Disclaimer: IOOMOC

J.L.: I'm still fogging from waking up. (added message at 5/14/07-Sorry it took a while to get this posted, but I wanted to finish Cold but hot first before continueing on.)

Minutes before nightfall

Chris has got to be the most boring son of a bitch when it comes to guns...For me, it's shit-a zombie, shoot it in the head, shoot it in the head! For him, it's blam, continue walking. Following his ass for several hours...augh...screw this, he can take care of himself. I straightened up from my crouch behind a crate and looked over to see Chris lighting a cigarette up. He hasn't even quit that habit. I looked to the alleyway opening next to me, it was clear. There was a short wall blocking the back, but it would be an easy jump. Good, go. I crouch-ran into it, then took off running and jumped, clasping onto the edge of the wall. Pulling myself up, I peered over and saw that it was clear. Go. I pulled myself up and over and dropped to the ground, pulling my gun free. Shit...the smell of shit. Running down the alleyway, there was a fork so I took the left one, a road running parallel to the one Chris was currently romping around in. I'll remain close by, to save his ass. Better put the silencer on-shit. Left that at my house. Way to go Jilly. There was a sack of potatoes laying against a house, so I snatched up a couple and slammed one onto the end of my gun. Always more than one solution to every problem. I kept running it, the heat of the desert starting to make me sweat. A rotter ran into view, and started running towards me. I raised my gun, the laser sight ineffective from the potato, and blasted a point blank shot into it's ugly head. The potato work well, silencing the shot at the cost of potato chunks splattering all over. I smiled as I placed another potato on and kept running, hoping to get out of Chris's earshot enough. Night was drawing fast, the sun already having sunk behind the buildings of the village. Several of the undead ran out, faster and more viciously. The hell, they shouldn't be running this fast! I blasted them and threw the remaining potato at them, hoping to distract them. It didn't work so I continued running, and ran past them. Shit shit shit! Reload while you run-get to a safe house. Safe house! Wong told me there was a couple of fortified buildings around here used for underground government plans, but when whatever hit this place, they went out and tried to wage war on the undead. Safe houses are empty now. There's one near by too.

"Fuck me harder if you can." I muttered as I smiled, dashing towards the coordinates of where the safe house was, there being a backdoor in my alley and a front door in Chris's, both doors being on second level. I spotted it and leaped for the ladder leading up to it. Aiming downwards, I blasted a few rotters down and climbed up, pulling the ladder up with me. Made it. The door was behind me, so I laid the ladder down for later use of access to the next roof and entered the safe house. I buzzed in my communicator.

"Yes Valentine?" Wong's voice cut clear through the empty air.

"I'm in the first safe house. Is there an ammo crate near by? I made the misfortune of deciding that my baretta was the only thing I would need." I asked as I took my baretta apart and cleaned it of the potato gunk.

"Yes, should be right outside the front door. You didn't see it?" Wong asked.

"No, I came in from the backdoor." I answered. There was a click and the front door opened, my baretta still in pieces. I froze. "Compagnie." I spoke and the communication line was ended.

"Turn around slowly." Chris's voice commanded and I follow, placing my hands in the air, the still of fear controling my movements. Get him to put the gun down, then you can dis-this is Chris though-disable the gun or he's going-It's Chris-to shoot you. He kept his handgun trained at my head.

"Bonjour." I weakly voiced out, and felt like kicking myself for doing so. Chris lowered his gun and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"My name is Chris." He introduced, not making any motion to put the gun away.

"Redfield." I replied, dropping my desguise. Chrsi raised the gun again, but he wouldn't shoot until he found out how I knew his name. Good, you've turned this around on him.

"Do you speak english?" He demanded.

"Of course I do." I answered.

"How do you know my last name?" He asked, those trained hands holding the gun steady at my head. I raised my hands back and untied my hair, letting the chin length brunette locks fall. I then removed my jacket and took off the kevlar vest.

"It's been too long Chris." I spoke softly as I set them aside, feeling much better from the relief of the heat building up inside my clothes. Chris didn't moving his gun. "Valentine, Jill? Old beat from Raccoon City?" I spoke. The gun was still trained.

"She has blue eyes." He spoke. And this is the part I have to explain and hope he believes me...Barry and Carlos refused to tell anyone about my infection for fear they would turn against me.

"Had. While you were romping around in Europe, there was an incident in Raccoon city of the Umbrella kind. A B.O.W. named Nemesis killed Brad Vickers and infected me. Lucky for me, the hospital was synthesizing a vaccine for the virus. Carlos Olivera grabbed the only vial and cured the virus, it's only after effect being a change in eye color and quick healing." I said, his gun still locked on to my head. "Damn it Chris, put your fucking gun down, I haven't all day to stand around and be held hostage!" I yelled at him and he lowered the weapon. I placed my hands on the counter and lifted myself up to sit on it.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm freelance now Chris, I go where I want." I answered and his jaw clentched. Two years can change a man.

"What are you doing here Jill?" He demanded. I furrowed my eyebrows at him.

"I came here looking for you asshole." I answered, tension building thick into the air.

"Go back." He said, and holstered his gun, walking over to the sink where water was dripping from the facet.

"No. I'm freelance Chris, you cannot order me around like some lackey." I spouted. His hand reached over and grabbed the collar of my shirt.

"Go home now Jill." He commanded, anger radiating from him. Without thinking, I grabbed his wrist and snapped it free of my shirt, then ran out the front door into the pitch black darkness. The caws of hundreds of hungry birds echoed at once, fear shooting trough me. Forest was pecked to death by crows...a murder of crows. Shit! A strong arm wrapped around me and pulled me back inside the safe house. I was slammed against a wall and pinned there.

"Let go Christopher." I spoke out angrily in defiance of the situation.

"You will stay here for the night, then you will take your ass back to where ever you came from in the morning." He said in a final tone. A tear threatened to overtake me, but I wouldn't allow it.

"I'll stay for the night, but I'm not going home in the morning. There are other things for me here." I spoke and he released me. I walked back over to where my baretta still sat in pieces and put it back together, reholstering it. Grabbing my communicator, I headed towards another door, one leading to a bedroom. I opened it to find a rotter shambling inside, and in sheer anger, kicked it's head right off it's shoulders. The body slumped to the ground and I turned back to the main room, my fists clentched.

"What is it now?" Chris asked, not looking up from his gun cleaning.

"The fucking dead should just stay fucking dead." I spoke and found the couch, laying myself on it and closing my eyes for the rest I would need.

The morning

I awoke before Chris did, his snores confirming that from the room in which the rotter had been in. Not even bothering to ask how in the hell he can sleep with something dead and decaying in the same room. I grabbed my kevlar vest and put it on, but decided to leave the jacket, it would only overheat me. Whatever you two had before, it's over. Raccoon's gone, Forest and Joseph are gone, everything from the past is dead. I walked over to where the room was, the door wide open. There was a blanket laid on the corpse of the undead, and Chris was out on the sunken in bed. I leaned against the door frame and watched Chris sleep for a while. My communicator buzzed, awaking me from my trance and I left the safe house, headed for the ammo crate outside. Once I stocked up on rounds for my baretta and a brand new .357 magnum with rounds for it, I used the ladder to get to the next rooftop. Once there, I kicked the ladder to the ground, not wanting Chris to follow me.

"Valentine here." I spoke into the communicator as I walked on the rooftop and judged the distance to the next one. I'll travel by rooftop to ensure that I don't run into him again.

"What company?" Wong asked.

"Him. Where's this contact of yours?" I asked.

"Are you alone?" Wong asked.

"Yes. He's still sleeping." I answered. The was a brief silence. "Nothing happened." I added.

"Head north. There's an encampment of survivors in your way, you'll have to sneak past them. Behind the encampment a ways is completely blocked, with a safe house nearby. The entrance to the sewers is close by the safe house. Take the sewers until you reach the end and get out of there. The rest of the village is where you'll exit at. Search around for him in there." Wong instructed.

"Good. I'll be ready for a pick up after I find this contact of yours." I said and ended the communication. The rooftops are close by, and since the running zombies are on the ground, I'll stay rooftop and get to the contact before Chris does. I took off running for the next rooftop and leapt to it. Just have to get to the next safe house before I overheat.

J.L.: So, confliction of interest, and drama. Anyways, Jill is working for Ada Wong. Jill doesn't know Leon all that well, and since she's at odds with that crew, she probably won't tell him about Wong, therefore, he'll still be surprised to see her alive in Resident Evil 4, which is after this by four years-ish.