I haven't left a note for a while. Either way, the intention of this comment is, naturally, to thank all of you wonderful readers for following this story. As a brief anoucement, I opened a discord server in order to communicate with you wonderful people.
This is the link:

discord_gg/cUGkwhJMDZ

just remember to change the _ for .

See you all soon.

42. Chris

The helicopter landed in the mall parking lot, and Chris jumped out of it with his no-nonsense attitude, followed closely by Jill and Barry. BSAA had established a quarantine perimeter, and Chris could see some of Terra Save members helping the lucky few who had managed to leave the building when the incident began.

"Captain Redfield…" the soldier in charge, Muller, greeted him. Chris had seen the man a couple of times around the BSAA office. He was young and vigorous, and his demeanor often reminded him of Piers, "Ms. Valentine, Mr. Burton…"

"You can drop the honorifics, kid…" Barry growled, "Ye make me feel old."

"Eh...sorry…sir," Muller replied, a little embarrassed "I didn't mean it like that…"

Chris rolled his eyes as Barry let out a friendly laugh. No matter how many years passed, Barry would always enjoy teasing the younger ones. The group headed to the temporary base that the BSAA had set up in the parking lot of the Shopping Mall.

"What's the situation?" Chris said.

"The emergency call came in exactly 3 hours ago. Two detonations inside the building, but we are not sure exactly where. At some point, the attackers released the BOWs ."

"What BOWS?" Jill asked.

"So far, they seem like regular zombies, sir."

"Just….zombies?"

Chris had expected the attack to involve some more dangerous BOWS, so the fact that they had only encountered regular zombies gave him a bad feeling. Zombies were not difficult to handle for a well trained BSAA soldier, then why had the elite been requested to attend the case?

"So far, that's what we have seen, sir. However, I believe there must be something else lurking inside…" Muller replied.

"And what makes you think that, kid?" Barry asked.

"We sent two teams in about 2 hours ago, sir. We lost contact with both of them approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes after they entered the building. Regular zombies like this shouldn't be a problem to handle." Muller said, "the attackers would have to be too stupid to send in just some regular BOWs that are easy to contain. No, I believe there must be something far harder to kill inside. That's when we requested support from the elite."

Chris nodded in approval. The man was smart, and Chris liked his way of thinking.

"So two teams are MIA; yeah, I doubt there were just zombies in there…" Barry said.

"The chances of one of the new BOWs lurking inside might be high." Chris said bitterly, " Was the electric power inside the building cut off by any chance?"

"Yes, sir...how did you know? There was a third explosion 30 minutes ago. It destroyed the power plant, and the electric system of the whole place is currently running under the emergency lights, but they won't last too long." Muller said, "Without the power plant, they're just running on reserve energy."

The situation gave Chris a sense of Deja Vu. The same pattern from the attack on the Welsh Hospital. The shopping center was a completely closed building. The building had no windows, and except for the lower level where there were entrance doors, access to sunlight was minimal or null. Without the electrical system, the place would be as dark as a basement.

"I guess that's our hint…" Jill said, "If they turned off the lights…"

"Yeah...Those damn things must be here…" Chris said, "It has to be Mobius's doing. They shine for the care with which they set the stage for their monsters."

"Fuckers…" Barry said in annoyance, " Well, I guess we ́ll get the pleasure to use those new babies for the first time…"

"Let's hope they work as well as Clara expects…" Jill nodded.

"I'm sure they will come in handy. Alright, team, we need a plan…" Chris said, leaning over the layout of the shopping center, "This is the blueprint of the place, right?"

"Yes, sir…" Muller replied, "We have blocked the two main entries to prevent any BOW from coming out."

"Good. Okay, so the building has six levels…" Chris said, "we don't have the time to check each of them, but we have to try...there might still be survivors in there."

"Right, but how are we going to do that?"

Chris was about to answer Barry's question when his mobile phone started ringing. The soldier let out a groan of irritation and answered the device. Who could be calling him in a moment like this?

"Redfield…"

"Captain Redfield! This is Ingrid Hunnigan from the FOS."

Chris remembered the woman. She was Leon's tactical operator, but why was she calling him?

"Yeah, I remember you...is everything okay?"

"Unfortunately, no." Hunnigan replied, "I assume you were informed of the attack on Blue Hills Mall."

"Yes, I am currently preparing to enter with my team there...why?"

"Leon. He and Clara went there along with Helena and Sherry Birkin early this morning."

"What? She is in here?" Chris growled.

"I'm afraid so. The last time I got a signal from Leon's phone, it was a couple of minutes before the attack began. I lost any sign of him afterward, and I have not been able to locate them. I believe the attackers must put some sort of jammer to block out our frequency."

"Those damn bastards. It sounds like something they would do," Chris cursed, " Leon knows his deeds. I'm sure he's alive…"

"I don't doubt it. They are all capable enough to handle the situation, but due to the circumstances, I thought the right thing to do was reporting it to the BSAA..."

"Yeah, I appreciate that…"

"I will keep trying to reach Leon. If I get anything, I'll let you know."

"Yeah, that will be helpful. Thanks…"

Chris hung up his phone and hit the table with his fist. Claire was inside. It was the second time she'd gotten caught in the middle of a terrorist attack; it could not be a coincidence. Jill and Barry, who were used to the man's sudden fits, exchanged looks of worry, but Muller seemed slightly disturbed.

"Chris?" Jill said softly.

Chris took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

"Leon is inside…" Chris said as stoically as he could, "with his wife…"

Chris felt a little strange saying that, instead of just saying "He's there with Claire, "but it was enough information for Jill and Barry to understand his sudden agitation.

" sure changes up some things." Barry said.

Like hell it did, Chris thought.

"We'll need infiltration equipment. You know the quiet one…" Barry said, "remember what Clara said?"

"Yeah. We need to keep noise to the minimum," Chris said to Muller.

"I understand, sir, but why?"

"We suspect that there might be a new type of BOW in there. A very hostile type and resistant. It relies on sound to track their prey, so we might prefer to stay out of the menu." Chris explained, "It's a regenerating type, so conventional ammo does not cause harm. Its primary weakness is UV radiation."

Muller was shocked by the information, but he nodded.

"My team is already aware of these details, but you might want to inform your men about it too."

"Yes, sir."

"Our best chance is to stay together. If we meet with hostiles...the normal kind, we might want to get rid of them using melee weapons. Save ammo for emergencies…" Jill said, "I think this should be our route. We can cover more ground like this, theoretically speaking. "

"Yeah...it seems about right. Let's get ready, team."

Several minutes later, the team entered the building and began to make their way around with the hopes of finding Claire and company. The scene they found inside wasn't good: the corpses of both civilians and zombies lay scattered everywhere. Some of the bodies seemed mutilated to the point that it made Chris's stomach twist. If they had been having doubts regarding the presence of the new BOWs, the state of the bodies was enough to confirm it. Some of the bodies, the infected ones, to be more precise, showed signs of cannibalism.

Chris made a hand sign indicating the others to be alert as they advanced. There were no signs of the creatures around, but Chris knew better than to be careless. Visibility was poor due to the darkness, and Chris felt his heart shrink. Claire was horrified by the dark, a trauma that she'd gained due to his time in captivity. The reasons behind it were a mystery, but Chris couldn't care less. The simple fact that she was so scared was enough for him to feel his blood boil.

"Guess we know what happened to the teams that were missing," Barry whispered.

Chris clenched his fists. The remains of the BSAA soldiers were barely recognizable.

"Oh, god…" Jill mumbled.

Chris signaled them to keep moving. They were not safe; the BOWs were still roaming the area, and if they were not careful enough, they could attract unwanted attention. They searched the first two levels of the building and found nothing more than dead bodies.

Level 1 and Level 2. Chris thought. No survivors. Ugh, Leon, Claire, you two better be safe.

They had just begun to look through the fifth floor when a loud, ear-piercing siren cut through the deadly silence. It was a fire alarm.

"What the fuck?" Barry growled, "What are they trying to do? Call for the monsters?"

"This is bad. On your toes, team." Chris said, leading them forward.

Chris had never heard such an annoying alarm as the one that was currently sounding. The sound seemed to pierce from the ears to the brain, leaving a sense of stingy, lightheadedness. Someone had activated the alarm, and something inside Chris told him that someone was Claire.

It didn't take them too long to find the creatures. They were even more sinister than the ones Chris had seen before.

Just how many of them exist?

There was something strange with these creatures, though. The beings seemed to have an erratic movement, and if Chris didn't know more, he would have thought they looked confused. Their moves reminded him of a dog that had lost track of his target. Suddenly, Chris had a flashback to his younger days, when Claire was still in high school.

"What are you working on, Claire?"

"Homework...what else?"

"The Foundations of Acoustics: theory and practice," Chris said, reading the title of the book that Claire had, open on the table. "Okay…"

"Acoustics is part of physics, you silly," Claire laughed, "You would know if you had paid more attention in class when you were in school…"

"Nah, I didn't have your brains, Claire. Besides, what use could I get from learning about Acoustics?" he laughed.

"You would be amazed…" Claire smiled, "A lot of animals rely on sound for communication and localization. Sound waves have different frequencies: low and high. The human ear can only hear sounds that are in the intermediate interval of frequency, but some animals can hear in frequencies that are out of that interval. Now, if you were getting chased by something with amazingly good hearing, you would be in trouble, because at the minimal sound you did, it would find you, right?"

"I guess…" Chris chuckled, "So what would you recommend me to do, little genius?"

"If you use a higher frequency to generate a sound, that sound would overload its sensory receptors making it almost impossible for the brain to locate anything and most likely leaving it confused! That should give you time to run away…"

"Or time for me to punch its face…" Chris laughed, "Thanks for the tip...maybe someday it will come in handy, my little nerd."

"Don't call me a nerd, Chris…"

If Chris suspected that the one responsible for setting up the alarm was Claire, he was, now, certain.

The sound of the alarm must have messed up with their senses.

Chris's team moved fast until they finally found the monsters.

The battle against the creatures was not easy, but considering some of their previous encounters, it was the easiest fight that Chris had had to fight. The effect of the alarm seemed to be just what Chris had supposed. The sound had disoriented the BOWs, paralyzing them in place.

Their sense of hearing was altered, which made their movements less precise and slightly slower, and with their new ammunition, the team had no significant issues, dispatching them.

" Cover your eyes, kids. It's time to finish this off. Eat this," Barry shouted, throwing the canister at the feet of one of the creatures.

The grenade exploded, filling the place with a blinding light that persisted for a couple of minutes. Chris heard the creatures groan in pain, and by the time the light had gone out, all that remained was a mass of charred flesh.

"Well, that's something. Remind me to give Clara a fatherly hug when we get out of here. These babies are perfect..." Barry said, patting the experimental ammo.

Chris sighed. He scanned his surroundings to assess the damage to his team. Some of his soldiers were injured, but to his relief, all were alive.

"That was… effective," Jill said, looking at Chris. "Honestly, I expected a little more difficulty."

"We were lucky…" Chris said, "I think the alarm was purposely turned on to affect them. The high frequency of its sound must have confused the creatures, and that worked in our favor…"

" What? How did you…?" Jill asked, surprised.

"Claire…" Chris replied, "I remembered something she told me a long time ago…"

Barry and Jill were a little too astounded to say anything. They just exchanged looks while Chris examined the remains of the BOWs.

"Well, remind me to get her a present as gratitude for making this easier, please?" Barry said.

Chris smiled. They should all get her a present.

"What on earth are you planning to get her?" Jill chuckled.

"How about a big sandwich? She could use those carbs…"

Chris would have laughed if he hadn't been too focused on finding any trail of his sister's presence there.

"Captain! Come look at this!"

"What is it, Scott?"

Scott was one of his eldest soldiers, a young, strong man with a strong sense of justice. Chris approached him, followed by Jill and Barry. He was kneeling on the ground, pointing at something with his flashlight. It was one of the monsters, but unlike the ones, they had just been defeated. This one was still meaty and not charred at all. Chris guessed that its death had been caused by something less "destructive" to them.

"It is dead, sir…"

"H- How?" Jill said, shocked, " I thought they could only get killed by overcoming their regeneration rate, but this one is..."

"Complete…" Barry finished for her.

"It seems to have bullet holes here. It must have bled to death, sir," Scott answered, "The bullet went through its chest...or what looks like a chest."

"Yeah...but that wouldn't have killed it…" Jill said, "Who could have done it…?"

"Leon…" Chris said, " Probably"

"Fuck… that man must be a damn good shooter if he managed to kill one of these assholes with common ammo." Barry said, "Respect…"

Chris knew Leon had skills, but even he wouldn't have been able to kill that thing with normal ammunition. Something else was going on, but he didn't know what.

"It is in good condition. Maybe we can ask someone to do an autopsy." Jill suggested, "I'm sure our science girls would love to tamper with it…"

Chris nodded. Jill's idea was good. They had a decent sample of the full virus; it was their chance to get some information out of it.

"Scott..."

"Yes, sir?"

"I want a team here. This corpse will be prepared for extraction and sent to the lab. I leave you in charge of it."

"Yes, sir! What about you?"

"We will continue the search."

Chris turned to Jill and Barry, and the three veterans continued their way. The place was a mess, but it didn't seem like they would encounter any more enemies. The ones from earlier had made sure to eliminate all zombies, and it seemed like their flash grenades and the UV ammo had taken care of all of the big ones. All that was left was finding Claire and the others. They had to be hiding somewhere, but with such a big place, it wouldn't be easy.

"Chris… look. Jill said out of the blue. The blonde woman was looking at the ground. Chris looked down too and noticed the drops of blood on the dusty tiles, "It's a blood trail, and it's not coagulated, so it's fresh."

"You don't think it might be from Leon's party, do ya?" Barry asked with a small hint of concern.

"it could be or maybe another group of survivors." Jill replied with a frown, "We should check."

"Yeah. Be alert. We may encounter hostiles."

The blood trail led them to a department store whose entrance was blocked by a steel curtain. Chris had noticed that as they approached, the blood trail seemed to get bigger and bigger. Whoever was leaving, he or she was losing a lot of blood.

The interior of the store was no better than the exterior. The low light offered by a couple of emergency lights let them see the chaos there was. The shelves were down, and all their contents scattered on the ground. Chris, Jill, and Barry toured the store carefully, and when they entered the Department of Home& Decor, they were surprised to meet face to face with a young girl with blond hair, and Chris recognized instantly.

"Sherry?"

"Chris!" Sherry said, surprised. The young woman dropped the pillows and blankets that she had been holding, and her eyes showed a wave of relief, "Oh, thank god. I am so happy to see you!"

Chris could have said the same.

"Are you alright?" he asked, "Where are the others?"

"Me? I'm fine, but Helena and, oh, Clara! They need medical assistance soon."

That was all he needed to hear.

"Take me to them."

Sherry nodded.

"There's also another woman and her baby. They're in the baby department…"

Chris signaled one of his men to go and then followed Sherry to a more secluded area of the department store. Helena sat with her back against the wall. Her leg spread forward in an improvised splinting. Leon sat facing her, and Claire seemed to be lying with her head on his lap. Chris tried to ignore the burning sensation he was having at seeing the scene, especially his sister's smile.

"Chris…" Claire said, getting up from Leon's lap and rushing to hug him.

Chris saw each of her movements carefully, and to his relief, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She was okay. When Birkin had said that Claire had been hurt, Chris had expected the worst, but the woman had run to him with a smile, and everything seemed to be just fine.

"Claire…" he said, hugging her, "Are you okay? Birkin said you were hurt…"

"Small scratch…" Claire smiled at him, "Not a big deal. Helena is worse than I am…"

Jill approached Helena and examined her leg.

"Fractured leg…" Jill said, "I'll need help carrying her out of here. She needs some X-rays to be sure."

"I think everyone in here needs a damn doctor by now. Kennedy is covered in blood for Christ's sake…" Barry said, pointing his flashlight at him.

Leon was indeed covered in blood, but the blonde made a gesture to let them know he was just fine.

"Yeah, guess you could use a rest. It must have been rough on you all. Come on. I'll get you all outta here…" Chris said, releasing his sister and leading the way out of their hiding place.

Chris wasn't entirely surprised when Leon had said he had not killed the BOW. He had known that already. There were a lot of questions that needed answers, but Chris knew that both Leon and Claire needed to rest.

"Chris...just the man I wanted to see. Sit down… "

Adam pointed at the empty seat in front of his desk, and Chris sat down impatiently. He had just returned from the Blue Hills incident after organizing and leading the rest of the cleanup procedures. The total death count was 75 civilians and 7 BSAA soldiers. After so many years dealing with bioterror, Chris would have thought he was used to seeing tragedies, but experience had taught him that no one ever got used to that.

"I just got a note from Medical. Agent Harper's fracture wasn't as bad as we originally assumed, so she'll need rest for a couple of weeks. Agent Birkin was unharmed; Leon received quite a beating, but most of his injuries were superficial, and as for his wife, she seems to be fine with only minor scratches. "

Chris sighed in relief. That was good news. When he'd seen Leon covered in blood, he had feared the worse for both him and Claire.

" That's great news, sir… "

" Indeed. " Adams agreed" I heard you found a viable sample for research? "

" Yes, sir. We are not sure what killed it, but hopefully, Rebecca or Clara might be able to find something out of it."

"Of course. I've been in talks with Dr. Chambers. She has considered the possibility of joining Clara's team if they are willing to accept her."

"I don't see why they wouldn't… " Chris said, "but what about her job? "

" She wouldn't be full time; just like the rest of them, she would work as a secondary task. " Adams explained, "these new BOWs are worrying. We need as much data as we can get. We have no confirmation that this attack was Mobius, right? "

"They have not stepped out to claim responsibility, but the modus operandi suggests so. Of course, we can't discard the possibility that Mobius just provided other terrorist groups with them."

"That sure would become a problem. How did the experimental ammo work?"

"Pretty well. It's effective…"

Adams nodded.

"I will let Hopkins know. We will need to have more to handle future events."

Chris nodded. He'd catch Mobius and destroy the organization with his own hands. He swore to that.

"The sample will get sent to Claire's lab. I believe Rebecca will be going there tomorrow, as well. I want you to join her."

"I will, sir."

"alright. Then get some rest, Chris. I'm sure it's been a long day."

Chris nodded. The soldier gave Adams a respectful salute and walked out of the office. The BSAA headquarters were in the typical mess that followed an attack, but Chris ignored the noisy peers and entered his office. Barry had gone home, and Jill was checking on things with Terra Save, so the office was empty.

The oldest Redfield dropped on his seat and sighed. The Christmas ornaments that Claire had to persuade Jill to put in his office were a jolly contrast to the dullness of the room, and Chris smiled, remembering the times his sister would surprise him with flashy ornaments for the holidays.

"I'm ho… Woah, what the hell? Did a Christmas elf find its way here?" Chris laughed.

"Welcome home, Chris!" Claire grinned, wearing a Christmas hat with reindeer antlers, " Not that I noticed, but I did get help from Kathy."

"What's all this?"

"Found them in the attic…" Claire replied, "they were mom's ornaments. You know how she loved Christmas."

"Yeah… she did… " Chris smiled, "you went a little over the top this time, though."

"Hey! It's not every year that I get to have you home for Christmas. I just thought we should have something nice for old time's sake…"

"You're too much like mom. Did you know that?" Chris chuckled, ruffling her hair.

"Hey!" Claire groaned, "and you're too much like dad."

"I wonder. Hey, do you know what you're missing?"

"What?"

"A Christmas tree…"

"That's the cherry on top. What do you say? Do you want to pick one?"

The memory was suddenly interrupted by the vibration of the phone in Chris's pocket. The soldier took out his cell phone and looked at the screen to see the caller's ID. To his surprise, Leon's name appeared blinking.

It was a quarter to midnight. The day had been hard, and the last thing Chris expected was an unexpected call from the agent.

"Leon…" he answered, "Why on earth are you calling me this late? Is Clara alright?"

"Yeah...she's fine. She's resting…"

Chris sighed in relief.

"Okay...then, to what do I owe this call? I would think you needed your beauty sleep, Leon." Chris said good heartily, and he heard the man snort.

"I haven't had a beauty sleep in ages, Chris…" Leon answered, "Were the ones behind the attack Mobius?"

"The bastards haven't claimed responsibility yet, but it is pretty much obvious," Chris answered, "but I expected your FOS friend to tell you that."

"Hunnigan wouldn't tell me until tomorrow…" Leon replied, "but I won't sleep in peace unless I got some info…"

Chris caught the background message in there. Leon was wondering if the attack was premeditatedly thrown at the mall because Claire had been there. Chris himself had wondered about it. Had the attack been a coincidence, or had they purposely done it knowing Claire would be there? Maybe they were being too paranoid.

"Guess that will make us two…" Chris sighed, "How are you both? Adams told me you got quite a beating…"

"Nothing I am not used to. Claire is okay, I suppose. There's something you should know, but I think she should tell you herself…"

"Should I be worried?"

"Perhaps...I'm not sure yet of what to think, either. I'm sure Claire will clear us up as soon as she knows."

"Okay…" Chris sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, " Right, Rebecca is joining her team. I'm supposed to escort her to the lab tomorrow…"

"Well, I can't say I am not happy to hear that," Leon said, and Chris felt curious.

"You sound relieved…"

"Well, with Chambers in there, Claire won't have so much work on her shoulders. She won't say it, but she's stressed about the new virus. I've to make her rest, but she seems to have your workaholic tendencies…"

"It's a Redfield trait. Thanks for taking care of her"

Chris had to admit it. Maybe Leon wasn't doing such a bad job taking care of his sister after all.

"Sometimes she seems to be taking care of me instead…" Leon chuckled "She is good at that, but I guess you already knew that. "

"Yeah, keep an eye on her. I've got a bad feeling…"

"Brother instinct or soldier's?"

"Both…"

"Don't worry...I'll keep her safe, or I'll die trying."