18

Like the training facility only a few miles away, the main Arklay lab run by Spencer was hidden underneath a beautifully constructed Victorian mansion. Wesker marveled at the glorious architecture at every turn, unable to connect the high-tech biological lab underground with the splendid, luxurious mansion above. It was even more complex and lavishly decorated than the mansion at the Marcus site. The lobby was enormous, with a wide central staircase in red velvet and an interior balcony going all the way around the second floor of the lobby. White marble pillars supported the high ceiling and an enormous crystal chandelier hung above the floor. To the left of the lobby was a huge banquet table with enough seats for fifty people, which then led off into a large kitchen area. To the left of the lobby was, for lack of a better term, an art gallery. A beautiful sculpture sat in the center of the room, reminding Wesker of the Venus de Milo. Paintings, portraits, and various works of art lined the walls, and even more of them were stacked in a rear supply room. For the most part, the first floor of the right wing of the mansion was reserved for displaying artwork. The second floor of the whole mansion was mostly for executive offices, numerous study and recreation rooms, and a large library. Wesker had thought that the mansion at the Marcus estate was awe-inspiring, but this mansion was probably twice the size, putting the other one to shame.

And that didn't even include the expansive courtyard behind the mansion, complete with a huge, water-spraying fountain, cobblestone walkways through a well-managed garden, and even a hedge maze. Behind that was the guard house, where the large number of security personnel stayed. Like the extravagant mansion and the stunning courtyard and garden, the guard house was also a work of architectural art. It had rooms for up to thirty security personnel, along with a large recreation room complete with a pool table a well-stocked bar, and even a small stage where musical performances were occasionally held.

But what interested Wesker the most was the well-maintained sense of secrecy and mystery the mansion and surrounding area emanated. Being in the mansion, he could almost imagine the secret passageways and winding staircases hidden within the walls. There were concealed doors and secret switches that led to special sections of the mansion and laboratory underneath. Wesker did not inquire about their purpose, but was fascinated with them just the same. The only people with clearance to be in the mansion without a chaperone were employees of Umbrella, so why such secrecy and concealment? He could have understood it more if average civilians and other visitors were common, but they were not.

The sheer scale of the operation was mind-blowing at times. The enormous laboratory complex built underneath the mansion was three times the size of the lab at the Marcus estate. It didn't just contain the standard research labs and observation rooms, it was the most extensive and varied scientific compound that Wesker had ever heard of. It had dozens of separate labs, each working on a different aspect of the Progenitor. It had a huge underground water tank where they tested the virus on aquatic species. It even had its own power plant that generated enough electricity to run the entire lab complex.

And it wasn't even complete yet. There were plans to extend the lab underneath the courtyard as well. And now that the training facility was being shut down, the lab had to be expanded to house the increased number of scientists working there. Wesker was amazed by the plans in progress, and was excited to be involved in such a wide-ranging project.

"How old is this place anyway?" he asked Spencer one evening while they were discussing the day's work.

"Would you believe only sixteen years?" Spencer answered. "The mansion was built in 1970. The labs were built later, but they were mostly completed by 1978."

"I'm older than this building. That amazes me."

"Some people assume that the mansion is a historic site. We've had inquiries by archeological societies about its age and previous owners. They like to think that someone like Thomas Jefferson must have lived here at one time."

"Who was the architect?"

Spencer smiled, and leaned back in his chair. "A brilliant man named George Trevor. We hired him to design something more like a modern office building, something functional but with a sense of artistic beauty. He gave us the design for this mansion instead. I guess you could say he was a man of vision."

"He must have been to create a place like this."

"Granted, we made changes to his basic design, but he was the principle driving force behind the construction of this building. I supervised the project from the beginning."

"You did?" Wesker asked, surprised.

Spencer nodded. "I'm the one who chose Raccoon City as our central location. I've personally overseen every development that's taken place here since the lab was built."

"I didn't know that," Wesker said. "Have you always worked with Umbrella?"

At that, Spencer chuckled softly, as if Wesker was a child asking if he was Santa Claus. He did it frequently, and it bothered Wesker sometimes. He asked out of polite curiosity, not because he was truly interested. The response, however, made him take an interest.

"I'm one of the founders of Umbrella as it is today," Spencer said, his voice loaded with pride and boastful intensity. "Alexander Ashford and I reinvented the company back in 1953. At the time, it was just a bulk chemical distributor owned by his father. We were both amateur chemists ourselves, and wanted to develop new chemicals and medicines instead of just buying and selling them. We had some moderate success, and set up a small laboratory where we could synthesize new compounds. That was almost thirty years ago."

He paused, apparently overwhelmed in wistful nostalgia, giving Wesker time to venture a question. "Ashford is the one who created the Progenitor, isn't he?"

"Yes, he discovered it in 1965," Spencer said distantly, as if deep in thought. "By that time, we had made a small fortune designing some chemical compounds used in cosmetics of the day. Ashford wanted to build a state-of-the-art biological laboratory where he could work on vaccines and other medical products. I thought the venture was too risky, and I guess it caused a rift between us. He build an advanced laboratory in Antarctica, as you might be aware, while I stayed here and had this lab built. I guess we just went our separate ways."

Surprised at the sentimental tone Spencer had taken, Wesker didn't know what to say. His usually ruthless, cold-hearted employer was not the type to get emotional or mushy over events of the past. Spencer was the kind of man who kept his emotions, if he even had any, closely in check. But Wesker could sense the powerful sadness in his eyes, and it profoundly worried him. Why was Spencer getting to emotional over this?

"I'm sorry," Spencer said, coming out of his trance. "I guess you wouldn't know about what happened, would you?"

"About what?"

"Alexander Ashford died just a few months ago," Spencer said, shaking his head sadly. "He was killed in an accident at the Antarctica lab. We hadn't spoken in years, and I guess I regret it now."

"I'm sorry, sir," Wesker said sincerely. "I didn't know."

"It's all right. With all the excitement recently, the problem with Marcus and everything, I guess I forgot all about it. I hadn't really thought about it until now. It was such a tragedy, perhaps I was just distracting myself so I didn't have to think about it."

"What happened?"

"I was never given all the details. They were doing some sort of construction and Ashford was supervising the work, when some scaffolding collapsed in high wind. Either that, or a support beam gave way, I'm not sure which. All I know is that eight men were killed in the accident and their bodies were never recovered."

"That's terrible," Wesker said. "Why not?"

"The construction was taking place at the edge of the ice. On the edge of a glacier cliff overlooking the ocean, in other words. The collapsed portion of the construction fell off the cliff and into the freezing water below. The bodies were never found."

Spencer let out a great mournful sigh and shook his head again. "Ashford was a great man. He shouldn't have died that way. He shouldn't have died at all."