Chapter three
July 5th, 1998
"I don't know if I can trust them, and I feel terrible following the path of my enemies, but those I thought were my friends have left me no choice. My work must endure.
Heels fell hard on the floor. The woman wearing them, Ada Wong, looked to be in her mid-thirties. She had a folder and a look that seemed to imply 'Don't fuck with me'. The office she was headed towards was the office of one Dr. James Marcus.
As she entered, Marcus was looking at a file. A text document was open on his computer screen as well. She cleared her throat, and he gave her a glance.
"May I help you, Miss Wong?" he asked.
Ada walked over to his desk and put the folder down.
"This came from an informant this morning," she said.
Marcus took a look at the folder, and picked it up. He looked over the file within, and let out a sigh. "And this has to do with us, how?" Marcus asked.
"It seems to deal with a victim of a cannibalistic attack within the path in the Arklay Mountains. He saw the results and thought we might do a toxicology report, in case there were any rabies infection detected," Ada explained.
"But you're not sure it's Rabies," Marcus noted. "You think it has to do with one of our… top secret projects."
Ada sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "I don't presume to know what your scientists are working on, either here or at the Estate. But it seemed suspicious, and I know you have a history with genetic anomalies," she said.
"I assume you have discussed this with Lord Spencer," Marcus said. It wasn't a question. It was more of a formality, because Marcus believed his office had been bugged ages ago. Might have been paranoia, but there was always the chance.
"I did, but he seemed not to be worried. He didn't even consider that one of his test subjects may have escaped," Ada replied.
"Ozzie has always been a bit egotistical in his views of the safety of our experiments. I, on the other hand, washed myself of those experiments long ago," he said. Marcus closed the folder and put it on the desk. "I want you to keep an eye on this. If anything develops, let me know. In the meantime, go ahead and have them do the tests. If it is, in fact, 'Rabies', be a good girl and make sure the victim is properly taken care of," Marcus said.
Ada smiled, and nodded. Then she stood up, took the folder, and walked off.
Watching her disappear into the distance, Marcus took a deep breath and picked up the phone. He dialed a number, waited a few moments, and said, "I think we have a situation brewing."
The office seemed clean enough. Rebecca Ann Chambers felt like her heart was going to explode. This was the moment she'd been waiting for. She had trained enough for it, and with the promotion that the previous Field Medic, her friend Joseph Frost, had received to the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha squad, Miss Chambers, age 18, felt like she was ready for Bravo. Sitting here, however, made Rebecca realize just how frightening her prospects were. This was the top of the top. Like the SWAT teams in other cities, S.T.A.R.S. was a group where mistakes were not acceptable. Was she truly ready for this? She had to be, she realized.
Sitting in front of her, Enrico Marini took a good look at her application.
Rebecca could tell the look on his face, and he honestly didn't seem impressed. She wanted to play with her nails, but kept herself from doing it encase it made her look childish or unprofessional.
"Your resume is interesting. You have some good things going for you. I hope you understand that this is a big position. You're no longer servicing simple street cops," he said, as he gazed her way.
Rebecca nodded. "Yes sir, I understand. I've given this a lot of thought, and it's what I want to do," she said.
Enrico nodded, and put the application on the table. "Given our situation, we are indeed in need of a new medic. From what I'm told, you are one of the finest on the force, and it's quite impressive, given your age," he said. "Will this be a problem for you, going into the special ops?"
"No, sir. My age is not a problem. I am very mature, and intend to prove that I can go above and beyond the call of duty if need be," she said.
"Good, because it's not enough to say so. I hope that you can actually prove it once called into action," Enrico said. He took a pen and wrote something down on a paper in front of him.
It became apparent to Rebecca that someone was standing nearby, and as she turned to one side of the room, there stood the other team leader of S.T.A.R.S., leaning on the doorframe with his arms crossed. The man, whom she had heard had started the team in the first place: Albert Wesker. If Enrico was hard to read, Wesker was even harder, especially since he had on a pair of shades that hid his eyes from view. He stood there glaring at her, with no visible emotion.
To tell the truth, Rebecca thought, it kind of unnerved her. She turned her attention back to Enrico, who was now digging through some files in the nearby cabinet. He found what he was looking for, and put a stamp on her application. "I'm going to approve you for this position. I do believe within the next week we will have a trial run to see how you behave in a team situation. I hope you live up to my expectations, Miss Chambers, I really do. So, as of now, let me give you a warm welcome to the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team," he said.
They both stood up, shook hands, and Enrico gave her an encouraging smile.
"Thank you, sir. I hope to not let you down. It's a real big honor to be working for S.T.A.R.S.," she said.
"I'm sure you won't. If everything I'm told is true, we've made a very good investment," he said.
Rebecca nodded, turned, and with one last glance at Wesker, made her way out of the office, having to brush past him as he hadn't move from where he'd been the entire time.
Once the door closed, Enrico turned to Wesker. "What do you think?" he asked.
"She's got a lot to prove, but I don't think she will disappoint. The question is how she will meld with people much older than her," he said.
Enrico nodded. "That's why we need to test her in an actual environment. I have just the thing. Soon we'll be going on a drug bust. Julius Carmichael's slipping and my mole has him exactly where we want him. It shouldn't be too much to handle, but she's no slouch. She's been in the field before. She should handle it well. I'm merely testing her team work with Bravo," he said.
"Let's hope she's up to it then," Wesker said. "Carmichael has been a problem in this city for too long, and I don't want anything to stand in the way of taking that scumbag down." Then he turned and walked out.