Chapter Three
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Jill retreated to the bathroom to get dressed as the others sat awhile in thought. She figured that she had run out of time for a shower, and that any further relaxation she might have gotten from it was pretty-far gone. She stepped out of the bathroom wearing a navy blue top, a pair of jeans, and sneakers. She dried her hair with a towel as she sat down next to Claire at the foot of one bed. "So what do we do now?" Leon asked. Barry stood against the door with his arms crossed, his massive frame nearly hiding the doorway from view. "There's nothing we can do at the moment," he said. "Except maybe relocate. Now that Umbrella knows we're here, the best choice we can make would be to leave." Claire wasn't so sure. "What if it wasn't Umbrella?" she asked. "It could have been someone just looking for something to steal."
"Not likely," Chris answered. "The odds that someone looking for a cheap-thrill would just happen to steal an envelope with confidential Umbrella documents inside are slim-to-none. It would have to be Umbrella's doing." Hearing this, Leon stood up and stretched. "Let's move out, then. If Umbrella knows where we are, then we should do like Barry said and leave." He walked to the door and opened it. "What the...?!" he started. He knelt down to examine something on the ground. "What's up?" Claire asked, looking down over Leon's shoulder. "It's the envelope!" the young man said aloud. Chris and Barry immediately hurried over. "There's a note attatched," he continued. He pulled the small sticky-note from the envelope and read it:
Thought you might want this back.
-A Friend
"'A friend?'" Chris asked. "What's that supposed to mean?" Jill added. Barry shook his head in puzzlement, and stepped backward, allowing Leon to shut the door. The younger man stood up, quickly opening the envelope. "Anything missing?" Jill asked. Leon shook his head. "Nope. Looks like it's all here." He closed the envelope and handed it to Chris, who stuffed it inside a small duffel bag, only to take it out again. He opened it and fished out a map, something not originally contained in the envelope. "I thought it was thicker than I remembered..." he said, quickly spreading the paper over the second bed. It was a map of Japan, dotted with three large squares. The others hurried over, wondering what was going on. Chris pointed at one spot and looked at Barry. "Isn't this where we found the envelope?" Chris asked. Barry nodded. "Yeah, it is. So I'm guessing that the other marks might be other Umbrella labs."
Now it was Claire's turn to speak. "Then let's get moving," she said.
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A young man pressed himself against the back-side of a dumpster, peering around to watch the door shut, then turned his gaze toward a body lying still on the ground in front of him. It was an Umbrella grunt, someone hired to do all the dirty work for the suits within the corporation. This particular individual attempted to break into a red SUV and steal a rather large document from within. The young man simply waited until the grunt came running behind the dumpster, and had nonchalantly stuck a foot out, causing the other man to trip and land sprawled in the dirt. The grunt got up and attempted to pull a gun on the young man, but the latter was already in the process of sending a knee hard into the grunt's abdomen before taking the man's weapon and hitting him at the base of the skull, knocking him unconscious. The young man stooped down, picked up the envelope, and placed it in front of the door before hiding in his present location. A grin spread across his face as he began to think about the possibility of meeting Claire once again. It excited him, though he didn't doubt that she would be upset at not telling her about his disappearance. He shrugged. He would have time to work out the apologies later.
From behind him, he heard the door open once again. He faced the dumpster and leaped upward, quietly catching the rim and pulling himself up enough so that he could see over the top. The five occupants had gathered outside of their apartment, and were talking softly, or so it seemed. They were actually whispering fairly quietly amongst themselves. Not even the footsteps of a mouse can escape my hearing...the youth thought to himself, which was true. The young man could hear everything that was being said.
"We'll hit the one south of here first," the one called Chris said. "What if the workers manage to get off a distress signal to the other lab?" came a deep voice. "Then we'll have to split up," was the response. "But who's gonna go where?" Leon asked. "There's five of us, and two different labs."
"Two of us will stay behind to make sure we don't get any unwanted company while we're away. That job will go to Barry and Jill," Chris continued. "Leon and I will head to the eastern lab, but that would mean Claire would have to go alone..."
"I can do it," Claire said. Chris seemed apprehensive. "I don't think--" he began. "Chris!" Claire said loudly, a hint of slight anger in her voice. "I can take care of myself! I'm not a child anymore." To this, Jill raised her eyebrows. "She's right, Chris. She's proven herself on more than one occasion. Just let her go." Chris sighed. "Fine, but you're taking as much firepower as you can carry. Barry, set her up."
Nodding, Barry reached into his SUV and pulled out a duffel bag from beneath the rear seat. He opened it, and handed Claire a Glock 17, several magazines, as well as a shoulder-holster complete with numerous pouches in which she could store her extra ammo. Then he handed Chris a few clips for his Beretta. Finally, he came to Leon. "It took me a while to find these, kid, so don't go wastin' 'em," Barry said, digging into the duffel. He came up with six clips for Leon's Desert Eagle, which were taken with a laugh. "Don't worry, Barry," said the younger man. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
Barry grinned, and tossed the empty duffel into the rear of the SUV. "Claire's target is about a mile to the south. the other one is approximately seventy-five miles east of here," Chris said. Looking to Claire, he strapped on his gear. "Take care of yourself."
"I will," came her reply. The group wished each other luck, and dispersed. Barry and Jill returned to the motel room, while Chris and Leon climbed into the Jeep. The vehicle pulled away shortly afterward, leaving Claire standing alone in the motel parking lot.