Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay

Episode Two: A Proactive Reaction

Part Three

Homicide Department, RPD, 10:30 AM…

With two down and two to go, Liquid was feeling quite a bit better as he left the Exercise room and decided to take a detour through Homicide instead of going all the way around to the Traffic Division where that Chambers guy worked. From what he had heard, Avan Chambers was a level-headed and rational thinking person, and this would give balance to some of the more extreme elements of the Task Force. After all, it worked for S.T.A.R.S. to have people of clashing personality types, and as much as he hated the group, there was no harm in mimicking their few strategies that worked.

"Hi, Lieutenant Liquid." A pleasant voice interrupted his thoughts halfway through the office.

It was Janet Carver, the cute red-haired girl who had taken that purse-snatcher away earlier after that incident. She was one of the newer Detectives, having just passed the exam and been promoted into Homicide from Burglary only a week before his extended leave began. From what he heard, she had also been the helicopter pilot in her last assignment, which was why he had wanted her for the team. Well, there was no reason to alienate her just because she wasn't allowed on the Task Force, and it never hurt to be in the good graces of one of the few people in the RPD who could fly.

"Oh, hey, uh, Carver." Liquid replied politely. "Listen, some of us are going to the Grill 13 right after the shift ends, and I was wondering if you wanted to have dinner with me, er, I mean us. So how about it?"

"Sure, if you're buying." She answered with a smile. "But, hey, I gotta get these folders to the Records Room, so I'll meet you there if I don't see you again before we get off work."

She hurried away with the folders, and Liquid didn't try to hide the fact that that he was watching certain parts of her intently as she walked away. She certainly looked good dressed in business casual attire, but she had looked pretty good in a uniform as well. She was gone a couple seconds later, so Liquid continued on his way toward the other end of the office, opening the doors and walking into the tile-floored hallway just in time to cry out in surprise as he walked right into someone carrying a large stack of three-ring binders.

The stack was taller than her head, which was probably why she didn't see him, and the result was dozens of binders going everywhere while the two of them ended up falling on their rears. It was partially his own fault for being distracted by pretty Detectives to watch where he was going, so he started to help her pick them up, when he gasped after seeing her face.

"Hey, you're Ashwood, right?" He asked while picking up binders. "The computer dweeb, er, I mean, the Tech Specialist, right? I'm glad I found you, because today is your lucky day."

"My lucky day?" She replied. "Yes, because my day is going so well. It's not even lunch time yet, and I've already been proposed to by Sergeant Branagh for the twelfth time, made an ass out of myself in front of Captain Marini during my interview, and now I have to redo these binders after I just got them back in the right order. So please, tell me how this is my lucky day."

Well, she was certainly a fiery one, and hey, after failing her interview with S.T.A.R.S., maybe his Task Force would seem like a good thing to her. Besides, Wesker and Marini only did those interviews as a formality, and usually already knew who they were going to choose from the very beginning. He, himself had been turned down a couple years ago when he tried to join them in favor of Barry Burton, and Marini had been his partner when they were both Rookies patrolling the Industrial District. Hell, even golden-boy Proske had been turned down in favor of that ridiculous Air Force-washout, so it didn't matter who you were or even who you knew when it came to joining S.T.A.R.S.

"I'm giving you an opportunity to show Enrico how wrong he was to reject you, that's how." Liquid explained. "You've been chosen to join Task Force Arklay."

Giving her the same explanation that he had given McGee and Lopez as they picked up the binders, he helped her by carrying half of them, finishing his little speech just as they were putting the last binder into place. Again he also included the warning about what would happen if they failed, because he didn't want anyone going down in flames with him unless they were fully aware of the consequences right from the start.

"So, let me get this straight." She said, turning to face him after correcting the last binder that he did. "You want me to be a part of this, what was it, Operation Arklay? You want me to be the navigator and handle all of the data regarding the mission for a Task Force made up of people who I'm pretty sure you just drew randomly out of a hat, and risk my career in a hasty attempt to catch the most notorious and vicious killer or killers in the history of Raccoon City?"

"Pretty much, yes." Liquid answered immediately. "I know this sounds a little crazy, but you know what else sounds crazy? No one doing anything while people are being killed and eaten just outside the city. Sure, it's a bunch of isolated incidents right now, but what happens when the tourists get scared and stop going out there? The sick deranged killer or killers as you put it will still be out there, and they'll be forced to look for another food source, that's what. That means Arklay Village and maybe even the suburbs of Raccoon City, so knowing that, could you live with yourself if you didn't do anything?"

Judging by the look on Ashwood's face during his initial explanation, she was about to tell him where he could get off, and he didn't want to guilt her into anything, but it was necessary. Well, it's not like he lied to her; eventually people would get scared and stop camping, and like any predator whose food supply ran out, they would need to find another source.

"Fine, I'll do it." Ashwood replied. "I'll join your team… Jesus, I never thought about the attacks like that… what are we gonna do?"

"First, I've got one more person to find." Liquid replied. "Then I have some prep work to do today, and tonight I'm buying all of us dinner at the Grill 13. The work actually starts tomorrow, so we're kind of celebrating the team's formation."

Ashwood nodded quickly before nervously saying that she would be there and rushing out of the room. He wasn't happy about the method used to recruit her, but at the end of the day all that mattered was the fact that they had a navigator, since the team would be lost without one. He still had to find that Chambers guy before he could move onto anything else, so he turned to leave, when he was stopped by the sound of someone clearing their throat behind him.

"Operation Arklay, huh?" Janet Carver asked as she came out from behind one of the folder rows. "Sounds pretty interesting, Lieutenant."

Chief's Office, RPD, 10:30 AM…

After leaving the administration hallway, Proske spent more than a few minutes just standing there in the animal room before entering the office itself. Those last few words spoken to him by Liquid shouldn't have gotten to him the way they did, but he just couldn't shake them. He was nothing like the Detective in actions or in reputation, and that was a good thing since he had always tried to do the right thing regardless of the consequences, but the truth was that today, just for a moment, he had lost control.

It would have been easy to blame Liquid and his recent insanity for the entire incident, with him having stalked Jill and done what seemed like everything in his power to cause trouble for the RPD before being put on extended leave… yeah, he could say that he was protecting a fellow Officer, and that Liquid had been goading him into striking him on purpose… who knew, he might have really been… but this would not be the truth. The truth was that Liquid had been talking, not attacking, and Proske had thrown the first punch.

That bastard had probably planned this whole thing from the moment they saw each other, and he had fallen for it. Everyone knew how smart Liquid was; how he would trick the most hardened suspects into confessing guilt, and how he was always able to find that one little piece of evidence the killer missed even after the most thorough cleanup jobs. This also explained why he hadn't retaliated after being hit… it had probably been more fun for him to leave Proske there at fault, and Liquid probably laughed his fool head off about it all the way back to Homicide.

"Ah, Sergeant Proske, good morning." Chief Irons said as he finally walked in. "Is something wrong, you look a little out of sorts this morning."

"No, nothing's wrong, Chief." He quickly replied, not quite sure what to do yet. "I just, uh, had a rough start. Anyway, you'll be happy to know that there's been an arrest in the Riverview Case. Officer Scott got him after a chase, but sustained a knife wound during the arrest. He's fine, and I need your approval so I can promote him to Corporal. I figure we can give the arrest details and Scott's promotion to the Press, you know, get the RPD some good publicity, and I'll submit the paperwork after Scott gets back from the hospital."

Irons grunted as he nodded his head in a gesture that might or might not have been approval before picking up his desk phone and pushing the button for his secretary.

"Johnson, this is the Chief." He muttered into the phone. "Yeah, sure, good morning… I need a promotion form for an Officer Scott in Burglary… Corporal… yeah, go ahead and put my signature on it… right, I need that done by lunch… okay, bye."

Proske had never seen Irons approve something that quickly in all of his eight years with the RPD, and it was actually pretty amazing to see. There had always been rumors about the Chief's corruption, and how he was able to afford all the expensive artwork around the precinct because of bribes, but maybe they were a little exaggerated. Why else would he approve something for an Officer that he had probably never even met, without asking for something in return?

"All done, Proske." Irons said after hanging up the phone. "You know, you've been doing a damn fine job running Burglary since Brennan retired, and I would've already promoted you if the Mayor hadn't denied my request for new funding… however, there might be a way for me to cut through some of the red tape… if you're willing to play ball, that is."

Okay, maybe those claims weren't exaggerated. Proske was suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the way Irons' demeanor had changed to that of someone who was plotting something sinister, and he did not like where this conversation was going.

"Play ball, Chief?" He asked. "I don't think I understand."

"Proske, there are two kinds of people in this Department." Irons continued. "Those who are with the program, and those who cause trouble. Now, I know you're with the program, and if you can help me solve a little problem… I think we can convince the Mayor to approve you as the permanent head of Burglary at the rank of Captain. How does that sound, huh? Captain Murphy Proske, hmm? All you have to do in return is find a way for us to get rid of Tobias Liquid. I don't care how you do it, just do it."

Yep, there is was, the catch that always existed when a corrupt person offered something to someone. Now, he hated Liquid, it was true, but he wasn't sure exactly what the Chief was asking him to do. He also had to be careful, since this was the Chief of the Raccoon City Police Department that he was dealing with, not some disgruntled Homicide Detective, so he needed to plan his response so that both his integrity and his career could survive.

"Um, well, Chief." Proske began. "If you think that Detective Liquid has actually committed a crime, then I will certainly look into it, but I really don't think he has, so you're not asking an easy thing. I mean, it's one thing to expose corruption, but we have to make sure it's there in the first place."

"Proske, let me stop you right there." Irons interrupted while folding his hands. "Now, we've both got a lot of work to do, so I won't hold you here any longer, but I want you to think long and hard about what I've said, and make a decision about what's really important to you… soon. Have a good day, Proske."

The Chief was glaring at him in a subtle hint that meant for him to get the hell out, so he did. Proske didn't want to be in that office any longer than he had to be, especially now that he had somehow found himself in the middle of a feud between Irons and Liquid. They were both jerks, but he now knew for certain that Irons was a corrupt jerk, while he had no idea if Liquid was or not. So what the hell was he supposed to do?

"Man, I should've just called in sick today." He said quietly to himself after leaving the office.