Before anything, thanks to SHFan for your review...it did come through the first time, but I couldn't respond to you like everyone else who's reviewed!
It's the final minutes before infiltration, and the survivors outside of the fog are in their final preparations. Needless to say, some of our heroes aren't at ease in their hearts...and you'll find out why in short order! That's especially true for Chris and Claire Redfield. Plus, we get to know a little more about Regina - here from DINO CRISIS! - and Rain, who was played by Michelle Rodriguez in the RESIDENT EVIL films! They join the teams, but you'll see it isn't a completely comfortable fit...well, hopefully just at first!
We also take important moments to look into the heart of Helena Harper...and there's the possibility of love between her and Leon S. Kennedy! But will they survive the terrors waiting in the fog so they can know romance? Of course, they're not the only ones to hold feelings for significant others in this story...! :heart:
That ain't all: we also get to know some of the other members of Teams Alpha and Bravo...to remind you, many of them are from OPERATION RACCOON CITY!
And could Chris Redfield be as much of a danger to his friends as the monsters in the fog? You'll soon be given excellent reason to wonder what the answer to that question will be! (Here's a hint: you'll be reminded of his bad choices in RESIDENT EVIL 6!)
But wait, there's more! Remember those two immortal words Rain said in the first RE movie? Yep, she says them here! :D Also, pay attention for something Regina says to Jill during this chapter that will resonate for you Survival Horror fans...it's a statement that pays tribute to Jill Valentine paving the way for Regina and DINO CRISIS because of RESIDENT EVIL'S success! You'll understand when you read it! :)
EDITED as of 10-24-13: Sorry about that, just to add a much-needed story detail as General Earle talks to Regina...to those who have already read this, you'll see what I mean. It honestly slipped my mind to add this sooner!
RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY
written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure
Chapter 17:
"ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING"
-1-
Outside of Black Falls, Vermont
On the edge of the quarantine area that sealed Black Falls and its ominous fog from the rest of the world. In the command tent of Operation: Lightning Strike's forward operating base, General Beauregard Earle just received two last-minute additions to the imminent infiltration mission: both women were operatives of the Secret Operations Raid Team. One was a deceptively young veteran of her organization, a redheaded lady code-named Regina...the other was her slightly younger protegee, Rain. Earle gestured to Chris Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy, who were slated to lead Teams Alpha and Bravo, respectively, and said, "Regina, Rain, these are your team leaders, BSAA Captain Redfield and DSO Senior Agent Kennedy. I presume you both received your briefing on the situation on your way here?" Also present were Chris' sister, Claire Redfield, and DSO Agent Sherry Birkin.
Without hesitation, Rain said, "Yes, sir."
Regina nodded deeply. "Yes, General."
General Earle ordered, "Regina, you'll be part of Alpha Team, and Captain Redfield will be your leader! Rain, you'll go in following Agent Kennedy as a part of Bravo Team! You will support your teams to the best of your abilities during their recon! Do you have any questions?"
The mission was simple, yet incalculably hazardous because those outside of the fog-shrouded Black Falls knew so damned little about what Teams Alpha and Bravo were going to have to face. In military operations, knowledge wasn't just power, it often meant life or death. But Regina had gone into worse situations with far less information about what she would face...the redhead's eyes were stoic as she said, "No, sir."
But Rain looked at Redfield and Kennedy with a cool, ready expression as she said, "There's only one thing I need to know...where to find the assholes we need to kill." The smile on the girl's face communicated that the overwhelming risk factor of this infiltration was nothing but a come-on for her. Chris and Leon stared at her. Then Rain felt other eyes on her, and she looked to General Earle. He was frowning. Rain quickly added, "Uh, sir!" Regina, her mentor, quietly smiled in response to Rain's gung-ho attitude.
General Earle wasn't so kind as he growled, "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Rain, but remember you're going into Black Falls to save lives, not just to kill assholes! Clear?"
Rain quickly answered, "Yessir!"
"All right!" Earle then regarded everyone in the tent, including Claire and Sherry, as he repeated the infiltration's operational strategy. "Teams Alpha and Bravo will move into Black Falls simultaneously from two different directions! Alpha will insert into the fog the same way Recon One tried, from the north on Kubrick Street. Bravo will be transported to the south side of the quarantine area by Black Hawk transport to enter within the County Fairgrounds. Recon One made too damn much noise entering the fog and that had to be what got them killed, but if you go in by foot as quickly but quietly as possible, you'll best limit the chances of being detected by the enemy! You'll proceed with recon of the hostile area and work through Black Falls until both teams rendezvous at Wyler Community Hospital in the center of town. After that, if you haven't found them already, search for and secure BSAA Agent Rebecca Chambers and Cheryl Mason, and neutralize The Order!
"Remember you're all going old school for this! The moment you're in that fog, you'll lose radio contact with the outside world and each other. In fact, you won't have electronic support of any kind...flashlights should still work, though, and so will radios to a certain degree according to advisors who will be accompanying your teams. Also, the low level of visibility you'll experience in the fog might give you problems finding your way around, but the fog may also become your best friend and conceal your movements from the human and non-human hostiles! It's also possible you'll encounter innocents under enemy control because of the unknown-type parasites The Order possesses. Until you find a means to free them, remember bio-warfare protocols and terminate them for the safety of your team and the success of your mission!" He moved closer to Redfield and Kennedy. "I'm not 100-percent sure we can trust in them, but listen to your advisors from Maine!" Cybil Bennett, Douglas Cartland and Anne Cunningham, who had faced this same, supernatural mist in Silent Hill. "They seem to know what we're dealing with better than anyone else! Understood?"
Chris nodded, pure business. "Yes, sir!"
Leon said, "Yes, General, but there's one thing we haven't talked about yet. Are we on a timetable? Exactly how long will we have to accomplish our mission?"
Earle answered, "Your teams will have 36 hours to infiltrate Black Falls, find Chambers and Mason, and end The Order's threat."
Even Regina and Rain stared at the general. Chris said, "That's not a lot of time, sir - !"
Earle barked, "That's all the time you CAN be given! Remember after you enter that fog, we'll have no idea what your status is from one moment to the next!" The miltary man turned to look at everyone. "If we don't see you again within 36 hours, we'll have to presume you're dead. You're our first best shot at stopping this crisis, and if you can't..." Earle's expression and tone of voice held a dubious edge. "...the President will undoubtedly have other options available." He paused for a moment as he let that sink in for everyone. Then Earle said to Chris and Leon, "Have your teams prepped and ready for deployment in front of the barracks in 20 minutes; mission start is ten minutes after that! Understood?"
Chris and Leon said, nearly in unison, "Yes, sir!"
Earle turned to the redheaded beauty in the tent. "Regina, I need to talk to you for a minute. The rest of you are dismissed!"
Everyone but Regina left the command tent...Chris was the first out and marched straight for the barracks of the FOB. Not far behind him, Leon, Claire, Sherry and Rain were following him. Leon said loudly, "Chris!" He knew there were things that had to be talked about, considering his sister was joining the mission, as well. But Chris didn't stop...he didn't even seem to acknowledge Leon in any way.
Claire Redfield's expression was worried as she felt the far more primal need to talk to her brother. She called after him, "Chris, please stop! We need to talk - !"
Chris stopped and deliberately looked at his sister. The expression on his face made Claire stop awkwardly. The BSAA Captain said with flat finality, "There's nothing to talk about. You got what you wanted, Claire. You'd better be ready in 20 minutes, like the general said." He turned and kept walking without another word.
Crestfallen, Claire breathed, "Chris...!" Her beautiful face suddenly flooded with pain as she could only stand there and watch her brother leave.
Rain moved up to Leon, unsure...she felt the clear and present tension in the air between the brother and sister, like Leon and Sherry did. Rain asked Leon, "Uh, is there something I should know, sir...?"
As Sherry gently drew close wrapped her arms around one of Claire's not far away, Leon quietly said, "It's nothing, Rain." The DSO vet looked at Rain and ordered her warmly, "Go ahead and get together with the rest of Bravo Team in the barracks."
Rain might have been a go-getter, but she was also a disciplined, professional soldier...she straightened and snapped a brisk salute. "Yes, sir!" Then she was gone.
But Leon's expression darkened as he moved to stand in front of Claire and Sherry. He looked at the ponytailed brunette and said, "Claire, I hate to lie to anyone, and I just did. Whatever is going on between you and Chris is a damned long way from being nothing. In fact, if this will get the way of our mission - !"
Claire blurted, "It won't, Leon, I promise!" But...there was so much sadness in her expression as she looked down at the ground. "It...i-it's personal."
As Sherry Birkin held Claire by the arm with complete devotion, the waifish blonde looked at her hero with soft blue eyes. She said carefully, "Claire, I'm sorry, but...maybe this is something we need to know. Please?"
Leon S. Kennedy regarded Claire, a dear friend and fellow survivor of Raccoon City and Harvardville. "I don't understand, Claire. I thought Chris didn't have a problem with you joining Terrasave. I got the impression he and your parents were relieved you didn't follow your brother to fight bioterrorism."
Claire Redfield closed her eyes as she looked at the earth. "I thought Chris felt that way, too. I know for a fact dad and mom did." She finally looked up at Leon. "But ever since I made that choice, as time has gone by, I'm getting more and more of a sense that Chris did took my choice personally. I-it hasn't helped he's grown further and further away from the rest of the family because he's so committed to his war with bioterrorists."
Sherry asked, "What do you mean?"
Claire looked at the girl she saved from Raccoon City fifteen years ago. "Chris is becoming a stranger to me and our whole family. In the past seven years, ever since he thought Jill died, we all lost touch with him...before, he was always so deeply connected with us. Now we won't even see him join the family for holidays, and every family I've heard of tries their best to do that. I-I mean, families shouldn't let any distance get in the way of their love, or of being together at special times. Right?" That was the ideal...if this was a better world, it should have been a reality for all families. "I've tried calling Chris again and again, and more often than not he won't even answer the damn phone. The shit that happened to him this past year has only made matters worse. After he lost his team in Eastern Europe, Chris stayed there and went on that pub crawl I mentioned, but our family didn't know that until after the fact! For six months, we knew nothing about how he was doing. Nothing."
Leon's frown deepened as he thought, Dammit, Chris, what's wrong with you? I thought you were obsessed before, but this...! "I've had my own worries about your brother, Claire. I talked to a military psychologist who tried to examine Chris before he took his extended leave of absence. I was told that losing his team resulted in some form of post-traumatic stress, even a limited degree of amnesia that couldn't be confirmed..."
Claire's eyes became bright with frustrated anger. "I don't give a damn what some doctor said, it's like my brother dropped off the face of the Earth! Leon, dad and mom were so worried at times during those six months, they feared Chris died! Amnesia...he didn't forget who he was, did he? He didn't forget he had a family who loved and worried about him, did he?!" The beautiful lady shook her head, her expression helpless. "I only found out weeks ago he drank himself into a stupor every day for those six months, and you know what finally snapped him out of it?! His job did. He had to come back to his self-appointed crusade!" Grief flooded Claire's lovely face as she held back from crying with all of her strength. "I-I feel like I'm losing Chris, Leon...sometimes I'm deathly afraid I already have. It's like his mission to hunt bioterrorists has become all that matters!"
Leon S. Kennedy looked at his dear friend with awkward silence - he had no answers for her. Sherry Birkin clutched Claire's arm lovingly as she offered tentatively, "Claire...I'm so sorry. Ever since we were reunited in Berlin, you didn't say much about your brother."
Claire Redfield lifted one of her slender hands to close needfully over one of Sherry's as she said, "I...I didn't have much to say, Sherry."
Within the command tent...General Earle was behind his desk looking at Regina after everyone else left. He growled, "Regina. I have additional orders for you."
The beautiful redhead nodded. "Yes, sir?"
"I told the others I had doubts about whether this mission will be a success or not. One of those doubts involves your team leader, Captain Redfield."
"What do you mean, General?"
"More and more, I've had to wonder whether Redfield will be an asset to the infiltration...or a liability. Did you receive his full dossier along with your mission briefing?"
"Yes, sir."
"Then you know as well as I do the man's on the verge of operational burnout, if he hasn't burned out already! Redfield lost nearly every man on his team to Neo-Umbrella in Eastern Europe last Christmas because he presumed a complete stranger to be a friendly."
"You mean Neo-Umbrella's leader, Carla Radames, sir." Carla Radames, a virologist and lover to Derek Simmons, volunteered to become recipient to a variant of the C-Virus that transformed her in appearance into a perfect duplicate of Ada Wong, just to satisfy Simmons' twisted obsession with the freelance spy. Radames went insane as a result, and used her own resources to create Neo-Umbrella, which grew to become a terrorist organization that threatened to destroy the world...and she did so under the guise of Ada herself. Radames tricked Chris Redfield and easily lured his team into a trap that last nightmarish Christmas, since she was the mirror image of a woman who associated with Leon S. Kennedy in the past. From that moment, Ada was believed to be the leader of Neo-Umbrella...but that didn't make the real Ada Wong happy at all when she found out! Last month, Ada tracked both Simmons and Radames' movements from America to China, and ultimately destroyed her dark mirror image after a horrific battle. After Simmons' death that same night, Ada made sure Leon S. Kennedy and Helena Harper got the evidence they needed to clear their names and prove Simmons' treason...along with the proof that cleared Ada Wong and condemned Carla Radames for the many, many crimes she committed, including killing most of Chris' team in Eastern Europe.
"Right. It was a stupid thing to do to let that bitch accompany his team, and even worse let her get in a position where she could do them harm! Redfield was supposedly so traumatized he put in for leave, but after that he spent the next six months on a bender, which his own sister reminded me of just now! Maybe he started hiding in liquor bottles because he wanted to forget his mistake...maybe he felt guilty for losing his team..." He shrugged. "I don't know. Over a month ago, some of Redfield's men in the BSAA finally tracked him down so he could go back to active duty and stop Neo-Umbrella's activities in China...and I don't need to tell you what happened next."
Regina said quietly, "I read about what happened in his dossier...he lost another team, sir."
Earle said harshly, "And that time it was because he let his damn emotions get in the way of his mission!" At one point during Chris' hunt for Neo-Umbrella, a unique bio-organic weapon that could turn invisible killed one of his men...Chris and the rest of his team vengefully chased after the monster and destroyed it, but not before it decimated the rest of his men. "He finally pulled through and accomplished what he had to do, but he lost the last man on his team, his partner, Piers Nivans." The general's eyes fixed on Regina's. "Captain Redfield is already getting too old to be an effective operative...worse, his ability as a leader might also be compromised because he's been in the game for too long. I've seen it happen to some good friends before, and there's no crime in that." Earle folded his arms over his chest and said with finality, "But I'm not going to let that man make another bad decision and get anyone else killed! Regina, you will support Captain Redfield and follow his orders to the best of your ability. However! If he gives you ANY reason to think he's become a liability to his own team and to the success of your mission...you have my sanction to terminate his command and replace him as leader of Alpha Team!"
Uncomfortable silence for a moment. Finally, Regina asked, "Sir...permission to speak freely?"
Earle nodded. "Of course."
She said carefully, "General, either we have faith in Captain Redfield or we don't. You should address your worries to him before - !"
"If I did, he'd just reassure me he's okay and he won't make the same mistakes again! Besides, I do trust Redfield...but I'm not a fool, either. I'm giving you these orders just in case my worries about him come true and you have to replace him."
The lady in black and grey crossed her arms under her bosom. "If you're right, General, if I do have to take his command...he won't like it."
Earle snapped, "Redfield's not supposed to like it! Here!" The general leaned over, took a pen and piece of paper from a memo pad, and began hastily writing on it. As he did, he said, "Just give the captain this signed authorization from me at anytime you believe he's unfit for command. This will prove that you're on orders from me to replace him!" In a beat, he was done and he offered the message to Regina. "He won't like this either, but he'll have nothing to say about it."
Regina moved up to Earle's desk and took the message from his hand...but her expression was doubtful. "What if Captain Redfield is resistant to my replacing him? I ask that...just in case, sir."
General Beauregard Earle declared, "Then think of the safety and well-being of your team and the success of your mission, Regina. If Redfield resists...you have my permission to terminate Redfield's command by any means necessary. That includes lethal force!"
-2-
It had taken some forethought - and some last-minute changes because of the loss of BSAA Agent Crispin Jettingham and some late additions - but the final assignments for both Alpha and Bravo had been decided upon. It was hoped that each team wouldn't just be a healthy mix of personnel from the BSAA and DSO, but that the combination of talents in each would improve their chances for success. This was the rundown for both teams...
Alpha Team:
BSAA Captain Chris Redfield
BSAA Lt. Jill Valentine
DSO Agent Caroline Floyd
BSAA Lt. Sheva Alomar
DSO Agent Marissa Ronson
DSO Agent Hector Hivers
DSO Agent Michaela Schneider
Team Sniper, DSO Agent Vladamir Borovski
Team Medic, BSAA Medical Specialist Christine Yamata
Barry Burton, Advisor
Cybil Bennett, Advisor
Regina, SORT Specialist
Bravo Team:
DSO Senior Agent Leon S. Kennedy
DSO Agent Helena Harper
BSAA Lt. Karena LesProux
DSO Agent Sherry Birkin
BSAA Sgt. George 'Vector' Kishino
DSO Agent Lawrence Kimbala
Team Sniper, BSAA Cpl. Sienna Fowler
Team Medic, BSAA Medical Specialist Erez 'Harley' Morris
Anne Cunningham, Advisor
Douglas Cartland, Advisor
Claire Refield, Advisor
Rain, SORT Specialist
There were two large, adjoining rooms where each team made their final preparations for the mission, and the mood in the air was optomistic, but cautiously so. Each operative wore very different forms of tactical military gear, clothed in ways that expressed themselves individually in spite of their trade as soldiers. Many wore a minimum of body armor; some of the DSO agents, like Leon and Helena, didn't wear any kind of armor at all. Both the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance and the Division of Security Operations were often deployed to face bio-organic weapons, and armor wasn't usually an asset. Why? Because kevlar and metal plate was created to stop bullets...it made little difference against bio-engineered creatures that had claws and teeth that could tear through such body armor like it was rice paper. The loadouts everyone carried was similar, for the sake of simplicity. (And for the grim possibility that if anyone was lost, their weapons, ammo and equipment could be salvaged for the sake of the survivors.) Most carried the versatile M4 Colt Commando or the heavier Bear Commander carbine (the last equipped with a powerful grenade launcher attachment) as their primary weapon...sidearms ranged only from the classic, time-tested Government .45 to the Lightning Hawk Magnum to the high-capacity M9 Beretta...and all of the weapons had suppressors attached for the sake of stealth.
Some agents, of course, were much more unique in their gear and weapons from the others. Seated at a bench in Alpha's prep area, DSO agent Hector Hivers looked like a humanoid tank...the big man was wearing an armored suit: metal plates covered his entire body, topped with a sturdy helmet that covered his face. He wore the heavy metal comfortably, though, and it served him well before as an explosives and ordnance disposal expert. Hector also took on the role of Fire-Support for his team, and he was in the finishing stages of putting together a weapon so distinctive, he was earning gazes from his teammates, especially those from the BSAA who were working with him for the first time. A few were here from Bravo to speak with friends in Alpha in the brief time they had before the mission. One of them was Harley Morris, who gave some much-needed words of encouragement and support to his fellow Medical Specialist, Christine Yamata, who was in a bleak mood since their friend and comrade Crispin Jettingham's death. Christine's mood had visibly improved as Harley, who was also a big man, reluctantly left her...but he stopped when he saw the long gun Hector just finished assembling. Harley asked the armored man, "What the hell is that?"
Hector looked up at the bald biker and said, "What do you think? I call her Bitsy!"
Harley observed, "That's a grenade rifle, isn't it?! But they don't make those anymore!"
"Yeah, so I made this, an M1 Garand I personally customized. You know the RPG-7?"
Harley frowned. "Of course, who doesn't?" The RPG-7, a highly durable and deadly rocket-propelled grenade launcher created by the Russians during the age of the Soviet Union, was the best known anti-armor weapon on Earth.
Hector informed the medic, "Since nobody makes rifle grenades anymore either, I rebuilt Bitsy to fire 40-millimeter frags and 105-millimeter thermobaric warheads made for the RPG-7!" Hector had a number of the slender warheads of both types in heavy pouches around his thick waist.
Harley shook his bald head. "You honestly take that monster with you on missions?!"
"Hell yeah, and Bitsy hasn't failed me yet! She can take down or at least cripple a heavy B.O.W. with one shot."
A colleage of Hector in the DSO, Michaela Schneider, sidled up to Harley and offered in a lightly accented voice, "Hector is quite serious. I've seen him do it in the field of battle." The beauty with short-shorn blonde hair, who was born in Germany and made a new home and life for herself in America, wore black leather gear, including a pull-open tunic top and a skirt, which should have looked strange but really didn't. She carried in one hand a bio-warfare mask with blue lenses she often wore to cover her lovely, pale face in the field; she would again in the fog, just in case. Among specialists who relfected their personalities by what they wore when going into action, Michaela Schneider was definitely a standout.
Hector said with pride, "And since we have to go old school for this mission, Bitsy would be perfect!"
Harley was skeptical, though. "Yeah, that weapon's perfect for threats from medium and long range! We're going into a fog, remember? Visibility's going to be for crap!"
Hector told the medic, "Hey, I'd rather take Bitsy with me and not need her instead of leaving her behind and wishing I needed her later!"
Another DSO colleague to Hector in Alpha, Caroline Floyd, was nearby...polar opposite to Hector, the beautiful recon specialist and former Army Ranger wore no armor with her gray camo outfit except for tactical pads on her elbows and knees. Caroline looked at Hector with a wicked grin as she joked, "I thought guys just said that about condoms!"
Everyone who happened to be listening in the immediate area laughed, especially Harley...Michaela just smiled; she had often watched Caroline and Hector get on each other's nerves in the past. Hector said sarcastically, "Ha-ha-ha, very funny!"
Not far away. Christine Yamata heard a voice say, "Excuse me?" She looked up to see the kind expression of Captain Cybil Bennett, one of the advisors from Maine. Cybil said, "Forgive me, I never got to speak to many of you before...Christine, right?"
Christine nodded. "Yes, Captain." The lady was dressed fully in black, and had an incredibly important role as Alpha Team's medic, like Harley was for Bravo Team. She had more equipment than most of the others, including a backpack nearly full to bursting, but she carried it all on her petite frame with no difficulty.
Cybil said quietly, respectfully, "I also wanted to offer my condolences for your friend, Agent Jettingham. I'm truly sorry."
Grateful and moved by the police captain's words, Christine nodded deeply. "Thank you. Captain...are you sure there's nothing else you can tell us about what to expect when we go into Black Falls? Is there anything more we can do to prepare for what's in there?"
Cybil sat next to Christine and shook her head. "I wish I could say yes, but really, it won't help simply to tell you what's you're getting into before you go into the fog. Just telling you, trying to describe it all, it won't mean much. It's like...well, you know how expeditions need native guides to lead them through a jungle or another kind of wilderness?"
"I know." The soft yet experienced voice came from BSAA agent Sheva Alomar, who was there looking at Cybil and Christine. The warrior woman said, "Not very long ago I wasn't just Captain Redfield's partner, I was also his advisor and guide when we investigated bioterrorism in Kijuju, the country in Africa that was once my home." She crossed her arms as she remembered. "I could have told him any number of things to prepare him...in fact, I did...but being told about a place and situation means nothing to honestly experiencing it firsthand. I knew all I could do from the moment our mission began was be there for him, caution him at times, and support him during times of peril."
Christine looked at Sheva thoughtfully as Cybil nodded and said, "Exactly. In the end, all Douglas, Anne and I can do is be there for you, escort you through the fog. Only then will you really begin to know as much as I do about what you have to face. Then I can really tell you how to react when...something happens." Cybil Bennett's expression turned ominous as she added softly, "And I promise you'll understand this later, but there are things about the fog and what's in it you won't expect no matter what I tell you. You'll have to see them for yourself."
"Hey, new girl!"
The shout came from Hector, which got everyone's attention...but what he said was meant for one person in particular. Rain and Regina had talked for a few minutes quietly; they kept mostly to themselves since Chris and Leon introduced them to the teams a few minutes earlier. Rain had parted fondly from Regina as her mentor sat at another bench in the prep area, and the girl dressed fully in black was about to go join Bravo. But then Hector Hivers called out to her, and the Mexican-American girl stopped in her tracks. Rain gave the big man a cool stare that already seemed to challenge him. "You talkin' to me? My name's Rain, not 'new girl'. Besides, I'm with the other group."
Hector said, "Yeah, I know! I'm just curious to get to know more about you and the redhead." He stood and looked around, spread his hands, and said loudly, "Who else is curious, huh?" Some responded with an enthusiastic "Yeah!" as others quietly converged toward both Rain and Regina, but respectfully, out of gentle curiosity.
Rain frowned at Hector as she gestured to her mentor from S.O.R.T. "'The redhead's' name is Regina. Remember that, all right? And remember what Captain Redfield said when he introduced us to all of you? Our personal information is classified." Regina simply sat where she was, quietly watching the conversation.
The armored man cocked his head as he tried to assess the girl. "Well, you two have gotta be a bad-asses, right? How many people have you killed?"
That was when Rain glared at him...her entire being stiffened as she said, "The fuck did you just say?"
Surprised, Hector began awkwardly, "I-I just asked - "
Rain interrupted angrily, "You repeat that question and I'll knock you on your economy-sized ass! 'How many people...!' What the hell do you think we are?"
"I - !"
Hector's size virtually dwarfed the slender girl in black, and still Rain stalked toward the armored man like she was going to knock the holy hell out of him. And she probably could have. "I might as well ask you how many people you've killed, you jerk! Me and Regina are black ops commandos for our organization, all right? Everything we do is classified! But you'd better not EVER doubt that everything we do is for the sake of the security of our country and saving lives! I can't tell you what I do, so automatically you're gonna judge me and think I'm in fuckin' wetwork? That I'm nothin' but an assassin?! You're gonna judge Regina?!" The fire in her brown eyes was more in defense of her mentor than it was for herself.
Again, Hector tried to speak: "I-I'm not - !"
And Rain was there standing in front of Hector, looking up at him with barely-restrained hostility. "I didn't give you permission to talk yet, jackass! How many people have I killed? I've killed the same number as you!" She turned around slowly to stare at everyone else in the area, her eyes challenging as she pointed at one agent... "And you!" Then another... "And you, and the rest of you! Just like all of you, I've killed as many people as I've had to in order to save the day and get back home alive! The same goes for Regina!" Rain stared down Hector again. "Me and Regina are not here to make friends and tell you our life stories! We're here to cover your asses, make sure the mission gets done, and that's all! You want anything more than that? Okay, listen to this: blow me!"
"Rain." The voice was soft, yet full of iron...Rain turned instantly to that voice. To Regina, whose expression was pure business. She simply gestured to her protegee and said, "Come here." In the sudden quiet as everyone watched, Rain moved to Regina instantly. The redhead drew close and placed a comforting hand on the side of the girl's neck, a calming gesture. The commandos were as close as sisters, but one was the undeniable authority as Regina said, "No harm's been done. Okay?"
Rain relaxed, just like that...she gazed back into Regina's eyes and said quietly, "Okay."
"Just relax," Regina soothed. "Focus on the job."
The girl who was ready to start a fight only a moment before nodded with quiet obedience. "Yes, ma'am."
"Go hook up with Bravo. Get ready."
Rain's eyes were fixed purely on Regina's...she said thickly, "I wish I could stay with you."
Regina drew even closer, and their foreheads gently touched as her hand relaxed on Rain's slender neck. "Me, too. We'll see each other again soon."
Rain frowned and nodded...she and her mentor parted slowly as Rain said fondly, "Catch you later." And that was it. Rain turned from Regina, walked past Hector like he wasn't even there, and left to go to Bravo's part of the barracks. Everyone else watched with awkward silence.
Hector Hivers had to wonder what just happened...more than that, he asked no one in particular, "What the hell did I say?"
Caroline Floyd looked at him and answered, "The wrong thing, Hector."
Regina returned to the bench on the other side of the area...and Jill Valentine was standing there, looking at Regina with soft yet examining eyes. The redheaded commando looked at Jill as she sat and said, "I'm not going to apologize for Rain, Lieutenant Valentine."
Jill shook her head. "You don't have to, Regina. I wouldn't have liked being asked how many people I've killed, either. That's not all any of us here are about."
"Still, I have to grant Rain can get...aggressive. It's part of what makes her so good, though."
Jill smiled. "I believe it." The lovely co-founder of the BSAA took a seat next to Regina. Her eyes were kind as she considered the commando. "I'll admit, I wish I could know more about you too, Regina. I'm grateful for you both being here. You're risking your lives with us, and I'd be honored to call you my friend."
As seasoned as the black ops specialist was, a little color bloomed in her pale cheeks. Regina nodded deeply. "Thank you."
Jill then asked, "What is it like to be in black operations? You do important work, but if you do your job right, no one will ever know. No one will ever praise you or recognize you for what you've done."
With a neutral expression, Regina said, "For what it's worth, Lieutenant, I didn't become a soldier to get medals or be famous. I'm sure you didn't, either?"
"No. I just wanted to make a contribution to my country and to the greater good."
"The same goes for me. You and Captain Redfield still got famous for fighting zombies, and for investigating and finally nailing the Umbrella Corporation ten years ago."
"Hell, it was that long ago, huh?" Jill suddenly, uncomfortably felt old again.
Regina's expression shifted to become much softer... "I can tell you one thing about myself, Lieutenant. I was inspired by the stories I heard about you from the Raccoon City Incident and after that as I grew up. You...well, you became a role model for me. In many ways, I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for you."
Jill stared at Regina, surprised...she also felt a burst of sadness as she thought, If that's true, I don't know whether to feel honored or ashamed...you might die in that fog, Regina. We all might. "I...I honestly don't know what to say. You're the second woman I've met tonight who said I inspired her. I never thought I'd done enough to inspire anyone."
With deep respect, Regina reassured, "You have, Lieutenant. You've done more than you know."
-3-
One room away from the prep area for Bravo Team, Helena Harper was alone...she had deliberately separated herself from the others, and the statuesque beauty's stance was casual as she leaned on a wall, staring into space with lovely eyes that had seen far too much. Clothed casually yet comfortably in the earth tones of her leather vest over her sleeveless white tee and beige pants, her lower legs sheathed in long black boots, one wouldn't have thought Helena was about to go into hostile territory. Except for the holstered Government .45 on her right hip and the Bear Commander that was leaning on the wall next to her feet.
Helena Harper had always been completely devoted to serving her country and all she held dear. That devotion made her go to law college to learn what she had to so she could become a member of the Central Intelligence Agency...and years later she set her sights even higher to become an agent for the United States Secret Service, to be one of those who protected and ensured the safety of the President of the United States. Helena knew she couldn't have found a better focus when it came to her singular need to serve her country, and she studied and trained very hard to become as highly skilled and disciplined as she was beautiful.
Helena was also a woman of passionate emotion, and she had been primally protective of someone who held an intimate place in both her life and her heart: Deborah Harper, her younger sister. Helena and Deborah, however, couldn't have been more different. The older sister was the responsible one, the disciplined one who aspired to nothing but following her ideals. The younger sister seemed to be the opposite - she was the wild child who had no direction and lived every moment like it might have been her last; she increasingly took greater risks and experimented in ways she shouldn't have. The loss of their parents in a senseless automobile accident while Helena was in the CIA only seemed to crystallize the rift between the sisters. Tension increased at a steady pace between them as Deborah became more daring...she partied constantly, had the briefest yet most carnal of flings with men she never bothered to even know, and she drank. More than once, Deborah wasn't just irresponsible and reckless, she nearly got on the wrong side of the law. Out of her elemental need to look after the only family she had left, Helena tried again and again to rein her younger sister in and straighten her out; Helena told Deborah repeatedly to be more responsible and clean up her act...but Deborah rebelled every time, often out of what seemed to be pure spite, and regrettably they fought often. It got to the point where the sisters only spoke to each other when trouble happened, even though they were all each other had in this world. And wasn't that the heart of the problem? It was obvious Deborah wanted to escape the pain of losing her parents, even at the cost of her relationship with her older sister. But Helena held fast to her uncomfortable role as her sibling's keeper, no matter how rebellious Deborah was...and that was the way it had been even after Helena's greatest wish was granted and she became a part of President Benford's USSS protection detail.
Tragically, it must be emphasized that was the way it had been...before the traitor Derek Simmons came along. Only a couple of months ago, Deborah was kidnapped by National Security Advisor Simmons and was used to force Helena Harper to betray all of her ideals, her very devotion to her country, by obeying his will and assisting him in the assassination of the man she swore to protect with her life, President Benford. All that was needed was for her to be absent from her post on the protective detail at a critical moment, and if she didn't obey Simmons' orders, the bastard would have killed Deborah. He preyed on the one vulnerability in Helena, her deeply emotional bond with her sister, and he succeeded. When Leon S. Kennedy was forced to terminate the zombified President during the C-Virus outbreak in Tall Oaks, also orchestrated by Simmons, Helena joined forces with the DSO agent. Feeling soul-wracking guilt, Helena swore to give Leon the answers he needed...the lady also didn't trust Simmons to keep his word, that Deborah would be released unharmed after Benford was dead.
Horribly, Helena's fears came true...she and Leon found Deborah, but she had been experimented on by Simmons with a form of the C-Virus that transformed Helena's younger sister into a monster before their eyes. They were forced to kill the creature that was once Deborah Harper, sent her falling to a certain death deep in the caverns underneath Tall Oaks. From there, Helena and Leon became partners in a darkly personal mission to chase Simmons to China and bring him to justice, and by a narrow measure they succeeded. Simmons was killed and exposed, disgraced forever for his part in killing President Benford and his intimate connection with both the terrorist organization Neo-Umbrella and the C-Virus that threatened the entire world.
Barely a month ago in late July, in the wake of those life-changing events, Helena Harper was ready to atone for assisting in her President's death, but she had been cleared of all charges. The prevailing sentiment was that Helena had done what anyone would have done for the sake of their family, and Leon reassured her even Benford would have agreed with that. Afterward, Leon and a mutual friend, Ingrid Hunnigan, invited Helena to 'meet the team'...it was a prelude to Leon offering the Secret Service agent a job with the Division of Security Operations. Partly due to her unflagging desire to serve and protect her country, partly because of the bond that formed between her and Leon, Helena accepted the offer and transferred from the Secret Service to the DSO.
It had been a hellish summer...and it wasn't over yet. Helena Harper leaned on the wall feeling tremendous guilt and terrible sadness as she reflected on her life, on how that life was shattered so completely, and how she had been forced to betray all she believed in. The fact she wasn't held accountable for what she had done didn't ease her guilt at all. It didn't ease the loss of losing her sister, her only remaining family. Helena raised a trembling hand to run it through her long brown hair as she felt so completely alone, as her eyes stared at nothing. But that wasn't the worst of it...no, it wasn't. Helena felt beyond any consolation most of all because -
"Helena?" The lady looked up to the voice and saw she wasn't alone: Leon S. Kennedy had entered the room...he was also dressed casually, yet armed for bear (and worse). He approached slowly as he asked, "You all right?"
Helena couldn't smile at first as she looked at her partner. She said in a deliberately neutral tone, "I'm okay. It's nothing."
"You sure - ?"
Helena said quickly, "Yes, Leon, I'm sure." But...she looked away from him as she continued, "I have a lot on my mind and I'm trying to focus for the mission. It's just baggage to set aside, that's all."
Leon reached her and offered, "I've got a strong pair of hands. Can I help with that baggage?"
The lady looked at him and smiled...but it was a smile that was so desolate, Leon didn't feel reassured. "I wish I could say yes, but...it's my problem to deal with. I will be ready when the time comes, though. You know me, right?"
The handsome senior agent nodded as he gave a truly warm smile back. "Yeah, I know you. I know you're amazing, Helena. I know you'll always do your best...you have before, and you will again." A deliberate pause. "But maybe there's some things you don't have to deal with yourself."
Helena's expression shifted and began to reflect the full depth of what she was feeling...her full lips quivered. "Leon - "
"I'm just offering to help. It's all I can do. It's up to you whether anyone else helps you with your problems or not."
She did feel so, so alone...and it felt so good to have Leon close to her... "Y-you've made that offer so many times since...since Deborah was laid to rest."
Leon drew a little closer to the lady...one of his hands reached out and carefully took one of hers. "And I'm going to keep doing it. I'm just saying I'm here for you. I always will be, Helena."
Helena's lovely eyes looked away from Leon again as she felt his touch. "Thank you, Leon...but there's some things you can't help me with." She looked at him again, and there was so much need in her expression. "But I do know you're here for me. I wish I could express how thankful I am for you..."
Leon nodded humbly...but then he hit her with a question she absolutely didn't expect. "You want to go on a date with me? I mean, after the mission."
The dark feelings in Helena's heart almost subsided because of the awkward shock she felt...but the shock wasn't unwelcome, and neither was the flush of warmth that came with it. Helena defensively said, "That's one heck of a question to ask! W-we're about to go to face god-knows-what - !"
"And we'll deal with it, just like we dealt with Simmons." He gave her a curious look. "What, you think we won't?"
Helena was completely off of her guard. "I didn't say that, Leon - !"
Leon's smile was so confident...yet so gentle... "You could've fooled me. You think we're going to die in that fog?"
"N-no, of course not! But I'm not thinking about sunshine and puppy dogs, either! We have no idea what's in there!"
Leon said, "It doesn't matter. Whatever is in the fog, we'll deal with it." He drew a little closer...bare inches of space were between them as he squeezed her hand. He repeated with quiet power, "We will deal with it. And after we do, I'll want to take you out to dinner. My treat. Wherever you want to go."
Helena Harper was at a loss...of course, she was fond of Leon. Hell, she owed this wonderful man her life several times over. They had grown to trust and believe in each other completely. And now he was approaching her like this out of the blue, and so boldly - ! But she had to admit, she did feel something deep inside for him, as well...a primal, needful desire...the guilt rose up in her heart again, however, and she said very softly, "I-I might disappoint you."
Leon S. Kennedy's confidence didn't flag for a moment. "I'll take that chance. Besides...I know you won't disappoint me. You'll be amazing. Like always."
Helena realized then: maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought she was. This incredible man did give her so much warmth...he made her feel so good...but she hadn't known until now he felt anything for her...! "You said I've been growing on you since Tall Oaks, but...I didn't know that much." She bit her lower lip nervously as a quiet beat passed...and she finally said, "Dinner. That sounds...wonderful." She felt the urge to really smile for the first time in too long. Then Helena thought of something else, and she asked, "But what about Ada Wong?"
Leon gave her a look and grunted, "Way to kill the mood, Helena!"
Helena said in an insistent tone, "Leon, I have to ask! The way you talked about Ada before...the way you looked at her in China...!"
"I've decided to set her aside." Helena looked at him. "I'm serious. Heck, remember her compact you gave me? I'm not carrying it around with me anymore."
She asked softly, nervously, "Why?"
"Look into my eyes, and you'll know why." She did, and she saw the truth in his eyes as she heard it in his words. "I've thought about Ada ever since I first met her fifteen years ago...and then you came along. I've been thinking about you more and more than I do about her, and when I'm with you...I don't give her a thought at all, and that tells me something pretty important."
Helena's head tilted a little to one side as their bodies, their faces were so close...she felt even warmer as her body relaxed... "Really?"
Leon nodded...and his face carefully came closer to hers... "Maybe for the past fifteen years...I've really been waiting to meet you." They felt each other's breaths...and the distance between their lips was reducing to nil...
"Leon..." Helena almost hated to say what she did next, but for so many reasons, she knew she had to. "M-maybe we need to talk more about this after the mission. Otherwise, we'll both have trouble focusing..."
Leon paused just before their faces touched, and he remembered himself. For better or worse, no matter what they both felt, Helena was right. As disciplined a soul as the lady was, he pulled back as he said, "Yeah." But he didn't pull back too far... "I still need an answer...yes or no to dinner?"
The brunette beauty gave a careful nod and said, "Yes...yes, I'd love to." Her eyes looked away from him once more... "Um, could you give me another minute or two? Please?"
Leon nodded. "Okay. I'll be with the rest of the team." His hand let go of hers and he slowly backed away, his eyes lingering on her with every step...and then he left.
Helena Harper felt that loneliness far more profoundly then with Leon gone...it was as her friend Ingrid Hunnigan believed, only he could have ended that loneliness forever. Only he could have brought her the purest of warmth and happiness. But the lady's tremendous guilt was still within her, the loss of her sister was still so terribly raw...dark feelings clutched her heart tightly in spite of what she felt for Leon and threatened to leave her without any hope at all. Helena thought, Oh Leon, I know I'll disappoint you. I don't deserve you.
In the main room where Bravo Team was making final preparations. One of the team's advisors, Anne Cunningham, felt full of anxiety, but she devoted her inner strength to keeping herself composed. She'd been issued an M4 and given a suppressor to quiet her .45 pistol, but even with this firepower and being part of such a well-equipped, professional team, she wondered if it would all be enough. The raven-haired prison guard gravitated to her fellow advisor on the team from Maine and asked, "Douglas, are you okay?"
Apprehensive was a good word to describe the look on private detective Douglas Cartland's face. He said gruffily, "I'm good, Anne. Just scared out of my mind and trying not to show it." Deep inside, the old P.I. felt nagging self-doubt. His need to help Cheryl Mason didn't falter in the slightest - he was more than ready to help her in any way, even give his life, if need be - but he also asked himself more than once, Haven't I gotten too old for this shit? Douglas felt only a little more comfortable since he'd been given his suppressed M4; he was a veteran who did a tour of duty during the Vietnam War a lifetime ago, and the M4 wasn't TOO different from the M16 rifle he'd used in the Army. He still went through some quick but needed orientation to learn to use the carbine, like Anne and Cybil did, just in case.
"You too, huh?" Anne's lips formed a troubled frown as she let down her guard with Douglas. "I hope we can put our money where our mouths are and help everyone here stay alive." She hated having her doubts about that.
Douglas reassured, "For what it's worth, you look great."
Anne smiled warmly. "Thanks."
"So how do I look?"
Anne didn't lose her smile, but she had to be honest. "You look like you'd rather be anywhere but here."
Douglas sighed, "Okay. Just as long as I don't look scared."
Not far away, four agents - three were with Bravo, one was there from Alpha - were in a group talking about how surreal and intimidating the entire situation was...what they learned not long ago from Leon, their team leader, about their being on a time limit was bad-tasting icing on the cake. George Kishino groused, "Can't believe we only have 36 hours..." The Japanese-American recon specialist, who had been a Navy SEAL before he joined the BSAA, was long ago given the nickname 'Vector' because of his reputation for reaching his target during a mission no matter what the obstacle. Vector was in an ominous black, hooded uniform and had a specialized mask that he would wear in the fog to obscure his face, too...he wasn't wearing the mask yet, and his expression was unhappy.
Sienna Fowler gave her friend and colleague from the BSAA a look and asked, "So how much time did you want, Vector? A few days? A week?" Sienna was a professional sniper who first distinguished herself in the Los Angeles Police Department's famed S.W.A.T. team. She was the least military in appearance of the agents assembled...she looked like a party girl, her blonde hair in a flamboyant bob, except for her equipment and the PSG-1 sniper rifle she had slung behind her shoulder.
Vector said, "Sienna, we might as well have been asked to go deep in enemy territory during a time of war. It may sound cliche, but trying to find Rebecca and that Mason girl in a town of over 20,000 people in the middle of a fog...it'll be more challenging than looking for a couple of needles in a haystack! And on top of that deal with those Order assholes and whatever monsters they have in there? You know me, I love a challenge, but 36 hours may not be enough time."
"So don't say it, Vector," Sienna said with a confident smile. "Let's just beat the clock and get the job done. We can talk about what we didn't like later."
DSO virologist Lawrence Kimbala asked, "What I need to ask is this. What will happen if 36 hours goes by, and we haven't accomplished anything?"
Vector joked, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about it. If we fail our mission, it's because we'll most likely be dead."
Lawrence clarified, "What I mean is, what will the military do if we fail?"
The man from Alpha, DSO sniper Vladamir Borovski, said cryptically, "Drastic measures will undoubtedly be taken, Lawrence."
Lawrence asked his colleague and friend, "What do you mean, Vlad?"
Vladamir said, "We are all soldiers. We already know what will happen. If we fail, our leaders will do what must be done to ensure this threat ends quickly so no one else will be affected."
Vector frowned. "They could order a missile strike on this town, just like Tall Oaks...or Raccoon City."
Vladamir crossed his arms over his muscled chest. "I served in the Russian Army before I decided to make a new home and life for myself as an American, and here I am still a soldier serving others. In my experience, Russian and U.S. armed forces have one thing in common. They will respond with as much force as need be to end a threat."
Sienna said, "Hey, Tall Oaks and Raccoon City were wiped out because of zombie virus bullshit! Those towns had to go one way or another, but we have no idea what's going on in Black Falls! We don't even know how many innocent people are still alive or not! Our fearless leaders wouldn't do anything until we come back and let them know one way or the other!"
Vladamir Borovski nodded. "I hope you are right, comrade. But sacrifices have been made before, even by America's military forces, and they might be made again if we fail...or if things somehow get worse. A great figure in American history said 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few', if I remember correctly."
Everyone else looked amused as Vector said, "Uh, you remember right, and it was Mister Spock who said that at the end of The Wrath of Khan...!"
Not far away, Claire Redfield and Sherry Birkin were seated, ready and waiting as they spoke quietly to each other. Claire was armed as much as she felt she had to be, but she had to wonder about Sherry...the petite girl, dressed in black except for a distinctive sky blue scarf around her neck, had three handguns holstered under her left arm, her right hip, and left leg configured for right-handed draw. (And that wasn't counting her big Bear Commander sitting by the blonde's side.) The sidearm on Sherry's hip, a Triple Shot, was something Claire had never seen before...she did instantly recognize the stainless Government holstered to Sherry's left leg...but the gun resting in the blonde's shoulder holster, a steel revolver called an Elephant Killer, was mammoth in size! Sherry had told her hero, "I'm taking it along in case we run into anything serious, Claire." The ponytailed survivor thought, God, how much action have you seen, Sherry? I know there's a lot about what you've done you can't tell me about, but...how much would I want to know? It really hit home for Claire that Sherry Birkin was a woman, far and away from the child Claire first met and saved fifteen years ago.
-4-
At a door not far from Alpha's prep area in the final minutes. Barry Burton, armed and ready, was banging on that door. The big man griped, "C'mon, Chris! Open the door, man!"
Jill Valentine was there then, her expression curious. "Barry? What's going on?"
"I don't know, Jill. Chris has been too quiet ever since Claire got into the mix, and..."
The lady frowned and pointed at the door. "He's in there...?"
"Yeah. I've been knocking for a couple of minutes, and he won't answer me."
Jill stared at the door as she got a lockpick from one of the compartments of her utility belt. "Step back, Barry. This needs a woman's touch." He did, and she lowered to one knee before the knob and began working on it.
Barry watched her with sudden amusement. "Heh...this takes me back to when found that lockpick for you in that mansion, remember? I told you - !"
Jill didn't stop working on the lock as she interrupted him with an exasperated tone: "I remember that 'master of unlocking' crap you said, Barry, you don't have to remind me!"
"Oh. Right."
Jill shook her head. "I swear, that line was so cheesy...!" She unlocked the door a few heartbeats later. Jill rose and said to Barry, "Okay, I've got this." But he didn't move...Jill gave him a stare and said with a shooing gesture, "Go on. Now!"
Barry Burton sighed, "Okay, okay!" The big man left.
Alone, Jill Valentine opened the door and entered the threshold. She saw Chris Redfield standing there alone, looking away from her. His stance was tense. Jill said to her partner, "Chris? Are you all right?"
A moment of silence...and she heard Chris say, "I'm okay, Jill. I just have a lot to sort out." And to do so he distanced himself from everyone, like Helena did.
"Do you want to talk about this...about Claire...?"
"No. I...I can't."
Jill wrapped her arms around her body. "Claire will be all right, Chris. She really will be...please believe that, okay?"
She saw Chris' head lower. "...I'm trying. I really am."
"Chris, I..." Jill's voice trailed off as she thought, I love you. I want to be with you forever.
Chris turned to Jill...his eyes were concerned for her in spite of his own feelings. "Jill, what is it? Is something wrong?" He moved to her.
Jill's thoughts: How many times have we fought monsters, Chris? How many times have we fought for the lives and happiness of others? I want to know we can have a happy ending together. Oh, god. I need to know.
When Chris reached her, Jill finally said quietly, "I-it's nothing, Chris."
But Chris knew it wasn't... "Jill, you know you can talk to me about anything."
Would you say you love me and come with me? Leave all of this behind? Or is your crusade more important than me? Jill nodded and said: "I know, but it's all right. It can wait until after the mission."
"You sure?"
The only thing I'm sure of is that I love you. "Yes."
Chris Redfield nodded...he felt like there was more she had to say, but...he glanced at his watch. It was nearly time. "Okay. Are you ready?"
One more time. With you. Jill Valentine nodded deeply. "Yes. I'm ready."
The partners returned to Alpha's prep area...and they saw their team was there at full attention, fully geared up and armed. Barry, Sheva, Caroline, Hector and the rest. Regina held her M4, her expression full of purpose as she said to Chris, "We're ready when you are, sir."
Christine Yamata approached Jill and Chris, and her exotic eyes were resolute as she fitted a unique biohazard filtration mask over her nose and mouth. Like Michaela Schneider, she always took her mask into the field just in case of the worst. Christine had just lost one friend, and she was absolutely committed to saving another, Rebecca Chambers...the masked girl's filtered voice was as strong as her eyes: "For Rebecca...for Crispin...we're ready."
TO BE CONTINUED