Chapter 13 is here, and the world is taking notice of the nightmare that has taken control of a small New England town. The government is rallying its very best to investigate the situation and do something about it...and you'll see some familiar faces among them! Also, Leon and Hunnigan share some warm moments in the shadow of the fog, and he has some surprising things to say about his long chase after Ada Wong...just read on!

You'll also see a few characters I had to include as a tribute to another series I enjoyed on the PSOne...the S.T.R.I.K.E. series. You'll see cameos from General Earle, Andrea Grey and Hack from SOVIET S.T.R.I.K.E. and NUCLEAR S.T.R.I.K.E.! (And they'll fit in well with this story in the way they do, don't worry!) Ahem, naturally, I must say the S.T.R.I.K.E. series and its characters are owned by Electronic Arts!

Also, you'll meet a certain reporter I included as a tip of the hat to a writer I've always respected, Chris Claremont. This character, Trish Tilby, was a recurring character back in the day in UNCANNY X-MEN...and it must be said she's owned by Marvel as a consequence, so I need to acknowledge that!

RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY

written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure

Chapter 13:

"THE LONGEST WEEKEND - START"

-1-

Leon S. Kennedy said 'all hands on deck' when the President asked him how to proceed with completely sealing off Black Falls, Vermont from the rest of the world. The leader followed that advice...it was easy, considering he had at his command one of the largest and most technologically advanced fighting forces on Earth. And so Operation: Lightning Strike was set into motion.

The President authorized a combined arms action that involved most every branch of the U.S. military instantly, and called upon the best from every intsallation within and around the New England states, from Bangor Air National Guard Base in Maine to Fort Detrick in Maryland...Fort Detrick was also home to the U.S. Army Medical Research Insitute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), which was specifically called upon with as much urgency as the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance since it was feared bioterrorists were responsible for the crisis, and their expertise in biological warfare would be essential. The peerless logistics and massive resources of the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command were pivotal to transporting the lion's share of the needed personnel, vehicles and more to central Vermont - mostly by flying them to Burlington International Airport, where they would deploy and travel on land to Black Falls - as rapidly as possible, and did so within two hours.

Before the second hour was over, and during the lion's share of the third hour, the operation worked as fast as possible to accomplish its first phase: quarantine.

A heavily fortified ring was established to completely surround Black Falls, on the average about 100 yards outside of the thick fog's fringe, made up of a force of thousands of men and women that was nearly half of the population of the town itself. Most of the military vehicles employed to enforce the inner perimeter of the quarantine by land were eight-wheeled armored fighting vehicles created to support infantry with their high speed and heavy firepower. The U.S. Marines in this action used LAV-25s, and the Army personnel commanded Canadian-made IAV Strykers. Many variants of both vehicles were present, and were essential for providing everything from anti-tank and anti-air fire (if necessary) to logistics and medical aid. A healthy percentage of the Strykers, in fact, were Medical Evacuation Vehicles on standby and ready to roar into Black Falls to find and assist any civilian casualties at the first opportunity...but because of the damn fog and the still-unknowable enemy within, it was anyone's guess when that opportunity would come. Half a mile out from this line, a secondary outer perimeter of force was established by the State Police - with military assistance - that would blockade every highway, road and trail that led to Black Falls from any unauthorized personnel.

The quarantine of Black Falls wasn't just limited to the ground. High in the darkening sky, a dominating presence was established by the 134th Fighter Squadron of the Vermont Air National Guard's 158th Fighter Wing, The Green Mountain Boys, which was federalized by the President. The 134th flew their time-tested and deadly F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jets to enforce a no-fly zone over the fog, which rose over 50 meters high...like the forces on the ground, the pilots were also ordered to respond to anything that might leave the fog they circled by the air. (And the situation was surreal enough that such a possibility had to be thought about, just in case.) The 134th was supported by a squadron of AV-8B Harrier attack fighters from the Navy assault vessel U.S.S. Bataan, which was stationed off the coast of Vermont. The Harrier Jump Jets would also, in a moment's notice, support the helicopter forces much closer to the earth that reinforced the inner ring of the quarantine, and they arrived after the third hour of the crisis began...those elements comprised several squadrons of AH-64 Apache gunships, Marine AH-1 SuperCobra attack helicopters, and heavily armed Army Black Hawks, both MH-60Ls and MH-60L Direct Action Penetrator gunships, from the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Two squadrons of AH-6 Little Bird attack helicopters were ordered to patrol the outer perimeter.

Within the dense inner ring, a handful of massive tents were rapidly erected on both sides of Kubrick Street to serve as the beginning of a forward operating base for Lightning Strike, material for them brought in by Army CH-47 Chinooks and Marine CH-53 Super Stallion heavy lifters...it wasn't known how long this operation would last - one of too many things the powers that be were unfortunately ignorant of about this crisis. Razor wire ringed around the FOB, and .50-caliber machine gun emplacements were established at each corner of the area and at its entry control points on the quarantine side facing the fog and the safe side facing outward; as time passed, more force protection would be added. The group of reinforced tents were built and, three and a half hours after the start of the operation, were ready and dedicated to command, communications, armory, electronic warfare, barracks and more...one of the largest tents was the start of a combat support hospital that would also grow over time, like the MEVs intended for any casualties extracted from Black Falls or for any soldiers wounded in battle. In the middle of the base was a landing area large enough to accomodate the landing and takeoff of a squadron of Black Hawk-sized helicopters at any time. This could almost have been the start of a community in and of itself.

As the quarantine was firmly established, the operation began preparations for the next phase: the infiltration of Black Falls.

-2-

2136 HOURS
On the outskirts of Black Falls, Vermont

Just outside of the inner perimeter ring of military force, hundreds of journalists were firmly entrenching themselves in the area, too...their portable lighting equipment from news trucks brightening the area as cameras recorded the military response and the fog just beyond. It was a decision on the part of the President himself that the media bear witness, to bring the situation as it happened to billions who watched and listened across the world. The State Police admitted those with the proper press credentials, but grudgingly, because they felt letting reporters be involved in the situation would accomplish exactly nothing. The President and most of his advisors, however, felt differently...exposure of the crisis, and especially what was being done to remedy it, would hopefully ease the fears of American citizens and people across the world...after all, this was as much a mission of mercy to help over 20,000 people as it was an armed response to an unknown threat.

However. Reactions everywhere instead reflected a collective, growing anxiety due primarily to the inexplicable, threatening fog that simply appeared to blanket Black Falls at the same time a group of terrorists staged an attack on the town. Scientists across the planet were stumbling if not reaching desperately to find a logical explanation for such a phenomenon, and it only made matters more unusual that local weather patterns were visibly flowing around the mist as if it was a physical obstruction. That anxiety, combined with the reports of strange, dangerous creatures reportedly seen in the fog, prompted many to spiritual thoughts as people sought explanation and understanding by going to their respective places of worship across the world. Escalating arguments between theologians and pundits about the meaning of the fog and how it came to be only added grist to the mill. Mass vigils were staged that prayed for everyone as fundamentalist radicals celebrated what might have been the beginning of the end of a country they always hated and feared. It didn't take much for ever-growing numbers of people to wonder if this might be the beginning of the End of Days - and they had no idea how close they were to being right - as more agnostic souls thought that the ancient Mayan Calandar that predicted the end of the world in 2012 was a year off.

But if one wanted to meet those with a virtual hunger to understand and know more about the situation, one only had to look at the hundreds of news journalists as they made their live reports from the scene on the safe side of the quarantine barrier. Most were only twenty yards from that side's entry point for the FOB as they reported all they observed of the situation as they received information and discussed the situation with the news anchors of their home studios across the planet. The guards at the entry point considered the sea of talking heads with dour expressions; they didn't want the annoying newshounds to get in the damn way of their jobs. Unfortunately, as the press brought the military operation to billions of viewers, this alone only added to the anxiety. The press knew very little too, and half of what they had to say was speculation...words like 'could be' and 'allegedly' were spoken constantly. The sight of the quarantine alone as night fell - massive numbers of armed soldiers at their assault vehicles with their weapons pointed toward the brackish fog as helicopters patrolled the area above them constantly like swarms of agitated hornets - was an ominous one, especially to those with a worldview that leaned to the left. Any military historian could have told the President: massive media coverage was usually never an asset.

Leaks of information didn't help, either...especially one that was reported by most every media outlet on the planet just after 9:30 P.M. Worse, the information from this particular leak was completely wrong, but the press had no way of knowing that as the news circulated. This information spurred a lot of worry, even in those who reported it...one of those journalists was Trish Tilby, a pretty young brunette correspondent live at the scene. Tilby had recently ascended to one of the major cable news channels...she once worked for a network in New York City, and she had the right combination of beauty, intelligence, honesty and humanity that perhaps made her fated for even greater things. At the moment, though, the lady was less a professional reporter and more a human being after she was handed some information from her field producer. Tilby looked at the paper in her hand and read from it the same information her peers were reporting at that moment for their audiences... "Oh, I'm being given some new information, Scott! It...um, it comes from a source in the Pentagon...it states that if the military can't develop a strategy for the situation here in Black Falls in the next, uh, 48 hours, the military may fall back on the option of sterilizing the area before the situation gets any worse." Her voice began to develop a nervous edge. "Uhh, what that means is, every innocent civilian in Black Falls will be considered lost, and for the sake of preserving lives and ending this threat...a-a coordinated missile strike will be launched to eradicate the town and the fog covering it..." Tilby's voice trailed off, and she looked into her camera with wide, fearful eyes. "Th-the military wouldn't do that, right...? There's over 20,000 innocent people in that fog, and we have no idea how they're doing. W-we can't just write them off so fast!" Tilby swallowed dry air as she remembered... "Oh god, could we see a repeat of Raccoon City? O-or of Tall Oaks?" Tall Oaks was another New England town that, on June the 29th, was overwhelmed by an outbreak of the C-Virus - over 90-percent of its population of 77,000 citizens were infected and became monsters by that date; those who tried to escape didn't get far. The town was finally destroyed by a missile strike, which uncomfortably paralleled the sterilization of Raccoon City fifteen years earlier.

"Excuse me! Miss Tilby!"

Trish Tilby turned from her camera and saw a man approaching her from the nearby entry point to the FOB, flanked on either side by a fully equipped and armored soldier, both armed with M4 assault rifles. The man between them, however, was dressed casual in a leather jacket, light sweater, jeans and boots. He was in his mid-thirties, ruggedly athletic in form, and his styled brown hair accented the handsomeness of his face...his eyes distinguished him the most, gentle yet penetrating at the same time in their quiet gaze. The man stopped a few yards from Tilby as she and the rest of the journalists on the site instantly recognized and fixed on him...he focused on the brunette and said, "My name is Leon Scott Kennedy, and the President has authorized me to make a statement." Instantly, the sea of reporters collected before him, and they began to yell questions. He quickly raised his hands in a warding-off gesture and shouted, "Everyone! Everyone, please! Give me a moment to say what I have to say, please!" The din reluctantly fell silent after a moment...and Leon continued to look directly at Tilby as he spoke for the benefit of them all:

"I have to tell you all that the information you're currently circulating that came from a so-called source in the Pentagon is incorrect...we're investigating the leak, and we can only guess at this time that it was from someone who somehow got ahold of bad information." Leon also knew that whoever was responsible was in a shitload of trouble, but that didn't have to be said. Leon continued to focus on Trish Tilby, who was being visibly calmed as much by his words as his confident presence... "I realize you're all worried...I know there are a lot of people out there who are scared right now. Many are already fearing the worst from this situation, considering how unusual it is. But I speak for the President when I say we're a long, long way from employing a 'solution' like sterilizing Black Falls. You all know that Raccoon City had to be destroyed fifteen years ago as much because of politics as the need to save lives. As for Tall Oaks, I need not remind you that sterilizing that town was ordered by the late traitor Derek Simmons in an attempt to erase evidence of his crimes." It was strange that fifteen years ago, Leon S. Kennedy had simply wanted to be a cop when he traveled to Raccoon City on the worst possible night, at the height of the zombifying outbreak that claimed that community...and it was the beginning of his road to becoming a government agent with far, far greater responsibilities...and a greater chance to be a positive force for his country and the world. Leon was also involved in the Tall Oaks Outbreak, and when he and Helena Harper were blamed for President Benford's death, they both went through hell to expose and bring down that son of a bitch Simmons, who quickly and deservedly became one of the most reviled figures in recent history, ranking up there with the likes of the late madman Albert Wesker. Leon's heroic efforts were recognized publicly by Benford's successor, which was why the gathered press recognized him so quickly.

The Division of Security Operations agent continued in a firm yet level tone: "We are here to keep whatever has happened to Black Falls from affecting anyone else, but please remember this...like you, the President and those in command of this operation know as little as you do about the nature of this crisis. Bioterrorism is involved to some degree, but there is too much we need to know and understand, especially who is responsible for this and what their motivations are." That was a small lie...Leon, the President and a few others knew who was responsible, but there was good reason they didn't want that information public knowledge. "Rest assured that until we do know more, now that Black Falls has been quarantined, this military operation will have two objectives to focus on. First, to save as many people in Black Falls as we can...and second, to understand what is going on and why. We are in the process of preparing to infiltrate Black Falls and the fog covering it so we can accomplish those objectives. But until we do, the President and everyone serving him is of the same mind, that every possible option will be exhausted before Black Falls is written off, I promise you that." Leon very simply concluded, "That's all I have to say at this time." He began to turn away...

...but the collected press were still hungry for more, and an explosion of questions sounded from most of them. At the forefront, Trish Tilby frowned a little and began to call out, "M-Mister Kennedy - !"

Leon turned halfway again to regard her. "Sorry, I can't answer any questions...I have work to do!" He offered a smile as he nodded at the brunette reporter. "Miss Tilby." Then he walked away with his armed escort. Trish Tilby was the only one who fell silent as she looked after him thoughtfully...her peers continued to shout questions after him.

Leon S. Kennedy re-entered the FOB...he said to his escorts, "Thanks, guys." The soldiers nodded and returned to their duties elsewhere in the base. Leon then looked at someone else who was waiting for him.

A few yards away, an attractive lady dressed for business stood casually in spite of the hectic activity around her as she looked at him through her glasses. Ingrid Hunnigan smiled with approval and said, "Very nice, Leon! You're a natural in front of the camera." Her lips curled a bit with humor as she asked, "Are you sure you're not related to a certain family in Massachusetts...?"

Leon smiled back as he approached her and sighed, "Hunnigan, you know I hate politics. I just told people what they needed to hear, like the President wanted. I wasn't about to make a production of it."

The agent reached the lady who had long provided him support from long distance...she lost some of her smile and said, "I needed to tell you that the General wants to see you and Helena right away. He's also called on Captain Redfield and some others with the BSAA."

"Okay." With the commander of Operation: Lightning Strike settled in, he wanted a full briefing from Leon, Chris and the few others who knew anything about this situation. The bad news about that was, what they knew didn't amount to much. It certainly wouldn't help them with a strategy to infiltrate Black Falls safely.

Hunnigan's expression took a fully serious set. She asked, "Mind if I walk with you?"

Leon smiled warmly. "I don't mind at all." The two of them began to walk toward the command tent. Leon gave the lady an examining look. "Is something wrong, Hunnigan?"

Hunnigan gave him a look in return. "Is that a trick question? Leon, you must be able to feel it in the air, just like I do...it's what everyone here has felt since we arrived, and it's coming from that fog." The wrongness. The palpable, quietly oppressive aura that radiated from that smoky mist that prompted immediate, instinctive dread.

Leon frowned. "I know. It's not natural. I don't know what you must be feeling, but looking at that fog is like remembering my worst nightmare."

Ingrid Hunnigan knew that the less she looked at that damn fog, the better. Her expression shifted to become agitated...uncomfortable. "Leon, you've been through a lot over the years. Hell, I've been there talking to you half the time. But I've got a really, really bad feeling about this."

Leon S. Kennedy said reassuringly, "I'll be all right, Hunnigan. I'll make sure Helena will be all right, too. I haven't failed you yet, remember?"

Hunnigan stopped quickly as she gently reached out and took a hold of Leon's arm with one slender hand, making him stop, too. She gently goaded him to turn and fully face her. The lady's eyes were bright behind the lenses of her glasses. "You'd better not fail me now, buster. Seriously."

Leon nodded, his expression resolute. "I won't. I promise."

Hunnigan relaxed a little...and then her eyes examined him again. "I can't help but notice you and Helena have gotten closer since she joined the DSO."

Leon smiled fondly. "Helena's an amazing woman, Hunnigan. She - !" He stopped cold as a sunny smile suddenly developed on Hunnigan's face. He tensed a little defensively as he asked, "Wait, why are you saying that?"

Hunnigan almost laughed. "No reason, I'm just saying! You two have gotten really close."

"Well, we're not that close. Helena still needs time to heal after everything she's been through, especially losing her sister."

Hunnigan nodded...she didn't need Leon to remind her of that. "Helena and I talk about it every day. I've known her since college, and she's probably the strongest person I've ever met. You come a close second, though!"

Leon smirked. "Thanks so much."

The lady frowned sadly. "But she's been through so much shit over the past few months...and to lose Deborah on top of it all..." This summer had been a living hell for Helena Harper. In June, when she was still a Secret Service agent, she was coerced brutally by Derek Simmons into assisting him with the assassination of President Benford during the Tall Oaks Outbreak he orchestrated. Simmons' leverage: Helena's sister and only living family, Deborah Harper, who he had kidnapped. If Helena didn't do what he wanted, her sister would have been killed.

Helena Harper, for the sake of family, for the life of her sister, did what Simmons wanted...and was absent from her post during a critical moment as his agents got within reach of President Benford and had him infected and transformed terribly into a zombie. That was when Leon S. Kennedy entered her life as the outbreak raged, as he was forced to destroy the leader who became a monster in Helena's presence. Full of guilt, desperate to find her sister, Helena promised she would give Leon the answers he needed...but she needed his help to find Deborah in Simmons' underground laboratory complex in Tall Oaks, where scientists under the traitor's command experimented with the C-Virus. Tragically, but not surprisingly considering the complete asshole he was, Derek Simmons betrayed Helena and used Deborah as a guinea pig while she was kept captive by him. Deborah Harper was transformed by the C-Virus into a beguiling yet fearsome creature...the woman she was had ceased to be, body and soul, and it was all Leon and Helena could do to stay alive against her fury. Deep in the catacombs under the city, in a soul-searing moment, Helena watched as the creature that was her sister fell to her death.

That wasn't the end of the torture for Helena...Simmons was a self-described 'intellectual' who knew how to think ahead and outmaneuver his enemies. He destroyed Tall Oaks and any and all evidence that would have damned him by ordering that infamous missile strike as the new President struggled to get himself established; worse, he used the circumstances to implicate Leon and Helena in the President's assassination! But Simmons underestimated the spirit and courage of Leon and Helena, who chased him to China and fought one battle after another to clear their names and bring the traitor to justice. Unfortunately, that hard-won justice couldn't salve Helena's loss...or her guilt for assisting in the assassination of the President she swore to give her life to protect. It had barely been a month since all of that shit happened, too. Hunnigan looked at the ground regretfully and said, "I've never seen Helena so depressed, Leon...I doubt she shares that with you."

Leon's expression was downcast as he folded his arms across his chest uncomfortably. "She doesn't, but I can see it in Helena's eyes. I still see the pain...and the guilt." Hunnigan looked at Leon, and his eyes took a solemn, compassionate set as he thought of Helena. "Don't get me wrong, Helena is amazing...and like I've told her, she's grown on me. But it's a bad time for me to try hitting on her, like you're thinking."

"You have no idea how...how alone Helena feels, Leon." Hunnigan smiled softly and reassured, "Maybe now isn't a bad time. Maybe you're exactly who she needs."

"I'm surprised you'd say that. I remember hitting on you, and you shot me down gently."

Hunnigan smiled a bit more as she remembered, too. "Leon, I brushed off your trying anything with me because I made a rule for myself a long time ago. NEVER get involved with an agent, because one day they may not come home alive after a mission." Her smile faltered as her eyes became sad with remembrance. "I've seen too many friends die for god and country, and I...I couldn't bear the thought of losing someone I..." She couldn't say any more.

Leon nodded quietly and said, "I understand."

Hunnigan's eyes shifted to inquisitveness again. "A part of me is surprised you're interested in Helena, though. What about Ada Wong?"

Leon's expression suddenly soured. "What about her?"

The lady stared at him in an 'Are you serious?' way. "Come on, Leon! Even Helena saw how you felt about Ada when you ran into her in China! She gave you Ada's compact, remember? You say you're interested in Helena, but I can imagine in the back of your mind you'd still be thinking of Ada Wong, superspy and femme fatale extraordinaire - !"

Leon quickly waved a hand side to side. "Hunnigan, please...enough. I'll admit it, Ada has always fascinated me. It's been fifteen years since I first met her in Raccoon City, when she worked for Umbrella. Then and every time I've met Ada since, however, she's gotten away from me...and maybe I should just let her go." Hunnigan looked at him with surprise. "I've really thought about it since China, and we couldn't be more different from each other. Ada has no loyalty to anyone but herself, and I've seen signs she's a spy for the thrill of the chase. She loves living on the edge, Hunnigan. People have called me a boy scout more than once, and it fits. I'm not an agent because I'm in love with daring the devil. Everything I've ever done has been because it's right." He then reached into an inside pocket of his leather jacket and he took out the pearl-white, streamlined compact Helena gave him that belonged to Ada Wong. Leon stared at the compact with thoughtful eyes... "Even if Ada did let me catch her one day if only to give this back to her, even if she stood still for more than five minutes...it wouldn't work. I'd want a stable relationship, but Ada would never want to slow down to give that a chance, ever. I can't keep chasing Ada Wong because she'd never want to be caught."

Leon S. Kennedy then offered the pale compact to Ingrid Hunnigan. She almost wanted to talk him out of it, if only because of something she felt the need to mention. "But you told me once that you got the impression she was attracted to you, as well...?"

"Even if that's true, Hunnigan, my chasing after Ada off and on over the years has still been like a game to her...and I'm getting too old to play games. More and more, I've been getting aches from doing things I had no problem doing five years ago! I figure I only have another five years, maybe ten if I'm very lucky, before I have to retire from the field."

Slowly, almost reluctantly, Hunnigan took the compact from his hand. "I'm sorry, Leon."

"Why? I'm just facing the facts." He smiled softly as he thought of Helena. "And if I have to slow down, more and more I believe Helena is the lady I can do that with."

Hunnigan's slender hand gripped the compact as she smiled back, truly happy Leon felt that way. Helena couldn't possibly have found a better man. But...the dread she felt, what everyone outside of Black Falls felt, returned. Light reflected in Hunnigan's fearful eyes... "I do hate the idea of you both going in there. It does feel so wrong." Her voice became thicker as she said what she felt: "I-I'm worried I may never see you or Helena again..."

"Hey." Leon S. Kennedy drew close and held Hunnigan's slender frame in a tender embrace, and the lady needfully wrapped her arms around him, too. They had been the dearest of friends and comrades for so long. She heard his confident voice say: "Helena and I came back to you before, Hunnigan. We're going to do it again. Okay?"

Ingrid Hunnigan relaxed into Leon as she felt herself smile...his confidence meant so much, especially now. "Okay." After a warm moment, she looked up at him. "C'mon, Leon. You'd better not keep General Earle waiting for you."

-3-

As it turned out, the commander of Operation: Lightning Strike was also one of the new President's recent appointments...he was a well-seasoned, veteran military leader who was just elevated to the position of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military office short of the Chief Executive himself, in the United States.

Many would have said that Beauregard Earle climbed to the top of the mountain in the twilight of his military career by becoming Chairman of the JCS. Earle, however, would have been the first to disagree, and passionately. In his decades of military service, he found that his greatest triumphs were achieved while he was as far from the public spotlight as humanly possible. He'd always had a natural affinity for covert operations since he first joined the Special Operations Group during the Vietnam War as a Lieutenant. (That is to say, bluntly speaking, he knew how to be sneaky and ruthless as hell.) Ever since, Earle quickly but quietly earned a reputation as a man who knew how to get things done, and he did it without leaving a visible footprint in the history books. As the decades passed, as terrorism began to make an increasing impact upon the world stage, Earle understood that madmen with a cause and a death wish were more likely to reshape the world than some petty conflict between superpowers. As he once said, terrorists were threatening to create 'a new world disorder', and politics slowed down leaders from doing what had to be done.

By the 1990's, Earle and a handful of others who worked clandestinely for the protection of the United States put into motion a daring and highly illegal operation. It worked outside of international law and often in spite of the authority of the U.S. government. Still, S.T.R.I.K.E. got results, and even the President at the time played ball. The covert organization's creed was 'to stop wars before they happen', and in that sense, S.T.R.I.K.E. was incredibly effective. Nearly every operation Earle commanded 'off the books' was a complete victory and saved innocent lives across the globe...until a major crisis developed in spite of the best efforts of his leadership and his operatives' abilities because of an international conspiracy of power mongers, and very nearly resulted in the Second Korean War. Even though a world-changing conflict was stopped before it really started because of S.T.R.I.K.E., the political winds were already blowing in a way that even his ultra-covert organization wasn't immune to...the fallout, figurative and literal, from that crisis Earle wasn't quite able to avert didn't help. As quietly as it was born, S.T.R.I.K.E. ceased to exist.

For over a decade since, Beauregard Earle was forced to work in the light of day and became a general in charge of conventional military operations from Iraq to Afghanistan. He felt like a plucked duck, exposed and vulnerable away from the shadows he'd always worked in for the citizens of the United States. It was a testament to his leadership abilities and courage that 'going public' didn't reduce his effectiveness, and he continued to achieve one victory after another. But whether he led operations covertly or publicly over all of his years of military service, it's important to note that Earle had never, ever compromised his honor and principles for the sake of victory. In a world where his fellow military leaders turned into dispassionate assholes who judged their victories by how much collateral damage they could inflict, he led soldiers into battles both quiet and loud not so much to kill the enemy but to save lives. Naturally, this didn't make him popular among his fellow generals in the military...however, because of his clandestine experience, Earle had collected a LOT of damning information on some of his peers, especially where the bodies were buried. But it wasn't because of that leverage he became Chairman of the Joint Chiefs; that resulted because of the fallout created by the actions of the late and unmourned traitor, Derek Simmons.

President Benford's successor to the leadership of the United States, in the wake of the C-Virus epidemic and Simmons' role in both that and Benford's assassination, sought to clean house and appointed new leadership for offices from the Secretaries of State and Defense on down. The new President wasn't hindered in any way by The Family, the secret conclave of interests Simmons was part of, the once-invisible force that decided the course of western civilization for centuries, because they were exposed and were fast on their way to losing the power they had in the same way the Umbrella Corporation did. When the time came to find a new leader of the Joint Chiefs, he picked Earle. Mostly because he knew he only had a handful of years left in the military anyway, partly to answer the call of duty, Earle accepted the appointment. That early Friday evening, as the Black Falls incident became public, the President chose Earle to lead Lightning Hammer, confident the former S.T.R.I.K.E. commander could earn another victory and save lives once again.

But in his command tent just 100 yards outside of Black Falls, General Beauregard Earle didn't look happy at all, and he had no reason to be as he listened to his guests, as his hard eyes bored into them. The 72-year-old soldier presented a lanky yet tense figure in his khaki short-sleeve uniform with his gray hair kept in a short military cut. It was everything one felt from the man that spoke volumes: his very persona and presence quietly radiated authority in a classic, stone-faced way, and one got the impression that even at his age he could probably eat Chuck Norris for lunch. He liked to go into a situation knowing everything he needed to beforehand, but in this case with a whole damned American town being threatened and sealed off from the rest of the world by some surreal, unworldly fog, with over 20,000 lives in the balance, he knew virtually nothing. How the hell could he lead soldiers into a situation to stop the enemy and save innocent lives when he was completely ignorant of what they had to face? Earle sought to remedy that by speaking to the officers from the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance's U.S. office, who included Captain Chris Redfield and Lieutenants Jill Valentine and Sheva Alomar...accompanying the three was a wild card the General didn't expect, a redheaded mountain named Barry Burton, a former comrade of Redfield and Valentine in Raccoon City...with DSO agents Leon S. Kennedy and Helena Harper. And even for all Redfield knew, what he said Rebecca Chambers was investigating in Black Falls before things went south, even with Kennedy's corraboration of those facts, Earle still wasn't learning much more than jack-shit. And according to the President, Earle wondered doubtfully, they were the ones who might best be able to execute Lightning Strike's second phase? Earle had the chance to go over the dossiers of these agents, including Burton's and those in the BSAA he hadn't met yet, and he was impressed...he was flat-out amazed by the classified-black information he read about Sherry Birkin, the DSO agent who Kennedy recommended join them, and he understood why they needed to wait for her...

...but Earle thought darkly that no matter who he sent into Black Falls, infiltration was as dangerous an option as could be imagined, if only because of the supernatural fog that blanketed the town...there was a 15 mph wind blowing through the area at that time, and the thick, smoky mist didn't move. At all. Worse, for some reason beyond explanation, it wasn't possible to look into the fog to ascertain what the situation was, even with the very best surveillance technology. From infrared scans on Earth to the very best spy satellites, nothing could cut through that mist to see what was happening in Black Falls. That would have meant anyone sent in would have been going in blind, in more ways than one; visibility in the fog was expected to be close to nil, and would have handicapped any soldier who tried to brave it. Sending an armed force into hostile territory even in the best of conditions was fraught with risk, but this... And that wasn't even taking into account the armed cultists within, or the strange creatures witnesses caught glimpses of as they barely escaped. Shit, Russian Roulette was a safer gamble!

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and commander of Operation: Lightning Hammer, the military response to the crisis that overwhelmed Black Falls, Vermont stared at the group of people who just told him all they knew with a grim expression on his chiseled face. Earle's voice was thin, his southern accent usually agreeable but at this moment holding a figurative razor's edge: "All right. Let me see if I understand this situation correctly, Captain Redfield. You had one of your agents, a Medical Specialist, investigate a domestic cult she feared was preparing to commit an act of terrorism on our own people...and you never took her worries seriously?"

Captain Chris Redfield almost visibly flinched as the others looked at him...ever since he saw Rebecca Chambers in tears and screaming for help on his phone's screen, he'd been second-guessing every choice he made that brought them here. Chris said simply, "Sir, as I just told you, it was something Rebecca wanted to investigate during her off time. I appreciated her worries about The Order. If I didn't think there was any merit to what she wanted to do, I wouldn't have approved of her going - !"

Earle snapped, "But you still treated it like she was just going on fucking vacation, Redfield. You didn't think for even a minute to provide her support, send another one of your people to partner up with her? You never even thought to take the step to alert this state's authorities or the feds in their local offices to be prepared to give Chambers assistance just in case maybe she was right? You just said, 'See you soon, don't do anything I wouldn't do!' Is that about it?" He didn't wait for an answer from the veteran survivor. "Bottom line, you didn't know the how serious the situation was until Chambers called you and said The Order attacked her and kidnapped Cheryl Mason, a person these lunatics want because they believe she's the mother of their God, which doesn't make much sense! She also said they're using parasites, possible bio-weapons, very likely to control people and make them their soldiers! And that's all you knew before the fog came down?" Chris nodded. Earle put his hands on his hips as he stared down Chris, who found the inner strength to keep his eyes fixed on the General in turn. "I would have thought considering your history since goddamn Raccoon City you would have taken some kind of precautions to assist Agent Chambers because in this crazy-ass world, anything can happen at anytime!"

Chris couldn't help but frown. "You're right, sir, and I have nothing to say in response to that. But I would have done more if we had any better idea what The Order wanted and what they intended to do!"

Earle's voice lashed, "Oh, that's all! Well take a good look outside, Captain, because THAT'S what this maniac cult wanted! Each and every square inch of Black Falls has been sealed off from intrusion by a fog, and there have been no reports anyone escaped since the initial violence that claimed hundreds of lives! Forget for a moment that this situation is like something out of The Twilight Zone, that The Order somehow summoned a fog out of nowhere that's standing in defiance of all natural law! It also seems to be able to knock out anything with an electrical power source, and it's connected with our inability to reach anyone in the town by phone, even the Sheriff's Office! There are scientists from MIT to DARPA and across the planet trying like hell to figure out how this could even be happening, and they've got nothing!" He stared at Chris even harder. "And you sent her knowing that this shit happened before to two towns in Maine."

"Sir..." Chris was about to say something, but then he frowned and looked at the ground. He said quietly, "Yes, sir." Jill and Sheva could only look at him helplessly...they didn't blame him for things coming to this, for Rebecca and so many more people being in unknowable peril.

Earle examined Chris with his hard eyes and said, "Make no mistake, Redfield. If I was in your place, I would have probably done the same things with so little to go on." Chris looked up at him. "I'm not here to place blame on anyone...that's a politician's game. But what we need to do is make this situation right again - !" He was interrupted by the phone that rang from his desk. He quickly stalked over to the phone, picked it up and said, "What?" A couple of beats passed. "Please repeat that." Whoever he spoke to did just that. "Okay. Okay. Understood, sir." He quietly hung up his phone and looked at the others. "That was the President. He's been grilling every one of his intelligence heads in Washington to find out if anyone already knew about Silent Hill and Shepherd's Glen." His voice slowly burned as he revealed, "Turns out the head of the National Security Agency said his people have known for years. They sent agents on three different occasions to investigate those towns a long time ago, but no one ever came back out of the fog. You know what they did? They slapped a 'Threat Level To Be Determined' label on those towns, put the case on a shelf and forgot about it." Earle laughed ruefully...he thought about how 9-11 happened because intelligence agents dropped the ball then, too. "Back in my day and age, no one was ever that goddamn lazy." The General was quiet for a beat...

...but then he turned his attention to Barry Burton. Earle looked up at the big man and asked, "So what are you doing here?"

Barry Burton cleared his throat as he felt his posture reflexively stiffen. "Sir! Captain Redfield and I worked together in the Air Force, and then I worked with him, Lieutenant Valentine and Medical Specialist Chambers in Raccoon City."

Earle impatiently said, "I know that! So the hell what?"

Barry blinked. "So, er, considering our experience with bio-organic weapons, which seem to be a factor in this case, I volunteered myself to assist the infiltration operation. Sir!"

"Burton, you're civilian P.D. now! I need better reason than that to make you part of this operation!" General Earle's stare challenged Barry, who was the chief of police in Billings, Montana. The bearded man-mountain tried to think fast to come up with something to say...

...but Jill Valentine saved him the trouble by saying, "General, all I can say is that Barry Burton is someone Chris and I can trust with our lives. His experience and knowledge in weapons would make him invaluable!" Barry suddenly felt warm from hearing Jill's words, but he still wanted to say something on his own behalf...

...however, Leon S. Kennedy said to Earle, "Sir, I worked with Barry and Chris long ago searching for information to bring down the Umbrella Corporation. It's been a while since we last met, but I have faith he still has what it takes to help this operation achieve success."

Helena Harper supported her fellow DSO agent by adding, "If Leon feels that way, sir, then I'm also confident Burton would assist us greatly."

Sheva Alomar said quietly, "General? If I may, perhaps we can make him an advisor to this operation? In that capacity, I'm sure Burton can assist us in many ways."

Earle looked back at Sheva and said, "An advisor." He frowned as he looked at the others...and then he turned his gaze to Barry again. He repeated, "An advisor." After a beat...Earle nodded and proclaimed, "I like the sound of that, Burton, so you'd better like it, too!"

Nervous yet grateful, Barry nodded quickly. "Yessir! I-I mean, I do, sir! Thank you, sir." He took a moment to look at his friends around him warmly...and then focused on one in particular: he shot Chris a look and growled, "Thank you for offering a good word for me too, partner!"

Chris had been the only one who didn't say anything in defense of Barry coming along...he knew he didn't have to. Chris grinned back and said, "Hey, you're the one who wanted to come along - !"

"General?" The voice came from a woman who just entered the command tent, and Earle and everyone looked to her. The lady was an attention-getter...she was a statuesque blonde with short hair simply dressed in a blouse, slacks and boots; she had a regal beauty, even in her fifties, that made the women already present self-consciously wonder if they'll look as good at her age. Most of those in the tent recognized her from her work as a television reporter...

...but Earle knew her much more personally - they had worked together for years. The General nodded warmly and greeted, "Andrea!" He introduced the lady to the others: "Everyone, this is my media liaison, Andrea Grey." He looked back at the blonde and asked, "What can you tell me?"

Unknown to the others, Andrea Grey had worked for Earle in S.T.R.I.K.E. as one of his most invaluable operatives. Born in Great Britiain, Andrea once was a freelance mercenary who sold her deadly skills to whoever had enough money...until she offered her services to General Earle. Her public persona was as the lead reporter for an international news network, a position tailor-made for her so she could fulfill her true role: to build enough smoke and mirrors with her propaganda to conceal the military activities of S.T.R.I.K.E. For example, if a small yet brutal action was waged in oh, a Southeast Asian country, Andrea would report that the damage was the result of a natural disaster, say an earthquake. It was mainly because of her the secret activities of S.T.R.I.K.E. stayed secret, but no one would ever know that. After S.T.R.I.K.E. ceased to be, Andrea was quietly given American citizenship and 'retired' as a news reporter. She continued to work in counter-intelligence since, and for Earle in particular. Andrea told the General in her distinctive British-born accent, "I've confirmed through my contacts that so far no one in the press, national or global, knows anything about who is responsible for what's happening to Black Falls."

Earle's response was a small, cool smile. "That's good to hear."

Andrea looked at the others and enlightened them: "And that should give us something of an edge over The Order. If they are a cult of insane true believers, they are doing this in part for the sake of exposure and attention. They'll want to see their beliefs made public and as a result legitimate in the eyes of the world. Needless to say, we should deny such things to those bastards for as long as possible." And that was the logic behind Leon telling the press that the powers that be didn't know. Andrea frowned a little and said, "However...if the enemy doesn't communicate to us a list of demands, or at least a statement of some kind to give us an idea of what they want, then we should get worried. A zealot already prepared to die for their beliefs is dangerous enough...if they are not doing this to gain something, then for some reason they already believe themselves to be in a position of superiority. If that's so, then this situation will become very ugly...whatever The Order wants to do next will raise the stakes even higher, or make us call on a massive supply of bodybags. It's simply a question of when that will happen."

Beauregard Earle quickly shifted everyone's attention to him when he said earnestly, "It's our job to make sure that doesn't happen! Unfortunately, we can't do anything until Agent Birkin arrives in about four hours from now to join the operation. In the meantime, let's see if we can learn a little more about The Order and their Church of the Holy Way...knowledge is power, and we need as much as we can get. Fortunately, I know someone who can help with that." He picked up his phone and speed-dialed a number to the communications tent. He asked, "Lieutenant, is Hack back online? Reestablish a secure channel and put him through to me now."

On one side of the tent, a large widescreen TV was on display hard-wired directly to communications...it had been dark, but it suddenly brightened and Earle, Andrea, Chris, Leon and the rest saw someone appear. He was a bald, handsome black man with glasses sitting in shadowy environs...it wasn't possible to tell where he was, but he was surrounded by an array of computer screens, and all of them were quietly frantic with activity. Hack looked back at the viewers, focused on one, and said, "Yo, Big General! Nice to be working with you again!" Hack once led the third leg of S.T.R.I.K.E.'s power triad, intelligence, alongside the media and military operations. Hack, true to his nickname, was the best computer hacker on the planet. He once got caught hacking very sensitive government databases because he didn't like how they were doing things...General Earle approached Hack as he was about to start a very, very long stretch in prison, and offered a job. The rest was a history nobody would ever read about.

Earle nodded. "Good to see you too, Hack."

Hack smiled warmly as he looked at another. "Hey, Andrea. Looking lovely, as always."

Andrea almost laughed. "You're too generous, Hack. Thank you."

Earle asked, "Are you ready to give us a rundown on The Order?"

Hack announced, "Synchronicity threshold still holding firm, Big General. I did my searching on the digital superhighway using the keywords you gave me. You wanted the leader of The Order? Well, the winner is...Reeve Meyers, born in Silent Hill, Maine in 1964!" On the screens around him, pictures appeared of Reeve from early in his life up to high school. "And brother, in a nutshell, this boy IS a goddamn nut. He and his parents moved from Silent Hill to Tuscon, Arizona in 1976 when he was 12. The boy wasn't much of a blip on the radar until his mom and dad were murdered one night, killed in their own bed. Reeve was 21 at the time, and guess who disappeared that same night and is still wanted by the Tuscon P.D. for their murders?"

Earle growled, "Keep going."

"This was Reeve's last official picture from a Arizona driver's license photo taken when he was 19." Hack's image was replaced by Reeve's, as the man announced. "He's got one pasty face for growing up in the desert, huh?" It wasn't just his pale complexion that marked the young man - there was something subtly predatory in his features, especially his dark eyes.

Andrea commented, "I'd say he was charming...if I was deaf, dumb and blind." Jill Valentine stared hard at the image...this was the man who led The Order and threatened Rebecca?

Hack reappeared on the screen. "Reeve dropped off the grid completely, and what I had to tell you would've ended there...he either changed his identity or stole one from somebody else. But! I took his last known photo and put my latest facial recognition software to work, tweaking it for age ever since he disappeared. Then all I had to do was search for a visual match in federal, state and local databases across the country, and I hit paydirt! It all came easy from there." A montage of pictures began to appear, one after another, of Reeve as he grew older. Each picture was in a very different setting. "A lot of it involves pictures the FBI took of fringe groups getting together. You can see as time goes by, more and more of the same faces appear in pictures with him."

Earle concluded, "He was recruiting followers for his Church."

"Exactamundo, Big General. We're talking about people who hopped from one crazy cause to another until they started following Reeve, and they had rap sheets ranging from civil disobedience to robbery. Nice, quiet folks, you know what I'm saying? They also liked to chat up a storm on Twitter."

Chris Redfield nodded. "That's how Rebecca found out about them."

"Those followers you see are also connected with The Order's websites..." Hack reappeared as he continued. "...there's four sites online dedicated to teaching folks about their Church of the Holy Way. These assholes believe in some strange-ass shit. Stuff about power through sacrifices, order must rule over chaos, their God one day returning to turn our world into a so-called Paradise. If you're a complete nutcase and you want to feel empowered, this is the cult for you!"

Earle said, "Hack, the moment you're done talking to us, send some viruses to burn down those websites. I want NOTHING left of them, you understand?"

"Your wish is my command, Big General!"

Andrea Grey asked, "Hack, the way you spoke before, Reeve was in pictures outside of FBI surveillance of the lunatic fringe. By any chance would other photographic evidence of him be in connection to criminal investigations?"

Hack responded, "Good question, Andrea, and the answer is yes! Many of the pictures were from state and federal surveillance of Reeve and others in connection to cases involving money laundering, black market weapons sales, racketeering - !"

"Stop!" Earle stared at Hack with intensity. "What kind of weapons?"

"Surplus weapons." Hack shrugged. "Maybe Reeve's on a budget. There's something else...Reeve's either smarter than he looks, or he can smell cops coming from a mile away. No matter what name he was using at a given time, and he's gone through a lot of names, Reeve was targeted for a sting by undercover agents on over 15 unrelated occasions over the years, but each and every time he'd disappear before the time for the deal went down."

Andrea stared at Hack's image. "He avoided getting stung every time? No one is that lucky!"

"What can I say, Andrea? He's either damned paranoid, or...I dunno. Maybe the boy can read minds?"

Earle said, "I'm looking at a fog that won't go away ever since it appeared like magic, so that wouldn't surprise me."

"Wait." Chris Redfield stepped forward...he asked Hack, "Has Reeve Meyers been involved in cases involving bioterrorism? Is there any indication he's dealt with rogue nations or groups that use bio-organic weapons?"

"You're Captain Redfield, right?" Hack shook his head. "Sorry, man. Far as I can tell, the answer is no to both your questions. But I can't see everything, as much as I want to. He's got some monsters in that fog, then he got them somehow."

Earle asked, "Anything else, Hack?"

"Yeah." Hack's expression suddenly became downcast and troubled. "My facial recognition software let me know that his face matches the artist's sketches of a 'person of interest' wanted in connection to over forty unsolved murder cases across the country over the past couple of decades. The sketches were made with the help of witnesses who reported an unknown man who was last seen with the victim. Each and every sketch looks exactly like our boy Reeve." He frowned and looked down.

Andrea asked, "Hack? What's the matter?"

Hack sighed. "The murders didn't just involve men and women. A dozen boys and girls up to the age of 14 were killed."

It got very quiet in the command tent as everyone absorbed that. Barry Burton asked, "These cases must have other things in common if Reeve and his people were responsible. Do the murders have the same M.O. or matching signatures of any kind?"

Hack said, "You're on the money, big man. Reeve leads a cult of lunatics...and every case also involved some kind of religious ceremony, a crazy ritual the authorities never made public. And the same symbol is in each case..." On a screen right behind Hack, a circular crimson-red graphic appeared. "The Order calls it the Halo of the Sun. It's the symbol of their Church."

Hack sat forward in his chair and stared at everyone in the command tent. "Listen, y'all. It's absolutely beyond me how the hell The Order created a fog to cover Black Falls, but I do know this isn't the first town they've done this to. You want an idea of what's happening in there? Looking at what happened to Silent Hill and Shepherd's Glen up in Maine, I'm guessing the same thing is happening here. The Order put up the fog so we can't see what they're doing, which is making people dead right now. Over 20,000 people, and Reeve and his cult are killing them as I'm talking to you. I'm not sure if I want to know why...most likely to get more of the power they believe they get from spilling blood. What I also have to wonder is what The Order is going to do after that. How are they gonna get away? Are they going to kill themselves and take as many folks possible with them? Or maybe they're going to do something worse when they're done here, something that'll surprise us as much as this fog did? Bottom line, Big General, we need to get in there, terminate those assholes and save the day, all right? And we need to do it fast."

TO BE CONTINUED