Chapter 12. "The Last Survivor."

The train swayed and rocked as it traveled through the railway tracks. Hunk rummaged through the folders and files inside their private rail car, his briefcase at his feet. Paper shuffled with several grunts, and low breathing was all the came out of the mercenary. He remembers things better when he discusses various topics… but in the past, he once placed sound mics to spy on a rival corporation for Umbrella. Hunk never let confidential information out of himself so quickly. He acknowledged that he was paranoid, but he is still a professional.

It had been a long day, and the gentle rocking of the train soothed him. The new objective now was to locate Nikolai Zinoviev. A captain among the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service, the silver-haired and gas mask mercs crossed swords on numerous occasions, but that was out of competition between the corporation's military branches. Now, it was a game of first blood… the bleed by attrition. Hunk closed another file that had no information. He closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Nighthawk informed Hunk of a dozen possible locations he needs to investigate. Still, he was not sure why Wesker would help? How did man even know about the place he was in along with the Redfield girl? The mercenary knew to never fully trust Albert Wesker. Something larger was at play here. The mercenary did not know who really made the first move to start this game. Henry, it seems his usefulness expired.

Hunk breathed then glanced at his wristwatch. '10 minutes.' With each second, his annoyance transformed into frustration than to anger.

The mercenary sighed and returned his attention to the file, settling back into his seat. He'd already reviewed the material several times; it was too hard to read these words. Make him remember what he used to be.

James.

The door of the car slide open, and Nighthawk entered. There was a similar expression of frustration. It was evident enough that nothing of note was discovered. Still, the pilot took a seat in front of his brother. "I cannot believe we had to dig there again. To be honest with you, I want to stay away. "

"You know as well as me that is not an option," Hunk responded in the way Nighthawk expected.

"Still got to voice that thought."

"Save it for when we have more info." Hunk set the files down. "I looked into the records, nothing of real note. I know that Umbrella recently attempted to acquire research data from the company Horzine. It was a stalemate that just leaves a dozen or so men dead. "

"Do we have to check on Horzine?"

"No, there is absolutely nothing related to us with this skirmish." Hunk's head leaned back and rubbed the nape of his neck. The mercenary bend over a bit, placing his arms on his knees. "Tell me, do you remember that day...?"

The men across the room stared at the boy, just stared... The boy could feel his pulse beating in his ears, blocking out all other sounds except the breath that was raggedly moving in and out of his mouth at regular, gasping intervals. He found that he, too, was staring. He could not take his eyes away from the other eyes across the room. Nothing else mattered. The connection had to be held if it broke... if it failed, he would die. He had never felt so sure of anything else in his life. He could no longer control his hands; they were shaking in an odd trembling rhythm as the color drained from his face. Yet still, he stared, willing himself not to run, will the connection to hold. The boy next to him held unto his arm tightly, frightened breaths left his lips.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." He whispered to him.

'It would have come to this … sooner or later. '

Nighthawk's lips pursed, his mind went back and forth of the memory... that day they arrived at the shores of Ashford Island. What killed him the most is the fact that he hides certain information from his only family. It was something he was not sure how he could say to Hunk.

The pilot made up his mind; to keep the secret until they dealt with the problems of now.

"Tell me, do you regret it? What have we become?" The pilot inquired.

Hunk sighed and closed his eyes. "How can I regret the only life I ever knew?"

Still, the mercenary kept thinking of how he'll do that. He spent years loyal to Umbrella, and now it felt something within shattered after 1998.

The train started to slow down... "Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Washington D.C." The robotic intercom stated.

Nighthawk's fingers tightened around his bag, mentally preparing himself.

The moon had risen in a now cobalt colored sky, lording over a host of attendant stars. Its light fell on the forest, giving the grass a beautiful color. The low glow made figures take shape in the forest.

Hunk stood in the middle of the path, fully equipped and clothed. A helicopter hovered above, focusing the flashlight down. "15 miles away, are you fit to walk?" The mercenary's radio buzzed.

Hunk brought his finger to his ear. "Just move it. I'll meet you there after an hour or so... I don't want to pull you out of a crater again because of something in the forest."

He went through the forest, hiding in the darkness; his mind went over everything he figured out so far.

There was a Spec Operations Team codenamed Echo Six, back in Raccoon City. Echo Six had the mission to look for survivors and later attempted to hinder Umbrella's operations. Their recon expects Willow been killed down there with the virus he never heard of before called Abyss. Something out of the T virus research. The question is was, is T-Abyss real? This group has gone over orders, and they're paying the price for it?

Henry Martin, a man Hunk was supposed to meet and retrieve papers from by force. But he was already dead when Hunk got there. A trap for him from the start.

Then there are Nikolai's words, 'You two are in a quite predicament now' was weird; he knew Nikolai is not that stupid to make taunts. Usually, that would mean he had the upper hand. It was rare when the two competed against one another.

An hour went by quickly, where the mercenary barely felt it. A large manor came into view. No light can be seen from any window in the front. Hunk observed the place carefully for any sign of a camera that could spot him.

It looked clean enough to him; he crouched and came closer to the door. Weapon drawn as Hunk touched the cold rusted handle, the door opened with creek, dust welcomed him in the darkness.

The mercenary activated the flashlight strapped into his forehead and came inside. His footsteps echoed through the abandoned-looking house. He saw a mirror and a small table under it where there was ware out pictures. Hunk took one rectangle frame and swiped a bit of the dirt. He could recognize the figure of a woman with raven hair. She wore a black dress. Her face was hidden by cracks on the glass. Next to her was a hidden man, nothing much he could take from that picture.

Hunk shrugged and placed it back in its place. He went over to the living room. The worn-out furniture there, he wasn't sure what he was looking for, something that could help with what he sought.

He shed light over the coffee table, multiple scratches were evident, and it was noisy, like someone is trying to break it into pieces. He breathed and knelt down near the most oversized sofa. He turned off the light and waited patiently. Hunk could have sworn he heard footsteps walk in above him, the sound of nails clicking against the wooden floor moving down to the stairs. No... not footsteps. To him, it's either someone in all fours or an infected dog. Nothing would surprise him at this point. Nikolai could have prepared something for him here to play with. In mere seconds he saw a shadow move down the stairs. It was breathing with an unholy sound. It was a mix of Asthma wheezing sound and something else.

"...Show...yourself... " A croaky voice spoke. It sounded female to him. Hunk activated his flashlight to get a clear view of what is that.

A woman leaned against a wall with a baseball bat in hand. A small wooden bat was in her other hand as she stared toward Hunk. She had short pale blonde hair and was the former Spec Ops communications officer Sienna Fowler resided. "You're Party Girl, aren't you?"

The woman's face was sickly. Dark patches were under her eyes. "Mister Death... " She sighed. "Never thought Umbrella would send their best lap dog for little old me. "

The mercenary holstered his gun.

Sienna paced slowly to a couch and sighed in relief from the pain in her back. "Why are you here? I'm sure you don't feel sorry for me and my sickness. "

"Actually, no, I'm in an investigation of recent events... "

"So you came here for information?" She cut him off. Her bones made a sickly loud crack sound as she took another setting position, legs crossed. "Look, you are going to die whether you like it or not. They will take what they want and then toss you away. "

Hunk shrugged in annoyance. "I don't care about that; what do you know about Willow's death or Henry Martin for that matter as well?"

Sienna rebutted with a sly expression. "Look, Willow was just a teammate but nothing more than that if that is what you're implying. She took care of the threats while I made sure my squad remained in communication. As you can tell … I can't go out and collect data like I normally could." Sienna adjusted herself a bit more comfortably. "Funny, a woman that used her looks to gather information … still has her looks but not have the means to actively use them…"

"Riveting," Hunk responded in a deadpan tone. "We use what means we can for combat; there are tools suited for every job."

"Yeah, I know how much fun it is to be a tool. What happens the moment you're used up and tossed aside like garbage? There is a tool to build you back up to be used on the same level as some new and younger poor idealistic bastard?"

"You failed yourself to be crippled this way. You are the reason that you're here now. I had nothing to do with it." Hunk snapped back.

"You want my advice? Go in hiding, find a new life for yourself somewhere." Sienna leaned forward. "Tools lose their edge. What do you have planned when the same happens to you? Or find something worth more than gold?"

Hunk's anger grew. He pulled her by the collar, bringing her close to his face. "I have a score to settle with these people; you can't prove anything."

"Mark my words." Sienna chuckled. "Your pride is going to be the end of you. You want to know what's going, huh? Think of it this way, you and I are soldiers in a grand chess game. "

Hunk was silent, his mind going over her words.

"We are used in something bigger than ourselves. If the king is still around, all of those involved are acceptable losses. Even if that means losing the Queen piece in order to win, you better be damn sure if following that order is worth it."

Hunk's grip loosened, and she was able to break away from him. She fell face down on the couch and sighed. "None of this helps me. What do you know, just say it already!?" He broke the silence but in a calm manner.

"You are John Murphy's child, seriously. How clueless are you?" Sienna's voice sounded a bit muffled.

Hunk stared at her while Nighthawk listened in to the entire conversation through the radio.

Out of nowhere, Sienna laughed, "You don't remember," she pointed at him with her index finger. "Do you?"

His silence only confirmed her suspicion.

Sienna stretched a little. In mere seconds, her expression changed into sadness. "Well it's sure now the Wesker children are not the only challenging experiment." Hunk couldn't take it anymore, he turned around and walked away...confused. Breathing in and out, a little exercise to stay calm. It's not like his usual self to lose it.

"I can tell you're not going to stop. That's good to know. My squadmate Tweed felt the same way after Raccoon City." Sienna attempted to lean forward. "No one bothers to visit me. You're going to tie up a loose end?"

Hunk stared at Sienna as she calmly stared back at him… the mercenary remembered what he came across in the documents on the train ride here. Echo Six and Sienna fought tooth and nail against the bioweapons used in Raccoon City. She provided support for her mission. It was not until the end when everything changed. When her team explored a lab, an explosion had a piece of shrapnel strike and somewhat wedge itself on Sienna's calf. It's on the road to recovery, but the military relieved her of taking part in any future operations. Ultimately, her time as a soldier ended in Raccoon City. All of that happened, stacked with her current illnesses.

He shook his head as he walked out of Sienna's home. With Hunk's equipment's relay, the pilot had a program link wirelessly to Sienna's laptop and pulled up… nothing.

Not a god damn thing.

'So much for a satisfying trip.'

"Nighthawk come in?" Hunk brought his finger to his ear.

"Yeah... find something interesting?"

"Party girl is there, she is though... insane, I'm not sure what happened to her." Hunk replied. "She kept talking about tools, to find a new life and whatever."

"Ah, bummer, but I'm not surprised by what I heard; they went over orders after all."

The mercenary thought is about it all, hold dark secrets, loyalty. Her face still in his mind when she said, you don't remember? What did he forget? What secret is she talking about?

All of this mess started when he made the idiotic decision to take the job to that town, then again he might have to be there because of the red pilot imprisoned... Nighthawk?

"Hey, you didn't tell me what happened to you? How did you end up down in the lab? I find it hard to believe what I read about your arrest." He spoke through the radio.

"Just come back, and we'll talk."

Hunk sprinted through the dark forest. Adrenaline rushed through him, giving him the much-needed boost until he saw the helicopter's lights in a clearing and a ladder ready for him. The mercenary looked back at the forest one last time, thinking of how a well prominent member, up like that? Then in a hurry, he climbed up and closed the door.

"Start talking," he said coldly.

Nighthawk settled his headsets and breathed. "I know that tone." his voice was high-pitched, considering the loud noise of the router blades.

He checked the machine and started flying through the dark moonless night. "Look, I might know something. When I was too tired to fight back, I heard... words. "

"Go on."

"Who else we knew of? This is a family. The redhead girl, where is she? Kristen died years ago. Inheritance... secrets, recruits. That's all."

Thank you for reading. More is coming.

Special thanks to my beta reader The95will.