Looking further into Chief Irons' office, Claire found a passage leading to a trophy room, wasn't hidden well from the naked eye, just behind an ordinary wooden door. The display room behind was filled with more tasteless trophies and awards. The full suits of medieval armour were new. Stood firm and watched over Claire.

In the back room near the fireplace, the girl was hunched over close to the burning flame. There was a terrible draft in the room; it made sense to bask in the heat generated by the freshly-lit fireplace. The girl tried to run away again upon the first glance, but Claire reached out for her. She snatched her little hand.

"Please stay still. I'm not gonna hurt you," Claire quickly said. Any slower and the girl would make another runner. Claire let go of the girl, and she stayed where she was. "Do I look like a monster to you?" Claire asked, warmly, kneeling to her height level. "My name's Claire. What's your name?"

The girl stood unsure and held her little hands close to her chest. "Sherry..." she uttered. She tried to walk away. It looked like she was breaking into another run.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

Sherry stopped and looked back at Claire. She was still holding something close to her chest. "My mommy's and daddy's lab is in the basement. I'm trying to find it."

"You can't go alone. I'm coming with you."

Sherry led Claire back into Irons' office. Chief Irons was gone. Irons and the body of Warren's daughter was missing. Claire was only gone for a few minutes, only to return to the emptiness of his boring office. An office filled with stuffed animals that almost looked real. Their eyes were hard to avoid. They still followed Claire's movements. There was a man in white rifling through Irons' desk and bookshelf. He smelt of sweat and dry blood.

Behind the foul hygiene lies an intellectual blond man with reflective spectacles. He was in his mid-twenties; his hair was unkempt; his face burdened with stress. He was spooked when he noticed Sherry and Claire coming through the door behind him.

"Scott!" Sherry cried with joy. Startling Scott so much he turned around to reach for his handgun that laid on Irons' desk. He moved too fast, he fumbled and accidentally nudged it off onto the floor.

Scott forced a smile that became genuine. "Sherry!" He opened his arms for Sherry to launch herself into. The warmth of their hug lasted longer than most. The embrace of a parental figure is all she needed to soldier on. She craved the parental love.

"Scott?"

Scott made eye contact with Claire. "Claire Redfield?" He then let Sherry back on her feet and straightened his crooked back upright to give her a handshake. "Claire, Claire, Claire," he said, "it's so good to see you." He smelt worse up close. It was evident. "What are you doing here in Chief Irons' office?"

"Right now I'm just trying to survive. You?"

"I was looking for Sherry, but my curiosity in Irons' affairs caught my eye. I have reason to believe that he intentionally crippled the R.P.D. Apart from that, I only just got here." He took off his spectacles and rubbed his eyes and the bridge of his nose. His blue eyes were strained and had some bags under them. "This is terrible." He yawned.

"You tired?"

"Very… but I ain't got time to sleep. Don't know how Zaac does it..."

Claire reached out for Scott. "About Zaac..."

"I know." Scott groaned. "Please, God, I don't want to hear it again!" He scratched his back. "I couldn't believe it after I found out but…" He sighed. "In the end, the proof's in the puddin'."

Claire retracted her arm, and her eyes slowly peered down to her feet. "I'm sorry."

"He deserved better than that." Scott threw his hand up in frustration and turned away from Claire in a huff, arms on his sides. He quietly sobbed but stopped. "First father dies a monster, and now my brother's gone... Now it's all on me to take care of the family. Don't know how I can do this..."

"Scott, come on. I miss him too, but we need to focus on here and now. Okay?"

"Okay." Scott sighed. Sherry picked up his Browning HP and presented it to Scott to grasp. He kissed her cheek. "Thanks, sweetheart."

"How do you know each other?" Claire asked.

"We have a sibling relationship," Scott said, brushing Sherry's hair. "Since I work in close collaboration with her parents."

"I never knew."

"No one ever asks. Her parents trust me to care for her; they know I keep her best interests above mine." He leant on Irons' desk. "They've been so busy lately they laid me off to keep her safe. I wasn't expecting the R.P.D. to fall apart so soon, though."

"No disrespect intended Scott, but Sherry has been running up and down the R.P.D. all alone. Where have you been all this time?"

"There's more to this department than you think. It's excruciatingly hard to find a small girl among a dead department. Barely got out of NEST alive, been stuck down there for days." He sighed. "The R.P.D. was still thriving with some scraps of life. My fiancée was here along with several others. I had time."

"Didn't you know? Most of the R.P.D. was wiped out on the High Street last Saturday. The department fell apart recently after that."

"Partially, Irons' fault, no doubt."

"Scott, now that you're here, can you help me find my parents?" Sherry begged. "Please? I need to find them."

"Of course, honey. We'll just find somewhere safe for you to stay."

"Is Sherry's parent's lab nearby?"

"There's a shortcut close by. Behind Irons' desk."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Leads straight to NEST. Worked there for six years now, I know a few tricks here and there." There was an awkward glare coming from Claire, and the silence was, almost worst tenfold. "Wait. You're not thinking about going down there, are you?"

"I am now. Might be a way out of the city. Is that a problem?"

Scott puffed out his chest. It wasn't impressive. "As an employee, I'd be authorised not to allow that to happen. It's a shame I handed in my notice. There is a way out down there, yes, and we will take it at the earliest convenience. I'm just not sure if the danger is worth the risk."

"You scared?"

"Terrified. I did a lot of… questionable things to get out of there alive and now I'm coming back down."

"I'll take care of you."

"I'm a grown man, Claire. I'm only going because I can't let you and Sherry go down there alone."

"Lead the way, tough guy; I'll be right behind you."

"Reassuring indeed." Scott felt up the tasteless portrait behind Irons' desk, feeling around the edges. Then, the wall slid to the right. "Follow me."

"That's convenient."

"Irons is a creature of habit; stays close to his source of money. Learned this secret passage from-

Something crashed through the office's wall, launching rubble all over the room. It was a tall figure in a leather trench coat. Bald, angry and sporting a heavy build. Looked almost human, but it didn't say a word while it flexed its arms. Only a heated growl escaped its grey lips.

"Did that thing just break through the wall?"

"Oh, no..." Scott uttered.

"What is that?"

"Come on!" Scott ran to the small elevator and pressed the button hard, holding Sherry close to his side. "Stay close to me, Sherry." He heard Claire shooting behind him.

Claire stopped behind Scott. "That thing's a monster!"

The elevator doors opened, and the three scrambled inside, but before they could close the towering monster wedged its hands between the doors and pushed them open. Scott pressed the button to go down, but it wouldn't register with the doors open.

"It's after us!"

Scott pulled up his handgun and fired at the monster's head. After a few rounds, the monster let go, and the doors slammed shut. While it staggered, the elevator went down, leaving Scott breathless. "Fuck me… The stories are true; Umbrella's deploying Tyrants..."

"Tyrants?"

"Yeah… Humanoid bioweapons like that one up there. The latest Tyrants are clad in leather and quite a pain in the ass to shake off."

"I noticed." Claire held Sherry while she hugged her. "That just leaves the head, right?"

Scott nodded. "They're never easy to put down, but they can."

"Hopefully that's the last we'll see of it."

Scott smiled. "I hope..."