Resident Evil Recall: Operation Arklay

Episode Four: Case #5081-G

Part Two

The Arklay Tavern, 7:30 PM…

Two months ago…

The games dragged on for hours, both the men from Raccoon City and the ones from Arklay County refusing to give any ground as they moved from contest to contest. Pool, solids and stripes, billiards, color wheel, count down, count up, evens or odds, every manner of game that could be played at a billiard table was played out again and again. None of the players expected outside onlookers to understand the significance of this yearly event, with not only the contest at stake, but also bragging rights for a whole year. It didn't matter if Raccoon City won since they didn't really care about the hicks of Arklay, but last time Arklay County won, they hung banners above every road into Raccoon City just outside the city limits.

"I will not be humiliated like that, Liquid." Mayor Warren warned as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Not again… now you get over there and you show that old woman what a Raccoon City man is made of."

Through the windows they could see the sky getting darker as the contest went on, and soon the moon started to rise as the hours ticked by. Everyone was getting so fatigued now that it came down to one person from each team facing each other one on one so that everyone else could rest, and now it was Liquid's turn. Putting some chalk on the end of his cue, he stepped up to the table just as Commissioner Yvonne did the same. She was a tough old broad, able to hold her own against the men so far, but he could see that she was getting tired. Normally this would have been great news, however, Liquid was also getting tired, so that edge was pretty non-existent.

"The game is odds, Tobias." Yvonne calmly explained. "And don't expect any mercy just because you're married to my niece… that fact just makes me want to see you lose that much more."

"You know something, Aunt Yvonne?" Liquid asked. "I was just thinking the same thing about you. Rack'em, hay-seed."

Yvonne's eyes widened for a second, but then she chuckled to herself as she racked the colored balls. The Raccoon City team had gone first last time, so now it was Yvonne's turn to go first as she took the frame away. Getting lined up behind the cue ball, she quickly lined up her shot, and with a crack, the ball was sent rolling. The triangular formation was scattered in all directions, and then it was Liquid's turn to be surprised as three odd-numbered balls were sent into different pockets.

"Not bad for a hay-seed, huh?" Yvonne taunted while moving around the table for another shot. "This match is gonna be all mine with two more, and you won't even get to make a single shot."

The older woman took her time moving around back and forth until she found just the right spot for her next move, and then she took even longer to line up the shot with her cue, as if purposely tormenting him. Finally she made the shot, and the cue sent her next ball right down the corner pocket, but then it was deflected into another one, and that one vanished just as quickly down the side pocket. Now it was starting to look like she really was going to beat him without a fight, and Liquid was starting to sweat when she started to line up her next shot.

"This is it, Tobias." She said with a sly grin as she pulled back the cue. "Prepare to go home a sore loser."

"Sherriff, this is base, over." A voice crackled from the Sheriff's radio, making Yvonne scratch the shot. "Sheriff, we've got a possible Signal 24 H, over."

Liquid's smirk was just as intense as Yvonne's glare toward him at this stroke of luck, and for a moment it looked like she was going to break the cue over her knee as he moved in to take his shot. He was nowhere near as skilled as her, so he lined up the first good shot that he saw and prepared to strike. Too bad about whoever's house was getting robbed though… looks like the Arklay County boys were gonna have to forfeit.

"This is Thompson, go ahead." The Sheriff answered as Liquid pulled back his cue. "Was that a Signal 22 or 24 you said, over?"

"Signal 24 at 32542 Scenic Trail Road." The radio responded, making Liquid cough as he scratched his shot. "Sheriff, I think I just heard shots fired!"

"Did she say 32542?!" Liquid demanded as he ran up to the Sheriff. "Damn it, that's my cabin!"

Turning away and running through the door, he jumped onto his bike and fired it up, and a bunch of gravel was kicked up as his tire spun out. Not looking if anyone was coming down the road or not, he took off down the road while reaching into the sidecar and putting the magnetic flashing red light onto the frame so that no one would get in his way. Speeding back up the road away from Arklay Village, he nearly flipped the bike over on the sharp turn at the fork in the road, but then had to slam on his breaks in order to avoid a large truck that was stopped sideways so that it literally blocked the whole road.

"Hey, get this thing off the road!" He yelled while beeping the horn. "Police business, let's go!"

"I'm trying to turn around here, keep your shirt on!" The driver yelled back. "You don't have to be so pushy."

The driver put the truck in reverse, moved about a foot, and then put it back in drive, only to move a foot in the opposite direction. This was no good, the driver had put the truck in the worst possible place; with the front about a foot from a cliff wall, and the back having already knocked over the guardrails between it and a really steep drop down another cliff. It was possible for Liquid to get around him, but only if he abandoned his bike, and then it would take more than a half hour to get to his family. Obviously the man didn't know how to drive, so he had no choice but to help him.

"Hey, just cut the wheel all the way to the left!" Liquid yelled as he got off the bike and walked toward him. "Come on, man, move it, there's a crime in progress!"

"But that will keep me going this way, and I need to turn around." The driver argued. "Just be patient, and I'll be out of the way in a second."

There was no time for this, but the truck had to be moved before he could get anywhere, giving him no choice but to commandeer the vehicle and move it himself. The driver seemed to be startled when he pulled open the door and announced his intentions, but then he surprised Liquid by pulling the door shut and beginning to ramble some nonsense about knowing his rights or something. Unfortunately for him, Liquid's family was more important to him than anyone's rights. They fought over opening and closing the door for a few more seconds, but then the driver literally got the shock of his life when Liquid activated his baton, and the cab of the truck was lit up for a second when he jammed it into the driver's torso.

The man let out an agonized scream as the crackling energy flowed over him, and then Liquid grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him out. The driver hit the ground as Liquid reached into the truck to move the shifter to N. He then stepped over the groaning driver as he ran around in front of the truck, and with all his strength he shoved it backwards. Because of the slope of the road, it didn't take much to get the big vehicle rolling, but there was no way to stop it as the truck kept on rolling right over the edge of the cliff. There was a loud crash a few seconds later from below while Liquid was getting back onto his bike, and then finally he was able to continue on.

"Hey… you can't!" The groggy driver tried to yell as his bike sped away. "Hey… my truck!"

Suddenly there was a light from behind him, but he didn't give it any thought until he realized that the light was flashing red and blue. Taking a quick look behind, he saw that it was not one car, but a whole bunch of them, and now they were getting close enough for him to hear the sirens on the Arklay Sheriff's vehicles. It looked like everyone who had been at The Arklay Tavern was now following him, and this made him feel a bit better as he led this convoy of police down the dark road toward his cabin.

For some reason the drive seemed to take forever even though he was going more than twice as fast as when he had driven the family SUV earlier in the day. But then, finally the driveway and porch light of the wooden residence came into view, and he had to turn the bike sharply sideways in order to stop, kicking a bunch of dirt and rocks up into the air. The others followed suit behind him, each vehicle coming to a stop side by side so that their headlights were focused on the cabin, and something definitely didn't look right.

From there Liquid could see that the front door was open, and so was one of the windows since he could see the curtain inside blowing around from the cold wind. No, hold on a second… the door wasn't just open, it was slanted against the wall and the frame had been splintered in the process… and the window was closed, but he could see the fragments and shards remaining from when the glass was shattered. Only one or two lights were on inside, so most of the interior was blanketed in darkness.

Something else was wrong as well. With all of the damage to the house they should have heard noises; people moving around inside, the gunshots the dispatcher had reported, a frightened Lilly carrying Isaac out to them, anything… but there was nothing. No sounds, no movement in the house, not even a sound in the forest around them aside from the wind. The calm Liquid felt from having the support of so many cops was fading away even as everyone stood ready for action from covered positions behind their vehicle doors, because damn it, there should have been some sign of life by now.

"Attention in there, this is Sheriff Thompson." The mustached man said into the loudspeaker. "You are surrounded by Arklay County Deputies as well as Officers of the Raccoon City Police Department. Release the residents of this cabin, and come out with your hands up. You have till the count of five. One… two… three… four… five."

The count ended but still all was quiet, leaving moving in as their only option. If there was anyone still inside, this move could be dangerous for all parties involved; the perps, the people inside, and the cops. However, there seemed to be little choice, so with Liquid making the first move by crouching down and moving toward the front door, the Deputies began moving around the outside of the house while Branagh and Marini followed him.