A/N: Hello all and welcome back. Before we get into this latest installment, I wanted to address a small factor that had been pointed out to me in one of my reviews.
Just so that all my readers out there are aware, I'm doing all in my prowess as a writer to ensure that my OC doesn't come off too Mary-Sue-ish. Granted, there are a few moments that might prove otherwise, but all of those situations were mostly solved with logic, quick thinking, and a good amount of luck. The standard process when it comes to most people in those scenarios. (Besides, all characters have their moment of being a Mary-Sue...for example, one Chris Redfield and his notorious boulder punching.)
Regardless, I try to make Ethan as 'normal' as possible. But with his strange abilities waking up more and more it may end up being a statistic in the end. Still, I figured I'd make these facts known so my OC doesn't get flamed too much in the future.
Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.
Chapter 40:
"Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them." - Rabindranath Tagore
"Shit," Claire hissed, feeling helpless and afraid, wanting to beat against the wall panel until it released the three men.
It was a trap, a setup!
"Listen… it's going down," Rebecca whispered, and Claire heard it, too. She turned, saw David tapping the keypad with one hand, flashlight in the other, his face grim.
"David," Claire started, and stopped as David spared her a pointed glance, a look that told her to wait. He barely paused in his number punching, returning his entire attention back to the controls.
She turned to Rebecca, saw that she was chewing at her lip anxiously, watching David.
"He must be trying all the codes," she whispered to the younger Redfield, and Claire nodded, feeling sick with worry, wanting to talk action but realizing that David needed to concentrate. She compromised, leaning in to whisper back to Rebecca; if she just stood there quietly in the freezing dark, she'd lose her mind.
"Think it was Trent?"
Rebecca frowned, then shook her head. "No. I think we hit a silent alarm or something. I saw a light flashing in the elevator before the gate closed."
The medic sounded just as scared as she was, just as terrified, and Claire thought about how close she was to Ethan. They were nearly glued to the hip since they were picked up outside Raccoon City, and everyone in their group could tell how much in love the two of them were.
She wondered if this level of closeness was possible between herself and Leon, maybe.
Claire instinctively reached for her hand and Rebecca took it, squeezing it tightly, both of them watching David. while hoping for a quick solution.
'Come on, one of them has to open it, to bring it back...' the older brunette prayed.
A few tense seconds passed, and David stopped hitting keys. He pointed the flashlight up, the reflection just enough light to see each other by.
"Seems that the numbers don't work if the lift is in use," he said, his voice calm and easy, but Claire could see that his jaw was clenched, the muscles in his cheeks twitching.
"I'll try them all again in a moment, and then again, but since someone else seems to have access to the lift's master control, we should start considering other options. Rebecca, start looking for a camera, check the corners and ceiling; if we're going to be here awhile we'll need privacy. Claire, see if you can find any tools we might use to get through the wall, tire iron, screwdriver, anything. If the codes won't work, we'll see if we can't force our way in. Questions?"
"No," Rebecca said, and Claire shook her head.
"Good. Take a deep breath and get to it."
David went back to the keypad and Rebecca walked to the corner, turning her flashlight to the ceiling. Claire took a deep breath and turned, looking at the dusty table in the middle of the room. It had stacked drawers on either side; she opened the first, pushing aside papers and clutter, thinking that David really kicked ass under pressure.
'Tire iron, screwdriver, anything...' She looked at the panel again briefly, 'Be careful, please be careful and don't get killed...'
Claire forced herself to take another deep breath; then she opened the next drawer, continuing her search.
X
"What do we do now?" Leon asked as the lift continued to descend farther below the surface.
Ethan scanned the control console along side John before turning his attention to the sealed gate. "We still have a job to do. We'll have to assess the situation when we reach the ground floor." The traveler turned to the older ex-STARS, "John, we'll follow your led when we reach the facility."
John looked at him with a raised eyebrow and smirked, "Giving up your second in command role already? Besides, aren't you one of our experts in breaking into Umbrella's 'members only' clubs?"
"The situation's changed." Ethan replied, "You've got the most combat experience amongst us. I'll provide intel and guide us through, but you call the shots in a firefight...try to keep the jokes at a minimum if you can."
The dark-skinned man nodded, turning toward the gate with his expression becoming serious. "When we stop, get down," John said, crouching himself, then lying down on his stomach and wrapping the M-16 strap tightly around his muscular arm. "If it's an ambush, they'll be aiming high when the door opens; we take out their knees. Works like a charm."
Leon and Ethan lay down on either side of him, the traveler with his own rifle against his shoulder looking down the scope on the top rail, the former cop propping his right arm up with his left hand, nine-millimeter pointed loosely at the gate. Outside, the darkness slid past, nothing to see but metal-lined shaft.
"And if it's not?" Leon asked.
"Stand up, Ethan will take the right, I'll take left, stay in the car and cover our backs. If you find yourself aiming at a wall, turn around and shoot low." John said laying out the plan, turning to them with a wide grin spreading across his face.
"Think of all the fun they're going to miss. We get to blow some Umbrella guys all to shit, and they're stuck in the cold dark with nothing to do."
Leon was going to say something when Ethan cut in.
"They might be in trouble if we don't get access to the elevator. Whether we tripped an alarm, or there was a camera in the shed we were just in someone had been watching, they would have likely called for help ontop of hitting the override." he explained.
John shook his head, his grin long since faded. "Nothing we can do but go for the ride," he said, and Leon nodded, swallowing when the gravity of the situation hit home.
The elevator kept going down, and they fell silent, waiting. All weapons trained on the gate, preparing to open fire the very moment they needed to.
The lift stopped with a soft ping sound, a chime, and the mesh gate was moving, disappearing into its designated hole in the wall. A windowless outer door rose at the same time, mellow light spilled across them...
...and there was nobody. A polished concrete wall twenty feet away, a polished concrete floor. Gray emptiness.
Ethan rose to his feet, John silent and even faster to his left. An exchanged glance and they both took one step out of the elevator, Leon standing behind them raising his VP70, ready to fire and cover their flank. But there was still nothing.
A wide corridor that seemed a mile long, the faint, mingled scents of dust and some industrial disinfectant in the cool air. Cool, but not at all cold; compared to the surface, it was summer. The hall was a hundred and fifty yards easy, maybe more; there were a few offshoots, rounded lights spaced at regular intervals along the ceiling, no signs posted, and no sign of life either.
"Clear." the traveler said over his shoulder, keeping his eyes down the corridor before him.
"Same...Maybe they're all playing bingo," John said softly, and Ethan looked back, saw that except for the placement of a few side halls, John's side was identical to his. And just as empty.
They both stepped back into the elevator with Leon. John reached for the controls, tapped the 'Up' button, and nothing happened.
"What now?" Leon asked.
"Don't ask me, David and Ethan are the brain-trust behind our outfit,"John said. "Though I got the looks."
"Jesus, John," Leon said, pinching his nose frustrated. "Ethan? Ideas?"
The traveler looked around the elevator, then back out into the empty corridor. "It wasn't a trap, if it was they would have had a firing squad waiting for us...or worse. And the timing. The elevator was only uptop for a few seconds, as if someone realized we called it up. They must have been the one to hit the override."
"Someone was trying to keep us from getting on." Leon said catching on. "To keep us from coming down."
John nodded in agreement. "Give that man a cigar. And if that's right, it means they're scared of us. I mean, there's no security, right? Whoever brought us down probably hightailed it to a room with a lock."
Ethan nodded, "Exactly. As for what we do from here? Secure the area. Same plan as before, at least the first part. Get the employees secured, then worry about the elevator. Dealing with Reston will just have to wait-"
John held up his hand suddenly, cutting him off, his head cocked to one side. The two younger men listened, but didn't hear anything. A few seconds passed and then John lowered his hand. He shrugged dismissively, but his dark eyes were wary and he held the automatic rifle close.
"I like it," he said finally. "If we can find the damn employees. The question is do we go left or right?"
"Right. Left has some bad associations for me." said Leon, remembering his time in Raccoon City and the last time he took an unknown left turn which had almost cost him dearly.
John cocked an eyebrow and Ethan shrugged. Together, they stepped out into the long, empty corridor and turned right, moving slowly, John watching their back, Leon scanning every offshoot's opening for a sign of movement while Ethan was on point.
The first side hall was to their left, not fifteen feet from the elevator. "Hang on," John said, and ducked into the short hall, walking quickly to a single door at the back. He rattled the handle, then hurried back out, shaking his head.
"Thought I heard something before," he said after double checking and rejoining them. They continued their slow trek down the passage, sweeping every inch with their weapons, Ethan keeping all of his senses on high alert on an almost instinctual level.
Being in yet another Umbrella facility, separated from the rest of the team and going against unknown dangers. He was preparing for anything.
X
Reston had an idea.
He'd almost panicked after he'd heard them saying things that they shouldn't have known, hiding in control with the door cracked open. When he'd heard one of them say his name, he'd felt the panic rise into his throat like bile, coloring his mind with visions of his own horrible death. He'd closed the door then, locking it, sagging against it as he tried to think, to sort through his options.
When one of them had rattled the door, he'd nearly screamed, but had managed to hold still, to make no sound at all until the interloper had moved on. It took him a few moments to collect himself after that, to remember that this was something he could handle; strangely enough, it was the thought of Trent that did it for him.
Trent wouldn't panic. Trent would know exactly what to do, and he most certainly wouldn't run crying to Jackson for help.
In spite of that, he'd almost picked up the phone several times as he watched the monitors, watched the three men terrorizing his employees. They were efficient, unlike their fumbling counterparts still working to figure out the elevator on the surface.
It had taken the three of them all of five minutes once they'd reached the living area to get the workers together; it helped that five of them were still awake and playing cards in the cafeteria, three of the construction crew and both mechanics. The two young white men watched them as the other one went to the dorm and roused the rest, marching them back to the cafeteria, crowding them with his automatic weapon.
Reston was disappointed with the lackluster performance of his people, not one fighter among them, and was still very afraid. Once the teams from the city came in he'd have something to work with, but until then, all sorts of bad things might happen.
"Dealing with Reston will just have to wait..." 'What happens when they realize I'm not in their hostage group? What do they want? What could they want, except to hold me for ransom or kill me?' he thought with a shiver of terror.
He'd been on the verge of calling Sidney, in spite of the fact that Jackson would certainly find out about it, but he'd risk his colleague's disapproval, he'd risk losing his place in the inner circle if it meant he could survive this invasion.
He was actually reaching for the phone when he realized that someone was missing. Reston leaned closer to the cafeteria monitor, frowning, forgetting the phone. There were fourteen people grouped together in the middle of the room, the three gunmen standing some distance away.
Where's the other one? Who's the other one?
Reston reached out and touched the screen, marking off the faces of the bleary-eyed hostages. The five construction workers. Two mechanics. The cook, the specimen handlers, all six of them...
"Cole," he muttered, pursing his lips. The electrician, Henry Cole. He wasn't there.
An idea began to form, but it depended on where Cole actually was. Reston tapped at the buttons that worked the screens, beginning to hope, to see a way not only to survive, but to win. To come out on top.
There were twenty-two screens in the control room, but almost fifty cameras set up throughout the Planet and in the surface 'weather' station. The Planet had been built with video in mind, the layout fairly simple; from control, one could see almost every part of every hall, room, and environment, the cameras placed at key points.
Finding someone was just a matter of pushing the right button to switch between views.
Reston checked the test rooms first, each set of cameras in phases One through Four. No luck. He tried the science area next, the surgical rooms, the chem lab, even the stasis room; again, he didn't see anyone.
He wouldn't be in quarters, they've certainly cleared everyone else out...and there was no reason for him to be on the surface...
Reston grinned suddenly, punching up the cameras in and around the holding cells. Cole and both of the mechanics had been using the cells to lay out equipment, wires and tools and various bits of machinery.
There!
Cole was sitting on the floor in between cells one and nine, sorting through a box of little metal pieces, his skinny legs splayed out in front of him.
Reston looked back at the cafeteria, saw that the armed intruders conferring with one another, watching the useless, huddled group of workers. On the surface, the other three were still hammering at the keypad and searching for something or other...
The idea took shape, the possibilities coming to him one at a time, each more interesting and exciting than the last. The data he could collect, the respect that he would earn, getting rid of his problem and promoting himself at the same time.
'I could edit the tapes together, have something to show my visitors after the tour, and won't Sidney be undone when Jackson sees what I've accomplished, how I've handled things. I'll be the golden child for a change…' he thought in excitement.
Reston stood up from the console, still grinning, nervous but hopeful. He'd have to hurry, and he'd have to use all his acting skills with Cole; not a problem, considering that he'd spent thirty years of his life developing them, honing them.
Before joining Umbrella, he'd been a diplomat.
It would work. They wanted Reston; he'd give him to them.
X
Cole was poking idly through a box of bipolar transistors, thinking that he was an idiot; he should be sleeping. It had to be close to midnight, he'd been breaking his ass all day for Mr. Blue, and he'd have to drag said ass out of bed in another six hours to do the same.
He was tired and sick to death of being picked on just because the last happy asshole to go through the Planet with a toolbox had done everything wrong.
'It's not my fault that the dumbass didn't connect the leads on the MOSFETs before he installed 'em. And his outdoor conduits are crappy, he didn't figure on the Planet's inductive load...incompetent jerkoff...' he thought sullenly while continued to work.
Maybe he was being harsh, but he wasn't feeling particularly forgiving after the day he'd had. Mr. Blue had distinctly told him to get to the surface cams first, and then chased him down and insisted he'd told him to take care of the intercom system first.
Cole knew he was full of shit, along with everyone else working at the Planet, but Reston was one of the top guys, a real heavy-hitter; when he said jump, you jumped, and there was never a question of who was right. Cole had only worked for Umbrella for a year, but he'd made more money in that year than he had in the five before combined; he was not gonna be the one to piss off Mr. Blue and get himself canned.
'You sure about that? After all you've seen in the last few weeks?' a part of his mind prodded.
Cole put the box of transistors down and rubbed at his eyes; they felt hot and itchy. He hadn't been sleeping all that well since coming to work at the Planet. It wasn't that he was some bleeding-heart type, he didn't give much of a shit what Umbrella wanted to do with their money. But...
...but it was hard to feel good about this place. It was bad news... a fucking freak show.
In his year with Umbrella, he'd wired a chem lab on the west coast for power, installed a bunch of new circuit breakers for a think tank on the other coast, and generally done a lot of maintenance work wherever they shipped him.
Incredible pay, not too hard, and the people he usually worked with were decent enough, mostly blue-collar types doing the same kind of stuff he was doing. And all he had to do, outside of the work, was promise not to talk about whatever he saw; he'd signed a contract to that effect when he was first hired on, and had never had a problem with it. But then, he had never seen the Planet.
When Umbrella called you out on a job, they didn't explain anything. It was just, 'fix that,' and you fixed it and got paid. Even within the working crews, discussions about the job site's purpose were heavily discouraged. Word got around, though, and Cole knew enough about the Planet to think that he might not want to work for Umbrella anymore.
There were the creatures, for one thing, the test animals. He hadn't actually seen them, or the thing they were calling Fossil, the frozen freak, but he'd heard them a couple of times. Once, in the middle of the night, a screeching, howling sound that had chilled him to the bone, a sound like a bird, screaming. And then there was the day in Phase Two, realigning one of the video cameras, when he'd heard a strange chattering sound, like nails being tapped on hollow wood—but the sound was animal, too. Alive.
He'd heard that they were specially created for Umbrella, some kind of genetic hybrids that would be better for studying, but hybrids of what? All of the creatures had bizarre and unpleasant nicknames, too. He'd heard the researchers talking about them on more than one occasion.
Dacs. Scorps. Spitters. Hunters. Sounded like a fun bunch...for a horror movie.
Cole crawled to his feet, stretching his tired muscles, still thinking unhappy thoughts. There was Reston, of course; the guy was a grade-A tyrant, and of the worst kind, the kind with a lot of power and not a lot of patience. Cole was used to working with managerial types, but Mr. Blue was way too high on the food chain for his comfort zone. The man was intimidating as all hell.
'But that's not the worst, is it?' his sleep addled mind mumbled.
He sighed, looking around at the dozen cells that lined the room, six on either side. No, the worst was right in front of him. Each cell had a cot, a toilet, a sink—and restraining straps on the walls and attached to the beds. And the cell block was less than twenty feet from the 'foyer' of the first environment, where the doors had locks on the outside.
'After this one, I do some serious thinking about my priorities; I've got enough saved to take a break, get some perspective.'
Cole sighed again. That was fine, for later. For now, though, he had to try and catch some sleep. He turned and walked to the door, slapping the lights off as he opened it-
And there was Reston. Hurrying around the corner where the main corridor turned toward the elevators, looking extremely upset. 'Oh, hell, what now?'
Reston saw him and practically ran to him, his blue suit uncharacteristically rumpled, his pale gaze darting left and right.
"Henry," he gasped, and stopped in front of him, breathing hard. "Thank God. You have to help me. There are three men, assassins, they broke in and they're here to kill me, and I need your help."
Cole was as much taken aback by his demeanor as by what he said; he'd never seen Blue with a hair out of place, or without that small, smug smile that was the sole property of the incredibly wealthy.
"I...what?" he asked trying to make any sense.
Reston took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly. "I'm sorry. I just, the Planet has been invaded; there are men here, looking for me. They mean to kill me, Henry. I recognize them from a thwarted attempt on my life not six months ago; they've posted a man on the surface by the door, and I'm trapped, they'll find me and..."
He broke off, gasping, and was he trying not to cry? Cole stared at him, "Why are they trying to kill you?" he asked.
"I was the chair for a hostile takeover last year, a packaging company, the man we bought out was unstable, he swore he'd get me. And now they're here, right now they're locking up everyone in the cafeteria, but they're only after me. I've called for help but they won't get here in time. Please, Henry, will you help me? I-I'll make it worth your while, I promise you. You'll never have to work again, your children will never have to work..."
The open plea in Reston's eyes was disconcerting; it stopped Cole from mentioning that he didn't have any children. The man was terrified, his lined face quivering, his silver-shot hair sticking up in tufts. Even without the monetary offer, Cole would have offered to help.
Maybe.
"What do you want me to do?"
Reston half-smiled in relief, actually reaching out to grasp Cole's arm. "Thank you, Henry. Thank you, I-I'm not sure. If you could...they only want me, so if you could distract them somehow."
He frowned, his lips trembling, then looked past Cole to the small room that marked the entrance to the environments. "That room! It has a lock on the outside, and opens into One, if you could lure them to you, slip into One, I could lock them inside, lock down the entire room as soon as you were out. You could go straight through to Four and out to the medical area, I'd unlock it for you as soon as they're trapped."
Cole nodded uncertainly. It should work, except...
"Won't they know I'm not you? I mean, they'll have a picture of you or something, won't they?" he asked.
"They won't be able to tell. They'll only see you for a second, when they come around the corner, and then you'll be gone. As soon as they get inside, I'll hit the controls, I can hide in the cell block."
Reston's pale eyes were swimming, overbright with unshed tears. The guy was desperate, and as plans went, it wasn't a bad one.
"Yeah, okay," he finally said, and the look of gratitude on the older man's face was almost heartwarming.
Almost. If he were a decent human being it would be.
"You won't regret this, Henry," Reston said, and Cole nodded, not sure what else to say.
"You'll be fine, Mr. Reston," he said, uncomfortably. "Don't worry."
"I'm sure you're right, Henry," Reston said, and turned, and walked into the dark cell block without another word.
Cole stood there for a second, then shrugged inwardly and started for the little room, nervous but also a little peeved. Mr. Blue was scared, but he was still pretty much an asshole.
No 'Don't you worry either, Henry,' or, 'Be careful.' Not even a 'Good luck, hope they don't shoot you by mistake'.
He shook his head, stepping into the small room. At least if he helped out the big Blue he'd probably be able to sleep in, maybe even quit the Planet and Umbrella for good. God knew he needed the rest; he'd been having a hell of a time sleeping.
X
Rebecca found the camera, at least. A lens no bigger than a quarter was hidden in the southwest corner, just an inch from the ceiling. She'd called David over and he'd covered it with his hand, wishing that he'd done a more thorough check before leading his team inside. He'd been stupid, and John, Ethan and Leon were almost certainly gone because of it.
Claire had found a roll of tape in her diggings, though little else. David taped the hole over, wondering what they were going to do.
It was cold, so cold that he didn't know how much longer their reflexes would still be good. The codes weren't working, the sealed entrance would take more than they had to open it up, and half of his team were somewhere in the facility below, perhaps wounded, perhaps dying...
...or infected. Infected like Steve and Karen were infected, suffering, losing their humanity-
"Stop it," Rebecca said to him, breaking his dark thoughts as he stepped down from the table they'd pushed to the corner, half knowing what she meant but not ready to admit it. Rebecca had a way of drawing him out at the worst possible times.
"Stop what?"
The medic stepped closer to him, staring up into his face, hooding her flashlight with one small hand. "You know what. You've got that look, I can see it; you're telling yourself that this is your fault. That if you'd done something differently, they'd still be here."
He sighed. "I appreciate your concern, but this isn't the appropriate-"
"Yes it is," she interrupted. "If you're going to blame yourself, you won't think as clearly. We're not in the STARS anymore, and you're not anyone's captain. It's not your fault."
Claire had walked over to join them, her gray gaze curious and searching in spite of the worry that still pinched her delicate features. "You think this is your fault? It's not. I don't think that."
David threw up his hands. "My God, alright! It's not my fault, and we can all spend some time analyzing what I am and not accountable for if and when we get out of this; for now, though, can we please concentrate on what's in front of us?"
Both young women nodded, and while he was glad to have stopped the therapy session before it got started, he realized that he didn't know what the next thing was, what tasks to give them beyond what they'd already done, how they were going to resolve their crisis, what to say or how to say it.
It was a horrible moment; he was used to having something to fight against, something to react to or shoot at or plan for, but their situation seemed to be static, unchanging. There wasn't a clear path for them to follow, and that was even worse than the guilt he felt about his lack of foresight.
And just at that moment, he heard the distant buzz of an approaching helicopter, the faraway thrum that could be nothing else, and although it was a solution of sorts, it was the worst one possible.
Nothing for cover except this compound, and they'd never make it back to the van. 'We've got two, three minutes...' he thought as the distant sound got closer.
"We have to get out of here," David said, already running through the things they would have to do if they were to stand a chance, even as they were all running for the door.
X
The workers had been easy. There had been a few tense moments rousing them from their dorm rooms, but it had gone off without incident, though Ethan kept a sharp eye on a select few that had been herded into the cafeteria. Two fairly big guys who looked like they might have machismo disorders and a thin, twitchy guy with deepset eyes who couldn't seem to stop licking his lips. Every few seconds, his tongue would dart out, flick between his lips and then disappear for another few seconds. It was a compulsive thing, a nervous tick brought on by the situation and lack of sleep.
There'd been no trouble overall. Fourteen men and no one willing to play hero after John had presented them with a little logic.
He'd kept it short and simple: "We're here to find something, we're not planning to hurt anyone, we just want you to stay out of the way while we get out of here. Don't be stupid and you won't get shot." Either the logic or the M-16 had been enough to convince them that it would be best not to argue, either way it worked.
John stood by the door back into the big hall, watching the unhappy-looking group seated in the middle of the large room around a long table. A few looked pissed, a few looked scared, most just looked tired. Nobody spoke, which was fine; they didn't want to have to worry about anyone trying to work up a rebellion. The less bloodshed, the better.
The traveler removed his skullcap and ran a hand through his hair, his ears perking up when he heard the light tap on the door. Leon had been gone five minutes, but it seemed like a lot longer as he walked in holding a length of chain and a couple of wire coat hangers.
"Any problems?" Ethan asked.
"All quiet." replied Leon, John coming over to join them. "Found the chain in a toolbox in one of the rooms. Should be more than enough to keep these folks here while we take care of business."
John nodded, turning to the captured group and raising his voice to be heard, "Alright folks, we're about to take our leave. We thank you for your patience."
Ethan scanned the group, looking for anyone that could be the man in charge. Trent didn't provide them with a description of Reston, and there was no way of knowing which one of these people could be him.
"Is there a man named Reston here?" he called out after John was done speaking. "There's a few questions we have to ask him."
There was a long pause before a bearded man in a t-shirt and boxers grunted out, "Blue ain't here." His voice was gruff and irritable, his face still puffy from sleep.
The trio glanced at one another, surprised and curious. "Blue?" John asked. "Is that Reston?"
A man sitting at the end of the table with longish hair and grease-stained hands nodded. "Yeah. And that's Mister Blue to you."
The sarcasm was pointed. There were a couple of dark looks exchanged within the sitting group, and a couple of chuckles emitting from a couple of the workers.
'Reston's one of the key guys, according Trent.' Ethan thought as he observed the behavior, 'Yet these folks talk shit about him to terrorists? Reston must be real unpopular around here.'
"Is there anyone else working here who isn't in this room?" Leon asked. "We don't want to be surprised."
The answer he got was crossed arms and scowls. The traveler bumped the cop with his elbow, "The hate for their boss is unanimous, but don't expect them to turn on one of their own. Standard workplace mentality. And if Reston isn't here, then he was the one who brought us down."
"Which means we could kill two birds if we find him," said John, "Get the book and get him to start up the elevator again. We lock Reston in a closet, hook up with David and the girls and get gone before anything else unexpected comes up."
Ethan nodded and they backed up to the door, his fellow ex-STARS looked toward their captees, "We're gonna lock the door here, but you'll be okay until the company sends someone, you got food, and if you don't mind a little advice, listen up. Umbrella ain't the good guys. Whatever they're paying you, it isn't enough. They're killers."
The blank stares followed them out of the room. Leon closed the double doors and started to rig up the makeshift lock, threading the chain through the handles and bending the hangers. John walked the few steps to the corner and looked down the long gray hall that they'd stepped into from the elevator.
Leaning against the wall beside the older man, Ethan thought about where Reston could be hiding out. If he was the one that messed with the elevator controls then he would have to be somewhere he would have control of the facility's systems, along with survallience of every square inch above and below ground.
"We need to find the control center for this place." he said getting John's attention. "If Reston's hiding out somewhere, that would be the best place to look. Especially if he's messing with the systems and keeping tabs on us."
"Sounds like a plan to me." the dark-skinned man replied as Leon finished securing the doors and joined them, looking a little pale but still game.
"So...now we look for Reston?"
"Yeah, you holding up?" asked John.
Leon nodded. "Yeah. I'm just...do you think they're okay up there?"
"They'll be alright." said Ethan, "We've all been through worse than this, and David's a hell of a leader if anything Becs has told me about is true. But we need to move it, if Reston has control of the facility like I think he does, my earlier assumption of him calling for back up is even more likely."
"Then let's get this over with." John said, as they started back down the hall.
X
They headed out into the blackness of the compound, the beat of the helicopter's blades getting closer. Rebecca saw its lights less than a half-mile northwest, saw that it was hovering, shining a spotlight down onto the desert-like plain.
'The van, they've spotted the van!' her anxiety spiked
Claire saw it too, but David was looking at the warehouse-type buildings behind them as he unslung his rifle, his intense gaze taking in the layout. Rebecca could hardly see him in the pale moonlight.
"They'll have to set down outside the fence," he said keeping them focused. "Follow me, and stay close." He jogged off into the darkness, the burr of the helicopter growing steadily behind them.
'God, I hope he sees better than I can.' Rebecca thought, clutching her nine-millimeter tightly, the metal cold against her numb fingers. She and Claire jogged after him as he headed for one of the dark structures, the second from the left in the line of five.
Why he'd picked that one she didn't know, but David would have a reason, he always did.
They ran into the corridor of black between the first and second building, fifteen feet of hard-packed arid sediment that stretched ahead of them some indeterminate distance. The freezing air burned into her lungs, gusting out in clouds of steam she couldn't see. The reverberating thrum sound of the 'copter drowned out their footsteps, drowned out most of what David was saying as he stopped, a door on either side of them.
"...to hide until we...can't...back..."
Rebecca shook her head, pointing at her ear and David gave it up, turning to the left, pointing his weapon at the door of the first building. Rebecca and Claire moved behind him, the medic wondering what he was up to; if the people from the helicopter landed to search, which they surely would, the bullet-riddled door would give them away.
It looked to be made from some high-density plastic, but wasn't remarkable in any other way, it had a handle and keyhole rather than a card swipe. The building itself was some kind of older material, dirty and dusty, and no particular color that she could tell; the one behind them looked the same; there were no windows on either.
The helicopter's searchlight was sweeping the fence at the front of the compound, its brightness piercing the cold dark like a brilliant flame. Flurries of dust were swirling up into the light, staining it, and Rebecca thought they had maybe a minute before it found them; the compound just wasn't that big.
Bambambambambam!
Most of the noise was swallowed up by the roar of the helicopter. Even in the darkness, she could see the line of holes, the concentration of them near the handle. David stepped forward and gave the door a hard kick, then a second, and it flew inward, a gaping black hole in the wall.
The searchlight was moving back through the compound, the helicopter's swollen belly passing almost directly overhead as it shone its beam down on the other side of the first building, the thunder of its engine and billowing clouds of dust making Rebecca feel as though Death were approaching.
David turned and grabbed her and Claire both, pushing them firmly toward the open door. As soon as they were through, he motioned for them to stop and to wait. David switched to his handgun and jogged across the open space, standing close to the second building's door, angling his body and-
Bam!
The nine-millimeter round, louder than the rifle's .223s but still almost lost, as the helicopter started its sweep up their row and the door blasted inward and David leapt through the opening, just as the blinding light illuminated the ground between them.
A half-second later and he would have been caught in the light. The spent casings from the Captain's weapons were thankfully lost in the furor, spinning clouds of dust whipping up and over them and making it hard to breathe.
She turned, saw that Claire had tucked her face down into her black sweatshirt, and followed suit. The cold, thick air was filtered through the fleece, and in spite of the deafening noise, Rebecca could hear her heartbeat in her ears, rapid and afraid.
A second later, the light was past; a second after that the dust seemed to be settling, it was hard to tell in the black; the sudden absence of light meant their eyes would have to readjust...
"Are you alright?"
Rebecca jumped as David practically screamed in her face, just a shadow in front of her. Claire let out a little shriek.
"Sorry!" David called. "Come on! Next building!"
Barely able to see, Rebecca stumbled outside, Claire right next to her. David came up behind them, touching their backs, guiding them toward the second building. The 'copter was still moving away from them, north to south, but it would run out of things to look at very soon, and then they'd land and come looking.
That the helicopter was from Umbrella was a given; the only question was how many had come, and whether or not they were to be captured first or just killed outright.
As they fell through the door to the second building, it dawned on Rebecca what David had done. The Umbrella thugs would see the first bullet-blasted door and assume that their quarry was hiding there.
And he only shot through the keyhole of this one. They'll see it eventually, but it buys them a little more time. She hoped anyway.
The darkness inside was almost as cold as outside and smelled like dust. A low light flickered on, David hooding his flashlight with one hand, just enough for them to see that they were surrounded by boxes. Big ones, small ones, cardboard and wood, stacked on shelves and on the floor all the way up to the slanted ceiling. In the brief second that David shone the light across the mammoth room, they saw that there had to be thousands of them.
"I'm going to see what I can do about the door and cut the lights," David said. "Find us a place to hide. It's our best option until we know how many there are, what scenario they're employing. They might have spook eyes, the floor's no good, somewhere high up and in a corner. Shelves would be best. Got it?"
They both nodded and the light went out, leaving them in a complete darkness; before, she could at least make out shapes and shadows. Now, Rebecca couldn't see her hand in front of her face.
"Which corner?" Claire whispered, as if the chill black nothing they stood in demanded silence.
Rebecca reached out and found the young Redfield's hand, placing it against her back. "Left. We go left until we run into something."
She heard a whisper of movement behind them, as David went about his preparations. Taking a deep breath, Rebecca put her hands out in front of her and started to edge forward.
A/N: When it rains, it pours. With the team split up and both sides about to face a form of opposition, how will they fare against the odds. And what does Reston have up his sleeve to deal with Ethan, John and Leon?
Update coming soon!
