O'Brian was waiting for us when we landed.

I walked down the ramp, dropping my pack as I approached him, "You fucking prick!" I picked up momentum, Chris made a grab for the back of my shirt and missed.

"Mike, wait!" Jill yelled after me.

I grabbed Clive by the collar and hoisted him off the ground, pinning him against the side of the charter bird, "You sent my friends and me into the middle of that shit as a diversion!? We almost fucking died!"

He held his hands up, his expression neutral, "And for that, I'm sorry, Michael. I knew we had a mole, and I couldn't take the risk, I had to know for sure."

I slammed him into the bird, "There were better ways, O'Brian, you know who I am, you could've come to me for help. You almost got my fiancé, me, and Chris killed a few times over, not even counting Parker, who took a bullet for your little gambit."

O'Brian looked…rough like he'd barely slept, "I'm sorry, Mike, I can't say much more."

My anger began to ebb, and I let him go and stepped back, "Whatever your reasoning Clive, I can't work for you anymore, not after this."

I could feel Jill and Chris staring at me, I'd snapped a little, and I knew it. We'd been through hell together, hell and back, twice. But I'd had enough of feeling I was playing a game that I wasn't supposed to win.

"You won't have to. As of this morning, I've resigned as the head of BSAA; you may think this was easy for me, Mike, quite the contrary, in fact. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever done in my life."

I could see it on his face, he meant it, the haggard look never leaving his face for a moment.

"Good luck." I turned on my heel and headed for the hangar, snatching up my pack, trying not to think about how I could've lifted him with one hand. My other hand pulled out my phone, dialing Rebecca's number without looking.

An hour later, she had me on the table; I'd explained everything, from how time seemed to slow down, or how fast I'd moved, to the strength it took to slice through a Hunter's head in one blow and sink the ax into a few inches of steel. Jill sat with me, squeezing my hand, doing her best to reassure me, but I could tell she was afraid, not of me, but of what might happen to me.

I loved her more for it.

Rebecca poured over the blood work she'd done, not looking up once as her green eyes scanned the page.

"Becca?"

Her gaze snapped to mine, "Yes?"

"Am I dying? Is this fucking virus going to kill me?"

She shook her head, "No, but there are some things that bear discussion."

I sagged against Jill; I could handle anything else, as long as being put down like an animal before I hurt anyone was off the table.

"What's going on?"

She sighed, "Well, I guess I should start by asking a few basic questions, how old are you?"

Now she had me confused, "Thirty-four, Bec's, why?"

"Because, biologically speaking, you're about twenty-five, I ran simultaneous DNA sequencing along with blood panels. You're producing testosterone and other hormones at the rate of an eighteen-year-old. All of this makes you stronger as it would normally, but the virus is playing with the angles. Your body is integrating the dead virus, and it's making you much stronger, much faster, at an exponential rate."

"And you're sure it's not going to kill me?"

Becca nodded, "There's not enough virus in your body to make the effects harmful, but if you find yourself in situations of extreme stress, like with the Hunter, these virus-induced reserves will activate. This is all preliminary; of course, I'd like to monitor you for a little while, run some more tests to confirm my findings. But I can say, conclusively, that you're going to be just fine, beyond healthy even."

Jill wrapped her arms around me; I was exhausted, the argument with Clive and the stress of wondering if I was toast all came roaring back, and I leaned into her, my head finding her shoulder. I felt a small hand slip into mine; Becca had inched over and was holding my unoccupied hand tightly, giving me a reassuring smile.

Jill reached out and ruffled her hair gently, "Thanks, Becca."

She smiled, "Anything for you guys, you know that. Now, get my patient home, and in bed, he needs to rest."

I felt Jill chuckle more than heard it, "I can do that, Doc."

These girls, I loved them way too much.

We walked out of the office; Chris was waiting in the lobby, his arms crossed, staring into the ether with a hollow look on his face.

"Hey, Redfield."

He snapped around, smiling when he saw us, "Hey guys…Uh, how did it go?"

I smiled, the poor guy was worried, but then again, I'd been terrified, "All green, bud. Apparently, I'm a fucking superhero now, be jealous."

He deflated a little, a relieved smile coming to his face, "Well, thank God for small miracles, I'd hate to have to run this thing on my own."

"Oh har har, thanks dick. Listen, we're gonna head back to the apartment, get some shut-eye, figure out this fucking mess in the morning."

"Amen to that, call me when you get up, we can go grab a beer, plan the next move…Glad you're okay, Mike."

I gave his shoulder a squeeze as we passed each other, "Wouldn't leave you guys like that brother, no fucking way."

"Yeah, better not. Later, guys."

Jill and I continued into the street, she flagged down a cab. A thought overtook me, what was this gonna do to us? What if she-

"You know this doesn't change anything, right?"

I was in the middle of lighting a cigarette, and I almost dropped it at her quiet, earnest admission.

Once again, she knew, and she shut it down quick.

"No?" I whispered.

She shook her head, stepping in and hugging me. "Never, we'll figure this out together, baby."

I let her hold me, gently planting a kiss on her head, "Thank you."

A cab pulled to the curb, and she looked up, smiling softly. "You're not getting rid of me that easy." We slid into the back, Jill was all but in my lap, holding me and whispering reassurances into my ear all the way back to our flat.

Things happened quickly after that. The FBC was rolled up from the top down, and almost overnight, the BSAA became the world's go-to for combatting bio-terror, The UN took over a month later, and we were suddenly flooded with new agents, we had a ton of ex-three letter agency guys, some of them I knew from my days as a Case Officer. Our little group, Jill, Chris, Rebecca, Carlos, Tyrell, and Barry, were part of what came to be known as the "Original Eleven" or the founding members of the BSAA. Carlos was taking some time off after an op in Nicaragua that had gone bad, Ty and Barry were with their families, which left the rest of us in the spotlight, minor celebrities almost.

All of this led me to a coffee shop on the East side of D.C, twelve blocks from BSAA's newly formed North American Headquarters, on a chilly winter morning. Frank sat across from me, reading the paper.

"So, you're the man it seems," He said without looking up.

I smiled, munching on a bagel, "It would seem so; where does this leave me with the Agency?"

Frank folded his newspaper and regarded me over his glasses, "Well, you're in the public eye now, and you've done good work with BSAA, hell you guys helped breathe life into it, might be time to hang it up. BSAA is where you've always belonged, kid, helping people, without petty political bullshit getting in the way. This is the new war anyway, and it's the world's problem."

I leaned back in the booth, end my career with Langley? The place had raised me; I'd had times as a spook, so great and terrible, that they'd indelibly marked my soul. But with BSAA, I felt…Whole, like I was doing what I'd always been meant to do.

I took a sip of my coffee, "I think you're right. I left the Agency to find a new start, maybe I finally found it."

He smiled, "I'll miss you, kid, been a wild ride."

"Yeah, it really has hasn't it?"

"Being generous, you're a hell of an Officer, Mike."

"Thanks, Frank."

"So…When's the wedding?"

I grinned, "Well, with everything, we haven't really been able to set a date. But I'm taking her to dinner tonight, now that we finally have a chance to breathe, I'll let you know."

My phone vibrated on the table, Chris was calling; I swiped it up.

"Hey man, what's up?"

"We just got an anonymous tip, the location of Ozwell fucking Spencer."

"Spencer? Where?"

Frank's face turned hard as he listened.

"Sunderland, prick has been hiding out at his family's estate. Jill and I are gearing up; we've been ordered to bring him in."

"I'm on my way." I killed the call, "Sorry, Frank, gotta go, if anyone knows where Wesker is, it'd be that decrepit old fuck."

He nodded, a grim smile on his face, "Anything you need? I've still got your back, kid."

I smiled, bittersweet emotions rushing through me, this chapter was over, "We've got this one, Frank."

He stood as I did, pulling me into a hug, "Go get him, kid, the offer stands."

"I know, thanks, brother."

I broke the hug, tossing a twenty on the table for breakfast, ignoring the eye-roll from Frank, and walking out into the chilly morning air.

The ride should've taken twenty minutes, it took me ten, pulling into my reserved spot at HQ. A quick run across the half-finished lobby and up two flights of stairs brought me to the arms room; Jill and Chris were loading magazines when I entered.

"What do we have?"

Chris looked up, a glint in his eye; he was ready to squeeze this old fuck and put Wesker in the ground. "Intel is grabbing us Sat photos of the Estate, Transpo has us on a UN flight leaving in an hour."

Jill locked eyes with me, looking haunted but ready, the scars from the mansion were all there; I'm sure I looked much the same as I sidled up next to her, grabbing a stack of empty magazines and getting to work.

Twelve hours later, we carried our gear across the helipad at Hereford, duffel bags slung over our shoulders, Rebecca was waiting by the helo, she'd become a consultant to our UN benefactors, her time in the field was over, and the light had started coming back into her eyes. Now it was gone, replaced by a hard look that reminded me of the operations we'd run together, the steely gaze as she'd assessed a patient under fire or took down a BOW.

She hugged each of us in turn; the helo crew knew better than to interrupt, "Go get him."

We nodded, the time for words was over; in a short while, we'd be face to face with the architect of all our suffering.

With a final wave, we jumped aboard the helo, a quick nod to the pilots, and we were off, flying low over the English countryside.

We flew in silence for a while, each of us dealing with it in our own way. Chris stared out the window, no doubt feeling the rush of memories. Jill watched her boots, an unreadable expression on her face, I reached over and touched her knee, she looked up, and I saw death in her eyes, the loving woman had left the building, the warrior was front and center, I gave her a nod that she returned.

The pilot's voice came over the radio a moment later, "Fifteen minutes out!"

I grabbed my phone and piped some music through my radio as I checked over and over my gear, the driving guitar helping me focus.

Don't fret, precious, I'm here.

Step away from the window, go back to sleep

Safe from pain and truth and choice and other poison devils

See, they don't give a fuck about you like I do…

My NOD's clicked into place on my helmet, I dropped them, the blue-white glow almost flaring in the setting sun, satisfied that they worked, I rotated them up and out of the way.

Countin' bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums…

Count bodies like sheep, like sheep, like sheep, like sheep, like sheep, like sheep…

The body armor was next, checking buckles and straps, making sure my magazines were seated, the speed load pouch on my left hip was secured to my belt. I gave it all a quick jump check; everything stayed where it should.

Countin' bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums (Go back to sleep)

Go back to sleep

I pulled the T-shaped charging handle on my rifle, chambering my hand-loaded rounds, leaning back into the jump-seat, closing my eyes as the song ended, waiting for the go.

Count bodies like sheep to the rhythm of the war drums (Go back to sleep)

Go back to…

Sleep.

"Ten minutes!"

I keyed up my mic, "Copy, ten minutes."

Jill and Chris were finishing their gear checks as we approached; I spied the estate in the distance, a massive sprawl of a structure. I felt that old icy rush spread through me; somewhere inside those walls was the man responsible for all of this horror and death… And there was about to be a reckoning.

"Approaching target." Came the pilot's voice over my Peltors.

I felt the helo shift under my feet, flaring just outside the estate grounds; I pulled my gloves on and opened the door, the cold night air greeting me in a chilling rush. I looked back at Jill and Chris, getting a thumbs up from each of them, and booted the heavy coil of rope out the door into the darkness. I checked the hook and leaped for the rope, sliding the sixty feet to the ground in a flash, the thick gloves I had on protecting my hands from the worst of the burn.

Chris came rocketing down behind me, Jill right after him. I keyed up, "Raptor is on the ground, thanks for the lift."

"Anytime Actual, shoot straight."

"Wilco." I turned my attention to the others, "Let's move."

We crossed the property like shadows, covering the angles, using hand signals only. The front gate came up quick, and I broke the silence, "Got two bodies here."

The gate guards looked as though they'd been hit by a truck. One laid a few feet into the bushes, his right arm missing, and his head smashed almost flat, the other's head had been twisted one-hundred and eighty degrees, his face twisted in an expression of utter horror and pain.

"We've got another element on property, move."

We stepped over the bodies, continuing across the very open stretch of land; my bells were ringing loud as we approached the front door; the closer we got, the more apparent it was that the heavy oak doors had been smashed in, hanging weakly on their abused hinges. We stacked up and pushed into the main hall, the high ceilings and opulent chandelier bringing back some memories.

"Takes you back, doesn't it?" Chris whispered as we crossed the room; blood, bullet holes, and more bodies were strewn around the foyer.

I nodded, moving left to cover my angle, "A little too much, let's find this prick."

Jill fell in next to me and laid a hand on my shoulder as we moved, letting me know she had my back. We checked the side rooms, broken furniture, paperwork strewn around, and more bodies. Spencer had a private army here, but it hadn't done him much good; we fell back to the entryway and moved up the stairs. Voices, sharp and commanding, echoed from a set of double-doors at the top. I pointed, Jill and Chris moved, stacking up.

I slid in behind them; the voices became clearer now.

"Hands where we can see them!"

I tapped Jill on the shoulder and held up three fingers.

From inside, a voice stopped me cold.

"A quaint notion, but I'm afraid I can't do that."

Wesker…

A tremor shot through the stack, and it was a credit to our training and experience that we didn't burst in like a pack of idiots. I held up a hand, throwing a quick signal to Chris, telling him to toss in a banger, then I crossed around Jill to the other side of the door, reaching for the knob.

Someone screamed inside the room, a high keening wail of inhuman terror, higher and higher until the voice snapped into silence like an over tight guitar string.

I looked up into their eyes, they stared back, we were ready, I could feel my heart thundering in my ears, my muscles burned with unspent energy, time to see if Rebecca was right. The moment I felt the door pop, I stepped forward and donkey-kicked the door off the hinges, the heavy oak crashed in as I spun, snapping my rifle to my shoulder. Chris tossed the banger underhanded in a high arc. It detonated at the apex, bathing the room in exploding magnesium, illuminating the bodies and blood; Spencer lay dead on the floor, the light bounced off the stained glass windows at the far end, and the ocean beyond.

And in the middle of it all stood Albert Wesker.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise?"

We moved, but he moved quicker; I laid on the trigger, hitting him every time he slowed down. Chris moved to my right, Jill to my left, we got on-line and torn the room apart with automatic fire, intent on killing the fucking monster once and for all.

Someone was roaring, an almost inhuman sound; it was our anger, our sadness, all of our nightmares made manifest.

Wesker was on us in a flash, a roundhouse kick sent Chris flying into a bookshelf, a vicious backhand knocked Jill to the floor, my rifle took a hit, and spun into the wall, I felt a finger or two break, but the pain didn't come until he decked me in the jaw and sent me hurtling back into the hallway where I crashed into the railing, damn near blowing through it.

I retched a little and spat blood on the floor, powering my way off the ground just in time to see Jill stab Wesker in the leg, and Chris throw a haymaker that knocked his glasses across the room.

Time seemed to slow, my body thrummed with a mad energy, "HOLD HIM!" I screamed in a voice that didn't sound like mine. I stepped off, cratering the floor as I ran, ducking under Wesker's reflexive jab and hitting him across the hips, bulldozing the man into the wall.

Books and wood rained down on us, he kneed me in the face, snapping my head up and then elbowed me in the jaw; I felt it break before I reared back and head-butted him, feeling his nose break in turn.

Wesker leaned against the bookcase with an evil smile, like he was enjoying himself, and kicked me across the room as if I was an annoyance.

"Oh, how I've missed you all."

He strode into the center of the room, stopping to punch Chris in the gut, throwing him into and through the piano in the corner. Jill popped up with her knife in hand and slashed at him; he caught the blade and snapped it off at the hilt before kicking her into the wall.

He's killing us, and there isn't shit we can do about it.

Time to get evil.

I gave myself over to it, that feeling inside me, my jaw snapped back into place, the bones knitting together in a flash, and stood.

"Wesker you fuck! C'mere!"

He turned and smiled at me, "Oh Kelly, I had such high hopes for you."

I snapped my broken fingers back into place, "Happy to disappoint."

I flashed across the room, moving so fast I almost lost my balance, but my reflexes were catching up, and threw the kind of elbow strike that only gets described in a fucking eulogy, snapping Wesker's head around to the side and drawing a wide arc of blood on the hardwood floor.

He flew backward a few feet from the force of the blow, going down to a knee, "Well, well, it seems that my information was accurate. Can you feel it, Kelly? The raw power?"

I bounced from foot to foot, "Oh yeah, I feel it, and I'm gonna make sure you do too." I sprinted across the room and threw a kick at his smug face, only to wind up flat on my back, a crushing blow to my chest snapped every rib I had, I felt one organ or another pop like a balloon, the pain was frightening, I screamed as he continued to dig his foot into my sternum.

This is it.

My vision tunneled, and my breathing slowed. I was dying, and I knew it.

Until Chris came roaring up from the backfield and tackled Wesker off of me, they rolled and struck until they finally came to their feet; Wesker had Chris by the throat, holding him high against the wall. I could feel how hard he was squeezing, and I willed myself to my feet, blood running in rivulets down my destroyed gear, I took a shaky step towards them, the lights going on and off as I struggled to stay conscious.

"Now, Chris…It's finally time to end this." I could see Wesker's muscles tightening; he was about to snap Chris's neck like a twig…

"WESKER!"

…Until Jill hit him with everything she had, pushing him away from Chris, her momentum carrying them into and through the stained glass window, Wesker windmilled for one long horrifying moment before gravity took them over the edge and off the cliffside. It happened so fast my mind barely registered it.

Jill?

Oh, God…

Jill?

The world went silent…no sound at all…a part of my brain registered Chris slumping to the ground before throwing himself to the edge, screaming something into the night air.

No…

Oh no…

I dragged myself across the floor, my bones weren't healing, the pain was shocking, but I had to get to her. She was the only thing that mattered; I would've gone right over the edge if Chris hadn't grabbed me, I looked down, but all I saw was the roaring sea and the cloying dark.

There was no sign of Wesker.

Or Jill.

Something rang in my ears, something I couldn't place for a moment.

Someone was screaming…

It took a second before I realized it was me.