William Birkin's pale hand shook as he wrapped it around the glass.
He abhorred liquor of all sorts, but he thought he needed it after *that*
questioning period. It had started out innocently enough, with Gregory
White asking him a few questions. When Birkin mentioned the man in the gas
mask that he remembered foggily, White had looked furious and afraid both.
Then he had drilled him, questioning him again and again and again about
his past, about what he remembered.
/What is he hiding?/
Birkin began to choke and splutter on the brandy on the glass, spitting most of it out. The glass shattered. Birkin shook his head, then decided to get something to eat. They had not allowed him anything during that *interrogation*, and his stomach was rumbling.
He strode out of the hall, not looking forward to the experience but with nothing better to do - and bumped into Alexia Ashford. He cried out, nearly losing his balance. She gave him an icy glance.
"Oh, hello, William." she said, cool as a queen. He turned red in the face.
"Alexia." he said, trying to sound as cool and condescending as the woman in front of him. "Alfred."
"I heard that your little G-Virus was a success..." Alexia suddenly paused, and turned her head to yawn daintily into her hand.
/Little G-Virus? My scientific achievements far outweigh the insignificant endeavours of that sorry excuse for a virologist! Ant colonies - how asinine./
"And how did your virus come along, Alexia? Of course, I was under the assumption that you were dead, so I could never really check in. Then again, there *were* rumours that you were alive."
"I was sleeping." Alexia said frostily. "Waiting for the *true* power of the T-Veronica virus to awaken within me."
"That's fatuous!" spluttered Birkin. "Waiting for years just so you can ... what, burrow into the ground?"
"You are not deserving to see the effects of the T-Veronica!"
"You're quixotic, Alexia!"
"You're an insolent gomeril!"
"At least I didn't stagnate around for fifteen years for some nugatory project!"
"Silence, you knave!"
"I don't need to listen to you, you slack spined excuse for a scientist!"
"You resentful, emulous urchin!"
"Resentful?! Resentful of what, that lap-dog?!" Birkin pointed at Alfred, his hand quivering with rage. Alfred had lost the thread of the conversation sometime after his dearest Alexia had called that jealous fool Birkin an 'insolent gomeril', but he got the gist there.
"Your G-Virus is pathetic, as you are!" Alfred snarled. There was suddenly footsteps and laughter coming around the corner, and the three Umbrella scientists all turned to see who *dared* interrupt them.
Cassandra Spencer and Cora 'Phoenix' Merandez froze as three pairs of icy blue eyes latched onto them. The Ashfords and Birkin did not know their names, only that they had been interupted by two inferior specimens.
"What the blazes are you doing, interrupting your superiors?!" Birkin, never missing a beat, spun on his heel to face these interlopers.
"We're ... heading to the cafeteria." the first girl said blankly. She was familiar to Birkin - she wore a pair of blue tinted shades, jeans, and a tight fitting t-shirt with the words 'I am a tourist. I do not live here. Thank God.' emblazoned across the front. Alfred stared at her contemptulously. There was no woman close to Alexia, but at least most of them tried to look respectable. She was scruffy, she was large nosed, and she was long limbed like a spider.
"Just leave it. Scientists get antsy when they're angry." the second girl whispered. Alexia was eyeing her cooly with some interest. She wore a black turtle neck sweater with the Umbrella logo stitched in over the left breast, and black pants that flared at the ends to compliment black combat boots. She was pretty, with sundarkened skin, gray eyes, and brown hair pulled back into a braid. But there was a hardness to her that surprised Alexia marginally, a sort of hunted, wary, pained look to her. It was something akin to the men who had served her when she was young, those who were truly dedicated to little Alexia Ashford - but more refined, and stronger. No matter. Just a worker ant in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she did have more sense than the other girl.
"No, I didn't do anything wrong." the first girl looked angry. "I am Cassandra Spencer, not riff raff."
"Oh *God*, please don't get all rich and snooty." the second girl pleaded.
"Shush, Phoenix."
Birkin nodded to himself as though in satisfaction, and Alfred's jaw dropped open. Alexia just smiled. A Spencer, and as arrogent as Oswell himself.
"Cassandra." Alexia moved forward. "You are Oswell's daughter?"
"Niece."
"Look, lady." Phoenix moved between Alexia and her prey like a wolf. "We're sorry if we interrupted your chat, but -" she suddenly gasped as Alexia moved forward swifly, seizing her chin in a hand and tilting her head up to look at the taller woman's face.
"Lady?" Alexia asked softly. Alfred gave an indignant nod. Birkin had a mingled look of condensation and fascinating on his face.
"She wouldn't have that strength without the T-Veronica." Birkin muttered beneath his breath.
"What the hell!" Phoenix gasped, gripping Alexia's wrist tightly. "Look, I'm sorry about injuring your touchy scientist pride but will you /let me go/?"
/She's smart/ Alexia thought impassively, staring down at the struggling girl. /Smart. Trained as a soldier, so probably not out of shape like the samples Umbrella are asking me to work on. Self assured. I could use a test subject like her./
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Spencer snapped, throwing her long brown hair over her shoulder. "Let my friend go now, or I'll have you strapped to an operating table so fast..."
"You don't even know who that is." Birkin said, forming a temporary alliance with the Ashfords in the face of such defiance from underlings.
Phoenix let out a cry of pain as Alexia tightened her grip on the girl's jaw, the inspective look still in her cold blue eyes.
/Maybe it's time that I tried to make a few modifications to the T- Veronica. Worker ants may be worker ants, but if I were to have a few body guards or something perhaps? It would be a delegation suitable for an Ashford./
"I'm sorry!" the two words poured out of the girl's mouth in a shuddering whimper. "Let go of me!"
"You've shown the girl." Birkin was glaring at Alexia. "Do not carry on with such foolishness."
/Yes, I believe I can find much use for UBCS Agents in the future. Better than combat data. Others can be found for that./
"Let go of her, Alexia!" Birkin said indignantly.
"Release my friend, you crazy scientist, or you'll be *really* pissed that your mother ever kissed your father."
Alfred merely gazed on with awestruck eyes. He had no doubt that some grand plan was formulating from behind those calculating blue eyes. Maybe, if he was lucky, his sister would allow him to know of these plans. But for now, he would wait patiently.
"What is your name, *Phoenix*?" Alexia finally spoke.
"Cora Merandez." the girl had defiance and confusion in her eyes. No pain. No fear. The idea had merit.
"And do you know who I am."
"A scientist?"
"Yes and no." Alexia said. "I am Alexia Ashford."
Recognition dawned on Merandez's face, and finally fear. It was good to have defiance to a regular scientist, but better for a worker ant to recognize her place under the Queen. Merandez tore away from Alexia, shallow gashes appearing from where Alexia had dug her nails in.
"You're dead!" Merandez gasped.
This was not what Alexia wanted. Fear of her, not fear of her being a ghost.
"I *was* dead." corrected Alexia. "Was."
"You died in Antartica." Cassandra said angrily.
"She died before that." Birkin corrected. "When she was a child."
"That can't be." The Spencer girl started to frown. "She ... was spotted sometimes. By workers. Of course, she was furious whenever it happened, but that only caused the rumour to spread faster."
Alfred was starting to look very uncomfortable and Alexia frustrated.
"Alfred." she said. "Explain this mockery of my name to these cretins and I can be on my way."
"There's nothing to explain, Alexia dear." Alfred's voice was strangled, his face a dark red. He was wringing his hands."
"EXPLAIN." roared Alexia, losing her cold, icy calm. It was back quickly, and she was serene again.
"I was so lonely, Alexia..." whimpered Alfred. "So alone."
Alexia did not say another word, but merely seized Alfred by the wrist and stormed away. William Birkin turned to Cassandra Spencer - who was perhaps close to his rank, perhaps even intelligent enough to carry on a decent conversation with.
"Ignore the Ashfords." he said. "They are two puffed up fools who take what they want and have no realization for the properties of science!" Birkin exhaled.
"It's cool," Cassandra waved a hand in an unconcerned gesture. "I had gathered as much."
"Oh, trust me. I'll be ignoring them in future." The UBSC agent wiped away blood from the gashes on her face. Birkin nodded and went to his original course of action. One question bothered him, why had Alexia's insult about his G-Virus being a 'success' wriggled so in the back of his head?
He would find out eventually. He was a man of science, and he could counter whatever Umbrella had done. White had let it slip that it had been the Spencer nieces who had worked on his mind, reconstructing it, and he could out-do them any day. He just needed to figure out what was wrong with the reconstruction. If there was anything wrong. If he was not caught. He had to be careful.
/What is he hiding?/
Birkin began to choke and splutter on the brandy on the glass, spitting most of it out. The glass shattered. Birkin shook his head, then decided to get something to eat. They had not allowed him anything during that *interrogation*, and his stomach was rumbling.
He strode out of the hall, not looking forward to the experience but with nothing better to do - and bumped into Alexia Ashford. He cried out, nearly losing his balance. She gave him an icy glance.
"Oh, hello, William." she said, cool as a queen. He turned red in the face.
"Alexia." he said, trying to sound as cool and condescending as the woman in front of him. "Alfred."
"I heard that your little G-Virus was a success..." Alexia suddenly paused, and turned her head to yawn daintily into her hand.
/Little G-Virus? My scientific achievements far outweigh the insignificant endeavours of that sorry excuse for a virologist! Ant colonies - how asinine./
"And how did your virus come along, Alexia? Of course, I was under the assumption that you were dead, so I could never really check in. Then again, there *were* rumours that you were alive."
"I was sleeping." Alexia said frostily. "Waiting for the *true* power of the T-Veronica virus to awaken within me."
"That's fatuous!" spluttered Birkin. "Waiting for years just so you can ... what, burrow into the ground?"
"You are not deserving to see the effects of the T-Veronica!"
"You're quixotic, Alexia!"
"You're an insolent gomeril!"
"At least I didn't stagnate around for fifteen years for some nugatory project!"
"Silence, you knave!"
"I don't need to listen to you, you slack spined excuse for a scientist!"
"You resentful, emulous urchin!"
"Resentful?! Resentful of what, that lap-dog?!" Birkin pointed at Alfred, his hand quivering with rage. Alfred had lost the thread of the conversation sometime after his dearest Alexia had called that jealous fool Birkin an 'insolent gomeril', but he got the gist there.
"Your G-Virus is pathetic, as you are!" Alfred snarled. There was suddenly footsteps and laughter coming around the corner, and the three Umbrella scientists all turned to see who *dared* interrupt them.
Cassandra Spencer and Cora 'Phoenix' Merandez froze as three pairs of icy blue eyes latched onto them. The Ashfords and Birkin did not know their names, only that they had been interupted by two inferior specimens.
"What the blazes are you doing, interrupting your superiors?!" Birkin, never missing a beat, spun on his heel to face these interlopers.
"We're ... heading to the cafeteria." the first girl said blankly. She was familiar to Birkin - she wore a pair of blue tinted shades, jeans, and a tight fitting t-shirt with the words 'I am a tourist. I do not live here. Thank God.' emblazoned across the front. Alfred stared at her contemptulously. There was no woman close to Alexia, but at least most of them tried to look respectable. She was scruffy, she was large nosed, and she was long limbed like a spider.
"Just leave it. Scientists get antsy when they're angry." the second girl whispered. Alexia was eyeing her cooly with some interest. She wore a black turtle neck sweater with the Umbrella logo stitched in over the left breast, and black pants that flared at the ends to compliment black combat boots. She was pretty, with sundarkened skin, gray eyes, and brown hair pulled back into a braid. But there was a hardness to her that surprised Alexia marginally, a sort of hunted, wary, pained look to her. It was something akin to the men who had served her when she was young, those who were truly dedicated to little Alexia Ashford - but more refined, and stronger. No matter. Just a worker ant in the wrong place at the wrong time. If she did have more sense than the other girl.
"No, I didn't do anything wrong." the first girl looked angry. "I am Cassandra Spencer, not riff raff."
"Oh *God*, please don't get all rich and snooty." the second girl pleaded.
"Shush, Phoenix."
Birkin nodded to himself as though in satisfaction, and Alfred's jaw dropped open. Alexia just smiled. A Spencer, and as arrogent as Oswell himself.
"Cassandra." Alexia moved forward. "You are Oswell's daughter?"
"Niece."
"Look, lady." Phoenix moved between Alexia and her prey like a wolf. "We're sorry if we interrupted your chat, but -" she suddenly gasped as Alexia moved forward swifly, seizing her chin in a hand and tilting her head up to look at the taller woman's face.
"Lady?" Alexia asked softly. Alfred gave an indignant nod. Birkin had a mingled look of condensation and fascinating on his face.
"She wouldn't have that strength without the T-Veronica." Birkin muttered beneath his breath.
"What the hell!" Phoenix gasped, gripping Alexia's wrist tightly. "Look, I'm sorry about injuring your touchy scientist pride but will you /let me go/?"
/She's smart/ Alexia thought impassively, staring down at the struggling girl. /Smart. Trained as a soldier, so probably not out of shape like the samples Umbrella are asking me to work on. Self assured. I could use a test subject like her./
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Spencer snapped, throwing her long brown hair over her shoulder. "Let my friend go now, or I'll have you strapped to an operating table so fast..."
"You don't even know who that is." Birkin said, forming a temporary alliance with the Ashfords in the face of such defiance from underlings.
Phoenix let out a cry of pain as Alexia tightened her grip on the girl's jaw, the inspective look still in her cold blue eyes.
/Maybe it's time that I tried to make a few modifications to the T- Veronica. Worker ants may be worker ants, but if I were to have a few body guards or something perhaps? It would be a delegation suitable for an Ashford./
"I'm sorry!" the two words poured out of the girl's mouth in a shuddering whimper. "Let go of me!"
"You've shown the girl." Birkin was glaring at Alexia. "Do not carry on with such foolishness."
/Yes, I believe I can find much use for UBCS Agents in the future. Better than combat data. Others can be found for that./
"Let go of her, Alexia!" Birkin said indignantly.
"Release my friend, you crazy scientist, or you'll be *really* pissed that your mother ever kissed your father."
Alfred merely gazed on with awestruck eyes. He had no doubt that some grand plan was formulating from behind those calculating blue eyes. Maybe, if he was lucky, his sister would allow him to know of these plans. But for now, he would wait patiently.
"What is your name, *Phoenix*?" Alexia finally spoke.
"Cora Merandez." the girl had defiance and confusion in her eyes. No pain. No fear. The idea had merit.
"And do you know who I am."
"A scientist?"
"Yes and no." Alexia said. "I am Alexia Ashford."
Recognition dawned on Merandez's face, and finally fear. It was good to have defiance to a regular scientist, but better for a worker ant to recognize her place under the Queen. Merandez tore away from Alexia, shallow gashes appearing from where Alexia had dug her nails in.
"You're dead!" Merandez gasped.
This was not what Alexia wanted. Fear of her, not fear of her being a ghost.
"I *was* dead." corrected Alexia. "Was."
"You died in Antartica." Cassandra said angrily.
"She died before that." Birkin corrected. "When she was a child."
"That can't be." The Spencer girl started to frown. "She ... was spotted sometimes. By workers. Of course, she was furious whenever it happened, but that only caused the rumour to spread faster."
Alfred was starting to look very uncomfortable and Alexia frustrated.
"Alfred." she said. "Explain this mockery of my name to these cretins and I can be on my way."
"There's nothing to explain, Alexia dear." Alfred's voice was strangled, his face a dark red. He was wringing his hands."
"EXPLAIN." roared Alexia, losing her cold, icy calm. It was back quickly, and she was serene again.
"I was so lonely, Alexia..." whimpered Alfred. "So alone."
Alexia did not say another word, but merely seized Alfred by the wrist and stormed away. William Birkin turned to Cassandra Spencer - who was perhaps close to his rank, perhaps even intelligent enough to carry on a decent conversation with.
"Ignore the Ashfords." he said. "They are two puffed up fools who take what they want and have no realization for the properties of science!" Birkin exhaled.
"It's cool," Cassandra waved a hand in an unconcerned gesture. "I had gathered as much."
"Oh, trust me. I'll be ignoring them in future." The UBSC agent wiped away blood from the gashes on her face. Birkin nodded and went to his original course of action. One question bothered him, why had Alexia's insult about his G-Virus being a 'success' wriggled so in the back of his head?
He would find out eventually. He was a man of science, and he could counter whatever Umbrella had done. White had let it slip that it had been the Spencer nieces who had worked on his mind, reconstructing it, and he could out-do them any day. He just needed to figure out what was wrong with the reconstruction. If there was anything wrong. If he was not caught. He had to be careful.