The Offer

—It's nice to see you still remember me, Miss Claire — replied Derek C. Simmons, National Security Advisor of the U.S.

I wasn't glad to remember him, not a single bit.

—Would you mind if I take a sit? —he asked me, pointing the big sofa behind me. I made a gesture with my arms, telling him he was free to do so, but I did not want to sit beside him, so I headed to my bed and sat on the edge of the mattress.

Simmons sat on the sofa, crossed his legs and placed an arm on the backrest of the furniture, as if he just entered his house. He stared at me.

I got goose bumps.

—How's your health, Miss Redfield? — he questioned with a forced interest, or so I thought. It was a bit frightening.

—I've improved a lot since I regained consciousness. I did a great advancement yesterday, in my rehabilitation, as you can see, I can finally stand on my own —it was displeasuring having to tell him about me, but it wasn't a good idea to have him as an enemy.

—So good to learn that. I guess you'll be discharged soon, am I correct? —he raised an eyebrow. It gave a bad vibe that gesture.

—If I keep on with the advancements in my therapies, I will, within a week, I guess — I said.

—I see— he just said. What was this man here for? I had to ask him in the most cordial way I could.

—Excuse me, Mr. Simmons —I began —, what brings you here? I mean, it's not a common thing that the National Security Advisor pays a visit to a patient in a hospital.

—You're totally right, ma'am, but it turns out that you're a special patient here —he said—. You're the only survivor of that regretful attack to TerraSave headquarters.

—So, is it a diplomatic visit? —I asked, trying not to sound sarcastic.

—In part, it is. The president does visit the victims of terrorist attacks, but he's arranging some issues right now, his official visit will be in two days. I wanted to come here first.

—And what's the other part? — I was getting impatient, I wanted his presence to be as short as possible.

Simmons adjusted his position on the sofa, and crossed his arms.

—Yesterday we were suggested by Agent Kennedy not to reveal some details about the assault to the headquarters, since we don't have a solid proof, we could be judged by the people for reaching conclusion without proper investigation and evidences. The chaos that could be cause due to that is considerable —he said that as if those were disgusting words—. I came here to inform you about our resolution regarding that matter, first.

—What have you decided, Mr. Simmons? — I tried to hide my fear for a negative choice.

—TerraSave is well-known organization, loved and respect by many people around the world. The chaos that news like the one we know, would be irremediable. They have gone through a bad experience before, in that Harvardville incident, people got mad after knowing that TerrSave was wrongly accused of doing something they had nothing to do with. This caused the resignation of the back then president. We trust your words, Miss Claire, but we cannot take a risk of such magnitude again.

—So, that means...

—We will not reveal important details to the public, at least not until we have solid evidence that can back us up—he assured.

I let a deep sight out, as if I had been holding my breath since Simmons entered the room. I never imagined this man could give good news —Sherry's freedom was a bittersweet one, because in change of it, she must become an agent under his orders—.

—I think it was a correct choice, Mr. Simmons. This way, TerraSave will have more time to work on a strategy to minimize the impact the truth would cause when revealed to the public. Unlike Harvardville incident, this time the organization it's indeed involved, against our will, though.

—The president thought exactly the same — he said.

Leon deserved another token of gratitude from me, every choice he had made had been a great help.

"…first."

What he said meant he came not only to inform me about their resolution, there was another reason behind his visit.

—You said you came here to inform me about your resolution regarding the incident, first. Is there another issue you want to talk about, Mr. Simmons?

—That's correct, Miss Redfield. The president and I also discuss about your…situation.

—What kind of situation do you mean? —the way he said it seemed suspicious.

—You were kidnapped, along with your co-workers, to be part of a bioterrorist experiment. When you were rescued and brought back to the U.S., our research team was given the task to analyze the bracelet you were wearing, the one you mentioned in your report. It was a bit complicated to extract information from the device, but we succeed in our job. The virus that was injected in you reacts to the adrenaline and noradrenaline of the carrier, in other words, it's a virus trigged by fear. According to the results we got, you were about to reach the levels of those hormones to activate the virus, in a couple of times.

I kind of knew that since I was in the island, but I could keep myself down to earth in order to not end up like Pedro. I didn't get Simmons' point.

—My point is that you're still carrying that virus inside you. We found it out when we did some test on your blood while you were still unconscious —he said.

God. I hadn't thought about that all that time! I was so focused on TerraSave issues that I completely forgot to ask about the virus inside me.

—What does that mean? — I hoped he didn't reply something I wasn't ready to hear.

—It means we don't know, nor you do, if there is still a risk for the virus to be triggered.

Fuck. Just exactly what I didn't want to hear.

I was getting nervous, but I had to calm down. If there was indeed a risk, any slip of fear could be a threat. I clenched my fists.

—As you might deducted, any situation that provokes strong emotion in you, could easily turn into a threat to yourself, and the people around you.

—So, what do you and the president suggest about it? —I questioned, if the National Security Advisor was here for the matter, it must be because they had a potential solution for the case.

Simmons stayed silent for a few seconds, and then he breathed deeply before talking again.

—We want you to come with us to Washington, to our facilities, to run test on you so we can create a vaccine that neutralizes the effect of said virus.

I scowled, that offer was very familiar; facilities, test on people. Did he want the government to take custody over me to make who-knew-what-kinds of experiments to study the properties of the virus? The same thing they did to Sherry?

—Do you want me to go under any sort of experiments like they did with Sherry Birkin? — I just spat it out, but keeping myself as calm as I could. It made me angry to think they wanted me as a guinea pig. As if it was so easy to forget Sherry's frustration all those years in custody.

Simmons raised an eyebrow.

—I understand you didn't agree with the way we handled Miss Birkin's case, but I would like you to understand that, back then, we were facing something totally unknown to us, it was the first time we struggled with a problem like that. That's why we did a lot of test with Miss Birkin, nonstop. We have more experience now, please, don't think you are going to go exactly through the same. We have learnt, I strongly believe we are able to create a vaccine in less time.

He was partially right, all those years of experiment should have left an important background to face bioterrorist threats in the future. Even so, I wasn't that confident in the way they wanted to do the research, besides, TerraSave needed me, I was the only person they had to keep on the investigation. I couldn't —and I didn't want to—leave them drifting off. If not myself, who would put some order in the organization that was left without a CEO?

Still, what Simmons said was true, I didn't know if the virus was still active, and I would not like to live the rest of my life controlling my emotions to not surrender and mutate into something horrible.

—I'm…not sure, Mr. Simmons. I've got a lot to do here in New York. I want to be part of the investigation of TerraSave case, I'm the only key person they have. We still have to find that island and the other survivors. Is traveling to Washington really necessary? Can't you do all that here? — I wanted another option.

—All of our specialized equipment is settled in Washington, we can't transport it to another place. Besides, it is important to have you under constant vigilance, Miss Redfield —there was a brief pause between us, I didn't find anything else to say—. I guess it's hard to make a choice, but think about this: if we manage to find that place and rescue the survivors you mentioned, when they're back to the United States we'll have a cure for them.

Moira…

Certainly, I didn't want Moira to spend the rest of her life controlling herself either, that was already complicated. And that poor girl, she still had a lot to live and so much to go through, maybe not anything like Terragigia Panic.

—If it is the investigation that worries you, as the National Security Advisor I can offer you full access to our systems, to keep you updated about our findings. We can even "pay for your services", if you want to put it that way, because we don't know how long we'll have to keep you away from your work.

Pay for services. So, being a guinea pig had an economical reward. The best they could do to Sherry was to pay for an education where she interacted so little —if not nothing at all —with kids of her age.

Even if I could work in the case from there, what would happen with TerraSave? Will they stay without a leader? If all the directives can't reorganize, they won't be able to continue with the investigation, nor their main job.

—I understand it's not an easy choice to make in the moment, Miss Claire. What about you think about it calmly? You don't have to tell me right now.

Simmons stood up from his seat and headed towards the door. Was he leaving just like that? Leaving me with the most important dilemma of my life, so far? He turned around to tell me one more thing.

—President Benford will come in a couple of days. Please, inform him your decision, which we hope it's positive.

—Two days? So soon? —I didn't understand how he wanted me to think about it calmly if I only had two days.

—The sooner we start to work, the higher the chances of creating a vaccine that neutralizes the virus. Time is precious, Miss Claire. As National Security Advisor, it's my job to prevent any sort of terrorist attack. Neither you nor I want to see our country under another big aone, am I wrong? — he taunted me.

I sighed deeply.

—No,you're right, Mr. Simmons.

—Then I take my leave, I will inform the president about our meeting. If you have any other request regarding the issue we just discuss, feel free to let him know. I'm sure he will consider it —he turned the door knob—. See you soon Miss Redfield. It was a pleasure to see you again —and he left the room.

What a shame it was the fact I didn't feel pleasured at all to have seen him again. It was unreal to think I could get good news from a man who gave me uncomfortable vibes. I felt between a rock and a hard place, just like when I was told that Sherry could be granted freedom if she became an agent for the government.

Thinking about it better, I didn't have any option, actually. Even if I refused to go with them, they would find a legal way to force me to do so, or I'd be obliged —as they have done countless times with countless people—. They were just asking me and offering some "privileges" to keep the courtesy façade.

Shit.

I lift a knee and lean my head on it. Did Leon know about this?

No…he would have told me beforehand.

It seemed that decision was made from one day to another, Leon must be learning about it. Simmons just took a step ahead everything.

It was clear that I need to go with them, if I wanted Moira to have an immediate treatment when we find her; and if I wanted to make sure I would not spend the rest of my life trying to control my emotions. I only fear for TerraSave internal issues, how could I know they would be all right without me? I had no answer for that.

And I only had two days to find one, before the president came to tell me that they would take me to Washington with them the day after I got discharged.

Leon…Chris…What should I do?

o-o-o-o-o

—Are you done, Mr. Simmons? —my bodyguard asked me, he was waiting for me standing beside our armored Mercedes Benz.

—Yes, I'm done. We can leave now— I replied, the guy nodded and opened the door of the back seat. I boarded the vehicle and my bodyguard hurried to his place in front of the steering wheel after closing the door.

—Where do I take you, sir?

—To the JFK Airport, there's a private jet waiting to take me back to Washington — I responded and the man nodded. He started the engine and reverse the car to exit the parking lot.

He drove to the parking entrance, paid the appropriate fee and then, immersed into the New Yorker traffic.

My visit lasted less than I expected. I thought Claire Redfield would be more reluctant , because I knew very well she didn't like me at all, I noticed it since the moment we met for the first time. It didn't bother me, actually.

I guess my persuasion skills are improving more and more.

I didn't really care about organizations like TerraSave, but given the past circumstances in Harvardville, when the president in turn was forced to resign, I could take the risk of Adam making the same decision due to a bad move. Not when I finally had someone close to me in charge of the country, someone I could manipulate so easily to keep everything in order.

I couldn't take the risk of a weird virus interfering with my plans either. That was why I wanted to have Claire Redfield close, until I was sure the virus she carried wasn't a threat to me. I was doing a secret research with a new strain I planned to use if the order in this country got unstable. My perfect Ada was a genius, only comparable to my own intelligence. I would not allow any rival to take the glory from us.

After reading Claire Redfield's report, I could get an idea as to who was the master mind behind the incident. The description of the place matches a report the B.S.A.A. found in the other mansion of Oswald E. Spencer. If my suspicions were correct, I had to erase every single trace of those experiments.

Albert Wesker was a colossal imbecile who wanted to bring order into this world in a very absurd way. Having another Wesker on the loose would only take us to a battle like the one we had years ago. We had enough with just one.

Redfield mentioned in her report that the woman behind all that shot herself in the head. Even so, I had to make sure there was no trace of her existence. Not one.

Because the only family that should rule this world, is My Family.

o-o-o-o-o

Hello everyone! I'm back again, sooner than later, hehe.

I wanted to give you a Valentine's gift, so I hurried up. I apologize if the chapter wasn't romantic at all, but it was needed for the plot, it describes what is coming next!

Have you seen the cover of the fic? It was made specifically for this story! It contains some spoilers, that I might reveal in the next chapter. Can you guess what they are? Hehehe

Also, I am so excited! I was offered by a reader to translate my story into Portuguese! Of course I accepted, I know some of you are from Brazil and it might be a bit difficult to read in English, but you'll soon have a translation. I am really happy about that because I know Resident Evil franchise has a HUGE fanbase in Brazil. I can't wait to know how Brazilian Cleon fans would react to my story :D. Thanks Zaites!

Well, I guess there is not much to say about the chapter, we'll get back to Cleon next chapter hehe.

If you like the story, please follow and favorite it, but more importantly, leave a review, that would help me a lot to continue.

See you soon!