"A breakout?" Bryan exclaimed. "How could anyone have been so incompetent that they couldn't have locked up the cages last night like I ordered?"

Bryan was very distraught; this was his neck on the line, all because someone else made a mistake. He had to deal with that when it came to Justin all too often, but when it came to other people; he had a very short fuse.

"Alright," he sighed, "give me details."

"Well sir," said Patrick Danger, a scientist who, in Bryan's opinion, could never live up to his surname if his life depended on it, "it seems two of our canine test subjects escaped last night during feeding time, and when Dr. Michaleson and Dr. Straught were leaving they forgot to lock the main doors, so we believe they have left the mansion grounds and could be headed for the city we have tried to…."

Danger's voice faded away as Bryan's mind took him to another world. All it took was that one name and he melted.

Dr. Michaelson…Dr. Ingrid Michaelson

Ingrid had come to work at the mansion shortly after Bryan did. They had a lot in common and got along right off the bat. He could talk about anything with her, and she him….that is everything except the one thing he wanted to talk about…them. Bryan was never quite as good with the ladies as most of the other guys he knew, and Ingrid, being a much higher-level scientist then himself was always busy working on T-Virus projects, but his day to leave the mansion and go to the city was coming up fast and he knew what he had to do. He planned to ask her out that night at dinner, but everything had to be perfect….everything had to be…

"Sir, are you listening Sir?" Danger's loud mouth snapped him back to reality.

"Uh, yea, yes…" stammered Bryan, "what was the infection level of these two subjects?"

"Freshly infected sir."

"Well, for all we know they could be sniffing out a squirrel somewhere on the premises. I want a full perimeter check…shoot to kill. If anyone happens to see one on the loose contact both myself and a guard immediately….I don't want anyone playing hero…understand?"

The scientists in the room filed out in an orderly fashion leaving Bryan alone to his fantasies…or so he thought.

"I hear you have an escapee."

Without turning around Bryan replied teasingly, "Hello to you too Ingrid."

"So, what's the story?"

"Well," he said, "Seems that you and Dr. Straught forgot to lock the main door after administering the shots yesterday."

"Oh," she replied.

"Don't worry, I'll see that Straught knows better next time," Bryan laughed and winked at her, "So, where you off to?"

"I have to go down to the lab and get a few more vials of the blue stuff." She said.

"I could use a walk, mind if I join you?" Bryan asked.

"Not at all, actually there's something that I've been meaning to ask you."

Bryan's heart skipped a beat, "Yea?" he said, trying very hard not to sound anxious.

"Yea," she said, "See, I've meaning to ask you this for a long time, but I wasn't sure if it'd be right, I mean, I'd absolutely hate to upset you or make things uncomfortable between us, you know?"

"Mmhmm," Bryan replied. He had never drank alcohol or don drugs before in his life, but if their affects were anything similar to the euphoria he was experiencing right now, then god bless anyone who had.

"So, if you don't mind my asking…you know what—maybe this is a bad idea….never mind." She picked up her walking pace leaving Bryan lagging behind a bit.

"No, no please tell me….I promise I won't be upset." He was praying she was about to ask what he thought she was.

"Well, ok." She said. "Rumor has it that," she paused and glanced at Bryan, he couldn't tell why but it seemed as thought she changed her mind again, and then slowly began to say, "Wesker is…um, thinking of giving a few of us team heads and lead scientists pay increases…he hasn't said anything to you in any of your emails has he?"

Bryan's heart sank, but it didn't slow down. "No," he replied, "Sorry, but I'll keep you posted."

They reached the special blast door that sealed the room where the T-Virus was generated.

"Well," Ingrid said, "This is my stop, I'd ask you to walk me in but I'm sure you have other things to do."

"Yea, I'll catch you later," he replied.

As she turned around to enter to security code that would let her into the room Bryan had an argument with his conscious. He knew he wanted to ask her, and he could almost swear that she was about to ask him. But he wanted everything to be perfect at the same time.

When he turned back around to talk to her she was already inside the room.

"Fuck perfect," he thought, "It's now or never." Then punched in the code and walked in.

When he entered the room Ingrid already had 3 glass vials out on the table and a case to put them in under her arm.

"I thought you had somewhere to go." She said as she put the case onto the table with the vials.

Bryan swallowed harder then he ever had before. "Ingrid, I need to ask you something."

"Okay tiger," she said, "but you look kinda sick."

Completely ignoring her response he continued almost like a machine.

"I was wondering," he stammered, "Well you see," he said, "I guess what I'm trying to say is….um…"

"Cat got your tongue?" she laughed at him.

"Ingrid I have been totally head-over-heels for you since the moment you walked in the mansion's front door…" he blurted out.

Without missing a beat she replied, "I came in the back door."

Bryan walked up to her almost jumping out of his skin, and before he could say another word, Ingrid came forward and kissed him. It was such an intense feeling that Bryan felt every last inch of his body explode with emotion, with love. He picked her up and sat her on the table where the vials were and they kissed, and kissed, and kept kissing. Bryan finally felt complete for once in his life.

As they kissed the table shook.

As the table shook one of the vials inched closer and closer to the edge of the table.

They stopped kissing.

"My room or yours?" Ingrid asked.

"Mine," he said, "Justin will be out playing poker till at least 11."

They ran for the door of the room, hand in hand.

"Wait," Bryan stopped. "What about the vials?"

"Screw'em," Ingrid replied. "Who else knows the code except you, Justin and I?"

"Good point," Bryan answered, "Lets go!"

As they ran they slammed the door behind them. Everything seemed perfect, except for one fatal flaw. They had forgotten that the T-Virus containment room was pressure sensitive, and unless the door is shut slowly the pressure in the room was thrown off.

As the door slammed the pressure changed.

As the pressure changed the table shook.

As the table shook, one of the vials fell off and crashed onto the floor.