Howard held his forefinger under his hairline, beads of sweat formed drops on thin strands of bangs. He tapped the phone on the desk, the dial tone emitting from the receiver. "Now what?" Howard asked himself, a genuine question, not fully realizing the call he made. True, he meant what he said about wanting those missing DNA samples from the prototype Tyrant. "What a waste." Howard said, grunting to get up off of his desk that he half laid for a few hours. His body felt weak, limp, worn out from what had happened to his project, and crying over it. He walked practically dragging himself across the room, the dim red light shadowed most of the scattered objects in the room. A hand on his eyes he groaned just about reaching the door to exit, when he stepped on something with a cracking sound. Under his shoe was the broken arm of his long awaited creation, well, even more broken after stepping on it. "Oh.." and soft agonized groan came from his throat. Howard kneeled down, and ran the tips of his fingers through the dead bat's matted fur. The beady eyes of the creature still laid open, glossy and frozen in a stare. His fingers brushed a few sheets of paper, then came across the folder Kai had dropped when he was attacked. Howard barely sighed gathering up the papers with the folder. Hunched over from half standing, Howard's foot stepped forward once, and several loud cracks came from under his feet, he had broken the frail finger bones of the bat. "Damn it!" hopping backward two steps, his fists clenched and kicked his foot into the cage bars with fury and a yell. "If it wasn't for him, if it wasn't for them..I wouldn't have lost. My. Life!" Kicking feverously at the cage, it banged and rattled as he continued to scream. His fist punched the wall and hit the light switch, the room suddenly filled with bluish white light. Howard stopped, wild-eyed and taking in heavy breaths. His hand curled up in a tighter fist, his muscles having now delayed pain. A silent "ow.." went through his mind but refrained from saying it allowed.
"This place..reeks.." The body of his dead, now crippled bat started to give off a musky smell. "I've been in here too long. I need to get out." Howard threw himself on the wall of his room, dragging himself heavily to the door, his side forcefully pressed on the wall as he slid across.
Kai somehow managed to close the door after escaping in a hurry, Howard noticed reaching the round metal doorknob with an outstretched hand. It turned and clicked and the door cracked open, outside light crept in, casting a lit line in the room, taking shape of the contents inside. Howard turned to his right, the white colored hallway was fully illuminated, and below his feet were a few drops of blood puddled on the clean tile floor. "Kai must have went back to the main lab." he thought. He turned to walk in the apparent direction that Kai went, but stopped midstep, a sudden horror rushed past his mind with realization of that attack. "Kai will say something about this..the rest of my work, they'll get rid of it! I must get to the Aviary before they do!" The Aviary what was nicknamed by the scientist who worked down there, was a high ceiling area that housed the most potently dangerous and largest animals for testing, complete with a caged walkway hung high above the actual pit where the animals where kept, a supposedly safe viewing area. It also held different stations below on ground level each for different instruments and specific procedures and experiments. Howard's other work was kept there, a few remaining vials of the T-Virus and Combination Virus he kept safely hid. "Kai will tell them everything..I have to get out of here and take my virus with me somehow.." Howard patted his black lab coat's pockets, nothing was in them. Then he remembered, he patted his nametag on his chest "There it is." a sigh of relief he found the key to the room in a hidden pocket behind his nametag. Turning in the opposite direction, Howard made his way to the Aviary located a few more levels below him.
He walked briskly, his folders held under his arm in a messy manner. Passing the many open rooms wasn't easy, not looking suspicious at least. This hallway was darkened, and the only lights came from the rooms occupied by one or two scientists working in them. Finally, Howard got to the end of the twisting hallway, a few more yards and the door to the Aviary would be in sight. For a second, Howard stopped walking and noticed that the last couple of rooms were dark, "Noone must be in them." turning his head behind, he made a dash for the end of the hallway. Running for thirty seconds, he saw a green light above a windowless door. Howard reached the end, and put his hand on the door huffing heavily out of breath. The green light shown through the letters of the sign in front of it "'Inst. F-23'. The Aviary" Groping the middle of the door feeling for the door handle, his hand stopped when he found it. Howard took out the key, the shape of an old fashioned key, made of gold and a red and white accented the top of the key, the Umbrella symbol. Finding the keyhole wasn't hard, the green light cast a faint light on the door and reflected off of the metal of the keyhole. Howard inserted the key, turned and with a click, the door was unlocked.
Meanwhile, Kai had rushed himself to the main labortory holding his arm in a protective hold, scratched severely by Howard's crazed bat creature's claws. "Damn him!" Kai cursed bursted out loud as pain shot throughout his injured arm. At 2 in the morning, most of the scientists were either at home or, if driven by an intense need to work, where in secluded rooms worked diligently on their research. "Kai! What happened?" a female voice came from an opened door. Kai turned his head to face the voice, and saw a woman scientist rushing towards him with concern. Kai looked up at her as she reached for his arm, blood starting to soak through the white sleeve of his shirt. "That looks horrible, how did it happen?" Kai, with clenched teeth answered "That's nothing, I just..scratched my arm on a nail sticking out of a wall." "Oh." sensing a lie, "Well, do you need bandages? I can get them for you." He cradled his arm closer to his body, "No, I'm fine. I can get it cleaned up in my own room. Just..I'll be fine, go home okay?" The woman scientist let go of his arm, and stepped back. "Okay Kai, I hope it's nothing bad." With that, she turned around and walked into the darkness, back to the elevator to leave the building.
Groaning, Kai searched for his key in his pocket, found it and unlocked the door to his private small lab. The room's lights were already on making it easier to find a small sink located on a table connected to a wall. Tenderly, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a large gash on his forearm. The blood was already half dried, but some still poured out in a steady stream. With his free hand, Kai turned the knobs on the sink for the water, and gradually stuck his arm under the lukewarm water. When the water touched his cut, Kai winced, drawing in breath through clenched teeth. After a few minutes of getting used to the water, he poured sanitizer on his wound, lathered it, and washed it off. He walked to his main desk and pulled a roll of bandages from a nearby First-Aid kit, and wrapped his wound tightly with it. Kai pulled out his office chair and slumped down on it with a loud sigh. "That idiot. In all these months I didn't know what he was doing. Then I find out he stole samples of the virus, making his own and creating monsters with it. Speaking of which what the hell was that thing, a bat? There's no telling if that..creature carries the virus and if it's capable of spreading it.." Kai gripped his bandaged wound with his hand. With a flash of anger Kai reached for a phone on his desk, "He won't be working on that experiment for long." Turing the phone over, he dialed a number and immediately the phone rang once, and someone answered. Kai held the phone to his ear.
"This is Phimma, Kai. Identity number 004686. I need to speak with Superior." a few seconds went by and a man responded.
"It's you. I needed those reports three hours ago, what is your reason that I do not have it in my hand?" The deep voiced man expected an excuse as he already knew why he was calling.
"Sir, something went wrong trying to gather up the reports. You need to run a check on Allen, Howard, 0062885. I've found out that he has been stealing vials of the T-Virus and doing unaccounted experiments in his lab and in room F-23."
"Hmm.." A low sound, almost a growl emitted from Kai's receiver.
"What shall be done about him sir?" A few moments passed before the man spoke again.
"You will tell him his secret project is no longer worth continuing, and the consequences for his thievery.." Kai kept silent as the man described the instructions to be given out to Howard.
Howard shut the door behind him quietly. The entire room itself was dark, except for the caged walkway that had small lights aligned to the railings. Kai walked onto the walkway, his feet rattled the cage with each step he took. A long walk, he made it to the end, and there was a round open elevator atop hydraulics. He boarded it, and looked over the small control panel. Figuring it out wasn't hard, a few colored buttons each lit up with red, green, blue and yellow. "Green means 'Go' so.." he pushed the green button, and the hydraulics began to work, bringing the small elevator down to floor level. Howard stepped off, and the elevator went back up to the walkway.
The room was enormous. It was divided by a tall fenced cage of iron bars for the pit of creatures on one side, and the small rooms of laboratories on the other. The pit was completely dark, only small outlines of shrubbery could be made out as it draped over the bars of the cage. In front of that, was a large wall, containing thick reinforced glass, for safe viewing. The labs were lit with small lamps posted on each door. Howard walked to the one nearest him. When he got to the door, he grabbed the door's knob, but something on the sidewall caught his eye. It was the light control panel. "Finally, I'm sick of all this darkness." A few flicks of his fingers and with each switch he's flipped, a new light came on. Howard flipped the entire first row of the panel, and each lab was lit along with half the room. "Hmm..I won't turn the lights on in the cage." a pause, "For now." He inserted his gold key again in the knob, turned it and opened the wooden door. The room was full of white florescent light from the ceiling, the electrical hum from each tube annoyed Howard the instant he had walked inside. The lab itself was small and compressed of space, neatly clean with a small amout of equipment on tow counter tops and a small laptop, each other small building was connected to each other with sliding metal double doors, easy access for scientists with full hands. Howard placed his folders on a counter top to his right side, along a few racks of sterile flasks he needed later. Howard slid his index finger on his belt, sliding it across slowly until he found a certain loop. A small grey key with a simple tooth was attached to his belt, he unclipped it. He held the key in his closed fist and made his way across the room passing the doors that opened automatically, and in each room he entered a new light on the ceiling turned on, making his destination more visible. After passing through six doors, he reached a room dimly lit and noticeably cooler then the previous rooms. On the walls were lined up glass cases, empty tubes and ones filled with different colors, each with labels of what it contained or which researcher it belonged to. Howard put his finger on the glass case, skimming for his own name while mumbling each name he passed by. "Allen. There it is." he exclaimed a few seconds later. He took his key out and inserted it a lock. Upon inserting it, a few more bulbs of light lit up, illuminating the container behind the glass case a dark red glow. Gently, he turned the container counter-clockwise and with a click, it came out of its case. "I have to hurry before this goes below its cooling point and evaporates." Howard slid the glass case back leaving the key in, unnecessary now to keep it, held the container in his hand and hurried back to the first room.
Back in the main lab Howard set the container on the counter next to two flasks and opened a metal box containing surgical gloves. "I won't have to worry about inhaling in 'T' while its still semi frozen." The T-Virus was in a jelly like state inside its isolated vial next to Howard's Combination virus in a separate vial. Howard has concluded that his virus was only transferable in liquid form, he'd be safe as long as he didn't touch any of it with his bare skin. The flasks themselves where sterile by that of a locked lid that could only be opened when connected to a similar lid, that allowed liquid or any other matter to be poured in uncontaminated. Howard took the vial that contained his virus and carefully connected the top of it with the top of the flask. A small turn and the lock unopened, the contents of the vial poured slowly out, like watching jelly slide out gloppily. He had emptied the whole vial in the flask, and took out the one containing the T-virus from the container that held it. "I only need..a small amount." his hands were starting to shake as he connected the vial of 'T' to the same flask that now contained his virus. "About..half.." The virus poured in somewhat more easily. "It's almost thawed. It can only stay a liquid for an hour before evaporating.." Howard wiped his forehead with his free hand, now starting to sweat, sliding a few wet parts of his bangs behind his ear.
Mixing the two viruses was complete, what he needed now was a case or something to conceal the new virus while he tried to sneak out of the laboratory. He kneeled down under the counter and opened two doors, sticking his hand inside. Shifting around a couple of scattered boxes and bottles of who knows what, Howard heard a set of footsteps walking in the lab door.
"Howard..What are you doing?" Howard turned around in his kneeled stance. "Kai?" He stood up slowly, keeping a few feet distance between them. "How..How did you know I was here?" "It was pretty obvious if you weren't in your room upstairs, you'd be down here. Getting something. And it made it easier with you leaving the doors open, as I do not have a key to enter this area." Howard took his eyes off of Kai's own eyes and glanced down at Kai's newly wrapped arm. Kai noticed, "Your little monster happened to do this to me, I was lucky I escaped with my life, no thanks to you." Howard returned his eyes to Kai but stood with an open mouth ready to say something but he didn't know what. "That bastard better not be a carrier of a virus!" Kai blurted out, a sudden shift from calm to rage. "It, it was not." Howard managed to respond, if it was a lie, he didn't know himself if it was. Kai held his arm with his hand to his body, "In all this time, these months, you've been doing what? Making up false research papers in order to distract us from your real projects? Stealing viruses.." Howard cut him off, "I told you why! I needed it immediately and no questions!" He sighed, "This was all of my real research, I showed you everything." Kai's eyes narrowed immediately. "Then why are you down here? Are you planning on stealing more viruses or whatever else?!" Howard lowered his head, almost ashamed. "Great. Fine." Kai spoke up, speaking as if matter of factly, "This was all a plan to work on whatever it is you wanted then leave. You always thought you could be better then anybody else. Doing anything you could to get ahead in discoveries or ideas or now, research. I know you stole, I know what your plan to do. Take it and sell what you have down here and be creator of the most potent weapon created." Howard rose his head, an angry spark infused him. "I never stole! I never planned to sell this company's or my research for profit! But now..its my last option to do because you had come into my lab and mess with the one subject I was working on and killed it!" Kai clenched his teeth with a infurious growl at Howard. "Your psychotic self was more worried about loosing some freak monster then me dying because of it! But that doesn't matter anymore, no..Not just I who knows about this incident." Howard's body felt limp almost predicting what was to happen even before Kai would say the next word. "I contacted Superior, and his instruction was not to let you leave this building. Whatever it is you're hiding down here, they'll find it tomorrow morning, and, dispose of you for conspiracy." "No!" Howard rushed at Kai in a tackle but Kai's hands met with Howard's and stopped him from reaching his body. A struggle as the two scientists glared at each other, almost like rivals, but Kai bent his arm down and smashed his elbow in Howard's cheek. "Ahh!" Howard stumbled backward to the floor, slamming his arm on the wall and hitting his foot in a corner. A loud snap was heard, Howard bend his body in reaction to his foot, it was broken. Holding the lower part of his leg as tight as he could, tears swelled in his eyes as the pain sharply shot up his leg, Howard tried to hold it off. "You.."Kai out of breath, " If I find out I'm infected..I'll come back and kill you myself.." Kai then snatched the gold key off of the counter and walked out of the lab, shutting the door and locking it.
A loud groan mixed with pain and lament escaped from Howard's throat. "They'll kill me, they'll kill me.." he rocked his body repeating that phrase while squeezing the pain in a effort to stop it. He could feel his heart beat in his ears, a thumping noise that made his neck throb with each beat. Twenty minutes passed, Howard kept his forehead to his knee, staring unblinking at nothing while tears still flowed from his eyes. The pain in his foot seemed to go away, rather ignored with the fact that he knew that Umbrella operatives would come in the morning, kill him, and take his research away for their own. Sweat beads formed and streamed down his temples almost as fluidly as his tears did. "I can't, I can't let them.." Howard turned his head to the side, his eyes half closed and looked up. The container, vials and flask was still sitting on the counter untouched even from the struggle he and Kai had. A sudden idea flashed in his mind. He placed an outstretched hand on the floor, the sweat from his palm stuck to the tile floor, keeping his weight in balance. Another hand on the ground, Howard kept his legs bent upright, and crawled to the counter that was a few feet away. He held onto the handles of the cabinet doors, and pulled his self up slowly to the top, and laying his arm on the counter top, his body supported by his elbow. As carefully as he could, he slid his unbroken foot underneath him, and gradually straitened his good leg, now shifting his weight to his leg. "If they think they can just..steal my life's work, they are wrong." His hand still kept his balance on the table, he used his free hand to grab the flask containg the Combination and T viruses to his chest. The components inside where almost no longer in a jelly state, it was now mostly a liquid. His hand reached for a plastic container and opened it. Inside was one last sterile needle in a plastic case. Howard tried to open the case but couldn't, and with one frustrated grunt he smashed the case into the hard countertop, breaking it open and freeing the needle. With a strain Howard reached for the flask and turned it on its side and held it with his hand supporting his body. He took the needle with is other hand, holding it upright he focused on the metal tip of the needle then, jabbed it into the top of the flask. Holding the neck of the flask and the tube of the needle, he drew the new liquid virus into the needle. Its dark blood red color created a line in the tube, separating it by deep red from the beige white color of the tube. More effort was needed trying to draw the virus, Howard's bangs poked in his eyes, sharpened from sweat. He closed his eyes tight, clenching his teeth, the needle's tube was finally filled. A heavy sigh and Howard pulled the needle out, and let the empty flask roll away from him. His arm still close to his body, he strained to roll up his sleeve high enough. "My last chance..I'll show them my success personally tomorrow. Umbrella will regret this.." Howard plunged the needle into his arm right above the bend in his elbow and let out a pained cry from the sharp tip of the needle puncturing his skin. He stared at the needle, watching his red creation slowly go inside him as it drained from the tube of the needle. The last drops of the liquid entered his body and the plunger in the needle reached the bottom. Howard placed two of his fingers on the injection site and let go of the needle. He had forgotten his injury to his foot and with a mezmorific stare at his arm, he turned his body stepping with his broken foot. A sharp pain and another loud crack emitted from his foot, "Ahh!" Howard screamed with pain and desperately grabbed the counter to avoid falling. Both of his legs bent in and with one more swipe of his hand, his hand hit the containers of the left over viruses and both crashed to the ground. Howard's head hit the ground with a reverberating blow and the last thing he saw were colored vials shattering upon impact.
"This place..reeks.." The body of his dead, now crippled bat started to give off a musky smell. "I've been in here too long. I need to get out." Howard threw himself on the wall of his room, dragging himself heavily to the door, his side forcefully pressed on the wall as he slid across.
Kai somehow managed to close the door after escaping in a hurry, Howard noticed reaching the round metal doorknob with an outstretched hand. It turned and clicked and the door cracked open, outside light crept in, casting a lit line in the room, taking shape of the contents inside. Howard turned to his right, the white colored hallway was fully illuminated, and below his feet were a few drops of blood puddled on the clean tile floor. "Kai must have went back to the main lab." he thought. He turned to walk in the apparent direction that Kai went, but stopped midstep, a sudden horror rushed past his mind with realization of that attack. "Kai will say something about this..the rest of my work, they'll get rid of it! I must get to the Aviary before they do!" The Aviary what was nicknamed by the scientist who worked down there, was a high ceiling area that housed the most potently dangerous and largest animals for testing, complete with a caged walkway hung high above the actual pit where the animals where kept, a supposedly safe viewing area. It also held different stations below on ground level each for different instruments and specific procedures and experiments. Howard's other work was kept there, a few remaining vials of the T-Virus and Combination Virus he kept safely hid. "Kai will tell them everything..I have to get out of here and take my virus with me somehow.." Howard patted his black lab coat's pockets, nothing was in them. Then he remembered, he patted his nametag on his chest "There it is." a sigh of relief he found the key to the room in a hidden pocket behind his nametag. Turning in the opposite direction, Howard made his way to the Aviary located a few more levels below him.
He walked briskly, his folders held under his arm in a messy manner. Passing the many open rooms wasn't easy, not looking suspicious at least. This hallway was darkened, and the only lights came from the rooms occupied by one or two scientists working in them. Finally, Howard got to the end of the twisting hallway, a few more yards and the door to the Aviary would be in sight. For a second, Howard stopped walking and noticed that the last couple of rooms were dark, "Noone must be in them." turning his head behind, he made a dash for the end of the hallway. Running for thirty seconds, he saw a green light above a windowless door. Howard reached the end, and put his hand on the door huffing heavily out of breath. The green light shown through the letters of the sign in front of it "'Inst. F-23'. The Aviary" Groping the middle of the door feeling for the door handle, his hand stopped when he found it. Howard took out the key, the shape of an old fashioned key, made of gold and a red and white accented the top of the key, the Umbrella symbol. Finding the keyhole wasn't hard, the green light cast a faint light on the door and reflected off of the metal of the keyhole. Howard inserted the key, turned and with a click, the door was unlocked.
Meanwhile, Kai had rushed himself to the main labortory holding his arm in a protective hold, scratched severely by Howard's crazed bat creature's claws. "Damn him!" Kai cursed bursted out loud as pain shot throughout his injured arm. At 2 in the morning, most of the scientists were either at home or, if driven by an intense need to work, where in secluded rooms worked diligently on their research. "Kai! What happened?" a female voice came from an opened door. Kai turned his head to face the voice, and saw a woman scientist rushing towards him with concern. Kai looked up at her as she reached for his arm, blood starting to soak through the white sleeve of his shirt. "That looks horrible, how did it happen?" Kai, with clenched teeth answered "That's nothing, I just..scratched my arm on a nail sticking out of a wall." "Oh." sensing a lie, "Well, do you need bandages? I can get them for you." He cradled his arm closer to his body, "No, I'm fine. I can get it cleaned up in my own room. Just..I'll be fine, go home okay?" The woman scientist let go of his arm, and stepped back. "Okay Kai, I hope it's nothing bad." With that, she turned around and walked into the darkness, back to the elevator to leave the building.
Groaning, Kai searched for his key in his pocket, found it and unlocked the door to his private small lab. The room's lights were already on making it easier to find a small sink located on a table connected to a wall. Tenderly, he rolled up his sleeve, revealing a large gash on his forearm. The blood was already half dried, but some still poured out in a steady stream. With his free hand, Kai turned the knobs on the sink for the water, and gradually stuck his arm under the lukewarm water. When the water touched his cut, Kai winced, drawing in breath through clenched teeth. After a few minutes of getting used to the water, he poured sanitizer on his wound, lathered it, and washed it off. He walked to his main desk and pulled a roll of bandages from a nearby First-Aid kit, and wrapped his wound tightly with it. Kai pulled out his office chair and slumped down on it with a loud sigh. "That idiot. In all these months I didn't know what he was doing. Then I find out he stole samples of the virus, making his own and creating monsters with it. Speaking of which what the hell was that thing, a bat? There's no telling if that..creature carries the virus and if it's capable of spreading it.." Kai gripped his bandaged wound with his hand. With a flash of anger Kai reached for a phone on his desk, "He won't be working on that experiment for long." Turing the phone over, he dialed a number and immediately the phone rang once, and someone answered. Kai held the phone to his ear.
"This is Phimma, Kai. Identity number 004686. I need to speak with Superior." a few seconds went by and a man responded.
"It's you. I needed those reports three hours ago, what is your reason that I do not have it in my hand?" The deep voiced man expected an excuse as he already knew why he was calling.
"Sir, something went wrong trying to gather up the reports. You need to run a check on Allen, Howard, 0062885. I've found out that he has been stealing vials of the T-Virus and doing unaccounted experiments in his lab and in room F-23."
"Hmm.." A low sound, almost a growl emitted from Kai's receiver.
"What shall be done about him sir?" A few moments passed before the man spoke again.
"You will tell him his secret project is no longer worth continuing, and the consequences for his thievery.." Kai kept silent as the man described the instructions to be given out to Howard.
Howard shut the door behind him quietly. The entire room itself was dark, except for the caged walkway that had small lights aligned to the railings. Kai walked onto the walkway, his feet rattled the cage with each step he took. A long walk, he made it to the end, and there was a round open elevator atop hydraulics. He boarded it, and looked over the small control panel. Figuring it out wasn't hard, a few colored buttons each lit up with red, green, blue and yellow. "Green means 'Go' so.." he pushed the green button, and the hydraulics began to work, bringing the small elevator down to floor level. Howard stepped off, and the elevator went back up to the walkway.
The room was enormous. It was divided by a tall fenced cage of iron bars for the pit of creatures on one side, and the small rooms of laboratories on the other. The pit was completely dark, only small outlines of shrubbery could be made out as it draped over the bars of the cage. In front of that, was a large wall, containing thick reinforced glass, for safe viewing. The labs were lit with small lamps posted on each door. Howard walked to the one nearest him. When he got to the door, he grabbed the door's knob, but something on the sidewall caught his eye. It was the light control panel. "Finally, I'm sick of all this darkness." A few flicks of his fingers and with each switch he's flipped, a new light came on. Howard flipped the entire first row of the panel, and each lab was lit along with half the room. "Hmm..I won't turn the lights on in the cage." a pause, "For now." He inserted his gold key again in the knob, turned it and opened the wooden door. The room was full of white florescent light from the ceiling, the electrical hum from each tube annoyed Howard the instant he had walked inside. The lab itself was small and compressed of space, neatly clean with a small amout of equipment on tow counter tops and a small laptop, each other small building was connected to each other with sliding metal double doors, easy access for scientists with full hands. Howard placed his folders on a counter top to his right side, along a few racks of sterile flasks he needed later. Howard slid his index finger on his belt, sliding it across slowly until he found a certain loop. A small grey key with a simple tooth was attached to his belt, he unclipped it. He held the key in his closed fist and made his way across the room passing the doors that opened automatically, and in each room he entered a new light on the ceiling turned on, making his destination more visible. After passing through six doors, he reached a room dimly lit and noticeably cooler then the previous rooms. On the walls were lined up glass cases, empty tubes and ones filled with different colors, each with labels of what it contained or which researcher it belonged to. Howard put his finger on the glass case, skimming for his own name while mumbling each name he passed by. "Allen. There it is." he exclaimed a few seconds later. He took his key out and inserted it a lock. Upon inserting it, a few more bulbs of light lit up, illuminating the container behind the glass case a dark red glow. Gently, he turned the container counter-clockwise and with a click, it came out of its case. "I have to hurry before this goes below its cooling point and evaporates." Howard slid the glass case back leaving the key in, unnecessary now to keep it, held the container in his hand and hurried back to the first room.
Back in the main lab Howard set the container on the counter next to two flasks and opened a metal box containing surgical gloves. "I won't have to worry about inhaling in 'T' while its still semi frozen." The T-Virus was in a jelly like state inside its isolated vial next to Howard's Combination virus in a separate vial. Howard has concluded that his virus was only transferable in liquid form, he'd be safe as long as he didn't touch any of it with his bare skin. The flasks themselves where sterile by that of a locked lid that could only be opened when connected to a similar lid, that allowed liquid or any other matter to be poured in uncontaminated. Howard took the vial that contained his virus and carefully connected the top of it with the top of the flask. A small turn and the lock unopened, the contents of the vial poured slowly out, like watching jelly slide out gloppily. He had emptied the whole vial in the flask, and took out the one containing the T-virus from the container that held it. "I only need..a small amount." his hands were starting to shake as he connected the vial of 'T' to the same flask that now contained his virus. "About..half.." The virus poured in somewhat more easily. "It's almost thawed. It can only stay a liquid for an hour before evaporating.." Howard wiped his forehead with his free hand, now starting to sweat, sliding a few wet parts of his bangs behind his ear.
Mixing the two viruses was complete, what he needed now was a case or something to conceal the new virus while he tried to sneak out of the laboratory. He kneeled down under the counter and opened two doors, sticking his hand inside. Shifting around a couple of scattered boxes and bottles of who knows what, Howard heard a set of footsteps walking in the lab door.
"Howard..What are you doing?" Howard turned around in his kneeled stance. "Kai?" He stood up slowly, keeping a few feet distance between them. "How..How did you know I was here?" "It was pretty obvious if you weren't in your room upstairs, you'd be down here. Getting something. And it made it easier with you leaving the doors open, as I do not have a key to enter this area." Howard took his eyes off of Kai's own eyes and glanced down at Kai's newly wrapped arm. Kai noticed, "Your little monster happened to do this to me, I was lucky I escaped with my life, no thanks to you." Howard returned his eyes to Kai but stood with an open mouth ready to say something but he didn't know what. "That bastard better not be a carrier of a virus!" Kai blurted out, a sudden shift from calm to rage. "It, it was not." Howard managed to respond, if it was a lie, he didn't know himself if it was. Kai held his arm with his hand to his body, "In all this time, these months, you've been doing what? Making up false research papers in order to distract us from your real projects? Stealing viruses.." Howard cut him off, "I told you why! I needed it immediately and no questions!" He sighed, "This was all of my real research, I showed you everything." Kai's eyes narrowed immediately. "Then why are you down here? Are you planning on stealing more viruses or whatever else?!" Howard lowered his head, almost ashamed. "Great. Fine." Kai spoke up, speaking as if matter of factly, "This was all a plan to work on whatever it is you wanted then leave. You always thought you could be better then anybody else. Doing anything you could to get ahead in discoveries or ideas or now, research. I know you stole, I know what your plan to do. Take it and sell what you have down here and be creator of the most potent weapon created." Howard rose his head, an angry spark infused him. "I never stole! I never planned to sell this company's or my research for profit! But now..its my last option to do because you had come into my lab and mess with the one subject I was working on and killed it!" Kai clenched his teeth with a infurious growl at Howard. "Your psychotic self was more worried about loosing some freak monster then me dying because of it! But that doesn't matter anymore, no..Not just I who knows about this incident." Howard's body felt limp almost predicting what was to happen even before Kai would say the next word. "I contacted Superior, and his instruction was not to let you leave this building. Whatever it is you're hiding down here, they'll find it tomorrow morning, and, dispose of you for conspiracy." "No!" Howard rushed at Kai in a tackle but Kai's hands met with Howard's and stopped him from reaching his body. A struggle as the two scientists glared at each other, almost like rivals, but Kai bent his arm down and smashed his elbow in Howard's cheek. "Ahh!" Howard stumbled backward to the floor, slamming his arm on the wall and hitting his foot in a corner. A loud snap was heard, Howard bend his body in reaction to his foot, it was broken. Holding the lower part of his leg as tight as he could, tears swelled in his eyes as the pain sharply shot up his leg, Howard tried to hold it off. "You.."Kai out of breath, " If I find out I'm infected..I'll come back and kill you myself.." Kai then snatched the gold key off of the counter and walked out of the lab, shutting the door and locking it.
A loud groan mixed with pain and lament escaped from Howard's throat. "They'll kill me, they'll kill me.." he rocked his body repeating that phrase while squeezing the pain in a effort to stop it. He could feel his heart beat in his ears, a thumping noise that made his neck throb with each beat. Twenty minutes passed, Howard kept his forehead to his knee, staring unblinking at nothing while tears still flowed from his eyes. The pain in his foot seemed to go away, rather ignored with the fact that he knew that Umbrella operatives would come in the morning, kill him, and take his research away for their own. Sweat beads formed and streamed down his temples almost as fluidly as his tears did. "I can't, I can't let them.." Howard turned his head to the side, his eyes half closed and looked up. The container, vials and flask was still sitting on the counter untouched even from the struggle he and Kai had. A sudden idea flashed in his mind. He placed an outstretched hand on the floor, the sweat from his palm stuck to the tile floor, keeping his weight in balance. Another hand on the ground, Howard kept his legs bent upright, and crawled to the counter that was a few feet away. He held onto the handles of the cabinet doors, and pulled his self up slowly to the top, and laying his arm on the counter top, his body supported by his elbow. As carefully as he could, he slid his unbroken foot underneath him, and gradually straitened his good leg, now shifting his weight to his leg. "If they think they can just..steal my life's work, they are wrong." His hand still kept his balance on the table, he used his free hand to grab the flask containg the Combination and T viruses to his chest. The components inside where almost no longer in a jelly state, it was now mostly a liquid. His hand reached for a plastic container and opened it. Inside was one last sterile needle in a plastic case. Howard tried to open the case but couldn't, and with one frustrated grunt he smashed the case into the hard countertop, breaking it open and freeing the needle. With a strain Howard reached for the flask and turned it on its side and held it with his hand supporting his body. He took the needle with is other hand, holding it upright he focused on the metal tip of the needle then, jabbed it into the top of the flask. Holding the neck of the flask and the tube of the needle, he drew the new liquid virus into the needle. Its dark blood red color created a line in the tube, separating it by deep red from the beige white color of the tube. More effort was needed trying to draw the virus, Howard's bangs poked in his eyes, sharpened from sweat. He closed his eyes tight, clenching his teeth, the needle's tube was finally filled. A heavy sigh and Howard pulled the needle out, and let the empty flask roll away from him. His arm still close to his body, he strained to roll up his sleeve high enough. "My last chance..I'll show them my success personally tomorrow. Umbrella will regret this.." Howard plunged the needle into his arm right above the bend in his elbow and let out a pained cry from the sharp tip of the needle puncturing his skin. He stared at the needle, watching his red creation slowly go inside him as it drained from the tube of the needle. The last drops of the liquid entered his body and the plunger in the needle reached the bottom. Howard placed two of his fingers on the injection site and let go of the needle. He had forgotten his injury to his foot and with a mezmorific stare at his arm, he turned his body stepping with his broken foot. A sharp pain and another loud crack emitted from his foot, "Ahh!" Howard screamed with pain and desperately grabbed the counter to avoid falling. Both of his legs bent in and with one more swipe of his hand, his hand hit the containers of the left over viruses and both crashed to the ground. Howard's head hit the ground with a reverberating blow and the last thing he saw were colored vials shattering upon impact.