Disclaimer: I do not own the Resident Evil series or the characters, I am just a fan who likes to write the kind of stories I like to read. I know it's a bit derivative, but any constructive comments appreciated!! This chapter was even bigger than this, but I've had to cut it into two otherwise it would be just too long.

Chapter 6 Into the belly of the beast

Carlos was walking purposefully down a long white corridor. He had a slight limp, and every so often he winced as a sudden pain originating from his ankle shot up his leg. He was replaying in his mind the events that had transpired over the last few days, including his conversation with Jimmy, when suddenly he felt someone pat him hard on the back. He turned around to see Claire Redfield's beaming face. The light emanating from the fluorescent bulbs on the ceiling was reflected by her unmistakeable long red hair.

''Looking good Carlos!'' her face was animated, her brilliant blue eyes flashing.

''Thanks.'' He was a little embarrassed that he hadn't had the opportunity to talk to her since she had picked him up in the mountains, all battered and bruised on the dirt road, two days ago. He had promptly fallen unconscious when he got in the car, partly from the pain of his ordeal, and partly through sheer exhaustion. Claire had a gift of being in the right place at the right time.

''In all this…err…mess…I didn't get the chance to thank you properly, for coming to get me.''

''Hey, it's my job. You did sleep like a baby on the drive back though.'' She teased. ''So what's going on? Why has Chris called a meeting?''

''It's something to do with Jill.''

''Jill?''

''Apparently that scientist knows where she is.''

''How many more times Carlos?'' Claire said, barely hiding her frustration.

''I don't know Claire, this time it feels different. Jimmy said something about…''

Claire interrupted him. ''We've spent the last six months looking for Jill. Following lead after lead, but we're just chasing ghosts.'' She stopped walking and faced Carlos. ''And every time we get somewhere, and she isn't there, it kills him.''

''I know, but…''

''No, I don't think you do Carlos.'' she said gently, almost whispering. ''You don't know my brother like I do. He won't let this go, and he'll obsess and let it burrow into his head until……. I just wish we'd found her body so we could stop this and he could mourn for her.''

''I care for Jill too you know. Let's just listen to what he has to say.''

''I will. But this has to be the last time.''

They resumed their walk along the corridor until they reached a set of large heavy wooden doors. They entered a large room dominated by a massive wooden conference table. The table was surrounded by twelve chairs, the upholstery on which was worn with small clumps of stuffing escaping where the stitching had burst open. On one of the magnolia-painted walls was a large aerial photograph of the boarding school and the surrounding countryside. The photograph was framed and the year ''2000'' was etched into a bronze plaque situated on the bottom left hand corner. There was a large projection screen on another wall.

Scattered across the table were a number of large sheets of paper - Carlos realised immediately that they were the plans of the facility that Jimmy had stolen and given to him a few days ago. He felt a small twinge in his stomach as he remembered that these plans had cost Jimmy his life.

Chris Redfield was standing at one end of the room in front of the projection screen. He was reading through some papers and barely acknowledged Claire and Carlos as they entered the room and sat down. Claire placed her laptop in front of her on the table. She opened it and began to type noisily on the keyboard, slightly annoyed at the way her brother had chosen to ignore her. Carlos poured himself a glass of water from the one of the large jugs that were sat on a tray in the middle of the table.

They sat there in silence. The silence was only broken when the heavy wooden doors opened again, and Leon Kennedy entered the room.

''They're bringing her up from the cells now.'' he spoke directly to Chris who looked up at him and nodded.

''Good.'' Chris replied.

Leon sat down next to Claire and sneakily squeezed her knee under the table. Claire didn't flinch and carried on typing, but he saw the corners of her mouth curl upwards in a carefully disguised smile.

Moments later, Dr Elisabeth Badley entered the room, flanked by two young S.T.A.R.S. members. She felt self conscious as everyone's eyes followed her as she walked around the table and sat alone on the far side. She looked very uncomfortable.

''May I?'' she asked as she gestured towards the water jugs in the middle of the table.

''Go ahead.'' Chris said.

She slowly reached for the jug and filled a glass. Taking a drink, she was very much aware that their eyes were still fixed upon her. Where they waiting for her to do something?

''Right.'' Chris said firmly, and his hands tapped the sheets of paper scattered across the table. ''You're going to tell us everything you know about this facility. And you're tell us how we can get in.''

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They had been in the conference room for over one hour. The two young S.T.A.R.S. operatives that had been stood outside blocking the door could hear raised voices within, but they couldn't hear the conversation that was going on inside. The smaller one, who had blonde hair and a young face, turned to face his colleague, giving him a knowing smile.

Inside the room, Elisabeth was talking. She slammed her hands on the table, exasperated.

''Listen to me. How many more times do you want me to say the same thing? I don't care what your man on the inside said, I wasn't in charge of that facility. I was in charge of the labs - only the labs. There were places that even I didn't have clearance for.''

''Like what?''

''Sub-basement level three.''

Chris looked at the plans of the facility scattered across the table. He shook his head.

''There are no sub-basements on these plans.''

''Well of course there aren't.'' she replied, condescendingly. ''They were part of a pre-existing structure. It was a prison or something. These plans are only of the new building. They only removed the surface structures before they built the new facility.''

''It's probable Chris.'' Claire interjected as she was typing furiously on the laptop sat on the table in front of her. ''Apparently it was a hospital for the criminally insane until 1972.'' She laughed awkwardly.

''So what happened in 1972?'' Chris asked.

''It was closed down by the authorities. It seems that they were mistreating some of the patients - all kinds of experiments.''

''Well that makes sense.'' Leon said sardonically, rolling his eyes. ''I guess some places are just built on evil.''

Chris began to walk around the long table towards Elisabeth. ''So Jill is being held in one of these sub-basements? Are you sure?''

''She must be. I only found out she was in the facility a week ago. Look, I'll tell you everything you need to know to get in there. There are no blind spots to the security cameras - you will get caught by the building's defence mechanisms if you don't do it right. See here…..'' she gestured to a position on the plans with her finger. ''This air duct crosses these rooms in the northeast part of the building. You can use the duct to access this hidden level here.'' She traced her finger along the length of the air duct that was marked by a dashed line. She then pointed to a blank space. ''There's an elevator here….this should take you down to the sub-basements.''

Chris unconsciously rubbed his chin, realising suddenly that he hadn't shaved. He lent on the table, staring blankly at the scattered papers for a moment. Then he looked up.

''Leon, Claire - make yourselves familiar with the layout of this place. We're going in tonight.'' He then turned to face Elisabeth. ''You're coming too.''

Elisabeth straightened up and faced Chris. Claire and Leon looked at each other; they were obviously thinking the same thing.

''Oh no..no..no…no...no! I can't come…this isn't part of the deal…..they know me. They'll kill me on sight. If I'm lucky.''

''Yeah, and they'll hug us like long lost friends!'' Leon retorted sarcastically.

Chris disregarded Elisabeth's objections. ''A lot of the data on the disk we retrieved was corrupted. We need to access the servers again. You can do that can't you?''

''Yes, but…''

Chris shifted his attention to Carlos.

''You're on comms duty.''

''What?'' he shook his head in disbelief. ''Jill was my friend too. I want to be in on this.''

''If you can't run, you're no good to me.'' Chris said harshly. Carlos then muttered something in Spanish that none of them could understand, but they were pretty certain from the tone that it wasn't pleasant.

''Is there a problem?''

''No.'' Carlos muttered.

''20:00 hours, I want you all ready by the chopper. Claire - get her some clothes.''

Before anyone had time to object or discuss Chris's plan, he had left the room.

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Four figures, all dressed in black, snug-fitting military fatigues, dropped silently from an open air duct that ran the length of a long white corridor.

One of the figures removed their black balaclava, revealing a sleek red ponytail. ''We made it in. That was almost too easy.'' Claire said as she took out her pistols and scanned the length of the corridor.

Chris put his hand to his ear, activating his radio. ''Carlos, do you still have our position?''

''Bright and clear.'' came the response. ''The main laboratory complex is just behind you. According to Elisabeth, the elevator to the sub-basements should be at the far end of the corridor.''

''Okay,'' Chris began. ''Claire and I are going to go down for Jill. You two…'' he pointed to Leon and Elisabeth. ''…are going to download as much as you can from the server. We need to find out who's running the show here.''

''Let's go.'' Leon patted Elisabeth on the shoulder. ''Good luck, be careful.'' Leon said as he winked at Claire. He then looked at Chris. They didn't say anything to one another, they just nodded.

Claire watched as Elisabeth and Leon disappeared through a set of sliding doors at the far end of the corridor. She was concerned - just like her brother Chris, she didn't trust this woman. She didn't - couldn't - trust anyone connected to Umbrella, no matter where their current allegiances lay. But they needed her. The power of the organisations that had supplanted Umbrella reached into the upper echelons of the military, and probably the government. They frequently used their power and influence to suppress the activities of the S.T.A.R.S, which was another reason why they had to act discretely. Many of their missions had resulted in failure. Their informants or witnesses would disappear. They would arrive to empty buildings knowing that their targets had left minutes before, destroying any credible evidence. It was difficult to trust people now.

Chris and Claire reached the elevator at the opposite end of the corridor. There was a keypad instead of a call button. Using a small screwdriver that she retrieved from her utility belt, Claire prised away the front of the key pad, exposing a tangle of wires. After analysing the circuit for a moment, she stripped the plastic coating from a number of the wires and tied them together. There were a few sparks followed a fizzing sound as the elevator doors opened.

''Too easy.'' She smiled.

They entered the elevator and pressed the button for sub-basement level three.

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Leon and Elisabeth walked slowly through the glass-walled laboratory complex. It was eerily quiet - the only sound was the dull hum of the air conditioning. There were half finished cups of coffee and half-eaten sandwiches sat by work stations where the computer monitors were still turned on. It looked like everyone had left just a few moments ago.

''This way.'' She gestured to Leon. ''My office is just down here. I can access the server from my old workstation.''

Leon nodded, and they began to walk faster. Moments later, she motioned him to stop.

''This is it.'' She entered a code on the keypad by the door and smiled. ''I can't believe they didn't change the code.''

''Neither can I.'' Leon said, a little concerned at just how easy this was.

''Okay….'' she moved across the office and sat on a chair by the desk pushed against the far wall. She flicked on the computer and began typing on the keyboard. She groaned and rolled her eyes. ''Looks like they've revoked my access privileges. Just give me a minute…''

Leon surveyed the walls of her office. One of the walls was covered by an enormous white board. Scribbled on it were numerous chemical equations, notes and reminders. His eyes were then drawn to a framed photograph of Elisabeth on the wall by her desk. She was wearing a black graduation gown and mortar board hat while clutching a rolled piece of parchment tied by a red ribbon. She was standing, smiling, on a lush green lawn in front of a grand old sandstone building. Just on the edge of the photograph was the dark outline of a man's shoulders. Leon couldn't identify his face as it was covered by the frame.

Leon looked at his watch. ''How long?''

''Just give me one minute.''

He checked his weapon - a desert eagle handgun in pristine condition - and stood in the door frame, looking left and right down the corridor. Still nothing - not a sound.

''Okay, I'm in.'' She inserted a grey box into the USB hub on her computer. A number of small red lights began to flash. ''I'm uploading the data now. Looks like it'll take about….mmm… three minutes.''

Leon tapped the radio in his ear.

''Carlos, we're in the server. You should be receiving the data now. Confirm.''

''I got it Leon.'' Carlos responded.

Leon's attention was suddenly diverted by a noise at the far end of the lab complex. It sounded like something slapping against glass. The slapping noise was getting louder and louder, and more and more vigorous. Then there was the sound of breaking glass and the lights went out. The emergency lights came on soon after, bathing the lab area in a dull green glow. Large shadows crawled out of the corners.

Elisabeth's head snapped around to face Leon. She looked scared.

''You stay here and finish this.'' he said pointing to the computer. ''I'm going to see what that noise was. I suggest you lock the door behind me.''

He re-checked his weapon and stepped out into the corridor. The office door closed and locked behind him. He walked slowly and deliberately to the far side of the lab, pointing his gun into the shadows. He found the source of the noise.

At the far end of the laboratory, there was a re-enforced glass holding cell. The cell was small, no more than six feet squared, with an iron grille floor. The cell wall was smashed. There were drips of blood on the broken glass - it looked like the occupant of the cell had escaped. Leon looked down and noticed a trail of smeared blood on the floor. There was a noise - it sounded like something heavy being dragged. Slowly, he followed the trail of blood on the floor.

A pair of legs came into view. It was a man - he appeared to be pulling himself forwards towards a lab bench, and then with what seemed like an enormous effort, he pulled himself to his feet. He stood against the bench, unstable and swaying. Leon moved in closer.

''Jimmy?'' he gasped.

''Leon.'' His voice was like a throaty gargle, almost inhuman. ''Get….away…..from…me..!''

Leon strode across to Jimmy, placing his hand on his shoulder. ''C'mon. You're coming with me.''

''No!'' he pushed Leon away.

Leon studied him more closely. He could see a small red circular mark on his forehead. It was a bullet wound. Carlos had said that the soldiers who ambushed them in the forest had shot Jimmy in the head, point blank. There was no way he could have survived. The man - thing - standing in front of him couldn't be his old S.T.A.R.S. colleague. Could it? But he could speak, he seemed self aware. His hands were cut, raw and bleeding. The cell walls were several inches thick - to break them would have required formidable strength.

''God, Jimmy, what have they done to you?''

Jimmy then started to convulse violently. Screaming, he was barely able to remain upright; his knuckles were white as he clung to the bench. Almost as suddenly as this fit began, it ceased and he stood there, deathly still. He slowly straightened-up, seemingly more stable now, and looked down at his outstretched hands, almost like he was seeing them for the first time.

''Jimmy?'' Leon said softly as he began to approach him again.

Leon's voice appeared to distract Jimmy from his hands. He turned to face Leon and stared at him for a while, almost child like. He then walked towards him. His movements were jagged and awkward - almost like those of a marionette. Suddenly he leapt, grabbing Leon's shoulders and pinning him to the ground. With a strong swipe of his arm, he knocked Leon's gun out of his hand and grabbed his throat. He began to squeeze. Leon grabbed Jimmy's wrists, trying to dislodge them from his throat, but he was not strong enough. He was choking, he could barely breathe. Black dots appeared before his eyes as his vision began to fail. He tried to push the man off of him, but he was forced back down to the ground, hard. In one last ditch attempt to free himself, he thrust his head forward. His head made contact with his assailant's face. The grip around his throat was loosened, and using all his remaining strength, Leon bent his legs and kicked Jimmy away. He sat up, coughing, filling his lungs with air as he massaged his throat. He scanned the floor for his gun which, fortunately, had fallen only a few metres to his left. He rolled, grabbed the weapon, and aimed it at his former colleague.

''Don't make me!'' he screamed between heavy breaths.

Jimmy had also regained his composure now, and had pushed himself back to his feet. As he turned to face Leon, Leon noted the large open wound on his face that was gushing blood. He must have been alive, he wouldn't bleed if he were a….

''Stop!''

Jimmy's muscles visibly tightened. He readied himself to attack Leon again. He sprung. But he seemed to freeze mid-leap, and his body fell to the ground with blood oozing from a small hole in between his eyes. Leon had shot him.

Leon pushed himself to his feet and he went to investigate the body. Blank eyes stared back at him. He looked closer and noted that there were small red flecks in the dead man's irises.

''I'm sorry.'' Leon said as he gently closed Jimmy's eyes.

He stood up and walked back towards Elisabeth's office. The door was locked, so he knocked.

''It's me, Leon. Let me in.''

The door opened and Elisabeth's ashen face stared at him.

''I've found something Leon.'' she began, ''Something horrible.''

Before she could elaborate, the green light had been replaced by a red flashing light. Water poured from the fire extinguishers on the ceiling. There was the buzz of radio static followed by Claire's voice. She sounded anxious.

''Leon, Elisabeth. Call in.''

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''This must be it.'' Chris examined the door, feeling the lock, handle and all around the frame. This was the only locked cell on sub-basement level three. The other cells were empty. ''It's cast iron, we can't pick this, we've got to blow it open.''

Claire nodded as she removed a small square package from her back pack and handed it to Chris. ''Explosive putty. Never leave home without it!'' she dead-panned.

Chris hurriedly placed the putty across the door lock and hinges. ''Okay, when this blows, we're probably going to attract attention so we have to get right out of here. Be ready.''

Claire nodded.

Chris and Claire quickly moved a few metres down the corridor and crouched in the corner of one of the empty cells.

''Fire in the hull!'' Chris shouted as he pressed the detonator.

There was a small explosion, followed by a deep thud as the heavy iron door was detached from its hinges and toppled to the floor. The smoke and dust cloud created by the explosion crawled down the corridor, making Chris and Claire cough in order to remove the foreign particles from their throats. Suddenly, the corridor was filled with the high-pitched wailing of a fire alarm. The lights went off, only to be replaced by the flashing red glow. A fine mist of water descended from the ceiling.

Chris got up first, and ran into the cell.

''Jill!''

Jill Valentine, Chris Redfield's oldest, closet friend, was lying motionless on a gurney situated in the middle of the room. Attached to her arm was a drip dispensing blue fluid into her vein. Her eyes were closed and her skin was damp and waxy. Chris ran across to her, and placed his hand on her wrist in search of a pulse.

''She's alive.'' He said, relieved. He gently shook her shoulder. There was no response.

''Jill. Jill, wake up. We've come to get you out.'' He whispered into her ear. Droplets of water fell from his now-wet hair onto Jill's face.

Claire went immediately to investigate the bag of blue fluid that was being fed intravenously to Jill. She read the label aloud. ''AV-125. What's that?''

''I don't know, but we've got to get that out of her.'' He went to remove the drip, but Claire quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

''Wait. We don't know what that stuff is…..or what it's done to her.''

''Exactly, so we've got to get it out of her now!' he said as he pulled his wrist from Claire's grip.

''Pulling that out of her may cause more harm than good.''

''But we're running out of time!''

Claire tapped her radio. ''Leon, Elisabeth. Call in.''

It was Leon who replied. ''We hear you. It looks like the party's not a surprise anymore.''

''We've found Jill.''

''Oh my God. Is she okay?''

''She's attached to a drip, but we don't know what it is. Elisabeth, can you tell me what AV-125 is? It's a bright blue fluid.''

''It's an anti-virus.'' Elisabeth said. ''But I don't know what for. They wouldn't have given her an anti-virus unless she was infected.''

Chris and Claire looked at each other with a knowing realisation that this might not be Jill anymore. A chill down Chris's spine replaced the temporary elation of finding his friend.

''Don't pull out the drip yet.'' Elisabeth said. ''I need to find Jill's records and find out exactly what the anti-virus was for. I suggest that you make your way to the rendezvous point and I'll meet you there. I need five minutes.''

''Five minutes.'' Chris said as he looked at Jill. ''Leon, keep her out of trouble.'' He paused. ''I'm counting on you Elisabeth.''

''I'll see you in five Chris.'' she replied.

Chris pulled back the thin white sheet that was partially covering Jill. Lying unconscious and helpless on the gurney, she looked small and delicate, almost like a child - not the tough, intelligent soldier he knew she was. Claire removed the bag of blue fluid from the hook above the gurney as Chris gently scooped up Jill.

There were heavy footsteps in the corridor.

''I got it.'' Claire said as she patted Chris on the shoulder. With Jill in his arms, he was unable to do anything.

Claire pressed herself against the door frame. She removed a small compact mirror from her pocket and carefully angled it so that she could see down the corridor in the direction of their potential assailants. There were four soldiers - all dressed in black and holding submachine guns. They stopped about five metres from the door, pressing themselves to the walls. Claire memorised the position of each of the soldiers and put the mirror compact back in her pocket. She removed a smoke grenade from her utility belt and threw it down the corridor. As the grenade exploded, a plume of smoke engulfed the guards and they began to blindly fire their weapons in Claire's direction. Taking both pistols in her hands, she rolled forwards and fired four shots. The machine gun fire ceased. As the smoke began to clear, the bodies of the four guards became visible slumped against the wall and on the floor. A tiny red mark on their foreheads was the only evidence on their bodies of an attack.

''Clear.'' She said as she lowered her pistols, certain that the threat was neutralised.

Chris walked out of the cell, still carrying an inert Jill in his arms. He carefully stepped across the dead bodies slumped in the corridor. One of the soldiers had fallen on his back, and he was staring at the ceiling. Chris looked at the dead man's face. It was pale and emotionless, but what struck Chris was the colour of his eyes - they were red.

''Look at his eyes.'' He said to Claire.

She looked down. ''It's just like Carlos described. Weird.'' she shuddered.

''Let's get out of here.''

They made their way back to the elevator. Claire pressed the call button. She didn't understand why the elevator had returned to the surface levels. She turned and looked back down the corridor in the direction of Jill's old cell, tapping her foot impatiently. Then something caught her eye. She thought she saw one of the soldier's hands twitch. She stared hard, unsure if it had just happened, or it was a trick of the flashing red light. Then another - the guard slumped against the wall began to stir, his head flopped forward, his arms awkwardly feeling the wall at his back. Then the soldier lying on his back with the red eyes slowly reached upwards with his left arm.

''Chris….''

''What?''

''They're moving.''

''What? That's impossible!'' Chris turned around slowly.

''They're moving!'' she repeated, this time with more urgency.

Again, Claire took out her pistols and slowly began to walk back down the corridor. She came first to the soldier with red eyes who was reaching upward. She looked down into his face. For a moment he looked confused - like he had just been woken abruptly from a deep sleep. Then his eyes focussed on her and he seemed to snap awake. He grabbed her ankle and pulled. Claire hit the floor hard, dropping her weapons and wincing as a sharp pain shot up her back. The red-eyed soldier then flipped onto his front and leapt towards her, grinning insanely. She kicked him away. He rolled onto his side and crashed against the wall. Claire reached for her pistols as the soldier charged again. She shot him in both legs. The soldier screeched in pain and collapsed on the floor. He then proceeded to pull himself along the floor in Claire's direction. She fired again, shooting him in the head. He stopped moving, but it seemed like the shots had awoken the others and they began to push themselves to their feet.

''Chris…'' she screamed, her voice wavering.

''I know!''

''The elevator….how long?'' she asked impatiently.

''Not long.'' He replied.

The elevator was two floors above them. Chris gently rearranged the way he was holding Jill, freeing his right hand that he used to repeatedly press the call button in the desperate hope that it would increase the speed of the elevator's descent. Claire was walking slowly backwards in Chris's direction, firing intermittently at the soldiers who were now standing and walking awkwardly towards her. She then noticed that they all had red eyes.

There was a brief ringing sound as the elevator doors opened.

''Claire, come on!''

They both got into the elevator and pressed their bodies against the back wall. The soldiers suddenly realised that their quarry was about to escape and they began to pursue them with renewed vigour. Clare repeatedly shot them in the head - but now it seemed that they had become impervious to the effect of the bullets as they merely rocked backwards when hit. She could have been mistaken, but they seemed to sense her frustration. As the doors closed, they smiled at her.

Chris tapped his radio.

''Carlos! Emergency evac - we need you at the rendezvous point in three minutes.''

''Got you covered Chris.'' came the immediate response.

Chris gently placed Jill on the floor, supporting her head and upper body in his arms. He lightly brushed away stray strands of hair that had stuck to her damp face. There was no movement, no sign of life other than the subtle contraction of her chest as she breathed.

''That was creepy.'' Claire said as she reloaded her pistols. ''Did you see the way those things were grinning?'' She realised Chris wasn't listening. She knelt down beside him. ''Is she okay?''

''She's alive.'' he said solemnly.

Chris tenderly brushed Jill's cheek. She was cold. Slowly, he guided his hand up towards her eyes. He took a deep breath and gently pushed up her eyelids. He flinched and quickly withdrew his hand. Her eyes were pink.

''Oh no.'' he whispered.