Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay

Episode Two: A Proactive Reaction

Part Two

Administration Hallway, RPD, 9:50 Am…

The hallway was narrow, and the doors were directly across from each other, putting both Proske and Liquid standing an uncomfortable distance apart. Oh, of all the people that he had hoped to avoid, this was the man on the top of his list. So far he hadn't heard any reports about him causing any trouble, but then again it was his first day back, and it wasn't even ten o'clock in the morning yet.

"So, I suppose a welcome back is in order." Proske said while attempting to be civil. "How was your time away?"

"It was fine, thanks." Liquid replied. "I got a lot done, and finally had time to get my head back on straight… how've you been?"

Proske shrugged, and then the silence resumed. What he really wanted to do was immediately go off on Liquid for the way he had been conducting himself both before and during his extended leave of absence; the drinking on the job, the constant breaking of the rules, and most of all the way he had treated Jill Valentine. The man had practically stalked her for like three weeks, to the point where she had become angry and hateful toward everyone she worked with. Unlike a lot of people at the RPD, he actually knew what it was that drove Liquid over the edge, but that excuse only worked to a certain point.

"Stay away from Jill." He found himself blurting out. "Her job is hard enough without having to deal with you following her around all day, so just leave her alone and everything will be fine between us, okay? I just… I just don't want there to be any trouble between us."

Okay, he was doing good so far. The diplomatic approach was probably better than flat out telling the man that he was a disgrace to his badge and demanding his immediate resignation, but that probably wouldn't get him very far. Still, it didn't hurt to be assertive in what he was saying, or else he might not be taken seriously. Proske didn't blame Liquid for finding Jill attractive, since the woman was both stunning and had the intelligence and capability to back it up, but the way he had gone about it was just wrong.

"Proske, did you just threaten me?" Liquid asked with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Is this the stay away from my girl speech? I didn't realize that you and Valentine were in a relationship."

"We're not." Proske answered. "And I'm not threatening you, I just… look, Liquid… Jill won't admit it, but your little attempt to gain her affections in your own messed up way, really screwed with her head. She's finally getting over it now, and I don't want to see her put in that situation again, by you or anyone else… and if I can, I'll stop it."

Was that too aggressive? Proske wondered as Liquid folded his arms defiantly instead of saying anything back right away. People like him had to be dealt with carefully if anything was too be gained; too passive and they wouldn't listen, too aggressive and they would take it as a threat like an animal defending their territory. Not that he thought Liquid was stupid, he was actually one of the best Detectives in Raccoon City… or at least he had been at one time. The person that stood in front of him now was not the same Liquid that he had come up through the ranks with, and he hoped that this could be resolved peacefully.

"Is that a fact?" Liquid replied after a few moments of silence. "What's next, Proske, meet me by the bleachers after school? What exactly would you do if I didn't leave Valentine alone, huh? I know what I can and can't do without getting arrested, and you're not her husband, so what is it? What are you gonna do if I put my new telephoto lens on my camera tonight and try to get some pictures of her in the…

Now Proske wasn't exactly sure how or why this happened, but suddenly his anger overcame him, and the next thing he knew, his fist was slamming into Liquid's mouth, stopping his words as the Detective was sent reeling backwards into the wall. He slumped for a second, and there was a little bit of blood on his lip now, but that was wiped off when he checked it with his finger before licking it off. This was not good… fighting was against the rules, and as much as he hated to admit it, Liquid outranked him. This was the kind of thing that could ruin a cop's career, so he needed to do damage control and fast.

"Aw crap, Liquid, I'm sorry." He immediately said. "I don't know what happened, I didn't mean to do that."

"Yes you did, Proske, don't lie." Liquid replied as he stood up straight again. "Felt good, didn't it? Shutting me up with your fist when words weren't working? That's how it starts, you know… you think to yourself, its okay, one little slip up won't undo all the good I've done, but then it happens again, and again until suddenly the good doesn't matter that much anymore."

Proske's first reaction was to tell him that he was wrong, or even to just ignore the words that he was obviously just saying to try and get under his skin, but he found that he could do neither in this case. Maybe he could've held the moral high ground if he hadn't had that exact thought, word for word, after the shock of hitting him had faded, but he had. He had broken the rules in one of the worst ways, only to try that excuse to get over it, and Liquid knew. Was he right? Was this how it started? No, it couldn't be. Liquid was manipulating him, but no matter how many time he told himself that, he couldn't get the words out of his head.

"I'm actually kind of proud of you." Liquid continued while wiping his lip again. "Who knew there was a real person under all those rules and regulations? Hell, with a little work and the right coach, it won't be long at all before you're just… like… me."

Proske found himself having to take a step back at the last part of the sentence, and he thought Liquid was going to take a swing at him as he came forward, but instead he just patted him on the shoulder while walking past. Liquid vanished through the door a second later, leaving Proske to his thoughts, and that was almost worse than hitting him. If Liquid had fought back, he could've written it off as a fight, but he didn't, and now Proske was feeling pretty shaken as he continued on his way toward the Chief's Office.

"Damn you, Liquid." He grumbled to himself as he walked through the door.

Employee Exercise Room, RPD, 10:05 AM…

Lopez hated to admit it, but the old dog knew his stuff. Since starting to listen to Godsmack, in particular that song Voodoo, he was feeling more focused, making it easier to work out his frustration on the heavy bag. Having reluctantly put on the gloves, not so much for the minor pain in his knuckles, but mostly to make the old Detective stop griping about it, he continued to slam his fists into the material while McGee braced it from the other side. This stopped his hopes of eventually knocking it off the bolts, but now he could feel more force with each hit, and that was enough.

"Aw, done already?" He asked through labored breaths as the song ended. "Hey old dog, do me a favor and rewind the tape, would'ya?"

"Again, kid?" McGee replied while stepping away from the bag. "I tell you, keep listening to the same song again and again, and people are gonna start calling you it."

Well, that didn't seem so bad. In fact, he liked the idea of being called Voodoo, especially since most RPD Officers didn't get cool nicknames unless they were part of S.T.A.R.S. or something. In his own personal opinion, he felt like he could have gotten the position on that so called elite team, but Chambers had been going on and on about joining S.T.A.R.S. since they graduated the Academy, so he didn't apply in order to give his partner the best chance he could.

"Okay, but this is the last time." McGee continued as he pushed the rewind button. "They got eight songs on each side of the tape, you know."

Lopez was about to reply, but stopped as he heard the door opening, and turned around in time to see the other Detective from before coming into the room. Not thinking about it during the incident earlier, he had heard that pretty girl from Homicide call him Liquid, which meant that he was the one people in Traffic sometimes whispered about when Sergeant Branagh wasn't around. They said he was all screwed up from something that happened before he and Chambers got hired, and that it was best to just avoid him, but that just made Lopez more curious than anything, especially now that the Detective's lip looked like he had just been punched.

"Hey, I been looking for you, McGee." Liquid said as he walked up to them. "And what a lucky break, Lopez is here too. Now, I got good news, and even better news, so which one do you guys want first?"

"The good news." McGee answered.

"What happened to your lip?" Lopez asked.

"I got punched, what's it look like?" Liquid answered. "Anyway, the good news is that Irons approved my plan to save the city. Operation Arklay is going into effect starting tomorrow, and the even better news is that you two are now members of my Task Force to investigate the Cannibal Murders outside the city."

"Hold on, you got a Task Force?" McGee asked. "Irons wouldn't even approve my request for new shoes after that case with that disposal site near the park, so how the hell did you get a Task Force?"

Quickly explaining to them how his conversation with Chief Irons had gone, Liquid chose to leave out the part with Proske. As much as the guy annoyed the hell out of him, he was a good cop, and there weren't enough of those in Raccoon City, so he didn't want to see him get in any trouble for a momentary lapse of judgement that was totally provoked. He then proceeded to tell them about how everything was supposed to keep quiet, and part of him didn't want to warn them about risking their careers, for fear that they might not want to come, but he did anyway. After all, McGee was his partner, and if Lopez was to trust him as the leader of Task Force Arklay, he needed to be honest with the team.

"I'm in." Lopez answered immediately after the explanation. "Out in the middle of nowhere, tracking down serial killers and Satanic Cults, sounds like a party to me."

"Christ, Liquid, how do you get yourself into these things?" McGee asked. "I know what this case means to you, and I know that nothing I can say will get you to walk away from this, so I'll come too. Besides, there's always those Sherriff positions in Arklay Village if we get canned from here."

"Great, welcome to Task Force Arklay." Liquid replied excitedly. "Tonight I'm taking the whole team out to the Grill 13 for dinner after work, and yes I'm buying. Then tomorrow we're going to launch an investigation better than anything those over-inflated S.T.A.R.S. punks can handle, and when this is all over it will be us that the city thanks."

With that, Liquid turned away and walked out of the room with a little more spring in his step than he had come in with, leaving Lopez to process what had just happened. When he thought about going after the most twisted murderers in the history of Raccoon City, it was not fear that entered his mind, but excitement. This was his chance to really show the RPD what he was capable of, and by the end of it, when they dragged the killers into the precinct, be they dead or alive, everyone was going to know the name of Officer Adrian 'Voodoo' Lopez.