Resident Evil: Abduction
Chapter Sixteen
"Shit, this sucks, man," LJ complained, slumping back against the cold steel that lined the back of the van. "Nothing like being trussed up in the back of a paddy wagon."
Carlos grunted and gave another useless tug at his bindings. Magnetized cuffs held them firmly by wrists and ankles to the seat and floor of the vehicle. A large metal band encased their chests, immobilizing them against the wall. The others sat opposite him in the air conditioned metal box. Carlos' eyes remained fixed steadily on a point above Angie's head for the twenty minutes they had been riding toward their fate. This afforded him the luxury of not having to look into their worried faces. He had failed...he had failed them...and the guilt was consuming him.
"Another fine mess you've gotten me into, Ollie," Riane misquoted sourly.
"You know it, sister," LJ agreed sourly.
"Where are they taking us, Carlos?" Angie asked.
"I don't know," he answered, still unable to meet their gazes. There was no amusement in Riane's comment, although he would have been surprised if she found their situation the least bit funny. They all knew what lie ahead, so it was pointless to discuss it – to give voice to it only made it that much more real.
"We could have taken 'em," LJ insisted.
He gave a disheartened laugh and ripped his gaze from the wall to steady on LJ. "Sure we could. And you were a tall blonde goddess in another lifetime," he quipped uncharacteristically. If LJ thought it was possible to win that battle, he was insane.
"Fuck you," LJ snapped. "I'm not ready to give up."
Carlos nodded. "No one is. So if you have any bright ideas, I'm all ears."
"Great, just great," LJ groaned. "How the hell'd they set us up?"
Scowling, Carlos said, "If we eliminate us – that leaves Jill or Alice. And stop swearing in front of the kid."
LJ gawked at him. "You gotta be kidding. We're being escorted to our deaths and you're worried about me cussing?"
"Shut up."
161616
Silence had fallen on the group for the last half hour until the vehicle slowly came to a stop. With no road noise to cover it, Carlos swore he could hear their hearts beating loudly. In actuality, he could feel his heart thumping heavily in his chest and the sound of the blood rushing past his eardrums was almost deafening. Their fate loomed closer and Carlos was out of options. At this point, praying for a miracle was all that was left, but miracles were rare and he'd already been granted one that day – Angie's life.
The locks clanked noisily as the bar lifted on the outside and the door opened with agonizing slowness. Each of Umbrella's prisoners turned their attention toward the opening while straining against their bonds.
A helmeted trooper stood in the doorway, his hand poised over the button that would release them from the wall only. He could barely been seen in the darkness. Suddenly, his hand changed direction and the sound of clanking metal disrupted the silence.
Carlos sprung to his feet, ready to attack the trooper who foolishly released them from all their shackles. Just as he was about to make his move, the trooper put a hand to the front of his helmet, lifting it backwards. With a flash of red hair, 'his' identity was revealed.
"Miss me?" Alice asked, flashing a brilliant smile as she winked.
"Goddamn right, bitch!" LJ cried jubilantly. "Where the fuck ya been?"
Shaking his head in disbelief, Carlos jumped from the van and put a hand on Alice's shoulder. "Good to see you, Alice. Thought this was the end for us."
Alice nodded, stepping back while the others exited the van. Amusement danced in her eyes as she watched Angie, who was happily anxious to climb down to come to her. The sight of Olivera helping an unknown redhead from the trailer to the ground, his hold on her lingering far too long for convenience, distracted Alice from the child. Shaking her head, she turned back to Angie, who launched herself from the truck into Alice's arms. Giggling along with Angie, thoughts of Olivera's companion faded. It was good to be 'home'.
"Let me ask this question without LJ's colorful vernacular...where have you been, Alice? And...how did you find us?"
Setting Angie onto her feet, she turned to Olivera, subconsciously angered at the close proximity the strawberry blonde stood to him. "Let's get on the road and then I'll answer your questions," she said. "I sent you the meeting coordinates. When I arrived, I saw the trap they had set. So, I disabled all their vehicles, and aided a goon out of his uniform."
Smiling wickedly, she turned on her heel and began walking toward the front of the truck. "By the way, I brought you a gift."
Annoyed, Carlos waited along with the others for Alice to rejoin them. He barely had a chance to process what he saw when Riane gave a delighted squeal and took off running toward Alice. He blinked in disbelief as she scooped up the child that stood holding Alice's hand. He recognized her from the photographs he had seen in Riane's home. "How?"
"Long story, bud," she said, motioning toward the darkness. "Always have a backup plan, right?" she nodded to no one in particular. "There's an SUV about fifteen feet away. Let's go!"
Alice reached for the door handle and froze when Angie suddenly jerked her hand free. She spun around to find Isaacs holding a gun to the girl's head. "You're kidding, right?" she asked mockingly.
Isaacs smirked as the group was surrounded
Afraid to attack Isaacs and have the gun go off and kill Angie, Alice remained stock-still. She gauged the proximity of each of her friends as well as her enemies. If Olivera moved, his little chippee's brains would spatter all over his backside. The same went for LJ; movement from any one of them would result in the death of one or all of them.
Gritting her teeth, she realized there was only one way out of this. She stared directly at Isaacs so as not to give away her intention. Envisioning each of the troopers gasping for air and clawing at their throats, she made no outward notice as it happened in reality. The sickening sound of death hung in the night air.
She noted the amazed expressions of her friends, and the annoyed look Isaacs's face held. He knew exactly what was happening, yet he did not fear what was to come for him. Perplexed, Alice turned her attention to him as one by one, the troopers collapsed to the ground unconscious.
"Do your worst," he goaded. "I think you'll be surprised by the results."
Alice's eyelids closed to thin slits as she glared at Isaacs. "Let her go," she demanded. "I will kill you."
He inclined his head. "No doubt you will try. I imagine it will be bloody." He chuckled madly. "And maybe the blood will be hers," he offered, forcing the muzzle of the gun against Angie's temple.
"Stupid fuck," Alice muttered as she concentrated on her target. In her mind's eye she saw Isaacs' skull being crushed between two invisible forces. The space between them collapsing as each second passed. Soon his head would explode...
"Ahhhhhh!" she cried out, doubling over from the excruciating shockwave that ripped through her skull.
Isaacs raised a brow and looked at Umbrella's failed experiment with the amusement of a demented child who enjoyed torturing animals. "I think you just had a very important lesson, Alice."
"You bastard," she hissed, her breathing erratic.
"Perhaps now you will be more willing to..."
Screeching tires halted his speech and billows of dust enveloped the group. When it dissipated, everyone stared in amazement at the black Lexus that appeared behind Isaacs and Angie.
"Say hello to my leetle friend," Jill mocked in a perfectly horrible Mexican accent. She was sitting in the open window of the driver's door, one arm draped over the top of the SUV. With the other, she held a gun to the back of Isaacs' head. "Drop the gun, shit stain, or I'll take pleasure in airing out your brains."
He felt the cold steel pressing into his flesh and he fought back a shiver of dread. He was lucky the upgrade given to Alice was working, but just as the other implants were failing, he was sure it wouldn't be long before this one would too. They had been lucky to extract the little bit of information they did – prearranged meeting places if and when the group was separated. At this point, Alice was under control, but her implants had no affect on her friends, and he was at their mercy.
"Alice!" Angie yelled, spinning around when she felt Isaac's grip loosen. "Let me...go!" she demanded, but he tightened his grip and held her firmly.
The sound of countless approaching vehicles echoed in the darkness.
"You know if you shoot," Isaacs warned. "I'll take her with me."
Alice's gaze swept over the group quickly. "Call off your dogs, Isaacs, and order one vehicle to approach. Only one. You...and you alone...can leave."
Feeling the gun press harder into his skill, he reluctantly nodded. A voice command turned on the communicator affixed to his ear and he spoke carefully. "Omega Lead – hold. Send leader for pickup only. Do NOT engage targets."
"Sir?" a disembodied voice asked through the earpiece.
"You heard me. Engagement unauthorized."
"Yes, Sir! Lead moving in."
Another command closed communications. "It is done."
"Release the girl," Olivera ordered, stepping forward and immediately halting when Isaacs firmed his grip on his gun.
"When Lead arrives, you'll have the girl."
Carlos sneered, but remained where he was. Movement on his left turned his attention to Riane and Lindy. Both had remained silent, frozen in fear. The girl had not spoken since Alice revealed her presence, and the glazed look caused him to think she was in shock. Although obviously frightened herself, Riane silently comforted a seemingly aloof Lindy.
Minutes felt like hours while they waiting for the vehicle as it cautiously approached. Beads of sweat rolled down Angie's cheeks, fearing Isaacs's gun would go off at any moment. After her close call with death, she was neither ready nor willing to die.
The vehicle rolled to a stop and the rear door swung open. All the windows remained cloaked in dark tint and no one emerged.
Isaacs inched away from Jill and made his was toward it, clumsily bringing Angie along with him. When he came to the open door, he released her with a violent shove, sending her hard to the ground.
Meanwhile, LJ and Alice had climbed into the SUV with Jill. Riane and Lindy were approaching the vehicle, while Carlos dashed to Angie, scooped her up, and ran back to the SUV. He and Angie climbed in, and then he turned to help Lindy, holding her on his lap while Riane climbed aboard.
Jill threw the vehicle in gear and started off just as Riane's foot hit the side step rail and her hand curled around the inside door grip.
No one was prepared for the unholy shriek that filled the interior of the vehicle; nor would they have imagined that Lindy would kick out, sending Riane flat on her back on the dirty pavement.
"It's your fault!" she screamed. "You killed Grams...you killed Dad!"
Carlos gripped her firmly by the waist while she kicked and screamed, vainly attempting to get to the open doorway to aid Riane. Lindy's frantic tirade slowed him down and Jill had sped several feet from their original position before he could even get a view of Riane.
"No!" he bellowed just as an unseen figure reached out of the vehicle that Isaacs had just entered, grabbing her by the shoulders. In a flash of strawberry blonde hair, she was gone.
"Go after them!" He demanded.
Silence answered him as Jill continued at an insane rate and made no attempt to change direction.
"We can't..." he trailed, slumping back against the seat in defeat.
"Sorry, Olivera," Jill finally responded. "You know they'd kill us all."
He looked down at Lindy. She had calmed; her face was blank, her eyes lifeless. "Why?"
After a long pause, Lindy's eyes met his. "He'll punish her," she answered coldly.
"And she deserves it."
...epilogue to follow...