Alex leaned against the wall of the bookstore, mentally ticking off how many bullets were left in the berretta. Counting the last zombie she'd just shot, she had five. Not bad considering she'd just walked from her apartment to the R.P.D. Which left her with two more full clips, a total of 16 shots. Worse than she would have liked, but better than she'd expected.

She took a deep breath and inched around the wall. There were several cars lying abandoned in the street and the fire hydrant in front other bookstore was gushing water all over the place. But considering the condition of the previous streets she'd run through, it looked pretty good. Especially compared to the police roadblock on Main.

The police had tried their best to retake the city and failed miserably at it. Hell, she hadn't even been able to salvage anything good. She'd also found the remains of some U.B.C.S. agents as well. That explained the choppers she'd heard during the fighting.

She shook her head and stepped away from the wall. She had a job to do, get into the labs, get a sample of the virus, and get out of town. Simple and easy, with about a hundred things that could go wrong in the process. One of which happened to be standing in front of the R.P.D. Jill Valentine had been avoiding her since the little meeting. Alex seriously doubted that Jill would let her do her job. Ales sighed heavily, trying to think of a back way into the station, when the large gate creaked open.

"Brad puts in an appearance."

He looked terrible and he was hurt, at least judging from the way he was holding his side. Suddenly a large brutish looking creature appeared on the scene. Alex took an involuntary step back as the creature grabbed him in one meaty hand and lifted him off the ground like he weighed little more than a feather.

Unconsciously, Alex traded in the berretta for the magnum. She had no idea how she was going to stop that thing, but she had to try. After all, she had known Brad since he'd first moved to Raccoon when she was sixteen. He as a wimp, true, and maybe even partially responsible for Albert's death. But, he was still a friend and she couldn't turn her back on him. However, before she could move, a tentacle suddenly shot through the back of Brad's head. His body spasemed for a few seconds then fell still. The creature tossed the body away and turned its attention to Jill.

"starrrrsss"

Alex was momentarily paralyzed, until she realized what that thing was. She also realized that if it killed Jill it would be left without a directive. Alex wasn't as emotionally attached to Jill, as she had been the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. team. She'd only been in Raccoon for about two months. The others, with the exception of Rebecca, had been in Raccoon for years. Truth be told, she hadn't' really liked the woman from the start and identified more with Rebecca, who had only been in Raccoon for a few weeks, rather than Jill.

So Alex could easily look at Jill as an object. Meaning if she kept Jill alive Alex wouldn't have to worry about that thing trying to kill her. Without a second thought she ran toward the gates, getting thoroughly soaked in the process. She pulled the flash bang from behind her back and let her sunglasses fall over her eyes.

"Jill! DOWN!"

She threw the grenade, just as she pushed the gates open with a loud clang. The monster turned, directing it's attention at the new visitor. A second later the grenade went off. Alex ran past the now blinded monster and grabbed Jill by the arm, hauling her inside the building. It only took a few seconds for her to find something to jam the doors with.

"There, you're safe for now." Alex then turned to the eastern door. "Bye"

"Hey wait!" Jill yelled, trailing after her.

Alex ignored her and tried the door. Unlocked, but it still wouldn't budge.

"Great barricaded, just what I needed."

"Alex, we need to talk."

Alex continued to ignore her, looking around for something she could use as a battering ram. She finally spotted a small metal stand, the kind that had those little felt ropes hanging off of it. She disconnected the rope and hauled it over to the door. Jill watched her every move, a confused look on her face.

"Alex!" Jill was finally at her breaking point. " We…need…to…talk!"

"About what?"

"Oh geez, let me think." Jill tapped her index finger lightly against her chin. "How about that giant trench coat wearing freak that just killed Brad?"

"It's called Nemesis. It's an advanced prototype of the Tyrant." Alex continued her pounding. The door had budged a little so it looked to be working.

"Tyrant?" Recognition crossed Jill's face. "You mean like that monstrosity at the mansion?"

"Yes" The door budged a few more inches, but her battering ram also fell apart. "Although the Tyrant at the mansion was the original prototype. They are more advanced now, that's why they were planning on destroying it."

"More advanced? What exactly are those things for?"

"Please stop screaming, I am in the same room you know." Alex shook her head and turned back to her door. "The Tyrant is a bloodhound, programmed to seek out a single target. The Nemesis is an advanced form of Tyrant, able to seek out multiple targets. And, at least from what information I've read, it is also able to use firearms. Which would explain that nifty new rocket launcher it was carrying."

"You have got to be kidding?" Jill looked ready to be sick or pass out, maybe both.

"Not at all. That seven foot killing machine is programmed to hunt down its targets and dispose of them." Alex slammed her shoulder into the door. "Apparently the S.T.A.R.S. team is it's target. So I guess you're pretty much screwed."

"You don't give a damn about anything do you?" Jill sounded pissed.

Alex shrugged, slamming into the door again. "Look honey, I got things to do. You wanna live, outrun it. Otherwise, you're as good as dead. And no, I don't really give a damn either way." Another good slam and she managed to dislodge the large table that had been blocking the door.

"Why the hell did you save me?" Now she sounded confused. "Wouldn't it be better for Umbrella if I was out of the picture? Isn't that why they sent that bastard after me in the first place?"

"As long as you're alive it has something to chase. It won't bother me for two reasons. One, I'm not a S.T.A.R.S. member. And two, I'm not going to stick around and get between you and it." Alex then turned and gave Jill a rather sardonic smile. "So do me a favor and stay alive for a while."

"I used to think you were a good person, especially after the things you said at that meeting. But I was wrong, you are just like your brother." Jill then spun around and marched toward the western doors.

Alex breathed a sigh of relief as the door slammed shut. Now that Jill was out of the way, she could get down to business.

Ten minutes later…

The way to the armory had been clear and there were no more barricaded doors. After a good ten minutes of playing with the breaker box, she had finally managed to get power to the card reader. She pulled the small journal out of her back pocket and fished out a small security card. She swiped the card and door clicked open.

"Alright, finally things go my way."

She stepped inside, took one look around, and knew she had been wrong.

"Or not…"

The place appeared to have been raided some time ago. Ten minutes worth of digging did give her two more berretta clips, a police issue shotgun complete with six rounds, an over the shoulder rig for the shotgun and utility bag. She wasn't sure how much use it be, but she took it anyway.

She got the shotgun rig positioned and walked back into the corridor. She opened the door to the Kennel carefully, because even through the heavy metal door she could hear the sound of barking dogs. Luckily the dogs were still locked up. The manhole was near the back, the opener laying on the floor near it. A little strenuous labor and the cover came off. She climbed into the small dank sewer.

The water swished around her shins as she moved forward. Something down here was strange. Several body parts floated around in the water, but that wasn't what was bothering her. Suddenly there was a loud splash. Alex turned the corner and found herself face to face with the single biggest spider she'd ever seen. She fired two shots, ran past the scrambling spider and up the concrete stairs to the hallway.

She quickly bypassed the chessboard puzzle and slipped through the door. Anther sewer and three more spiders, but she finally found the medallion door. She also found several members of the recovery team. A quick check told her none of them was Hunk. She bypassed the security lock and headed toward the tram. Just a little longer, and she'd have her virus sample and she could get the hell out of here…