Chapter Eight
She sat in her chair, straight, tall, and confident. It had only taken a few minutes to do what Wesker had asked thanks to his keycard, and Lisa Trevor felt as if she was top dog. The files had been rather easy to find considering she had been the one to file them, though she wasn't sure how that added up since Wesker had said Angelica didn't have possession of them until After Ada had been transferred. Lisa didn't let the problem worry her too much however, but the main thought was why Wesker needed all of Marcus' files? Was there going to be another switch around in people? She hoped so, and she also hoped abandonment prone, former friend of her would get demoted.
Fiddling with her pencil, Lisa calmly awaited for Wesker to come bursting through his office door, congratulating her on a job well done. Nothing came. Scrunching her eyebrows together as she sighed, Lisa began to rifle through her own email. She hated junk email, and often went through it twice a day. There was a pang of guilt in her core as part of her hoped that Angelica would have given some reaction to the nasty message she had sent last night. But there was none. The inbox was soon clear, and Lisa finally decided to just randomly change the setting on her company profile. She needed to take her avatar picture down anyway; it displayed her and Angelica in their lab coats, covered in slime that had exploded only seconds beforehand. Grimacing at the fond memory, emerald eyes wandered down to her saved contact list. Raising her eyebrows at the icon that referenced blocked users, Lisa frowned. She hadn't blocked anyone…why was there a one icon next to it?
Her fingers moved smoothly across the mouse, double clicking on the tab. The page pulled up, revealing Angelica's email address. Lisa nearly fell out of her chair in shock. She had most certainly NOT blocked Angelica. She couldn't just by mere fact of that was Angelica's business account as well. Reports that she had taken from Angelica's office…they must have been something far worse than just a wrong filing address. Swiveling her chair around to look at the closed inner office door, Trevor's face began to rise in color. There was soft shouting coming from within, and if she was sneaky enough..she could find out what wrongs she had exactly done. Early that morning when she had placed the files on Wesker's desk, she had come back to her own to find that there were several urgent messages from Marcus both electronically and paper wise. Transferring the next call to Wesker himself, Trevor had just now noticed that almost an hour later, they were both discussing things. And now with the raised voices and obvious betrayal in the air…she was going to eavesdrop.
Picking up the receiver, Lisa Trevor held her breath, stealthily listening to the forbidden conversation that was taking place in the other room.
…..
"I've told you James, I have no idea what you are referring to."
Wesker passed a languid hand over his eyes, a smirk ever growing at his lips. The man had no proof of what his was accusing him of, and he knew it. "Don't play coy with me, Albert. I found the camera, and now my files are missing? Are you playing Ozwell's little game so willfully? Like a puppet on a string I would say. I am ashamed of you, boy. I trained you to know better than that." Marcus' voice was laced with anger and exhaustion, the fury he had been spouting for the last hour abating only because of that. His former protégé stayed calm at the accusations, merely sighing heavily every now and again. It was like a chore to deal with this man anymore, and Wesker knew that within the week, James would be one of two things. Primarily being no longer in service. Gruffly clearing his throat, Wesker snorted at the last statement as if amused. " James, I have not installed any cameras in this facility except the security cameras that are no more unordinary than normal. If you broke one of them, then I will be sure to add it into your expense report. As for your files, why don't you take it up with Miss Burrows? She is your lab partner, perhaps she took the copies home with her? I have no knowledge of them and their contents. Why would I take them from you?"
A stretch of silence came after the rational explanation, Marcus not having a retort ready for once. Not many could tell when Wesker was lying, and it was accomplishment if you could. His stony demeanor and emotionless voice was a hard match to read, and even though he did have the very files within his grasp, Marcus could not prove it. Static and a strange clicking noise moved over the line, followed by the low growl of a frustrated man that was cornered by his own situation. Wesker smiled to himself, fingering the marking tab that was on the pilphered folders. Snarling in defeat, Marcus hung up the line, but not before saying his last thought. "You're just like Spencer, Albert. A traitor to a friend who would have stayed by you no matter what the cause. But just know that he will betray you in the end, just like he has everyone else. As for Miss Burrows? She is more the scientist that you will ever be, you prideful, egotistical, son of a bitch. I loved you like a father, and now, you are dead to me. You all are."
Even after the line went dead, Wesker heard the inclination of a breath…
Quickly slamming the phone down in irritation, he stood up from his desk and walked towards the door. Throwing the panel of wood aside, a busy Lisa Trevor looked up from the file cabinet. The cabinet was far from the phone on her desk, the receiver hung sturdily on its cradle. Nodding to himself, the suspicious male began to move past and out of the office. Whirling back to face Trevor, his cold blue eyes seemed red in the glint of light. "Miss Trevor, cancel all my appointments for this afternoon. I have something that needs my attention presently that was not expected." His assistant nodded, moving to her desk once more. With that, he left, striding swiftly towards Birkin's office. They were going to have to initiate Spencer's plan after all….
…
After he had exited the door, Lisa crumpled in her chair. Flicking off the speaker function to the telephone, the woman found herself trembling violently. Picking up the receiver, she dialed Angelica's office line. Praying that Ada would not catch it before her former employer did, Lisa nearly cried when the familiar sound of her friend's voice answered. "Hello?" Sniffling and finally breaking down, Trevor began to cry, clutching the hand held close to her ear in order not to lose grip. "Angelica, I'm so sorry….I've done something terrible."
…
Trent moved to the cage, his eyes seemingly large, even more so because of the intense lenses he had in his glasses. That morning both Angelica and James had asked him to come to the laboratory for an opinion, and what he saw…took his breath away. He had personally never met Skeets the rat before, but Angelica's description of the rodent had been nothing short of normal. But now, before him stood and rat that was at least two feet long. Its eyes were blood red, the fur on its coat shimmering brilliant white under the light of the observation tank. There had once been a whole cage full of similar rodents, but their torn bodies were strewn over the hay laden, cage floor, seemingly partially consumed or just eviscerated. All the brown rats had been done such, but the ones that were white like Skeets, merely cowered in the corner away from their larger sibling.
Adjusting his glasses as he peered closer, Charles Trent seemed absolutely stunned. "You say the virus enhanced his natural physique? But why did he kill the brown mice that were housed with him? Was he particularly an aggressive subject?" Angelica moved forward, a piece of what looked like uncooked bacon in her hand. "Actually he was the runt of the litter. He's always been the submissive one. Marcus is thinking that the reason the others were killed, is because it was a different family type. Not the same DNA as Skeets. So…he viewed it as a threat and killed them." Tossing the piece of meat into the food dispenser, Angelica pushed the little tray through the one sided hole. Skeets immediately began to sniff the air, his large whiskers twitching happily at the familiar scent. Waddling over to the container that held the grain and special treat, the animal began voraciously eating. Trent raised his furry eyebrows at the sight, looking up as a haggard Marcus entered the room. "And his appetite has been phenomenal..it's as if he is eating for ten rats." Marcus cleared his throat after the statement, tapping the glass above the food receptacle. "Angelica, you feeding him meat like this might be another reason as to why he attacked the others. Have you noticed that some of them have been eaten upon?"
Pressing her forehead against the glass dejectedly, Angelica sighed. A little bacon never prompted anybody to attack anyone before..but then again rats were different. It was hard to believe that Skeets had slaughtered nearly half a dozen of his own kind, their bloodied bodies strewn in the hay upturned and grotesque. Was it possible her little treat habit had turned the animal carnivorous when they injected him with the virus? Casting a glance about the morbid sight, Angelica's eyes alighted on a movement around the brown corpses. It was an injured brown rat, its beady eyes upturned in pleading. Angelica placed her palms on the glass as she gasped in horror. Its leg was hanging by skin, dragging along the floor of the cage lifelessly. "Marcus! One survived but…oh god…its leg…we have to get the subject out of there!" Both she and Trent slid on the handling gloves, turning back only to have been too late. Skeets turned on the other animal, his whiskers sticking out defensively as he spat. The mutatedly huge rat danced on his tiptoes, attempting to intimidate the other rodent down. But he did not make the first move…..
The brown rat moved forward ever so slowly, each breath it took in labored and painful. The blood crusted leg seemed to almost twitch on its own, even though severed from all muscle contraction. Stopping a mere foot away from its adversary, the animal screamed. It wasn't a normal scream like a human would have emitted, but one that nothing in nature can compare to. Angelica nearly bit her tongue at the noise, its sheer fright echoing in the laboratory's confines.
The muscles began to expand beneath the tattered flesh of the rat, the rib bones snapping and cracking. Soon enough a tumor that looked nearly as large as the rodent itself burst from its bowels, wrenching free blood and fluid from the hole. A screeching, grating noise was still coming from the tortured rodent, its brown fur now a mass of blood and puss. The disconnected leg sprouted as it rejoined its body, a sharp claw amassing from the tiny foot. The pulsing creature walked forward like a scrabbling crab, the tumor having now split the forehead of its face into a useless guidance. The eyes turned purple with backed up blood, swelling until one burst altogether.
Marcus began to yell, bring back the minds of his aghast colleagues. "Quickly, gas the tank! We cannot risk this getting out and infecting ourselves!" Angelica froze, watching her favorite pet as it joined its brethren in the corner for safety. The group hissed and spat at the being of strangeness that was lumbering their direction. Trent had joined in, repeating what Marcus had said, but to Angelica, it sounded as if their voices were underwater. Skeets looked up pitifully, his pink nose twitching in fear as the eminent danger was drawing closer.
Angelica felt herself be slammed to the side, her hip connecting with the wall to brace the impact. Charles had pushed her out of the way, his large hand slamming on the button that released the toxic gas that would wipe out all of the danger. Gasping in shock as she held her head in her hands, the image of the frightened, red eyes burned into her mind. She should have separated him from the bunch. She should have made sure that they had watched the other rats better. She should have done…something…..
Aquatic fluid poured from her cerulean eyes as she looked up. The gas had done its work, sending all creatures, including the unnatural, to their peaceful demise. Skeets looked serene as he laid on his spot, dark eyes closed in eternal slumber. She had lost her only friend left….
Sighing in relief as he looked over to Marcus, Trent helped the broken Angelica to her feet. "I'll leave you to the cleanup, James. I think Angelica needs to recuperate." Marcus nodded, trying to hide his elation behind a stiff nod. As the pair moved from the room and up the ascending steps, the man practically flew towards the computer terminal. Nothing had shown applicable until now, and a further study of Skeets' remains may prove that he would have the prototype to his virus…and would prove that he had leverage… Placing on safety gloves and eye mask, the doctor swiveled around in his chair with a scalpel. As soon as the gas was filtered out…he would have his answer…
…
"I can't believe that just happened."
Charles looked at his younger colleague, his eyes still wide from the horrifying experience. Angelica settled into her desk chair coldly, her own eyes distant and not meeting his. She hadn't said a word the entire walk there, and the bags around her eyes seemed to have darkened. The woman was calm however, her fingers tapping over her computer keyboard in rhythmic motions. Trent noted the lack of conversation, his curiosity finally getting the better of his tact. "How many times has something like that happened, Angelica…" Sighing as she looked up from her work, Angelica finally returned his gaze with an icy, emotionless stare. Leaning back in her chair, she steepled her fingers in thought. "A few times, but all were instantaneous…and ended in death seconds later. I've never seen it passed on by a bite though…. That brown…thing had been bitten by Skeets almost….two hours before the transformation. We had not even registered life signs….We thought it was dead…" Exhaustion laced at her voice, topaz eyes slightly glazed over with the mental strain. She had grown to like Skeets….even love the overly affectionate rodent. On lonely nights in the lab, she had often put him on her shoulder. He had stayed, occasionally switching shoulders as she moved about in toil, nosing her ear whenever he wished to be put back in his cage. Angelica knew she would miss that…she would miss her furry companion…
Trent looked at her from over the rim of his glasses, clearing his throat and pausing in wary approach. "And how much time are you spending down there? You don't look good, Angel." Swiveling her chair to the side and back again, Angelica frowned at the question. In truth, it had been too much. Marcus was prone to his off days, but when he had an idea..they both would stay up possibly two days straight in order to test it. Shaking her head as she passed her fingertips through long, blonde strands, Angelica looked at the clock. "This makes hour number twenty six I've been up straight. But it's all for something good, right? Everything comes with a price." Blinking slowly as he studied her, Trent scoffed under his breath and he adjusted his specs. She had grown up so fast…yet as a friend, he felt the need to protect her has his adoptive daughter. Tsking at her, the man looked at Angelica firmly. "True, my dear. But if your are not careful, every scientist becomes the experiment. Don't shut yourself away like James has; don't let this job take your humanity." Snickering at her former mentor, the woman stood up from her chair. Placing a hand on his shoulder as she moved closer, Angelica flashed the familiar, bright smile. "Of course not. Not with you around to keep me grounded. Sometimes it feels like you're the only friend I have in this place… Lisa somehow has got it in her head that I hate her or what not… She isn't speaking to me anymore… It's been….lonely, that's for certain. Not a good thing to be a few days before Christmas…"
Trent's eyebrows shot up in surprise, almost to his thinning hairline. "What happened? You both were inseparable for the longest time.." Shrugging as she moved for the door, Angelica frowned, her smile disappearing once more. "I have no idea…it's like someone…."
The sharp ring of her personal telephone sprang from the desk, causing both conversing people to jump. Leaning close to the doorway, Angelica shouted to Ada, who was about to pick up the call. "I've got it…you can…go back to whatever you were doing…" The young, Asian female sneered in perceptively, returning to filing her long, ruby fingernails. Angelica hopped over to the desk, lightly trapping the receiver with two fingers. Pressing the phone to her ear, the weariness was forced out of her voice as she answered. "Dr. Angelica Burrows office, this is ."
A sob broke through in the static, causing Angelica to furrow her neat eyebrows together. A woman was sniffling and crying, a woman that she knew very well. Lisa Trevor's voice quavered and broke as she spoke over the line. "Angelica, I'm so sorry. I've done something terrible….."