K-Mart eyes widened and she barely managed keep her lunch down as she turned her eyes way from the screen. Those sick bastards.
She had decided to wait for Alice before she started going through anything on the hard drive. She would know better than K-Mart what was relevant and what was corporation junk, but they were taking longer than expected.
She had only clicked on one video, the one labeled 'Dog Food'. The title was innocent enough. She had been expecting something silly and mundane, like a scientist describing the best process for achieving the perfect dog bone shape. What she found both terrified and enraged her. Well, it would once she was done fighting against her roiling stomach.
She heard the clang of the metal door to the stairwell being thrown open. She craned her neck to look between the tent flaps to see Alice, followed closely by Claire and a Carlos, coming toward her.
"K-Mart?" The panicked quality of Claire's voice alerted K-Mart to the moisture on her face.
"I'm fine," her voice came out weak and thin. She straightened in her chair and gestured to the screen without looking at it again. "It… was just a bit of a shock." Claire walked around her to get a better look while Alice moved toward the crate in the corner that had escaped K-Mart's attention until now.
"Oh my god," Claire's gaze was fixed to the screen, her mouth slightly agape. "Why would they even…"
"What is it?" Carlos had joined them now, also looking at the monitor, but he managed to keep his expression mostly neutral. Only the slight downward quirk of his lips belied his displeasure.
"I met them." All three heads whipped around to look at Alice, whose eyes were focused on the box she was going through. "Just before I met up with the convoy. They're dead now." She turned back to them with a grim expression, her eyes just briefly flicking to the screen before settling on K-Mart. "Maybe we should turn that off?" K-Mart nodded mutely before turning back to the screen, trying to look at the surveillance feed as little as possible while she closed the video. "Did you find anything else?" Alice had finally joined the rest of the group in front of the computer.
"No…" K-Mart cleared her throat before going on, her voice regaining it's confidence as she continued. "I looked through some of the archives, but I figured you would be more able to tell what is important and what isn't." She pulled up the archives menu and vacated the seat for Alice. She didn't take it.
"There's antivirus in the crate." Claire let out a puff of air and K-Mart's wide eyes would have been comical if it wasn't such a serious topic. Carlos merely arched a brow, but Alice could feel the excitement radiating from him. "The injured need to be treated as quickly as possible. Two doses. Those creatures were stronger than the usual." She shot a glance at Claire, who reanimated immediately, hefting the crate into her arms before turning to Carlos.
"Oh no. You think after that stunt she pulled yesterday I'm just going to leave her up here by herself with an Umbrella computer?" While there was a slight lilt to his voice, Carlos's eyes had a slight hint of panic in them as he stared at Alice, who's gaze remained glued to the floor. "Take K-Mart. If the crate is too heavy send someone else up for it." He walked over to Alice, lifting her chin and pinning her with his eyes. "So how about we get started, huh?"
Alice was faintly aware of Claire and K-Mart shuffling through the tent flaps, the large crate between them, but her eyes, as well as most of her other senses, remained focused on Carlos. A charged silence passed between them, before Alice once again found herself snuggled in Carlos' strong embrace, her own arms wrapping around his waist.
"I won't leave again." Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, and Carlos stiffened almost immediately.
"What?" His voice was equally soft, but held much more urgency. Alice smiled against his chest. She pulled back just enough to be able to look up into his face.
"I won't leave you again. I can't promise to always stay with the convoy." She reached up to rest her hand on his cheek. "I have obligations to Umbrella." Her voice fell flat and her eyes burned for a moment before she returned to normal, resting once more against Carlos' broad chest. "But I can promise that I will not leave you, as long as you want me to stay." His arms tightened around her for a moment before his hands landed on her upper arms and yanked her away from his chest. For a brief moment, she felt a crippling rejection that made her knees weak, before his lips crashed into hers.
All thought left her, with the exception his name resounding through her brain over and over again, growing louder when his tongue boldly entered her mouth, entangling with her own. Her hands moved up of their own accord to thread through his hair, and in response she felt his hands slide down her body to rest on her hips, leaving a trail of fire behind them as they continued to caressing her lower back, tugging her hips closer to his.
At some point, maybe minutes- or perhaps years- later, Alice pulled back, breathing heavily. She immediately missed the warmth of his kisses, and it seems he felt a similar displeasure at the loss of contact, as he growled deep in his throat and began moving toward her lips again.
"Stop." Her command came out breathy and more question than statement, but Carlos halted never the less, a slight look of hurt flickering behind his eyes before he moved back.
"Sorry," he mumbled, but she grabbed for his hand as he continued to back away.
"No." She pulled herself closer to him, but was careful to avoid becoming ensnared by her lust again. "I… We just… We need to find Umbrella." She finally caught her breath and looked up into his face. His expression was still slightly guarded. She smiled at him, letting him catch just a glimpse of her happiness before giving him a teasing grin. She leaned up to whisper in his ear, pressing the length of her body flat against his in the process. "We'll have to finish this later," she faintly hissed. She then lowered herself back onto her heels, letting her body slide against his until she was once again flat footed. When she stepped back she was highly satisfied to see his eyes squeezed shut as he attempted to regulate his breathing.
"Alice…" Her name came out as a moan, and she took a deep breath before forcing herself to back away from his warmth. His eyes opened, they were a deeper shade of black than usual, and he too took a ragged breath before straightening himself and smiling. "So, this computer that Umbrella left…"
Alice was fairly certain that the smile she wore was permanently etched on her face. She gave a slight nod and moved to the computer, Carlos following to take the second desk chair. She paused a moment, her hand hovering above the mouse.
"Oh. I almost forgot." She turned to face him, smiling for what felt like the thousandth time since her return. "I love you too." His eyes widened comically and a huge grin spread across his face, filling her with what she figured must be the warm fuzzy feeling everyone used to talk about.
"You don't say?" Was all he said, though the grin never left his face, and he reached over to tuck some hair behind her ear as she turned back to the computer and focused on the task at hand.