Chapter Ten

Angelica paced her room, hands in her hair. So many things could happen, so many things could go wrong, and yet she had taken her only option granted. The earlier decision had been far more painful than expected… Physically and mentally. Because now….she couldn't protect her daughter.

"The effects will only last until tomorrow evening, where as you will not be asked to use the substance again. Project Wesker on the other hand, will be administered two inoculations a day until further noted. Is that understood?" Trent's smile…it had once been something she cared for and trusted, but now it seemed like a deceiving action every time he looked at her. "Why am I to have it….I have been nothing but loyal to you and this company." Trent's eyes rolled at the question, not noticeably for any normal person, but she caught it. He had been expecting her to question him… "We cannot have the both of you running around the way you are. Your actions in Africa were questionable, especially after we have reports that you were the one who stabilized him… I will not have two of this company's greatest assets walking away at their leisure. Have I made myself clear?"

Placing her head against the window, Angelica felt the memory trickle down like a tear. He had taken more precaution when she had received it. They had strapped her down and watched as she convulsed.

It had felt like when she was changing the first time, when fiery ice replaced her blood… Except now she felt so much weaker….she felt …old… She could still hear the sounds of her own screams when the searing pain had ripped through her core… But he had played a dirty game, and the one reason why she had given up herself…was asleep in the other room. The time had not given her the chance to analyze the sample yet, its container she had stolen from Wesker's nurse still hidden safely away. She was quite sure that they were all afraid of her now, and this situation wasn't helping it any. Angelica sighed as she realized her attitude had become that of the late Doctor James Marcus… Introvert, obsessed, volatile…. Suicidal…Homicidal…

But she had to push forward and make herself believe that the reason was far more pure than what Marcus had ever attempted. He had wanted to unravel secrets for own self gain…she, for her daughter who could eventually die, or become a ticking time bomb of viral energy. Turning back, she shuddered off the feeling of self dread. Her only option right now was to take care of her daughter, and afterwards….who knew? Trent had become a dangerous man, but he had only stuck to the shadows for the time he had been around. Only on occasion did he appear to offer assistance to those who knew him not. She….she had been on both sides, and knew what to expect. Especially from those with the last name of Redfield.

After the Africa incident, Angelica had been taken underground to watch over her project, and the reports of her death had been filed to Josh Stone. A year later she had leaked to another bio weapons facility that Tricell had in the Tokyo district, and a man by the name of Okani had been taken into BSAA custody and his company disbanded… Turning to her private desk and switching on the overhead lamp, Burrows slid a pair of gloves on quietly. Sleep was going to be robbed by thoughts and memories; she had better make use of the time it offered. A wisp was probed into the vial, and transferring the pinkish liquid to a glass dish, she slid the item underneath a microscope. Before leaning in, Angelica bit her lip. The thrill of discovering things had not knotted at her stomach for quite some time now, and it felt different. In all honesty, things had become routine and boorish… Even with things the way they were…

As her now azure eye squinted to see, Angelica nearly laughed. Her mother had needed reading glasses by this age, perhaps she would have had to need them as well.. Narrowing her eye, the woman bent down to the microscope. White cells flashed into view, the familiar strain that gave her power bonded like sick little piggy backs. Another nucleal cell structure moved through, causing the virus to turn from a dark red, to the same sickly pink that the fluid seemed. Retreating from the sight, Angelica made a few notes. The cells seemed to be looking odd, but were said to be revivable in twenty four hours….

Was it possible that over time….they would become …..completely dormant?

The question was ripped from her mind as the silent alarm flashed onto her computer monitor. She had set it up shortly after her daughter had been born. So many visitors with so many ideas….and of anyone came within two feet of her door without retina recognition, the alarm would sound. And what she discovered as the camera feed blinked into focus nearly make her heart sink.

…..

Chris nearly felt as if he stomach was going to fall from him. The complex had been harder than anything to sneak down, and he had to wait until nightfall to do so. Barely able to even feel the skin on his body, the man could only think about the wife that had been so…let's put it simple….

Stupid.

He couldn't understand what had gotten into her. Crouching next to a barrel of god who knows it, Redfield scanned to outer storage area. Security guards littered the place, and the only opening he knew he would get would be during the shift change. And he prayed to god that they honestly did not fraternize much. Shaking his head as he waited for midnight to approach, Chris thought back on Jill. He cold not wrap his head about the woman to save his life lately. First she was insatiable in bed, and then did not want a thing. Could eat like a horse when going out, but a day later the woman could barely touch her food. Then she was making one rash decision after another… Moody woman. He had survived her menstrual problems before, but hadn't she just had one three weeks ago? Sighing as he watched the man check his watch, Chris realized he had mentally chatted to himself about five minutes too long. Straightening himself, he took his shot in the dark..

"Hiya pal…ready to get off work?" Strolling up to the guard, Chris grinned widely. The beard he was wearing made him look older, and scraggly…unrecognizable to those who possibly had been debriefed on who Christopher Redfield was. The tired guard looked up and smiled back. "Oh so you're the new guy they transferred in from Texas eh? Sight colder here than there…you have your badge yet, bud?" Chris stood for a moment, her eyes wide. Since when did he sound like he was from Texas… Badge…oh.. "Uh, no. They said you'd have one here for meh'" The guard shook his head as he waved Chris in, clapping a firm hand on his shoulder. "That's corporate for ya. Don't worry, I'll give you Dave's til' you get your own. He won't be needin' it anyway due to the Licker accident last week…was nothin' left of ole Dave but his boots!" Chris nodded, fighting off the urge to punch the man for laughing at a dead man's fate. As he quietly took the badge, Chris smiled inwardly…

Now he could find Jill.

….

This had been a horrible idea. Not only had she been stuck inside a box for almost six hours, the movers had insulted her weight when unloading. Of course they didn't know that…

The night had made the storage area cold, and Jill could feel her skin crawl with gooseflesh as she finally burst from her hiding spot. Her heart had been pounding with adrenaline, and she was quite sure that the guard would catch her… Surely enough the door to the closet was sealed shut, and the hallway was luckily empty. Checking her wristwatch, Jill felt scrambled and light headed. Shaking off the feeling, the woman moved for her hand gun, slowly drawing the weapon from its hidden hip holster. Moving down the white halls, she stealthily watched for any sign of movement or noise…. So far she was lucky and nothing seemed to be around.

Biting her lip, the woman slowly backed her way to the wall, sliding her back across. In big bold letters the word "Restricted" was painted across the wall she leaned against, catching her eye and interest. A crimson door was in the very center, the numerical symbol for ten also splayed prominently across. Moving to the ledge of the door, Jill covered herself by looking back. Chris was going to kill her for this little…rebel move, and after the first hour of box incarceration, she had thought it possibly was one of her more…less intelligent moves in life. But no matter..she would make it up to him…to herself. She was so tired of wasting time…. She had wasted three years once, and had been trying to make up for it ever since.

Her gloved hand moved across the door, pushing it with a small amount of force. It didn't budge. Azure eyes flitted downwards to see a keycard slot next to the lock. Sighing as she undid her swept up hair, Jill retrieved a bobby pin to do what she did best…

Pick the unpickable locks.

It took only a matter of minutes for the former thief to gain entrance, and she noted that her time had only dropped a couple seconds over the years. The door sealed shut behind her after stepping through, its heavy noise making even her jump. Keeping her gun trained ahead, she eyed the corridor carefully. A soft noise was made towards the end of the hall. The sound of a door opening and closing… Crying? Jill could swear she heard something like a child crying… Raising her firearm higher, the woman tensed. So many monsters by the Umbrella name had been created, and the sound of a child's voice could be more than deception. Rounding the corner violently, the trained crime enforcer raised her gun at the source of the noise.

A small child in a nightdress sniffled with a red robe, her right hand holding an IV pole. It was evident she had been sleep walking, because the door behind her led into a view of a child's bedroom. Her other arm clutched a teddy bear as she stepped back in fear, her eyes wide. "Who….who are you?" The small voice clearly spoke, despite the terror that was hidden beneath the question. Jill could do nothing but stare, her eyes locked onto the deep ocean pools of the young girl's. She recognized those eyes…

"Oh my God…."

"Not hardly, Miss Valentine. Now, please step away from my daughter, before you get hurt…" The voice came from the doorway, Jill's eyes rising to see their owner despite the fact she already knew. Angelica was defensively holding a handgun up at skull level, her finger nearly squeezing the trigger. Jill placed down her weapon slowly, holding her hands above her head. Valentine watched as Angelica kicked her protection away, her cold eyes boring a hole through her own. "Daughter?...How…Y…You're supposed to be dead…" Jill narrowed her eyes, watching the woman before her. Angelica's eyes…they had faded back…had Umbrella turned her human again? The other woman scoffed gently, a vice like grip closing across Jill's forearm. The little girl backed her way into the room, watching from a distance. "As are a lot of people in this place…Now please come with me, before you get a both caught….You have no idea how appropriate this is that You of all people came here, Jill….

I need your help to save my daughter's life…"

A/N

I am quite sorry for the late chapter guys, I had to move recently and writing has been on the backburner as of late! I promise I am not quitting however, ok? It might be abit slower than normal however! Thanks

Happy Reading

Angie Burrows