I do not own Resident Evil or any of the characters. For those who don't know, which is probably everyone, the Mercworx Sniper Standard is what Krauser's knife in RE4 was based on.
Difficult Locals
Agent stepped off of the helicopter and looked around. There were two humvees a short distance from him, several people gathered around them. As much as he tried to resist, his brain took notice of how one woman, one with medium-tanned skin, brown hair just past her shoulders, a black vest over a white blouse and blue jeans had rather large breasts, another, a tanned blonde with straight blonde hair in a ponytail and a blue bodysuit unzipped partway down her upper chest had a, amazing figure that the bodysuit accented perfectly, another blonde, this one shorter and younger than the first two girls, had a petite figure, though she wore a relatively loose button-down white shirt and jeans that weren't skin-tight, though they still looked good on her. The last woman, however, had darker skin, chocolate brown hair in a short ponytail that barely reached the base of her skull, a red, tribal-looking tattoo on her left shoulder, a purple shirt open partway down her considerable cleavage, tight green pants, black gloves, leather forearm guards, and brown, high-healed boots. Agent's brain took this information in at a cursory glance, however, and was able to force his brain from focusing on any of the women as he took in the males as well.
One was a black man wearing the customary BSAA uniform with a West African Branch patch, wearing a flak and with a Bushmaster ACR slung around him. Another was a broad-shouldered man with black hair and a BSAA uniform with the North American Branch patch and a nametape on the back reading Redfield. He also had an ACR as well as a Taurus PT909. Lastly was a man with dirty blonde hair with his bangs falling about halfway down his face and parted over his left eye. All he had on him was a pair of pistols looking like custom-made SIG-Sauer P226 E2 "Sentinel Nines" with an extended barrel ending in a ring of small points, and an extended mag.
"Ah, you must be the guy," Redfield said. "I'm Chris Redfield. Call me Chris."
"Leon Scott Kennedy," Leon introduced himself.
"Helena Harper," the woman with shoulder-length brown hair said.
"Jill Valentine," the blonde in the blue bodysuit said.
"Sherry Birkin," the shorter blonde said.
"Captain Stone," the African agent said.
"My name is Sheva Alomar," the last woman said, Agent easily picking up her African accent.
"I'll warn you, I won't remember any of your names," Agent said. "You can...just call me Agent."
"Don't want us to know your name?" Jill asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Actually, it's because Agent actually is my name," Agent sighed.
"Your name is Agent," Leon grinned. "Now that's funny."
"Not when your nickname since elementary school has been Secret Agent and field work is the one thing you've always wanted to do and never been allowed to do," Agent said.
"Fair enough," Chris said. "Come on. You're riding with us."
He, Jill, and Sheva all got into one of the humvees while the other four got into theirs. Agent climbed in, sitting in the back beside Sheva while Jill took the passenger seat and Chris sat in the driver's seat. At first, the ride was silent before Sheva decided to break the ice.
"So, Agent, you have any questions before we get there and our collective bad luck has us fighting an army of zombies?" Sheva asked.
"Uh, well, a few yeah," Agent nodded.
"Alright, shoot," Chris smiled.
"Is it true that you killed Albert Wesker?" Agent asked. "But that to do it you had to drop him into an active volcano, then shoot him with a rocket launcher?"
"Well it wasn't just me," Chris grinned sheepishly. "Sheva and Jill both helped out. Without either of them, I'm not sure we could have beaten Wesker."
"Is it true he survived twenty different near-death experiences?" Agent asked, struggling to keep the excitement at talking to the most famous BSAA agent in the world.
"Well, maybe not twenty," Chris said. "He did die once, before being brought back by a virus. Then he survived, what, maybe five fights against us?"
Jill thought for a moment then nodded. "Something like that."
"Did you really fight a giant zombie that could have infected the entire planet, and win?" Agent asked.
Chris was silent for a long moment. "Yeah. But again I had help. Piers Nivans."
"Piers?" Agent blinked. "You know Piers Nivans?"
"You knew Piers?" Chris blinked.
"Yeah," Agent said. "While I was in the Marine Corps, his special forces unit was chosen to help train us for a few months, then later came to pull our asses out of a fire when a raid went sideways. How is he?"
"He's...He's dead," Chris said. "I'm sorry. He died fighting HAOS. The giant B.O.W. you mentioned. he saved my life at the cost of his own."
"Oh," Agent said, falling quiet for a few minutes before continuing. "So, do you have any advice for a new guy?"
"Use ammo sparingly," Chris said. "You're not going to find a whole lot of it lying around, and zombies you kill aren't just going to drop fully loaded mags. it's not a video game."
Agent nodded.
"If you're good enough, try aiming for the head," Jill said. "It's the fastest way to kill most of them."
Agent nodded again.
"If it doesn't look human, or it looks like an abnormal human, it's probably going to be hard to kill," Sheva said. "Be very, very careful with those."
"She means it," Chris said. "I've seen zombies called Lickers that look like animals with their brains exposed and no eyes that can take almost twenty nine mil rounds to the brain before they die, as well as a roughly human creature called an Executioner who stood about twice normal height that took almost fifty to the head before going down."
"Understood," Agent nodded.
"Oh, and never, ever, leave your partner behind," Chris said. "That will get both of you killed."
"Who is my partner?" Agent asked.
"I am," Sheva said, Agent glancing at her in surprise.
"I would have figured you'd be with the other guy from the West African Branch," Agent said.
"Normally yes," Sheva said. "But since you're new, we decided I'd be the one to work with you, since you're new to fighting B.O.W.s and I'm one of the easier ones to get along with."
"Translation, no one else wanted to deal with picking up the slack for a boot," Agent guessed. "Got it."
"It's not that," Chris said. "Sheva volunteered to work with you. Any of us would be okay with it, she just spoke up first."
Agent nodded before another thought occurred to him. "So, what have you guys heard about what's out here?"
"What were you told?" Jill asked.
"Only that I'd be backing you guys up while you investigated reports of a virus outbreak," Agent said. "Nothing specific."
Chris nodded. "We got reports that several people were found with, and I quote, 'strange injuries.' We were never told what the injuries were, but it came from one of our sources that usually puts us on the right path. However, he sent the same message and request for help directly to Captain Stone, Sherry, and Leon as well. Leon brought Helena because she was the only agent available on short notice, Sherry had to come alone, and Captain Stone brought Sheva."
"I see," Agent said. "Sounds suspicious."
"That's what we agreed," Chris said. "Once we figured out that we were all called here, Sherry called in a friend to meet us there. Not sure how, but he claims he'll be there within a few hours."
"Impressive," Agent said.
"Alright," Jill finally sighed. "I gotta ask. "Why are you wearing a gas mask?"
"It's my organization's SOP," Agent said. "We're not supposed to remove our masks on missions because we're supposed to have no true identity and also because of the C-Virus incident in China."
"Wait, you guys have to fight in gas masks?" Chris asked. "All the time? That's awful."
"It really is," Agent said. "It's why I have either an EOTech or a holographic sight on almost all of my guns."
"Almost?" Sheva asked.
"My 1911 doesn't," Agent said.
"You do have some fancy hardware," Chris grinned. "I've actually never thought of using a RONI on a mission. Let me know how it works out."
Agent nodded. Finally, the first scattered buildings began to pass. The area they were in had some forests, the trees relatively thinly spaced and mostly pine trees, but there were also large boulders and rock ledges everywhere with the road traveling along the bottom of a shoulder-deep ravine. As trees began to pass, Agent watched them. They were rickety shacks at first, barely more than a pile of boards with an opening cut out for a door and the whole thing set in an obviously man-made clearing in the trees and stone beside the road. There was an outhouse or two beside each house but he couldn't see any people or vehicles. Slowly, the trees thinned away until they reached a large electrified gate blocking the road. Behind the gate they could see the small village, a group of maybe fifty buildings with no sign of life anywhere.
"What do we do about the gate?" Agent asked.
Chris remained silent as he scanned it before opening the door, stepping out at the same time as Leon.
"You see it too?" Chris asked.
"Yeah," Leon nodded. "Agent, Sherry, get on the guns."
Agent crawled out the back, standing behind the minigun mounted to the back of the humvee and looking at the gate. Finally, his eyes found what the others had seen. A long stretch of fence was missing, about as wide as Agent's arm and about two feet long. The chain inks were on the ground below it, ripped apart by something.
"What was it?" Agent asked.
"At a guess, Licker," Jill said as Chris and Leon made their way forward, kneeling to inspect the broken links. After a moment he looked along the fence.
"There's a generator down the fence," Chris called out. "Leon and I will go and shut it down. Wait here and stay alert."
With that, he and Leon started off down the fence. It was quiet as they walked. Almost silent. Agent strained his ears to hear something, anything from the town. Nothing. Finally, the sound of a generator choking and dying echoed through the area and Chris and Leon walked back, pulling the gate open with a loud screech of rusty wheels and a rattling from the gate itself. Once it was open, both mounted back up, and off they went. They parked their humvees in a small clearing beside the road, hidden from view by several boulders, then got out, beginning to walk down to the town. Still there was no sign of life.
"This is creepy," Agent said.
"That sums up pretty much everywhere we go," Jill said.
Agent stopped suddenly as he caught movement from a window off to one side. "Movement."
Sheva nodded and the two of them walked over, the others waiting in the road. Agent knocked on the door and after several minutes, the door opened, a frail-looking elderly woman staring at them angrily.
"Excuse me," Agent said. "Sorry for disturbing you, but I was wondering if you could direct us to the mayor of your town?"
"Don't got a mayor," the woman said. "Head down the road to the end and it's the big building on your right. Now get lost."
And with that, she slammed the door in his face. He blinked then turned to Sheva, who shrugged. They walked back to the others, telling them what the old lady had said.
"Well, I guess we might as well start there," Chris said. "I'm not liking this town though."
"You're right," Leon said. "It's giving me the same feeling as the town where I first encountered Las Plagas."
Chris nodded as they made their way down the road then to the building the old woman had indicated. It was a large courthouse complete with pain peeling off the walls, broken steps leading up to it, and broken windows. Agent again walked up to the door first, trying the handle to find that it was locked. He knocked. Nothing.
"Let's see if there's another way in," Chris said.
They all spread out, slowly making their way around the building until they met up on the far side. They returned to the front just as a man waering a dirty white button-up shirt and a pair of dirty dress pants arrived.
"Ah, you must be the visiters," the man smiled. "I'm the head of the village. Come on in. I understand you wanted to speak with me."
"Yes, sir," Chris nodded. "Thank you for taking the time to see us."
"Nonsense," the man smiled, unlocking the door. "You're guests. I only regret that I'm not dressed to receive you well. I was just helping out at the church you see. We had to dig a new outhouse hole."
Chris nodded and they all walked inside. The man led them into the building and to a small room with enough chairs for all of them and a small water fountain. They all sat down and Agent looked around carefully.
"Why is your friend wearing a gas mask?" the man asked.
"Lost a bet," Agent lied instantly.
"Ah," the man nodded, smiling. "Not good at gambling?"
"I would be if my horse hadn't gotten stung by a bee," Agent said.
"Well that is some bad luck," the man smiled. "Anyway, what brings so many well-armed strangers to a small community like ours?"
"We're with the BSAA and the DSO," Chris said. "We got some reports about some...strange events here? Cannibalistic deaths? Unexplained illnesses? Hallucinations maybe?"
"No, I'm afraid there's been nothing like that here," the man said, shaking his head. "I'm not sure where you heard it from, but there's been no such occurrences. This is a peaceful community. I'm sorry that you wasted a trip out here."
"It's alright," Chris said.
"Aside from us, have any strangers come through?" Agent asked. "Or has anyone recently left abruptly?"
"Not that I'm aware of," the man said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "You could try asking Old Jim over at the store. It's just down the road and to the right at the four-way."
"We will, thank you," Agent said. "Sorry for wasting your time."
The man smiled and nodded, Agent walking over and holding his hand out. The man stood, shaking his hand and Agent turned, walking away, the others exchanging confused looks before following, Leon and Chris also shaking the man's hand. Once outside and starting down the road, Chris stopped him.
"We weren't done questioning him," Chris said.
"We weren't going to get any answers from him," Agent said.
"How do you know?" Chris asked. "This is your first time in the field, right?"
"Yes," Agent nodded, holding up his hand, exposing a smear of blood on the tips of his index and middle fingers. "But I assume that people that have fresh blood on them and no injuries aren't telling the truth. Not to mention that I went to college and majored in psychology. I learned to know how a human's mind works, and I learned to read micro-expressions. When you mentioned outsiders, his eyes narrowed for a half second. Someone's come through, and I'll bet it's whoever's blood his has on him."
"That's not all," Leon said. "His hands were rough."
"So?" Jill asked. "He's used to working."
"He said he just finished digging an outhouse hole," Agent said. "Even with callouses his hand would have been rubbed smooth by the shovel until fresh callouses grew in."
"Alright, let's say I believe you," Chris said. "What do you suggest?"
"I suggest we go see what Old Jim knows, then maybe pay the church a visit, or the courthouse again, tonight," Agent said.
"It's a solid strategy," Sheva said. "Good work Agent. If I didn't know better, I'd say you've been in the field before."
"I wish," Agent snorted. "Anyway, the four-way's up ahead. Let's go see about this convenience store."
Leon nodded and Chris sighed but nodded as well. They all walked to the Convenience store, Agent and Leon walking inside, Sheva holding on to Agent's rifle and Sherry his RONI. Once inside, Agent looked around. There was a wall of guns, a glass case with several knives of varying sizes and brands, a lot of food, some clothes, and a grumpy-looking overweight man looking to be in his mid fifties with greying, receding hair and a blood-stained white apron.
"Is there a butcher shop in back?" Agent asked.
"Yes," the man, probably Jim, grunted. "Get your shit and get out."
He turned his head, spitting a mouthful of thick black dip spit into a spittoon before snorting and adding a loogie as well. Agent turned, walking down the aisles, browsing while he tried to decide which questions to ask. Leon grabbed a hamburger and a beer, setting them on the counter.
"Any outsiders pass through recently?" Leon asked, seeing the man's eyelids twitch.
"No," he grunted. "Twenty bucks."
Leon blinked in surprise at the price before shrugging and pulling out a hundred.
"Can you make change?" Leon asked.
The man grunted, opening the cash register and beginning to count out bills.
"Any good places to see around here?" Leon asked.
"The highway," the man grumbled, setting his money on the counter.
"Aw, come on," Leon said, sliding the bills toward him. "I'm just trying to show my girlfriend a good time. See the one in the black vest?"
He nodded toward the window and the man looked, seeing Helena who happened to be standing profile, letting the man get a good look, though he barely even glanced at her before grunting.
"I don't care about you or your girl, and paying me isn't going to make this town any prettier," the man growled. "Take your money and your shit and get the hell out."
"Hey, do you have any rope?" Agent called out.
"It's in the back corner, by the knives," Jim responded.
"Thanks," Agent said, walking over and grabbing two bundles of rope, then walking to the knives.
He looked through them, smiling to himself. He had always liked knives. He had just never been able to find out that really caught his fancy. Just as this thought passed through his mind, his eyes stopped on a Mercworx Sniper Standard.
"You have a Mercworx?" Agent asked.
"Only the one," Jim said.
"How much?" Agent asked.
"Seven hundred," Jim said.
Agent smiled behind his mask. It was a rip off. Massively. Almost double the normal price. But, he needed Jim to like him.
"Tell you what," Agent said. "Seven? That's way too cheap. I'll take it for eight."
Jim's eyes widened a little but he nodded, getting the key and unlocking the case, taking the knife and it's sheath back to the counter as Agent moved to the guns next. It was the first time in his life he had seen the guns and ammo both out to be picked up by a customer, but he smiled, picking up some nine millimeter and .45 caliber both. Once he got back to the counter, Jim rang him up and he began to count out the much, much too high bill.
"Hey, are there any haunted houses in town?" Agent asked. "I'm a sucker for haunted places."
"Well, there's the old mill about a mile east of town," Jim mused. "Follow the road outside to get there. I suppose that old mansion's creepy. Not really haunted but creepy. It's up the mountain a little ways."
"Thanks," Agent smiled, attaching his new knife to his flack on the front of his left shoulder, grip down. "So, where is everybody? We only saw one person on the way in."
"They were probably at church," Jim grunted. "When we need to do some manual labor, just about the whole town usually helps out."
"Alright, thanks for the info," Agent said, picking up his rope and bullets. "Have a good one."
Jim grunted dismissively as Agent opened the door, walking back out to the others.
"So, we have a couple of options," Agent said. "An old mill to the east, or a mansion up the mountain."
"We'll split up," Chris said. "You, Sheva, Leon, and Helena will head to the mill. Me, Jill, Sherry, and Captain Stone will head to the mansion."
Agent nodded and his group began to follow him down the road, Chris's group heading the other way. Sheva returned Agent's guns and Agent thanked her, slinging his RONI behind himself and holding the Tavor in his hands.
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