Ace of Spades

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Resident Evil or Capcom.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews. I'm glad it's enjoyable so far. Windra, thank you for pointing that out to me. I can see how that would get annoying.

Four: North-South Highway, Spade County

Claudia drove on silently for a few minutes, her ebon eyes calculating behind her thin black frames. Drumming her once again gloved fingers on the steering wheel, she kept checking the time, growing anxious as it grew dark. She hated having to smooth the wrinkles out of this plan; it was so risky to tamper with the fragile lines that held it together, especially with loyalty bought and not earned. Glancing down at the time once more, she reasoned that enough time had elapsed to begin her series of intriguing phone calls. Time was an important factor here, as was supply. One might wonder how the two coincided in this situation, but indeed, they were very much intertwined. Time to get things done…and the supply of police officers. Ace City, sparsely populated, didn't bother to have a police station; they always used the one in the neighboring city, should anything worthy of being called a crime happen.

It was now time to get any scattered police cars off the highway, so should she somehow start speeding, no one would be there to stop her. This was not the night to be noticed. More importantly, she had to get most of the police cars far enough away from Ace City, so that by the time they got there, it would be too late. Picking Nero's steel blue cell phone, she flipped it open, and dialed three numbers: 911. The phone rang a few times before someone picked up, a man.

"Beldon City Police Department. Do you have an emergency?"

"Yes, I'd like to report a murder." Her voice was masked with a honed Russian accent, one she perfected while living in Russia for three years. For that matter, she also knew fluent Russian, and was able to mask her native accent.

"960, Finch's Landing Drive," she added before hanging up and before the officer had a chance to ask any questions. It was enough information, and she didn't want to make her call any easier to trace for the police by staying on. Not that they could; or, not that it would be easy. Umbrella had a talent for hiding their footprints, and made sure to fix their phones so as not to be traced. She pushed down further on the gas peddle, raising her speed to 75 MPH. It would do for now. Dark trees floated past quickly on either side, dark and hazy in the night. She wasn't done yet. She checked Nero's list of contacts, expecting to find none. She didn't. But Nero couldn't hide every call made on this phone. Umbrella, for all the bright minds there, didn't always have the best commonsense.

Flipping through the list of Recent Calls Made, she found several that seemed local, which further proved he was up to something local. But then, there were also non local numbers. She considered the area code of each, matching them up with different parts of the world in her mind. Finally, one caught her eye. She happened to find out through a series of money exchanges that the Heads had gathered together in Belgium for the time being. Smirking, she dialed the number, taking pleasure as the phone rang.

"Hello." The voice on the other end was wary, fearful even. Apparently, they rarely received calls, especially from this phone. This didn't surprise Claudia. Umbrella was on the verge of losing everything; Claudia silently wondered how it would feel to be told that they were indeed finished.

"Tell me about Operation: Ace." Claudia's voice was once more coated with a Russian accent, rather frank and annoyingly straightforward. The accent alone would be enough to drive them chaotic. That was their biggest fear; that the Russians would somehow get hold of their precious plans. They were the only ones able to compete in the campaign of viral engineering. And now their fears were secured. Let the bastards squirm.

"What do you want?" The voice was hazy.

"Beg me for mercy before I bring your precious plans to crumbling ruins, you son of a whoring bitch."

He didn't beg. It didn't matter. Claudia hung up the phone before rolling down her window. Clutching the cell phone for one last moment, she threw it out the window, sending it crashing into a telephone pole. It shattered and fell to the emerald grass below. Umbrella was definitely sweating by now. They would be worried about her. If Nero was in their custody, why not she? She could practically sense them tracking her cell phone. Hell knew that when they finally did, she didn't want them to find her and Nero's phone together. That would raise suspicion. She still had time to kill, and about 20 minutes until she reached Ace City. They would be calling in a few minutes, and then things would really get interesting.

Five: Umbrella Warehouse, Belgium

Thomas Lebaste sat at the wooden table, running his trembling hands through his short blond hair. They were so close to their goal. He dared to believe that even the Russians couldn't stop them anymore. But then that bitch called. Some dying hope in the back of his mind told him to be calm. They could still get agents there. It wasn't over yet. Shaking his head, he laughed bitterly. It was bullshit, all of it. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it quickly, knowing that there was nothing left to do but wait for the end. And it would come.

People were quickly moving about the room, some trying to trace calls, others talking on small cell phones to God knows who. So far, they knew that both Agent Mayfair's and Specialized Agent Octavian's cell phones were in Spade County. With a little more time, they could tell where exactly they were in relation to one another. With a little more luck, they could find out if either of the agents were still alive. Besides that, others were trying to research calls made prior to the one they received several minutes ago.

"Do we have anything yet?" Lebaste was growing impatient, but it wasn't because he was delayed in saving his plans. As of now, he just wanted to know who had beaten him. Who was the better man behind this?

"Yes…" The voice was trailed off, and slow in coming. Lebaste, slightly surprised quickly got up and walked over with the others that crowded nearby.

"Where's it coming from?" Someone asked. It didn't matter who they were.

"Beldon City. It's a place just east of Ace City."

"And whose it to?"

There was a pause. "The police." The air grew heavy as the young man fiddled with the computer, trying to run the recording of the conversation he acquired after breaking into the Police Department's Database. It wasn't very hard. There was ringing…once, twice, three times.

"Beldon City Police Department. Do you have an emergency?"

"Yes, I'd like to report a murder…960, Finch's Landing Drive."

The call cut off, as did the recording. No one in the room dared to move, they could barely breathe.

"Well," said Lebaste, laughing slightly as he broke away from the group. "So much for Nero Octavian."

Before anyone could react, one man in the back stood up, waving them over. "I've traced the calls. Currently, they're both on the North-South highway of Spade County."

"Are they together?"

"No."

"Then perhaps our little Miss Mayfair is still alive."

"Do you think she'll survive?" Another piped in, his eyebrows arched.

"She's a smart woman. Excels in the missions we give her. Has always done what she's been asked. I imagine there's a possibility she'll survive, but I don't know exactly what we're dealing with."

Six: Altec's Bar, Ace City

Augustus Gimmerie stood by the curtained window of the second floor of the small bar known as Altec's Bar. He couldn't see out, as he didn't wish to be seen. He had the bar closed up so as to look shut down for the night. And it was, except for the VIP they were expecting. He heard someone else enter the room and gently close the door.

"We're set up, Sir."

"Good. Let me know the instant Claudia gets here."

"Of course, Sir." The door closed once more, leaving the room quiet and heavy.

Augustus smirked slightly, already looking forward to the night that would come. He couldn't wait to see Claudia again. Couldn't wait to see the surprise on her face at him being here. But most of all, he couldn't wait to see her dead on the floor.