Resident Evil: Abduction

Chapter Eight

"Damn, I never thought she'd come off with the loot," LJ commented as he joined Carlos and Jill at the table.

"Yeah, you're not alone," Jill agreed. Opening the case, she took a long look at the vials containing the eerie green liquid. "But it's none too soon. Angie doesn't look well."

"She's starting to deteriorate, just as Alice warned would happen," Carlos added. He reached a hand to the nape of his neck, attempting to massage the tension from his knotted muscles. "A few more days and she'd be too far gone to save."

A somber silence fell over the group for a few minutes until LJ slapped the table, startling his companions. "Well now, it isn't too late, so why we all actin' like it is?"

"Right," Jill agreed. "We'll give Angie a little rest. After a dose of this," she said, closing the case. "Everything will be fine."

"For us," Carlos stated. He looked toward the bedroom where he had left Riane.

"She'll know the truth, Olivera," Jill reasoned. "About damn time we weren't the only ones who did."

"It's not like she's been unaffected by this, Jill." He stood and went over to the window. The night sky was cloudless, allowing the moon's silvery beams to shine brightly overhead, penetrating through the limbs of the trees. It brought the landscape to life, allowing him to see the forest creatures on their nocturnal activities. A rabbit scurried from the porch, heading towards the woods; meanwhile, a deer stood at the edge of the clearing, staring at the cabin as though it knew Carlos was watching. What he didn't see were any predators...especially the two-legged kind. For that small favor, he was thankful. "No matter what we left behind to clear her of blame, Umbrella will make her life hell."

"Maybe, but we had little choice. Angie's life was at stake."

"No argument."

888

"I'm ready," Angie said, hopping up onto the chair. She calmly extended her arm and waited for Carlos to administer the injection. She hated them, but it was the matter of the lesser of two evils. She could also do it herself, but every once in a while, she let one of the grownups do it. She wasn't sure if it was because she liked them taking care of her, or if it made them feel as though she needed them. Which she did...need them.

"Good girl, Angie," Jill praised, holding her other hand.

LJ remained silent. Shots gave him the willies, and it took a lot of resolve to hold onto his dinner while he observed the process.

"Yes, good," Carlos said, holding the injector gun to her arm.

"If you care anything for that child, you will stop right now."

Quick reflexes kicked in, causing him to lift his finger from the trigger. Time seemed to stand still for him. He stared mutely at the injector, his senses suddenly on edge. He heard everything around him amplified tenfold – Jill's quick intake of breath, LJ cursing 'fuck me!', Angie's hair tossing about when she turned in the direction of the voice. He would even swear later that he could hear the adrenaline-fed blood rushing through his veins, and the sound of the crickets, owls, and other forest creatures was almost deafening.

After what seemed to Carlos an eternity, but in reality was only a mere second, he blinked, focusing on the doom bearer. His...their...world was about to crash around them.

"What are you trying to pull?" Jill questioned angrily, take a step toward Kincaid.

LJ reached out and put a restraining hand on Jill's shoulder. "Hang on, Jill. Something's not right with her," he whispered.

"Is she all right?" Angie asked, turning to Carlos.

Was she? He wasn't sure. "I don't know, Angie." Riane stood stock-still; she was ghostly white, and her eyes appeared glazed and unfocused, seemingly unaware of her surroundings.

"Riane?" he called out while setting aside the injector. He stood and took the few paces to reach her. She made no indication she heard him, and he was sure she wasn't seeing him either. In her hands, she clung to the digital video camera he had left her with. He gently peeled her fingers away to take it from her, and that was when she sparked back to life. Her fingers again closed around the camera, refusing to let go.

"Tell me this was a lie," she pleaded in a lost, weary voice.

His eyes locked onto hers, seeing the pain and confusion swirling in their green depths. It was more than seeing the truth that had disturbed her, but what was it? "I'm sorry, Riane. There was no reactor meltdown. Umbrella detonated a nuclear device in Raccoon City to cover up the effects of the T-virus."

Shook her head as if it would make his words untrue, but there was no way of hiding from the reality of their world. A single tear slipped from her eye as she handed the camera to Carlos and pointed at the paused image. "My brother."

He glanced down at the ghoulish image of the undead creature Terri had recorded outside the Ravens Gate Church. It sickened him to see it again even after viewing the recording so many times. He lived it nightly in his dreams and seeing it in his waking hours was something he didn't care to do.

"I'm sorry, Lady," LJ offered, knowing it was too little, too late. Nothing would make it bearable.

Riane nodded and blindly sat in the overstuffed chair Jill led her to. Compassion from these people was unexpected, but after seeing David on that video, she had no choice but to believe what they had to say. David would never participate in the cruel hoax Umbrella led the public to believe. David had died in Raccoon City long before the meltdown.

"I just don't understand how this could happen," she said, sadness overwhelming her.

Jill went to Carlos and took the camera. "It's difficult to watch, but if you had managed to get past Terri's death, you would have seen a segment that Alice recorded, explaining it all," she said, fast forwarding through the recording. She held it out to Riane who shook her head and looked down at the floor. "You've been pretty tough so far, Kincaid. Don't disappoint me now."

Riane looked up and Jill saw the defiance slowly creeping back into the woman's eyes. Good. She's not weak. "No more gruesome activity," she promised. "Just Alice explaining her part in this."

She looked around at the others in the room who were watching her with solemn expressions. The sight of Angie watching her intently caught her attention. This child had been through it all and that thought broke Riane's heart. If it had been Lindy, she would have done anything to protect her. Was this what everything was about? Were these three adults protecting this child in ways Riane could not fathom?

"Okay," she relented and accepted the camera. She stared at it for a moment before hitting the play button. The small screen was filled instantly with the face of a beautiful, if not tormented, redhead.

"My name is Alice. I have worked for the Umbrella Corporation – the largest and most powerful commercial entity in the world. I was head of security at a secret high-tech facility called The Hive – a giant underground laboratory developing experimental viral weaponry. But there was an incident – the virus escaped and everybody died. The trouble was...they didn't stay dead. The T-virus reanimated their bodies. But I survived. Myself and one other—an environmentalist named Matt. When we emerged, we were seized by Umbrella's scientists. Matt and I were separated. We thought we had survived the horror...but we were wrong."

Riane switched off the camera and handed it to Jill. She was glad to be rid of it. Her head was throbbing uncontrollably and she wanted nothing more than to escape this madness. She propped her elbows on her knees and hid her face in her hands. That was unlikely to happen. These people were nothing if not persistent.

"When they reopened The Hive to recover their experiments, they released the virus onto an unsuspecting city. Those that had been infected and contained underground were free to feed," Carlos continued the explanation, unaware he was massaging his left arm where Yuri had bitten him. "Hours after bitten, the virus mutates the living cells, causing death. Moments later, they are..."

"I saw, I saw," Riane's agonized voice was scarcely heard through the muffle of her hands. She sat upright, violently brushing the tears from her cheeks. "Why are you injecting Angie with the anti-virus?"

Angie hung her head for a moment before returning her gaze to Riane. Although the T-virus had been meant as a cure for her disease, it saddened her to know her father's intentions had been perverted into madness. "My daddy created the virus as a way to save me from the same disease he suffered from. The anti-virus keeps it under control," she explained. She stood and walked over to Riane and laid a gentle hand on her knee. "It wasn't supposed to be like this..."

The sadness in the child's eyes broke her heart. Riane reached out and placed a palm lightly on her cheek. Her fever was still prevalent and Riane was brought back to the sight she had walked in on. They never intended to use the serum against Umbrella...this was all for the love and protection of a child. "The anti-virus is for you?"

Angie nodded, but didn't answer because Carlos patted her head. "Go on to bed now," he urged. "We need to talk to Riane."

"I understand," she acknowledged. The adults wanted to talk about her. She wasn't dimwitted. She was dying and she knew it. Riane's warning was real. Now the adults wanted to quiz her on what she meant and they didn't want her to hear. She wasn't fragile; she could handle it, but at the moment, she was too tired to argue with them. She would find out soon enough.

"Good night, Angie," Jill called as LJ walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind them.

"You can't give her that serum," Riane reiterated her earlier warning.

"What do you know?" Jill asked while seating herself on the couch opposite Riane. She intentionally withdrew her gun and laid it across her lap as incentive for the woman to be forthcoming with information.

"You don't need that," Riane remarked sourly.

Ignoring the interaction, Carlos stepped between them and sat beside Jill. "If you haven't gathered, Angie is dying. According to Alice, the virus is slowing causing her to deteriorate. She'll be dead in a few days. We want to prevent that, at any cost."

"Of course you do," Riane agreed. "She's become like a daughter or sister...family."

"Yes."

It was Carlos who answered and Riane again witnessed that steely expression wavering. The child was his Achilles Heel, but she wondered if he truly realized how much she meant to him. "As Lindy has become like my daughter," she continued. "You banked on that."

The accusation in her eyes was clear and Carlos nodded. "With all that I have."

"Is Lindy safe?" she asked outright, tired of the games.

"Tell us about the anti-virus," Jill insisted.

Riane stood and walked over to the case, picking up the injector that Carlos had set aside. "Three days before you darkened my doorstep, we were preparing the anti-virus for shipment to an undisclosed location. Two rather high ranking Umbrella executives interrupted our process. We were excused from the interior room and sent back to our stations. My co-worker decided to take a break, but I stayed." She released a sick laugh as she set the injector down. "For such highly...successful...people, they aren't too bright. Our procedure is to leave the intercom on between rooms when anyone enters that chamber. Just in case something goes wrong and help is needed quickly. I watched them add components to the anti-virus while they discussed their plans."

"And?" Carlos asked impatiently. He sat forward and braced an elbow on his knee; his jaw visibly tensed, his nostrils flared. His eyes followed her closely while he held back the urge to lunge at her, shaking the details forcibly from her. Instead, he leaned back again, his fists clenched at his sides.

"They contaminated the anti-virus with enough of the T-virus to make it ineffective. They were leaving it as bait for 'terrorists' they said." She squared her shoulders and looked Carlos in the eye. "They were expecting you."

"Goddamn it," Jill cursed, outraged.

"They couldn't know we would..."

"They did," Riane interrupted. "What was it exactly...'intelligence says they are desperate for the anti-virus. This will rid us of any lingering problems with the dissidents. They'll have no evidence after this is used'...yeah, I think that was it," she quoted.

"Why didn't you tell us this from the beginning?" Carlos demanded furiously. He stood and took an angry step toward her. He clenched and unclenched his fists, releasing the urge to wrap his fingers around her neck. He wasn't sure if his anger was from their failure to help Angie or this information being kept from him. "We don't know the effect this could have had...Angie could have died instantly."

"I think that was their intention," Riane supposed, unaffected by his angry outburst. She raised a brow in defiance, but silently admitted if he had come any closer she would have backed away. "As for me, I owed you nothing. I was following the orders of my captors. Supplying you with any information to further your cause was not part of the bargain."

"You may have it all figured out, but it won't stop me from kicking your ass," Jill snapped.

"If it makes you feel better," Riane answered uncaringly.

"Stop it," Carlos ordered. "This is not helping. We need to find another way...before it's too late."

Riane had an idea, and wanted to help save the little girl. "I hold no love for Umbrella; not after what I've discovered about my brother," she began. When Jill and Carlos gave her their undivided attention, she continued. "My life will never be what it was. I'm not stupid enough to believe it could be, but if you want my help, I have to know my family is safe."

To be continued...

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This segment transcribed from the movie Resident Evil: Apocalypse. No infringements intended.