Resident Evil: Abduction
Chapter Six
Spotting the Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback AT, Mel smiled and raised a hand in greeting. The funky blue color of the vehicle was unique to only one employee at Spencer BioTech and he looked forward to seeing her each day. "Good morning, Miss Kincaid," he said as soon as she had rolled the driver's side window down. He offered her a friendly smile while the scanner processed the sticker on her windshield. As soon as the red light turned to green, the gate lifted, granting her access. It was always then that she would return his smile and greeting.
"Good morning, Mel. Have a good day, and don't terrorize any frantic women today."
"Not today, Miss Kincaid," he replied as per their usual banter.
He chuckled and waved as she drove through the gate. It was rare when he would get to know any of the employees who worked inside Spencer Biotech. Most of them were too busy to grant him a moment of their time, let alone exchange pleasantries. He was used to it after ten years as their 'gatekeeper'.
Riane Kincaid had been no exception. Up until about six months before, she had been just as unapproachable. Then something in her life changed, throwing her off kilter. It was soon after her niece had come to live with her that Mel actually had his first 'human' contact with Riane.
After a time, he discovered that because she was unaccustomed to being a parent, the stress had taken its toll on her. Lack of sleep, countless responsibilities she wasn't ready for, and dealing with her own grief as well as that of her niece had left her frazzled and easily distracted.
At the time, she had been driving a little two seater sports car, sleek and classy. With the addition of her niece in her everyday life, it proved to be impractical. So she had purchased the Lancer Sportback...and had forgotten to have it registered with security. All employee cars were required to have special permits displayed on the windshield.
When she approached the gates without proper identification on her vehicle, security personnel immediately surrounded her. He supposed it was a terrifying experience to someone whose nerves were raw to begin with. At the time, he had been away from his normal post, on the second floor in human resources filling out paperwork for the yearly insurance enrollment. When he got back, he was witness to Riane shoving her security badge in one of the guard's face, explaining she did indeed work there and resented the treatment she was receiving. He quickly interceded, confirming that she was in a different car this day and he would see to it she obtained the proper permits for it in the future as well as contact her supervisor to escort her onto the premises. It was then that they began to strike up a friendship.
Riane glanced in the rearview mirror at the receding guard station and released a nervous breath. "Stage one, complete," she joked sarcastically in a failed attempt to alleviate her tension.
She had been sure that the moment she pulled up to the gate, Mel would be able to tell what she was intending to do. Something would surely give her away – guilt, keeping her from looking him in the eye, a hesitant look, a tremor in her voice, or just blurting out that she was up to no good. She was so nervous that she couldn't swear she hadn't done any of those things. If she had, surely Mel would have said something, or, heaven forbid, called Security.
Mel was an elderly, kindly guard who always had a smile and pleasant attitude. She hated that she was probably destroying their friendship over this assignment, but it couldn't be helped. Mel had only thought he had seen her at her worst while dealing with her brother's death or the multitude of roadblocks Lindy had put in her way, but what she was about to do surely took the cake. She only hoped that when she was leaving the facility she would be just as lucky to get by without notice.
999
"You think she'll pull it off?" Jill questioned while watching the video feed from the tiny camera imbedded in the necklace she had insisted Kincaid wear. She had accompanied Olivera instead of LJ. She just couldn't sit at that house and wait. Besides, she was the better choice with her S.T.A.R.S. training. LJ was just a hoodlum. Granted, his skills were progressing as they went along, but he was still no match for her.
Leaning back in the driver's seat, Carlos gave her a sideways glance before closing his eyes. "She has as much riding on this as we do," he answered. "She's scared to death, but functioning. That says a lot for someone without the proper training to handle situations like this."
Jill nodded, continuing to follow Kincaid's progress through the halls to the lab in which she was stationed. "If she fails..."
"What, Jill? What can we do?" he demanded harshly. The anger surfacing was not directed at his companion, but at his inability to rectify the situation. Of course, Jill didn't know that.
"You know our choices as well as I do," she spat in answer to his hostility.
"Damn right I do. Turn Angie over to Umbrella or put a bullet in her brain." He turned his head and opened his eyes, glaring at Jill. "Pick your poison."
"Fuck you, Olivera." Neither answer suited her. If Kincaid failed, they would just have to find another way.
999
Riane went through her morning routine without a hitch. Depending on deadlines, there were usually two or three technicians working in each lab. She was scheduled to work with Wayne Pendleton today. The man was a lascivious letch and Riane detested working with him.
Rarely a day went by that he didn't make a lewd comment or manage to touch her inappropriately. She even went so far as to file a complaint against him, but nothing had been done to this date. They were investigating her charges. Perhaps that was the reason why he'd been so quiet around her this morning. He'd barely looked up when she said 'good morning', and uncharacteristically, managed to look past her breasts to her face when he did make the effort to return her greeting. Honestly, she doubted the Human Resources Department had counseled him. Most likely, it was the hub of activity that their lab was being subjected to for some unexplained reason that kept him in check.
Whether it was 'something in the air' or just the normal stop-ins for questions or requests, it seemed an unusually high volume to Riane. If she factored in her guilty conscience, there was really nothing strange about the day's activities; it was just her paranoia. Too many people had lingered during their intrusions for her to access the secured room in which the more 'volatile' components were kept and her frustration was mounting.
Eager for some time in the lab alone, she was grateful when the clock finally struck noon. On cue, she left for her normally scheduled lunch break. She casually mentioned, or at least, she hoped she sounded casual, to her fellow lab rat that she might be late in returning because she had an errand to run.
Truthfully, she had no intention of leaving, just waiting out of sight for the jerk to leave the lab so she could act unobserved while obtaining the anti-virus. She made her way past the elevators and waited around the corner by the stairwell access. Wayne never took the stairs, so she had no reason to worry about being discovered 'loitering'.
When she saw his greasy little self entering the elevator, she hurried back to the lab and held up her security badge to the electronic key that controlled the door. She rolled her eyes as she walked toward his work station. It was messy as always.
Something caught her eye, causing her to pause at his station. His badge. He left it behind, partially covered by a book he was reading. He would need her assistance in getting back into the lab without it, but more than that, she had just found a way to cover her actions.
She lifted his badge from beneath the book and headed to the room containing the anti-virus. She knew it was in there, had helped create the current batch that awaited transport. To be honest, she had no idea where or how the T-Virus had originated, didn't know what effects it had, only that it was highly classified. Her job was to combine specified chemicals, not to question the wherefores or whys.
Feeling just the slightest bit guilty about falsifying entry records, Riane used Wayne's security badge to access the inner security room. Her badge held the same clearance, but she hoped by using Wayne's, he would be approached first if something went wrong, allowing her time to get away before they had a chance to review security tapes. She knew it was horrible for her to put him at risk, but he was a major creep, plus she knew the video would exonerate him.
Once inside, she hurried to the computer panel and punched in the sequence to unlock the vials from storage. Immediately, it demanded a security password and she cursed herself for forgetting such an important detail. Password. Password! If she put hers in, then going to the trouble of using Wayne's badge was all for naught.
Think...think. She groaned when she remembered Wayne's degrading password. Hotbabeluvr. She could only pray it was still active; it had been several months since she had seen him key it in.
Command sequence initiated. She breathed a sigh of relief when the words appeared on the screen. "Hurry, hurry," she begged as the mechanical arms began moving the vials containing the ghoulish green liquid from storage to the specially reinforced case. When the case was full, she ended the program, sealing the storage unit again and opening the door to small glass enclosed room where the briefcase awaited pickup.
When her fingers curled around the handle, she reminded herself why she was doing this – to save her mom and niece from being killed. She lifted it from the steel table and headed for the door. On the way out, she tucked Wayne's badge back under his book and left the lab.
"Stage two complete," she quipped humorlessly upon entering the nearby stairwell.
999
Stay calm. Carlos sent a mental message to Riane. Just get in your car and go. Don't look back.
He straightened when he heard a snap, then the glimpse of her cell phone as she brought it up to her ear. His pulse went into overdrive when she began speaking. He noticed Jill visibly tense as well, if it was possible for her to become tenser than she was. He gripped the steering wheel and reached for the key that hung in the ignition. He had no idea what he could do. To drive into that facility with the security they had in place was near suicide. Yet, he couldn't risk losing the anti-virus now.
"Wait, wait," Jill urged when they heard her ask for her supervisor. Jill had a feeling she knew what Kincaid was up to.
"Yes, I know it is short notice, but my mother is quite ill and needs my help. I'll call you tomorrow when I know more. Thank you."
"Jesus Christ," he growled despite his relief.
"Tell me about it," Jill agreed. "She's heading for the parking garage."
999
Approaching the gate, she saw Mel at the guard station. She slowed down to allow the scanner to register the departure of her vehicle and rolled down her window to speak to him.
The case was on the floorboard under her legs. She could swear it was emanating heat...so hot it was burning into her legs. Of course, that was only her guilty conscience showing itself.
"Everything okay, Miss Kincaid?" he asked concernedly. It was unlike her to leave mid-day.
"Yes and no, Mel. Family emergency," she explained in all honesty. "Hopefully, it's not as bad as it seems, but I may be gone for a day or two."
He nodded, commiseration showing on his face. "I'll keep you in my prayers."
"Thanks, Mel. I appreciate it and hope to see you soon."
During the conversation her eyes kept drifting to the red light. She had to force herself to breathe, convinced that an alarm would sound at any moment, causing the team of security officers to appear from nowhere. Finally, the light changed to green and she was able to move off. She made a conscious effort not to show her relief when it changed. She merely waved a farewell to Mel, rolled up the window, and passed through the gate.
It didn't take long to come upon the SUV with the black tinted windows. She glared at the two people she knew were hiding inside, silently wishing them an eternity burning in hell. She knew they saw her, saw the hateful look on her face, and she didn't care.
"Stage three complete," she said, knowing they could hear her perfectly. "When we get back, I expect my family's release."
999
A phone rang somewhere in the building. With her hearing, it could have been floors away, but Alice heard it. The sound reverberated through steel, wood, and tile, echoing through halls and corridors. Honing in, she could hear the conversation clearly, and what she heard chilled her to the bone.
"It's gone?"
"Yes, sir. The bait has been taken."
"Then the end is near."
Her concentration wavered for a moment, but the sound of machines shrilly announcing her lapse brought her back to the impetus that drew her to this facility. She quickly brought the computer readings under control so that whoever might run in to check on her would believe it had been a glitch.
Her time was running out and she needed to pin down exactly what these fiends at Umbrella were up to. Focusing, she mentally accessed the computer system through the leads attached to her body. Once in the mainframe, she singled out the phone records to pinpoint whose conversation she overheard. One of the voices sounded familiar and she was not at all surprised to find out it was Doctor Isaacs – the very man who had spearheaded her mutation.
...to be continued.