Disclaimer: don't own anything.
*heavy and pained sigh* So I thought I'd made this into two shot story, inspired by Ultimolu's Virus, which is awesome and you guys should totally read it! I'm waiting for more chapter :)
However midway chapter I figured this would be three parter. Why can't I keep my hands and pen off the stories I deem unworthy of multiple chapters!?
Claire trembled slightly in both fear and anger as she sat on an elegant sofa that was far too luxurious and expensive looking to be something she'd even dare to dream of having. In any other situation, the young red haired woman would have been admiring the beautiful and very practical decoration Wesker had in his large two room apartment that was located in the heart of the Raccoon City, ironically not too far from the police station where all the good people worked hard to keep the city safe, but in this moment all she could do was to wish that every piece of the expensive furniture would burn down. The mental image of the luxury apartment in flames gave Claire some satisfaction in this horrible situation.
It was so painful to know, that during these few days Chris had been so close to her, yet she couldn't reach him or call for help. Wesker's home, or at least where he came to sleep was completely soundproof and the blond STARS team leader had made sure there was no chance of her escaping his home that was like a prison. From what Claire could gather, this was just a temporary solution and that Wesker had to finish his work before he could leave this city….with her.
How can someone like him be leading STARS…Claire thought angrily as she kept her gaze down, trying to look as calm as possible while biting her tongue slightly in order to keep herself from yelling something rude to the man who was on the phone with someone. She was a clever young woman and during the past few weeks she had put more than few pieces together. Of course she didn't know the full truth, but she had known enough for Wesker to take her and thus eliminate her from the game.
He was merely toying with me and testing me during those weeks, Claire thought bitterly and recalled how she found herself in the middle of events that had spiralled out of her control, how stupid can I be? I should have told Chris immediately what had happened, she scolded herself for letting Wesker spin her around with his lies, I can't believe that I actually trusted him to let Chris off the hook and leave him out of all this, the young woman dwelled on her mistake.
For weeks she had been blackmailed by the man who in the end had no intentions of letting her go even if she had played by his rules. I should have just told Chris, no matter the consequences and whether he would have believed me or not…I'm such a coward for not trusting my own brother, Claire thought and tried to pull herself together. No…she couldn't let herself wallow in self-pity, not when Wesker was going to put her brother, Jill and the rest in danger!
Claire let her gaze travel on the various pieces of furniture Wesker had in his apartment, but they were merely decorations and the place didn't look lived in. The apartment felt almost like a cover to make him look normal. There were no pictures on the walls, nor any personal items that could have some story behind them.
There is nothing here to tell anything about Wesker, the young woman noted as she tried to avoid looking at the tall man who was on the phone with someone, telling them to prepare a test that involved something called a BOW and the STARS and it was meant to provide combat data…but of course, she had known this for weeks but not the extend and danger of it. It was something that was potentially going to get the teams killed, including her brother. If I had trusted my brother and been ready to carry the consequences, I could have saved him and the rest.
"Yes, as I told you, the Bravo team is first one to react and Alpha will follow soon after…. yes, release the BOWs into the woods," the blond man replied calmly to whoever was on the other side of the line.
Claire twitched slightly when the STARS leader moved his hand to grasp her chin to turn her head slightly from side to side in order to study and admire her soft features. Why had she been so stupid? Maybe a part of her had just wanted this all to be a big misunderstanding so that Wesker wouldn't destroy her and Chris' lives, but now she realized that she was just a toy for him, an extra piece that had just fallen on the game board. A piece Wesker had found irresistible to play with.
Whatever sick attraction or intrigue Wesker had formed towards her made Claire feel uncomfortable and scared, and she couldn't the tear the events of that horrible night when her mind, the night her torment had started…they way the man had touched her. She just wanted to escape. Those few moments she had spent alone with Wesker had made sure that the man had a firm grip on her mind and psyche, controlling her through fear for her brother's safety. However, now the spell was broken because of the kidnapping and Wesker's plan of getting her brother killed anyway along with the rest of the team. He had no longer control over her mind, but he did control her in every other way now. Wesker had captured her.
Just feeling the man she had admired touch her like this made Claire feel faint and she found herself trying the handcuffs around her wrists once again in desperate attempt to get them off, but of course she failed like so many times before; her wrists were red and her skin almost torn off by the cold metal that dug into her flesh painfully.
While Wesker had always been professional and kept his distance like a proper superior, Claire had thought that there had been a small glimmer of kindness in him, but after he had blackmailed and kidnapped her, the younger Redfield had realized that those ideas had been completely laughable; there was nothing good in the STARS captain. The man was a monster with barely any emotions. He had taken pleasure in tormenting her for weeks before taking her just when Claire had thought that her trials had been over. She had done everything he had told her to in order to protect Chris, not telling a soul about what she had seen and heard an yet, this still had happened…Wesker had pulled her strings from the start.
Claire tried to turn her head away when Wesker felt her warm cheek with his bare hand, but the blond man just smirked challengingly and took a firm grasp of her chin and jaw, forcing her to stare into his cold blue eyes with a look in them that told Claire, "Don't test me…"
Just stop it, don't touch me, Claire through and could feel nothing but pure terror mixed with hate towards Wesker who had a smug smirk on his lips that told her that he had won and gotten what he had wanted when she couldn't tear her gaze from his.
"Yes, as I instructed…the test results should be satisfactory," Wesker replied one more time before ending the call and pocketing the cellular device into one of his combat vest's numerous pockets. Much to Claire's displeasure, she had gained his full attention.
"You know it won't do you any good trying to get free, right dear heart? I'm sorry I have to keep you like this, but I simply can't trust you…after all we both know what a fiery spirit you have," the tall blond man chuckled as he eyed Claire with possessive and dark look in those blue eyes, "Don't ruin those pretty hands of yours by trying to get the handcuffs off, Dear heart," Wesker murmured as he took hold of her arm as a warning.
"If you are going to kill my friends, I hope you die there as well, overwhelmed by whatever cruel things you send after my brother and friendds…I don't care if I have to endure a slow death here as long as you get torn to pieces!" the young and head strong girl snapped at her captor who just let out a sinister chuckle, enjoying the challenge. She had been so scared, but her fear had not been for herself, but for Chris who had sacrificed so much for her to be happy. However, now that it was clear that all Wesker had promised her had been lies, she had regained her will to fight. Anger had taken over the emotions of terror and anxiety. She had no idea whether Wesker was going to let her live or not, but one thing she could be sure about was that Chris and the rest were in danger.
Their eyes met for a moment and Claire couldn't help but stare daggers at him. If she had never met Wesker or fallen for him, this would have never happened to her in the first place. The tall man was handsome, charismatic and he had a very commanding presence, something that only few people had. Those traits could draw in any woman and she had formed a small crush in no time. Of course it all had been completely innocent and she hadn't thought anything about it…but the man had turned out to be sinister. Wesker knew how to push her buttons and pull her strings so that she danced to his tune.
"Bold words from you, dear heart but I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you by surviving and coming back here to save you from that slow and cruel death you so desire," the blond man chuckled as he sat down next to Claire who quickly glanced at the window and though the blinds were down…. she orange hued light foretold the coming of the night and what ever was going to happen tonight, was going to take place tonight. The young Redfield could tell that her captor was smiling as he studied her, as if cherishing the last few moments they could spend together before the world would change permanently.
Claire felt like something was pressing against her chest and heart as Wesker snaked his hands around her, pulling her against his toned body. The man was almost a head taller than her and her frame was small compared to his. At moments like this, Claire really remembered that they had quite large age gap and that Wesker was far more experienced in combat than she could ever be…there was no way she'd get away from him.
Claire felt her skin crawl when she felt the blond man's lips press against the curve of her neck. He could do whatever he wanted to and no one would stop him, hell, everyone probably thought her to be dead.
"Does my brother have to die?" Claire asked even though she knew the answer to that question already, her voice almost cracked and the young woman closed her eyes and tried to imagine herself anywhere else than this place, but Wesker's sinister chuckle and soft caress on her cheek made sure she couldn't escape into her imagination, "well, I can't say for sure if it is me or something else, but yes…your brother is most likely going to die, dear heart," the man said in a soft and dark tone that made Claire's heart race. If her hands weren't bond behind her back, she would have attacked Wesker or at tried to escape, but it was no use. The place was locked down and completely secure and even if she managed to grab the key from him, it would be hard to open anything with her hands bound behind her back.
" You are a monster Wesker, I did everything you told me to and I didn't tell a soul what happened that night…you told me you wouldn't do this to Chris!" Claire snapped at him, but the man just smiled, more amused than anything.
"My dear, you haven't even met a real monster yet, but you will soon…" Wesker whispered to her and Claire felt a shiver run down her spine when she felt the blond man's teeth bite her ear ever so slightly. Gods, what was going to happen when this was over? The mere thought made Claire's heart race. This was a nightmare.
"As much as I dislike everyone in the STARS…I might be able to increase your brother's odds of survival…. if you do one thing for me," Wesker whispered against her ear while holding the young woman's body tightly against his.
"Why should I believe you? You just spin me around with those poisonous lies of yours, you bastard," Claire whispered as she recalled that night when she had fallen under Wesker's control and manipulation.
"They are testing the BOWs combat effectiveness, Dear heart, I could provide your brother's team with some extra ammo and supplies, if you do one small for me…It isn't much, I know, but it is all I can do, believe it or not, I'm taking orders from my superiors…at least for now," Wesker whispered those cruel and manipulating words to Claire who was fighting tears. She still couldn't believe how stupid and naïve she had been and how she had brought this upon herself, and yet…she was going to listen to what Wesker was going to tell her. If there was something she could do to help her brother who had given everything to her.
"Your brother and the team has been quite distracted and I can't have that affect the data results…" Wesker started explaining the situation to Claire who just scoffed and tried to wriggle away from the man's hold, "Well, I think we both know who you can blame that on," she piqued but Wesker merely smirked at her.
"Dear heart, I can let your brother have a closure he so desires and let you have hear his voice one more time," the blond man whispered to her and Claire couldn't help but blink in confusion.
"Wouldn't that be a risk for you? What prevents me from just telling him that you've kidnapped me and that you are planning their deaths?" The Redfield asked mockingly and Wesker but his arm around her neck, pulling Claire's back against his chest while choking her ever so slightly, "Oh it is, but I need your brother to focus on the mission one 100% …I'm sure he'd perform better if he knew that his sister was alive and well…and you get to have your farewells as well."
"Alive maybe, but not well…" Claire replied sarcastically and Wesker just smirked and applied more pressure to really make her listen.
"Dear heart…I'm being kind to you and I assure you, if you destroy this, I will not only end your brothers' and friends lives in a most painful manner possible, but I will make your life a living hell as well…" Wesker hissed against Claire's ear, his tone ice cold and the young Redfield had no trouble believing him. She couldn't even think of the horrors someone like Wesker could put her through.
"So, you can either make sure your brother dies painfully or help him and increase his chances surviving. All I need you to do is say your farewells, it is more than what most people get to have when dealing with me." Wesker said and Claire went silent for a moment…. thinking through her choices…
"You are doing this just because it amuses you, aren't you?" Claire asked quietly and the fact that Wesker chose not to answer just enforced Claire's hunch. The man was a bastard and rotten to the core, but he knew that she desired nothing more than to hear her brother's voice once more and to tell her farewells if this indeed was an end.
As the young Redfield tried to come to a conclusion whether she was going to play by Wesker's rules once more or not, she couldn't help but recall the night that had started this all. If she had not gone to the movies that night with her friends and forgotten her backpack, she probably would have returned to her school and lived her life, unaware of anything bad happening in this damned city.
Gods, she could still recall that night so clearly, how could she forget the image of someone pointing a pistol at her, just because she had seen and heard something she shouldn't have.
"Fine, Tell me what I have to do…." She finally replied, knowing that she could never have her normal life back again.
Claire hummed softly as she waved her hand at the one officer at the front desk in the great hall, the one with the tall maiden statue in the middle. It was quite eerie to think that the elderly officer was one of the few living persons inside he RPD at this hour. The man glanced at her and smiled warmly, "Did you forgot something Claire? Violet said you would be at the movies with them?" The older man asked from her and Claire just smiled with slightly embarrassed look on her face, "Yeah, I'm sorry, but I think I forgot my backpack in the STARS office, is it ok if I go fetch it? " she asked and she would have understood completely if it wasn't ok. It was against the rules. but surely it wouldn't' hurt if she just quickly went in and out to get her bag that held her phone.
The greying officer looked ponderous for a moment and sipped his coffee that looked dark and strong, "Sure, just go straight there and back there, Redfield…you can borrow one of the skeleton keys, just remember to return it, and lock the door on the way out. I trust you kiddo, your brother vouched for you the other day so I'm sure I can trust you with this," the man said and tossed Claire the key.
"Thanks, I'll try to be fast!" Claire laughed and smiled at the older man, waving her hand while holding the key as she headed for the doors. The officer just chuckled and kept playing solitaire on his computer, "take your time, I'm not going anywhere."
Claire unlocked the door to the STARS office quietly and stepped inside, closing the door behind her so that it automatically locked when the heavy door clicked shut "why must I be so forgetful, Chris is going to be worried," she muttered and went over to her brother's desk to pick up her backpack that indeed was lying beneath it, "there you are," Claire giggled softly as she grabbed her runaway bag as if it had ran away on its own. The young Redfield put the elegant and small black bag on and as she was about to leave, something near the Team Leader's work desk caught her eye, the group photos on the walls and the small show case that was mounted on the wall, the one that held all the awards and commendations the team had gained.
Claire looked around, she had never been in the empty STARS office…surely it wouldn't hurt if she took a quick look at few photos and medals? The man at the desk had said that she didn't have to hurry…
"Just a quick look, then I'll head back," Claire muttered as she walked over to inspect the various items of interest. Oh how cool her brother looked in the photos, and that one shooting award had his name on it!
However, when she was about to leave, she heard steps outside the office. Was the older guard getting worried? Surely she had not taken that much time, but as Claire was about to approach the door, she realized that there were two people coming this way. The police station was old and by the sounds of it, the other person had heavier steps than the other.
Claire's blue eyes focused on the door and she heard someone try it, but it was locked…
"Are you sure Wesker? Do you really think the data will be reliable and useful for us? You know how the higher ups are," Claire head a man's voice say, a voice she had never heard before, but the next person to speak was none other than Wesker whose name she had heard being mentioned, "Of course…My men are well trained, I'm sure they will provide excellent information on the combat effectiveness of BOW's." Wesker replied to the stranger in a professional manner, but for some reason Claire felt like he was speaking of the teams like he had no respect whatsoever for them. His tone was almost dismissive.
What is a BOW? And what do they have to do with combat? Claire found herself thinking and for some odd reason, she felt like this was not something she should be hearing. A part of her almost begged that the two would have just continued their way, but no, they had stopped outside the door. "Hurry up already, I want to get this over with and fast…I don't like being here," the other man said and to Claire he sounded very agitated and on the edge.
Suddenly, Claire felt like she was a rat in a cage…she shouldn't be here and now she could have heard something potentially classified from her ears…. but that was Wesker's fault, not hers; but then again there weren't really supposed to be people here at this hour.
Claire felt her heart start to race as she stood in the shadows of the large room, trying to come up with some good explanation, something much more important than having lost her backpack. She didn't want to get the lenient older officer into trouble and besides, she had only couple of weeks work left so it wouldn't be the end of the world for her if she got a warning or got herself fired.
The younger Redfield tried to calm down and wondered for a moment if she should try hiding behind some bookshelf when she heard the jingle of keys and how one was pushed inside the keyhole, but that was just silly and desperate, yes, better face the consequences.
The door opened with a loud creak and in walks Wesker with some man Claire had never seen before…a lean man with shaggy blond hair and pale blue eyes that hinted that the man had been sleep depraved for a while, probably from stress.
"I don't understand why you couldn't come to the laboratory," the man complained as Wesker pulled the door close behind them…
Neither of the two had noticed her standing at Wesker's desk, concealed by the shadows. Claire just wanted to call out to them and tell that they weren't alone, but she was too afraid because for some reason, Wesker looked more threatening than usual.. She tried opening her mouth to say something, but no sound could come out.
"As I told you, I ran into some trouble earlier today and had to leave the files here, but don't worry, they are safely inside my desk…Umbrella won't be linked to any of the cases," Wesker chuckled and finally the two turned towards the other end of the room, only to see Claire's silhouette in the dark and her shocked expression.
For a moment the three just stood there, the two men staring at Claire who in return looked at both of them with unsure and slightly fearful look in her beautiful blue eyes.
"H..hey.." she said and Wesker took a good long look at her before glancing at the locked door and then back at her with a small and somehow cruel smirk on his face.
"Well well well, what have we here? And what might you be doing here at this hour, dear heart?" Wesker asked in a calm manner, but his tone and voice was lower than usual, indicating clear threat to Claire, "and at my desk no less," the team leader continued, cocking his head slightly to the side as he looked more amused than anything, but the man next to him looked shocked and agitated, "Who is she?! Is she a spy? What do you know, girl! Answer me," the longer haired man demanded, almost yelling at Claire who panicked and was unable to say anything. She wasn't sure whether she should keep her eyes on Wesker who had started approaching her, or the leaner man who was wearing a lab coat and looked almost like a mad scientist.
"Dear Redfield works here, but her reason for being here at this hour, a place she doesn't even belong to, eludes me…" Wesker chuckled as he approached Claire as if she was prey and he the predator, "Tell me Dear heart, what exactly did you hear before we entered?" the STARS leader demanded from Claire who felt like if she didn't answer, things could get ugly.
"Nothing special, I swear! Just something about a BOW, but I don't even know what that is…" She tried to back slightly to the side when Wesker approached her, "I forgot my backpack here earlier, I just wanted to fetch it before heading back home, I'm sorry I didn't mean to trespass here…I asked for the key from the night officer, this is all my fault," Claire explained and showed her backpack and the key to enforce the fact that she was telling the truth, but it didn't seem to calm the other man down and Wesker looked like she didn't even care about why she was here…he was clearly more interested in what she had heard.
Wesker stopped walking towards her and smirked at Claire, but there was no warmth or understanding in that smile…. it was as if he had simply been spared from time taking interrogation just because she had told everything. 'This is bad', Claire thought as she stared at Wesker, only to turn her gaze at the man when she heard the familiar sound of safety being taken off.
Claire's eyes widened in terror when she saw how the man in the lab coat had taken out a pistol with a silencer and was aiming at her head with a slightly trembling hands. The young Redfield all colour leave her face and how her body froze despite everything Chris had told her; she had never experienced any thing this horrifying and she couldn't' escape anywhere with the door being locked. Sure, she had the key, but there were two grown men with her and the other was holding gun and Wesker was carrying one for sure.
'This doesn't make any sense! Wesker is a respected police officer and my brothers' superior…this is insane!' Claire thought as she stared at the strange man who was hesitating a bit. Claire blinked slightly in confusion and that made Wesker study her long and hard, as if her reactions interested him. 'That man is afraid, he doesn't want to pull the trigger…he can't…' Claire realized as she watched the man. He wasn't a nice person nor an innocent one by the looks of it, but his body language told her, that he wasn't a cruel killer. 'He is afraid,' was the only thing Claire could pick.
"Put that down, Birkin…I will deal with this," Wesker told his companion without even looking at him; the tall blond man was far more interested in keeping his focus on the young woman near his desk.
"But she knows already too much! What if she starts asking questions? Wesker you can't let her go," the man in the white coat hissed through his teeth, clearly not wanting to shoot her, he had panicked and probably now realized it himself…if he had not done it, they wouldn't have looked suspicious. Claire's expression turned calmer and more collected as she stared at the man with the gun with a look in her eyes that told him, 'You dare to aim at me?'
"I assure you, William, I will deal with ms. Redfield myself…I rather not have corpses piling up before the time comes," Wesker said calmly but the other man had no intentions of lowering his gun.
'Before the time comes?' Claire thought and felt like this all had to be some bad dream she was having. Nothing made any sense! Right now she had a feeling Wesker might kill her the moment that man turned away…a man who worked for Umbrella and was aiming at her with a gun…Inside a police station!
" I still need those files, Wesker," the man said quietly and STARS leader just smirked slightly, "Of course, Dear heart," Claire broke her eye contact with the man when her brother's superior called her and she realized that she was far more scared of him than the other blond, "Would you get the files from the lower desk drawer and bring them to my colleague here? It is the one with the code pad on it. The code is 2759," Wesker said in a dark and slightly malicious tone.
'Colleague?' Claire couldn't help but feel confused. Was Wesker working for Umbrella as well? But that was absurd.
The young woman felt her heart racing and she nodded ever so slightly and with trembling hands, she reached out to punch in the code on the reinforced drawer with a electrical lock on it. When the lock clicked and the drawer opened, she could see a simple black thin folder with an Umbrella logo on it, and next to it an ID card.
Wesker doesn't seem like a corrupt cop…this is something much more dangerous, Claire realized as she closed the drawer that was left only with the Umbrella ID and few guns; she could tell right away that they weren't loaded and thus no help for her.
Claire took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down as she started walking slowly towards Birkin who kept aiming at her head and a part of her feared that his hand was trembling so badly that he'd accidentally pull the trigger.
"Would you mind lowering that? " Claire whispered quietly as she offered the files to the stranger, her voice steady and quite calm despite the situation. She was not a threat to the man, but she had a feeling she might not make it out of this alive, and it wasn't because of this man.
Birkin's eyes widened slightly and he pressed the barrel of the gun against Claire's forehead to show that he was for real, but she didn't even blink…she saw how afraid the man was, but somehow, she felt like that if his companion commanded him, he'd pull the trigger.
The red haired woman kept her eyes fixated on Birkin who stared down at her, his gaze shifting on Wesker just for few seconds before returning his focus back on her. Claire let out a small sigh of relief when the man put the gun down and yanked the files from her hand, "you know what is at stake here, Wesker, if I were you, I'd just kill her," Birkin growled as he put the gun away and left the room, slamming the door shut behind him, making the lock click forebodingly.
Birking had left her alone with Wesker in a locked room.
The two stood alone in the STARS office and Claire wondered if she should dash at the door and try escaping, but it would do no good…
Wesker would be faster than her and grab her before she could get too far, or he could pull out his Samurai Edge gun and end her life with one clean shot. All she could do was make it worse for herself, so instead, she just stood there in the middle of the room.
Claire felt her heart beat start get faster when she heard the STARS leader chuckle and walk towards her.
"Claire, I think we need to have a small talk.."
In next chapter we will see Wesker telling Claire all kinds of stuff in order to control her and Claire's heartbreaking farewells to Chris. I really want to kill the night guard, but I can't because I didn't establish it in the first chapter! *shakes fist at the elderly night guard* You'll get to live!
I'm a bit rusty with the characters though, I need to play code veronica and Darkside Chronicles through again.
I was partly kicked to write this by TiFFerzZehNiNjA's awesome fanart from my Cage of Misery story on devianart3