Chapter Seven

It was like a living nightmare.

She was out of coffee…

Frantic for her caffeine fix, Lisa Trevor practically ran down the hall towards the staff mini kitchen. Her heels clicked obnoxiously loud against the polished wood floors, only muted by the vinyl tile that she tread on in the kitchen. Searching the cabinets speedily, the woman finally sighed in relief as the tiny can of savior beans were found behind the plastic spoons. Hefting the tin town, Lisa popped the lid, and grabbed a paper towel off the rack. The coffee maker looked brand new, and not even used. What was wrong with people? Didn't people like coffee anymore? Shaking her head as she placed the paper towel in as a makeshift filter, Trevor hunted for the disposable cups. After locating an unopened pack, she filled the device with enough water to make a rather indulgent pot of coffee. Setting the timer, the woman watched eagerly as the machine did its work.

"I wondered when someone would use that thing.." The voice nearly made the woman shriek, but instead she flushed a deep ruby when she saw who it was. It was late in the evening, and evidently he had been off the facility, his leather jacket only now melting the specs of snow that had clung to the shoulders. Taking a step back towards the counter, Lisa swallowed hard. Despite the fact she had been working for him for almost a month and a half now, they rarely saw each other because of scheduling. Daring to raise her emerald eyes up at him, she was shocked to see that he was smiling. Or was he smirking at her reaction? She could never tell…

"I didn't know it was here til tonight. Uh..would..you like some..coffee? "A delightful chuckle came from his lips, making the woman before him blush even more, much to her dismay. Nodding as he moved around her, Wesker retrieved a plastic cup from the package she had left out. "Why not? It couldn't make me stay awake even if I tried this evening. And I didn't stop by the Raccoon coffee shop on the way out…" Was he actually…chitchatting with her? The coffee timer was nearly done, it's rich, sienna liquid filling the small cubicle with the delicious scent of roasted beans. "Uh, wow. I haven't been into the town yet. Is it nice?" Nodding as he waited for the now done drink maker to cool, Wesker shrugged lightly. "Tolerable. It isn't big, and it isn't small. The people are relatively cordial. Do we have any sugar?" Taking herself out of the trance of watching him speak, Lisa realized she had been holding the coffee pot a few millimeters away from his cup, but not pouring. Nodding, the woman finished the job of pouring and replaced the container. Reaching up into the cabinet again, her height betrayed her. Quietly cursing a short stature, the woman pointed the shelf second from the top.

"Perhaps someone with longer legs could grab it?" Now that was a smirk playing across his mouth…

Wesker reached easily above her head, retrieving the sugar canister. Spooning some of the crystalline sweet into his own cup, he gave his assistant a sidelong glance. She was still as red as a fresh cherry in spring. He had known that this particular woman had enjoyed his presence for quite some time. Whenever he and William had made their visits to the Arctic Facility, she had ducked into an empty office just to avoid being seen one time. Oh, he did love to torture her, but as of late, he hadn't had the time. Swirling his coffee ever so slowly, his azure orbs flicked upwards at her over the rim. "So, have you seen your former employer as of late?" Lisa seemed taken aback by the question, her lips twitching. Cocking her head to the side, auburn hair fell over her shoulder. "Well..I did help her with the tree last week, but that was on my day off…."

His control wasn't slipping, merely morphing into a convoluted way of manipulating. His stared at Lisa, his icy eyes intensely scrutinizing her every move. "So, she hasn't told you anything about the work Marcus has her doing? Odd, I always thought you two were closer than just coworkers." The comment hit hard, the woman looking about to cry. Her eyes became glassy at the realization that…it was true. Outside of a 'hello, how are you?' email every now and then, the other day was the only time she had truly spent with her friend. And that made her angry…

Why had Angelica forgotten her after so long? Biting down on her lip, Lisa shook her head. "I suppose that there isn't much time for a social life anymore?" Her voice quavered, sounding unsure in its own excuse. Wesker continued to watch over his swirling cup, enjoying the sight of a friendship unraveling.

"Don't make excuses for her. William and I have even been halfway across the world from each other and could still manage to keep in relative contact." Trevor shifted uncomfortably, picking at her finger nails. Looking down at her shoes, the woman heaved out a dejected sigh. "I suppose fair-weather friends are the hardest to admit.." He had her…

Clearing his throat, Wesker set down the steaming cup of coffee. "Then could you do me a favor? Since you don't consider the woman in question a close friend? There is some paperwork of mine that she confiscated from Ada before the switching of assistants. Shame she didn't fight for you harder..you are a good worker. But as I was saying, it deals of a virus strain type T. It's in the wrong department and I would like it back where it belongs. Marcus was supposed to forward it to me, but …I do believe the man is suffering from a forgetful nature." Lisa slowly nodded, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. Was Wesker actually asking her to do something other than take messages and file reports? Did he really trust her that much? Anger tainted her spirit. When Charles had come back that day that Angelica had stormed off with her contract, he had assured her that Angelica was making a case to help. But later that day she was informed that Angelica had in fact wanted her to be switched off her service… The news had devastated Lisa, who even dropped a few pounds from refusing to eat for a couple days. Angelica never came to check on her…

A furious fist clenched at her side, emerald eyes fiery and resolute. "I'll see what I can do tonight. You'll get your information back, Sir." A warm hand placed on her cheek, sending a shockwave of unfamiliar sensations through the woman's skin. Wesker's face had moved close to her, his scent cloying and tingling at her nostrils. "You are a true jewel, dear heart. I thank you for your loyalty. It will be rewarded." Lisa closed her eyes, his breath cascading down her like a warming embrace. Her body was trembling gently, the unprofessional side of her employer beginning to move things in motion that she had wanted for some time…

Then…he was gone.

Opening her eyes, the room was revealed to be empty. Looking down at the steaming cup of untouched coffee, Lisa watched the steam curl into the air. Was he playing her emotions? Was Angelica even caring about her… Even if he was playing her, Lisa Trevor didn't care. She wanted to remind someone who had used her and claimed to be a friend that she could get along without her. She wanted payback.

…..

It wasn't working, it was not…working. Why wasn't it working? Rifling through papers and files, James Marcus' blood shot eyes were narrowed and piercing. A tank of the swirling leeches was set up on his deck, the only source of calm he had during his ever frustrating quest. His entire career was on this…if he could not make the virus acceptable, BioHaz would not buy his work…

Smashing an empty beaker against the wall in anger, the disturbed scientist began to heave. The source of the emotional response was the readout printing off the computer. Wave frequencies were indicating a tracer on his machine…a bug. Typing furiously on the keyboard, Marcus ran a sleeper virus on his own computer, forcing whatever piggy back file to retreat back into its origin.

Slamming a fist down upon his wooden desk, James stood. His eyes were wildly searching around the room, scanning, prying. Slanting them into slits, the man boosted himself up on his chair like a step ladder. There was something dark…attached to the rim of the ventilation shaft. Straining to reach up, the paranoid man had his fears realized when he hand closed over the small device. Pulling back the object, Marcus crushed it was soon as it was identified..

A small, nano sized….camera. He was being watched…

…..

Ozwell Spencer snarled as the camera feed was snapped up from him. Black static filtered through on the mini cube of view console. The rest remained intact. Sighing as he took a sip from his alcohol filled glass; the devious CEO merely moved the camera angle. If he had a conscience, he would feel bad for his former colleague and friend. But oddly enough, he felt this large game of cat and mouse amusing, stimulating even. Passing a hand back into his greased, graying locks, Ozwell chuckled darkly. If knowledge was power…than he was a god. And an unforgiving god he was….

….

Spooning some microwave macaroni into a happily waiting, open mouth, Angelica slowly chewed. It was almost three in the morning, and still she was filling out report paperwork. God, someone could go stir crazy if it had been a person of less constitution. But there she was handwriting in corrections that Marcus was supposed to have done earlier that day. What had confused her earlier was a lack of funds being received for the end of the holiday quarter…it was as if someone had rerouted everything into a different account. Despite the fact of being computer savvy, Angelica could still not understand what had happened. After about an hour of trying to pull the old income files, she gave up, and added it into a fluke that the older system was going through. She'd go look for the paper copies tomorrow.

Idly checking her email, the tired woman yawned. Her chin was propped up on her hand, azure eyes barely keeping themselves open as they flickered across the page. Clicking over to her most recent messages, the woman blinked in surprise. An email from Lisa had just been sent about half an hour ago. The title seemed cryptic, now forcing the sleepy female to drag herself into a more awake state. "I have a few things to say to you." Blues eyes stared wide as Angelica read the header, her full lips pressing together in apprehension as she opened the message.

'Angelica,

I don't even know where to start. We have known each other for quite some time now, and I had come to believe we were friends. But, I digress. It seems that friendship was only extended when I had some value to you. I don't appreciate being used like that, or deceived about situations of my employment..

I will be retrieving the files from your office tonight. They were not dually yours to process and I have been instructed to do so. Thank you for your time, but if you wish to contact me on anything outside of business dealings, I will graciously refuse to answer.

Good evening,

L. Trevor.'

Angelica's eyes were blazing, her cerulean orbs flaming with an unbridled fury. What the hell had happened? Why the hell did the woman think she could get into her office? She hadn't taken any files. What had led her closest friend to believe this? She had been dutiful to her comrade, sending weekly messages and leaving notes at the office asking her to join for a lunch. It had been LISA who had been ignoring any extent of human contact for the last few months. She had just seen the woman last week when they were decorating the tree for Christ's sake! And if Lisa could think she could get into her office without triggering the alarm, she was dead wrong. Slamming her fists down on the keyboard, letters flew off the piece of machinery and scattered across the floor. She gave up; tossing the flimsy chair she sat upon to the side, Angelica stormed to her bed. Crawling under the covers as she mumble cursed all the way through, the mentally exaughsted woman growled as she shut off the light. Lisa was right when she had said things might change. And they had…for the worse.