Chapter 2

15th July, 00:01

STORM HQ, somewhere in the Mojave Desert

Ben walked slowly over to the gunmetal grey helicopter that would be flying his team into the stricken Echo city. Joe sat at the controls of the 'chopper, reading the dials and pressing random buttons and toggling switches. As Ben approached the side of the vehicle, Joe turned at looked at him.
"Good morning captain," The man started.
"Morning Joe. How's the bird looking?" Ben replied
"A bit dusty, but otherwise she ready to go as soon as the rest of the team gets here," Joe answered.
"Excellent. I'm gonna check the supplies and load the weapons," Ben finished. He clambered into the back of the helicopter and opened a large steel box. As he eased open the lid, the smell of stale air wafted over him. It had been a long time since the teams last mission, the one where it had gone wrong. He still dreamt of it. The people screaming, monsters slaughtering everyone. And the scattered gunfire that echoed loudly around the empty area. It had happened just 50 miles away from their HQ in the deserted down of Couwenbatos. Although the pay was small, the team had taken the job out of pity and curiosity. A man had phoned them, babbling about Umbrella destroying their town, and how they were out to get him. Ben had called the team together and they left minutes after the call. But when they had arrived on the scene, everyone regretted their decision. The place was over-run by monsters, ones that reminded him of the zombies you'd see in horror films. The entire area had turned into a blood bath, and the population had turned into an army of the living dead, looking for fresh meat to feast upon. The chaos that had ensued was a blur. The team started firing, and then scattered. They all ran, everyone except him and 'Angel', his vice captain. They stood and fought of the creatures, but were too heavily outnumbered.
As the two of them backed up against a wall, more of the creatures had broken through a door to Angels left. They were on top of her before Ben could do anything. As they reached forward to rip at her flesh, she had shouted for him to run. He looked at her before turning and fleeing from the scene, her voice echoing in his mind. As he met up with the rest of the team on the outskirts of the town, he had heard a lot of commotion, an explosion and then silence. He had stood and wept there, unable to accept his loss. When he managed to walk back to the base, he had announced the teams' first casualty, and after that, he had simply fallen apart. 2 days after that incident, the government, with much regret, disbanded the team and they fell into the tales of history.
Ben blinked back the tears in his eyes and looked down into the steel box. A line of rifles lay at its base, each covered with a thin layer of dust. He reached down and picked up a damaged one. On the side of it, the name 'Angel' was inscribed. He had returned to the site and found her rifle among some rubble, the clip still half loaded .It took him 2 weeks to recover from what had happened, and her memory still stayed with him. He stopped caring for the world, until he got the call from Umbrella, giving him this job. He had taken it out of blind fury, because he suspected Umbrella for causing the Echo city incident. He had thought of Claire, his Angel. "Are you alright captain?" Joe asked, leaning over the back of his pilots' chair. "Pardon? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just remembering," Ben replied. "Okay. The bird is ready to go sir, so whenever you're ready, we'll depart" Joe finished, turning back to the controls of the helicopter. Ben nodded and stepped out of the helicopter, before heading to the locker room. As he opened the wooden door, the smell of dust and mis-use hit him in heavy waves. The locker room had been left shut since the last mission, and the lockers still half open after the rush to collect personal items when the disband order came through. Although one remained locked. Ben walked slowly over to the locker that stood next to his. Written in white writing across the top was 'ANGEL'. Lowering his hand to the handle, he slowly tugged it, the door rattling against the frame. Ben smiled lightly before pulling a key off of the ring that he held in his hand, his fingers a little numb out of shock and remembrance. He gently inserted the key into the lock and turned it calmly, the lock producing a dull click as the slide retracted into the door as he pulled the handle down. Opening the door he saw the personality of his ex-team captain. Pinned to the inside of the door was a picture of Claire with her family when she first made it on to the team. Her parents had been so proud of her, and it showed in their faces. Ben gazed at the picture before turning to look at the lockers contents. Inside was a suit of white bulletproof armour hanging from a hook. Written on the back in fading black, was the word 'ANGEL'. He ran his hand over the shoulder of the armour, before pulling it down and hanging it over his shoulder. The chest piece was his size, so he decided to wear it out of respect to Claire's memory. Looking up, Ben's gaze came to rest upon a varnished, wooden box that lay covered with a sheet of dust. He raised his hand and lifted the item down. As he brushed the layer of dust off of the lid, a line of words written in gold became visible. It brought back memories, because it was a gift that he had given to her for making it onto the team. The name 'Claire 'ANGEL' Storm' was written across the top. Thumbing the catch, Ben slowly opened the box, and remembered the gift. It was a Desert Eagle .50AE, the strongest handgun available. He thought that Claire would have needed a little protection, so Ben gave her one of his own weapons that had served him well during many a mission. She hadn't taken it with her on that mission, but he didn't blame her. She had taken a massive weapons load with her, determined to find out what the man had meant by Umbrella was responsible. If only she could have known what was going to happen. Ben lowered his hand to the metal gun and lifted it gently out of the case. The gun felt familiar in his hands, almost comfortable, as if he had never let it go. The minutes ticked past and the gun grew warm beneath his fingers. Tucking the weapon into his waistband, he shut the locker and turned to the armoury. He walked in and was greeted by the rest of the team collected their equipment. Each person wore his or her own marked armour so that friend could be identified from foe in a gunfight situation, which rarely happened, but as Joe pointed out, it was better to be safe then sorry. Walking over to the gun rack, Ben reached out for his Cobra Storm rifle, a Javelin weapons system and a black backpack. "Captain, are you okay?" Jason asked. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why do you ask?" Ben replied "Well, your carrying Claire's vest so." "So what! Have you ever considered that it could be a mark of rememberance and respect??" Ben shouted back, cutting the man off in mid-speech "I'm.. Sorry sir, I don't know why I said that," Jason stuttered. "It's okay Jase, just don't think anything off it," Ben replied, hanging his head. Jason stared at his captain, searching for some comforting words that never came. He walked forward and put his hand on his shoulder. "Cheer up sir, we all miss her, you're not the only one who still remembers that day," Jason said, his voice full of understanding. Ben sighed. "I know, but I can't help thinking that I could have saved her," "There was nothing you could do, but she went out in a blaze of glory at least," Jason finished. Ben nodded his head. "True, true," he said, walking over to a rack filled with ammunition. Ben pulled down a box assault rifle clips and a crate of Javelin ammo. He turned to walk back to the helicopter. " Captain!! You forgot something!" Ben turned to find the source of the voice. Jason was stood with a box in his hand. He walked forward, and handed it to Ben. He looked inside and saw that it was filled with Desert Eagle clips. Ben looked up and stared the man. Jason smiled at him before walking over to the weapons rack. Ben chuckled, before leaving the room and heading back to the 'chopper. As he walked out to the bird, the light wind that the helicopters blades were producing washing over him. He walked forward and sat on the edge of the helicopter, laying his armful of weapons onto the metal floor of the chopper with a muted clang. He lay his hand on the Cobra Storm rifle and lifted it easily into a ready position. As he gazed down the sight of the gun, he picked up a clip and slipped it into the gun before pulling the hammer back on the gun, cocking the weapon. He lowered the gun and grabbed the Javelin weapons system, and thumbed a switch on the side of the device. Electricity crackled through the weapon as Ben turned the power supply on. He picked up a Javelin dart and slipped it into the barrel and allowed the bolt to charge with electricity before shutting the device down again. He smiled from remembrance before attaching the weapon to his assault rifle. He slung the backpack from off of his shoulder and unzipped the large pocket. He slipped the rifle into the open bag and picked up the box of rifle clips and Javelin darts, counting the number of rounds before throwing them into the bag with the weapon. Ben picked up the white bulletproof armour and held it in front of him. He stared at the chest piece, his mind flooding with thoughts of Claire and what the two of them had been through, how they had survived so many missions, except the one that mattered. He blinked furiously to fight back the tears in his eyes, as he became overwhelmed with emotion once again. He unclipped the side buckles and pulled the armour over his head, before re- attaching the clips and tightening them. He pulled the Desert Eagle out from the waistband of his trousers and reached for a clip for the gun. He picked one up and counted the rounds in the magazine. "Eight shots, they still haven't made the clips any bigger," Ben thought. He shrugged and slammed it into the butt of the gun and pulled the slide back, chambering a round in the weapon. He stared at the silver gun for a little while before slipping it into the holster that was built into the side of the bulletproof vest. As he did, his hand brushed against a piece of paper that was stuck to the inside of the vest. He felt the back of it, and gently pulled it out. It was a picture of Claire with the rest of the team, a week after she passed the test. He stared at the shot, at the sight of the entire team assembled and ready for action. It was quite a sight, all eight of them standing together, armed. They looked..powerful. As he continued to stare at the picture, the rest of the squad burst onto the helipad, talking to each other as they walked towards the bird. Ben looked at them before turning to Joe. "Joe, start her up!" He ordered. "Yes sir!" Joe replied, picking up a black helmet and putting it on his head. He flicked a switch and the helicopter engine hummed into life, the gentle wind produced by the blades turning into a strong breeze. The group of people clambered into the back of the 'chopper and took up their seats, Jason slid the side door shut and turned to Joe. "Take her up buddy!!" He shouted. "You got it! Hold on tight everyone!" Joe finished. He turned the engines on full and the Helicopter slowly lifted itself off the floor and Joe directed it for Echo city, carrying the STORM team to what would turn out to be their worst nightmare..