Albert Wesker sat at his desk, his laptop the only light source in the dark office. His hands clicked away, his fingers flying, trying further complete his research. It had been days since he had any progress and it was starting to infuriate him. His leather glove tightened as he knew it was almost impossible to further it anymore without any other form of a source. This is a damn mess. As if the universe realized his need of something, his phone buzzed. An alert appeared on the screen. 'Movement detected. Unknown source blocking connection.' Wesker sighed. Yet again, Claire had crossed the boundary in which he had set for her. Whether or not he should turn off these notifications was up to question recently, as it seemed she never had an off day. However, it was the first time an unknown source had disabled the tracker. Quickly locating her last position, he did a scour of the area and came across a facility that was owned by a private pharmaceutical company he hadn't heard of before. Pharm-tech Corporation.
It took less than ten minutes to bring up all information about them and their research. Scanning across the list of top researchers, his amber eyes came to rest upon the name of a person who he hasn't heard any information from in a long time. Sgt. Edwin Rodgers.
Now this was something looking into. Further looking into a list of employees and workers for the branch he came across the second name he didn't expect to see on the company's payroll, or if he did, he would've been informed the second she had started receiving checks. Ada Wong.
He soon he had 'found' files concerning the research being conducted. It read, 'Destabilizing Mutating Viruses' followed by 'T-Veronica Mutations'. He didn't need to finish the file before he was out the door and on his way to the facility.
The two lone figures crept into the long white hall no problem, easily maneuvering the hallway without being detected. Or so they thought. The only thing watching was the woman who stood in the surveillance room, a red-lipped smirk growing on her face. It's almost show time. She waited until the pair walked into one of the testing grounds before she called her partner, ready to start the first step of her plan. Oh how revenge would be sweet.
Claire and Leon had easily made their way down the first hallway without being detected. After ten minutes, they reached a door that was labeled 'Labs'.
"Alright. This looks like it. We go in. Check it out. And come back." Leon looked at Claire and she nodded, showing that she knew that it'd be best if no shoot-outs happened.
"Chris. We found what looks like to be the labs. We're going in." Claire radioed Chris before grabbing the door handle and turned it. The room was dark at first but a few seconds in the lights flickered on, momentarily causing spots to cover her vision.
The fluorescent lights that hung above swung slightly as they walked into a big empty room with large doors lining the wall on the other side of the room. The door behind them made a loud thud and Leon immediately when to check the handle. He tried turning it but it wouldn't budge.
"Shit. Chris. Claire and I are trapped. We went straight down the corridor. Past the door labeled 'Labs'."
"Got it. We're on our way."
He un holstered his gun as he sent out the transmission and looked at Claire, who was walking towards one corner of the room. He then realized the cameras in each corner of the room.
"Claire. Get away from those." He began moving towards her but stopped, when she instantly turned, her eyes wide and her feet slowly backing up towards Leon.
"Did you hear that?" She took both her Berettas and kept her eye in the doors.
"I've got a bad feeling about this, Red."
Slowly, the doors began to lift up. Claire smelled them before the doors were fully open. A cluster of stumpy green creature began rushing out, spreading to all different formations of attack. Leon was the first to fire his gun, the Hunters spreading around the pair as they stood back to back. The sound of gunshots was deafening and soon dead creatures and bullet casings covered the floor. However, it wasn't over. Claire heard the loud thumps before Leon did, which was how she managed to push him out of the way as the Tyrant rammed into the wall.
"Shit. Leon get up!" He looked up and found the Tyrant reaching out to him. He tried moving away but the giant clawed hand had him by the neck. It was too long before Claire had mounted the creature and stabbed her long knives into to neck and head. It instantly dropped Leon but, turned his full attention on her. He grabbed her by the arms and flung her into the wall, causing large dent in it. She quickly picked herself up braced herself for the next attack. She jumped just in time to land on top of the Tyrant and unloaded an entire clip into its head. It immediately slumped and she pushed herself up and ran to Leon.
"You good, partner?" She held her hand out for him and he took it.
"Yeah. Let's just hope that was the last of it." The answer to that question was answered by a chuckle through a set of speakers neither of them had noticed before.
"Not quite yet. I do hope you're enjoying your time here though." The pair instantly recognized the condescending voice speaking to them. Ada.
Once again the doors opened. This time a group of soldiers rushed out before either of them reacting as fast as they should've. They seemed tense and some we shaking as they aimed the weapon at them. They know what I am. Soon they were surrounded as the pair stood back to back.
Claire expected a fight but soon realized that she was wrong as gas filled the room and the gas-masked soldiers tossed aside their weapons and got slowly closer to her.
"Leon! Mask!" He however already had it on, Claire wasn't so lucky.
She looked back in front of her and readied her gun but found that she didn't have the strength to lift it. Confused with the situation, Claire tried to call out for Leon but found that hands were now tearing her away, one covering her mouth. She tried fighting and kicking but it was no use. Whatever was in the air, made her strength reduce back to less than before she got infected. Leon who hadn't noticed her being grabbed, turned around only to be knocked and pinned down by the guards. He watched as Claire struggled to break free. Her hair wild as she tried to fight but it was useless. "Leon!" She cried out as she saw one of the guards pull out a gun and aimed it directly between his two eyes. He didn't care about the gun, he watched in slow motion as he saw Claire being dragged away, her blue eyes turning red, but her strength definitely not showing any improvement. Claire shoved a hand out reaching for him, but he knew it was useless. He had failed her again.
Leon stared into the barrel and wondered if this was really how his life would end. With him failing Claire by letting her be taken away and by being shot while down. The answer was no, just as the front door open and Jill and Chris came in, guns blazing. The guards were caught off guard and many were taken out quickly. Seeing the distraction, Leon grabbed his own gun and began to fire from where he was. The guards were all down when Leon came to the realization that Claire was no longer in the room and the doors had been shut. He got to his feet, and ran to the doors.
"Goddammit!" Leon slammed his fists against the door. Chris came up behind him.
"They took her, didn't they? What the hell happened?" Leon couldn't stand to look at him as he explained what happened.
"I know she's behind there. But those are steels door with no lock." It was Jill who talked next. "Becca. We need your help." Not five minutes later, Rebecca's voice filled their ear.
"I thought you'd never ask."
How long she had been fighting, Claire didn't know. She had grown tired after the doors shut her out from Leon and the rest of her family. The next thing she knew, she was being strapped down to a silver examination bed. The lights overhead burned her eyes more than they should have and she decided to shut them instead. There was a lot of movement and noise around room smelled of strong chemicals and blood.
She tried focusing on one thing and she found one voice, in particular, she recognized. It was a deep voice, one she hadn't heard since she decided to leave Wesker. But it couldn't be. She had killed him.
"Well if it isn't Miss Redfield." She cracked an eye open to see Stg. Rodgers staring back her with wide smile. His eyes had certain glow to them that she couldn't explain. What the hell was in that gas? Her head began throbbing painfully and she squinted eyes trying to block out the painfully bright lights.
"Now Miss Redfield, I know what you are wondering. How in the world is he alive after I- how did you put it- turned his brain into scrambled egg? Well, dear, it seems that I was blessed enough to be brain dead until, a certain little friend of mine found me and had me fixed up." He bent over and looked deep into her red eyes, enjoying as she struggled to fight, proving useless. Her vision began to blur
"Now Miss Redfield. I am going to need a few samples from you, so please sit still." He smacked the latex gloves and wrapped a band around her arm, smacking it a few times, waiting to find a vein. She hated the feeling of being used. She felt as the needle broke the skin of her arm, her anger flaring as well as her eyes. Claire watched as three small tubes filled up, almost four until she managed to jolt her arm, causing the needle to slip out and blood squirt a little toward the sergeant. She weakly smiled, realizing she might be getting stronger.
"Goddammit."
He stashed the tubes away and started reaching for the syringe filled with a clear liquid. She knew it was now or never. She conjured all the strength she possibly could and began to push against the restraints. The leather straps were beginning to tear and she tried harder until at last one snapped loose. She quickly went to work on the one on her ankles then her arms. Fortunately for her, he hadn't heard. It wasn't until he turned around was he faced with the red orbs staring back at him, the needle that had fallen, in her hand. She jabbed it out, it lodged itself in his cheek and he grunted and tried to pull it out. Claire didn't think twice before she tried running out the door. She stumbled a little but managed to get out. How long it would be before the guards were sent out, she didn't know but now she needed to find Chris. She ran as fast as she could, turning into halls that she didn't know where they led. All she knew that she had to keep moving.
"Keeping going down that hall, the last door on the left should lead to a corridor that leads to where Claire should be." Rebecca's voice entered the earpiece at Chris' ear, Jill right behind him.
Dashing down the hall, they reached the door and as soon as they opened it, the lights everywhere shut off and low sirens began blazing. The only lights on were the red emergency lights. They kept running down the hall but stopped immediately when a door suddenly burst open and flew off its hinges, almost hitting them as it bounced off the wall. The three stopped and raised their weapons at the black silhouette that sauntered to the center of the hall. It stood strong and tall and snapped its head towards them, red orbs clearly visible, even in the dark.
Chris' heart skipped a beat as name formed in his head. Wesker? The silhouette turned to them and took one step before its' legs gave out from under it. Jill lifted an eyebrow to Chris and he nodded, indicating that they should get closer. Guns pointed at the slumped body, they neared it and Leon was the one to lifted his boot and push the figure over to where they could see its face. Turning it over revealed a face that was not Wesker's but Claire's.
"Shit. Claire!" Leon ducked down and took her into his arms, checking for major wounds.
"I..I can't move." Claire looked up them with wide eyes. They were all set back when the came to see one of her eyes was red and the other blue.
"What did they do?" Leon already had his arm around her and was lifting her to her feet.
"We need to get out of here. Now." Chris was quickly on his feet, moving to lead them out of the endless halls. Soon enough, they made it out of the halls with no resistance. The cool air surrounded them as the exited the mansion and just as they made it to the car, Claire was able to walk again. The sped away from the location as fast as they could. WIth her head against the window and eyes shutting slowly, Claire could've sworn she saw a black car parked near on road that hadn't been there before.
By the time they had gotten to her apartment, Claire's legs were giving out again. Only was she able to get up the stairs with Leon's help. The first thing she did when she got into her apartment was crash down on the couch. Chris and Jill had left to their apartment after being convinced by Claire that she was alright and not harmed enough for them to miss work. Leon, on the other hand, stated he had the next days off, therefore perfectly capable of watching her.
"Leon, I swear. I'm fine. I don't need a- ahh. Babysitter." She tried sitting up on her own but found that her arms began to shake with any kind of attempt to conjure any strength.
"Yeah right. You can barely finish a sentence before running out of breath or sit yourself up." He neared her and bent down as he started untying her shoes.
"Leon! Are you serious? I am not a child." She made half an attempt to sit and ended up falling to her side. "Ughhh. I feel useless." Claire grunted as she pulled herself to see Leon standing over her.
"Stop fighting it Red. Come on." He effortlessly scooped her up in both his arms and walked her to her bedroom where he dropped her down before pulling the blanket over her.
"Now, get some sleep Red. If you need anything, do yell."
"Wait, Leon?" He stopped at the doorway and raised an eyebrow, waiting. "Are my eyes, still, you know?"
"Yes, one is still blue and one is gold." He smiled weakly at her, not disturbed by the eyes two different colors.
"Oh. Okay. Good night, Kennedy." She looked sad as her turned away from.
"Good night, Redfield."
The door shut behind Leon and Claire was left in the room alone with her thoughts and fears. The feeling spreading throughout her body was not anything she had experienced before. How was it possible that a single gas had reduced her strength to less than when she was a regular human? She should have been able to somewhat resist it. And why had her eyes been changing colors? Any regular toxin would not cause her to react this way. And there was one more problem. Rodgers was back. But how? His words rang in her head. "...a certain little friend of mine found me and had me fixed up…"
How? Being infected was the only way she could think that would bring him back. But even then... The only sources of the infection was her and Wesker. Unless…Had Wesker sent him to get her back leaving him? But to go as far as far as to bring him back from the dead? And infected? No. Wesker wouldn't dare share that power with anyone. But then again he let you live, didn't he? That was different. Maybe he ensured that she would not betray by getting her to...trust him? She didn't really know how to label what had happened between. For now, she decided that is wasn't going to help if she stressed about it. If she was going to get to the bottom of this she needed to be ready and in her current condition, she wasn't even able to untie her own shoes. She looked out to the door and watched as the light in the living room shut. She shut her eyes along with it and hoped she wouldn't have any dreams that night, not with Leon only a door away.
Albert Wesker stood in the center of a corridor looking into a room that was missing a door. Hmmm. Right off its hinges. That's a little showy, even for you Dear Heart. He strolled down the empty halls and didn't find a single life form, other than the dead B. he found in a giant room early, most likely a testing gound. Other than that, it looked as though everyone packed up and left. He was ready to leave until he heard the click clack of heels against tile down the hall. He followed the source until he eventually found the feet that was scurrying down the hall.
The young lady in a lab coat looked distressed as she tried pulled her gun from behind her and shakily pointed it at him. "Who are you!? Don't move or I'll shoot!" Her blonde hair fell on the sides of her face. He tilted his head in amusement by her headstrong attitude. She reminded him of an old colleague of his, but never mind that, he was here for answers. She didn't even see when he moved but the next second the gun was out of her hand and feet dangled inches off the ground as he held her by her throat.
"I'm not in the mood. Now where is your head researcher? One Mr. Edwin Rodgers." He made sure his eyes flashed bright behind his shades as he settled her down and waited for an answer.
"What the hell!? How many more of you are there!? First him, then the girl, now you?" Her blue eyes were wide with fear and she tried getting loose but it was useless.
"Who is him?" He gripped her shoulder hard until he felt a crack and she was on her knees in tears.
"The researcher! Mr. Edwin! He has the same eyes as you and the girl! Please! All I know is that he and his partner left the second the girl got away! I don't know where they went but his partner made sure all the computers were wiped clean."
"His partner. The woman was Asian, was she not?" Wesker clenched her shoulder and she cried as she answered, "YES! She never wears anything but red!"
"Very well then. Thank you, for your cooperation." As he let her go, he snapped his hand back and brought out his gun, one shot silencing the hall.
It seems that Miss Wong has made new friends. Perhaps it's time to find my own.