AN: One of the things I wanted to do before I went back to school was complete this story. I finished writing (but not editing) this chapter right before I moved back out to my dorm room. Does that count?
Since college will keep me very busy for the next several months, I've decided that once I post this, I'm gonna stick to short stories. Huge fanfics like this take up a lot of time and commitment, and its hard to keep going when my interest wavers. I might work on a longer story, but it will be written much more slowly (as in over many months).
I'll stop rambling. Thank you, readers and reviewers alike, for sticking it out with me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or its characters. Non-canon characters are my responsibility. My friend JediSpartan217 contributed to some non-canon characters and the overall plot of this story.
The helicopter returned to BSAA headquarters mid-morning; Jill and the other passengers had witnessed the sunrise following them as helicopter crossed the Atlantic ocean. As soon as Jill, Keith, Quint, Kate, and Stevie filed out onto the helipad, a group of medics edged past them and immediately took the unconscious Billy, Carlos, and Steve into the building. A smaller group had approached Kate and offered to examine her for effects caused by the Gx-A virus, but the bespectacled cadet shook them off. Yet another group of medics had brought an extra stretcher with them, and before Stevie and Kate could question its purpose, the medics had extracted Mattie from the helicopter floor and carried her into the BSAA.
Stevie and Kate followed the team of medics through the halls to the recovery wing, and after an hour of medical examinations, they were allowed to visit their friend. Mattie rested in a hospital bed, her arm rewrapped in clean bandages at her side. The room had no window or attached bathroom, but it was big enough for a medical team to fit in. The duo quietly slipped into the room, taking places next to the wall.
"So," Kate started, "what did the docs say?"
"Well," Mattie sighed, "they say I can walk around and I'll be back to normal, but I gotta wait until that virus filters out of my system." She grimaced. "Looks like I'm gonna be stuck in bed for a while."
"Cheer up," Stevie encouraged, "With the stuff Quint and Keith said they were going to bring later, I doubt you'll be bored." She turned to her other friend, who was leaning against the wall. "How about you, buddy? Still being haunted?"
Kate shook her head. "I'm not having any more hallucinations. I think the gas wore off," she said, staring up at the ceiling, "I still want a Psych evaluation, though."
A knock pulled the trio's eyes to the door. Piers stood in the door frame, holding one hand behind his back, as if he were hiding something.
"Piers!" Mattie greeted, bolting upright in her bed, only to let out a sharp gasp of pain and grab her left arm.
"Are you alright? Should I call the nurse?" Piers asked, moving forward.
Mattie shook her head. "No no, I'll be fine," she reassured him as the pain died down. "It just stings if I move too fast."
The lieutenant stepped back. "Alright. Take it easy, okay?"
Mattie leaned back into the bed. "I will," she agreed. "Where's Chris?"
"He's in quarantine until we can be sure he's himself again," Piers explained, "We don't want him running away again."
"Thanks for telling me."
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
Mattie sighed in frustration. "I feel like a total wreck. It's embarrassing," she replied, "I'm allowed to walk around, but the nurses say I have to rest and do some therapy before I'll be able to get back to real training."
"Good. That's some of the best news I've heard in a while," Piers said. He began shifting his weight uncomfortably, looking down at the floor. "I brought you something," he added, producing a small bouquet full of rainbow-colored daisies from behind his back.
Mattie's face lit up in joy. "Piers! You didn't have to do this!" she beamed as he set the flowers down on her bedside table.
"A welcome back present from me and the rest of the new team," he said, "They're busy now, but they're all planning on coming up to visit later. They were worried about you."
The two women watched longingly as the soldier and the patient talked. A light poke in the ribs turned Kate's attention toward Stevie. The dark-haired girl quickly pointed to Piers and Mattie, then formed a heart shape with her hands.
Kate nodded in understanding at the silent signals, then gestured with her head towards the door.
"We're going to find some food," Stevie announced, attracting the others' attention, "We'll leave you two to catch up for a while." Mattie nodded, and the two women slipped out of the room.
"What do we do now?" Kate whispered once they were far away from their friend's recovery room.
"Isn't it obvious? Find a way to get out of town," Stevie replied.
"There you two are!" A female voice sounded behind them. The two women stopped and turned around to see a familiar face walking up to them.
"Jill? What's going on?" Kate inquired as the senior agent stopped in front of them.
"Everyone's on edge," Jill explained, "The building is on lockdown. No one leaves or gets in until we figure out who the mole is, which is really inconvenient because I've already called Claire and told her Chris is back."
"Anything we can do?" Stevie asked.
Jill exhaled. "Not really," she replied, "I gotta go. I've got to write up my report on the whole incident and hope it doesn't get Chris in trouble."
"We'd better see what the guys know," Stevie whispered to her partner, "They'll probably get questioned."
"Good plan."
After a little asking around, they found the room where Carlos, Billy, and Steve were being held. Billy looked up first as they entered. "It's you two," he spoke, "What are you doing around here?"
"Just visiting," Stevie responded first. "You?"
"Not a lot, but Rebecca was here earlier," Billy replied, sitting up in his bed, "She said she could give me a place to stay once I get out of here."
"What are you going to do, Carlos?" Stevie asked.
"Haven't figured that out, chicas," the former mercenary replied, "I'm half-tempted to stay because of the nurses alone."
Kate rolled her eyes. "How's Steve doing?" she asked.
Carlos glanced over to the third bed. "He sleeps a lot, but wakes up every now and again. His memories of are a little messed up, though," he warned.
"I'll bet Claire will be happy to see him," the dark-haired cadet commented. "Hey, I've got a question for you guys. Did you ever see what Delfredi looked like?" she added as an afterthought.
Billy and Carlos exchanged confused looks. "Not really. He was always the voice in the intercom," the tattooed former marine replied.
"Me neither. Why do you ask?" Carlos added.
"Just curious," Stevie replied. "See you later." As they started to leave, she whispered to Kate. "I don't think we can worry about the popsicle," she spoke under her breath, "He won't remember much."
"Hold on," Kate whispered back. She walked over to the foot of Steve's bed. "Steve? Remember me? Claire?" she tried hopefully, attempting to jog the amnesiac's memory.
"Claire?" Steve muttered. His eyes flickered open, landing on Kate for a few seconds before closing again. "No . . . you're not her," he muttered, "Who are you?" he asked.
Kate's face fell. ". . . No one," she said solemnly. She cast her eyes to the ground as she made her way to the door. Stevie followed behind her.
The duo resumed their walk, passing nearly ten rooms until Stevie spotted a familiar figure inside. "Hang on a sec, I wanna talk to Parker for a bit," she said, splitting off from her partner. She entered to find Parker sound asleep, snoring lightly in the hospital bed. But it didn't matter. There was something the younger agent wanted to tell him. "Hey man, I don't know if you can hear me right now, but considering you might hear some bad stuff about me and my partner in the next several hours, I want you to know that we're still good guys. Even if our methods are illegal," she spoke. Even if Parker was unconscious, it gave her some relief to put her trust in him. "Anyway, I was wondering: If you aren't going back out on missions anytime soon, how about we go get a drink together sometime. I'll bet you've got some good stories to tell."
"You're still twenty, doofus! You can't drink yet!" Kate's voice reminded her from the hall.
"Hey! I'm having a moment here!" the younger woman called to her partner before turning back to Parker. "Anyway, whaddaya think?"
"A bottle of good scotch wouldn't be bad right now."
Stevie blinked, stunned as the male agent opened his eyes. "...You're awake?" she asked.
"Just had a bit of a cat nap," Parker explained as he moved to sit up in the bed. "What do you mean 'I might hear some bad stuff'?"
"Nevermind," the short-haired cadet answered quickly. "In case you haven't heard, we brought Mattie back!"
"That so? I'll have to visit her later."
Throughout the conversation, Kate leaned against the wall outside the room, biting her tongue to ease her nerves. Despite the patience instilled by stakeouts and covert training, she wanted nothing more than to get away. If the technicians were working as hard as they could on unmasking the moles, then time was not in her or Stevie's favor.
"Hey Kate! Over here!" a male voice called from afar, pulling her out of her thoughts.
The younger agent looked over to see Quint and Keith walking up the hall towards her. "Hey. Aren't you supposed to be working on the mole tip-off?" she asked as they approached.
"We dropped off the stuff for 'Goggles'," Keith replied, stopping to stand next to her. "Don't tell Jill."
"We got nothing to hide by playing hooky!" Quint added, joining him. "Where's everyone else?"
"Stevie's visiting Parker right now," Kate explained, gesturing to the hospital room, "I'm just waiting for her to finish."
A sinister grin materialized on Quint's face. "Which means she won't be able to help you this time."
"What?"
Before she could think, Keith swiftly bent down and grasped Kate by the legs. "Hey!" the younger woman cried out as the taller agent lifted her upwards, threw her over his shoulder, and began walking. "Put me down!"
Hearing the commotion, Stevie emerged from Parker's room. "Where do you think you're going with her?" she shouted at the two men.
"Rookie Pinball! Right now!" Quint announced, "We finally got everyone together!
Stevie sighed in defeat. "Did he say 'Rookie Pinball'?" Parker called from his bed, "Grab me those crutches, I'm not missing Rookie Pinball because of one little injury!
"Pin-ball! Pin-ball!" chanted a sea of voices, agents and support staff alike lining the walls of the Tech Pit, forming a circle around the central aisle.
Kate looked around with blurry eyes, as her glasses had been taken shortly beforehand. She didn't struggle as Keith held her shoulders and Quint stepped into the center. "Okay fellas, you know the rules!" he called out as the crowd fell silent. "All bets are legal, and the game ends when the rookie falls down!"
A blindfold appeared in front of Kate's eyes, pulling her head back as the ends were tied behind her head. "Pull your arms in," Keith's voice instructed. She folded her arms as ordered, and the spinning began. The movement started slow, growing faster and faster as she gained momentum. Within seconds, her sense of direction was gone.
After several seconds of twirling, Quint shouted, "Release!" and Keith shoved the younger woman into the circle. Kate staggered forward, blind and wobbling dangerously. She had no idea where she was going, but she could hear the shuffle of footsteps as people gave her space. A dull "thud" and a group of cheers signaled that she had run into something. Judging from the aching pain, her knee had presumably made contact with a stray piece of furniture. In an attempt to avoid more obstacles, she turned around, losing her balance for a moment. She felt herself tilt backward. The blindfolded agent clawed at the air wildly to regain her balance. She stumbled forward only to run smack-dab into an oddly warm and muscular wall.
"I think she likes you, Grinder!" she heard Quint catcall over the cheers.
Kate's face flushed bright pink as she realized who she had run into, but managed to turn herself around and stagger away, only to feel her hip crash against the edge of a desk. She hissed in pain, managing a few more wobbly steps before gravity took control, pulling her to a kneel on the ground. The crowd cheered and laughed. "That was one full minute, folks!" she could hear Quint call out, "Claim your bets!"
Kate untied and removed her blindfold, looking at the floor with blurred vision as she felt a familiar touch on her shoulder. "C'mon!" Stevie urged as she pulled her dizzy friend to her feet. Still totally disoriented, Kate allowed her friend to pull her away from the crowds and towards a small, uninhabited corner with a lonely door. Opening the door revealed a motley assortment of cleaning supplies, along with a dusty sink, but the duo slid inside without notice.
"You got my glasses?" the older operative asked once the door was closed behind them. Stevie produced her partner's glasses out of her pocket, having lifted them off of Keith earlier. "Have you thought of a way out of here?" she asked.
"Not yet," Kate murmured as she put her glasses back on, "We can probably count on not seeing any help from the Org. We're on our own."
"Dammit."
A quick ringing sounded in the room. The bespectacled agent pulled out their shared phone and checked the caller ID. "It's her," she verified.
Stevie and Kate activated their earpieces. "Ada. What's going on?" the dark-haired agent asked.
"No time to answer. Where are you?" their mentor's voice spoke, serious and demanding.
"We're still at BSAA North America HQ," Kate replied, detecting their mentor's severe tone, "Why do you ask?"
"Have you been compromised?" Ada inquired harshly.
"Not yet. But it'll probably happen soon enough," Stevie replied.
"Crap," Ada cursed.
"What's happening?" Kate questioned.
"I heard about the tip-off to the BSAA. Apparently the Techs are taking too long to figure it out for someone's liking. Now they're uploading information from your Org dossiers to the BSAA's network," Ada explained. "I'm trying to limit the amount of data on you that is being leaked, so far I'm barely managing."
"That's not good," Stevie whispered.
"I've decided to pull you out."
"But- you said the Org isn't supposed to help us," Kate repeated.
"The Org isn't the one bailing you, I am," Ada declared. "I have a pilot friend that owes me a favor. I just gave him the coordinates. Get to the helipad and ask for 'Trouble'," she ordered. "You know the proper reply phrase; so does the pilot. I'll give the BSAA a distraction so you can get to the roof without being stopped."
"But-!" Stevie interrupted
"GO," Ada ordered before the phone clicked off.
"I guess it's time for us to clear out, then," Stevie murmured as she clicked her headset off. Kate nodded silently in agreement.
The duo exited the supply closet and began walking to the main hall, acting as if everything was normal. Moments later, a dull 'Boom!' sounded from outside. Several staff members screamed, running for safety while the soldiers ran to the windows. "Somebody's car just blew up in the south parking lot!" one of the soldiers shouted over the cacophony, "Get someone to douse that fire!"
"Something tells me that's our diversion," Stevie said under her breath. She grasped Kate's hand so they wouldn't get separated in the crowd, "Let's go."
The two women snuck into a stairwell, and minutes later burst onto the roof. A black, unmarked helicopter hovered over the nearest helipad like a giant beetle, the aircraft's nose pointed at the two spies. The pilot gestured towards his headset.
Stevie reached up and activated her earpiece. "Are you 'Trouble'?" she asked.
The pilot grinned. "Trouble is a friend. Hop in!" he replied. The two women climbed into the hovering aircraft, looking below them as they were lifted away from the rooftop.
"Hey Kate, looks like the ride we used to get here exploded," Stevie noted, gazing down at the burning wreckage of the sedan they entered with. People with fire extinguishers crowded around the smoldering vehicle, dousing it with foam. 'That kinda sucks. I liked that car." When Kate didn't respond, the dark-haired operative turned to find her partner solemnly staring at the floor. "What's up with you? You've been awful quiet since Ada's phone call," the younger agent asked.
"It's just . . ." Kate spoke softly, "I can't help thinking of all the things we did since we chose this life. Think about it. We just deceived and lied to our friends." The older operative looked up at her comrade. "Do you think we made the right choice? Joining up with the Org?" she asked.
Stevie leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she stared out at the mid-morning sun. ". . . Ya know, I'm not entirely sure anymore."
Ada hung up her line of communication with her students. On one hand it was a relief that they hadn't gotten caught yet, but she didn't want to rest until they were safe. Typing away at the computer console in front of her, she set up yet another hidden firewall in the BSAA's networks, hoping to stop the leaking data.
A soft trill sounded from her pocket. Ada pulled a translucent blue prism from behind her, folding it into a cube. "Simmons. Just the person I wanted to see," she spoke into the cube's small interior screen.
"Ada. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Simmons asked, "I wasn't expecting you to finish your last job so quickly."
"I only just found out that my apprentices were recently involved what appears to be a suicide mission, except I have no recollection of allowing them to leave. Somebody pulled some strings to put them in that situation."
"What makes you think I was involved?"
"Who else has clout with the Organization, access to an abandoned Umbrella facility, and wants my attention that badly?"
Simmons gave a short smirk. "Your students did their part. Even though they were never meant to survive with the other members of the BSAA."
"So you sent them into an undercover mission, knowing the BSAA would respond to the situation you set up for them?" Ada responded, putting the pieces together.
"Edonia was only the beginning. That first outbreak pushed Redfield to his breaking point, right where we needed him, and then everything else fell into place," he explained as if it were the simplest idea ever.
"Any reason you selected my students in particular?" the red-clad operative asked sharply.
"I read the notes you took on those two," he answered, "I know of the bond your students share with Chris' trainee. Such blind loyalty is easy to manipulate."
"And I take it you got what you wanted out of this?" Ada inquired.
"Of course," Simmons replied lazily, "Gx-A. A near-perfect mix of T-virus, G-virus, and T-abyss. I've been told Delfredi didn't have any plans to improve on it after the testing stages; apparently Veronica knew this too, but didn't bother to report that. It doesn't compare to what we already have, but I'll give Veronica credit where it is due. Shame that she was taken out by one of the monsters that she created. But that was to be expected anyway."
"You sacrificed her as well?" the spy pressed.
"Veronica was a fool who allowed her emotions to guide her actions," Simmons elaborated, "Your own charges are making the same mistakes. Both of us know this."
Ada quirked an eyebrow. "Both of us?"
"We are more alike than you realize."
"Not exactly." Simmons paused. "Next time my apprentices are endangered without my knowledge, I will not be so quick to brush it aside," Ada promised.
Simmons smirked again. "I believe those apprentices of yours have made you soft," he noted, "If you're not careful, they might disappear right under your nose."
The computer beeped, signaling an incoming call. "I must go," Ada replied. "There are a few things I need to see to." Ada disconnected the call to Simmons, then pressed a button on the console in front of her. "Are they secure?" she asked.
"Yes, they've made it out safely," 'Trouble' replied, "I'm bringing them back now."
"Good. I can't thank you enough," Ada spoke. "Tell them to come find me when you land. I want to know everything that they've been through since they left." Ada took her finger off the button and ended the call. "Nothing adds up. Simmons doesn't make decisions on a whim, or for convenience," she remembered. "There has to be an another reason for him to target my students. More to the point, how did he even know about them in the first place? All Org. dossiers are confidential." the red spy mused to herself. She rose from the leather seat of the chair. "Something bigger has to be at work here. Whatever it is, I just hope those girls are prepared for it."