A/N: Hello! Get the full AN below. However, if you're having trouble remembering all that's happened since this year long hiatus, go back and read the sections before the "Status Report : TITLE" division. It gives a brief overview of previous events in a cliff notes version, so to say. Also, chapter 11 has a recap at the bottom of the chapter.
Read and Enjoy!
Tomorrow night we meet with Viper, 3's first prediction and possible protégé. She may very well have the answers we're looking for and just might be the key to unlocking this conspiracy. As for tonight, though, I've connected with this monster named Red. And I'll admit it, I'm worried about him. Whatever Albert Wesker has planned, Red is walking into it freely. I can't let this man—Chris—do this.
Status Report: Only Option
It's the dim shimmer of sun that's creeping through the windows that finally wakes me up. The fogginess of my memory and my sleepy disposition keep me in my happy place as I stretch and turn over, laying on my back to stare at the ceiling. For the first time in such a very long time, I feel completely at ease. Warm. Comfortable.
Then the soreness of last night's endeavors sinks in. "Fuck…" is all I manage to mumble as I try to move my stiff—and yet, relaxed—body. It protests with creaking muscles and lethargic motions, making me give up. It all comes back in typical flash-forward motion, the heated kiss in Chris' throne room that started it all, the passionate and rough sex…I can taste his saltiness on my lips. I remember how he pounded into me, used his belt again, the gun play…
God, no wonder I'm fucking sore.
There's movement beside me and unlike last time, I don't freak out when I see it's Chris. The light must be probing him too, though he seems much more determined to ignore it than me. Letting a contented sigh leave my lips, I work to shuffle out of bed. Damn, it's painful. And yet, I can feel a hum inside my veins that I haven't felt in a really long time. Finally swinging my legs over the bed and grimacing when I'm forced to sit upright, I push forward and stand. The cool air of morning hits me like a bullet, chilling my skin and making me rethink this whole moving thing.
"Going somewhere?" I turn to see Chris giving me a sleepy look, a sappy and overly pleasant smile crossing his face. It doesn't suit him.
"Yah. To shower." Granted, I don't know where his shower is.
"Wouldn't you rather stay where it's warm?"
Tempting, but no. "Another time, maybe." I really shouldn't make promises like that.
He shuffles out from under the blankets then, looking exhausted and yet refreshed. "We could shower together, saves water and all that."
He doesn't give a damn about environment, and I know it. "I'm good."
"You sure?"
Thank god it's cold right now, or he'd be seeing my exact feelings on the issue. "Yah. Which way?" He points towards a door on the far end of the room. Stepping towards it, I hear him make himself comfortable again before he gives a sigh. Heat rises to my face. He's probably checking me out. I don't turn to confirm it.
Once I step through the doorway, I quickly close it behind me. A large bathroom stands before me, pristine. Claire is probably the unfortunate one to have to clean up after her brother. Thinking about her reminds me that I need to once again broche the issue of running head-long into Wesker's trap with Chris. She was so defeated when I talked to her…
Turning on the shower, it heats up quickly and I step inside. I take my time, letting the heat work the tension out of every muscle. I don't bother asking to use Chris' shampoo and soap, though I do my best to use as little as possible—especially with the bar of soap. Just where the fuck has this thing been? I don't let my brain go there, instead I try to figure out how to play this next part. I'm meeting with Viper tonight, Leon with me. If Leon's aware of who I am, I have no doubts she knows as well. She'll have no reserves in ratting me out. I can't play her like I did Leon. At least, not easily.
I need to figure out Wesker's motives, though. And figure out if there's a way to stop this mess from happening. The moment the Anaconda Plan goes into effect, Red will be strangled by his own noose of stubbornness. I can't let that happen—not because I'm developing feelings for him or anything. Not because I'm not professional. It's because…
Well, I don't have a good excuse for that.
Turning off the water once I'm clean, I let out a long sigh. Why did such a simple—I'm using the word lightly, here—mission turn into such a chaotic mess? All I had to do was infiltrate Red's domain and shank him. Easy. Evac afterwards via the next bus home. But no, I walk into what's about to become a massive hostage situation. And, what's worse, my boss is the one who's behind it. Why, I have no idea. But I intend to figure out tonight.
Stepping out and toweling off, I can't remember the last time I actually showered. It feels good to finally be clean of the grime and dirt of Insane City, of Chris. Looking at my sharp face in the mirror, I can clearly see the faded bruises there. They're healing, at least. They'd come from the hummer ride, after I told Red off and saved that woman on the busride into Insane City. Chris told me he liked how I looked, especially with blood on my face. Fingers tracing over the cut across my face from Alfred, I remind myself that those marks are precisely why I am not getting involved any deeper than I already am, I wrap the towel around my waist and walk into the room.
Chris is still in bed, pillow smooshed against his face in a vain attempt to prolong sleep. Gathering my clothes, my nose wrinkles at the smell. Dirt, sweat and sex. Lovely. Dropping them in a pile, I walk to Chris' closet. I know, it wouldn't kill me to walk around in dirty clothes, but the alternative is appealing. When I pull the closet open, I'm surprised by the vast number of articles inside. Does he really wear all of this? Flipping through hangers of shirts, I finally settle for a long sleeved, under armor shirt, though it looks a few sizes too big—those steroid-induced muscles, I'm guessing. Regardless, I place it on my arm and keep looking, grabbing a light jacket to wear over it. Pulling a pair of jeans that look old—and are close enough to my size—I also swing those over my arms. Making to shut the door, I pause. There, tucked into a box in the corner of the closet, are scarves. I've always been told I look good in scarves. Yes, they're not exactly menacing, but they are pretty stylish. Not that being stylish out here is my top priority.
I grab up the first one I see, a green cross-stitch, and finally close the closet doors. It doesn't take me long to raid his underwear drawer to retrieve some fresh boxers, though my face is impossibly hot the entire time I'm looking through it. Heading back into the bathroom, I quickly change, feeling not only clean now but entirely clean. New clothes, new me.
Stepping back into the room, I slip on my boots, looking over at Chris once I'm finally dressed. It's almost comical the way he's laying spread across the bed, blanket covering his naked form. His hair is sticking up in places and his face is buried in the pillows. A smile passes my lips but I will it away. It's not the time for that.
On the ground, I see the gun that Chris used on me last night—my entire body shudders just thinking about it. Picking it up, the safety is still in check but the chamber is fully loaded. Not the safest way to use a gun during sex, but it'd felt good regardless. Suppressing the shiver that travels down my spine, I put the gun in my belt, tucking my shirt over it to conceal it better. I don't want to be caught between Viper and Leon without a weapon. Not like the time when I was stealing those files.
Walking over to Chris—Red—I gently shake his shoulder. Grumbling, he turns himself over, wincing when he tries to open his sleepy eyes. "Cole?"
"We need to talk, sir."
"About?" He sounds so damn sleepy.
"About what we started talking about yesterday."
His brow furrows, contemplating. "You mean the sex? It was great."
God damn, not the sex, you dumbass! "No, before that."
Chris scrunches his face up, visibly showing every single thought that goes through his mind as his brain muddles over the information. "Oh," he looks up at me, "You mean walking away."
Nodding at him, he sits up slowly, sleep still clinging to his naked body. "Cole," He states, voice more awake than he appears, "There's nothing else to say."
"Claire is worried." I'm fucking worried. "Is it really worth it?"
Chris' look is sharp but not angry. "Have you ever been apart of something far greater than yourself, Cole?" I'm not entirely sure, actually. Honestly, everything is 'far greater' than me. I'm not sitting on top of the world. When I don't answer, he continues, "When you've built a kingdom, you don't want to watch it fall to ruin."
"Rome wasn't thrilled about it either, but the inevitable is inevitable. 3 is coming, Chris, and he's going to win this war."
"Not if I take him down first."
I resist the urge to roll my eyes at his overly-manly vibrato. "You can't take him down, Chris. He's probably not even in this city."
"He's calling shots like he is," Chris states, "And besides, it's not him I have to hurt to win. If I take down enough of his guys, he'll be forced to surrender."
"You're going to lose a lot of men."
The look he gives next is frigid, instantly chilling me and again reminding me I'm working not with a man, but a monster, "That's what they're there for."
I say nothing after that, my jaw clenched tightly as I regard him. Standing up straighter, I look down upon him with the same regard I showed Alfred not so long ago in his cell. "They won't follow you to there, Sir. Not to the hell that's waiting for whoever walks beside you."
This earns a challenging glare from the naked man, his eyes as hard as stone and devoid of anything but a tampered rage, "Don't tell me how to run my kingdom, Cole. My men are loyal."
"But they're not stupid."
"No, they're not. They know that if they refuse an order, I'll kill them where they stand. The odds are certain. They'll gamble with walking into that hell before they gamble with disobeying me." The absolutely cold way he speaks, with not an ounce of remorse or concern, it stabs me deeper than it should. I've always known I'm working with a monster. He's so far beyond human that treating him as such is an insult to those still clinging to their sanity.
For the longest moment we only glare at each other, nothing but the cool morning between us. Finally, I take a deep breath and let it out, shaking my head. "And what if Claire refused to follow?" He can't mask the shock that covers his face, that bitter mix of realism and fear. Not giving him a chance to say any more, I turn and walked towards the door. Pulling it open and stepping through, I close it behind me soundly and hurry down the hall. My entire body is trembling, like I've just stared death in the face. Mentally, I berate myself for saying what I said. Talking back to Chris—goddamn it, Red—is like asking for him to fuck you up. Or worse. He doesn't care about me. And the sooner I realize I'm nothing but fodder to him, the smoother this mission will go. And the sooner I realize that sleeping with the enemy is liable to get me killed, the smoother this mission will go.
Making my way out of the expansive hallways and into the main area of the mall, I see many people already hard at work with defenses. They're piling up sand bags, checking ammunitions and running drills. Chris is serious about going to war and even more serious about keeping his kingdom intact. Grabbing someone by the arm as they run by, the young man looks at me with half annoyance, half fear. "What?" He asks.
"Red's setting up a defensive perimeter?" It's entirely surprising to me, honestly. He doesn't seem to think he can lose. He's determined to storm everyone else's turf not fight this bloody war on his own land.
"Not Red's orders, sir, it's Claire's." Figures.
"And where is she?"
"Center of the mall calling the shots, sir." With that, I let him go and head towards the center of the mall. It doesn't take long for me to see her, a red spark in the middle of a storm. Men scurry around her as she stands on a crate and shouts out commands like a general. When she looks towards me, a small smile breaks across her otherwise neutral face. Dropping down, she jogs towards me.
"Cole," she says, giving me a slightly warmer smile upon arrival, "Do you know where Chris is?"
I swallow the heat that rises to my face, shaking my head absently, "Uh, no. Haven't seen him." Definitely wasn't with him last night getting my brains fucked out or with him this morning in sore and wonderful bliss. "You think he's going to like all of this?" I gesture around for effect.
"He doesn't get a choice," she states simply. "He thinks he can win this with aggression alone. I'm not going to let his whole world fall apart because he's sort sighted."
"But you don't want him to fight anyway. Why bother?"
Her smile falters just a bit before she lowers her glance, a bitter look crossing her face. "Because I don't want to see him die, either." Looking back at me, her resolve is back and a smile breaks across her lips. "It's do or die, now. What other option is there?" She turns, heading back over to her station, the hive beginning again with renewed vigor.
Claire's words sit with me for a moment. What other options, indeed. Sucking in a breath, I remember why I'm going through all of this trouble in the first place. Why I'm not simply letting everything collapse around me and taking the road back home.
Turning on my heel, I make my way to the prisons down below. As soon as I open the door I can hear the sobbing below. Alfred. The stench of death follows after. Alexia. And a call for help. Leon. With each step, my resolve hardens. Meeting Viper isn't going to be easy. It's very possible my cover could be blow sky high. I just might be dead by sunrise, but I've got to try. It's the only other option and I'm the only one who can do it.
Clicking on the light below, I can see Alfred's crumbled and defeated form crouched over the rotting and smelly corpse of his sister. It's hard to see him so broken, knowing I caused it, but I swallow it down. Now's not the time for remorse. It's the time for action. Cole Jaden—no, Piers Nivans—isn't human. He's a monster, just like Red, and it's time for him to get to work.
A/N: I'M ALIVE! Wow, it's been a freakishly long time since I've updated (over a year). I'm so sorry for the long wait, my friends. I fell out of the RE franchise and got interested in other things. But this fanfic kept nagging at the back of my mind. You have no idea how guilty I felt every time I'd get a follow/favorite/review/PM on this story. I'd tell myself "Emil, just freaking write the next chapter", but when I'd sit down to do it, nothing came to me. Nothing. It wasn't until I got a PM from Happily Dazed that I finally started writing on this again. So thank you, Happily Dazed. I know I said a couple of weeks in that message I sent to you and now it's been several months, but I kept my word. Here is the next chapter of Under Fire! It took several rewrites, rereading the chapters a few times, more rewrites, some serious heart-to-heart with my bud, Cole, replaying RE6 and a lot of determination.
And the good news? My creative mind is buzzing. I want to finish this for you guys (and we're so damn close to the end, too!). And though it's a short start, I'm already working on the next chapter! So be keeping a watchful eye on your inbox because you're in for a wild ride from here on out!
Emil Lime