"They'll pay, they'll pay!"
Bryan had created a mantra for himself as he ran through the halls of the mansion, planning on killing Kenny and Richard as soon as he found them.
"Bryan, slow down man," Justin was trying hard to catch up to his friend, "Come on man, and calm down."
All this was happening too quickly for Justin. He could remember just the other day harassing his underlings on the phone, and seeing Steve in the infirmary. However it seemed like light years from the very moment he was living right now. Plus, he knew Bryan could be power-hungry sometimes, but lately he had become a whole new person…a person Justin was beginning to dislike.
Bryan continued to walk briskly, leaving Justin behind. He had to take care of what he had started, the S.T.A.R.S had to die.
Bryan had just reached the door at the end of the hallway, the door that was just outside the front hall when Justin caught up, grabbed his shoulder, and spun him around.
"What the hell is your problem man, are you going deaf or something?" he asked.
"Back off Baker, this isn't about you."
"Oh really? I never would have guessed." Justin replied sarcastically.
Bryan didn't laugh.
"Come on dude, lighten up, this wasn't any one person's fault, the appropriate measures will be taken, just not now." Justin said as he slapped his friend on the arm in hopes of loosening him up a bit.
Bryan glared at him, and then raised his pistol and aimed at Justin.
"What the fuck?" Justin exclaimed jumping back.
"Listen Baker, don't push me…I've had a rough day, and the last thing I want to have to do is shoot everything that's been going on around here, I'd hate to waste the ammo." Bryan said slowly, his gun not moving from right between Justin's eyes.
"You don't have to do this Bryan, you know that." Justin said, trying to negotiate.
SLAM
"What the hell?" Bryan exclaimed, spinning towards the front hall door.
Just at that moment, Justin jumped Bryan, knocking the pistol to the floor. The two scrambled for it, but Justin had always been a bit more athletic so he got to it first.
"Now," he said panting, "Calm the fuck down."
"Did you hear that?" Bryan said, ignoring Justin.
"Yea, what was it?"
"I don't know, but it came from the front hall." Bryan said, propping his ear against the door to take a better listen.
He heard a voice.
"It was unlocked when I grabbed it."
It sounded to Bryan like a male in his mid to late twenties. Before he could tell Justin he heard another person speak.
"Think Bravo Team is here?"
Another male, significantly older sounding. Bryan also heard footsteps, so he assumed there had to be more then just the two.
"What is it?" Justin asked.
"People, I think more S.T.A.R.S. I need my pistol back." Bryan said looking at him sternly.
"How about no?" Justin replied.
"I'm sorry about before, but this is for my own protection, plus you having two pistols do both you and me no good, we can do more with one each then you can with two." Bryan said taking a step in.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Justin said as he slowly slid the pistol back towards Bryan, "I swear, if you pull any funny shit, I'm shooting your ass…I swear to god."
Thump
"Shh, what was that noise? Wait, they're still talking," Bryan said, picking his pistol up and returning his ear to the door.
"What was that?"
A females voice now, she'd be no problem to take care of.
"Sounds like it came from over there; I'll go check it out"
A third man's voice, significantly younger then the other two.
Bryan heard a door open and shut, and then he waved Justin over.
"Put your ear up against the door and listen for me," Bryan said, "I'm going to peak through the keyhole and see what I can see."
The two men crouched next to the door and did their appropriate duties.
Bryan squinted through the small keyhole to see what he could, but it was difficult to make anything out. The room they were in was significantly darker then the front hall and that made it hard as well. The only light in their room was track lighting along two sides, which lit up various pieces of hideous artwork, and a spotlight in the center of the room lighting a horrid statue that held some kind of clay pot in its arms at head level.
He saw two people, the woman, and what he assumed was the oldest of the three men. The second man was off to the side somewhere and out of Bryan's view. The older man sat on the steps, zipping and unzipping his orange vest. The girl leaned against the railing of the stairs next to the older man, checking her ammunition.
"Sir?" the female said.
"Yes Valentine?" The man out of Bryan's view replied.
"I'm still confused how this place can be kept up so well, it's been abandoned for years, why would Chief Irons tell people never to come near here if it is so beautiful?" Valentine said.
"Like I said before Jill, I just don't know, but I promise we will figure it out before we leave here…good enough?" The same man replied.
"Yessir." Jill Valentine replied.
"Hey, Bryan." Justin whispered.
"Yea?"
"Doesn't one of those voices sound awfully familiar to you?"
"Yea, it does, but I can't figure it out." Bryan replied.
"Me neither." Justin said.
They went back to listening.
"You think Chris is alright Barry?" Jill asked, looking at the older man
"He can hold his own, he should be alright" Barry, replied.
Bang-Bang-Bang
Bryan and Justin both reeling back from the door in shock; Bryan quickly returning to the keyhole to spy.
"Chris!" Jill shouted.
"Jill I want you to go check it out." The voice off to the side ordered. .
"Not alone…I'm going with her." Barry said.
The team conversed briefly over who would stay and who would go, and then the two ran off, the door slamming behind them. The left over man, the one Bryan had been unable to see to this point, wandered into the middle of the room, his back to the door.
He was tall; about six foot two, with blonde hair, and what Bryan could make out as the back of a pair of sunglasses rounding his ears. He was built very well, with muscles that showed through his uniform and he stood straight, and with purpose, which led Bryan to assume, that that, along with his ability to direct his team, he had to be captain of this group of S.T.A.R.S.
Bryan and Justin backed away from the door.
"I know that voice from somewhere, I swear it!" Justin whispered.
"Me too," Bryan said, "But I'm not sure. Anyway, there is only one left now, and we can take him."
"What?" Justin replied.
All this time they had been listening Bryan had almost forget his vendetta against anything S.T.A.R.S. and Justin had almost forgot how crazed his friend had become. But things soon returned to normal, or something resembling it.
"You heard me." Bryan said coldly, "They killed Ingrid, it's their fault, and they are all going to pay…every last one of them." Bryan said reaching for the doorknob.
That's when they heard footsteps. The man from the foyer was heading their way.
"Get against the wall…now!" Bryan whispered.
"I swear Bryan," Justin whispered as the two men put their backs against the wall on each side of the door way.
The knob turned and the door swung open.
The man walked in, and right past them, not seeing them in the shadows behind him.
Bryan stepped forward.
"Don't move you fucking S.T.A.R.S son-of-a-bitch!" Bryan said, pointing the barrel of the pistol at the back of the man's head.
Justin shut the door, closing the three men in the room, and wrapping them in the dim light.
"I suggest you put that gun back where you got it from." The familiar voice said.
"Or what?" Bryan replied.
"Or I will shove it so far up your ass you won't eat for a week." The man replied as he began to turn around.
"Stop or I'll shoot" Bryan said.
"No, you won't" The voice said.
Bryan stumbled backwards.
Standing in front of both Justin and himself was his idol, his god, Albert Wesker. Bryan went pale with the thought of what he had just done, pointing a gun at, and threatening to kill his superior, the one man he respected.
But before he could apologize, he caught up with himself. That's when he saw it.
The S.T.A.R.S. uniform.
Albert Wesker was standing there, fully-outfitted in a S.T.A.R.S. uniform. Bryan couldn't even understand what we saw.
"You traitorous asshole!" Bryan stammered raising his pistol again, and cocking it.
"Excuse me?" Wesker said calmly.
"I…I trusted you…WE trusted you….everyone here, and you, you're one of them?" Bryan yelled with disgust.
"Bryan calm down man," Justin said.
"Shut up! Shut up! Just shut up!" Bryan said swinging his pistol towards Justin then back at Wesker.
"Richardson and Baker, I presume?" Wesker asked, unphased by the firearm pointed at him.
"Yea," Justin replied, "How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess." Wesker replied.
"I thought I said shut up!" Bryan yelled.
"Richardson, listen," Wesker said, "If you can't calm down, and listen to what I have to say, none of this can be solved….understand?"
"Calm down? Listen? Why? You S.T.A.R.S. killed Ingrid, so you have to pay, plain and simple." Bryan responded.
"There's your first mistake." Wesker replied.
"Hmm?" Bryan asked.
"You said YOU S.T.A.R.S. however, I am not really a S.T.A.R.S. team member." Wesker said.
"I don't get it." Justin interjected.
"Umbrella positioned me in a place of power in Raccoon city where I could over watch process here, and maintain order there. They made me Captain of this S.T.A.R.S. team, but only as a cover-up." Wesker replied.
"Sounds legit enough," Bryan responded, slightly calmer then before, "How'd you pull it off so long though?"
"It's easier then you would have thought," he said, leaning up against the statue, "They don't ask questions when you grease the right palms."
"Alright," Bryan said, lowering his pistol, "Then why did you send your two teams in to investigate? I sent you plenty of updates, Umbrella wouldn't want them snooping around up here, especially if this was an accidental outbreak."
"Well that it was," Wesker said, "But I sent in my teams under orders different then what Umbrella and I actually expected. They were sent in under the premise of investigating disappearances in the woods. However I had the Bravo Team 'copter sabotaged, and personally lead this mission, in hopes that both teams would end up here so Umbrella could do a little "field testing" of their product, so long as the environment had been so kindly furnished."
"The T-Virus." Justin said.
"Exactly." Wesker replied.
"So, what you are saying is, is that the teams that are here are simply here as a test to see how T-Virus subjects and creatures hold up against combat situations?" Bryan asked.
"Couldn't have put it better myself," Wesker replied, "And I was on my way to send off my first report, when I was so rudely interrupted."
"Sorry, sir." Bryan said, lowering his head.
"It's alright Richardson," Wesker replied, "I'm actually glad I ran into you two. You can help me out. The mansion grounds, as you know, are huge. So my eyes alone can not witness all the trouble my teams will get into this evening. Therefore I need your help."
"I'm not so sure sir—," Justin began, but he was cut off.
"Give us orders and we will follow sir," Bryan said eager to please.
"Good," Wesker said, "I want you two to split up, and monitor what goes on from a neutral standpoint. Since we know the grounds better then any of my team, if you find them lost or slowly finding nothing to do, do what you can to lead them to another test subject, without being noticed. Every so often we will meet back in the lobby of the underground laboratory to recon. Understood?"
"Yessir," Bryan said, "We're honored to be given the privledge."
They heard a door open in the foyer.
"Wesker?" Barry shouted.
"Captain?" Jill echoed.
"Alright guys," Wesker said, "We have to split up now, you know what to do. We meet in the lobby in 3 hours, understood?"
"Got it, good luck sir." Bryan said as Wesker went through the door that lead back to the hallway Justin and Bryan had come from.
"Alright Justin," Bryan said, "You follow the girl, I'm sure Wesker has the older man, and I will take care of the younger one. Be careful though, there is another team of them out and about. Good luck."
"Wait Bryan, I'm not sure this is right, I mean…" Justin's words were heard only by the paintings that lined the room as Bryan had already taken off through one of the doors.
"Jill, if you need anything, you know what to do…I'll keep an ear out." Justin heard the man on the other side of the door say.
The doorknob began to turn.
"Goddamnit." Justin said, taking off through another door before the man entered the room.
"This is going to be the night from hell." He thought to himself running off into the darkness.