"Got him! Dead ahead!"

We'd fought our way through a sparsely guarded blockade and finally caught up with Irving; I could see Majini running around the deck through my scope.

I also had a great view of the numerous gun emplacements lining the deck.

"Stone! Get us close quick; they're gonna chew us up out here!"

He nodded and gunned the engine, Chris, Sheva, and I held on for dear life as we rocketed forward, Josh jinked the boat, dodging tracer fire as we approached, chunks of wood and bits of metal ripped away under the fusillade, and it was a credit to Stone that he kept his cool. I proned out and started dropping gunners, it wasn't easy with the boat's rocking on both sides, but I got a few solid hits in before we finally pulled inside their envelope. I took the lead as the pilot accelerated, throwing myself across the gap and grabbing the cargo netting hanging from the side. Chris was next, slamming into the side of the boat; Sheva brought up the rear, one hand holding her Beretta, covering us.

I crawled up, hand over hand until I was level with the deck; I slipped my 1911 out of its holster, popping up over the railing.

An ax thunked into the railing, so close I felt the breeze, the handle gripped by a wild-eyed Majini. I leaned way back, almost losing my grip, and shot him in the face, his head snapped back in a spray of blood, and he dropped to the deck without a sound. Like lightning, I pulled myself up and over, holstering the 1911 and bringing my rifle to bear, killing one manning a massive GAU-19 mini-gun, tracking my rifle to the other when his head exploded. Chris and Sheva had joined the fight, and we swept the deck clean in seconds.

I rotated magazines, keeping an eye out for more targets.

"Contact," Chris called out.

I looked where he was looking, a hundred feet away, stood Irving, his whole presence radiating an undeserved smugness, his left hand held behind his hip.

"Glad ya could join me. Just in time for the show."

"Show me your fucking hands, Irving!" Chris shouted the AK pointed at the bridge of his nose.

Irving complied a moment later, his arm swinging up and slamming what I recognized as a syringe into the side of his neck.

"What the fuck?" Sheva muttered.

The effect was almost immediate. Irving began to seize, screams ripping themselves out between his gritted teeth. I flipped the safety off and took aim, trying to kill him before whatever he'd just done could take effect.

"Fire!" I shouted.

We unloaded on him, the impacts tearing his body, but whatever was in the syringe kept right on trucking, tentacles exploded from his back and in one smooth motion, hurled him over the side into the brackish water below.

"Ah shit," I whispered.

"What the fuck was that?" Chris asked.

Rage coursed through me; I pulled my helmet off and hurled it to the deck, "FUCK! Even if he's alive, he'll be in no shape to tell us anything now. Goddamnit!"

Chris looked to be thinking everything I was saying; Sheva nodded in agreement.

We were fucking jammed, and we all knew it.

I sighed, scooping up my helmet. "Maybe we can-"

Tentacles erupted from the water on either side on the coat, massive things easily as big around as tree trunks; at the stern, a set of massive jaws, ringed with horrible, mismatched teeth, rose from the depths. The thing that had been Irving roared at us, and inside its mouth, the crowning horror sat. Irving was horrifically mutated, meshed with the thing's tongue, his body warped and twisted, impossibly, he spoke.

"How do ya like my makeover?"

The mass closed its mouth and sank beneath the waves, but if you really looked, you could see a huge shape knifing through the water, just below the surface.

We all stared for a single, uncomprehending moment.

"Guns!" Chris shouted, bolting for one of the mini-guns. I looked around as Sheva went for the other mount and spied an MK47 on the upper deck; the automatic grenade launcher sat loaded and unattended. I broke into a sprint as the thing broke the surface, its tentacles waving around; just one solid hit would be enough to swamp us.

Seconds later, Chris and Sheva opened up; I could feel the shockwaves from their combined fire as I ran, taking the steps two at a time and using the railing to slingshot myself closer to the weapon. I popped the feed tray cover, confirming that it was loaded before slamming it shut and racking the bolt twice, chambering a fat 40mm HEDP round. I traversed the weapon, bringing the reticle of the heavy weapon sight onto the bulk of the monster.

"GOING HOT!" I screamed over the din, my thumbs finding the butterfly trigger.

CHUNK CHUNK CHUNK

The forty-mikes flew true. Detonating on and around the mutated Irving as Chris and Sheva drilled the tentacles when they appeared.

The thing roared, smaller tentacles breaching the surface and grabbing onto the boat, its mouth opened wide, and the mutated Irving made an appearance. An unspoken agreement later, and we focused fire on his twisted form. The monster bucked and twisted; its jaws snapping closed as we hammered it, snapping right through Irving's body and sending what was left of him hurtling to the deck.

Chris was on him in a flash; Sheva and I covered. I couldn't make out the conversation between them, but it was brief as Irving bled out all over the deck.

After a moment, Chris straightened up. I took it as my cue to come down; I checked the perimeter one last time and hustled down the steps to going them, stepping over Irving's bisected corpse.

I jerked my thumb over my shoulder at the pile of meat, "He say anything good?"

Chris looked deep in thought, shaking himself out of it at my question, "There's a cave ahead; he said all the answers were waiting for us there. Dramatic little prick. He also said something about Excella."

"Gionne?" Sheva asked, "The head of Tricell?"

Chris nodded, "It looks like their bullshit goes all the way to the top, so we head for the cave and see what's up."

I nodded, "Agreed, better move fast; if this is a lot more than a simple terror operation, then they have to know we're in play and headed straight for them."

"So we hit them hard, we don't slow down for a minute," Sheva added.

Chris nodded, "Exactly, we ram it straight down their fucking throats." He looked my way, "Might be time for that backup."

"On it," I pulled out the sat phone and got online with Frank.

"Miller."

"Frank, it's Mike, any change in the support package?"

"Oh big time, I've got a flight of F18's on standby off the coast, all regional permission has been secured for overflight, an entire Delta troop from B Squadron and a few Predators, just say when kid."

"When. We've got confirmation that Excella Gionne is aware and supporting what's going on here; got it out of Irving right before he bought it."

"Just send me a grid, and I'll have the D-Boys on the way."

I glanced at my Garmin, "Rough grid is as follows."

I relayed the numbers, and he confirmed.

"Hold the air, but the ground support is perfect; they may have to hit a moving target."

"No need, I've had them stage just upriver from you."

I grinned, "Been watching me, Frank?"

"What kinda boss would I be if I wasn't? Had you on sat feed this entire time."

"Good man, "Tell them to meet us at the entrance to the cave, and get me their frequency?"

"Will do, kid. Stay safe."

"Not fucking likely old man; see you on the other side."

I killed the call, "Well, ladies and gents; it appears we've been followed; Deltas are closing on the cave entrance to back us up."

Chris's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, "Holy shit."

"Delta? As in Delta Force?" Sheva looked shocked.

"I have my uses Alomar," I finished with a chuckle, "Got another call to make; we've got time, huh?"

Chris scanned the horizon, "I'd say so, gonna try Becca?"

I nodded, "We got cut off earlier. I want her to know the score."

"Good luck, man," He had a somber expression on his face.

"Fingers crossed."

I dialed the Embassy; Connor answered, "Morgan."

"Con,' is Becca there?"

"She's resting; I can go get her if you want."

"Would ya? I've got no time here."

"I'm on it, brother. Standby."

I lit a smoke as we made our way upriver, waiting, and not at all looking forward to the conversation. A few tense moments later, Becca's tired voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi, sweetheart."

Her sleepy tone evaporated, "Mike! Have you found her yet?"

"No…I just wanted to call and make sure you're alright."

"I…I don't know what I am, Mike. Overjoyed that Jill's alive, scared because what kind of shape she might be in…and guilty…Because I don't know what it means for you and me and that just makes me feel horrible and selfish."

I took a long drag, trying to steady my frayed nerves, "Don't do that to yourself, Becca, this…nobody saw this coming, no one. She's alive, and we have to find her; we can fix it. But to feel selfish because life went on due to things we couldn't control and didn't know is insane…"

She cut me off, "But we could control it, Mike, nobody forced us to fuck." Her hard-bitten edge and the vulgarity were things I wasn't used to hearing, "Now that we are where we are, I feel as though we betrayed her."

Somewhere deep inside myself, I did too, but I wasn't going to tell Becca that and add fuel to this fire that neither of us had control of.

"We didn't, Becca; she was a damn ghost until twelve hours ago. If we'd known she was alive, we'd have come for her, and none of this would've happened."

"I wouldn't take it back even if I could; you need to know that. No matter how I feel right now, I wouldn't take it back."

"Honestly, Becca? Neither would I."

I saw a glint from the grass, and my radio lit up, "Oxide, this is Midas; we have eyes on you, heading to the RV now."

"Hang on, Becca." I keyed up, "Oxide copies all, RV in twenty."

"Confirmed, RV in twenty, out."

"Sorry, Bec's. Did you catch what I said?"

"I did, Mike. I'm thrilled to hear you say that, but what about Jill?"

What about Jill? I hadn't slowed down enough to really ask the question myself. What would happen when we got her out?

Honesty time.

"Am I talking to you as a teammate? Or as someone who loves me?"

"Mike, I'm your friend first, be honest with me…please." Her voice cracked, and I hated myself a little.

I sighed, scanning the shoreline as I tried to get my thoughts together, "I'm a fucking mess, what's between you and I is real, as real as it gets, but what I had with Jill…You were there, you saw us together, you know what it was like."

Her voice was thick when she answered, "I do, and my heart is breaking for you; I can't imagine how you feel right now."

Once again, she floored me, "Jesus, Becca. I don't deserve you."

She chuckled sadly, "You deserve so much more than I can ever be."

I let a little steel slip into my voice, "Don't talk like that, Becca, not around me."

"It's true, Mike, I'm just Becca…And that's okay." Her voice had taken on a note of …something.

"Not to me, not ever." I felt like I was playing a game and losing, like the rules were eluding me.

Chris called out, breaking me out of the emotional turmoil, "Cave's coming up fast."

I flashed him a thumbs up, "Becca, I gotta go; I promise I'll do my best to keep you in the loop."

"Just be careful Mike, and listen, if you find yourself in a tight spot out there, all the training, every bit of what's kept you alive and level-headed, just let it all go. Trust me."

Odd…

"I do trust you, with my life, always have."

"Good…Bye, Mike.

"Bye, Becca."

Her voice echoed in my ears as I checked my magazines, that hollow note ringing and triggering something inside me that I couldn't place and didn't have time to examine.

The mouth of the cave yawned before us, dark and foreboding. We slipped inside the envelope, Chris killed the engine, and we coasted alongside a rock formation; a rumbling clatter met my ears as the twin anchors dropped into the water, stopping us with a jerk that almost knocked me off my feet.

Stone rolled in behind us, calling out as he approached, "I'm not coming with you. I'm going to go back and try and bring some help!"

Chris tossed him a two-fingered salute, "Be safe, Captain!"

"Take care, Josh!" Sheva echoed.

I gave him a wave, and his boat peeled away, racing off to bring the cavalry.

The three of us clambered up the short cliff face, the slick rock made for a tough go. Chris was ahead of me, slowly making his way up and picking his handholds, when a shadowy figure popped over the edge, offering a hand.

"Blue," Chris called back, taking the figure's hand and hauling himself over the lip. I could hear him talking to someone as I approached the top; the same figure hauled me up and over before repeating the process with Sheva. In the dim light, I could make out guys, some in civilian clothes, some in Multicam, all armed to the teeth.

Delta had arrived.

The guy who had helped us up smiled, "Nice day for a walk, OGA."

I returned his smile, "Damn straight bud," I held out my hand, "Call me, Kelly."

We shook hands, "Midas. What's the situation?"

I lit a smoke, getting the feeling that he was in charge, "Kill or Capture on an HVT, Albert Wesker," Somebody whistled, "Priority extract on one Jill Valentine, my team takes point, you guys run block?"

"We'll back your play. Enemy strength?"

"Unknown, but we've seen everything from Plaga hosts to BOW's, bottom line up front? Shoot first."

He nodded, "Sounds good; you guys ready to move?"

I stubbed my smoke out, looking at Chris for confirmation; he nodded.

"Ready," Sheva added, looking at the Deltas with something akin to awe.

"Looks like it."

"On you, OGA."

He whistled, and his guys flipped the switch, their faces turning deadly as they fanned out.

We pushed across the cliff face with the D-Boys at our back; a long winding path greeted us, leading down into the depths of the millennia-old cavern. Moisture dripped from the ceiling, adding a level of humidity to the already warm interior; sweat rolled down the back of my neck as we advanced. My helmet was stifling, matching the tension in my gut, the emotional roller coaster of the last twenty-four hours making itself known again.

A soft crackling sound reached my ears. I held up a hand, and the formation stopped in their tracks. I cocked my head, trying to make it out. The sound was getting closer, like someone tap-dancing across gravel.

Nobody breathed.

From the next corner came a new wrinkle in the plan, hooked claws on each of its legs, barbs lined its body, and long fangs capped a very arachnid looking frame. Five others joined it before I could blink, all scrambling towards us; in the next instant, two broke off and burrowed under the dirt, disappearing in a flash.

"Contact!" I called out, snapping my rifle up and engaging the two in front; they took two rounds apiece before crashing to the floor, their legs curling in their death throes. The two off to my left were shredded as the entire outfit turned their iron on them.

"Watch the dirt, fucking things can dig!" I heard one of the Deltas shout before a screech rang out, followed by more shots. I kept my eyes on my sector.

Silence.

"Everybody good?" Someone asked.

A chorus of responses greeted the question; we were all still here.

I was about to make some cheesy quip about exterminator not being in the job description when more shrieks sounded from all around us; every corner suddenly came alive.

We opened fire as one, bathing the room in lead.

An explosive arrow detonated a few feet to my right, hurling me into the wall; the amount of fire was withering as we pushed on.

After killing the spiders, we'd come to an Archaeologist's wet dream, stone columns, and half-collapsed buildings that looked to be thousands of years old.

The ambush had come shortly thereafter. Now a final bridge stood between us and the end.

One of the D-boys grabbed my vest and pulled me to my feet, his voice muffled over the ringing in my ears. But he was clearly telling me to shake it off. I nodded, and my head cleared, the roar of outgoing fire snapping into focus.

Another kind of roar sounded.

Our bat friend had returned. Slamming into the dirt a hundred yards in front of our little band, its massive jaws opening wide, giving us a preview of coming attractions.

"CONTACT FRONT! B.O.W!" One of the Deltas yelled.

"AT4!" Came a voice behind me.

A massive shockwave shook the dust from the walls, followed by a thunderclap of an explosion. When the smoke cleared, the Bat thing laid on its side, a massive hole where its face used to be. Brackish blood spilled over the sand, and the smell made me retch a little.

One of the D-boys laughed, "And that's that."

I spied Chris, giving him an "Are you fucking kidding me?" look.

Sheva was shaking her head, laughing, "I've gotta get me one of those."

Some would say anticlimactic, but me? I was just glad the fucking thing was dead.

We pushed past its still twitching corpse and across the ancient rope bridge.

"Light." Someone called out, "We've got sunlight ahead."

We emerged into a large chamber; a quick glance around showed no targets.

"Clear," I called out.

"All clear." Came Midas's response.

Someone whistled, "The fuck is that?"

I really looked at the room, a raised platform in the center, bathed in sunlight, and overflowing with flowers; they almost looked like the Poppies you'd find in Afghanistan.

Midas gestured to two of his guys, "Dev, Smoke, check it out."

They nodded and split off, climbing the stairs while the rest of us spread out, picking our way through the ancient-looking place.

"Got something here," Chris called out.

I walked over; he was brushing off a piece of metal; the look on his face was indescribable, a mix of hatred and fear. When I saw what he did, I understood.

The piece had been a crate of some kind at one point in its life, but the faded logo stamped on it, leering up at me, was what made the thing.

"Umbrella," I breathed, the symbol chilling my bones all these years later.

"What the fuck were they doing here?" Chris growled, but the tremor in his voice told me he was dealing with it too.

"I don't know, man," I glanced around; Sheva was walking up.

"Some of the equipment here has the Tricell logo on it," She waved at more twisted steel and shredded tents.

Chris flashed the Umbrella logo at her, and her eyes went wide, reaching out, her fingers brushed the steel and flaking paint, the embodiment of the evil that had taken too much from all three of us.

"Got a way out over here."

The voice broke us out of our horrified musings; I walked away first, shaking off the musty smell of a massive snake, Sheva followed, her face unreadable, Chris finally let the metal slip from his fingers to clatter on the ground.

The Deltas were horseshoed around a corridor; a lone door stood at the end.

"We know what's on the other side?" Midas asked as we got closer.

Chris shook his head, "No impact, no idea."

I stepped forward, "Cover."

"Covering. Ace?" Came the reply.

One of Midas's guys peeled off and lined up on me, following as I stalked down the hallway. There was a small table just to the left of the heavy steel door, a weathered-looking diary lay open, I pointed, and "Ace" scooped it up, tucking it into a pouch; the more we knew, the better.

I reached the door first; Ace stacked behind me; I reached out and tried the door; it swung open with almost no effort. Ace laid his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I blew through the door, clearing the long corner while Ace took the short; another hallway greeted me, a long hallway of white paneling that I recognized instantly.

"Back out," I whispered.

"Moving," Ace whispered back.

We moved back into the light of the chamber, the other throwing us questioning looks.

"It's another research facility, older, but it's a fucking Umbrella facility all the same."

"It's our only way through?" Midas asked

"Either that or we go back the way we came."

"Well, we didn't come here to stand around and look good," One of the D-boys piped up.

I chuckled, "Fair enough; let's move."

Chris, Sheva, and I took point; the Deltas fell in behind us. Chris reached the door first, we re-cleared and swept in, pushing into side rooms, moving with a purpose. It had been too long since I'd worked with Delta, and I definitely missed it. They split off in two-man elements, forging ahead of us and clearing the rooms.

The white walls and dried blood were all too familiar as Chris, and I stacked on yet another side room. I nodded, and he kicked the door in; we fanned out, a few glass tubes greeted us, full of the same flowers from outside.

"The hell?" I whispered.

Chris looked as lost as I was.

I keyed my radio, "Kelly to Ace, you up?"

"Up and listening, OGA."

I stepped into the hallway, "Main hallway, on me."

"Check, moving."

He emerged from a side room and jogged up, "What do you need?"

"That book you found outside, just a hunch."

He dug it out of his pack and handed it over, re-joining his partner with a nod.

I snapped it open, the old leather coming apart a little, and began to read, immediately wishing I hadn't.

"It's the flowers…All of this is because of these fucking flowers."

"What?" Chris asked.

"They called it "Progenitor," the T-Virus, everything that's happened, it all began right here. They isolated it from the flowers…"

He just stared, words dying on his lips as his mouth worked.

I threw the diary into the wall in a sudden fit of rage, "Fucking animals. All of this… for money and some megalomania."

Chris looked sick; hell, I felt sick.

"Gotta shake it off, brother," He whispered, "gotta finish this."

I nodded weakly; Jill was waiting… "I'll never get used to seeing their greed in the flesh, never."

"I know…"

With nothing else to be said, we fell back out of the room, rejoined Sheva and the Deltas, and kept pushing.

The facility was massive, corridors to nowhere, and reminders of evil at every turn. I had a nagging feeling that we hadn't seen the half of it yet.

A chittering sound reached my ears, a low clicking that saw the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

I threw a fist in the air.

Freeze.

The entire element stopped; no one breathed as the clicking got louder and louder before finally stopping.

"One light," I whispered; the Surefire on the end of my rifle blazed to life and bathed the hallway in eight-hundred lumens.

Nothing.

I traced the light over every corner; no horrors leaped out to greet me.

Something pattered to the floor, and my light snapped to it; it was a puddle, more liquid dripped into it as I watched. Slowly I followed the thick strings to the source, the ceiling above us.

It took all I had not to fire immediately.

The thing looked wet, but I realized that it was only because it was flayed, cords of skinless muscle and barely visible bone wrapped its body, massive claws adorned all four feet. I panned my light towards its head, too long teeth in an eyeless face; my mind almost refused to believe that its brain was exposed.

And it was utterly still, drooling onto the floor.

A frantic silent conversation, hand signals only, ensued between me and the Delta point-man.

Do you fucking see that?!

I do, what the fuck?!

I dunno, but I'm not about it!

I moved my hand back, telling everyone to back up, quietly.

We reversed course; I kept my light on the thing, waiting for any sign of movement as we backed around a corner.

"What the fuck?" Someone whispered.

"It's a Licker," Someone answered, "saw them in Raccoon, totally blind but fucking deadly in close quarters."

"Options?"

"Grenades."

I was already working one off my vest; I gently slipped the pin out, the Delta point man did the same.

"Frag out," I whispered, tossing my frag in time with the Delta, the grenades bouncing and rolling down the hall, a screech coming from the creature seconds before the entire hallway erupted in a shower of noise and hot shrapnel.

We covered for a moment longer, and I took the corner with Chris behind me, blood and viscera dripped from every surface, the frag riddled body of the Licker laid at the end of the hallway, torn apart by the barrage.

More clicking and screeching came from around the corner; a long tongue appeared, dragging through the pool of blood on the floor, followed by another and another.

"Fuck." Chris whispered.

They pulled themselves around the corner, ten or fifteen of them, and began to tear into the body, ripping chunks of flesh free. Behind us, someone slipped, crashing to the floor in a flurry of curses. The monster's heads turned towards us as one, screeching erupting in the corridor.

"FALL BACK!" Someone yelled.

It might have been me.

BLAM!

The final Licker died in a spray of blood, shot through the head by one of the Deltas. We'd led them on a chase through the facility, falling back and bottlenecking them in the entranceway; it had been a massacre; three belt-feds chewed them to pieces as they came at us.

I lit a smoke, "I hate those fucking things."

We'd taken casualties, two of the D-boys were critical, one lost a leg, they'd dosed them all with antivirals and were keeping them comfortable.

I pulled Midas off to the side, "You guys should pull back, get them out, my team and I will keep going."

"I don't like it, OGA. You three going back in there, alone?" He shook his head, "Asking for trouble."

I nodded, "We are, but this needs to end; get your men out, and we'll handle the rest."

He sighed, "Fine, I can be back here in a few hours with more guys."

"No, you guys ran in here to help, got us further than we could have alone. But I don't want more of your guys tossed into the fucking meat grinder. We'll handle it from here. Come back and cover our exfil line instead, okay?"

I could see he hated running from a fight, but he knew the truth as well as I did; he shrugged, "Your show."

"Thanks, Midas, get your boys safe; first round's on me."

He cracked a smile, "Hold you to that, OGA."

We shook hands, and I jogged back to Chris and Sheva.

"Alright, Delta's gonna fall back and regroup. We continue, right?" I looked at Chris for confirmation, he nodded.

"Let's move."

We grabbed some extra kit and left the cavern behind, pushing into the facility, ready to end this.

Down we went into the depths of the place; it seemed deserted without the Lickers roaming around. The pirate gun I'd swiped from the Deltas banged off my leg as we moved, a bandoleer of forty-mike grenades across my chest. Chris and Sheva were similarly heeled, Chris had an AT4 across his back, and Sheva had another grenade launcher, along with all ammo to match for our personal weapons.

I'd ditched my helmet for my faded Griz hat and a pair of Peltors; my neck was grateful.

I rounded the bend, going low while Sheva went high.

"Clear,' I whispered, and we pushed forward with Chris at our backs; a lone door greeted us. Sheva edged up to it before pushing it open, whistling as she saw what lay beyond.

Holy shit.

The room we found ourselves in was horrifying once you really looked at it; pods lined the walls, stretching up and down until they faded into darkness.

"Jesus," Sheva breathed, "There must be thousands of people here."

"More," Chris growled, "But Jill's in one of them, or she was, we have to find her." He jogged over to the center of the room, where a console sat, and began hitting keys. Sheva and I held security, my stomach doing backflips; I'd been too busy with the fight, now here I was, about to see her again.

I still had no idea what to do with it.

"Got her!" Chris's excited voice called out, all his anger forgotten, "She's down a few levels, but this is an elevator," he gestured at the ring we stood on, "We can ride it straight down."

Excitement gripped me, but that cold knot of fear kept me from feeling anything but dread.

"Hit it, Redfield." I barely got it out around the lump in my throat.

A second later, the platform jolted, and we started our descent into the darkness.