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. Well, welcome to the beginning of the end – not too far to go now. A bit of a hefty chapter this one, but I hope you can bear with it and get to the end. I've said it before – I know this is not perhaps the most original of stories, but I hope I've got a few surprises lined up for you! Enjoy.
Chapter 16 Swamped
Chris Redfield picked up the large knife that was lying next to his handgun on the wooden desk in his office. Light reflected off the recently buffed steel surface onto his face. He felt along the sharp edge of the blade before sliding it into the sheath on his chest. He then picked up his gun and checked the loading mechanism. He held it up and pressed the trigger. Click.
His attention was diverted by a knock on the door. He loaded a magazine into his handgun and eased it in the holster by his hip.
Chris cleared his throat. "Come in."
The door opened and Jill Valentine strode in. She was wearing black combat trousers and a snugly fitting black t-shirt. Her red-brown hair was securely fastened away from her face by a black band, fully revealing her delicate features and pale complexion. "Chris, it's time."
Chris nodded. "Are you okay? You look a little..."
"Pale? That's probably because I've been shut up in here for so long." She grinned. "No, I'm fine, honestly. Maybe a little nervous, this is my first mission in more than six months after all, but I'm fine."
Jill tried to sound at ease, although she was struggling to push the thoughts of her most recent flashback out of her mind. She knew for certain now that she had been on the Methuselah and she had been seriously injured. But she didn't understand why the organisation, who she presumed were responsible for her capture and incarceration, didn't just leave her to die.
"Anyway Chris, I just wanted to say thanks."
"Thanks? For what?" He sounded surprised.
"For letting me come on this mission. I've been crawling up the walls in here."
Chris smiled as he put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're back. There's no one else I'd rather have in my team."
"Chris…" she began.
"Yeah?"
She looked at his face. As usual, his brow was lined with worry; his formerly brilliant blue eyes virtually disappeared into the recesses of their sockets. Jill could still see the handsome man she had first met well over ten years ago when they were both assigned to the original S.T.A.R.S, but now he looked somewhat tired, like he carried unimaginable burdens.
Jill shook her head. Chris didn't have time for her problems. "It's nothing. Let's go."
They both made for the exit. Just as Chris reached the door, he glanced at the picture on the wall. It was the old newspaper article and photograph of the original S.T.A.R.S, but in a new dark wood frame. The new frame was smaller than the old one that Chris had broken in a rage, evidenced by a square outline of dirt on the wall outside its margins. Chris reached out and gently realigned the picture. He then glanced quickly at Jill, looking like he was about to say something, but he changed his mind and carried on walking. He closed his office door behind him.
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"Hey Chris, don't you think we should be a little bit more discrete?" Carlos had to speak loudly to be heard over the sound of the helicopter blades. "You know I love to make a scene, but maybe walking right up to their front door and knocking isn't the best way to do this..."
Chris was sat on the opposite bench to Carlos in the passenger compartment of the S.T.A.R.S helicopter, examining a submachine gun. "I wanted to make a surprise visit." He didn't look up as he spoke. "Besides, with our jamming device, they won't be able to see us until we're right on top of them."
Carlos smirked. He leaned forwards, his elbows resting on his knees. He turned his attention towards Jill who was kneeling on the floor while examining the contents of a small metal box that was about the size of a briefcase.
"So Jill, how does it feel to back in the saddle?"
Jill's attention was focussed on the contents of the box and she didn't respond to Carlos's question.
"Jill?" Carlos repeated a little louder. Chris looked up in his direction.
"I'm sorry, what did you say Carlos?" Jill said, snapping her head up.
"I said how does it fell to be back?"
She smiled warmly. "So good you wouldn't believe it."
"Jill, how're you coming along with the explosives?" Chris interrupted. Carlos rolled his eyes.
"Just one left. The triggers are very sensitive so I'm going to keep them and the C4 separate until the time comes."
"Is there enough?"
"There's enough to destroy a small town here. So be careful." She said, pushing the small box into a rucksack.
Chris nodded, the trace of a faint smile evident on his lips. He then turned his attention to Leon and Rebecca who were sat either side of Carlos. Leon was sat stony faced, his back pressed against the wall, both feet planted firmly on the metal grille floor. The paleness of his skin, combined with his blond hair, exaggerated the bright blue colour of his eyes. Rebecca, who looked small and frail in comparison to the male team mates sat next to her, was busy checking the contents of her medical kit. She seemed oblivious to everything else going on around her.
Chris then turned his head to face his sister who was sitting next to him. She was staring straight at Leon, a strange expression on her face. She was unconsciously clenching and unclenching her fists, which was something Chris knew she did whenever she was anxious. He was hoping that if he stared at her for long enough, she would notice and turn to face him, but her attention was focussed solely on Leon.
Elisabeth was fidgeting, looking at her wristwatch every minute or so. Chris noticed small beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
"I hate flying." she said nervously as she became aware that Chris was observing her. "I've always hated it. I particularly hate helicopters."
"Why do you keep looking at your watch?" Chris asked.
"We've been in the air, what, over an hour now? Surely we must be there soon."
"Five minutes. Get ready."
Chris coughed loudly to get everyone's attention and stood up, clinging to the netting on the passenger compartment wall for stability. Everyone looked up at him expectantly and he, in turn, looked directly into their eyes, one by one.
Chris swallowed hard, unsure of what he was about to say. He knew he had to say something. That was what was expected of the leader after all. But Chris knew he was not a man of words. His actions spoke for him. He knew he was the man you wanted to be standing next to in a fight, not sitting next to in a debate.
"We've come a long way together, and I know it seems like this will never end." His grip tightened on the netting. "Maybe it won't. Maybe people will still be fighting this war long after we've gone. But we've got the opportunity tonight, now, to deal the biggest blow to this organisation yet. We're going to send a message to everyone out there that wants to carry on Umbrella's work – we're going to bring them down." His eyes narrowed and he focussed his glare on Elisabeth who shifted uncomfortably. "No exceptions."
Carlos banged his submachine on the helicopter's floor in approval.
"I want you all to be careful. No heroics." Chris continued. "We don't know what we're going to have face in there. Our objectives are to collect evidence and neutralise all hostiles. Use extreme prejudice."
"Do you think there'll be a bio-organic weapon in there?" Rebecca asked while closing the lid on her first aid kit and securing the fastening.
"Maybe. We'll just deal with anything they throw at us." He smiled warmly at her. "We've done it before."
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Elisabeth shielded her eyes as debris swirled around in the updraft from the S.T.A.R.S helicopter before it slowly rose into the air and disappeared towards the horizon. They were on their own.
"Move out!" Chris shouted. Within moments, the helipad was deserted.
"Stay behind me." Chris ordered Elisabeth while watching his sister disappear into the darkness with Leon. He felt a stab of concern in his chest. He knew that Claire was more than capable of looking after herself – she had proved it time and again. But he wasn't sure how much longer Leon could last. How much longer he could protect her if needed.
Chris and Elisabeth ran in the shadows towards the rig control room. The only sound they heard was their own breath – sharp and regular in the cold night air. When they reached their destination, Chris knelt on the step by the door. He pressed his ear to the door and listened. He turned to face Elisabeth and readied his weapon. Elisabeth nodded.
Chris tapped gently on the door. Muffled voices could be heard from within. The handle moved down and the door began to open slowly. Just as it opened, Chris launched himself to his feet and kicked the door inwards. There was a loud curse followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Within the space of a heartbeat, Chris had run through the door into the control room. A tall masculine figure dressed in black charged him but he stepped to the side, almost casually. He raised his weapon and fired. Four holes appeared in the other man's chest in a rough circle around his heart before he crumpled to the floor.
Elisabeth had followed Chris into the control room. She shifted her gaze to the second man on the floor who had begun to twitch and moan softly as he came slowly back into consciousness. His eyes were scanning the floor for his weapon that had been knocked out of his hand when he was struck by the door. She stood over him, a foot either side of his chest, and crouched. He stared up at her, open mouthed, his eyes wide. His lips trembled while his fingers began to furiously search the floor for his gun. Elisabeth reached forward and put her hands on either side of his head, her face totally blank. There was a horrifying crunch as she jerked her hands to the side, twisting the man's neck. The twitching stopped abruptly.
Chris turned to face her. "Was he...?"
"No." Elisabeth shook her head as she straightened up. "Just regular help. His eyes were normal. Yours?"
"Same." Chris strode across the small room to a control panel and large monitor displaying a rig schematic that was attached to the far wall. Elisabeth followed him closely.
"Looks like the rig's extracting some gas. Not a bad cover operation." she said over Chris's shoulder. "It looks like they're storing the gas under pressure in those tanks." she added, pointing to an area on the schematic not far from the control room where they were standing.
"I want you to access the server." Chris gestured to a large black box sat on the floor underneath the control panel. "Download everything."
Elisabeth nodded. She pulled out a small grey box from her utility belt and attached it to the server via the USB socket. A small red LED light on the grey box began to flash rapidly as the data transfer began. She flicked on a small computer monitor and smirked.
"I can't believe how poor the security is." she said. "There's no password or anything…this is ridiculous. Wait…hang on a minute…"
"What's wrong?"
Elisabeth sighed. "This isn't it. All that's on this server is a year's worth of drilling records, geological data, staff timesheets…there must be another. Somewhere on this rig, there's another server. Assuming we're in the right place of course."
"We're in the right place." Chris said confidently.
"You've got to admit that this is a pretty unusual setting for the headquarters of some..."
"Listen." Chris interrupted her.
"What? I don't hear any…"
"Shhhh!" Chris put a finger up to Elisabeth's mouth, silencing her. "I can hear an outboard motor." he whispered.
Chris turned around and walked out of the control room onto the rig surface. He walked forward along the metal gantry and leaned over the edge, looking down at the ink black sea more than thirty metres below. The sound of the motor suddenly died away. Chris strained his eyes to see in the near darkness, with the only light coming from a number of spotlights bound to the rig's main structure. He reached to his utility belt and removed a flare. He banged the small cylindrical object against the metal hand rail and was immediately bathed in bright green light. He threw the flare over the side and into the sea.
Again, he looked down at the same area of water where the noise of the motor seemed to die away. His eyes focussed on an elongated object that was slowly floating into the circle of green light emitted from the flare that was now floating in the water. It was a small boat.
Chris leant back and away from the railing. He took a deep breath.
"Someone else is here."
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Rebecca, Carlos and Jill had moved rapidly across from the helipad towards the accommodation block that was a relatively small stand alone structure attached to the main rig site by a sturdy metal bridge. Rebecca hesitated and looked down at the sea as they crossed the bridge. It was difficult to see in the darkness, although she could clearly hear the sound of waves crashing against metal supportsthat held the structure in place on the seabed.
"How far down is that?" she whispered as an updraft of air blew stray strands of her red brown hair into her face.
"Too far to jump." Carlos replied. "Stay focussed Rebecca."
They stopped when they reached the entrance to a square building made of corrugated iron. Above the door was a white sign with the words 'Staff Accommodation' printed on it in black capital letters. Carlos pressed himself against the door and grabbed the handle. He glanced at Jill and Rebecca, who both nodded in response.
Carlos pushed the door. It creaked loudly as it swung open to reveal a deceptively long, dimly lit room. A number of perfectly made single beds, each with identical white sheets and a grey wool bedspread, were regularly arranged along the length of each side of the room. There were twenty in total. At the end of each bed was a large metal box with a padlock. At the far end of the room was a large bookshelf.
Carlos walked cautiously into the room, closely followed by the two women. It was virtually silent and all they hear was the crashing of waves against the platform outside. Carlos kneeled at the end of one of the beds and examined the large metal box. He yanked on a padlock that secured it.
"Jill – can you open this?"
"Not a problem." she smiled.
Jill knelt down next to Carlos and removed a small black wallet from her pocket. Opening the wallet, she pulled out two elongate metal lock picks that she inserted into the padlock mechanism. There was a satisfying click as the lock sprung open. She removed it and placed it on the floor while Carlos opened the box and pulled out a bundle of magazines.
"Look at the dates on these! They're from 1998!"
"It looks like this box hasn't been open since then…" Jill said. "In fact, it doesn't look like anyone's slept in here for a long time."
In the corner of her eye, Rebecca thought she saw a flicker of movement behind one of the beds at the far end of the room. Holding her handgun up in front of her, she walked towards the bed, slowly and deliberately, placing one foot in front of the other while listening intently for any unnatural sound. Less than five metres from the far wall, she paused. She was sure she heard an intake of breath. She crouched down and looked under the bed, holding the grey woollen cover out of the way with her spare hand. Her heart raced as she saw a black boot withdraw into a shadow.
"There's someone here!" she shouted. Carlos and Jill jumped to their feet. A moment later, a black figure appeared from behind one of the beds and fired in Rebecca's direction. Instinctively she returned fire and pressed forwards. There was a delicate click followed by a blinding flash.
"Flash grenade!" Carlos shouted.
Rebecca was temporarily blinded. She could hear heavy footsteps less than a metre in front of her. She fired blindly in their general direction, knowing that Jill and Carlos were safely at the other end of the room. There was heavy thud - it was the sound of the figure hitting the floor. There was another click. Her handgun was out of ammunition.
As Rebecca gradually regained her vision, she saw the figure on the floor in front of her scramble to its feet. It was a soldier, probably one of this facility's guards. He lurched towards Rebecca as she reached to her belt for a magazine. She began to panic and her hands shook as she ejected the spent magazine and struggled to insert the new one. Click. She barely had time to feel the relief. She was easily within reach of the soldier's outstretched arms when she raised her handgun and fired several times. His head jerked backwards but his momentum kept him hurtling forwards until he crashed into her. They both fell heavily to the ground. The weight of the soldier, who had fallen directly on top of her, knocked the air out of her lungs. She struggled to push the heavy body away.
"Rebecca! Are you injured?" Carlos called while running towards her.
Rebecca was breathing heavily, still slightly dazed.
"Are you injured!" he repeated, more forcefully this time.
"I'm…I'm fine." she replied, trying to steady herself.
Carlos bent over the corpse and felt for a pulse. He looked at Rebecca. "Nothing. He's gone. Good shooting Rebecca."
Rebecca was still sitting. Just as she was about to push herself to her feet, she looked to the area of the floor close to the bookshelf. It was devoid of the fine layer of dust that covered the floor everywhere else in the room. In the dim light, she could just discern a perfectly square outline on the wall behind the bookshelf.
"I think there's something over there…" she said, gesturing towards the location that had caught her interest. She stood up quickly and with an effort pushed aside the bookshelf to reveal the square outline of a metal door. She then noted a panel with a small round switch. She pressed it and the switch lit up. There was a low pitched rumbling noise and the metal door slid open.
"It's an elevator." Rebecca said, turning to face Carlos and Jill who were now standing just behind her.
Carlos tapped his radio. "Chris, come in."
There was a buzz of radio static.
"Carlos." Chris's voice sounded distant. "Speak up, I can barely hear you."
"We've found an elevator in the accommodation block." He cautiously stepped forwards into the metal compartment, his weapon ready. He noted a control panel on the wall. "It looks like there's only one floor to choose from."
"Got that Carlos." Chris replied. "You go on ahead; we'll follow on behind you as soon as we're done here. Leon, Claire…"
"Yes Chris." Leon replied over the radio.
"Is your area secure?"
"Yes." came the curt reply.
"Then I want you to rendezvous with Carlos."
"Okay. You guys go down first. We'll see you in a minute. Leon out."
Rebecca and Jill joined Carlos in the elevator. Carlos pressed the single button on the control panel on the wall. The door slid closed and the elevator jerked sharply before beginning its descent. Rebecca's stomach lurched with the sudden movement and she grabbed the metal rail on the wall for support.
"Get ready." Carlos said. "We don't know what we're going to come up against when this door opens."
It was nearly twenty seconds before the elevator came to a stop with a jolt. All three of the S.T.A.R.S members readied their weapons.
"We must be underground." Jill said quietly as the door slid open.
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Claire and Leon were crouched behind a number of rusty barrels irregularly stacked on the concrete surface of the rig platform. Leon was staring towards the accommodation building that Carlos, Jill and Rebecca had disappeared into a few minutes ago.
Leon could sense Claire's eyes staring at him. He turned his head to face her, but she looked away quickly.
"Something's wrong." Claire said.
"Yeah, I know, it's just too quiet. As always." Leon replied. "I can't believe there are only three people guarding this rig."
Claire stood up and sighed. "Well, let's go walk into our trap."
"That's a very pessimistic attitude Claire Redfield." Leon teased.
Claire grinned as she began to walk across the rig platform toward the bridge that led to the accommodation block. Leon scanned the area quickly one more time and stood up, ready to follow. He suddenly felt light headed and his legs felt like they could barely hold his weight. He reached out to one of the barrels for support. Leon breathed in deeply, suddenly overcome by a wave of nausea. There was a ringing in his head and he could feel his heart rate accelerate.
Claire turned her head to the side to speak to Leon, expecting him to be walking next to her.
"Leon?" she turned around quickly to see him still standing, motionless and blank-faced, next to the barrels. "Are you alright?"
Leon breathed in sharply and shook his head. "I just got up too quick. Got a little light headed."
He quickly caught up with Claire, seemingly back to normal. "It's okay, I'm alright." he said, noting the look of concern on her face.
"You have to tell me if something's wrong Leon."
"I said I'm fine Claire, just leave it!" he snapped.
Claire flinched at his sudden angry tone.
"Let's get down to Carlos and the others." Leon said, deliberately calming his voice. "We don't know what they're up against down there."
They walked in silence across the bridge and towards the square accommodation building. Claire paused at the entrance and glanced back towards the small rig control room that was in clear view on the opposite side of the platform.
"Don't worry about Chris. He can look after himself." Leon said, trying to reassure Claire. He sensed her concern.
"It's not Chris I'm worried about." she replied as she opened the door and walked inside.
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"I don't see anything Chris." Elisabeth said, looking over the handrail and down towards the patch of water illuminated by the dying embers of the flare. She braced as she felt the cold sea spray hit her bare skin. Tiny droplets of salty water hung on the few strands of blond hair that had come loose around her face.
"Get back in the control room and copy the rest of the data on that server. Some of it might be useful. I'm going to have a look around."
Elisabeth nodded as she backed away from the railing and walked towards the control room. Meanwhile, Chris scanned the rig platform. Claire and Leon had already secured the area before he had told them to go down and meet up with the others, but the appearance of the boat had made him uneasy and even more alert than usual.
There was suddenly a clanging sound a little way in the distance. Holding his weapon in front of him, he moved slowly forwards towards the drilling stage in the centre of the rig platform. His eyes were drawn to a heavily rusted iron chain that had come loose from its large hook fastening and was swinging gently while clashing with a metallic handrail close by. Chris felt a heavy feeling in the base of his gut as he realised that someone had just unhooked the chain.
Chris reached to his utility belt where he had a single magazine for his handgun loaded with the special hardened gel bullets created by Elisabeth and Rebecca. He pulled out the magazine, but his attention was suddenly diverted by a loud crashing sound that came from within the control room. He began to run.
Chris tapped his radio. "Elisabeth! What's going on in there?"
There was no response.
"Elisabeth! Come in!"
He was barely a few metres from the door to the control room when it opened sharply. Chris skidded to a halt and raised his weapon.
"Elisabeth!" he shouted.
There was suddenly a muffled scream and Elisabeth was catapulted through the door. She landed awkwardly on her stomach on the hard floor. With an obvious effort, she held up her head and looked towards Chris. There was blood pouring from a large gash above her left eye.
"Shoot him!" she cried, her voice strained.
As Chris moved to load the special magazine into his hand gun, a tall figure appeared in the control room doorway.
"It seems that no matter how many times I beat you Chris, you always come back for more. That makes you either very brave or very stupid." The figure spoke with a mean, sardonic tone.
"Wesker! Don't you have anything better to do than follow me around all the time?" Chris retorted while surreptitiously sliding the magazine into his handgun.
Albert Wesker laughed. He stepped forward out of the doorway and onto the platform so that he could be closer to Chris. "Well, Chris, you see, I've been looking for this facility for a very long time. Thank you for finding it for me. You always were useful."
"Well, don't get too comfortable because this place isn't going to be here for too much longer. And neither are you…"
Chris raised his hand gun and fired, but Wesker had already darted out of the way.
"Damn." Chris spun around to follow Wesker who was bearing down on him. He fired, but again, Wesker was too fast and managed to dodge the path of the bullets.
Before he could fire again, Chris felt the gun ripped painfully from his hand. He heard it skid across the floor and out of reach. A second later, he was lying on his back and looking up at the stars with Wesker's fingers curled tightly around his throat. Wesker's fingers tightened and Chris gagged, struggling for breath. He swung at Wesker and made contact with his face. Wesker cursed and then smashed Chris's head against the floor. His arms went limp and his eyes rolled back in their sockets.
"I've been thinking of nothing but this moment for a long time." Wesker sneered, looking down at the helpless man on the floor.
The air was suddenly filled with the sound of automatic gunfire. Wesker convulsed, looked down and noticed a number of red patches appear on his shirt. He turned his head to see Elisabeth standing behind him, holding a handgun.
"You..." His voice sounded irritated now. He reached to Chris's chest and yanked the large knife free from its leather sheath. "I've had enough of you. Your services are no longer required."
Wesker lunged towards Elisabeth, grabbing her left shoulder. She gasped and stood there, frozen to the spot. She looked down to see Chris's knife buried deep into her abdomen, her blood dripping down Wesker's hand. She raised her head to face Wesker and smiled.
"This…this isn't…fin…you're going to be…"
Wesker withdrew the knife and plunged again, only this time he twisted it. Elisabeth's head fell backwards as her mouth open wide in a silent scream. Wesker withdrew the knife and she dropped to the floor.
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The elevator door opened and Claire and Leon stepped cautiously out into a large, bright room over twenty metres long and at thirty metres wide, with bare sandstone walls. Claire immediately spotted Rebecca and Carlos, in deep conversation, standing several metres in front of her. She began to walk towards them, stepping over the bodies of a number of soldiers who must have been guarding the place. She stopped dead as her eyes scanned the room.
The room was filled with countless transparent, cylindrical vessels, each approximately two metres in height. They were all filled with fluid. As she moved closer to one of them, she noted a dark outline suspended in the centre amongst a mass of tubes. It was a man, possibly thirty years old. His fingers were twitching madly.
"Claire."
Claire jumped.
"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to startle you." Rebecca said.
"What is this place?" Claire asked, her eyes darting around the room.
"From what I can tell, this looks like a cloning facility. All of these men have the same physical characteristics."
"Human cloning? But that's just science fiction. That doesn't happen…" Claire stopped herself mid-sentence, realising how ridiculous her statement sounded. After everything she had seen over the last ten years, she knew anything was possible. There was no limit to what people could, would, do.
"What concerns me is this." Rebecca said, gesturing to a large vial filled with red fluid. Claire noted a tube attached to the vial that passed through the glass wall of the vessel. She traced the tube to the man's arm where the red fluid was being fed intravenously into his vein.
"Is that what I think it is?" Claire asked.
Rebecca was holding a white folder crammed with papers. "Yes. " she replied, tapping the folder. "They're all being given Lazarus. Or at least, some derivative. It's not exactly the same as the form we synthesised back in my lab and used on…" She bit her lip and looked to the floor, embarrassed.
"It's okay Rebecca." Leon said softly.
Claire's eyes widened as she looked from side to side, trying to estimate the number of vessels in the room. "There must be a hundred of them…"
"This is the army Badley was talking about." Carlos said through gritted teeth.
"We have to destroy the army." Leon said matter-of-factly. Carlos nodded in agreement.
"But they're people!" Rebecca said emotionally, her voice becoming high pitched. "We can't just kill them! We should save them! We can reverse the effects…"
Leon shook his head vehemently. "No. You can't. If they have the Lazarus gene, and they were to get out of here, there's no telling what might happen."
"I don't think I could live with myself if we do this." Rebecca said. "This just isn't right. They haven't done anything wrong." she pleaded.
"Not yet. But they will Rebecca. It's only a matter of time." Leon said calmly.
Rebecca stared at Leon, suddenly understanding the second meaning behind his words. Her bottom lip trembled.
"Let's deal with this first." he replied. "Have you found the server? Chris and Elisabeth have drawn a blank up top so there must be something down here."
"I'm on it." Carlos said.
"Good. We can't leave here without anything that ties this place to Ephraim Carter."
Carlos and Rebecca disappeared into the maze of vessels in search of the server.
"I'll set the charges." Jill said as she appeared from behind one of the vessels. "We need to attach them to these large pillars that are pretty much the only thing stopping this roof from caving in." She gestured to the nearest iron pillar that extended from the floor to the ceiling.
"Leon…"
"Yes Claire?"
"It seems secure down here. I think I'm going to go back up top and see if Chris needs any help."
"I'm sure he's fine."
Claire shook her head. "I don't know Leon. I've just got this feeling…"
"Okay, go."
Leon watched calmly as Claire stepped into the elevator and pressed the button.
"I'll see you soon." she said just as the doors closed and the elevator began its ascent.
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Elisabeth was doubled up on the floor on the rig platform, clutching the wounds on her stomach, trying to stem the flow of blood that was collecting in a slowly expanding pool on the floor. She was crying.
"Chris!" she struggled to shout. "Chris – get up! Now!" She winced. "GET UP!"
Chris was still lying on his back, his head rolling from side to side. Wesker was standing over him, holding the knife that was stained with Elisabeth's blood. He staggered, seeming to struggle to stay upright.
"Chris!" she shouted again. "It's working! Get up!"
Wesker turned his head to face Elisabeth. He looked confused. Moreover, he looked different. Weakened. The arrogant smile was gone and a slightly blue colour tainted his skin.
"What have you done to me?" he said as he staggered to one side. He felt one of the open gunshot wounds on his back and gasped as he saw his own blood on his hand. His eyes fixed on Elisabeth as he began to stagger towards her, the knife raised.
"Chris!" Elisabeth cried as she slowly shuffled backwards along the floor, trying to increase the distance between herself and Wesker.
Within a few staggered steps, he was standing over her. He raised the knife but stopped as he saw a faint smile appear on her face. An instant later, he dropped the knife in response to a painful blow to the side of his head. Wesker dropped to his knees, his head throbbing, his eyes felt like they were going to explode with the pressure from inside his skull. He felt blow after blow to his head. He raised his arms, clumsily trying to protect himself. There was another blow - he felt his nose crack - and he fell backwards.
Wesker looked up to see Chris standing over him. His face was twisted with wrath; his fists were tightly clenched and raised, ready to attack again. Chris straddled Wesker and repeatedly punched his face with both fists.
"This is for Joseph..." He swung wildly. "…this is for Richard…" A large cut appeared over Wesker's right eye. "…this is for Brad…" Wesker's bottom lip exploded. "…this is for Enrico …Forest…Ken…"
Chris suddenly stopped, out of breath. He looked down at his hands - his knuckles were bruised and bloody.
''Chris, for God's sake, you have to do it now! It only lasts three minutes…"
He turned his head to the side to face Elisabeth. He stared at her blankly.
"Do it!'' she screamed. "You have to kill him!"
Chris looked into Wesker's eyes, bloodied and swollen. They were human eyes now, looking up at him with nothing but fear.
"Chris…" Elisabeth coughed up blood that splattered across her cheeks and dripped down her neck and onto the floor. She let out a long, drawn out gasp before her body fell limp.
Chris moved off Wesker, and knelt on the floor next to him, panting. He held his head in his hands. This was it - the moment he had dreamed of for ten years. He wanted Wesker to pay for everything he had done to him, his S.T.A.R.S comrades, Jill, Claire….he wanted to choke the life out of the bastard. Give him back some of the pain. Well, his day had come and he couldn't do it. Chris had set his heart on killing the monster, the near-omnipotent creature Wesker had fashioned himself into. But he couldn't kill a man. A weak, pathetic man.
''I'm not an executioner. '' he said calmly as he shook his head, hardly believing the words that there were coming out of his mouth. "You're coming back with us." he said retrieving a pair of plastic hand ties from his belt. "And you're going to face up to your crimes."
''You sanctimonious……''
Chris felt a heavy blow to the side of his head. He lent forwards, supporting his weight on one hand, and looked up. He barely had time to regain his focus when he saw Elisabeth swing her arm. There was a loud crack and Chris felt warm fluid pouring down the side of his head. He fell onto his side, staring upwards at Elisabeth in shock. She gritted her teeth and kicked him in the head and then the chest.
Chris groaned and doubled up on the floor. He lunged for his handgun that he spotted lying idly a metre or so away, but it was kicked out of reach as his fingers got tantalisingly close to it. Elisabeth grimaced as she straightening up. The newly formed clots on her wounds tore open and began oozing blood.
Elisabeth turned her attention to Wesker, also lying bloodied and broken on the floor. She walked towards him, staggering at first, but with each successive step she appeared to recover. She looked down on him, a satisfied, cruel smile plastered across her face.
''Any last words, mentor?''
''Clever girl.'' he said. He smiled coldly, almost admiring the creature before him that he had created. It seemed fitting to him that the creator dies at the hands of his own creation. But he'd come back before - he could come back again.
''Don't do it…'' Chris muttered as he struggled to push himself up to his knees.
Elisabeth ignored Chris and fired shot after shot into Wesker's head and body, emptying the gun. There was a clicking sound as she kept firing, even though the chamber was empty.
Wesker was dead.
Chris was now on his knees, but he was disorientated from the ringing sound in both of his ears. Elisabeth crouched behind him, gently putting her hands on his shoulders. He froze at her touch.
''I'm sorry Chris,'' she whispered in his ear. ''I really thought you would kill him for me. I know the history between you. It looks like I underestimated how good you are.'' She reached into her pocket for a new magazine. ''But now you know who…what I am…''
''You were just using us…..'' he coughed and winced. ''….to get to the organisation…..''
''Well, I couldn't do it on my own. And I certainly couldn't take down Wesker on my own. I'm good, but I'm not that good.'' She loaded the new magazine into her gun. The clicking sound make Chris flinch.
''Why? What do you want?''
''I want control, nothing more, nothing less. I want everyone to know that I am the one that created Lazarus; that I am the one that has power of life over death. Like you said to me all that time ago - he who controls this army, controls the world. Well.'' her features changed to a cold blank stare. ''The 'he' is going to be 'she'. And I think the world is ready for change.''
"So you're doing this for the sisterhood?" Chris smirked, but then he winced as he felt pain in his chest.
"Oh, that's funny." she replied with no trace of a smile on her face. Elisabeth pressed the gun to the back of Chris's head. He flinched. The barrel was still hot. ''I'll tell you what is funny though Chris. The rest of your S.T.A.R.S are going to help me take over, whether they realise it or not. After we've all mourned your death of course.''
''You don't have to do this Elisabeth.'' he said softly. ''It's not too late. All this time you've said you wanted to change, that you wanted to make things right. You can still do that. I've seen what you can do - we need you. You can help us.'' He felt the gun at the back of his head waver. "And we can help you. It's not too late."
Elisabeth's face seemed to soften. She had walked into the S.T.A.R.S headquarters that day resolute in her desire to infiltrate and destroy them from within. She wanted them to destroy the organisation and lead her to their headquarters where she would take back what was rightfully hers. She wanted them to help her destroy Albert Wesker, the man who had condemned her to this life. But somewhere along the way, Elisabeth had stopped seeing them as tools. Moreover, she had actually begun to respect them. She respected their unwavering loyalty to each other and the way that no matter how dire the situation, they would never submit to defeat. But it was too late now. She had to finish what she had started. The line had been crossed, and there was no going back to the way things were before.
Her face hardened and the grip on her weapon tightened. ''What? Become a member of the S.T.A.R.S?'' she said, mocking Chris.
''Why not?'' he said softly as he slowly reached for his chest pocket.
"I don't think so Chris. I could never be like you."
"I know why you hate him. Hated him." His fingers were getting closer.
"You don't know anything about me."
"He created you, designed you to do what he wanted, to be who he wanted. You never had a choice." His fingers had reached his small breast pocket. They crawled inside and searched. He suddenly felt a cold, hard metal object the size of a cigarette lighter.
"Shut up! You don't know anything!"
"I understand what you're feeling." His fingers clasped the metal object and he began to ease it slowly out of his pocket. "He messed all of our lives up. He stole any chance we had to be normal. He deserved to die."
Chris readied himself to remove the object from his pocket. His index finger searched for the small red switch on the side. His muscles tensed, ready for one last effort, but suddenly he felt a hand grab his wrist and yank it out of his pocket.
"I'd almost forgotten about that."
"Argh!" Chris gasped as her vice like grip made him release the box, her nails digging into his flesh. The box fell to the floor and skidded away on the concrete into shadow.
"Were you going to blow me up Chris?"
She released her grip. Chris unconsciously rubbed his sore wrist with his other hand. "I was thinking about it…"
'I wasn't sure if you were bluffing about that, that day you said you had put that device in my coffee. I guess you weren't. Either way, it doesn't matter anymore. You can't kill me now."
"Wesker thought he couldn't die too…"
Elisabeth pretended to ignore Chris's last comment. "But I have to kill you now, because if I don't, I know you'll come back for me. If not you, then your sister or another one of your friends. At least you can die knowing that you'll be missed.'' She glanced across at Wesker's lifeless body that was lying in a pool of blood on the floor. ''Unlike some of us…..''
Her finger twitched on the trigger.
Chris didn't hear the sound, but he was suddenly blinded by a searing pain that ran through his body like electricity. He slumped to the hard, cold floor and was overcome by darkness.