Chapter VII
The Neptune Project
Ada's feet pounded hard against the hard metal steps of the Empire State Building. She couldn't stop thinking about Gregory's words… "Three and a half minutes to get to the lobby floor, get into the turbine room and find the set of dual manholes. One of the seven keys will unlock one of the two manholes. Your job is to find the room, decide which hole and which key will save your friend…"
"Sick bastard!" Ada screamed as she plummeted down onto the first floor. She pushed through the lobby door and took in a whiff of pure heat…the lobby was still ablaze, engulfing anything and everything that got in its path, "…one chance…" Barreling through the chaos, Ada raced through the once majestic hall and straight through massive flames. She saw the door across the other side of the room… "Maintenance Entrance, Security Personnel Only"…behind that door lay another door, leading downstairs into the waste disposal plant, equipped with the turbines and manholes leading into the sewers.
She rushed to the door and turned the knob… "Shit!" she screeched, the doorknob didn't turn. Equipping one of the dual magnums she had, she quickly blew off the handle and threw herself into the door. Ducking into a roll, she skittered across the tile floor and jumped to her feet breaking off into another sprint. Ada quickly opened the next door and rushed through, racing down the grimy steps into the waste disposal plant. She saw the turbines, and the two manholes… Gregory stood between the two with a wide grin on his face.
"I see you made it this far with about a minute and a half to spare." He smiled at her, his grin extending from ear to ear, "I must congratulate you again. You have the keys, correct?"
Ada pulled them out, the keys marked with his name, "Which hole leads to Heatherly?!" she screamed, hoping to get answers out of the sick fool whose game she was forced to play, "Don't think I'll hesitate to shoot you." She raised the second magnum up, walking forward, "Tell me, which hole is it."
"Its part of the game, Ms Wong. You agreed to play when you entered my playground, and now you're stuck. You have about a minute remaining. Seven keys and two holes make about fourteen tries. That's about one try for every…four seconds give or take a few. I suggest you get moving."
Thrusting past him, Ada quickly began pushing key after key into each hole. She could hear water rushing underneath her feet, and Heatherly screaming for her to rescue her. She had tried all seven keys on the first hole, "Damnit! You spineless bastard let her go!"
His voice was sick with insanity, the insanity only a Spencer could have, "Time is ticking, Ms Wong. You have about twenty seconds left…nineteen…eighteen…"
She pushed the G key into the hole, turned…no. The R key, turned…no. The E key, turned…no. Time was going to waste, and she could hear the monster under her splashing about, Heatherly's desperate cries to be rescued. She had about seven seconds left. Pushing the last key into the hole, she turned and…
*
The manhole above her head pushed open and Heatherly frantically pulled herself through as the water level rose to her feet. The massive shark thrust its head out of the water and lunged, missing her by mere millimeters. Heatherly grabbed for something to hold onto, and strangely found the calm and subtle touch of a human hand.
"Who…" She thought out loud, and looked up to see the familiar face of her short time friend Ada Wong…after all she had put her through, all the pain she had caused her, she still came through and save her life…
*
Hillary spun around, looking face to face with a creature she had only seen in the movies…it was a zombie, decaying and rotting right in front of her very own eyes. It extended its arms forward, grabbing onto her shoulders. She looked straight at it, the rotting flesh and molding tissue…it had no eyes, and its bleeding brain protruded out of its cracked skull.
She pushed, but the creature was too strong. It moaned loudly, opened its gaping jaw and showed its razor sharp teeth to her, almost in a sense to brag. Moving forward, she could almost feel its hot, moist breath on her neck, "No! Ja help me!"
BAM!
"Uughk…"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Blood spattered about, staining the walls and spilling onto Hillary's milk white skirt. She stumbled backwards, adjusted her glasses and fell to her knees. The creature was decapitated, headless and mindless…its insides were splattered against the walls, turning the creamy off white walls into a parade a dark, coagulated blood.
Hillary stumbled to find the correct words for the situation, but the only things that could come out were, "What…was…that…"
Ja looked at the thing, its grey suit stained with its own blood. It had darkening skin, like it had been the way it was for a long time. He had known that Umbrella did things that made peoples skin crawl…but not literally, "I have no idea, but I think I know who is responsible. Its time we take this situation seriously, and take the initiative to get the hell out."
*
"What you just saw was the product of my newest project, the Neptune Project." Gregory said to them, laughing as he spoke, "It's a mutated shark, infected with the T Alexia Virus, also known as the Mother Virus."
"The Mother Virus…I thought that was the T Veronica Virus…" Ada said, speaking softly. Heatherly was collapsed in her lap, on the brink of tears, "…are there more of these things?" She wanted to know the answer to that question, but at the same time she didn't. If there were more of those shark things, whose to tell that there are other things here? Worse other things?
"The T Veronica Virus was the mother virus until Alexia Ashford completed the research. A new, more powerful virus was bore in the mold of the T Veronica Virus, the T Alexia Virus. It is much more deadly, much stronger, and much more powerful."
"Why do this though? Why drag it on…you've killed over a hundred thousand people in this building alone…" Heatherly moaned, "You have done something that not even Umbrella can erase. You've destroyed an international landmark…you think that will go unnoticed?"
Gregory seemed to not even be phased, like he was expecting the reality check, "I am perfectly aware that the world will be astonished to find out the demise of the Empire State Building…"
"The demise? What are you planning to do?" Ada shrieked, sweat dripping off her face. She and Ada were slouched on the ground of the waste disposal plant, looking up as Gregory continued his evil plot.
He laughed, "Right now, the documentation and research from this laboratory is being sent via the internet to my facility in Maine. When this building is destroyed, it will be a minor set back to my thriving empire."
Ada was astonished…he was using the internet to transport the information calculated in this lab to another lab, so that he can keep his record clean, "…but you've killed so many innocent people!"
"Just a minor set back, again. Human lives are a small cost for total world domination. When this virus is perfected, I will be in total control. Not even the government will be able to stop me when I'm through with my research!" he laughed, "You think you stand a chance?!"
Water began to rush up through the cracks in the floor. It hadn't ceased to flow from the sewer below them, and now it was rushing up and it was going to flood the area. Gregory didn't seem to notice, although his expensive shoes began to dampen.
"I call my plan the Neptune Project, named after my newest perfection that you were just allowed the privilege to mingle with. Expect to see me again, ladies. Your next move should be to find out exactly what went wrong with the central power core. Make your next move from there, and I assure you you'll find the answers you're looking for."
Ada shut her eyes and then turned to Heatherly…she was looking distraught, and tired. When Ada looked back at Gregory, he was gone. The Neptune Project was in progression, and in a few hours Gregory planned on destroying this building…with or without her in it.
**
The Neptune Project
Ada's feet pounded hard against the hard metal steps of the Empire State Building. She couldn't stop thinking about Gregory's words… "Three and a half minutes to get to the lobby floor, get into the turbine room and find the set of dual manholes. One of the seven keys will unlock one of the two manholes. Your job is to find the room, decide which hole and which key will save your friend…"
"Sick bastard!" Ada screamed as she plummeted down onto the first floor. She pushed through the lobby door and took in a whiff of pure heat…the lobby was still ablaze, engulfing anything and everything that got in its path, "…one chance…" Barreling through the chaos, Ada raced through the once majestic hall and straight through massive flames. She saw the door across the other side of the room… "Maintenance Entrance, Security Personnel Only"…behind that door lay another door, leading downstairs into the waste disposal plant, equipped with the turbines and manholes leading into the sewers.
She rushed to the door and turned the knob… "Shit!" she screeched, the doorknob didn't turn. Equipping one of the dual magnums she had, she quickly blew off the handle and threw herself into the door. Ducking into a roll, she skittered across the tile floor and jumped to her feet breaking off into another sprint. Ada quickly opened the next door and rushed through, racing down the grimy steps into the waste disposal plant. She saw the turbines, and the two manholes… Gregory stood between the two with a wide grin on his face.
"I see you made it this far with about a minute and a half to spare." He smiled at her, his grin extending from ear to ear, "I must congratulate you again. You have the keys, correct?"
Ada pulled them out, the keys marked with his name, "Which hole leads to Heatherly?!" she screamed, hoping to get answers out of the sick fool whose game she was forced to play, "Don't think I'll hesitate to shoot you." She raised the second magnum up, walking forward, "Tell me, which hole is it."
"Its part of the game, Ms Wong. You agreed to play when you entered my playground, and now you're stuck. You have about a minute remaining. Seven keys and two holes make about fourteen tries. That's about one try for every…four seconds give or take a few. I suggest you get moving."
Thrusting past him, Ada quickly began pushing key after key into each hole. She could hear water rushing underneath her feet, and Heatherly screaming for her to rescue her. She had tried all seven keys on the first hole, "Damnit! You spineless bastard let her go!"
His voice was sick with insanity, the insanity only a Spencer could have, "Time is ticking, Ms Wong. You have about twenty seconds left…nineteen…eighteen…"
She pushed the G key into the hole, turned…no. The R key, turned…no. The E key, turned…no. Time was going to waste, and she could hear the monster under her splashing about, Heatherly's desperate cries to be rescued. She had about seven seconds left. Pushing the last key into the hole, she turned and…
*
The manhole above her head pushed open and Heatherly frantically pulled herself through as the water level rose to her feet. The massive shark thrust its head out of the water and lunged, missing her by mere millimeters. Heatherly grabbed for something to hold onto, and strangely found the calm and subtle touch of a human hand.
"Who…" She thought out loud, and looked up to see the familiar face of her short time friend Ada Wong…after all she had put her through, all the pain she had caused her, she still came through and save her life…
*
Hillary spun around, looking face to face with a creature she had only seen in the movies…it was a zombie, decaying and rotting right in front of her very own eyes. It extended its arms forward, grabbing onto her shoulders. She looked straight at it, the rotting flesh and molding tissue…it had no eyes, and its bleeding brain protruded out of its cracked skull.
She pushed, but the creature was too strong. It moaned loudly, opened its gaping jaw and showed its razor sharp teeth to her, almost in a sense to brag. Moving forward, she could almost feel its hot, moist breath on her neck, "No! Ja help me!"
BAM!
"Uughk…"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Blood spattered about, staining the walls and spilling onto Hillary's milk white skirt. She stumbled backwards, adjusted her glasses and fell to her knees. The creature was decapitated, headless and mindless…its insides were splattered against the walls, turning the creamy off white walls into a parade a dark, coagulated blood.
Hillary stumbled to find the correct words for the situation, but the only things that could come out were, "What…was…that…"
Ja looked at the thing, its grey suit stained with its own blood. It had darkening skin, like it had been the way it was for a long time. He had known that Umbrella did things that made peoples skin crawl…but not literally, "I have no idea, but I think I know who is responsible. Its time we take this situation seriously, and take the initiative to get the hell out."
*
"What you just saw was the product of my newest project, the Neptune Project." Gregory said to them, laughing as he spoke, "It's a mutated shark, infected with the T Alexia Virus, also known as the Mother Virus."
"The Mother Virus…I thought that was the T Veronica Virus…" Ada said, speaking softly. Heatherly was collapsed in her lap, on the brink of tears, "…are there more of these things?" She wanted to know the answer to that question, but at the same time she didn't. If there were more of those shark things, whose to tell that there are other things here? Worse other things?
"The T Veronica Virus was the mother virus until Alexia Ashford completed the research. A new, more powerful virus was bore in the mold of the T Veronica Virus, the T Alexia Virus. It is much more deadly, much stronger, and much more powerful."
"Why do this though? Why drag it on…you've killed over a hundred thousand people in this building alone…" Heatherly moaned, "You have done something that not even Umbrella can erase. You've destroyed an international landmark…you think that will go unnoticed?"
Gregory seemed to not even be phased, like he was expecting the reality check, "I am perfectly aware that the world will be astonished to find out the demise of the Empire State Building…"
"The demise? What are you planning to do?" Ada shrieked, sweat dripping off her face. She and Ada were slouched on the ground of the waste disposal plant, looking up as Gregory continued his evil plot.
He laughed, "Right now, the documentation and research from this laboratory is being sent via the internet to my facility in Maine. When this building is destroyed, it will be a minor set back to my thriving empire."
Ada was astonished…he was using the internet to transport the information calculated in this lab to another lab, so that he can keep his record clean, "…but you've killed so many innocent people!"
"Just a minor set back, again. Human lives are a small cost for total world domination. When this virus is perfected, I will be in total control. Not even the government will be able to stop me when I'm through with my research!" he laughed, "You think you stand a chance?!"
Water began to rush up through the cracks in the floor. It hadn't ceased to flow from the sewer below them, and now it was rushing up and it was going to flood the area. Gregory didn't seem to notice, although his expensive shoes began to dampen.
"I call my plan the Neptune Project, named after my newest perfection that you were just allowed the privilege to mingle with. Expect to see me again, ladies. Your next move should be to find out exactly what went wrong with the central power core. Make your next move from there, and I assure you you'll find the answers you're looking for."
Ada shut her eyes and then turned to Heatherly…she was looking distraught, and tired. When Ada looked back at Gregory, he was gone. The Neptune Project was in progression, and in a few hours Gregory planned on destroying this building…with or without her in it.
**