Hello everyone and welcome to the 2nd chapter of Delicate Weapon! Let's see how our dear Charlize deals with the ghost from her past!
02: Spill the milk
"What if someone recognizes me?"
"Well, there will be people that will see the resemblance of the survivor of Raccoon."
They both took a sip of their Whiskey. Soft indie rock music played in the background. In a dark corner of an underground bar, Claire and Jack sat next to each other, speaking quietly.
"However, you have to befriend the thought that from tomorrow on, you're no longer Claire Redfield. The hair and the eyes stay, however you would look ravishing in blonde as well, I'm quite sure." Jack grinned at Claire. "However, appearances are always deceiving. You have to perfect the role. The change of your tone, the way you look. You are no longer the cautious and calculating survivor, you are an innocent orphan, with naive and good intentions at heart."
"Quite the difference."
"We could always debate the good intentious we aim for, but yeah."
"Any idea who could come across?"
"I think the interest of the BSAA lie elsewhere, they got soft."
"I'm not talking about my brother." Jack noticed the sharp tone of Claire's voice but feigned ignorance.
"The US somehow believes in the image change of TriCell, but they have been covering their tracks quite well. The visible facilities show no signs of suspicion. However, some mercenaries always find a way-"
"What if someone recognizes me?" Her voice rose and her look changed into a more solemn one, she knew this answer to this question. She needed the affirmation. Jack leaned closer to her, his eyes dead serious.
"Disposal. At any cost. If they want to cooperate…dispose of them as well. We cannot afford complication as this is complicated at its most."
Claire nodded and put a cigarette between her lips. "So be it."
"Stay cool, no matter who stands in front of you. Alfred Ashford, William Birkin, Albert Wesker." A flick of the lighter and smoke appears.
"They are dead, Jack."
"The dead never die in this world, Red."
'Shit, shit, shit! That motherfucker was right.'Claire was panicking. Shit has gone real fast. 'I should have known this motherfucker couldn't stay dead! This could endanger the whole operation.' Her grip on Alejo grew a bit firmer. 'Maybe I'm imagining things…'
Walking slowly the stairs down to the main hall, towards their direction, she leaned closer to Alejo and whispered in her innocent Charlize tone into her fiancé's ear. "Dear, who is that next to Dr. Young? I have never seen him before." She heard Alejandro sigh annoyingly and felt his anger rising.
"That, my dear love, is Dr. Albert Wesker." 'Shitshitshit' "He murdered my sister." 'shitshitshit.'
Her steps halted and she pulled him to a stop. Alejandro turned to her, worried.
"Cara, what's wrong?" His left hand stroked her cheek softly.
"Are we really going to have a talk with the murderer of your sister?!" She hushed quickly, looking at him with her big doe eyes. "Honey, this must be so utterly horrendous for you!"
Alejandro smiled sadly, but pulled her closer, kissing her cheeks softly and answering into her ear. Claire felt Wesker's stare the whole time.
"In my line of work, Charlize, you need to dance with the devil and unfortunately, this Dr. Pain-in-my-ass can be an important asset to my goals. We have to play nice, cara. Can you do that for me?"
Claire tried not to stare in his direction, focusing her eyes on Alejo's soft ones.
"The sacrifices you do, my darling." She sighed sadly, caressing his cheek. "I'll support you no matter what." She felt his lips caressing her softly. 'What a fucked up thing to do, working with the murderer of your sister.'
They have ascended the stairs. Claire felt the stares from anyone but she felt accustomed to it. She knew she was Alejandro's eye candy and that was her job. However, the stares of Wesker, even with his sunglasses, overwhelmed her. 'Maybe… He just thinks I look like myself. But what would I be doing in this place… He must be confused.'
Dr. Young's voice booming across the hall, coming closer to the couple, arms wide open. Wesker close ahead, taking slow calculating steps.
"Alejandro, it is so good to see you!" The two cooperating scientists hug each other, sharing pleasantries. "Steffan, always a pleasure seeing you in a suit and tie instead of the obligatory lab coat." They shared a laugh, Charlize smiling warmly at her fiancé's colleague.
"And ah, my dear Charlize, everytime I see you, you take my breath away with your beauty." Dr. Young kissed her hand, inspecting her engagement ring. "Congratulations on your engagement. As I can see, Alejandro made sure his Charlize wears something bedazzling on her hand as herself!" She laughed loudly, putting her hand on Dr. Young's shoulder.
"Ah, you and your way of words, Steffan! Thank you so much. I hope you spare me a dance later on?" The scientist grinned wide.
"How could I refuse such an opportunity… After business talks, it's the first thing I will come to do, however.." He turned to Alejandro and Claire saw Wesker right behind him.
'So uncharactingly of him, standing behind Dr. Young and waiting. This is important to him.'
"Duty calls. Alejandro, let me introduce to you the newest addition to WilPharma's research time, Dr. Albert Wesker."
Claire watched as Wesker came forward, his face expressionless with the help of the sunglasses. She suppressed her shocked status. The man looked as if nothing ever occurred to him. As if he hadn't aged since 1998. His blonde hair in his trademark hairdo, the slim yet defined figure.
'How can he look so well after being dumped into a fucking volcano. These fucking viruses.'
"Dr. Gionne, pleased to finally meet the new face of TriCell" His dark, threatening voice sent shivers to her spine and not the good kind. She remembers his foot pushing her shoulder down at Rockfort, a scar that will always remind her of this altercation. Nevertheless, she brushed it off, looking curious at this new researcher from WilPharma, trying her best to send him her charming Charlize smile. 'He must not notice that I remember him. I've never seen this man before. I won't let him intimidate me.'
"My sister has told me a lot about you." Alejandro stated in a professional tone. In the corner of her eye, Claire saw Dr. Young's apprehensive look. "And Steffen has told me a lot of your current research, it certainly seems worth taking a look."
'They are not shaking hands. There are definitely some issues between these two. This could go real bad... Him being here makes the situation much more dangerous.'
"Yes, Ms. Gionne and I had some groundbreaking findings, which I want to talk to you about." Alejo's grip on Claire's hand felt firmer. She brushed his hand and felt him ease instantly.
"Well, as you might have guessed, Dr. Wesker, this is my fiancé Charlize Richardson, soon to be a Gionne." His hands on her waist pulled her closer to him, proudly showing her off. 'Since when did I decide to accept being a Gionne?!' Claire wondered but grinned sweetly at her fiancé, whom she could not wait to murder. She turned her head to Wesker, who still had his expressionless gaze. 'I think he has no idea.'
In her most sickenly sweet and uncharastically Charlize voice, she introduced herself. "A pleasure to meet you, Dr. Wesker. I hope you have a pleasant stay at our gala."
Wesker weakly nodded and watched the other two scientists. Dr. Young clapped his hands.
"Men, let us have a private talk."
'Okay, no creepy signs, I guess he did not recognize me.'
Alejandro quickly turned to her, giving her a small kiss on her forehead. "I have to leave but I won't be away too long, mi cara. Grab a drink and enjoy the gala, can't wait to dance with you later." Smiling, she nodded and let go of his hand. "Don't keep me waiting too long."
Alejandro grabbed a drink from a nearby walking waiter and signalled Dr. Young and Wesker followed him, going to one of the private lounges.
Wesker did not follow them directly, instead he looked at her.
As if time turned slowly, Claire saw how he took off his sunglasses, his bright red eyes… no longer there. Clear ice blue eyes stared at her dark blue eyes. She felt herself trembling slightly, losing her cool slowly. She felt his gloved hand lifting her hand with her engagement ring on, gripping it slightly. He bowed slightly, his eyes never leaving hers, and his cold lips kissing her upper hand.
"Always a pleasure to meet you…" She felt his lips curve into a grin on her hand. "Dear heart."
She gulped, feeling her dry throat. 'Act naive, act naive, act naive!' Her brain yelled at her.
Putting her game face on, she smiled shyly at him and bowed slightly as well. "Have a great time!" She said cheerfully as she watched him turn quickly around, following Alejandro and Dr. Young. She saw Alejandro's face, giving Wesker the coldest stare she has even seen on him.
'Shit, fuck, shit!' Once she saw the men leaving, she took a glass of Champagne and exed it. 'What am I supposed to do now?'
"Let's get this over with." Alejandro Gionne lit up a cigarette. Opposite to him sat an uncomfortable Dr. Young, gripping his wine glass tightly and focussing on its content. Wesker sat next to him, looking calmly and sipping on his Whisky, showing no signs of discomfort, even though he felt the daggers Gionne gave him. The room was filled with an anxious silence. The WilPharma CEO spoke up, in a meek tone.
"While the situation between the two of you seems tense, given the history between the two of you, I must say that Dr. Wesker offers good insights in regards to our progress with PU2." He sighed. "With his data and experience with Uroboros, I think he will be a great addition to our team and help us enhance PU2. Furthermore…"
"Why would I want the murderer of my deearest sister on my team? So he could kill me, too?" Alejandro injected, snipping at his cigarette. "Why would I want to work with you?"
Wesker nodded yet remained calm.
"I apologize for the loss of your sister, Dr. Gionne, however I think there is a certain misinformation that lies here." Young and Gionne raised their eyebrows.
"What misinformation could be there to the death of my sister, Dr. Wesker?"
"Her death was certain, that I cannot deny, however it was not me that killed her." Alejandro slapped his hand on the table, the wine glass almost falling over.
"Her mutated body was found on the grounds of the ocean, she was infected with Uroboros!"
"Indeed, however it was not me that infected her. Your sister was power driven, you sure are aware of this fact as I am." Alejandro couldn't deny that. She was a stubborn one.
"The BSAA were on us, Ms. Gionne infected herself to stop them. She felt the defeat of Uroboros on herself. She was not adapted to it." Wesker further explained. "So was I, I was not able to bond with the virus either, yet here I am." A profound silence entered the room. Alejandro sipped on his champagne. "Yet here you are." He finally said.
"Uroborus was a failure yet each failure brings new beginnings, new insights. I can not redo the past, Mr. Gionne, however I can enhance the future, your future, if you let me." Wesker took a USB stick out of his suit pocket and laid it on the table.
"Dr. Young has told me about your issues with the adaptability of PU2. I do believe that with the intel I have on Uroboros and my current research, I think I could help you solve these issues."
"Why should I trust you?"
Wesker leaned closer to Gionne and whispered in a dark tone: "You have no reasons to trust me; however I ask nothing from you, only a chance at retribution. For what went wrong. To right my wrongs so to say." He leaned back. "I could care less about money. I have the same goal as your company, Doctor. Making the world better." Dr. Young nodded.
"I think we should consider this, Alejandro. We're better than these personal issues."
"Don't belittle my issues, Young." Alejandro threatened and took the USB.
"Retribution, you say…"
Someone knocked on the door of the private lounge and a man entered.
"Dr. Gionne, I apologize but Mr. Simmons wants to speak to you. It is quite urgent." Alejandro nodded slowly, drinking the rest of his drink. "Gentlemen." He nodded. Before leaving the room, he turned back to the two scientists. "Dr. Wesker, we will talk tomorrow at WilPharma. I want you to present me with your findings, then we shall see where this will lead us." And with that, the CEO of TriCell left the room.
Dr. Young let a long sigh of relief out. "That went better than expected."
Wesker nodded."I told you we would resolve our issues."
"Indeed, we did. However, I have to mention one last detail to you, Albert." He felt the piercing gaze of the former Umbrella scientist.
"Miss Charlize, she's a striking one, is she?" Wesker raised an eyebrow. "This has nothing to do with the project."
"Indeed, is not, however she plays an important role for Alejandro. You should've seen him when he saw you kissing her hand."
"Manners."
"He is jealous, when it comes to her. Quite possessive, really. I would distance myself if I were you."
"Well you are not me, Young, let's start there." With a last gulp of his drink, he stood up and left the room.
'How do I dispose of a person who just doesn't want to stay dead?!'
Her heels clacked loudly on the marble floor, her hair bouncing from left to right to the speed of her walk. 'Keep cool, Claire. Keep cool.' Her fingers searched for the pack of cigarettes in her small purse, but they kept slipping away from her sweaty fingers. She pushed the door to the balcony open with her shoulder, feeling the cold breeze on her hot body. She let out a sigh of relief. Looking around, she saw that the balcony was empty and relaxed. Taking slow small steps closer to the balcony fence, she finally fished out her packs of Marlboro and lit a cigarette.
'I should tell the boss…Holding the necklace at that moment would have been too obvious' She inhaled a deep drag and let it out slowly. 'He recognized me. I need to dispose of him. How the fuck am I suppose to do that? He survived a fucking volcano!'
She leaned her arms on the railing, looking at the beautiful sky.
"Maybe, freezing works better?" she asked herself aloud.
"Excuse me, Miss.. Richardson?" She froze, closed her eyes for a moment. 'Shit, shit, shit' Turning around, she saw Wesker in front of her. 'Act Charlizey!'
"Ah, Dr. Wesker, was it? Can I help?" He smiled slightly and nodded. "I don't want to impose but could I have a cigarette as well?" Claire's smile froze and she nodded. "Of course, take one." 'Guess this is where I die. Sorry, Boss.'
Taking her pack out of her purse, she offered her arch nemesis a cigarette. She heard him chuckle.
"Ah, Marlboro Lights. Fond memories." He took out a cigarette and put it between his lips. Claire held up her lighter and lit it up. "What fond memories, doctor?"
"I used to work with someone who smoked these all the time and afterwards drank Dr. Pepper as if it were water." 'Chris.' Claire laughed quietly. "Well, everyone has their bad habits."
"Indeed." He took a deep inhale and looked at her. His sunglasses were not on him. She saw once again his blue eyes and noticed faint scars scarring his face. 'Ah, not completely healed, aren't ya?'
"I hope the meeting with Alejandro went well for you." She asked shyly, taking a drag of her cigarette and continued watching the stars.
"Yes, everything quite accordingly but let's cut the charade, Miss Redfield."
'Should I jump off the balcony and say that he attempted to kill me?'
And cut!
Well, things escalated quite quickly, haven't they? Wesker with blue eyes and seeing through Charlize's cover… Claire is thinking of ways to dispose of Wesker… Alejandro being jealous… and we are just getting started!
Please let me know about your thoughts when reading this chapter! I am looking forward to it!
See you soon.
xoxo delicateweapon