Author's Note: I am terribly sorry for the delay in updating but things at work have been all kinds of hectic. Yay for 6-day work weeks! ;lsakfjsdlf. On a positive note though, I may be getting promoted…
Anyway, this chapter isn't quite where I would have wanted it to be but I'll try to update it at a later date; I just wanted to get it out ASAP. I had the majority of this (and other chapters, for that matter) written, I just kept getting stuck toward the end. Oh well. Hopefully it isn't too terrible.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything out of the Resident Evil Universe, nor do I attempt to claim ownership over the characters, creatures, etc. Zhey are all copyright to Capcom.
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Chris had never been so proud of himself. It was a Friday morning and for once in his entire career at S.T.A.R.S., he had actually woken up early and was able to not only shower and eat breakfast before he left for work, but had managed his time effectively so that he was actually going to be early when he walked into the precinct. Late, usually; on-time, sometimes; but actually early? This was to be a monumental occasion indeed; he was sure even Captain Wesker would be somewhat impressed with his efforts.
At least, that was what Chris had intended before his car broke down, leaving him stranded on the side of the road.
He growled in fury as he slammed his hood down after inspecting his engine. From what his cursory diagnosis told him, it looked like he had blown a head-gasket. There were scorch marks where the engine had attempted to suck up anti-freeze instead of the vital, but lacking, coolant. Chris had written off his car's increasing engine heat gauge as a defect of the internal computer; after all, the car had an annoying habit of telling him that he was out of oil when he literally filled it up day before or indicating that his battery was dying even though he replaced both the battery and the alternator fairly recently. This time, however, his car's warnings had indeed been real and he was forced to pull over when he noticed smoke billowing from his hood. Now the car wouldn't even start, and to make matters worse, it was raining.
Chris leaned against his now dead car, drooping his head in defeat. In his determination to leave his apartment early, he had forgotten his cell phone on the kitchen counter and thus had no way of even contacting a tow company to remove his vehicle from the side of the road, much less to call the office and attempt to explain to his captain why he was late. Redfield luck was clearly not on his side today.
He watched idly as the other cars flew by him in excess speeds, some even driving through puddles to splash cold water on his already defeated form. It wasn't like he actually expected some random person to pull-over and give him a hand, but it certainly didn't stop him from hoping.
It was then that he noticed a dark car suddenly swerve into the break-down lane and approach him at a rapid speed. His initial elation at the timely appearance of a kindred soul was replaced by sheer horror when he determined that there was no way that this psychopath could possibly stop their vehicle before either hitting his parked car, running him over, or both. Too terrified to move, he simply pressed his body up against his car as much as he could and prayed to whatever deity existed that he survive this encounter.
Somehow, the black sedan managed a complete stop just inches away from the rear bumper of his car and Chris let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He had to fight back the urge to run and tackle the other driver for almost killing him but immediately repressed the desire once he recognized the black-clad, blond-haired man that had stepped out of the vehicle.
"Wesker?!"
"Car troubles, Chris?" The captain of S.T.A.R.S. inquired wryly.
Chris scoffed and punched his car in annoyance. "Yeah."
"Have you already called a tow company?"
"Err, no. I may or may not have left my cell phone at home…" he answered evasively.
"Hopeless, as usual." Wesker sighed and gestured toward his own car with an inclination of his head. "Get in. I'll have one of the mechanics from the station take care of it." Without another word, the blond turned and resumed his position in his vehicle.
Chris inwardly debated on whether it would be a better idea to just on the side of the road with his car or actually take Wesker up on his offer. It wasn't that he didn't trust the older man, it was just, well, it would be terribly awkward to share a close proximity with him for an extended period of time. He shook his head, willing the strange thoughts away before concluding that at this point, any help was better than staying here and getting soaked so he removed the valuables from his car and darted into Wesker's black sedan.
No sooner did Chris close the door did they speed off, narrowly avoiding sideswiping his beat-up car in the process. Fearfully, Chris buckled his seat-belt and pulled on it to reassure himself that when they inevitably got into a car accident, he would have a greater chance of survival. In the driver's seat, Wesker seemed unfazed as he barked orders into his black cell phone and continued to swerve in and out of traffic. Suddenly Chris found himself wishing that he had just stayed with his car.
After concluding the conversation with the mechanic, Wesker returned the phone to its dock on the center console, grinning wickedly as he noticed how Chris's knuckles were turning white with the intensity that they gripped the sides of his seat.
"Do you always drive like this?" the brunet questioned, swallowing in fear.
"Only when I'm entertaining company such as yourself, Chris."
"What you call 'entertaining' is what normal people would call 'scaring the shit out of'"
Immediately Wesker slowed his vehicle to a respectable pace within the speed limit and Chris visibly relaxed. The blond merely snickered in response.
Several moments passed with neither one of them saying a word to one another. Chris had resigned himself to staring apathetically out the window, listening as the rain continued to make pinging noises off of the roof of the car. Eventually the silence began to eat at him and he dared a glance at the impassive face of the S.T.A.R.S. captain. The man was still wearing his damned sunglasses.
"It's raining," he stated matter-of-factly.
Wesker raised an eyebrow at this obviousness of his second's statement and smirked at his sarcastic finest.
"I truly appreciate you pointing out what is so painfully evident, Chris. I sometimes wonder whatever I would do without your insight."
Chris scowled darkly at the older man and crossed his arms over his chest in both agitation and defense. "Rain usually indicates that the sun is obscured by clouds. So why the hell do you still wear sunglasses?"
Wesker mulled over his response to Chris's inquiry for a moment before responding. In truth, he wore them because he couldn't stand the artificial, bright white lights of the numerous labs he had spent time in over the past several years and wore them to take the edge off. That and they did a fantastic job at hiding the red in his eyes after so many sleepless nights working on a new project for Umbrella. At this point, he had simply grown accustomed to wearing them almost continuously and rarely even noticed when they were upon his face. It had simply become routine. Of course, divulging Chris in the truth behind his 'quirk' was horribly counterintuitive to keeping his background with Umbrella a secret.
"My eyes are sensitive to light," he offered instead, noticing with mirth how Chris's shoulders seemed to slump with disappointment from his less than exciting response.
"Oh," the brunet muttered dumbly. "I guess that makes sense… So I guess you see better in the dark, huh?"
"Presumably better than the average human, yes. It also serves as an excellent training tactic; when sight is limited, one learns to make better use of other senses. Relying on sight alone is a crutch too many fall back on while remaining ignorant of the enlightenment other senses can provide."
Chris nodded his head slowly and then perked up with eagerness. "So can I start wearing sunglasses in our missions then?"
Wesker curt laugh was more than enough to stifle the younger man's excitement.
"Chris, I can barely get you to pay attention and be of use while you still possess sight. I don't need you running haplessly around anymore than you already do."
"Wow, way to be a killjoy, Captain."
"I aim to please."
Chris once again folded his arms and uttered barely coherent whispers of revenge on 'sunglass-wearing weirdoes' before noticing that they had safely arrived at the Raccoon City Police Department. Realizing that Wesker had already exited the car, Chris gathered his things and stepped out onto the pavement, realizing that the rain had somewhat subsided into a light drizzle.
"Mr. Harris, the mechanic, has already left to go tow your vehicle. I would assume that he would have it back here within the hour and begin to work on it for you; if you would like to excuse yourself from the office early to take care of it, you may."
Chris rolled his eyes at his captain's ambivalent drawling voice. "Thank you sir, you're too kind." He muttered sarcastically.
Wesker smirked and began walking towards the front door of the RPD when Chris ran up to him and placed an uncertain hand on the older man's shoulder to grab his attention.
"Uhm, thanks. For rescuing me, I mean." He admitted when he captain had stopped and turned to face him.
The blonde merely nodded and was about to continue on his way when he heard another one of Chris's musings.
"I think you just feel threatened that I could pull off the sunglasses better than you could."
"Threatened, by you? Hah! Never."
Chris was so stunned by the captain's quick reaction that he merely stood in the parking lot with sheer shock spread across his features as Wesker continued into the building. He managed an indignant yell before trotting up to match stride with his captain, all the while arguing over who would indeed look better in sunglasses. Their debate raged on as they trod up the stairs to the S.T.A.R.S. office, both confusing and entertaining the other special forces members who had already arrived. Chris and Wesker arguing over something inane? Just another day at the office.
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Author's Note: I'm really not a fan of the ending, but I really couldn't put any more thought into it (that and I have to start getting ready for work _) Sorry.
So that was actually based on a true story, only I broke down on a highway off-ramp and Wesker certainly didn't save me. I did however talk to the tow truck driver about Resident Evil and video games in general, which made me happy. It would have ended up being a $2000 repair job. F that. RIP Phantom (my truck). I now have a car that could probably fit in the bed of my truck and have already christened it with a custom decal of the Umbrella logo. I are awesome!
In other news, I'm in the process of replaying RE4. I had forgotten how horrifying it was, but still way too entertaining. I strongly advise you to play it through with someone who either hasn't played it or isn't retarded (referencing myself, of course) and shoot the water at dock before you hop in that little boat to fight the giant fish monster thing. Why I discovered this, I have no idea (who the hell in their right mind wastes ammo on water?), but 3 or so shots will give you quite the comical surprise.
As always, please review. Hopefully the next chapter will not have the same wait as this one did _.