tried to look important and failed; "My research takes precedent over missing employees."
"Dammit Birkin-that's just the way Marcus thought. And you know what? Some day you're going to end up just like him." Wesker said coldly, "And when that day comes-"
"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!" the conversation was rising in tones now-the two men yelling at each other made it seem like they were yelling through water.
"I'm not like Dr. Marcus! My work matters because I make it matter! I can do better then he did-I can create more then he did. He was the old and I am the new-and nobody, not you-not that annoying little bitch Alexia, and Not Umbrella can EVER take that away from me!" he slammed a green fist into the wall, "Nobody…"
"I'm amazed you ever found it in yourself to like Annette LeDour. You let things consume you. That won't work well when you decide to marry her-or is that not your intention?"
Birkin punched him.
Wesker spiraled back and raised a tentative hand to his faceplate. Birkin was never a fighter-he was the brains behind his own brawn…but he'd really hit him hard.
Birkin was standing over him looking crazed and triumphant. His blue eyes were wild behind his mask.
"I'm getting out of here."
"Birkin! You cannot unlock that door unless-" Wesker fell back as Birkin fumbled for a thin-white security card. He laid his head against the floor and wished that Irene could be there holding him.
No matter what Birkin might think…I do love her. He did love her; she was just cold and distant sometimes. He wanted warmth from the woman he'd married-he had enough of coldness and insanity at work.
He watched William Birkin smile as the door to the morgue slid open. I really must get locking mechanisms that respond to biological contamination installed.
William turned back to him.
"Aren't you coming?"
Am I going to follow my 26-year-old friend to his death? Lets think carefully about this hmm?
Wesker sighed and stood up pushing himself off the floor with his large muppet-like hands.
"Yeah, yeah. Give me a minute."
"We can head upstairs and take charge of this. By now they must have sent a Umbrella White Employee-so we have to get everything-"
"We have to figure out what the hell is going on." Wesker stood and pushed past Birkin, out the door. And pray that it doesn't have anything to do with that other mansion deep in the woods…
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Somewhere in the Raccoon City Woods
Sherry Delaney peered out through the grime of the EPA van and scratched the back of her neck again.
"Michael…stay awake…come on Michael…"
Michael Redfield moaned. His shirt was once again soaked with blood-the crude bandage he'd applied while the van was in motion ruined.
She was worried.
The chief of the fire department was drifting in and out of consciousness. Whenever he'd awake he'd babble insanity about monsters and such. She had to get him to a hospital quickly…but they were too far out to get back to raccoon.
She'd have to put her trust in the Umbrella Corporation.
When she'd first come to the city-Daniel had wooed her with the promise of great things in store at Umbrella. They were on the cutting edge-even more cutting edge then cell-phones and "CDS" he'd smiled and laughed…
And all the time those people who he worked with-the people who I went to regular picnics with-those people were making things…
Like the monster that had attacked them in the woods.
"Michael?"
Michael nodded at her, assuring her of his continued consciousness. His eyes were rolled back into his head as he collapsed back onto the seat.
"Michael!"
She drove faster.
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Spencer mansion.
Annette LeDour sat in a stuffed chair in a more private part of the mansion. Kelly Woods had explained the entire story-along with Matthew-and they were all off informing the rest of the employees of their sudden danger.
She couldn't believe it.
There had been a spy-well placed-in the organization. The spy (Kelly would not specify on sex) had been placed along time ago-and was now moving. The zombies had been let out of the first mansion.
Let out.
As if you could actually let out something like that… they had once been people-people who she might have worked with. William Birkin and Albert Wesker had known these people…
The dark was all around her now. The problem was-the mansion was huge and dark. The bastards who ran accounting didn't like to light the parts of the mansion that weren't in use-so anyone who happened to be caught in some of the lower floor rooms would have to suffer blinding darkness.
She sighed.
"Hello."
"AA-William?"
William Birkin stepped out of the darkness. He no longer looked like a friendly green muppet-he looked like the epitome of the heartless creature-hardly human-behind its man made façade.
"How'd you get out?"
"Why didn't you come back down there?"
Because I couldn't think about-facing the both of you. Because I was scared.
Annette leaned back in the chair away from him, "You were the one who told me to stay away. You and Wesker said that you were infected. I didn't want to get sick." She tried to sound high and mighty and failed as Birkin took the seat across from hers. He pulled off his helmet and ran a hand though his soaked blond hair.
" You'll get sweat all over the carpet."
He frowned, "So?"
"So, umbrella's not likely to thank you for it." She sighed, "You might want to hear about Dr. Woods-"
"I don't-give a damn about Dr. Woods." Birkin said thorough strained teeth; "I want to set the record straight with you. Now."
Annette gulped. A thick glob of fear and nothingness hid at the back of her throat.
"Fine…" she said. She brushed a hand through her hair, "Talk away Dr. Birkin, I have all the time in the world." She folded her hands across her lap-trying to appear casual.
"Annette…" William Birkin looked down at his legs, "When I first saw you-I thought you were a pretender-a two bit female hack who was in it for the money."
"And I-thought you were a freak-a virus obsessed workaholic."
"Why don't you tell me what you really feel?" there was no warmth in his tone-no hint of playful laughter, "Anyway-as I watched you work…I realized that things were different."
"Sort of Different?" the two were completely alone in the library-but Annette kept her voice hushed, "You really don't like women do you?"
Birkin frowned again, "Can you blame me? The only women I've known are either stuck up snobs or weaklings. People should be able to defend themselves-and women have never been able to do that-until-"
"Until what? The advent of the sexual revolution? The wonder bra? Or was it when Umbrella started hiring women?" she coughed, "Christ! You guys are such a fucking boys club!"
"Boy's club? What about you? You women think that you're god's gift to the rest of us-flirting-playing coy-"
"Coy?" Annette laughed out loud, "I think you're the first man I've ever heard use that word."
At least one who wasn't gay…
Birkin shook his head, "Why did you sleep with Wesker twice?"
"He co-erced me." Although the second time she'd been very willing, "I blame his drop dead sexy charms-his tight ass body-his blond hair-and his sunglasses." She smirked.
Birkin said nothing. Obviously, sarcasm dropped below his scientific radar.
"If those are the things that you find attractive…maybe we shouldn't see each other anymore."
The last part was said with a bit of a stutter-but it was a knife cutting through her heart.
What?
True, they'd never been intimate until yesterday. They had gone from full blown passionate kissing to lovemaking-but he wasn't…warm…kind…
I've known you for two weeks Birkin, and we've never had a conversation outside of work.
"Then I consider our relationship terminated."
Jesus…that hurts.
"Let's talk about this-"
"No!" Birkin whirled about to face her, "There's no need for talk. You betrayed me-I do not suffer betrayal lightly. We are finished."
"Lets reconsider this. It was a one-time thing and-and-Dammit if you had paid more attention to me I probably wouldn't have gone off and done something like that! Its like you're obsessed with your work! Its your life!"
If that's what he wants that's just fine.
"And apparently there's no room for me."
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A few miles away from Spencer Mansion
"Faster…" Sherry Delaney pushed the gas and ignored the van's complaining. Michael had passed out completely now-groaning and fingering his arm with his good hand. Behind them she could hear howling-unearthly inhuman howling that froze her blood and caused her foot to freeze on the gas.
"Faster…"
Michael had spoken.
Sherry Delaney gunned the motor and listened to its dying gasp as she came hurtling toward a large dark shape in the forest…
"Michael-is that it? Is that the-"?
There was a snap.
Stress-will push creatures over the edge. It can drive people to sickness, disease, and distraction from the simple satisfaction of living.
In the case of mechanics-stress simply causes things to break.
And the Break cable had done just that.
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Inside the Spencer Mansion
Kelly wood outlined the plain truth for the employees.
There was a traitor among them. He/She had been here for quite some time. This traitor was there to see the end of not only the Umbrella Corporation but also themselves. This could not-would not-be tolerated by the Umbrella Corporation who had them, and the public "covered."
Needless to say-the scientists were relieved.
"Do you hear that?" Dr. Wolf stood slowly and stared out into the night, "It sounds like…a van…"
Two bright yellow eyes appeared in the night before them. Silhouetted in the window-they were like some great beast…
"Jesus!" Dr. Wolf and Several others who had huddled against the window dove out of the way as a great red EPA van crashed through.
It was like nothing ever seen-it was straight out of a movie.
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Author's note: There's Chapter 11 huzzah! We at last find out why Kelly Woods was everywhere. (Snickers evilly at Kelly who's gonna hate being a villain) and in celebration of Sherry and her reckless driving! Does the ability to drive recklessly go with the name? Who knows?
Birkin: It had better not!
Sherry: Aww…but daddy.
Birkin: No buts, you're never driving-ever!
And another note-in case there are those who might have forgotten-I do not own this-make no claim to-the story idea I think is original-but what do I know? You've probably all been dying to do something like this! (evil laugh)