The pursuit force closed in, firing wildly. Chris dropped the tailgate, and we proned out, giving Sheva a clear field of fire.

"I've got right and rear, you take left and closest," I told Chris as I settled on the ridged steel, shifting my feet to get stable.

He nodded, bracing the M4 he'd grabbed from the backseat on the bed, "Got it."

We waited, at two hundred yards, Sheva let her sing. The fifty chewed them up, the one in five tracer mix blowing apart Majini, bikes, and truck alike.

"Come on! I've got plenty for everyone!"

I looked over at Chris; his grin said it all.

Oh Lordy, this woman is something else.

We finally rolled back into Kijuju proper just after sunset, the darkness adding a whole new level of malice to our situation.

That was before we saw the bodies.

Instead of a warm welcome and Irving trussed like a thanksgiving turkey, the smell of blood filled the air. The further we drove, past still burning Humvees and utterly destroyed buildings, it became clear that Delta was gone.

The driver, Dave, was taking it hard, staring at the carnage with wide eyes; these were his brothers and sisters. We rolled to a stop in the square, and Dave flew out of the driver's seat, rushing to a cluster of downed agents, checking their vitals; I could see the defeat on his face. I hopped off the truck, joining Chris and Sheva.

"The fuck did this?" I whispered.

"Maybe they got swarmed?" Chris offered.

Sheva shook her head, pain flashing across her face as she surveyed the ruined square, "Look at the destruction… this was something else."

Almost on cue, an impact shook the rig, a uniform thumping that sounded almost like…

Footsteps?

Dave, off to my left, never had a chance.

The towering creature stomped him into the dirt before he could scream.

Easily fifteen feet tall, its skin the color of ash, the thing dwarfed even the Tyrants, a ring of corpses hung around its waist like a grisly loincloth. Its twisted, pug-nosed face let out a roar as it stalked towards us, kicking our truck to the side as if it were a toy.

Holy SHIT!

"MOVE!" Chris yelled, busting into a spin with Sheva on his heels as we broke for some kind of cover.

I vaulted over a low wall, spying our salvation. A gun-truck sat untouched; the M134 minigun in the back looked ready to roll.

"Cover!" I shouted.

Nobody answered, but a blistering amount of fire ripped through the night air; my boots thudded on the hard-pack as I closed the gap, throwing myself into the bed of the truck. I chanced a look back; the behemoth was stomping towards Chris and Sheva; their spartan piece of cover wouldn't hold if it started swinging.

I grabbed the handle of the mounted weapon, levering myself off the ground, I flipped the switch on the power supply and thumbed the set trigger.

Whiiiiiiirrrrrrrrrrr

The General Electric motor hummed as the barrels spun. Satisfied that it was in working order, I called out to Chris.

"HEADS DOWN!"

They dove to the dirt as I spun the minigun up, squeezing the trigger.

WHIIIIRRRRRRRRBRRRRRRRTTTTTTT

BOW? Meet six-thousand rounds a minute.

The effects were nothing short of horrifying. Impacts from the heavy seven-six-two rounds ripped chunks of flesh from the creature, blood splashed the ground in gouts. The thing roared, an inhuman sound of pain as I kept my thumb on the trigger, chewing it to pieces. Plagas erupted from its skin and were washed away by the unending barrage.

The minigun's barrels began to glow and smoke, but I kept on; the BOW staggered as one of its legs collapsed, something vital gave way, and it collapsed onto its side, blood pouring over the sand, its body shook as it tried to rise, only to collapse with a rattling breath that petered out into nothing.

I finally felt the gun go dry; the entire stock of ammo was depleted in a scant few seconds.

The smell of blood and cordite was thick in my nostrils, sickeningly sweet, I was up to my ankles in shell casings and links from the belt, but at least the thing was fucking dead.

"Holy shit," I breathed, hopping off the truck in a shower of brass, "You guys alright?"

"We're good!" Chris called back; Sheva shot me a thumbs-up.

"Fuck me, what the fuck was that thing?"

"I read about something similar, El Gigante; the Plaga induces those kinds of mutations in a few hosts." Sheva offered.

"No mames guey." I deadpanned.

She cocked her head, "Hmm?"

"En Serio." Chris nodded sagely.

Chris's radio lit up, "Any teams, SITREP, over."

He keyed back, "Dragon, this is Bravo Actual, Delta team is KIA."

"Say again, Actual?"

"All teams are down; Bravo is still combat-effective."

"… Dragon copies, Bravo, proceed to primary exile point for immediate extraction."

Chris looked over at me; the expression on his face said it all in a moment.

Nope.

I shut off my radio and walked away to let Chris handle his superiors, digging out my sat-phone and a smoke, punching in some numbers. A smooth female voice answered after a moment.

"Andrews Shipping."

"Word of the day is Ruby."

"Standby…Line secure, how can I help?"

"This is Oxide calling for Sparrow, Sierra Oscar Golf, priority traffic."

"Standby…Go for Sparrow."

"Frank?"

"Hey kid, what goes on?"

"She's alive, Frank…Wesker had her this whole time."

The line went quiet for a long moment, "Valentine?"

"A-Firm, we just found out a couple of hours ago…"

"Jesus, kid, how are you holding up?"

I tried to keep the tremor out of my voice, "Got the job to do; I'll have plenty of time to deal with it once we get her out. Listen, BSAA has called the game; all their teams are down except for Redfield and his partner, but we're going after her."

"How can I help?"

My man.

"We're good on supplies, but the three of us aren't gonna be able to hack this. Do we have anything in the area?"

"Creek Sand is the closest. I can make some calls, see if we have anything available."

"I appreciate it, Frank. I've gotta roll; we'll be in transit for a while. Give me a shout when and if you nail something down."

"Will do kid, be careful out there."

"You got it, bud."

I hung up; Chris was still talking to Headquarters.

"Sir, I understand the situation, but new information has come to light, and I'd like clearance to proceed to the HVT's last known location."

His face spoke to the response he was getting as I dialed the Embassy in Prague; the nerves were starting to get to me; I paced a groove in the dirt, waiting for the Annex to answer.

"State Department, Martinson speaking."

"OGA traffic, word of the day is Marble, Oxide calling for Butcher."

"Understood, stand by."

I waited, digging out another cigarette as they transferred me to Connor. A few rings later, he picked up.

"Mike?"

"Hey, Con' listen, man, I've gotta talk quick. Is Rebecca there?"

"She is, just running over some viral data in the other room."

"Get her for me, will ya?"

"Standby, man, be right back."

A few painful seconds later, Becca's voice came on the line.

"Mike?"

I tried to sound normal, I really did, "Hey Bec's."

"Mike…What's wrong?"

Fucking, everything.

"Becca…Jill's alive."

The handset clattered on what I assume was the desk and the line went so quiet I thought I'd lost the call. But if I really strained, I could hear soft sobbing on the other end of the line. Finally, a quiet, tearful voice asked the question I couldn't answer,

"How?"

"I don't know, Becca, I just don't know…" My voice broke a little, and I cursed myself, "Wesker has had her this whole time…I don't know what kind of shape she'll be in when we find her…"

"But you are going after her, right, Mike? You have a plan to get her back?"

The worry in her voice, worry for Jill, mixed with a tinge of uncertainty and sadness almost floored me.

"Yeah, Becca, I have a plan; I'm going to bring her home."

"I can't believe she's alive, Mike. You have to get her out of there."

"I will hun, I promise, no matter what."

"How…Um…How are you feeling about it?" I could hear the heartbreak and fear edging in.

I sighed, my eyes prickled a little bit, "I don't know Becca, I don't know anything anymore. All I know is that I have a job to do, and if I let this, all of this, take over, I won't make it one more step."

"I know, Mike. Just be safe, and we'll talk when you get back…I…Bye, Mike."

The line went dead.

I folded the antenna and stuffed the phone back in a cargo pocket, holding back the waves of emotion as I walked back to Chris and Sheva.

"Any headway with the brass?"

Chris shook his head, "They want us out of here, time now. I think we know that's not happening," He turned to Sheva, "You should go back; there's no sense in you risking your career over a personal stake."

Sheva's eyes turned flinty, "If you think I'm about to abandon you to go at this alone, you're dead wrong, Redfield. I'm with you until the end; we need to stop Irving and get your friend back."

I smiled, "Thanks, Sheva."

She returned my smile with a toothy one of her own, "All in all the time, Kelly."

Chris nodded, a tired smile on his face, "Well, I had to try and put up a fight; what's the fastest way to the oilfield from here?"

She pointed to the shoreline, "Straight through the marsh, we just have to hope that some of the Zodiacs survived."

"Well, no time like the present," He shot me a sidelong look, "Let's go get our girl back."

I nodded, and we started walking; Chris fell into step next to me, "You okay?"

"I don't know, man, Becca knows, I called her on the sat-phone."

His brows knitted together, "How was she?"

"She cried a bit, mostly she's just worried about Jill and us…She didn't say it, but I know she's thinking it and probably hating herself for it."

I shook my head softly, "What a shit show."

The Zodiac came up quick, thankfully intact.

I climbed in after Sheva and Chris backed us out, pulling the small boat into a tight turn; the hum of the engine turned into a subdued roar as we headed for the oilfields.

"Well, that presents an issue."

The way to the oilfields was blocked, shored up by a patchwork wall that reminded me of an 18th Century fort.

"We should check these outlying islands for intel, see if there's anything useful," Sheva called out.

"We can't get through, might as well." I didn't want to waste any more time, but it was looking more and more like overland was the way to go.

"Anything you can tell us about the area?" Chris added.

She nodded, "This place is home to a tribe called Ndipaya; Tricell displaced them during a construction project, not exactly in keeping with their supposedly philanthropic image."

I nodded, "I remember it from the brief I got, Umbrella or not, Big Pharma is still Big Pharma. Are they friendly?"

She shrugged, "A little suspicious, but not overtly hostile; if we just explain what our mission is, I'm sure they'll let us pass without any problems."

I nodded as Chris angled us towards a boat launch, pulling alongside, Sheva tied us off, I surveyed the shore, a shape materialized in the center of the islet, "Heads up, we've got bodies." I dragged my rifle up and flipped the safety off, watching the bushes.

"What's the plan, Chris?"

"Mike, you cover. Sheva? On me."

"Got it."

"On you."

They hopped out and cleared the small area, kneeling next to the body.

"BSAA," Chris called out.

I tightened my grip on the rifle, "Alive?"

"No," Sheva answered.

"Fuck," I muttered, sweeping my rifle over the brush. Nothing moved.

I watched Chris and Sheva search the body of the fallen agent; there was almost a reverence to their motions that I understood all too well.

A minute later, we were back in the Zodiac, peeling away and heading for another islet. Hopefully, we'd find more answers and a way through this blockade there.

"Fuck all of this!" I shouted, firing a string of rounds, shattering the mask of the tribesman; another string put him in the dirt for good.

"Aw, C'mon Kelly, if it was easy, it wouldn't be fun!" Sheva called back.

We'd found something alright, the entire tribe had been infected with Plagas by…someone, under the guise of inoculation, fucking animals…

Now the whole of the Ndipaya was on the hunt for us.

I vaulted out of cover and ran headlong into a nine-foot-tall mutated warrior, a wicked-looking spear in his massive hands. I fell back, scrambling in the dirt as I tried to create some space. He raised his spear, but before he could bring it down, Chris triple-tapped him, following up with a kick to the chest that sent the enormous infected sprawling. Sheva stepped forward and shot him enough times in the head to be sure.

"Get up, Kelly, making us look bad." He was grinning as he offered his hand.

I took it, letting him haul me to my feet, returning his grin, "Fuck yourself."

We'd pushed around the ring of Islets, piecing together what had happened to the tribe, finally coming to the largest expanse of land, where we'd promptly been ambushed. After we'd taken down the bigger infected, things had quieted down considerably.

We split up to check the huts, nothing but bodies and more documents, diary entries, and tribal records. The men had been taken in by concern for their families, which the "vaccine" had promptly killed, either directly like the children or indirectly like the village women, slaughtered in the fighting that followed.

I sighed, my eyes prickling at the horror these poor people had been forced to endure.

"Kelly?" A soft female voice whispered behind me, "Are you alright?"

"I was in Khartoum, a lifetime ago. I had this friend; he'd been loyal, backed me up, saved my life a few times. One day the call comes, things are changing, and I need to get out. I tried to save him and his family, I watched the militia cut his wife apart in front of him and their kids, they took their time, after they'd raped her…They used a drill on the kids, killed my friend with a billhook… I thought I'd seen the limits of human cruelty."

I sucked in a breath, "The more I see of Umbrella's legacy, the more I realize I don't know a fucking thing…"

I felt Sheva's hand on my shoulder, "We'll get them, Kelly, we'll make this right."

I let the papers slide from my hand, offering Sheva a weak smile as I walked past her and out of the hut.

Chris was standing in the square, "I found a door, some tricky lock shit going on."

I smirked, leaning on the railing at the top of the stairs, "I feel like you already know what I'm gonna say."

He grinned, "I had hope."

"Show me this door."

Sheva just looked puzzled.

"Did I, did I miss something?"

I chuckled, "Inside joke."

Chris led us down the path; Sheva and I covered the flanks, making sure we didn't get ran up upon.

The door was imposing, about ten feet tall, made of rough-hewn ironwood, an intricate locking mechanism was inlaid, looking for all the world like a throwback to the Mansion, it was clear that something would fit into it and release the lock.

I dumped my pack and pulled out some art supplies before sliding it back on. I was gonna go thermal on this one; the Breachpen that I carried would be a perfect way to get through without alerting the neighborhood.

"Cove me guys," I slipped on a pair of welder's shades, "This might take a minute."

I pulled the magnesium igniter out of the small cylinder and slipped it into the fuse; the striker followed.

"Breaching now," I whispered.

I snapped the striker, and the incendiary glowed like the sun; I started at the top of the lock, ignoring the heat and tracing the crease. Molten slag dripped onto the ground; chunks of the burning metal barely missed my feet.

A half a minute later, the lock fell apart; I held the pen until it went out and pushed on the door gently, feeling some give.

"Good breach. On me."

Chris stacked behind me, Sheva behind him, I got the squeeze, and we pushed in.

"Clear," Chris whispered.

"All clear."

Just up the hill from the door was an honest to god gondola, the thing looked rickety as hell, but it was our only way forward.

"Well, hell. I guess we're going for a ride," Sheva whispered, covering her sector.

We pushed up the hill; nothing moved as we boarded the gondola; Chris threw an antique-looking switch, and the car lurched to life, carrying us to God knows where.

We had a moment, it seemed, so I dug out a smoke and leaned against the railing, my rifle aimed out just in case.

"So…Jill was it? She must be very special to you two." Sheva was hesitant, but I could tell that it was burning her.

Chris took the lead before I could speak, "She's family, we've been together since Raccoon, since this all started. Mike and her have been together almost that long, five years before she… disappeared. She was my partner at RPD and Mike's fiancé, short version? She means the world to both of us. Which is why we're not stopping until we get her back."

"I understand; I hope I didn't cross the line."

I spoke without looking away from the scenery, "You didn't step on any toes, Sheva, sore subject is all, lotta years spent fighting together after she died it kinda broke me, it was the same for all of us who were left alive. Like a piece of us was missing. Now we have a chance to get that piece back," I flicked my cigarette over the railing and turned around, meeting her gaze, "And I believe I can speak for both of us when I say that I'm glad that you decided to stick with us."

"Damn right," Chris added.

Sheva smiled, "And miss this? You must be joking."

Her face turned somber after a moment, "When I was younger, my parents were killed in an "accident" involving bio-weapons; a few years ago, I learned that Umbrella had sold weapons to AQIM; the accident was actually an attack. I wouldn't miss taking these bastards down for all the money in the world."

"We will, Sheva," I whispered, a whole new respect for the agent welling up inside me. She'd seen the elephant when she was a kid, I'd been well into adulthood, and I couldn't tell you how I didn't snap completely.

Chris looked at her with new eyes, opening his mouth to say something, when out of nowhere, an arrow snapped past his face, missing him by inches.

"WAUE WOTE!"

Clearly, someone took exception with our moment's peace.

I ducked, and the gondola came to a halt; we rushed out and into the fray.

"That's a big fucking Crocodile!" Chris shouted.

"Ya don't say?! FRAG OUT!"

We'd pushed through the crowd, battled oversized alligators. Slogged through water up to out shoulders

Dodged Candiru…

…Look it up.

The Refinery was just off in the distance when we finally slowed down.

"I've always loved Africa." I braced my hands on my soaked pants, trying to catch my breath.

"Having…Second thoughts?" Sheva panted, grinning at me.

I grinned right back, "Hell no, this is the most excitement I've had in a long time. Right, Redfield?…Chris?"

He was off to the side, peering at something through the undergrowth; I brought my sodden rifle up and stalked toward him, motioning for Sheva to follow. I reached out on tapped him on the shoulder, he jumped a little.

"What's got you spooked…" I caught sight of what he was looking at…

"What the fuck?"

Tents greeted me… Tents marked with the Tricell logo.

"I didn't think Tricell had any outposts here," Sheva whispered.

"Neither did I," Chris answered, "Let's push up and see if there's anything to explain what they were doing here."

We fanned out around the campsite; all signs pointed to it being long abandoned. I took the far tent while Chris and Sheva took the one closest to the Refinery; files were littered around, mostly invoices, nothing of any real use.

"Kelly!"

I dropped the shipping manifest and sprinted out of the tent; Chris and Sheva were standing in the clearing; Sheva had a sheaf of paper, her face was pale, Chris wasn't faring any better.

"Somebody wanna tell me what the fuck?"

Sheva didn't look at me as she handed over the papers, and once I started reading, I understood why.

It was an experiment log; Tricell had picked up right where Umbrella had left off if this was anything to go by. They'd infected the Ndipaya; they'd kept the Plagas alive, creating BOWs and laying waste to this city.

I cleared my throat, "Fucking Deja Vu all over again…"

The look on Chris's face made me want to take a step back; the anger radiating off of him was palpable.

"Amoral money-grubbing corporate cocksuckers!We're gonna burn them to the ground; they admire Umbrella so much? They can join them."

Sheva nodded, "Well put."

"Amen," I whispered, pulling out my sat-phone and dialing the cover business, a brief exchange with the housekeeper later, and Frank came on the line.

"Hey kid, listen, I called Creek Sand; I can push you a Predator and GRS team, just ping me a location, and I'll get them moving."

"No time for that brother; I'm looking at documents implicating Tricell in illegal bio-weapons research; they took Umbrella's ball and ran with it."

"For fuck's sake… Are you shitting me?"

"That was my reaction, afraid, not man, it's all here in black and white, I'm gonna snag some pictures, so we have evidence this time."

"That's a plan…Goddamnit, these corporate douchebags just don't learn, do they?"

I chuckled despite the rock in my gut, "Apparently not. Gonna have to smoke 'em quick this time."

"I'll make the calls as soon as we get done here; just bring back whatever you can. The offer stands about the support; I'll probably be able to swing more once I let the brass know what you've found."

"I appreciate it, man. We're moving fast now; I'll let you know."

"Rog' go get 'em, kid."

"Will do, man."

I hung up, turning to Chris and Sheva, "We've got backup on call. What's the play, Chris?"

He seemed to have bounced back. His eyes were less shocked and angry, more resolute, "We keep moving, find Irving, and get him to give it up."

Sheva nodded, some color returning to her, "Let's go."

I fell in next to them as we stepped off and cleared our way to the Refinery.

"Got about ten hostiles guarding the front gate, heavily armed, I see a mix of AK's and RPG's."

I was on the high ground surrounding the Refinery, the thick vegetation kept me concealed as I surveyed our entry points. Chris and Sheva took the low route, creeping up on the gate and the crowd of Majini that surrounded it.

Chris's voice came over the radio, "Hold fire until we're in position, I'll call the shot."

I flipped the throw-lever, bringing the magnification all the way up to eight-power and adjusting the small sand-sock underneath the handguard.

"Rog'… On you."

I settled the reticle over the head of the guy who seemed to be in charge; he paced, barking orders that I couldn't make out.

"Kelly, Go."

I squeezed the trigger slowly.

Slowly.

SNAP!

My target's head exploded.

A grenade detonated amid the Majini. One of the exploding into a creature like an oversized clam, the rapid mutation catching my eye for a moment before another grenade put an end to that bullshit.

One with an RPG broke for cover behind a jersey barrier; I tracked him until he slowed down.

SNAP!

The first shot hit him high in the shoulder, but it brought his head up just enough; Chris or Sheva fired from the brush and blew his head off.

Chris came over the radio. "Entry is clear, consolidate."

"Check, moving," I whispered, breaking down my hide and sliding down the slope, popping out onto the dirt road a few moments later. I jogged up to where Chris and Sheva had emerged from the undergrowth, Chris threw a couple of hand signals, and we moved through the gate.

The outside of the Refinery was guarded by more Majini; we took them down and kept moving. I could feel the excitement building, Irving was getting close, and with him in hand, we'd be one step closer to finding Wesker.

And Jill.

I was first to the door, stacking on the left side. Chris and Sheva fell in behind me; I tried the handle and found that it was open, not just unlocked, but open; the lock was fragged. I leaned closer and recognized the stippling around the remains of the strike plate; someone had breached it with a shotgun.

I motioned for quiet and gently pushed the door open, going right.

I was halfway across the threshold when someone reached out and grabbed my vest, hurling me to the floor.

"Kelly?"

I recognized the voice, "Captain Stone?"

Chris crashed the door and took Stone down, tackling him to the floor.

"Blue!" Sheva yelled.

"Captain?"

Stone smiled around the gun in his face, "Captain."

I snorted.

Sheva chuckled before offering her hand to Josh, pulling him to his feet and into a hug.

"I'm so glad you made it!"

"I am too, sis…Did anyone else make it?"

She shook her head, a haunted look in her eyes.

Flying away from the mansion, in cuffs, that same look in everyone's eyes… the kind of loss that brings people to their knees.

"Goddamnit," Stone whispered, closing his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Captain, about your men," I added.

He gave me a weak smile, "We need to get out of here; the four of us can't take this on."

I shot Chris a look.

How much do we tell him?

He nodded and stepped forward, "We're not falling back, Captain; we're going after Irving. The situation has changed."

Stone's brows furrowed, "How has it changed? We're outnumbered and cut off."

I decided to get in the game, "An old teammate of ours is being held by the opposition; we're going in to get her."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but Sheva popped up, "We can't leave her behind, Josh."

"Not again," I muttered.

At Sheva's earnest words, Stone relaxed, "Well, I think you're all nuts for even considering it…" He grinned, "How can I help?"

Sheva smiled; Chris followed suit, "Help us nab that little prick; he has the info we need."

I bounced from foot to foot; the faster we got Irving, the faster we could end this.

A clattering from the catwalks above drew our attention.

"Kelly!" Chris shouted, throwing himself at me, crash tackling me to the ground as an arrow sailed through space where my head had been a split-second ago.

"My hero, I whispered.

He snorted, rolling off of me and spraying the catwalk with a long burst from his AK.

Sheva and Josh hosed our attackers as I regained my feet, firing into the throng. Josh broke out and slammed his fist on the elevator button; above us, the car began to move.

Slowly.

"Shit!" He shouted.

"Stairs!" Chris called out, firing into a group of Majini that had leaped from the catwalk, axes, and billhooks in hand.

I grabbed a flashbang off my vest, priming it as we ran; I crouched, almost taking a knee before hurling the device straight up.

"BANGER!" I shouted.

Everyone covered their eyes, nothing we could do about the…

BOOM!

eeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Ow.

We circled the stairwell with Stone in the lead; Sheva dropped them like a champ as she ran, spraying rounds and splitting heads.

Chris slowed to slam a fist into a face, sending the Plaga host flying off the catwalk to crash in a bloodied heap on the concrete below.

My rifle ran dry, and I drew my 1911 to fire a string of rounds into a bad guy that got too close, reaching out, locking his convulsing arm up, and flipping him to the floor; a final round to the face ended the fight.

And we kept moving.

Far more ammo than I would've liked later, we crashed onto the dock; a massive boat was moored at the far end.

"That's Irving's boat!" Sheva called out.

"Let's go get that greasy little fuck…" I growled.

"I'll get us some transport in case he rabbits," Josh added, bailing off to our right and sprinting down the dockside.

Sheva, Chris, and I pushed down the dock.

Chris held up a hand, "Movement."

Irving walked across the deck, flanked by our cloaked friend.

Who promptly leaped off the boat into a speedboat moored alongside and rocketed off without any preamble.

"I swear to god I'm gonna kick some ass when I finally get ahold of whatever the fuck that is," Chris whispered.

Irving finally noticed our little outfit, his rat face pinching into what passed for a grin in Jersey, "Persistent little fuckers ain'tcha?"

I snapped my rifle up, "Persistent ain't the half of it ya fuckin' greaseball! Show me your hands!"

My New York roots were showing.

Chris was the voice of reason as always, "Hands! I'll turn your head into a canoe, you fucking weasel!"

Irving simply chuckled; I noticed a cell phone in his hand, "Drop it!"

He hit a button as the boat started to move, giving us a mock salute that ended in the finger, "Good luck with that shit."

I wanted to shoot him, God I wanted to drill him right between the eyes, but then Jill and Wesker would be long gone…again.

I flipped the safety back on as he pulled away.

"FUCK" I shouted.

Chris laid a hand on my shoulder, watching the asshole escape into the distance, "We'll get him, Mike, I swear to God we're gonna get him, and we're gonna make him tell us where she is."

"He's dead; he just doesn't know it yet," Sheva added.

I nodded, murder in my eyes, "Then let's go get him."

I heard the Majini before I saw them; a whole platoon-sized element was thundering down the docks behind us. Stone came over the radio just as I was debating a swim/

"I found a boat! Far end of the dock, move!"

We hauled ass like we had a purpose; the bad guys were hot on our heels, arrows and AK rounds snapped overhead as we broke contact, jumping onto the small boat that Stone had found.

I lined up and dropped a Majini wielding an RPG as we pulled away from the dock, gaining speed as more rounds and arrows splashed down around us. Two hundred yards later, the entire Refinery exploded in a brilliant flash of light and a thunderclap that I'm sure they heard in Kinshasa. The shockwave sent me sprawling on the deck, rocking our little boat like a tidal wave.

"Fucking hell!" Sheva shouted from her new position atop Chris, they'd fallen together, and now we were all treated to the sight of them blushing as they tried to untangle themselves.

Josh snorted, clearing his throat. When he spoke, it sounded like he was trying not to laugh, "W-Where's Irving?"

I pointed downriver, "He rabbited, put your foot through the floor, I want to get my hands on that little fucker."

Stone gunned the engine as Chris and Sheva made a huge show of not looking at one another. I tried to find the humor in it, even tried to find happiness at the thought of the two of them together…I failed miserably.

I leaned on the railing, lighting a smoke, I closed my eyes, and all I could see was Jill.