Chapter 3: Greenhorns

QUANTICO, VIRGINIA

JUNE 10, 2009

0900 HOURS

No matter how many seminars and talks Chris gave on behalf of the BSAA, he always felt just a little awkward at first. He wasn't a teacher by training, or a public speaker. He was better with a sniper rifle than a Powerpoint presentation, more at ease with a knife in his hand than a laser pointer. But somehow he managed to get through, and he knew this time would be no different as he looked over the five young, eager attendees patiently waiting for him to begin. It was a small group for him to have traveled so far, but in a way this seemed preferable to him: a more intimate and personal seminar would let him focus more attention on these people, hopefully turning them into passionate advocates for bio-terror readiness and the BSAA. A handful of committed evangelists would do more to advance the cause than a roomful of bored careerists.

"You'll do great!" Jill had enthused that morning as she fussed over him in their motel room, straightening his tie, patting down his suit jacket. He'd wanted her to be here with him, of course, but she begged off, promising to make an appearance in a few days. He couldn't blame her; the first thing he always wanted to do at Quantico was to hit Hogan's Alley for some urban combat role-playing, and he was sure that was where she was right now. She deserves a little fun, he thought. The idea of Jill actually enjoying herself made Chris smile.

And these rookies deserve my full attention, he said, resolving not to think about Jill for a little while.

"Okay, let's get started," Chris said, quieting the murmurs between the five freshly scrubbed greenhorns that he would be doing his best to acclimate to the horrors of modern day biological warfare. "My name is Chris Redfield. You can just call me Chris. I am a field operative with the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. I presume you've all made yourselves familiar with my agency and the work they do as preparation for this seminar. What you're basically going to get is a crash course in the state of modern bio-organic weaponry, as well as the mindset of the forces that wish to employ such weapons. And I'm going to warn you, it's much worse than you think."

The already quiet room seemed to get quieter still with Chris's ominous pronouncement. Good. He had their attention.

"Now, I've been informed that the five of you represent various agencies and specialties. We're going to be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks, so why don't you go one by one and introduce yourselves – your agency, your specialty, just the basics." With this, Chris gestured to his left for the group to proceed.

The first rookie spoke; he was a slender but fit Asian man. "My name is Kenshin Higuchi, and I've been a Special Agent with the FBI for two years. My specialty is field work, with an emphasis on weapons proficiency. I'm the one they call in if they're afraid things are going to get violent."

To Kenshin's left sat a slight red-headed woman with a round, freckled face. "Olivia Worth. I'm a biologist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. My thesis was on theoretical biology; my interest is in anticipating and formulating response plans to potential biohazard threats that science hasn't quite brought about yet."

Chris took note of this information. This seminar was definitely for her.

The large, craggy-faced man with a crewcut that sat to Olivia's left spoke with a thick Russian accent. "I am Ilya Khovansky, special agent with the FSB." The FSB was the agency that replaced the KGB after the fall of the Soviet Union. "I am here as part of an exchange program between the US government and Russia. My specialty is terror response."

Ilya looked to his left at a pale blond man with thick glasses and a boyish compexision. "Jim Shaw. I'm an intelligence analyst for the NSA."

Finally, the unusually tall, athletic, Middle Eastern-looking woman on the far left of the group spoke. "My name is Patty Rasheed. I spent three years in the NYPD, and I am currently completing my training here with the hopes of becoming a Special Agent with the FBI. My specialty will not be decided until my training is complete, but I have a general interest in terrorism and feel that this specialty is how I could best serve the Bureau. I'm not exactly sure how I managed to get myself invited to this seminar, but I intend to make the most of this opportunity." Chris had read their jackets before the seminar; the reason she was here was that she was at the top of her class, with off-the-charts proficiency ratings. Chris was grateful for the opportunity to work with her at the start of her career, and hopefully put her on a trajectory where she could save countless lives.

Chris nodded. "Okay, very good. I'm glad to see that we have such a broad representation of agencies and interests. My goal is to impress upon you the very real dangers posed by cutting-edge bio-organic weaponry, in the hopes that each of you will be able to seed your prespective agencies with a fresh perspective on the subject. I believe that in the long run this is the best way to save lives and to keep people safe. Some of the things we will discuss may be difficult for you to understand or to believe, but everything I will tell you is the absolute truth. All I ask is that you keep an open mind and remember your training.

"Today, I'm going to give you a full account of my career, starting with an incident in the Arklay mountains and finishing with my most recent mission in the Kijuju region of Africa. I'll pause periodically for questions.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to ask you to come prepared for an extended field exercise. We're going to be out in the woods for more than 24 hours. I know that some of you have more desk time than field time, but if you're going to be dealing with active bio-terror operations, you may find yourselves pushed to the limit, and this is the best way for me to gauge your readiness.

"Does anyone have any questions before I begin?"

The group shook their heads respectfully. They were here to listen. Good.

"Okay. My experience with bio-terror began in 1998. I was an officer in a local emergency response unit called STARS, along with my partner, Jill Valentine. Jill is in Virginia with me, and at some point over the course of this seminar, you will get to meet her. She's the best agent I've ever worked with, so I encourage you to be ready to make the best use of her time that you can.

"So, there were two STARS teams, Alpha and Bravo. Both teams were called in to respond to an incident at a mansion…"