Chapter Twelve: The True Mission

J.D. bounced on the balls of his feet, trying to stay beside the Trevor cabin. The rain pounded against the rooftop so that it sounded like a constant BOOM in the night. He could wait inside for One, though every time he glanced up at the cabin's glassless openings his imagination pictured several unfathomable horrors lurking and waiting.

"Don't be a pussy," he told himself, yet remained with his back pressed against the wall. Just being smart, he kept telling himself. Besides, there had to be at least half a dozen of those ivy-things at the cabin's entrance. They didn't seem to be doing much of anything, just staring into the raining sky. Still, he didn't want to take a chance, not alone at least.

He bet the bars downtown were really picking up right now. He could be down at Jack's, already three whisky neats in and grinding up on the lay of the evening. Or on Rain. Probably Rain.

It wasn't like he and Rain were anything special. He didn't pine for her every time she left. None of that teenage love bullshit. But she wasn't just a fuck either. She was...comfortable. It was like meeting up with a buddy who you could have a few drinks and shoot the shit, then get off with later. She was the only one he felt comfortable talking to-really talking to. Rain was the only one he ever talked to about his shitty childhood in Philadelphia or the string of one-night stands he had over the past couple of weeks. She'd just lean back in her chair, the neck of her beer dangled between her ring and pointer finger as she watched him with those intense brown eyes.

Then, when he finally finished his story or his argument, she'd usually reply with a smirk and a "That's fucked, man" (the frequency of that statement usually proportional to the number of beers she had already had).

I hope that bitch is alright, he thought. The only thing that had run through his mind in the past half hour were those figures, whoever the Hell they were, leading her away in the night. J.D. knew Rain wasn't a "damsel in distress." When it came to combat, she was probably one of the best on the team-second only to One himself. More than once he sparred with her only to find his own ass on the ground less than a minute later. She could have easily taken care of those interlopers had she wanted. If she had been captured, it had been on her terms. Yet, he couldn't force back this protective streak that ran through him. If those fuckers so much as touched a hair on her head…

A snap echoed in the night. J.D. whipped around, raising his weapon and light in the direction of the disturbance. A figure emerged from the trees, silhouetted by the beam of their own flashlight. J.D.'s finger tightened around the trigger until he realized that the figure's movement didn't possess the sluggish sway of the undead or the plant creatures. It was tall, erect. The posture of a soldier. J.D. lowered his weapon.

"One?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low but loud enough to be heard over the rain. "That you?"

The figure lowered his weapon.

"Holding strong?" he heard One's strong voice. J.D. chortled. As he drew nearer, the moonlight revealed One's strong black features.

"As strong as I can be," he replied. "I'd keep my voice down though." J.D. nodded toward the entrance. One's dark eyes narrowed for a moment until he glanced around the edge of the cabin. When he came back, he only nodded. "Been like that since I got here. Like they're drawn to the rain."

"Just like all plants," One replied. "Hopefully they will stay that way. Any update on Rain's whereabouts?"

J.D. shook his head.

"No," he replied. One nodded in response. "You think they're taking her down there?"

"The chances that they're not are slim," One replied. "Umbrella has a lot of enemies, so it's definitely not outside the realm of possibility. Which is why, under the circumstances, I should inform you of the true goal of tonight's mission."

"True goal?" J.D. asked, his brow furrowing. "I thought we were just sent to clean everything up."

"A secondary mission," One replied. "Though I was the only one who was informed. There's been a concern of a security breach within Umbrella, particularly in the White Umbrella division. The fewer people who know, the better."

J.D. couldn't say that he was surprised. When you were working with something as dangerous as what Umbrella was fooling with, it was natural that some people would want to steal it. Get rich. Maybe even watch the world burn.

"Back up a minute," J.D. asked. "What's White Umbrella?"

"A subsidiary of Umbrella," One said quickly, as if he anticipated J.D.'s question. "Secret. Only the higher-ups really know about it. Spencer, Atkins, Vladimir. A select few scientists and researchers. It's as much as I know and it's more than I'm supposed to."

It wasn't unnatural for companies to have secret subdivisions that they didn't release to the public, but even those weren't exempt from taxes. For Umbrella to be able to do this kind of research with little, if any investigation, they had to have one Hell of a time hiding documents from the government. Hell, maybe the government was even in on it, even though he didn't doubt it violated some sort of Geneva convention. Makes you wonder how deep Umbrella's pockets are...

"So, what is the main objective?" J.D. asked.

"A retrieval," One said. "Within the lab, there is a highly experimental agent. One of its kind. Vital to White Umbrella's research. It was my mission to lead the team down there and secure it. Now, it's our mission."

"And Rain?"

"What about her?" One asked, his feature hardening.

"Are we going to save her?"

"If the opportunity presents itself," One replied. "But not if it jeopardizes the mission."

J.D.'s mouth became a hard line across his face, but he said nothing more. A warmth crept up his neck-embarrassment. I'm getting soft, he thought. Of course, the mission came first. You went to the military if you wanted to make friends. Leave no man behind. What he was doing, what they all were doing, wasn't for honor or friendship. This was a ruthless profession and those in it wanted nothing more than money or sport. Start caring about other people in this profession, you'll end up finding yourself at the end of their gun barrel.

J.D. put thoughts of Rain out of his mind. One nodded, as though J.D.'s resolve was as noticeable as the change in an expression, and led the way to the entrance of the cabin.