As instructed by her brother, Claire had boarded the first train traveling to Los Vegas at the train station not far from her the University of Colorado. She had plenty of time to pack a few things into a brown duffel bag for the trip though she doubted that she would need any extra clothes.

The two hour train ride would take her across the southern section of Utah and she would get off at Harrington Station in southern Nevada not far from Las Vegas. Once there, she would meet up with Chris and Jill.

She somehow mustered the courage to step onto the train and sit down and once the train started moving, she knew there was no turning back.

As she sat nervously in her train seat surrounded by many passengers, Claire passed most of the time reading a book but her mind was still half-focused on the mission and the possibility of seeing Steve…..or what used to be Steve.

The very thought of encountering Steve as a monster made her tremble and the fact that the only way to be sure if there was any humanity left in him was coming right at her made her feel even more uneasy.

Judging from what Chris said, a former RPD officer named Brian Othic had been stationed in Las Vegas and had heard word of people disappearing in the desert and one witness claiming the sight of strange monsters as well. Another witness had claimed to see a young man with red hair wandering the desert at night just a few days ago.

Claire put two and two together and knew the young man had to be Steve. Plus this could be the opportunity Chris had been waiting for to take down Wesker and end his reign of terror once and for all.

She had spent so much time thinking about it she nearly missed her stop at Harrington Station. She hurried off the train and stepped onto the cement platform established on the outskirts of Southern Las Vegas. The scanned her surroundings and saw mountains to the East and vast desert to the West.

"This is it," She muttered to herself, a hint of eagerness in her voice.

Hoisting her bag over her shoulder, Claire descended the plated stairs and stepped down onto the ground. She scanned the area around her and saw Chris and Jill waiting patiently for her near an intersection not far down the road adjacent to the train station.

Breathing in briskly, she walked down the sidewalk and called out to them.

"Hey guys."

Chris and Jill turned and they both smiled at Claire. Without a word, Chris approached Clair and clapped her on the shoulder.

"I'm so glad you came," Chris said proudly.

"I had to," Claire said simply. "There was no way I could abandon him."

Chris nodded slowly before checking his watch.

"Its 2:30," He said. "Barry and Rebecca should be here soon."

"What about Leon?" Claire asked curiously. "You said he and Brian would meet up with us too."

"Their going to meet us on the highway in the desert to the south," Chris replied. "I figured it would be better not to travel as one group to be on the safe side."

Claire nodded but Jill smirked and put her hands on her hips.

"I think your being a little suspicious, Chris," Jill said. "Do you really think Wesker has spies set all over Nevada?"

Chris looked at Jill. His face was humorless.

"What would you rather have me do?" Chris asked sternly. "Grab a megaphone and start shouting Wesker's name?"

Jill sighed briskly and shook her head. She could tell that Chris had really started to lose his sense of humor over the past few months. Claire felt a little tensed by her brothers seriousness but she understood only too well that he wanted the operation to go as smoothly as possible.

The three of them waited at the corner of the block not far from the train station until a black 1996 Ford Explorer swerved around the corner down the street and pulled up in front of them. The drivers side window rolled down and Barry Burton smiled as his comrades while Rebbecca Chambers sitting in the backseat with a laptop and waved at the others.

"Good to see you guys," Barry said smiling.

"Glad to see you two could make it," Chris said with a half-smile. "We'd better get going. We don't want to keep Leon and Brian waiting for too long."

Chris approached the trunk of the car to set his bag inside. There were other bags and some boxes in the trunk, apparently bearing supplies. Chris climbed into the passenger seat while Claire and Jill sat in the back with Rebbecca as Barry drove down the road and took a left turn onto a busy highway leading to the south, bound of Leon and Brians location.

Leon sat in the passenger seat of an olive green, 1997 Jeep Wrangler parked on the side of a side road linking off from the highway. It was inactive and quiet outside and few cars passed by since it was further into the desert. Brian Othic sat next to Leon behind the wheel, reading a newspaper. High above in the clear blue sky, the sun shined burning 105 degree light onto the jeep. Fortunately Brian kept the air conditioner on full blast, for which they had plenty of gasoline to spare and still drive to their destination once Chris and the others arrived.

Leon was actually bitter at first. The second he arrived in Nevada from an hour long train ride, the blistering heat had made Los Angeles look like Antarctica and Brian had run late to pick him up. The heat had begun to take a toll on him, his face and short sleeved shirt were soaked with sweat. Additionally, he didn't have much to keep himself occupied until the others showed up.

"I should have brought a book with me," Leon muttered with his arms crossed impatiently. "I didn't think it would take this long."

Brian chuckled and looked at Leon.

"Kid you gotta learn patience. We've been waiting out here for only twenty minutes," Brian said.

Leon didn't respond. We just kept himself busy with wondering what was waiting out in the desert for him and his comrades. He was too eager to wait for too long but he couldn't help being such an upstart.

But it all ended when he spotted a black SUV driving up the road in his side view mirror and he breathed out in relief.

"Finally," Leon said. "There they are."

Brian folded up his newspaper and threw it into the back seat as he stepped out of the jeep with Leon following him.

The SUV carrying the rest of the team pulled over behind the jeep and the occupants all stepped out. Chris approached Brian and Leon while Barry and Rebbecca unloaded the supplies from the trunk. Claire stuck close to the SUV as she surveyed the long stretch of desert.

"You guys are late," Leon said to Chris.

"Better late than never," Chris replied before briefly scanning his surroundings.

The desert around the team was empty and desolate save a few sparse patches of dried, pale brown plants and cacti rising up from the rough, hot sand. Toe the East stood rocky, barren mountains.

Brian smirked at Chris before turning his attention to Barry as he unloaded a large, green crate, opened it and fished out a Colt M4A1 Carbine, which he checked and loaded carefully.

"Don't get too eager, Barry," Brian said jokingly.

Barry ignored the light hearted Brian as he prepared the rest of the teams armament as they assembled around the trunk to arm themselves.

Barry was naturally the backbone of the team and was responsible for supplying weapons. He had collected two Cold M4A1 carbines for himself and Chris and three MP5A3's for the girls. Brian had brought his own weapon personally: A Mossberg 500 pump actions shotgun. Additionally, each person carried a Beretta M92F handgun, a walkie-talkie to stay in touch and a few bottles of water to stay hydrated in the scorching desert. They had plenty of ammunition though it was impossible to tell if they would need all of it but judging from Weskers tendency to strike when least expected with everything he had, they could be in for the long haul.

Claire hadn't held a gun for a long time but for some reason, she felt safer as she loaded it carefully and held it in her hands. She felt as if now nothing could harm her.

After gearing up and checking their equipment, Chris cocked his rifle and looked out at the patch of desert where the reports had been placed. The desert stretched out for a few hundred yards and stopped at the foot of a large hill that stretched for at least a mile in both directions.

Chris turned to the others and whistled, catching their attention.

"All right, guys," He said. "This is it. Stay together, keep your eyes sharp for anything suspicious and don't wander off. Once we secure the area around the hill we fall back to the cars and move on to the next spot. Any questions?"

There were none. The mission was clear and the team was eager to get moving.

"Let's go," Chris said as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and head towards the hill.

They traveled in single file with Chris leading, followed by Barry, Jill, Brian, Claire and Rebbecca.

Unbeknown by the team, Wesker was watching them in his quarters. The man sat calmly in his seat, his eyes glued to a monitor hooked to one of the many hidden cameras around the area surrounding the hill to the West.

"That's it, Chris," Wesker said smugly. "Come to me."

Smiling, Wesker rotated his chair and looked over at Dr. Murphy who stood before his desk, awaiting orders.

"Dr. Murphy," Wesker said simply. "It is time. Release the Stingers."

Dr. Murphy nodded slowly and turned about, leaving Weskers quarters to carry out her task, leaving the madman alone to potentially revel in the death of his enemies. Soon they would be stung and torn apart by his creations and once his enemies were out of the picture, nothing would stand in his way. But if by some fluke the Stingers failed, then he would be more than happy to let Subject C-2 finish the job.