The sound of gunfire echoed as Cass walked on the walkway of the shooting range. It wasn't a new sound to her, but the loudness didn't help her headache. Getting yelled at by Chief Irons for just dropping off paperwork wasn't how she'd planned on ending her day. He was likely stressed out by the escalation of attacks. He'd held a conference where he'd announced his plan to have S.T.A.R.S. investigate the area, but the media was already at his throat.
Cass could deal with the chief's aggression, but she was worried about the people who worked directly beneath him. His secretary hadn't been seen in days. No doubt the stress had gotten to him. He'd been looking more and more ragged, and Cass wouldn't blame him for running away from this nightmare. But Cass couldn't run away. She had a reason to stay here, and she needed to speak to the only one who seemed to have any kind of control over the chief.
"Oh, Cass!" Kevin's voice called out. "Did you come to see me? I'm a pretty impressive shot if I do say so myself."
Lieutenant Marvin Branagh stood beside him and rolled his eyes. Cass laughed and waved at the lieutenant as Kevin jogged forward to talk to her.
"I'm here to see Captain Wesker actually. Have you seen him around?" Cass asked, noticing a slight frown on Kevin's face, but it was gone in an instant.
"I saw your buddy Chris earlier, but I didn't see the captain. Hey… why do you need to see him?"
"Chief Irons is on the warpath again… and the only person he seems to listen to is the captain," Cass explained, putting a hand to her forehead. "Also, someone might want to check on Ben… Normally I would think he just got fed up and quit, but with everything going on… I just think it's better to be safe than sorry."
Marvin gave her a sympathetic look and said, "I'd agree with that. Kevin, I'm going back to the office. I'll ask around and see if anyone has heard anything about Ben. You should take a break, kid." Marvin gave Cass a sad smile and continued, "You can't run on steam forever. If I were you, I'd take a well-earned rest. Go somewhere nice. You've lost a partner… that's not something you can or should take in stride."
Cass nodded and clenched her fist. Nightmares had plagued her for a while now, and they had been getting worse lately. Instead of being chased by the diseased and decaying dogs, she now had dreams of being chased by a diseased and rotting Jack.
As Marvin walked away, Kevin said hesitantly, "He has a point… You should take a few days at least… even if you stay in the area."
Cass gave him a side glance before walking further down the range and said, "No. Thank you, but I'm going to find Chris."
The sound of gunshots covered any reply Kevin might have had, and Cass picked up her pace. A sudden but gentle tug on her sleeve. Cass turned around furiously, only to have her angry words die in her throat. Kevin held onto her sleeve miserably. As he struggled to find the words he wanted to say, laughter in the distance caught Cass' attention.
Cass turned to see Chris looking grumpy while Forest had a pep in his step. Joseph jokingly prodded Chris, earning a glare.
Kevin mumbled something, but the gunfire made it impossible to hear. He suddenly let go, looking flustered. "I… uh, I'll talk to you later. I should go find the lieutenant."
Cass watched with curiosity and confusion as Kevin suddenly turned and walked away, but then Joseph called her name. Chris looked horrified as Joseph ran toward her with a laugh.
"Guess who won today's competition!" Joseph said while adjusting his bandana.
"Well, Forest seems even more smug than usual," Cass replied as Chris laughed.
"Uncalled for," Forest said with a wink. "Did you come here in the hopes of watching my crushing defeat? Sorry to disappoint."
"Actually, I was looking for Captain Wesker. Harry said he saw the captain heading this way. I assumed he would be here with you."
"Oh," Chris said with surprise. "Really? I haven't seen him."
"That's okay… It was just a small question anyway."
Forest and Joseph shared a look that made it clear they didn't believe her, but they seemed to mutually agree not to pry. Chris looked around the shooting range. Cass hadn't seen the captain on the way here; maybe Harry was mistaken.
"Are you just now finishing up?" Captain Wesker asked as he exited the indoors shooting range further down the path.
Chris replied cheerfully, "Yes, sir. Cass said that she has something she wants to ask you."
Cass tucked her hair behind her ear nervously and asked, "Could I speak to you in private?"
Captain Wesker looked inquisitive, and when the sound of gunfire once again filled the air, he gestured for her to follow him. Cass waved goodbye to a confused Joseph, a concerned Chris, and a curious Forest before she followed the captain toward the main building. As they got away from the range, the sound of gunfire faded into the distance. Cass' head already felt better.
"What did you want to ask me?"
"Oh, um… it's just that… Chief Irons has been… losing his temper with everyone lately. And I haven't seen his secretary Ben in a while. Maybe someone should check on him and see if he's okay."
"Did you want me to have a talk with the chief?"
"If you could, that'd be great. You're probably the only one I've seen him listen to."
Captain Wesker gave her a reassuring smile and said, "Will do. As for his secretary… I heard some of his friends mention a psychiatric facility. He had been looking haggard lately. I wouldn't worry too much about him. You should worry more about yourself. How's that arm feeling?"
"A lot better, sir. I won't need the sling in a couple days, but I'm still not allowed to do anything strenuous… perhaps it might be better to go ahead and test Officer Ryman. I don't want my injury to hold him back."
"Officer Ryman was adamant about waiting. I would certainly prefer you being on the team sooner, but if you have second thoughts…"
"No! No, I want to join, but I didn't want to hold anyone back."
Captain Wesker smiled and replied, "You won't hold anyone back. Your test results will prove that. Of that I'm certain, Miss Walker. You have potential, and I would hate to see it wasted. I'll have a discussion with Irons."
Cass breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank you. I'd appreciate that."
The captain raised his hand and gently touched Cass's hair, taking her by surprise. He showed her a leaf that must have gotten caught in her hair. Certain that she was blushing, she thanked him. With a thoughtful look at the leaf, he replied, "You should probably take a few days off. Get some rest. That might help with your recovery. If you feel like you need more than that, let me know, and I'll handle it. Though I must admit… the office will be less organized, but that was the natural state of things before your arrival."
Cass nodded as she felt her face heat up and thanked him again. With a newfound sense of peace, she walked off to find Chris and tell him that she'd be taking a few days off. She found Chris and Joseph in the S.T.A.R.S. office. They looked up with curiosity as she entered the room.
"The captain's given me a few days off, so today will be our last carpool for a while."
Chris looked confused then concerned and asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah… Well, about as well as expected. I realized that I should have taken a break after Jack and I were attacked. It'd be good to have a break… and get my thoughts together."
Chris nodded solemnly and led her back out to the hallway. Closing the door softly behind him, he said, "You're not alone, y'know. Just… call me if you need me. I'll be there."
Cass' eyes watered, and she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder to hide her tears. She'd been trying to move on. Cass had hoped that if she just pretended that everything was okay then everything would be just fine, but that had been incredibly unrealistic. Chris gently held her as she tried desperately to gather herself.
"If you want, I'll give you my keys," Chris whispered. "You just have to promise to come back for me in a few hours."
"I'll stay," Cass said stubbornly and wiped away her tears. "I have a lot of work to do before I take time off. Captain Wesker's doing a lot for me. I don't want to repay him by leaving him with a heavy workload. Thanks, Chris."
Chris reluctantly let her go with a small smile and said, "Okay then."
Cass gave him a smile in return before running off to get the office ready for the days without her.