Outbreak

Chapter Three: Finding Wesker

The train ride was a long one, and if truth be told Armand had no idea what rendezvous it lead to. For all he knew a firing squad could be waiting at the other end, but he didn't care. This train was his only chance to save his friend.

During the journey Armand had had too much time to think. He thought long about this Wesker, but all he knew was that he was being sent to look for him. In hope he had concluded that Wesker held the antidote for the formula, he had been sent to retrieve it for Dr Birkin.

But in Raccoon City, Dr Birkin was having the time of his life.

A middle-aged, brown haired man was running as fast as he could down the street towards the police station with his six-year-old daughter crying in his arms. His hands were shaking, having just abandoned his wife to be eaten by cannibals. He glanced behind him and there, bouncing off the walls was a thin red creature, it's brain visible at the top of its head.

Without thinking he ran sideways, wrenching open the nearest door and slamming it behind him. He bolted it shut and breathed a sign of relief. His daughter screamed.

The rendezvous point was not exactly what Armand had expected. The train had made its way to a half deserted dock area. There were unused smokestacks littering the dock, dusty and coating in mud. The gates were padlocked, but the lock had long since began to rust.

In front of the entrance was a small, dark bar. It seemed to be covered in a thick layer of dust and grime, the walls made of mud and the windows so thick with grey dust that they might as well have been more parts of the wall. Armand took a step closer, receiving a blast of a rotten stench similar to barbecue sauce that had been left on a windowsill for about a year. It unsteadied him a little, but he kept on forward. He pushed through the battered, wooden door.

Inside were three people amongst the broken tables and chairs. There was the barman, pulling a pint that looked so immensely clean it was unreal and two young women sat at the bar on crooked barstools. At the sound of the door they had all turned towards it, and now stared openly at Armand, who was already sick of it.

They spent a few second staring at each other before one of the women stood up and began to walk towards Armand, she was smiling at him. Her hair was blonde, her eyes green and she was wrapped in what seemed to be a waistcoat sporting the umbrella logo. She reached out a hand and Armand shook it, glad to meet somebody friendly.

"Hi Dr. Birkin, it's great to meet you. We're here just as ordered, replacements for Strauss and Becker, they died last year but we're here to replace them. I'm Annie Strauss, I'm here to help you transport the G-virus to Umbrella main labs."

She had said this all so fast Armand had missed a lot of it, but he did key into some things.

"I'm not Dr. Birkin. I'm his assistant, I'm here to give the G-virus to a man named Wesker, but I'm not sure where he is. I do know he works for Umbrella so maybe you could help me out."

Annie's face went blank, "where's Dr. Birkin?"

She turned away from Armand to her partner at the bar, who had tears welling up in her eyes. Armand guessed that they had correctly interpreted his facial expressions.

"William's dead?" the second girl blubbered. Tears streamed down her eyes, looking at her partner who had now fallen on the fall and cried into the frayed and burnt carpet. Armand had done with the tears, but they hadn't known him. Why did this effect them?

Armand reached down, taking hold of Annie's elbows and lifting her up onto her feet, "what did you know of Dr. Birkin?"

It took a while before Annie had finished crying, but once she had she launched straight into an explanation, "well, we were given the job of collecting the G-virus from him if he tried to escape with it, to act like his friends, but if he's dead…..we'll be killed, they'll send something to kill us both. Oh it's all your fault, if you're his assistant you should have protected him," her arms started flailing, but Armand still held them tightly, she could do little more than squirm in his grip.

"That was our only job," began the other woman, a redhead with dazzling amber eyes, "we were only he to take the sample in case he ran, but what do we do if he's dead?"

Annie finally gave up, collapsing into Armand's hold and crying into his chest.

Finally, Armand had made his decision.

"If you take me to Albert Wesker, I might be able to get you a sample of the virus to take back to your bosses."

It was a blatant lie, and it didn't work brilliantly. Both girls crying seemed to intensify. The bartender had reached an arm over the shoulder of the redhead at the bar and was trying desperately to either console her or shut her up.

"Wesker's dead too," Annie informed him, "he got ripped apart by something a few months ago."

Armand's head sank. He let out a sigh and sat on the nearest chair, which decided to collapse and throw him back onto the ground with a creak that sounded oddly like a chuckle. Armand's heart seemed to slow and he lost all will to move. Annie sat beside him.

"So, what did you need him for?"

He waited a little before answering, "because he has the last sample of the G-virus with him, at least that's what Dr. Birkin said before Umbrella came after him."

"They came after him? Why? We're here we could have got it, he can't exactly skip town. Is that why you've got blood in your hair, it ruins that bit of blonde running down the middle."

Armand sighed, "I'll guess I'll have to make sure no samples are left."

"What do you mean? If they took them they took them didn't they, it's not like they'd leave any behind."

For the first time since he left, Armand smiled, "they missed two samples. Wesker's and the sample that now walks the streets of Raccoon City. William Birkin himself."

There was a sharp inhale from the girl at the bar, while Annie just stared open mouthed.

"No way. He made himself into a TYRANT model? Wow, I would go see him if…..wait a minute. No."

"Yes. There's only one sample left, so I'll have to go back to Raccoon City."