"Captain, there's something you should see."
Chris Redfield exhaled sharply through his nose as he adjusted his path and turned into the video surveillance office. The BSAA agent who had called him tapped on his monitor with a stubby finger.
"Looks like we had a break-out last night," he reported.
"Break-out? Well, who was it?" Chris inquired shortly. He got his answer soon enough; Jake Muller's ugly mug appeared on the surveillance video, striding down the hallway followed by Sherry Birkin. The agent adjusted the view to show the pair climbing over the fence that surrounded the perimeter and Chris stifled an aggravated grunt. God damn it, Muller. "Any idea where they went?"
"We can hack into the street surveillance, but it'll take some time. But judging by how they looked when they came back, it's clear they were out drinking," the agent offered, fast-forwarding the video. Chris grimaced as he watched the two drunken idiots clambering over the fence, laughing and falling against each other like everything was a big damn joke. Chris grit his teeth and rubbed his forehead, assuring the agents that he would handle the situation.
He had barely gotten halfway down the hall when the agent hollered for him again. Chris spun on the heel of his boot and retraced his steps. He crossed his arms tightly across his wide chest and tilted his head expectantly.
"Get a load of this," the agent remarked, tilting his screen up. It took a moment for Chris to grasp the scene unfolding on the video. Sherry, naked. Muller, naked. Together. He averted his eyes and had to refrain from drawing his weapon and unloading into the screen.
"Fucking hell!" he exclaimed, grabbing the agent by the shoulder and hoisting him out of his chair. "That is a United States special agent, what the hell is wrong with you?!"
The agent flapping his mouth like a gasping fish, slamming his hand back to shut the screen off. "Captain, I'm sorry!" he stuttered, sweat beading on his upper lip. "I just…"
"You just what?" He dropped the agent back into his chair and shoved it forward. "Delete it. All of it."
"But Captain, that's against regulations. You know I can't—"
"That was an order. And if word of this gets out, it's your ass."
Chris felt sick to his stomach; Sherry was like his and Claire's little sister. Seeing her that way…it wasn't right. All of this was Muller's fault, and Chris found himself outside the room of Wesker's spawn, punching his security code into the panel on the wall.
He entered without knocking and charged towards Jake, who was in the middle of a round of sit-ups. Muller cast his icy eyes on Chris as he finished his set, sweat glistening across his naked chest.
"Are you out of your God damned mind?" Chris asked without preamble.
"Probably," Jake conceded with a smirk.
"Don't try to be cute. What the hell were you thinking, sneaking out of a government base on foreign soil?"
Jake cursed and looked away, resting his forearms on his knees. "We needed a break," he answered honestly. "Sherry tried to talk me out of it, but I was pretty persistent. You of all people should understand why being in place like this would be unnerving for her."
The problem was that Chris did understand; hell, he was happy that Sherry was finally smiling again. What irked him was who made her so damn happy. Albert Wesker's illegitimate son; the heartless mercenary who was willing to hold the world's safety hostage to the tune of fifty million dollars.
"Care to explain what happened after you got back?" Chris asked quietly. He saw the blush rise against Jake's fair skin as he climbed from the floor and rested his hands on his hips.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"We have cameras rolling twenty-four seven, Jake. The recording is being destroyed as we speak to protect Sherry's career and dignity. As far as I know only one agent is aware of what happened, and I'll do my best to keep it that way in order to protect Sherry. You, on the other hand, are up shit creek."
To be honest, Chris wasn't sure what the hell to do about the situation. He couldn't outwardly punish Jake because of all the questions it would raise. It would undoubtedly fall down on Sherry, as well. As much as Chris hated Jake, he wasn't willing to harm Sherry to get back at Muller.
"Look, this was a one-time thing, alright? We had a bit too much to drink and things got out of hand, but Sherry made it abundantly clear that it was a mistake, so it won't be happening again," Jake assured him.
Chris bit his lip and met Muller's eyes. "You have a different opinion?" he guessed. The other man swallowed deeply, but didn't answer.
"It doesn't matter what I think. She'll be on a plane, heading back to the states to be greeted as a hero soon enough. She'll forget all about the mistake she made with me."
A BSAA agent informed Sherry that her flight was ready in the afternoon, so she gave her room one last look before following him out. She hadn't seen Jake all day and the thought of having to say goodbye was overwhelming. She didn't leave her room, except to get something quick to eat from the cafeteria long after Jake would normally be there.
Chris was waiting for her by a dusty truck in the complex's parking hangar. His face was neutral as he lowered a heavy hand onto her shoulder. "Ready to go home?" he asked. She nodded, turning to look at the base. She chewed her lip before climbing into the truck and clicking her seatbelt on.
She wanted to ask Chris about Jake, but she couldn't think of a way to do it casually. She had no idea if anyone saw their little tryst on the surveillance system, and she wasn't about to bring attention to it unnecessarily.
"Where's Leon?" Sherry asked suddenly. She had only seen him a few times around the base before he seemingly disappeared.
"He's already gone; some special mission from the White House, apparently. You know Kennedy—always the superhero."
She could hear the timbre of Jake's voice in her head calling her Super Girl. It caused memories of the previous night to flood her vision, and she felt herself throbbing as she pictured his touch.
"You okay?" Chris asked, noticing her twisting in her seat.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just…happy about getting out of this place."
"Muller's agreed to stay behind and provide some more samples once he regenerates all the blood they've taken from him. We're optimistic that his antibodies will prove to be useful for more than just the C-Virus," Chris explained. "There's a high probability that samples of the T-, G-, and Veronica viruses are still out there. Maybe we'll get lucky and have a viable antidote for all three."
Sherry nodded absentmindedly, tears springing to her eyes. She had missed Jake so much during their quarantine, and now she was about to fly thousands of miles away from him without so much as a goodbye. The BSAA had been generous enough to provide them with phones, but none of what she needed to express could be done anyway other than in person. She was about to ask Chris to turn around when the airport came into view and she knew she had missed her chance.
Chris helped Sherry onto the plane, conversing with the pilot and several agents who were taking the same flight. He pulled Sherry into a hug and she buried her face into his shoulder.
"You'll be back home before you know it. Claire's gonna pick you up at the airport and she'll be around until things settle down, okay?" he murmured, feeling the girl quaking in his arms.
"Thanks, Chris."
She managed to keep the tears at bay until Chris had departed from the plane, but as she watched him stride towards his truck, hot tears spilled down her cheeks. Sherry turned towards the window and quickly wiped them away, needing to look strong in front of her fellow agents. She would never forgive herself for leaving things this way between her and Jake.
Her phone chirped and her heart leapt when she saw Jake's name flash on the screen. A small smile formed on her lips as he proved he wasn't the same heartless merc she had met six months earlier. The US government would gladly have paid the fifty million if it meant saving the world, but his new asking price of only fifty bucks meant way more. There was no reading between the lines of his message; it was as though they had completed a business transaction and nothing more.