Yes, I'm already updating again. Consider this my Christmas - or whatever holiday you may happen to celebrate - present to you. I don't really think you're going to like it and unfortunately I lost the receipt, so there'll be no returning it.
Oh, and don't waste your money on hiring assassins to come after me. Not only have I rented out a secret bunker to keep myself safe in, but I am also a rather accomplished fighter.
So I hope you all are in a seated position and strapped in, because this is going to be one hell of a bumpy ride. And just so you know... there is a major character death in this chapter and there are going to be many more to come.
"Alice! Alice!" The blonde jerked awake at the sound of pounding on her door. Through her groggy haze, she realized that it was Carlos outside the cabin. "Alice!"
She pulled herself from the bed, walking over and opening the door. "What is it, Carlos?" she inquired.
"Wesker's chopper is about to land and there's another team inbound in fifteen minutes with some kind of cargo," the man told her.
Alice's eyes widened. The White Queen had said Wesker would need to make changes to the system before he came. It hadn't even been four hours since she'd come to her cabin. "That's just great," she shook her head. "Okay, just keep it calm. We'll figure this out. Did you let Jill and Claire know?"
"I told Jill, I haven't made it to Claire's cabin yet," Carlos answered.
"Let me go tell her. You and Jill go get ready in case this comes down a fight," Alice advised. She stepped out of her cabin and walked down the hall to the cabin that the redhead was staying in. This time when she stopped, she actually knocked.
A few moments ticked by in silence before she heard a clicking sound as Claire unlocked the door and then opened it up. "Alice?" she asked, obviously surprised.
"Wesker's here," the blonde told her point blank. "Carlos just informed me that his chopper is about to touch down on board, it probably has already."
"Are you… are you sure?" There had to be some sort of mistake. They weren't ready to face Umbrella's Chairman.
"Listen, Claire, about our fight earlier -" Alice started to speak again but was silenced as the redhead held up a hand.
"I said I love you and I swear I still do," Claire told her before leaning in for a quick kiss. "I mean it, no matter what."
Alice couldn't help but smile at that. "I love you, too."
"If Wesker's here, we should head up to the deck and find out what's going on… see what kind of trouble we're in for," the redhead stated as she stepped out of her cabin. Neither of them had much in the way of weapons on them, but hopefully they wouldn't need weapons – and if they did, hopefully Carlos and Jill had them covered.
The two headed up to the deck together, finding that Wesker was just stepping off his osprey as they arrived. There was a small army of elite guards around to keep the Chairman safe. Albert Wesker didn't look like a man that needed protection though.
"Welcome to the Arcadia, Chairman Wesker, it's an honor to have you here, sir," the captain greeted the other man. "I must admit, your arrival on such short notice was quite a surprise. The White Queen won't be able to update quickly enough, even if the updates are put in manually."
"There's no need," Wesker stated, looking over everyone on deck. His attention soon settled on Alice and Claire. "We won't be here that long."
A younger agent jogged across the deck to the group. "Captain, Lieutenant Wells and his company are on their final approach."
"Thank you," the captain said with a nod before returning his attention to Wesker. "The lieutenant is bringing in some civilians, one he's labeled as top priority."
The Chairman mulled it over before nodding. "We'll all wait for him then, and see just what this special cargo is."
Alice reached over and lightly touched Claire's arm to get the redhead's attention, indicating for the other woman to follow her. They went over and joined Jill and Carlos. "Who the hell is Wells bringing in?" Jill asked.
"I don't know, but I have a feeling this is going to get really bad, really fast," Alice said. She couldn't shake the feeling that the dream had been an indication of things to come and she honestly didn't know how to change it. "Be ready for a fight, because I'm pretty sure that's what it will come down to."
"No problem. We'll just get a chopper and you sink the ship, end of story," Carlos replied.
The blonde shook her head. "I don't think it's going to be that simple."
They fell silent as Rain emerged on the deck and went over to speak with the Umbrella Chairman. It was impossible to hear what was said, even for Alice, as two more helicopters approached the ship and touched down.
Peyton was the first one to step off onto the ship, saluting the captain. It was obvious that he was surprised to see Wesker approach him. "Civilian cargo, correct?" the Chairman asked, earning a nod. "I think our special retrieval team should come over for this, considering retrieval is their only priority."
Claire glanced at the other three before leading the way over toward the helicopter. "Chairman Wesker," she greeted as they approached.
The man was much more imposing in person than simply as a hologram. There was something threatening about him, something that was just inherently evil.
"Now… Lieutenant Wells, let's see what this 'top priority' cargo of yours is," the Chairman said, looking back to the helicopter expectantly.
"Bring 'im out," Peyton called inside. They could all hear some struggling from inside and a few moments after, two black suited agents shoved a man out before jumping down after him to pull him back to his feet.
"Chris," Claire gasped before she could stop herself.
Wesker sneered at her reaction. "Well, isn't this just one big family reunion? Chris and Claire Redfield…" Before anyone could react, he had one of his Mark XIX Desert Eagles in hand and fired. The .50 AE round – which was more suitable to defend against a bear attack than to simply shoot someone – caused an obscene amount of damage as it ripped through its intended target.
Alice's eyes widened in absolute horror. "Claire!" She caught the falling woman, gently lowering to the ground with her. Her breath caught and chest constricted painfully as she watched the redhead struggle for air. Their eyes locked and a single look conveyed everything that words didn't have time for: I love you and I'm sorry.
"No, no, no, no, please no," Alice was practically begging as the woman became slack in her arms. It was too late for begging though, Claire was gone – and the rest of them were likely soon to follow.