A/N: Hello readers! Thank you for getting this far! I want to thank the people who have reviewed, you are awesome, also, Supermodel Sandwich for a couple really good stories that helped me clarify what this leads up to and where it came from. There's a reference to a wonderful story by WindyWildWolf, see if you can catch it. This chapter is leading up to some big stuff in the story, so stay tuned. And, I can't stress enough, REVIEW! Hope you enjoy!
The next few days were relatively uneventful. Barry bragged about his eldest daughter's latest accomplishment, Jill had to keep Joseph from being too hard on Brad, and Chris' latest attempt at cooking had left his kitchen smelling like burnt something-or-other, a smell that would probably last a long time. Then one day Barry walked in with twelve handgun cases, each one labeled with the name of a S.T.A.R.S. member. The alphas snatched theirs up and popped them open. It was like Christmas in May.
Jill examined the Beretta, noticing the blue and gold S.T.A.R.S. symbol glimmering brilliantly, inset dead center of the grip's polished wood side panels. Admittedly, the gun was beautiful. She pulled it from the foam.
"These are yours, feel free to carry them on you, keep them clean, you know the drill," Wesker said. "Barry, thank Mister Kendo for me next time you see him. I appreciate the time he put into these."
"Can do."
Wesker left again. He certainly had a lot of "other business" to attend to lately. Always hopeful, Barry had suggested the other day that maybe the captain had finally found a girl, sending Joseph into fits of laughter and nearly causing Brad to choke on his coffee.
"Captain Wesker? With a girlfriend?" Chris had remarked. "Don't get me wrong, I like the guy… well, maybe I don't, but I respect him, and… just no." Even Jill hadn't been able to suppress a good laugh.
Chris' voice brought her back to the present. "So Claire called last night, she'll be here in a couple days."
"Haven't seen her in forever. Tell that girl she needs to visit more often."
Chris laughed. "I think she's starting to get annoyed with my protectiveness."
"Starting?"
He gave her an over exagerated pout.
Barry spoke up. "You two and Claire should come over to my house for dinner that night. It's been a while since Kathy or the kids have seen any of you. Well, maybe not Chris. He's too hungry to survive without our help."
Chris threw his arms up and grumbled something about it being "pick-on-Chris-day," then looked to Jill for the final say.
"Sure, sounds great, you guys are practically family and always make the best food." Jill smiled at memories of holidays and other occasions spent with the Burtons and the Redfield siblings. There were quite a few.
"Alright, I'll let Kathy know."
Chris was fighting. No, he was being beat up. He couldn't tell. The dark figure slammed him into a wall, a darkness he knew, a darkness he hated. There was Jill, charging the cloaked enemy. She was kicked away. Chris felt himself being strangled. He tried to tell Jill to run away, but she charged once again and hit the darkness, sending her and it off a ledge and into the abyss below. Uselessly he reached for her, screaming her name.
He woke up, his plea for his partner still echoing in his mind. Shaking his head to rid himself of the rapid-fire flashes of the dream, he grabbed the water bottle he kept on his nightstand and took a swig. Squinting to see the red, digital numbers, Chris saw it was a little after three in the morning. His head fell back onto his pillow as he let out an annoyed groan.
These nightmares had been increasing in frequency since the start of the murders and disappearances. As much as he'd like to blame it on cold pizza or the occasional beer, he knew it had to be something else.
Unable to go back to sleep and unwilling to further contemplate his dreams, Chris rubbed his bleary eyes and peered out the window. Streetlights bathed Bike Street in a yellow glow. The many shops and other apartments were dark, only an occasional neon "closed" sign burning red against the black. All of Raccoon was asleep.
Yet another day passed without much going on. Jill and Chris went to the police station's gun range, both alpha and bravo team went out to lunch together, and Wesker returned from one of his many excursions muttering something that sounded like "Chief fat-ass." The next day however, Chris awoke to see Claire staring at him with a goofy grin.
"Gah! What the—who the hell let you in? What are you doing here so early?" the older of the two Redfields stammered. Claire just giggled.
"What? No 'hey little sis' or 'I missed you?'"
Chris just glared with bloodshot eyes at her, then his face broke into the trademark lopsided Redfield grin. "Get over here and give your brother a hug."
They embraced until Claire muttered in Chris' ear, "Ugh, you smell like man stench." He gave her a playful shove as she smirked wryly at him, then shrieked as a pillow flew at her head.
"Get outta here and let me get ready for work!" he yelled before a chuckle.
A hot shower and bowl of cereal later, he dropped Claire off with the Burtons and headed for the RPD. Jill greeted him in the garage, handing him a cup of coffee.
"You're certainly in a good mood," he said, breathing in the coffee's aroma. Not the cheap stuff from the S.T.A.R.S. office. "Dare I ask?"
She beamed radiantly. "Just happy. Now drink that coffee before it gets cold and goes to waste." He was happy to oblige. They got to the S.T.A.R.S. room and sat at their desks as the rest of the team arrived.
"So I woke up to an interesting surprise."
Jill looked at him inquisitively and echoed him. "Dare I ask?"
"A certain sibling snuck into my apartment sometime early this morning."
Chris' partner only seemed to get happier. I can't wait to see her. When was the last time? Christmas, when she tried to put makeup on me?"
"Probably something like that." He remembered that incident particularly well. Jill already looked amazing without makeup, to say the least. With it… Chris cut off those thoughts before they got to his head, reminding himself that they were just friends, albeit extremely close.
Wesker stormed in, a scowl plastered on his face. "For any of you not paying attention to the news, three hikers disappeared last night. Irons still refuses to put us on the case."
Chris lost his good mood. "That's bullshit. Why the hell hasn't Irons handed it over yet?" He saw Jill's expression go sour too.
"He won't tell me. Believe me, I'm trying." The captain's almost monotone voice had grown a hint of frustration.
Barry nodded in understanding. "Someone's got to pull that guy's head out of his ass." This produced a snicker from Joseph.
"All of you, listen up. You will be exceedingly nice and respectful to the chief from here on out, or I will personally hunt you down. Am I clear?"
There was a chorus of yes-sirs.
"Good. Take the afternoon off, I'm sick of keeping you in here with nothing to do." Wesker plopped down in his seat, eyes distant, obviously preoccupied. Alpha team got back to work.
Everything in the Arklay lab had hit the fan. It wouldn't be long before the infection hit the city in a way that would make these few murders and disappearances look like nothing unless UBCS troops were dispatched to contain the spread. Despite the danger, Wesker knew Spencer and Umbrella had their own plans, of which he was an intricate player. But he refused to just be a pawn. He had his own agenda. Unfortunately, the generally easy-to-bribe Irons was hesitant to take this step over the edge. The S.T.A.R.S. captain didn't blame him, but would do whatever was necessary to facilitate this… research opportunity.
His face tightened into a sort of smirk. It was possibly one of his best plans ever, made even better by the fact that no one knew his true intentions. Looking at alpha team, he saw they were strong, courageous, cool headed, but ultimately oblivious. Couldn't be more perfect.
