Who's ready for some Shit to hit the fan~ legoooo not even going to pretend I have a lot to say. I wanna get this chapter in so I can be a BAMF and hit 50k words in 1 week. It's not my OG goal of 5 days but I will still take it.
Song Suggestions: Call You Mine by The Chainsmokers, Bebe Rexha
Disclaimer: I just like writing. I'm not associated with CapCom. Nothing I write is canon. Please don't sue.
Emma walked around her apartment while brushing her teeth. It was a lazy Thursday, and she was up earlier than intended, considering she didn't have to be at the office for another hour and a half.
[Emma] Hey, are we still heading to the roller rink later?
[Tanner] Yeah, you bet. 8:30 pm?
[Emma] What happened to 7:30 pm?
[Tanner] Sorry, I have some meetings that I expect to run late.
[Emma] Mmk... I'm eating all the nachos then.
[Tanner] Okay, but if you end up sick while practicing our routine, that's on you.
[Emma] Mmmm, pretty sure it would be on you; I have pretty good aim.
[Tanner] Lol! Ya nasty, don't you dare. See you at 8:30 pm
Emma shook her head and smiled before heading back to the bathroom and finishing up her morning preparations. "Okay, Duke, I'm heading out. Be a good boy while I'm gone and watch after the house," she said as she walked past the island and paused upon seeing the tiny hut. After staring at it for a second, she took out her phone once more to check the clock. April 5th, 7:52 AM. She had time. With that, she grabbed a piece of paper and quickly wrote a message on it, then placed it into the hut and set it on fire.
Please let him be safe.
After letting it burn out and confirming the embers were cold, she left for work.
'*'*'*'*'
It took longer than they would have liked, but by early April they finally had an answer. The end was in sight for this hellish nightmare. The pharmaceutical company that was manufacturing the modified virus had been under their nose pretty much the whole time. About forty minutes from the BSAA HQ.
"Fuckin' bastards were basically flippin' us off the whole time. How cocky do you have to be to set up shop right next to the agency trying to shut you down?" Canine asked with disbelief as they started packing up the SUV.
"They're getting bolder," Night Howl agreed.
"They can throw a gauntlet all they want," Chris said as he lit a cigarette. "We'll take them down each time... Let's go."
The three got inside and started the drive. It was weird fighting so close to home. He knew this highway well enough and which exit to take to get where they need to. They parked at a nature trail about a mile and a half out from the lab. "What did you find out while spec-ing the place out?" Chris asked, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Not a lot, basic security on the outside. The usual guard station with an ID check and standard magnetic readers for the main set of doors, but the deeper sections of the lab are locked behind security access levels," Night Howl replied while reading off his notes from a tablet. "It's an open-air building aside from that. Getting in unseen isn't going to happen until sunset, which should be in... Roughly an hour. 7:30 pm," he explained with a frown. "We'll need that cover if we're going to stay under the radar and not cause a scene. These urban raids are always tricky... Too many reporters ready to jump at a story."
"They are a bit twitchy about that," Canine agreed.
The group parked in a secluded section of the park. They waited a good twenty minutes in silence before Chris spoke.
"All right, Night Howl, give us an EMP blast to knock out any cameras in the area," Chris said, and the squad member nodded.
"Now remember, this is going to knock out our gear too for the next thirty minutes. I won't be able to communicate with you guys from here during that time, and you won't have your goggles or digital sights. Once the system is back online, I'll send out a ping until I get your response. From there, we can start the mission at exactly 7:45," Night Howl said.
"Let's get the party started then," Canine said, which earned him a few stares. "Sorry... It just felt like something Lobo would say..."
They frowned at that for another silent moment. "Yeah," Chris agreed eventually. "All right, let's go."
Night Howl nodded and flipped a switch, causing the car to completely shut down along with all lights in the area. Chris and Canine exited the vehicle and start making their way through the flat park and towards the building in the distance. Once it got too dark to see properly, the two lay down on the ground a good quarter mile from the three-story building. The plan was pretty simple. Get in, get the data, plant the explosives, get out, set off the explosives. Destroy everything. A tried-and-true plan that... honestly never worked since there was always someone else working on a new strand.
"Copy Alpha, Canine. This is Night Howl do you read me?" said a voice from their earpiece as their goggles powered up.
"Loud and clear," Chris said quietly.
There were a few armed guards on patrol, but the pattern was easy enough to get around. It took maybe five minutes to get in.
"Remember, these people have been slipping out of our fingers for months now and stayed under the radar for three years. We need to be careful," Night Howl reminded the two through the communication device. "Just shooting everything could cause an internal data dump or worse, their own self-destruct protocol. It's hard to tell what these newer digital systems are connected to. When you get to a door, let me know, and I'll update your watch to send out a signal to open the door without triggering an alarm."
"Got it," Canine said quietly as the two slowly crept into the dark building. Down hallways, past meeting rooms, and into an oddly well-lit lab room which forced them to remove the night vision goggles.
"We found the lab. We'll plug you in, so you can get a look around," Chris said as he headed over to a computer and plugged in the all-powerful USB stick. While Chris did this, Canine walked around to see if he could find anything before walking past some large windows.
"Uh-oh..." Canine said quietly.
"I don't like the sound of that," Chris replied though he didn't seem too alarmed. It felt like this happened every time...
"You're gonna like it less when you see it... We might have an issue..." Canine said, taking a few steps back as Chris walked over.
"Oh, that's not good..." Chris looked down to see what could only be described as incubation chambers. A good hundred of them. Now he was concerned.
"We need to get these explosives planted..." Canine said, his voice low and urgent.
"Yeah," Chris agreed. "All right, Night Howl. Where are we heading?" he asked quietly as he looked around a corner to make sure no one was there.
"Find a door with a red light for the ID pad. That should let you into the testing bay," Night Howl said, and the two started looking through the various hallways of the lab. "I'm still digging through the files that you sent. We need to figure out how they're modifying the virus... If we can get a record of that, we're golden."
The two looked around the lab as instructed. There were a few doors, so they wanted to check all of them before saying they found the right one.
That went on for a minute or two before Night Howl spoke up once more. "Hey boss, I got some kind of bad news and some worse news... which do you want first?" Night Howl's tone was pensive.
"Oh wow, I get to pick?" he said sarcastically. "Let's go with worse."
"This isn't the only lab. There are three. One on each floor, and based on the map, they each have an area for mass incubation. We'll need the data from each of them. The first floor seems to be the larger incubation area, with smaller ones on the second and third floors. This system blocks data off by floor, so I only have the data for the virus strain on this floor..."
"Of course, there are three variants. Why wouldn't there be?" Chris said with a frown while continuing to search.
"Potentially," Night Howl clarified.
"So, what's the not-as-bad news?" Chris asked as he and Canine approached a door with a keypad illuminated with a warm orangish-red light.
"I have a confirmed civilian body count. There are still people in here that aren't security guards... Janitors, interns, scientists, a few executives..." he said, reading through a list of clocked in and clocked out employees.
"That's nothing new. We stick to the mission," Chris replied before looking from the door to Canine. "That one?"
"Looks red to me," Canine agreed.
"If that's your final answer, your watch is ready to go," Night Howl said while typing away at his computer. Chris tapped his watch against the pad. Nothing happened at first. Then suddenly, the lights all turned red, and an alarm sounded. Looking into the center observation bay they were trying to get into, the capsules were releasing steam, and the bodies inside the pods started twitching.
"Change of plans. We're going with the guns blazing strategy and blowing this joint sky high," Chris said as they immediately turned around. "Night Howl, I could really use some good news right about now!" Chris shouted as they made their way back to the first room.
It took a minute, but by the time they made it back to the main lab, they got their good news. "I got the data I need from this floor. Drop the charge in the lab and take the USB so you can start making your way to the second floor," Night Howl replied as Chris planted a satchel charge into the wall of the lab while Canine got the USB Stick.
"Third Floor. We're going top-down. If we have to jump through a window, I want at least a few ribs after this," Chris said, making his way up the stairs with Canine.
"Got it, boss," Night Howl said and adjusts a few bits of code. "Okay, your watch is ready. It should just fry the lock. Stealth is shot at this point."
"You don't say," Chris replied, annoyed, as they made their way into the third-floor lab. Canine placed the USB in a computer while Chris planted another charge before focusing on taking out any zombies that made their way out of the connected incubation area.
"What the HELL are you doing!" a voice demanded as a scientist walked in from the door they used to get in, holding his arm to nurse a fresh bleeding bite wound. "Wait a second..." he said as Chris and Canine turned to face them. "You! I know you."
"Oh no," Canine said in a tired tone. It was the guy from the ice rink.
"What? So it's not bad enough that you fucked up my personal life. You had to break into my office and destroy my life's work too?" Tanner accused with his eyes locked on Chris as his breathing became heavier. "Shit, this stuff kicks in quick..." he quietly muttered.
Canine kept his own gun trained on Tanner while Chris focused on the incoming zombies. "Make a call, boss," Canine said since this is a gray area. Tanner was still a civilian, but he was turning.
"Shit..." Chris breathed, looking around for a solution. The med injector. Granted, he was already infected, but the old vaccine from Rebecca still worked on this strain, and it was able to bring her back after being infected. "Watch my back," Chris called as he and Canine swapped targets. Chris kept his gun aimed at Tanner while digging through a pouch for the injector.
"So what? You're going to shoot me?" Tanner taunted as he continued to stare down Chris.
"I'm trying to help you," Chris argued as he took out the device, dropped it, and kicked it over to Tanner. "Use it. It has the vaccine."
"Vaccine?" he asked through laughter as his mind starts to slip. "You think I need a vaccine? This is the cure!" he said with a demented smile. "I've created a way to increase cellular regeneration of a human host permanently, and it only took feeding what you call a virus a few stem cells. This could revolutionize what we know about medication. We can cure death," as he continued to rant, his breathing became heavier and raspier.
"Captain, he's gone," Canine said, shaking his head.
"I got the data for the third floor; we just need the second floor. Get a move on," Night Howl instructed from the safety of the SUV.
"Just use the damn vaccine!" Chris barked as he attempted to take a few steps forward, only to be knocked down by an explosion. It took a moment for the ringing in his ears to die down and his vision to clear up. He pushed himself to get back up despite the pain and looked around. Tanner was out cold, and Canine was struggling to rise. Chris picked up the injector, pocketing it once more before hurrying over with a slight limp to help Canine up before collecting the USB. "Canine, fall back and start making your way to the car. I'll take care of the second floor."
"Alpha…"
"That's an order," Chris snapped, and Canine nodded.
"Sir, yes sir," he replied as they left the lab and made their way down to the second floor. Canine kept going down as Chris took a left.
"Your watch is ready for a second-floor breach," Night Howl stated, resulting in Chris slamming the watch against the keypad before kicking in the door, only for smoke to pour out. Once inside, he placed the USB and got to work finding a place for the final satchel where it wouldn't pre-emptively explode. He juggled that and fighting off zombies, only to find nothing that would work as an ideal satchel charge point. Then he heard the final call. "That's it. Get the USB and head out. I'll set the charges to detonate in five minutes."
Five…
"On it," Chris said as he made his way back to the second-floor lab.
Four…
He grabbed the USB and looked around for somewhere to place the final satchel. If he didn't ditch it, he was a dead man. If it went off early, he'd be buried alive...
Three…
…Buried alive it is! He slammed it into a wall and started running for the door…
Two…
…Down the stairs and through the main foyer…
One…
He made it out the door, but he was too close. Shit. He ran as fast as he could on his bad leg.
Zero…
The building exploded in a fiery inferno, throwing him a good 30 feet forward and knocking him over.
God, that hurts. He slowly pushed himself up and limps the mile and a half back to the car, finding Night Howl and Canine waiting for him. Night Howl took the driver's position as Canine and Chris sat in the back of the car. "HQ... this is Wolf Squad... we're coming home," Chris said as he rested his eyes.
"Is the mission objective complete?" a voice asked in response.
"Yeah... the place is a crater," Chris replied after a few seconds.
'*'*'*'*'
Emma waited at the roller rink with a bored expression, sitting at a table next to an empty plate and looking at the rink, unamused. She pulled out her phone to check the time. 9:30 pm. Seeing this, her expression soured before she gave a tired and annoyed sigh. He could have at least sent her a text that he couldn't make it. Dang it all, she was really looking forward to this too. She was hoping to relax from the stress of the merger going on at work. After deciding to give up, she returned her rental skates and packed up to walk home.
"Duke. Puppo, I'm home," she said as she walked into the apartment, closing the door behind her. Her fluffy friend hurried over to greet her. "See, you know how to show up when expected," she grumbled before heading to the fridge to get a small quart of ice cream. She then made her way to the couch. Duke joined her and curled up next to her as she turns the TV on and starts channel surfing. What is even on at this time of ni—
She stopped clicking the remote as the sight of an exploding building caused her heart to drop.
"This just in. Local pharmaceutical lab goes up in flames. Authorities believe a gas leak may be the culprit of this deadly explosion. The fire departments of all three neighboring boroughs are working to contain the flames. So far, no one has left the building since the explosion," the reporter announced. "The owner of the firm says that very few staff members should have been on sight, so while casualties are expected, they should be minimal."
Emma quickly pulled out her phone.
[Emma] Tanner, you text me this instant.
[Emma] Tanner. This isn't funny.
[Emma] Please let me know you're okay.
He's just driving is all. He's on the road right now, and he'll text you as soon as he stops, she thinks. He said he was going to be there by 8:30... Emma put the container of ice cream down on the coffee table before curling up. Why couldn't he just be on time for once?
'*'*'*'*'
Three days after the explosion, a list of casualties was provided. Emma cried the whole day for the loss of her friend and spent the next few days working from home. She was a mess and didn't want to be around people... but eventually, the day of the funeral arrived.
She took a deep breath, faced her door, and opened it. Walking out in full black attire, the more she thought about where she was going, the more her eyes stung. She locked up her apartment before hearing the main door of the building open and close. Footsteps on the stairs led to Emma seeing Chris, who had just made it home.
"Oh thank god, you're okay," she said with an attempt at a smile.
"What's wrong?" he asked as he walked over. He knew what was wrong, but he couldn't let her know that.
"I—" she tried, only to have her words catch in her throat and tears start to form. "Sorry... I can't cook for you this time... I have a funeral to attend," she explained, and the words hurt.
"Do you want someone to go with you?" he asked quietly, and she shook her head.
"No... Yes? Maybe. I don't know," she attempted to reply, confused by the question. She didn't know what she wanted. "I can't do this right now, I'm going to be late for the wake." Saying that caused her to laugh. "Though I guess that's only fair. He never could figure out how to show up anywhere on time," she added, trying to make a joke to feel better. She didn't.
"I'll be right out," he said, and headed inside, changing in a matter of minutes. He would be lying if he said he didn't make the effort to get released early because of this. He had gotten home when the sun was up for once.
He walked back out to find she hadn't moved and was focused on drying her eyes. "I'll drive," he offered and walked with her down to the street level and to the parking garage. He got the address from her even though he already knew it and the two made their way there in silence. The usually talkative woman could think of nothing to say. There was no welcome back ritual or running from stress. The only option was to face reality head-on, and she hated it.
The two headed into the wake and paid their respects before taking a seat. Emma held herself together long enough to sit down before the tears leaked freely from her eyes. She leaned forward, holding her face and resting her elbows on her knees. Meanwhile, Chris simply sat there watching her shaking figure from the corner of his eye, hearing an occasional hiccup and whimper. This whole funeral really held no meaning to him. He didn't know the guy in the slightest, but she did. She was in pain and that is hard to watch, knowing he couldn't fix it. There was nothing to be done in this case except let time run its course.
Emma eventually calmed down and was able to sit back up and look at the casket. Her friend was in there. She'd never see him again. She took a deep breath. "Hey Chris," she said quietly, so she didn't disturb any of the other visitors.
"Hm?"
"I think I wanna go now." She tried to remain composed. "I don't think I can watch them. you know"—she made a lowering motion with her hands.
He gave a short nod and got up before offering her a hand to help her up as well. Together, they walked out of the funeral home to the car. The rode back was just as quiet. She was exhausted, but about halfway home, she spoke.
"This sucks..." she said quietly.
"Yeah," he agreed in response, focusing on the road.
"You don't seem bothered by all this, though... Have you been to many funerals before?" she asked, trying to understand.
He paused. "Yes."
"...Does it ever get easier?" she asked hesitantly.
"Eventually," he replied with a nod.
"...How many does that take?" she asked as she curled up again.
Again, he paused. "Too many," he replied and Emma nodded.
Silence returned until they made it back.
"Chris?" she asked after he turns off the car.
"Hm,"
"Thank you... for going with me... I don't think I could have done that alone," she hesitantly admitted, which made him scream more mentally.
On one hand, sure. Screw that Tanner guy for making strands of the virus and supercharging them. Dick move. But on the other, Chris felt like he was the reason someone close to her was dead, and he couldn't even tell her. He had tried to save him but failed. There were a dozen scenarios in his head where this wouldn't have happened. If he had just made one choice over another. If he picked the right door and the alarms didn't go off. If he had given the guy the vaccine and carried him out. But hindsight was 20-20.
"No problem," he replied and walks with Emma back into the apartment building where they went their separate ways.
Welp. I'm emotionally tired after these last few chapters. Fluff time? ... Fluff time. feel free to leave suggestions.
