FANDOM: FAKE & Resident Evil: Zero
PAIRING: Billy Coen/Rebecca Chambers, Dee Laytner/Ryo McLane
WARNINGS: Yaoi, Het, Violence, Angst
DISCLAIMER: Still don't own 'em. They still owe me rent. The loveliness that is FAKE belongs to the talented Sanami Matoh. Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen are property of Capcom. "Welcome to My Nightmare" is credited to Alice Cooper, long may he rock.

CHAPTER 01 – Welcome to My Nightmare
by C. Ravenlocke

Billy Coen hated hospitals. With a passion, as a matter of fact. Doctors and nurses were the same everywhere, he'd found, and the former Marine had had his fill of both during his time in the institution. He'd come to despise the falsely cheerful tones and quiet reassurances offered by nurses who may or may not really give a shit. It was almost as annoying as the nasty habit doctors had of talking to a patient like they had no capability to understand anything they were being told. Like your "condition" reduced you to the mental capacity of a five-year-old, not the multitude of drugs they routinely dumped into your bloodstream.

Knock it off, Coen, you're not there anymore.

Sighing softly, Billy exhaled a stream of smoke, and leaned against the wall of the hospital. Beside him, Rebecca Chambers shivered and clutched her coat more tightly around her slim frame. She envied Billy his seeming lack of regard for the weather. She had a pretty good notion that if she'd been male herself, her testicles would have long ago taken refuge in her ribcage. She thought for a moment about asking Billy when they were actually going to go inside the hospital, but after a quick glance at him, decided to hold off. She could tell by not only his stance, but the moody set of his jaw that he was having one of his more intolerant days, and that pushing him would be unwise.

Fighting the urge to sigh, Rebecca threw another glance at Billy from the corner of her eye. She hated it when he got like this, but could never bring herself to become too upset with him. Over the last year, since she and Billy had been reunited with a little help of the enigmatic man named Trent, she'd learned a tremendous amount about Lieutenant William Coen. Some of those things had given her insights to the demons that lurked in the Marine's mind. Over time, he'd finally told her a little about his experiences after his court-martial. Not only of his prison time, but of his time in the institution. Which is why, she knew, they hadn't yet gone in. After not only the institution, but having to deal with Umbrella as well, he had become almost phobic about labs and hospitals. When it came right down to it, she couldn't blame him.

Billy was aware of Rebecca's gaze on him, but he didn't give any sign he'd noticed. Yes, they were on a mission, but Billy knew she'd come to know him well enough to give him a minute or two to mentally prepare before walking into anything that might trigger a flashback. Because the last thing he needed in a New York hospital was to have an attack. See those bodies again, or hear those gunshots...

Be where you are, Soldier.

"Right," Billy muttered. Exhaling the last drag he could possibly coax out of the cigarette, he dropped it to the ground, and snuffed it out with the heel of his boot. He pushed away from the wall with all the defiance of a rebellious teenager, and Rebecca couldn't help but smile at that. "Are you ready?" she asked quietly.

Billy nodded. "Yeah, let's go get a feel for the sitch. Hopefully, this isn't another outbreak."

"I don't even want to think about the implications if it is..." Rebecca replied.

Billy couldn't help but agree. Both he and Rebecca had dealt with the results of the T-Virus, a nasty little experiment belonging to the Umbrella Corporation, one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. On the surface, they were completely legit. In the background, however, hiding away in labs that seemed to resemble sets from old spy movies more than laboratories, the members of a division called White Umbrella cooked up their bioweapons. Their creativity knew no bounds, in that respect.

Unfortunately, they seemed to have problems keeping control of the things they created. Raccoon City had been a prime example. If even half of what Trent had told them was true, there had only been eight survivors. That had been in a city with a population of over a hundred thousand people. So, while Billy had only ever seen the creatures on the train and in the Umbrella Training Facility, and had been on the west coast by the time the city was bombed, he had no trouble imagining what it would be like unleashed on a city as big as NYC. Nothing was immune. Anything could become infected, from people to dogs to plants. The virus would spread like a wildfire and, like an out-of-control blaze, would destroy everything in its path.

Okay, enough stalling. Time to go to work.

Billy broke from his thoughts and looked at Rebecca. She was staring at him expectantly, and he sighed as he realized that he'd wandered off into his own head again. "Huh?"

"I said, are you coming?"

"Yeah."

Walking into the hospital from the street was like stepping into a whole different world. The low drone of cars was replaced by the cacophony of shouts, screams, and general chaos. Blindingly bright lights seemed to bring the room into focus that was almost too sharp for human eyes. The overall frenzied pace was disorienting, but Billy knew immediately where they were. Rebecca had chosen to enter the hospital through the Emergency Room. Although it wouldn't have been Billy's first choice, he said nothing; it was a sound decision. Few people were likely to remember them coming through. That afforded them a certain amount of necessary anonymity. His own personal preferences were irrelevant.

Rebecca took the lead the moment they walked into the building, something Billy was grateful for. Rebecca was comfortable here, he knew, able to decipher the din that sounded like nothing but a jumble of nonsensical sound to him. She knew how to talk to the medical staff, blending in easily as she introduced herself as a visiting doctor from another hospital, and got them directions to get out of Emergency. When they finally managed to step into a quiet hallway, Rebecca glanced over at Billy and smiled a little. "You okay?" she asked, reaching over and touching his hand briefly.

Billy nodded, offering a smile back. "I'm fine. Where to from here?"

"Intensive Care. That's where the victims will most likely be."

"You got it," Billy replied, smiling faintly back. "After you."

The sound of someone rapping lightly on the door to Ryo's room woke Dee from a light doze. Prying unwilling eyes open, the man rose from his chair as a young woman poked her head into the room. Dee was instantly on the alert; she didn't look like any of the doctors he'd seen take care of Ryo so far. When she seemed just as surprised to see him there, he became doubly suspicious. "Can I help you?" he asked.

The woman smiled a bit and nodded, stepping into the room. "I certainly hope so."

She was a petite little thing but pretty, with soft brown hair that brushed the tops of her shoulders. Dressed in a pair of beige slacks and a green silk blouse worn under the typical white lab jacket, she exuded a professional air, and looked more or less at home in her surroundings. Dee smiled a bit, and was about to remark on her appearance when a second person stepped into the room, this one setting off all kinds of warning bells in the raven-haired detective's head.

The man had to stand at least 5'11", with dark brown hair shot through with gold blonde and cold blue eyes that missed very little. He was built solidly, like a linebacker or a professional bouncer. His own black slacks and matching silk shirt did little to hide that fact. Regarding the surly looking man silently, Dee wondered if he should call security; the woman didn't seem like a threat, but the man was undeniably dangerous. After quickly running over the pros and cons, he decided to wait. He was armed, after all, and was capable of taking care of himself. Besides, what person in their right mind would try something stupid in a hospital?

The woman smiled at him, and Dee felt his suspicion melt a few notches. The young woman had the most innocent looking eyes, and it was hard to remain suspicious of her. "My name is Doctor Katherine Stone," she said, then indicated the man behind her. "This is my husband, Blake. I've been called in as a specialist to inspect the victims of the attack two days ago..."

"Detective Dee Laytner, NYPD," Dee replied as he stepped aside, but kept his eyes warily on Katherine as she walked over and picked up the chart hanging from the foot of Ryo's bed. "If you don't mind my asking, why would they need a specialist for something like this?"

"Are you familiar with the incidents that occurred in Raccoon City about four years ago?"

Dee thought about that for several moments then shook his head. "Nope."

"Are you familiar with the Umbrella Corporation?"

"Well sure, who hasn't heard of them? Big pharmaceutical company, right?"

Kathrine nodded. "Yes, that's right. Four years ago, they set up shop in a little place called Raccoon City near the Arklay Mountains."

At that, the raven-haired detective nodded. "Now that you mention it, the name of the place does sound kinda familiar. Wasn't there some kind of chemical spill there or something?"

Blake gave a tight smile, speaking up for the first time. "Something like that."

"More to the point," Katherine broke in, "there were attacks of a similar nature to what I know of this one. I've been sent to determine if it was the same kind of attack or not."

"Sounds more like police work than something a doctor would be called in for."

"That's where I come in, Detective," Blake replied. "I'm a Private Investigator who's been hired to look into just what happened in Raccoon City before it was decimated. But I'm no doctor, so..."

"So you brought your wife along to get her professional opinion. I get it," Dee said wearily, dropping back into the chair next to Ryo's bed and taking the unconscious man's hand. "So...what do you need to know?"

"Were you actually at the scene when the attack occurred, Detective?" Blake asked.

Sighing, Dee shook his head. "No. I was on my way to the scene when it happened."

"So you didn't see anything at all?"

"Just the ripped to shit ambulance and the bodies."

"Was anyone killed in the attack?"

Dee gave another sigh, this one seeming soul-weary. Tear-brimmed emerald eyes turned toward Ryo's unconscious form as he gave a slight nod. Katherine saw those tears, and walked over to Dee, laying a hand gently on his shoulder. "I'm so sorry we're having to do this to you, so soon after the attack, Detective..."

"...You guys are just doing your job..."

"I appreciate your understanding...And I'm sorry we have to grill you like this, but time may be very critical right now. Were the bodies of the deceased brought here as well?"

That question caught Dee square in the gut, and he closed his eyes, giving another small nod. Wounds half-healed ripped themselves open again, as visions of blood and ravaged bodies flashed across his mind's eye. He felt Katherine give his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'm sorry for your loss...thank you so much for your time, Dee..." She said quietly, and then the hand was gone.

Dee didn't even hear them leave.

As she shut the door behind them quietly, Rebecca swore softly. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, and the fact that he was as tense as she was, Billy couldn't help but chuckle. "I've been a bad influence on you."

"Spare me. I used language like this before I met you," Rebecca shot back, giving Billy a light punch in the shoulder.

"Yeah, but never so creatively, I'm sure."

That drew a giggle from Rebecca, and she tried to level a scowl on Billy that failed miserably. While a part of her still felt unnecessarily guilty for engaging in the levity, she'd learned a long time ago that sometimes the brief moments of humor were all that kept her sane. It was a lesson that Billy knew all to well, himself. "So what do you think, Becca?" Billy asked, breaking her from her thoughts. "Is he infected?"

"I don't think so. He'd be showing signs by now, if he were. Still, it's hard to say, since he's still unconscious."

Billy nodded. "And the good detective in there is pretty much useless as a source of information."

"The less he knows, the better off he is."

"Yeah...you're probably right. Especially if we end up having to put down one of his buddies."

That sobering thought led the two of them to walk down the hallway toward the elevators in silence. They were only a few doors away when one of the elevator cars opened, and two well-dressed and grim-looking men stepped off. They brushed past Billy and Rebecca without sparing them so much as a glance, and Rebecca saw something that stopped her dead in her tracks. She took a moment to make sure mentally that she trusted what she'd seen, then looked at Billy, who hadn't noticed her abrupt stop. "Billy!" she hissed.

The former Marine stopped at the tone of his partner's voice, turning back to look at Rebecca, whose eyes were wide. "What's up?"

"Those men! They were Umbrella agents!"

Billy frowned. "You're sure?"

"I saw their lapel pins. I'd recognize their insignia anywhere."

"Shit..."

Rebecca nodded. "That means they're already sending in a clean-up crew. Billy, we can't let them destroy the evidence this time!"

A split second passed as Billy's brain whirled, analyzing, considering, and finally settling on a decision. "I'll follow them. You head down to the morgue, and make sure they don't make off with any bodies. I'll meet you down there as soon as I can. If you need anything, ping me, okay?" He asked, holding up the phone/walkie-talkie combos that had been so graciously provided to them before this particular mission.

The two exchanged a brief look and a smile, before Rebecca nodded and headed toward the elevator. As soon as she was out of sight, Billy took off at what he hoped was a brisk, but casual enough pace not to draw undue attention. He caught up with the two men just as they rounded a corner, ducking into one of the doors there. Billy fought off the urge to groan.

They'd headed straight into the room Dee and Ryo were in!

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