Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay

Episode Two: A Proactive Reaction

Part One

S.T.A.R.S. Office Hall, RPD, 9:35 AM…

Ushered out the door as quickly as they had been pulled in, the door to the S.T.A.R.S. Office slammed shut and locked behind them, leaving Ashford and Chambers alone in the hallway. Voice laughing and talking could be heard from inside, but the door muffled it enough so that the words couldn't be made out. Any attempt to further decode what was being said was then stopped by a stereo being turned on, making Ashwood just shake her head, more in confusion than anything.

"Well, that could have gone better." She said quietly.

The S.T.A.R.S. team were her idols, and this sentiment was shared by almost everyone in the RPD, but that didn't stop Ashwood from feeling somewhat disappointed after meeting them in person. They were definitely professional, and certainly good at what they did, based on their success rate… but from a distance the team had seemed so flawless and elite, and the people in that office were so… human? This made her feel like when a kid meets their celebrity hero, only to find out that they have an arrest record and drug problems. The realization that the RPD's elite force was made up of regular people instead of magical super-soldiers was hard to take, but at the same time made them seem even more impressive.

"Yeah, that was kind of a mess." Chambers replied. "So… who do you think they'll choose?"

"I wouldn't worry about that too much." Another voice said from the way they first came. "They already know who they want; these interviews are just a formality."

"Sergeant Proske." Ashwood said more as a greeting once she turned around. "What brings you up here?"

This bald and rather tall individual was another of those whom Ashwood idolized. He was a veteran of the force who was known for never compromising his integrity, and this gave the junior Officers someone respectable to look up to. His by the book attitude could sometimes make him seem cold, and his serious demeanor often put people on edge, but the one thing everyone could agree on was that he was a good cop. Sure, his own application to S.T.A.R.S. was turned down a few times, and he was often at odds with certain members of Homicide, but if that was the price of keeping the Department honest, then Murphy Proske was the kind of person who would pay it.

"I'm actually on my way to see the Chief." Proske answered. "I would offer to put in a good word for you, but Captain Wesker has the final say in S.T.A.R.S. Besides, ever since Lieutenant Brennan retired, I've been swamped with paperwork and nothing but meetings, meetings, meetings… running the Burglary Division is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"Aw, you're doing fine, Sarge." Chambers replied. "But, um, speaking of good words, it doesn't look like my S.T.A.R.S. chances are very good, and, um, Traffic kind of bites. Any chance of getting me and my partner transferred into Burglary?"

Proske's expression changed slightly after this request was made, and Ashwood knew that Chambers was about to be disappointed. The Sergeant always did this on the rare occasions where he tried to be tactful to spare feelings, but he also usually gave up and just said what was on his mind… another trait that Ashwood admired about him. The fact that he was good looking to boot was a bonus, but he was not the kind to fraternize with co-workers.

"I can't, Chambers." Proske replied, quickly giving up on the tact. "If it was just you, sure, but to be honest, your partner kind of scares me. I think it would be better for the force to keep him in Traffic with you to keep him under control, but don't worry… your time will come. Anyway, I gotta go. See you around."

"It was nice seeing you again." Ashwood called after him, growing quieter as he walked away. "Don't be a stranger… I'll just be in my Tech Room… all by myself… bored to frickin tears."

Proske didn't turn back around, not hearing anything beyond nice seeing you again, and that was probably for the best. Oh well, her time in the sun was over for now, and it was time to get back to work. Chambers had already started back toward the staircase, so she followed, although a little more slowly than before.

Chief's Office, RPD, 9:35 AM…

The hallway between the administration area and the Chief's actual office was always a strange place for Liquid to be. Not because of the man himself, but because of all the damn animals. Everyone knew that Irons was into Taxidermy, but with the dozens and dozens of trophy animals from his yearly hunts, one could argue that his hobby was turning into an unhealthy obsession. To be fair, Liquid had hobbies of his own that others didn't approve of, so he cast those thoughts aside as he reached the end of the connecting hall and opened the inner door.

"Well, well, look who crawled out of the whiskey bottle." The overweight man behind the desk said as Liquid walked in. "If it isn't my favorite Division Head, back from extended leave… let me guess… you've decided to resign from the RPD and take that Sheriff position out in Arklay Village, right?"

Liquid didn't like Irons, and everyone knew it. The man was disgusting to look at, annoying as hell to talk to, and just as corrupt now as he had been when Liquid was a Rookie and Irons had been in charge of Homicide. It was widely rumored that he took regular bribes from City Officials and possibly others, but there was no proof, nor was there any hint as to the purpose of these bribes. Liquid would have loved nothing more than to slap the cuffs on this douchebag, but it would take more than one of Marini's special warrants to make that happen.

"In your dreams, Brian." He replied as he reached the desk. "I'll take the job in Arklay when I retire, but until then I've got something a little more important to discuss with you."

He dropped the large folder he had been carrying down onto the desk, and the Chief cringed a little when he opened it and the first thing he saw were quite graphic photographs of murder scenes. The people in them were covered in blood, sprawled on the ground in unnatural positions, and there appeared to be chunks of flesh missing from their faces and torsos, but that was the last thing that Irons saw before closing the folder again. He shook his head, probably trying to wipe away the images from his mind as he passed it back toward Liquid.

"Tobias, I told you to leave this alone." He said grimly. "I'm truly sorry for what happened to you in the mountains, the whole department is, but for the good of the people, we have to keep isolated incidents like this quiet."

"Isolated incidents?" Liquid asked. "Are you serious? Brian, there are four documented cases in there, all with the same patterns. Hikers attacked on the trails, tourists found mutilated at their campsites, and all of which happened in the forest and mountains between Raccoon City and Arklay Village."

Chief Irons let out an aggravated sigh as he reopened the folder, quickly pushing the pictures aside in order to reach the case reports. All of them had CLASSIFIED stamped on the top of the first page, but there was no point in getting on Liquid for this for the simple reason that he didn't care.

"Tobias, the Arklay Mountains are huge." He answered. "Even if I was willing to launch an investigation, there is no way that we could canvas an area that size. The trees are too thick to see anything from above, and S.T.A.R.S. doesn't have the manpower to…

"Screw S.T.A.R.S.!" Liquid replied almost angrily. "Air Force washouts and men who wear sunglasses at night are not what this case needs. Now, I want to form a special Task Force that is solely dedicated to stopping these so called Cannibal Murders."

Now it was Irons' turn to get angry as he slammed his fist down on the desk. Everything on top of it shook a little, and the Chief's glare was piercing, but it took a lot more than that to intimidate Liquid. He hoped to appeal to the overweight man's senses with diplomacy, but there were other methods that could be used in this case; an anonymous tip to Internal Affairs, a panicked but anonymous call to Mayor Warren, the list went on and on.

"These are isolated incidents, Tobias." Irons explained while trying to remain calm. "We are not going to do or say anything that the Press could use to incite a panic among the people of this city. The Mayor has been breathing down my neck about this even since they tried to print the article calling it that last week, and if the people thought that there was a serial killer or a satanic cult or something in the woods, they would lose their minds."

"Then let me do this." Liquid argued. "I already have a plan and the names of the people I want. My Task Force can move around without getting the Press coverage that your precious S.T.A.R.S. team always draws, and once this is over the Mayor will think you're a hero while nothing gets put in the papers. All I need is your signature on my proposal, an office, and a whole bunch of blank requisition forms with your stamp on them."

There was a glimmer of hope as Irons took another look at the case files, as well as the personnel folders underneath them. There were five names besides Liquid's in the stack, with the Chief grunting at each one before stopping for a better look at the last one. He studied it for several seconds, and then looked back up.

"This one, is she the same Carver from Homicide?" Irons asked as he kept going back and forth through the stack. "You can't have her, we're short on pilots as it is. Now let's see… McGee's your partner, that's fine… Ashwood's that pretty little computer geek, right? That's fine… yeah, I know Chambers, that's fine, and uh… is Lopez that guy who kind of looks like a homeless punk-rocker? Yeah, I guess you can have him too."

Sifting through the folder until he found the large stapled packet of papers that was labeled Operation Arklay, Irons quickly thumbed through the pages as if he was bothered by having to read them, and then he set it back down. Liquid watched intently as the overweight man picked up his rubber stamp and put his approval block onto the top corner. He then took a pen and placed his signature and the date into their proper places, and that was that. Operation Arklay and the aptly named Task Force Arklay that went with it had been approved.

"There you go, all done." The Chief continued. "One thing though… I'm making this voluntary for the people you picked, meaning that they don't have to be a part of this if they don't want to. See, if you screw this up, I'm gonna tell the Mayor that you forged my signature and acted alone. That means that if you fail in this mission and the Press finds out, I'll burn you along with everyone on your stupid little Task Force Arklay. Now, I'm hungry, so get the hell out of my office before I decide to have your badge for breakfast. Why are you still here, Detective?"

Liquid said nothing as he picked up the folder, and somehow managed to resist the urge to slug that fat bastard in the mouth as he turned away to leave the office. Oh, it would be so sweet to see that man fall hard, but for now he settled for the fact that he got what he wanted. Irons was no doubt going to fry him no matter how the mission turned out, but if Liquid came back a hero and it somehow leaked to the Press that he had to forge the Chief's signature in order to save the city, well… that was just the breaks. He was more than happy to leave the office, and just tried to look straight ahead as he walked back through the animal room, but what was supposed to be a happy feeling to get out of there suddenly turned grim as he walked back into the Administration hallway and just as another person was coming through another door.

"Proske." He said with a bigger amount of hostility in his voice.

"Liquid." The Sergeant replied with the same tone.