Charlotte sat at Wesker's desk in silence. The only disruption came from the steady ticking of the wall clock. What she had hoped to find had long since been taken; most likely by Chief Irons. During her initial sweep of the office she had found a suspension order for the S.T.A.R.S. branch. They had been relieved of their duties pending an investigation into their claims against Umbrella. She couldn't help but laugh. Umbrella created S.T.A.R.S. Any plans they had for bringing the pharmaceutical giant down by use of the legal system was nothing short of a dream. All other files, whether they regarded the incident or not, had been turned over to other departments. So she sat, her questions still unanswered. The only man who knew those answers was missing - presumed dead; and there wasn't a single shred or trace of document that could offer her new leads.

"Thought I'd find you here." Placing her palms on the desk Charlotte rose to meet Kevin as he stepped into the office.

"Did you find any survivors?" The clicking of Cindy's heels flowed into the room as she appeared behind the other officer. Charlotte couldn't help but cringe. The sound was undoubtedly attracting unwanted attention with every step she took.

"No. Everyone is infected or just straight-out dead." He tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. Now wasn't the time to let emotions take hold.

"Then we should move on. There's no longer any need to stay here." Feeling a nudge from Cindy's elbow Kevin stepped forward and placed a slim folder on the desk in front of her.

"I thought you'd want this." Charlotte looked at him. He could feel her gaze penetrating the dark sunglasses that she wore. Flipping open the file she looked down into the frozen faces of her fallen colleagues. '9 S.T.A.R.S. members killed in the line of duty.' The bold print was centered over an old photograph of the two teams. While she didn't appear in the picture, her name had made the list of deceased.

"Where did you find this?" Her voice was cold and for a moment Kevin thought he had made a bad mistake.

"In Iron's office." Collecting the papers Charlotte slipped them into a satchel hidden beneath her coat.

"Then we have one more stop to make."

The Chief's office - Kevin didn't like it. The feeling it invoked in him was one of uneasiness. Not to mention the decor was just plain creepy.

"How well did you search this place?" Charlotte walked to the center of the room and took in the sight before her. What fetishes the man had were proudly displayed for all visitors to see. One grotesque portrait caught her attention. It reminded her of the mansion and the vile horror within it. Turning her eyes to the floor she beheld the mounds of paper that covered the wooden planks like a sheet of snow. "Someone's been busy..."

"There was no one around when we got here. I hollered, but didn't get any response."

"If there were people here scouring the office,I doubt they would have answered you anyway." She wanted to hit him. Wanted to make him smarten up. No wonder Wesker had refused his application for S.T.A.R.S. on more then one occasion. Taking a deep breath Charlotte fell silent, letting her fingers massage her forehead. Hearing Cindy's light footsteps passing by her she opened her eyes and peered over the top of her sunglasses, watching as the young woman walked up to the bookshelf. Something didn't seem to be sitting right with the waitress.

"This wasn't like this. Not when we were here."Gripping the shelf Cindy tugged but didn't budge it.

"Here, let me try." Planting his feet firmly Kevin gave one quick pull and sent himself tumbling back onto the floor. The bookcase, however, slid open. The blood that had been pooling behind the bookshelf came creeping across the floor sending Kevin scrambling to get out of its path. It hadn't been there long. Charlotte could tell from its lack of coagulation, but it stunk as if it had been there for days. Taking her pistol she flicked the safety off.

"Wait here." With her weapon raised Charlotte took a step beyond the doorway. Everything was quiet except for the gentle suction of her boots in the blood. Motionless, on the mossy stone floor of the dark corridor, lay the prone form of a young woman. She was dressed rather elegant to be hanging around in such a peculiar place. She must have been brought there by someone else - Irons. Stepping over the body Charlotte continued onto a dead end where an elevator awaited it's next passengers. "Ryman!"

"Yeah?" Sticking his head into the hall he whistled. "Never saw this before..." Ignoring his remark Charlotte motioned towards the lift.

"Wait here with the woman. I'm going to check it out." Stepping onto the lift she hit the power button and descended into darkness.

When the elevator reached the bottom it had brought her into the cool underbelly of the station. A stone-lined catacomb that smelt of dampness and mold. Following the pathway the only light came from the florescent bulbs that hung from the curved ceiling. When the path finally opened into a room it was not what she expected. The room had the appearance of a janitor's closet. A mop and bucket leaned against a rusting desk while bottles of unidentifiable contents lined the wooden shelves; and on the far side of the room laying by an open hatchway was the body of Chief Irons. His upper torso had been ripped opened from shoulder to diaphragm. Moving around the remains, Charlotte peered down into the open hatch. A catwalk appeared down below. If one of Umbrella's moles had come this way, chances were this maze of walkways and tunnels would lead her to Umbrella - and hopefully, Wesker.

Charlotte bit her lip. She had to go back for Kevin and his lady friend, even if the thought of dragging them along made her head hurt again. She was about to turn around when a fleeting movement caught her eye. Making a quick grab for the ladder she slid down to the cat walk. 'Whoever it was couldn't have gotten far.' They didn't. Charlotte had barely gotten her barring when the figure emerged in front of her. His pale eyes looking at her with a sullen disposition. From the blood on his uniform it was apparent he had been in some sort of accident. As he looked at her his lips moved, though she couldn't hear any words. In fact, she hadn't even recognized him, until a sudden wave of anguish washed over her. Stepping backwards, she felt her back bump against the ladder stopping her retreat. With no place to go Charlotte shut her eyes - and screamed. It was a long and painful sound that echoed through the tunnels until it finally faded into nothing. When she finally felt as if her lungs were going to burst she opened her eyes, and he was gone. Now alone, Charlotte lowered herself to the cold ground; her lungs grasped for a breath, while her heart grasped for her memories.