I do not own Capcom or any of the characters that they have created, nor do I own the characters and storylines in S.D. Perry's Resident evil novels. This story, however, is mine.
It took a little while (half a year to be exact), but I finally got around to finishing another chapter of EndGame. Umbrella's prisoner count is growing, and Wesker's happy little band is next on the list. Dum Dum Dum!! Makes you wonder how old Al's gonna get outta this one. Read on, and don't forget to review. EvilOverlords love reviews almost as much as they love pillaging and plundering the innocent masses...ahem...not that I do that or anything...(Oo)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 5- H.C.F. Becomes M.I.A.
Hours later and on the other side of the planet at H.C.F. headquarters in Dallas, Texas, Albert Wesker was thinking the same thing as well. He had just gotten back from an extensive mission in Japan, gathering information about Umbrella's investors, and all the busy work left him quite tired. Even though he had the strength and speed of ten men, and was all but invulnerable, Wesker was still, for the most part, human. His partner and associate, Ada Wong, sank down onto the couch next to him, kicking off her shoes and leaning back against the cushy pillows in Wesker's undecorated and spacious office.
"God if I ever see another lawyer, I'm going to shoot him. Twice." Ada groaned. "So, now what do we do? We've got the information we need about Umbrella's private funds, so do we go after the inner circle now?" She looked at Wesker, the man's expression impossible to read.
"Go check on the girl." Wesker ordered. Ada glared at him for a second, amazed that the first thing he thought about was Sherry.
"What's the big deal? Nothing ever happens around here. Sherry's fine." Wesker stared at her for a minute, eyebrows raised, and Ada knew what that meant. "Yeah, yeah, I'm going." She sighed. Had she pushed any further, Wesker probably would have given her a drawn out speech about being prepared. Better to avoid that all together. She stood up and straightened her jacket as she slipped her shoes back on. On the way down the stairs to the elevator leading to the lower levels, Ada thought of all that had happened in the past four years. From falling in love with Leon to getting shot by that crazy Birkin bitch, to falling to her 'death.' Albert had found her and nursed her back to health, and she was amazed that he didn't leave her for dead after failing the mission that he had sent her on. Of course, they had ended up with Sherry anyway, but the locket that held the G-virus was gone. They managed to get samples from Birkin's body after the train exploded, and H.C.F.'s leading scientists were slowly learning all they could about the T- and G-series viruses anyway. As far as B.O.W. research went, H.C.F. was only a few years behind the curve, and if Umbrella was taken out, they'd be the leading corporation. So industrial espionage was what it took to get rid of Umbrella. And who better to take the company down than one of their former employees? Wesker was quite a guy, and once you got used to him, he was a decent travel companion. Of course, after taking on a city full of biohazard creatures, the idea that the company that signed her paychecks was also working on the same things was a little disturbing, but the pay was good and the scenery changed. That's all that really mattered to Ada. Well, that and Leon. She had never forgotten the rookie cop that so selflessly protected her that night, and though she certainly didn't look forward to meeting him again as his enemy, she still hoped he was okay. She curbed her thoughts as she reached the door to the cellblock where their young prisoner spent her days. Ada slid her data card and opened the door. Sherry Birkin was all of sixteen years old, and she certainly looked it. Pixie blond hair and big blue eyes, Sherry was a lonely, insecure teenager who had spent the last two years under lock and key at H.C.F.'s headquarters. Ada's heart went out to her; she went through the same nightmare as Ada, back in Raccoon, and she had handled herself amazingly. She was pretty tough then at twelve, much tougher than Ada had been at that age. The girl was sleeping, but at the sharp sound of the heavy metal door being opened, she sprang from her bed and backed herself against the wall. Once she saw that it was Ada, however, she relaxed. But just a little.
"Hi, Sherry." Ada said. "What's up?"
"Well, I've been held prisoner in a cell for the last two years." Sherry said sarcastically. "How are you?" Ada sighed. She knew that the girl didn't like to be kept a prisoner, but with her in H.C.F.'s custody, they had a powerful bargaining tool at their disposal. Particularly since she carried the only G-virus vaccine in existence in her bloodstream. Ada looked at her watch and rubbed her eyes, it had been almost two full days since she had last slept, and it was two thirty in the morning. Her ability to focus was starting to suffer. She picked up the phone mounted on the wall and dialed Wesker's office. It barely rang once before Wesker's voice shot through.
"Yes?"
"Sherry's just fine. A little displeased, but you would be, too. I'm gonna stretch out on one of the guard cots down here for a few. Wake me if anything important happens." Ada set the phone back in the cradle and sat down on the end of the narrow bed. "Night, kiddo. It's past my bedtime, and yours, so let's try to get some shut eye." Sherry stared for a minute, then shrugged her shoulders and laid back down on her bed. She shut her eyes, muttering to herself.
"Whatever."
Wesker hung up, rolling his eyes. Sleep didn't come naturally to him, even before his transformation, but he had to admit that he was feeling pretty worn out. Wesker settled back behind his desk, calling up information on his computer. He made use of the time spent with Umbrella to the fullest, and he still was able to hack into the Umbrella mainframe quite easily. He scanned the memorandums and files, stopping when he came to a file with his own name on it. Funny. They should have more important things on their minds than a dead ex-employee. Let's see what the inner circle thinks is so important...Wesker clicked on the tab, and read through the file. He frowned as what he read revealed that they didn't think he was as dead as he'd hoped. They know I'm with H.C.F. and that we've got Sherry. But how much more do they know? His mental question was answered for him as alarms blared out of hidden loudspeakers all over the complex. There was only one solution. Umbrella. They've come. Wesker jumped up and strode to the door, seething with rage. How dare they ruin all of my careful planning? Who the hell do they think they are? Tiny noises snapped him out of his thoughts. With his superhuman hearing, he detected moving noises around the corner a few corridors away from where he was walking. The ex-captain stopped and smiled. If Umbrella wanted Albert Wesker, they'd get him.
Considering H.C.F. is the second most advanced biological weapons manufacturer in the world, they sure don't believe in heavy security measures...like posting guards. Colonel Clayton Greenway grinned as his men fanned out and began to sift through the rooms on the first floor of H.C.F.'s headquarters. The first floor of the two-floor building was primarily offices, data processing labs, and a couple of rec rooms. The second floor was the surgical bay, synthesis and bioweapon storage, and a few more offices for the higher ups...like their primary targets, Albert Wesker and Ada Wong. The detention block was the only thing below ground, and that would be the most likely area to find their secondary target, the Birkin girl. General Roper himself had asked the colonel to personally take care of the renegade ex-employee, and Greenway, for the most part, was happy to do it. He had been in and out of combat situations for his entire adult life, and considered himself the most prepared man to ever set foot on enemy territory. Initial scans showed that Wesker was in his office upstairs, but Wong and the girl were nowhere on the grid, so they had to be in the cells under the complex. Recon over the last few weeks had not seen the girl leave, and Wong's signature disappeared soon after she and Wesker had returned. This is gonna be easy. If I do a good job on this and bring all three in, I'll be on easy street with a pay raise and a vacation. I might go see Jackson after all is said and done, just to give him a personal report on how efficient my boys are...Greenway grinned again as he watched his men search through the rooms on the floor they had entered. Gunshots from a few halls over interrupted his daydream and he shouldered the MP-5 that he had with him, just in case. The bursts of auto fire thinned out, and screams slowly took their place. Apparently, the boys had found their primary target. The burly bald man pulled the syringe that HQ had given him out of the sheaf, watching the blue fluid inside drift back and forth slowly. Greenway grinned and headed toward where his men were making their last stand.
Wesker grinned as he snapped the young man's neck, almost breaking into a harsh laugh at the man's funny expression of terror. The blonde man had already disposed of a full third of the men on Umbrella's squad, and he only detected about twenty or so to start with. He heard steps behind him, and faster than fast, he was there, grabbing the soldier around the neck and lifting him up off the ground to slam him against the wall. As Wesker prepared to snap his neck like he had done to his fellow soldiers, he noticed the eagle clipped to his collar. A colonel, eh? Too high ranking to be anything but the commander of this idiotic attack. Maybe I can get information out of him. Wesker loosened his grip and brought the man down so that his feet were touching the floor.
"All right, you've disturbed my somewhat peaceful night and made me go and make a mess of your boys all over the compound. What the hell are you here for?" Wesker growled, not even bothering to keep the annoyance out of his voice. To his credit, the only sign of surprise the colonel betrayed was a widening of his eyes. He coughed, trying to breathe through Wesker's iron grip, and choked out a response.
"Albert Wesker, I have orders to take you, your associate Ms. Wong, and your prisoner Sherry Birkin into Umbrella custody. Come peacefully, or drastic measures will be taken to insure your cooperation." Wesker's own eyes grew wide at the soldier's bravado.
"Are you threatening me, little man?" the H.C.F. agent asked, bewildered by the calm way that the soldier was acting. The man's life is second's away from ending, and he gives me an ultimatum? The thought was so insanely funny that Wesker actually laughed, shaking his head. In one quick movement, the colonel snapped his arm around and buried the syringe into Wesker's chest before depressing the plunger and injecting the thick blue goo into the blond man's system. Immediately, Wesker stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes through the dark sunglasses he wore, tightening his grip around the man's throat once again. "What the hell was that?" Wesker questioned. "You have approximately five seconds to answer before I—" a sharp pain coursed through his body then, as strong as an electrical charge. The colonel brought his arm up and broke Wesker's grip quite easily before rearing back and decking the Umbrella traitor full on in the face. Amazed, The ex-S.T.A.R.S. captain reeled back and fell on his ass, blood flowing from a nasty gash on his lip. "But how?" He sputtered, completely confused. "I can't bleed. I'm invincible!" COL Greenway laughed at him.
"Not quite, traitor. The syringe had an adamantium needle, capable of piercing even your rock-solid skin. Umbrella developed a cure for your virus...one that's currently coursing through your bloodstream as we speak. You're all human, bub." Wesker shook his head, unable to believe it.
"No...it can't happen...but how..." He stuttered, backing down the hall. Greenway laughed harshly and pulled out his knife, grinning at the fully-human again agent.
"Are you coming with me, or do I have to take you?" Greenway growled. Wesker, still confused, turned and fled down the corridor, mind racing. The colonel sighed and started after him.
Down the stairs and into the underground parking garage of the H.C.F. complex, Wesker ran all out under the fluorescent lights, finding his Plymouth Prowler parked where he had left it only a few short hours before. He leaped into the front seat and gunned the hot rod to life, thankful that he had picked it instead of a bulky Jeep or some type of truck. Hitting the control for the gate that sat on the dashboard, the tires squealed as he floored the gas and raced away into the night, leaving the dejected colonel to fire off a few shots from his MP-5 at the rapidly receding car.
"Damn it! That son of a bitch!" Greenway cursed, firing his weapon off again to no avail. The radio on his belt crackled to life, and one of his boys called his name. He unhooked the radio and barked out "Report."
"Sir, we have Wong and Birkin." The voice, tinny and scratchy, came through over the airwaves. "They were both sleeping, and we managed to get the drop on them. They have been chloroformed, and they are being transported back up to the truck as we speak. Did you and Echo squad get Wesker?"
"Negative." Greenway grunted, rolling his eyes. "He's been disinfected, but he escaped. Get back to the main corridor on the double. Salvage what we can from the labs and offices, then set the detonators. This place is going down."
The detonation of H.C.F.'s primary laboratory and HQ was a huge affair, and even from four miles away, Wesker could see the multi-billion dollar complex go up in smoke. He stood out in front of his car, mind racing over what had happened in just a few short hours. Umbrella knows I'm alive, and they want me in the worst possible way. My powers are gone, Ada and the girl are in their custody, and my new employers are short one headquarters building and a few billion dollars of funding, not to mention any and all chance of surpassing Umbrella in the bio-weapons field. Damn efficient little bastards, aren't they? Wesker sighed, pondering his next move. He had to get Ada and Sherry out, otherwise all his careful planning would be for naught. Umbrella wanted all their bio-hazard survivors rounded up, he had read as much on that little file he had stumbled across, but why? For what? What would he do now? He certainly couldn't take on the company by himself, especially with his biological upgrades gone. That damn colonel, he's going to pay dearly for what he did to me. With interest. But what to do? What to do? After a moment, an evil smile crossed his features. He needed to find Chris Redfield.